A/N: Hey, this is a sequel to my story, Edge of the Sea. If you haven't read that story you'll be confused trying to read this one, so head's up. I think it also goes without saying that the character depictions in this story is based off how the show portrays the men and not how they were in real life.
The mound of dirt on the grave had long ago settled, but the tombstone stood tall and read in crystal clear lettering: David Ellis Swartz. March 3rd 1899 - January 5th 1943. Beloved Husband and Father.
Mama walked past me and laid a small handful of wildflowers on the grave, a sad smile on her face. "Oh, David." She muttered to the headstone in her thick Polish accent. "If you could see your children now."
I flinched slightly and glanced over my shoulder to where Norman was standing, leaning heavily against a cane. Norman had made that jump on D-Day, but he had gotten really badly burned as a result. Despite the fact that the injuries happened a little under two years ago, he was still in a lot of pain most days. Beside him, Velma stood with their baby in her arms.
Velma was nice enough. She still acted awkward around me, as if she was getting used to me as much as I was getting used to her. And then the baby girl, Pamela, was nearing a year old already.
Mama got up and came back over to me and wrapped me into a tight hug. "He'd be so proud of you, my Ellie." She whispered in my ear. I squeezed her back hard at the sound at that and she let out a strangled squeak. "Oh, my Ellie! Don't hurt your mama now."
I helped Mama walk away from Daddy's grave and she moved slowly due to the hip injury from last year. As we got closer to Norman and Velma, Velma took a tentative step forward. "Can I help you, Norma?"
"I don't need your help." Mama said rather curtly. Velma blinked and adjusted her hold on Pamela, who looked to be getting fussy from being held.
It had become apparent to me that Mama did not like Velma one bit. Whenever it was just the two of us, Mama would refer to Velma as "the foreign one." Considering Mama was herself an immigrant from Poland, calling Velma a foreigner was just hypocritical. I had already heard a lot of rants about how irresponsible it was of Norman to knock up some British girl and then marry her. "If he had to sleep with her," Mama had told me one evening. "Then he should have left it at that. Not bring her back with him."
Even though I thought Mama was being unfair and kind of harsh, I kind of had to agree with her. Norman was a different person whenever Velma was around, which was most of the time. While Norman had once been carefree and very vocal about his opinions, now he was always biting his tongue. And I was able to tell when he wanted to say something but didn't, because he'd open his mouth, quickly glance at his wife, and then close his mouth again. It was as though he was afraid of offending her.
"That girl knows nothing of working hard." Mama muttered to me as we continued back to the farmhouse. "If Norman was to marry anyone, he should have married someone who knew how to weed a garden at the least."
I glanced over my shoulder to see that they were still within earshot of us. Velma, her plump face normally a nice peachy color, was flushed red from embarrassment and the Florida sun beating down on us. I felt a stab of pity but looked forward to keep my focus on making sure Mama didn't fall forward and break her hip again.
As we walked slowly back to the house, my mind wandered back to Snafu.
I rarely stopped thinking about him. In the week and a half I had been home, I had already written a three page long letter telling him about coming home and how everything felt different about this place. I wrote about how being around my family again felt like I was checking to see what was left of me here, as if some part of me had gotten killed in the Pacific. Maybe the reason I was holding Snafu so close in my heart was because I still hadn't told anyone in my family about our real relationship.
Mama was vaguely uncomfortable with the fact that I was so close with the likes of Snafu, Burgin, and Sledge. Norman kept making jokes about how he hoped none of the Marines had taken advantage of me. I had snorted upon hearing that; as if any of the Marines I had been with had the balls to try and force themselves on me. Then I had shifted uncomfortably at that thought and held my tongue. I hadn't told them everything that happened over there, so they knew nothing about the Jap that had attacked me.
By the time we reached the house, Mama and I could hear baby Pamela crying. Mama sighed heavily and shook her head. "She needs to learn how to calm her baby down."
"Mama," I muttered sharply. "She's still new to this."
"Bah!" Mama snapped back. "New to it. That baby's a year old. If she hasn't got it down by now, that spells trouble."
There seemed to be no convincing her otherwise. I helped her up the porch steps and into the house. A little farther behind Norman and Velma were moving slower, due to Pamela having been put on the ground and allowed the toddler to shakily walk herself. From here, they looked like a real family.
Mama went straight to the kitchen, pulling a jug of sweet tea from the new ice box. "Have you seen this yet, Ellie?" She asked, pouring me a glass and handing it to me. "One of the farm hands bought it for me the first Christmas you and Norman were gone."
