Chapter Four - Letters

June 9, 1941 - Afternoon
Military Base - Pearl Harbor

Danny walked briskly to the awning by the nearest hangar, as the driving spring rain was working quickly to soak him. The Hawaiian sky hadn't been bright and sunny in days. It had started out as a mere drizzle one afternoon a couple of days ago, but by that evening it had quickly progressed into a full-fledged storm and it hadn't stopped since. Today was a little better, but it was still a big wet mess all over the place. Just the same, even with dark clouds and puddles everywhere, Oahu was still paradise.

In the months since Danny and his squadron had arrived in Hawaii, life had become more than a little mundane. It seemed that when they weren't in the field and in the air training, they were either down at the beach sunning themselves and trying to pick up dates, or at one of the bars trying to pick up dates. Not that Danny minded; he was having a great time with his friends. He just wished sometimes that there was a little more excitement here in Pearl Ha-rbor. Even taking the planes out for the usual drill, which used to thrill him more than anything, was getting boring and routine. But then, he always reminded himself, he wouldn't have time to be bored if and when America got involved in the war. All the fun would come to a screeching halt then.

As he made his way over to the barracks, he could see a couple of the guys hanging around outside, leaning on the doorjamb and chatting. From the way they were gesturing about, Danny had a feeling that they were talking about the surprise party they were planning for his birthday, which was coming up on the 14th. They were so obvious sometimes; it was so transparent, Danny couldn't believe that they thought he didn't know about it.

"Hey, guys," Danny said when he reached them.

"Oh, hi," Billy said. He casually folded his arms and crossed one ankle over the other as he leaned on the door frame, trying to look as discreet as possible.

"Hey, how's it goin'?" Anthony said, looking equally unsubtle.

"Fine, fine, everything's fine," Danny replied, the corners of his mouth twitching in amusement. "Anything interesting going on?"

"Interesting?" Billy said, his voice going a pitch higher. "What do you mean by interesting? Why do you ask that? Wh--why? What? Wh--?"

"I think," Anthony interjected, mercifully cutting Billy off, "that he was just asking a polite question."

"Yeah," Danny said.

"Oh, of course," Billy said in a normal voice, though he still looked clearly uncomfortable. "Well, nothing's going on. Nothing at all." He stood for a moment, his eyes nervously darting back and forth between the other two men. "Well, gotta go. See you later." He turned abruptly and walked back into the rain, heading in the direction to the downtown district of Oahu.

"He seems a little edgy today," Danny said, turning back to Anthony. "I wonder what could be on his mind? What do you think, Anthony?"

"Hmm?" Anthony's eyebrows raised a little, but Danny just stared back. "Oh, I don't know. You know him, he's always a little crazy. I hardly even notice it anymore."

"Hmmm..." Danny said, his eyes narrowed a little, looking at him warily.

Anthony chuckled nervously. "Well, I guess I'd better get going myself. Got a lot to do tonight. You coming?"

Danny shook his head. "Nah. I think I'll just hang around out here for a while. The rain is a kind of relaxing. Although, I hate when it rains on special occasions, you know, like holidays, birthdays ... or whatever."

"Okay, well, then, I guess I'll see you later. Okay, bye." Without waiting for a reply, Anthony rushed back into the barracks, all too eager to avoid any more questions.

Danny shook his head again, laughing a little to himself. He was gonna have a lot of fun torturing those two for the next few days.

Later that evening, it was still raining, not as strongly as before but just hard enough to keep most of the men who'd been planning on going out that night grounded at the base without much to do. Many of the guys in the rec room were getting bored and restless after four straight hands of poker, and the others were racking up again for a third game of billiards. The rest of the pilots were lounging about in the barracks, catching up on their reading and letter-writing to their families, or just relaxing on their bunks. Danny's buddies were among the few guys who decided to venture out into the rain, so Danny was left to fend for himself for the evening.

"Mail call!" a pilot named Walter said, entering the room.

"What do you mean, 'mail call'?" asked Samuel, a friendly but boisterous kid who had just arrived at Pearl about three weeks ago. "Shouldn't those have come in hours ago?"

"Yeah, well, I was in a hurry when they came this afternoon," Walter replied, thumbing through the envelopes, "so I stuck them in a desk outside and I just remembered them a while ago."

The men groaned and threw their pillows and books at him.

"Okay, okay," Walter went on, going through the pile in his hands. "Baxter, Jameson, Stevens, Walker..."

Danny took his letter from the guy next to him and tore it open. He didn't have to read the name above the return address to know who it was from; with a quick glance he immediately recognized the handwriting. He set the envelope aside and began to read Rafe's letter, keeping his scholarly side at bay and ignoring the endless number of spelling mistakes:

Danny:

You couldnt possibly beleive how different it is here. There is always sumthing exciting happening, it's not at all like it was in training back on Long Iland. We get a lot more flying time here just when we practise. When we go into combat, Ill admit, it's a little scary, but it's also realy incredable. Some of the men in the Eagle Squadren had never been involved in a lot of heavy combat befor, but some have been there for monts. But in spite of all that, we all no that were on the same team, and we have no problums working together. In spite of all the eksitement, it's still not like it was with you and me playing chicken and going threw training with the rest of the guys in the old squadron. And I'm sure Hawai looks a hell of a lot pretier than England!

