CHOICES… Ch.1
Danny Walker sat on the front porch watching the hot Tennessee sun dip below the horizon. It was three months since he had come back home and he still could not help comparing these sunsets to the spectacular Pearl Harbour display. It was better not to think about sunsets though, they brought back memories. Memories of soft touches, heated kisses and the glide of skin against skin. Danny sighed and rose to walk back into the house…
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Four months before….
Danny was now fully recovered from his wounds sustained during the Doolittle raid. Rafe, himself and Evelyn were still living in a tense bubble. Danny could tell that Rafe kept his distance due to the increasing swell in Evelyn's abdomen. But Danny often caught their glances at each other. He felt like Evelyn was making an effort to build a relationship with him for the sake of their child. Danny didn't want that, he loved Evelyn with every fibre of his being. If he could not have her whole heart he would rather not have a small part of it. Danny had witnessed first hand the damage a bad marriage could inflict, he had too many memories of his parents screaming at each other and his mother's face bruised.
Then the telegram arrived. His father had died he had finally succumbed to the cirrhosis of the liver. His years of drinking had caught up with him. Danny really didn't know how to feel about it. The abuse he had suffered at his father's hands made him think he should be relieved. But he had loved his father in-spite of it all. He had spent most of his childhood and early adolescence striving to please him. When he left home to become an army pilot his father had stood, his lips thin and his eyes haunted. His memories of war painted in graphic lines clearly on his face. But he had approached his son and placed a strong hand on Danny's shoulder. It was the most affection he had ever received from his father and Danny felt tears pool in his eyes. To Danny the gesture told him his father was finally proud of him.
Now he was dead. Danny knew what it meant. It meant he would be needed to come back home and run the farm. A huge part of him did not want to go. Pearl Harbour had been where he proved himself as a pilot. It was also where he found love. That love was strained now and Danny felt the right thing to do was walk away. Evelyn belonged with Rafe. In Danny's mind the hero always got the beautiful girl.
So an uncomfortable conversation took place between him and Evelyn. He told her he would always love her but he wanted her to be happy. He told her he had known and accepted that she still love Rafe. He told her he had no right to stake any claim on his best friend's girl. He told her he would be a father to their son but he could not stay. Evelyn had chewed her lip, her eyes never leaving Danny's face. Finally she sighed;
'Danny do you want to be free of me?'
Danny's eyes widened in horror, 'Of course I don't want to be free of you, I just want you to be happy and you'll be happy with Rafe.'
'You sound very sure of that,' she replied cryptically.
Danny could not cope any longer, he knew if he did not walk away now he would pull her into his arms and never want to let go. He kissed her briefly on the forehead then turned and walked back to the army jeep waiting to take him to the airport. As the jeep drove away he heard Evelyn calling his name but he closed his eyes and kept telling himself he had done the right thing.
To be continued…