"That was really nice of them." I said as the front door opened and closed again. Norman entered the kitchen, his eyes narrowed. He gave our mother a heated glare as Velma entered, helping Pamela toddle along. I stared at my niece before looking back at Velma. "When is her birthday again?"
Velma blinked in alarm at me. "Oh, her birthday is April fourth."
"I was on my way to San Francisco then," I replied. I looked to Pamela as the toddler stared at me. "Sorry I missed your birthday, kiddo." Pamela hid behind her mother's legs.
"We were so relieved to have received your telegram," Velma gushed, her accent sticking out hard. From across the kitchen, Mama threw Velma a dirty look, seemingly annoyed that Velma had had the audacity to have been relieved about me. "How was Hawaii?"
I swallowed my sip of sweet tea. "Pretty nice. Not a lot of tourists around though. Beaches were pretty."
Velma nodded, looking slightly more awkward. "I imagine that the war in the Pacific was vastly different than the war in Europe. Certainly lasted longer over there."
Norman shot his wife a quick glance but Mama flat out glared at her. Velma suddenly realized what she had said and looked around the room apologetically. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Eleanor! I didn't mean to bring up the war, it just came up." Her eyes filled with sudden tears and she rushed from the room. Norman stared after her before limping after her. Pamela, alarmed by the sudden disappearance of her parents, started crying. Mama swung around to face me.
"You see what I mean, Ellie?" She asked, coming over and scooping Pamela up and holding the toddler to her chest. "Your brother married a weak willed woman."
"Mama," I said sharply. "It was an accident. Barely anything happened."
"Accident or not," Mama snapped, patting Pamela on the back and calming the baby down again. "I know how your father acted whenever someone brought up the Great War to him. I'll be damned to hell before I let some foreign bitch make my babies go through their pain again."
"I think you're going 'bout it the wrong way, though." I countered. Mama shook her head at me and left the kitchen, taking a whimpering Pamela with her. I sat alone at the kitchen table for a while longer, chugging sweet tea until it was gone.
Mama was in the living room sitting with Pamela on the sofa. I could hear Norman and Velma's voices coming from the room that Norman and I used to share, or the room I had to myself now. I rolled my eyes and left the house and into the humid late April air.
There were a large cluster of blackberry bushes on the edge of the woods, and I went there and started picking, occasionally tossing a berry into my mouth but I was mostly trying to collect them. I imagined Snafu here with me and I smiled sadly.
Back inside, I could hear Mama and Norman having a hushed argument. I snuck into the kitchen and put the berries into a bowl before sneaking outside again. When I got off the porch, I finally noticed Velma following Pamela around as the toddler wandered around aimlessly. Velma caught my eye and she quickly dropped it.
Velma wiped her eyes as I approached. "I'm sorry for that in there." I told her the moment I was close enough. Velma blinked and turned to stare at Pamela.
"Your mother hates me." She said it matter of factly.
I didn't see the point of lying to her. "She does for now. You're still new here, Velma. Mama just doesn't know you yet."
"She doesn't want to know me!" Velma exclaimed. "When I first arrived, I tried to tell her about my mother and father, and your mother wasn't interested in the slightest. All because I told her that my mother and I were seamstresses. I tried telling her about how in Aldbourne, there were lots of American Airborne coming through. Mother and I would clean their uniforms and make repairs to them; that's how Norman and I met." She paused. "After Norman left, I volunteered to be a nurse. When Norman came through, it was like God put him there, as awful as that sounds."
I shook my head slightly. "I think Mama doesn't like that you and Norman got married so fast and without telling anyone first. And then you came over with Pamela right there. It's a lot to take, you know?"
"I suppose," Velma said begrudgingly. "Florida is not what I expected either. Back home, when I thought of Florida, I thought of beaches."
I chuckled. "Yeah, no one really thinks of this part of Florida. I like to call this part 'southern Alabama.'" Velma blinked at my joke, not getting it. I shrugged it off. "It's an adjustment, I'm sure. But Norman loves you. Give it some time and I think Mama will come around."
Velma still looked unconvinced but nodded along anyway. Pamela squatted and tried putting a dandelion in her mouth. Velma stopped her just as Norman stalked out of the house, his facial burns making his frown look even more pronounced.
"See ya next week, Ellie." Norman snapped at me, collecting his wife and daughter up fast before hustling them over to their Pontiac. I watched them go as they drove away before going back inside.
It wasn't hard to find Mama. She was sitting at the kitchen table, crying into her hands. I felt as though I needed to go over and comfort her, but right now my mind felt tired and numb. With a regretful look backwards, I disappeared into my bedroom and swung myself down onto the bed.
Our family was back together again, so why did we feel so separated?