Give my regards to the fellas.

Rafe.

Danny finished reading the letter and stuffed it back in its envelope. He then put the envelope in a folder he kept in his drawer with the other letters Rafe had sent. Sitting back on his bunk, Danny began to mull over what he'd just read.

"Hey, guess what, guys?" Russell Jameson called out, interrupting his meditation. "My baby sister's gettin' married!" He held up the letter he'd received, waving it in the air as proof.

"Aw, little Ruthie?" Russell's pal, Eddie Franklin, said incredulously.

"Yeah, isn't that somethin'?" Russell confirmed proudly.

Danny didn't know Russell all that well and had no idea who his sister Ruthie was, so he wasn't too interested in hearing about her upcoming wedding. He only half-listened to their conversation, still going over Rafe's letter in his mind. Apparently everything in England was great; flying with the Eagle Squadron was "really incredible." Was it, really? Danny had the feeling that Rafe wasn't telling him the whole story. It just couldn't be that simple; he'd seen the newsreels, read the papers. He believed that dogfighting was "different," but how could it also be "exciting?"

The main door to the barracks swung open, and Red, Billy, and Anthony waltzed in, drenched to the skin from the rain that was still pouring.

"Man, is that rain ever gonna let up?" Anthony lamented, holding his arms straight out at his sides to shake the water off. "I am just damn soaked to the bone here!"

"Well, maybe next time you'll listen when I tell you to go back for the umbrella you were so hell bent on leaving here," Billy huffed, stomping his shoes on the indoor floor mat. "But noooo, don't ever listen to me, the one voice of reason and simple logic."

"I take offense to that," Red spoke up, making his way over to his bunk a few feet away.

Danny rolled his eyes. Those guys were capable of arguing for hours if left unattended. Maybe if he pretended he was asleep, they would leave him out of this...

"Hey, Danny, you've just been sitting here staring into space all night or what?" Anthony said.

Too late.

"Nah, just doing some reading," he replied. "I got a letter from Rafe, from England."

"Oh, yeah? How is our fellow flier doing with the RAFs?" Billy asked.

Danny paused for a moment. "Really good. He said it's a lot of fun over there."

June 11, 1941 - Morning
Base Hospital - Pearl Harbor

"Excuse me, nurse, could you do me a favor?" the young patient said in a quiet voice.

Evelyn turned around from putting away suture materials to address the polite young man, who had been laid up for two days with a twisted ankle and a broken arm from a minor auto accident. "Sure, what do you need?" she asked.

The young man, Richard, smiled shyly and motioned her to come over; she stepped briskly around the other empty beds and walked up to him. "Um, would you be kind enough to write a letter for me?" he asked timidly. "I would do it, but, you know, my writing hand's not so good lately." He offered a wry smile as he tried to hold up his right arm, which had a plaster cast extending all the way to his wrist and enclosing parts of his fingers.

Evelyn nodded. "Sure, I would be happy to. Just hold a second, let me get a pen and some stationery and I'll be right with you."

"Thank you so much," Richard said. "I haven't seen my girlfriend in ages, and I miss her terribly, you know. Writing letters back and forth is the only thing that really helps, you know?"

Evelyn smiled. "Yeah, I know."

A minute later, Evelyn had pulled up a stool and was scribbling the letter Richard was composing to his sweetheart, who was back at his home in Chicago. Evelyn smiled a little to herself as she caught the wistful expression on Richard's face as he dictated his "everlasting love" for his "one and only soul mate," Loretta. Richard couldn't have been more than twenty years old; it was sweet to see how clearly hopelessly in love with this girl he was. Evelyn understood exactly how he felt.

"Thank you, ma'am," Richard said after she'd finished writing. She handed him the three back to back pages and he flipped through them with his good hand. "It looks great. Thanks a lot."

"You're absolutely welcome," Evelyn said graciously. "Are you okay? Do you need me to get you anything else?"

"Oh, I'm all right, thank you."

Martha and Barbara appeared in the doorway at the end of the ward. "Hey, Evelyn," Martha said, popping a piece of bubblegum. "Our shift is starting in a couple minutes, so the head nurse said you can go on your break now."

"Great, thanks." Evelyn waved back at Richard then got her purse and her spring jacket from her desk and headed out the door.

Richard looked up at Martha, who was leaning against the doorjamb still loudly snapping her gum. Martha caught his gaze and smirked back at him, one eyebrow raised. "What are you looking at?"

Richard shook his head. "Nothing, ma'am."

Martha glared back at him for a moment, then broke into a small smile. "Are you thinking about making a move on me?"

Richard looks back at her, shocked. Barbara, who had been at the desk going over patients' charts, stood and teasingly smacked Martha in the back of the head. "Stop scaring the boy," she scolded.

... ... ...

Outside, Evelyn had made her way over to the gardens surrounding the back of the hospital, and had settled down at a picnic table. It was almost ten o'clock, and she only had a few more minutes left before she had to rejoin the girls back in the hospital to finish the rest of her shift. Only on rare occasions had Evelyn been asked to cover the early day shift--from 6 a.m. to two o'clock in the afternoon--and she was already starting to feel the drain. This was also supposed to be her time to eat a quick lunch, but she wasn't hungry. She was too preoccupied to think about food.

Rubbing her hands excitedly, she then opened up her purse to take out the mail she had stuffed in it in a rush before leaving for work earlier that morning. She had been in such a hurry to get to work on time that she hadn't even had a chance to see who they were from. But she knew who they were from.

Quickly tearing open the envelope, she pulled out two or three sheets of papers covered in Rafe's familiar cursive. She smiled to herself as she started to read, feeling the familiar tingle of excitement that was always present when she read a letter from Rafe. But as she continued through the letter, Evelyn's demeanor changed and she became more concerned as Rafe described what it was like living in England. It was clear that flying in the Eagle Squadron was--if you could pardon the cliche--not all it was cracked up to be. She skimmed through the letter, one part standing out in particular.

It's difrent than I thought it wood be here. It's cold. So cold that it chils you to the bone. There is one place I can go to for warmth, thoe. And that is to think of you.

Her heart swelled as she read and reread that last line. Oh, she missed him so much, sometimes it actually hurt. But she knew that he loved her, and someday soon they'd be together and everything would be just as she'd dreamed it would be.

Evelyn skimmed through the rest of the letter, as Rafe discussed the gritty details of what went on when the pilots in the Royal Air Force actually got into combat. Though he didn't elaborate too much on the things he saw--which Evelyn was decidedly grateful for--he did indicate that the morale of his fellow pilots was gradually plummeting. It was a rarity during most aerial battles to have the same number pilots return as that who went out. It must not have been easy making friends there, as Rafe had pointed out in a letter he'd sent her a few weeks ago. Evelyn couldn't imagine how it must feel to go out each day to do your job knowing that, in all likelihood, someone you know probably wouldn't come back.

Evelyn finished the letter and, with a lump in her throat, folded the sheets and put them back in their envelope. She'd been trying with all her might not to think about the all-too-real danger that Rafe was in, that he faced almost every day. With guilty relief, she thanked God that despite all the men in his Squadron who had sacrificed their lives in the fight, Rafe was still okay. She prayed that he would stay that way.

"What are you doing?" a voice interrupted her thoughts.

Evelyn jumped slightly and turned to see Betty sauntering in her direction. "Oh, nothing," she said, stuffing the envelope back in her purse. "Just taking a breather, I guess. Thinking."

"Yeah, what about?" Betty flopped down beside her, sitting backwards on the bench with her back leaning against the table.

"About Rafe," Evelyn replied, sighing. "About Rafe in England." She paused, fiddling nervously with the brass latch on her purse. "Betty, I'm really worried about him."

"Why? He's fine, isn't he?"

"Yeah, it's just..." Evelyn didn't know exactly how to articulate the apprehension going through her. She'd been getting the most eerie feelings lately. "I try to pretend that there's absolutely nothing to worry about, that he's going to be fine, but these past few weeks ... I can't help but feel that something's going to happen."

Betty smiled wryly. "You're bound to feel that way sometimes, Ev. You worry about him. That's fine. But it's probably just paranoia, that's all. You're just concerned."

I suppose, but, I don't know ... I keep thinking that sooner or later everything's gonna be turned upside-down, you know? We've been lucky so far. But what if doesn't stay that way?"

Betty didn't answer this time. Evelyn knew she'd made a good point--she must have if she'd rendered Betty speechless, which wasn't an easy feat. She shrugged. "But you're probably right," she continued. "I'm probably just being paranoid."

"Yeah." Betty nodded in agreement. "I know it must be hard to be away from him, but you've just got to believe that everything will turn out fine in the end. Just wait and see. It's like Red always says…"

As Betty began prattling on about Red, Evelyn turned her attention to the remaining letter still in her lap. It was rare that she would get more than one letter from Rafe at once, but sometimes the mail would be slower one week than it was on another and they got backed up. Never mind; the more she got to hear from him, the better.

She turned the envelope face up and was almost caught off guard when she saw something other than Rafe's familiar scrawl. The handwriting was familiar, though, as was the return address. Detroit.

Her parents.

Betty caught the suddenly pale look on Evelyn's face. "What's the matter?"

Evelyn ignored her and tore the letter open, tossing the envelope to the grass and quickly reading the short note. She then went back and read it very slowly, looking for any subtle references that might indicate how her mother was feeling about her. Her mother had recently learned from family friends who worked in a Navy staffing department where Evelyn had been relocated, and she'd just worked up the courage to contact her. She wanted Evelyn to know that she and her father weren't upset with her anymore for running away without their permission, and she hoped that she would come home to visit sometime soon.

"Evelyn, what is it?" Betty pressed.

"I, uh … I got a letter from my mother," she said, holding up the sheet of paper.

Betty's eyes widened. Betty was the only one of Evelyn's friends who knew about the difficult relationship she had with her parents. "Your mother--what did she say?"

Evelyn sighed heavily. "Basically ... that she and my dad miss me, that's all. And they want me to come home soon." She paused, then started again in an angry voice. "You know, if they miss me so much, why did it take them two years to write to me? She says she just found out that we were sent to Pearl Harbor, but they know perfectly well that I sent them a letter months ago telling them that."

Betty smiled sympathetically. It was obvious that the tension that existed between Evelyn and her parents went beyond their recent lack of communication. "Maybe she was just ... looking for an excuse as to why she hadn't written you yet. She didn't want to stir up any more problems, probably."

Evelyn wiped away a tear that had begun to sneak out of the corner of her eye. "You know, I've, uh … I've got to get going. I'll see you back at the house, okay, Betty?"

Without waiting for an answer, Evelyn stood up and walked off down to the path back to the hospital entrance. Why was her mother contacting her now? Did her father know about this?

She couldn't deal with this. Not now.

June 12, 1941 - Afternoon
Hula-la Bar - Pearl Harbor

"Do you think he suspects anything?" Anthony asked his friends.

"Well, why should he?" Red rolled his eyes. "You guys aren't that good at keeping a secret. I'm telling you, he has to know that we're throwing him a party."

"Nah, he only thinks he knows," Billy said dismissively, taking a swig from his beer. He set it down on the table with a clank. "Don't worry, I guarantee you he'll be surprised."

"Well, I s-s-s-still think he's on to us," Red countered. "I mean, come on, he's not stupid."

"Ah, stop arguing."

It was late in the afternoon and the guys had just finished a series of test flights down at the base. The process was long and exhausting, so they'd decided to unwind at their favorite bar before returning to the mess hall for dinner. Along with getting a little tipsy on beers and Scotch, they were working out the final preparations for the party they were planning to surprise Danny with the day after tomorrow.

They were beginning to realize just how hard it was to plan a surprise party for someone like Danny Walker. He was lots of fun, and knew how to have a good time as much as everyone else, but he was generally more content to settle into the background than get down and get wild, as most of the guys had during a bar-hopping night out a couple of weeks ago. It was Danny who talked the bartender into not throwing them all out on the sand, while the rest of the gang was almost too drunk to even walk back to the base.

Which was why this afternoon, Red, Anthony, and Billy were trying to come up with a good way to approach the bartender and head waiter into letting them have the get together at the Hula-la in a couple of days. They had the feeling they weren't exactly on the preferred customer list lately. Gooz was talking to him right now, trying to appeal for their behavior the last time they'd had a get-together at this bar. It wasn't that they didn't think he'd agree to it, since he wasn't at all opposed to having crowds of people coming into his establishment. The hard part was getting free rounds of drinks into the deal.

"Hey, look, I think he's agreeing to it," Anthony said, nodding in the direction of the bar where Gooz was in the middle of negotiating with the heavyset Samoan man. The bartender looked reluctant, but his expression was amicable.

Gooz shook the man's hand and returned to the guys' table. "Okay, he said it's all right," he said as he settled back into his chair.

"We can have the party here?" Billy asked.

"Mmm-hmm."

"What about the drinks?"

"Not a chance," the bartender's voice boomed.

Air Base - Pearl Harbor

Danny climbed out from the cockpit of his P-40 and hopped down onto the runway. Sometimes this was the most difficult part of his day--getting out of the plane. He'd keep right on flying well into the night if he could manage it. He almost regretted it when he shut his engine down.

"Hey, Walker!" a friendly voice called from down the tarmac.

Danny turned to see fellow pilots, Samuel and Russell, jogging along the pavement dressed in army sweats. He waved at them as they approached the plane. "Hey, guys," he greeted them. "What's going on?"

"Oh, not much," Russell said, bending at the waist and resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. "Just working out. Where are the rest of the guys?"

Danny gave him a wry smile. "Probably down at one of the bars, as usual, pretending that they can surprise me on my birthday."

"Oh, that's what they've been acting so weird about lately," Samuel said, snapping his fingers. "I thought they were up to something, but I didn't know what it was. So, what, are they throwing you a party or something?"

"Yeah, on the 14th," Russell said.

"What--you knew about that?" Samuel asked incredulously. "You didn't tell me."

"That's because we wanted to keep it a secret," Russell retorted.

Danny laughed. "Yeah, well, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I've known from the minute this all started, but I figured I might as well give them the benefit of the doubt."

The three men began walking down the tarmac in the opposite direction that Samuel and Russell had been jogging in, heading back toward the barracks. "Now, I'm curious," Samuel said, stroking his chin in a contemplative manner. "Why are they going to all this trouble? I thought surprise parties were something people did when they were, what, 12? I mean, this whole thing seems kind of strange."

Danny sighed. The last thing he wanted was to get into that whole story. But these two weren't in New York with the rest of his squadron two years ago, so they didn't know what happened. "Well, it started back when we were all training on Long Island in '39, with Rafe's birthday in March. He didn't want to make a big deal about his birthday and he kept telling everyone that, but you know the guys. They figured he was just pretending not to want a party to throw them off, and they decided to give him one anyway."

"Yeah, they would," Russell said, rolling his eyes.

"Right. So, Anthony and Billy and the rest of the guys are all getting ready to surprise him with this big party at the base, okay, and the whole time Rafe knew everything they were doing." Danny smiled at the memory. "It was so ridiculous. So when his birthday came around, Rafe decided that he wasn't even gonna go. I tried to talk him into it, and he told me he already knew about the surprise party and he didn't feel like it."

"Why not?" Samuel inquired. "From what I've heard, he sounds like a fun guy, a partying type."

"He is," Danny acquiesced. "It's just ... it's a long story, really. He just wasn't up to it, that's all. But eventually he went to the party and pretended to be surprised. And the guys really thought they had surprised him, too, until I told them the truth."

"Oh, man," Russell laughed as they reached the main bunkroom. "What'd they do?"

"For some reason, they couldn't believe that they couldn't make a good surprise party," Danny said, shaking his head. "Then I insisted that they would never in a million years surprise me with a party, so I guess all this now is to test that theory."

"Oh, so that's why they're going to all this trouble?" Russell said. "Just to prove you wrong?"

"Yeah, stupid, isn't it?" Danny confirmed.

"All I have to say is, I'm up for any excuse to go to a party," Samuel said, "as long as there'll be plenty of booze and a few girls."

"That's pretty much the definition of a party around here, I guess," Danny assured him.

After chatting for a few more moments, Russell decided that he still wanted to get in a little more workout time, while Samuel had had enough for the day. Russell headed back out to the field, Samuel made his way to the showers, and Danny was left alone in the bunkroom. Just talking about his friends' half-baked plan for his birthday made it seem even more ridiculous. He hadn't told Russell and Samuel the whole story, however.

It was true that Rafe had never wanted to make a big deal about his birthday that time two years ago, but what Danny didn't tell them--what he didn't even tell Red and Billy and the other guys--was the real reason why he'd been so adverse to the idea. For 15 years, March 8th was always Rafe's favorite day of the year, besides Christmas. But after the 8th day of March in 1932, it became the worst day. It was because Rafe's mother, Catherine, died on his 16th birthday. She had been ill for several months, but no one had expected her to be taken away just then, that morning. Rafe had never had much interest in his birthday after that.

Danny had known why Rafe didn't want the guys to throw him a party, but he had too much pride to say anything about it. But that was fine, because now the guys had decided to keep the tradition with his own birthday, Danny thought wryly. It looked like his birthday was going to be rather interesting. He wondered how much longer he could keep them going like this.

June 14, 1941 - Afternoon
Hospital Dispensary - Pearl Harbor

Evelyn was sitting at a table going through an inventory list, so she wasn't facing the door as Red came up the path. Betty, however, was sweeping up the floor on the porch and immediately spotted him approaching.

"Red, hi!" Betty exclaimed, dropping the broom with a clang and skipping down the steps to meet him. "What are you doing over here?"

"Hey, Betty," Red replied, already starting to blush. "I, uh, kind of had a little accident down at the b-b-b-base while we were test shooting." He held up his hand, which was covered in a white bandage and had a small red stain from where he had cut himself.

"Aw, you poor thing. Come on, we'll fix you right up." Betty took his unhurt hand in hers and led him up the steps to the dispensary, where Evelyn had been watching them with an amused expression on her face. Betty scowled at her, though she returned her grin.

"Here you go," Evelyn said as he sat down beside a medical cart. She unwrapped the bandage and examined his hand. "Yeah, it looks like you're gonna need a few stitches. Let me fix up, okay?"

"Actually, I'm kind of glad I came by," Red said as Evelyn began to sew up his hand.

"You are?" Betty said, smiling flirtatiously at him.

Red smiled nervously and continued, "Yeah, I was wondering what you and the other girls were doing tonight. The guys are all getting together at the Hula-la for a little surprise party we're having. It's Danny's birthday."

"Oh, that's nice," Evelyn said.

"Yeah, so it would be g-g-great if you two and the other nurses could come tonight, around eight o'clock," Red replied.

"Isn't it a little, well ... unusual to be throwing a surprise party for a man well over twenty?" Betty asked as she helped Evelyn put away supplies. "I mean, it's a great idea, but, you know…"

"I know, I know," Red agreed, smiling bashfully. "It's a really long story. So can you come?"

"Sure, we'll be there!" Betty said, giving him a broad smile. Red blushed even more profusely.

"Okay, that should do it," Evelyn said, giving one last snip at the razor-thin suture she made on the palm of his hand. "You be more careful, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Red replied, experimentally flexing his hand. "So I'll see you b-b-both at the party tonight then?"

"Sure thing," Evelyn answered.

"Absolutely," Betty said at the same time. "See you later, Red."

"B-b-b-bye, Betty." Red nodded at them both then turned for the door. He got to the porch and turned around to wave goodbye once again. Betty fluttered her fingers at him, and Red was so caught up in her gaze that he stumbled and almost fell down the steps. Evelyn and Betty artfully hid their giggles as he quickly recovered and tried to act like nothing happened.

"That poor boy," Betty said, shaking her head, after Red trotted down the path back to the base. "He's completely gone over me, don't you think?"

"Oh, I don't know," Evelyn replied mischievously. "He's just being friendly, is all."

"Are you kidding?" Betty said incredulously. "He's just nuts over me and you know it."

"All right, all right," Evelyn conceded, laughing. She finished putting away supplies and turned back to her inventory list.

"Say, Ev," Betty began thoughtfully. "Are you going to write back to your parents? I mean, if your mother took the time to write to you, it must mean they want things to be okay between you again, right?"

Evelyn sighed. "I don't know, Betty. I just don't know what to say to her anymore. To either of them. It's all such a mess."

"I know, but at least she's trying," Betty replied. "Evelyn … my dad took off when I was twelve. Before he left, he said he was going to write to me, but he never did. I … I don't even know where he is or if he's alive or what."

Evelyn was surprised. Betty had never talked about her family before. "So, you're saying that I shouldn't take for granted that my parents do want to keep in touch?"

"No, I'm saying I don't want you to make a decision you'll end up regretting," Betty replied. "I can tell this is bothering you a lot." She smiled. "But I don't want to make you do anything. It's your choice, whatever you do."

Evelyn smiled back at her. How was it Betty could be so young and yet so wise? "I'll think about it, Betty."

"So what did Rafe say in his last letter?" Betty asked, changing the subject. She hopped up onto the table beside Evelyn and swinging her legs idly. "I forgot to ask you the other day."

Evelyn thought about Betty's inquiry. Rafe's letters weren't exactly glowing with the excitement of the London skies lately. Though he still showered her with loving words of affection and adoration, which she greatly enjoyed, whenever he discussed his the events of his job the tone of his words became noticeably more somber and grim. She didn't know whether or not she wanted to relate those details to Betty, even though she was one of her best friends.

Still, Evelyn didn't really see the point in pretending that she wasn't worried about him. She was never the type to hide her emotions, nor was there a need to lie about it. She may as well let Betty know what was going on--it wasn't as though she wouldn't find out sooner or later.

"Well, he--I don't know," Evelyn began. She frowned, not sure how to describe what she was thinking. "I love reading his letters, Betty, but sometimes I feel like ... it worries me so much. As much as I want to pretend that he's not in danger over there, it makes me fear that the worst is going to happen one of these days. It drives me nuts, but I can't help it. I'm just so worried about him. I wish he were here with me, you know, so I'd know he was safe."

Betty smiled and walked over to her, wrapping her in a comforting hug. "I understand, Ev," she said. "You should be worried. But it's only because you love him, right? Everything will be fine. He'll come home and you two'll be together."

Evelyn pulled back and looked at her, a grateful smile crossing her face. "Thanks," she said, wiping away a tear that was beginning to form in her eye. "I know you're right, but I've just still got this creepy feeling inside me that just won't go away. But he will come back." She smiled a little to herself, remembering the last thing he said to her before they separated outside the hotel in New York. "He will come back."

Pilots' Barracks - Pearl Harbor

Danny was standing in front of the mirrors in the latrine, just out of the shower after a long drill exercise, but he could still hear the conversations going on in the main bunkroom. The guys had returned from test shooting about an hour ago and were debating whether or not to go to the mess hall for an early dinner before ... well, before the supposedly "surprise" surprise party. Danny could hear their animated chatting through the doors.

"Okay, so we'll all go down to the bar by eight thirty, right?" Anthony was saying.

"Yeah, and someone will stay here and bring him over," Billy answered.

"That's it? That's the plan?" Danny thought it was Russell who said that. "Really clever."

"Well, how else are we gonna do it?" Billy countered. "We can't just tell him to come over to the party. That'd be a little obvious."

"Yeah, you've really avoided that so far."

Danny smiled and rolled his eyes as he listened to them taunt each other. At least someone was aware of how ridiculous this was. He had talked Russell into keeping quiet about the fact that he knew all about the surprise, and so far he was making good on his promise. From what he knew about him, Russell was not the best person to entrust with a secret. A few of the guys had learned that the hard way.

Danny had already finished cleaning up and had changed his clothes, so he ventured back into the bunkroom. Naturally, all talk ceased when they saw him.

"What?" he asked as he looked around at the blank expressions.

"Nothing," Anthony said, managing to keep a straight face.

"Oh, hey, you got some mail earlier today," Billy announced. He pointed at the table at the far side of the room by the large window.

"Hmm," Danny said as he walked over to get it. He wondered who could have sent him a letter, since Rafe had just sent him a letter the other day and he didn't have any other family. He picked it up and saw that it was from Rafe's father, Jake. By the size of the envelope he guessed it was a birthday greeting card, and when he opened it he found that he was right. He was glad that Jake had sent him a card on his birthday; he didn't have any other family to expect a correspondence from, after all.

"Whatcha got there?" Anthony asked.

"Nothing," Danny replied, putting the card back in its envelope. He didn't want to acknowledge his birthday to the rest of the guys; if they wanted to act like they could surprise him, then he could keep up the pretense of pretending that he didn't know about it.

Red came in the room just then, his hand bandaged from when he'd injured it earlier that day.

"Hey, Red," Danny greeted him as he walked back over to his bunk. "Your hand okay?"

"Yeah, it's g-g-g-great," Red replied. His eyes darted back and forth between Danny and the other guys, who were even more obviously tense than he was. Billy, for one, hadn't stopped tapping his foot on the floor since Danny got there.

Deciding that he was going to have to be the first one to say anything, Danny finally spoke up. "So, I think I'm gonna head out," he said, rising from his bunk.

"What, you're leaving?" Red asked, blocking his path to the door. "You're leaving? When are you c-c-coming back?"

Danny cocked his eyebrow at him. "Why? What difference does that make?"

"Uh, well, I..." Red trailed off. He looked at the guys for help. They just shrugged.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll be going then," Danny said, stepping around him. He left the bunkroom before any of the guys could think of a reason to say something. He sighed as he shut the door behind him. As much as he enjoyed parties, he couldn't wait for this day to be over and for everyone to get back to normal--as normal as they could get, anyway.

Nurses' Quarters - Pearl Harbor

Evelyn gathered her purse and Betty was checking her makeup in the mirror for the 12th time. It was a half past seven and they were waiting for Barbara and Sandra to come back from their shift at the hospital so they could all start heading for the Hula-la for this party. Evelyn recalled Rafe telling her that Danny was just a few months younger than him, so today was his 25th birthday. She shared Betty's idea that a surprise party was a bit outdated, but she loved parties. Besides, it was better than spending the night in bed reading.

"Okay, we're here!" Barbara's voice announced from the front of the house. "Just give me five minutes to get changes and we're outta here!"

"Okay, stop yelling!" Betty answered back. Evelyn laughed as she sat back down on her bed to slip on her shoes. It looked like it was gonna be a typical night out for the girls.

Five minutes in Barbara time meant at least fifteen, so it was 7:50 by the time the nurses all left the house and started down the road leading to the bars. As the rest of the girls gabbed and betted on which of the guys they were hoping to snag at the party, Evelyn was only half listening to them. Going to this party reminded Evelyn of another birthday party she'd gone to, one that had been a turning point in her life. It was the last time she had been with her whole family before leaving to enlist in the Navy, and it was her decision to do so that had made up most of the evening's conversation. She wondered then if there was something then that could have been said so that the night hadn't ended on such tense terms.

"Oh, hi, Danny." Betty's voice interrupted Evelyn's thoughts. She looked up and saw that Danny was walking along the path toward them. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey. Just going for a walk," he replied. He stopped, his hands in his pockets, and nodded at each of them in acknowledgement.

"Got any, uh, plans for tonight?" Barbara asked carefully.

"You don't have to pretend," Danny said with a laugh. "This party is no secret to me."

"You know already?" Evelyn asked. "Who told you?"

"No one; the guys aren't exactly great at being secretive. I've known for a while now."

"Oh, well, so much for the party, then," Martha said, throwing up her hands.

"No, no, there's still gonna be a party," Danny said. "I've still got them going on this. Just don't tell them I know."

"Sure thing," Evelyn giggled. With a wave Danny continued on his walk, and the girls proceeded on to the Hula-la.

This should be a pretty interesting party," Barbara said as they turned on to the road that led to the bar. "Although the surprise is kinda ruined anyway."

"Ah, who cares?" Betty put a little dance in her step. "Let's just have some fun and go crazy. It's a party, for crying out loud!"

"I think she's got the spirit," Martha said to Sandra.

From the road they could see that the crowd had already arrived at the Hula-la, and the Hawaiian music from the radio was louder than ever. Red greeted them as they climbed up the steps.

"Hey, glad you could m-m-make it," he said, ushering them inside.

"Thanks for inviting us, Red," Betty said, practically pushing Sandra out of the way to stand next to him. She took his arm and they weaved their way through the crowd. Evelyn and the rest of the girls found a table on the other side of the room and sat down. The other pilots were close to the bar, talking animatedly and, Evelyn noticed, a bit agitatedly. Though the bar was noisy she could still hear most of what they were saying.

"Gooz said he's not back at the base yet," Billy told his friends as he gave the telephone back to the bartender. A couple of waiters dropped a huge Mai-Tai volcano on the counter. They all grabbed a straw and took a few long drags.

"Damn, now what?" Anthony asked. "We don't know where he went. How are we gonna get him over here?"

"I don't know," Samuel said. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Let's just wait until he shows up. He's gotta come back sooner or later."

Evelyn smiled to herself. It looked as though Danny was going to have a little fun with these guys over this. He obviously knew what they were planning and he was gonna throw them off. She looked up as Betty finally joined them, Red still on her arm.

"Great party, huh?" she exclaimed.

"We haven't done anything yet," Barbara pointed out. "We haven't even gotten our drinks yet."

"So when is the man of the hour supposed to show up, anyway?" Martha asked mischievously.

"Uh, we're b-b-b-bringing him in soon," Red replied. His ears turned even more red under their scrutiny. "What? We are. He'll b-b-be here."

"Okay, if you say so," Martha said skeptically. She flagged down a waiter as he passed by. "Uh, four Mai-Tais," she said to him. The waiter nodded and scurried off.

Quite a while later...

It was almost ten thirty and the crowd, while still as lively and loud as ever, was getting restless. The waiters were getting annoyed with the increasingly impatient patrons. The guys were starting to get a little panicky. The bartender, though, was having a great time with everyone trying to pass the time by constantly ordering from the bar.

The girls were having fun, also. After about an hour and a few Mai-Tais, Barbara had rounded up some of the guests and started a conga line around the bar, which had helped revive the party somewhat. But that was at least half an hour ago, and everyone was getting drunk and tired.

"Well, this is a fun party," Martha said with her chin in her hand, her eyes half closed from either fatigue or boredom.

"It's better than sitting at home listening to the radio all night," Sandra commented.

"Barely."

Evelyn agreed with Sandra, but she too was getting a little bored. Billy and the other guys had called the base several times in the past couple of hours, but according to Gooz, Danny still hadn't come back yet. Gooz had given up waiting and had joined the rest of the guys at the bar about twenty minutes ago, after leaving a note for Danny to meet them there for "something." That was apparently what they'd had in mind for Plan B. Nonetheless, it looked like the party's surprise was going to be on them.

"Hey, Billy!" Barbara called out to him. He turned from his conversation with the bartender and walked over to their table. "So is the surprise part of this party still on or what?"

"Beats me," he shrugged. "I don't know what went wrong. This should have worked."

"Sure." Betty rolled her eyes.

"Why is it such a big deal?" Sandra inquired.

"Long story," Billy replied. "But I can't believe we wasted our time--"

"Surprise!!"

Everyone turned in the direction of the unexpected voice. It seemed as though the guest of honor had finally decided to grace them with his presence. Danny entered the bar from the back door, totally unseen from the rest of the guys, who were watching for him to arrive at the front.

"So, here's where you guys all disappeared to," Danny said as he walked into the room toward his friends, who were still a little lost. "Do you always have parties when I'm not here?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Anthony replied. "Why not? So ... hey, happy birthday!"

You remembered?" Danny said innocently.

"Of course we did," Billy replied. "Why would we forget your 23rd--"

"Twenty-fifth," Danny corrected.

"Right, right, 25th, sorry." Billy looked at his friends for help. They just shrugged. "So, I guess we finally got you, huh? You bought that note Gooz left at the base, didn't you? I'll bet you had no idea there was a party going on here--well, until you got here."

"What note?" Danny asked. "I never went back to the base."

"What note?" Gooz asked the guys. "I was supposed to leave a note?" The guys gaped at him. "Oh, yeah, right."

"Yeah, well," Danny continued, "I wasn't even going to show up, just for fun, but then I decided it might be even more fun to surprise my own surprise party." The guys looked at each other. "What, you think I didn't know about this the whole time? I told you you'd never be able to surprise me."

"Yeah, but--we--you--dammit!" Billy walked off and headed back to the bar.

The girls stood from their table and walked over to say hello and wish him a happy birthday. It was almost eleven and they decided to start going back to the house, since Evelyn, Sandra, and Betty had the early shift at the hospital the following day. They were about to walk to the door when Danny came up to them again.

"Evelyn, can I talk to you for a second?" Danny asked.

"Uh, sure," she replied. She turned to her friends. "I'll meet you guys back at the house."

"Okay, see you later," Barbara said. "And happy birthday again," she said to Danny.

"Thanks," he replied as they exited the bar. He turned back to Evelyn. "Um, I was wondering if you'd gotten any letters from Rafe lately?"

"Yeah, I just got one the other day," she said. "Why?"

"Well, uh ... I don't know if I'm being nosy or what, but ... what did he say? I mean, how did he say he was doing over there?"

Evelyn looked at him carefully. She could tell that he was as concerned about Rafe's well-being as she was. He'd probably been worrying more lately also, just as she'd been. She wondered what Rafe said in his letters to him. "Uh, he said ... he said he's doing great," she said, not sure if she was really answering his question. She was, however, not telling the whole truth--while he was fine, what she was implying by saying that wasn't telling the whole story. "He said everything's fine over there. And ... you know how it is. He's just ... fine."

Danny looked at her for a moment. "Okay, thanks. Yeah, I was just wondering if, uh, if he'd told you anything in particular about flying over there. I just know a few bits and pieces, you know, and I'm just curious about that."

"Oh. Okay," she replied. She stood a little uncomfortably for a moment, wondering if she should talk to him about her recent apprehension about the goings-on in England and her fear for Rafe's safety. She figured she might as well leave well enough alone; besides, it was his birthday. There was no need to put this over his conscience if he'd already thought about it. "Well, I guess I'll see you around," she said finally.

"Yeah. Thanks for coming," he said, holding the door open for her.

"No problem," Evelyn replied. "Although I feel a bit sorry for you." She nodded back toward the other guys. "I don't think they're going to let you forget about this."

Danny laughed. "No, I don't think so."

"Bye," she said, walking out the door. She was barely halfway down the path between the bar and the road when she thought about their conversation. Danny had never asked her before, in so many words, about what Rafe put in his letters. He must have been really worried about something, like he had a feeling something was going to happen. And, truth be told, so did she.

... ... ...

I promise not all of the chapters will be this long!

The link to my Yahoo Group is now available in my profile, just click on My Homepage! Coming up next week, Chapter 5: Half a World Apart. Flashbacks to significant events in Danny's and Evelyn's pasts frame the action in Hawaii as Rafe's plane goes down in the English Channel.