Navy Girl
Chapter Eight
Time froze for a moment as Miranda stared at the paper in her hands. It fell to the ground as Miranda hugged Danny, holding him in her arms. He pressed his head into her shoulder as his shook, and she knew that he was crying. "Danny, Danny, it's okay, it's okay," she said, holding his face in her hands. She brushed his tears away gently and he smiled, cupping his own hands around her face and brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes as they welled with tears. "I'm so happy!" he sobbed.
"Oh, Danny," Miranda said, smiling. "When's he coming in?"
"On the seven o clock train," he said. "Why don't you meet us at the Hula House?"
"Okay," she said. Then she looked around. "You better go. I'll see you tonight."
"See you," he said, waving at her as he jogged down the hallway and around the corner. Miranda leaned back against the wall, feeling very happy.
***
The hours crawled by as Miranda went through her daily routine. She missed every target in machine gun practice, and her commanding officer yelled at her for not being focused. She was grateful for it to be over.
Five o clock rolled around and Miranda went to her closet-like room. Miranda looked around it wistfully. The green cot was covered with an ugly army blanket, and that was the only piece of furniture in the room. She looked out the porthole across the harbor, seeing the battleship Arizona docked beside them.
Miranda reached onto her cot and grabbed the sandwich she had saved from lunch, knowing that she would be skipping dinner. She ate it quickly and then changed her clothes, touching the pair of pants that Rafe had thrown her when they first docked at Pearl Harbor. She laughed.
But as seven o clock drew nearer, a nervous feeling clawed in her stomach. What if it was awkward, or if Rafe had changed? They had had such a comfortable friendship before. But there was nothing that could be done. Miranda got to the Hula House five minutes before seven and joined the group of Rafe's friends waiting at the bar. Red nervously sipped a beer, listening silently to Gooz chattering away beside him. The group stood out in their brightly colored shirts that waved in the wind coming off the ocean. Miranda tapped her fingernails against the polished wood of the bar and watched the clock that hung on the wall above the makeshift memorial. Someone had taken Rafe's picture down from the wall. The tack was still there, under the words 'Killed in Action.' A few other pictures hung around the now empty spot on the wall.
At half past seven, Gooz slammed his hand down on the bar; making the two empty glasses in front of Red jump. "Where are they?" he said. Red drained the last drop of beer from one of the glasses.
"Maybe the train was late," he offered.
"Maybe he really was killed," said Joe, earning dirty looks from the other pilots and Miranda.
"Maybe he decided not to come back," Anthony said.
"Or maybe, just the traffic was bad."
Miranda whirled around in her seat. Rafe was standing there, right next to her! She jumped off and hugged him, getting crushed by the other pilots joining in. Danny laughed, standing off the side, his hands in his pockets. Miranda disentangled herself from the knot of hula shirt-clad pilots and went over to Danny. He kissed her cheek and looked fondly at his friends, all laughing and patting Rafe on the back. Gooz took off his shirt and tossed it to Rafe, who put it on. People began asking him questions all at once. Rafe raised his hands for silence.
"How is he?" Miranda asked Danny, not wanting to compete with the rest of the curious men. Danny shrugged and smiled.
"He's Rafe," he said, laughing. "No, he's just a little shook up, and very tired." He looked over to Rafe and caught his gaze. Rafe waved at Miranda and winked and grinned at Danny. He took Miranda's hand and they went walking onto the beach, talking about small things that didn't matter. The waves crashed onto the beach, making a roaring sound. Miranda left her shoes in the sand and soon Danny took his off too.
"You know, Miranda," he said after they walked for a little while in silence, "knowing you has made being in the Navy worthwhile. I've always wanted to be a pilot and all, but…" Danny shrugged and smiled at Miranda, a bit lost for words. "You know…"
Miranda grinned. Cheers from the Hula House floated over to them. Danny cleared his throat.
"Miranda, I…well…um…"
"Stop it, Danny, you're sounding like Red."
"Uh…"
"Spit it out!"
Danny got down on his knees in the sand, holding Miranda's hands and looking up at her. "Miranda, will you marry me?"
Miranda gaped down at him for a moment as all the happy, confused, ecstatic feelings she'd ever had clawed their way up her vocal cords and forced themselves out in one loud, "yes!" Danny picked her up and swung her around on the sand, her skirt flying out behind her. Then he set her down and their lips met in a frantic, passionate kiss.
Sirens wailed in the distance and the world came crashing down on the two of them. They heard shouts in the distance, and their kiss ended as the two gazed curiously towards the Hula House. They ran back, holding hands tightly.
MPs swarmed around the place, holding machine guns. People spilled out of the front and back entrances, throwing punches and running away. Trucks with the words Military Police stamped on the doors were parked haphazardly around the Hula House. A group of men in Navy uniforms ran past them.
Rafe burst out the door and stumbled down the stairs towards Danny and Miranda. "Fight…" he gasped.
"Danny, I have to go, if Captain Smith gets wind that I was here, there'd be hell to pay. I love you," she said, kissing him quickly. Danny and Rafe jumped into a car and drove off as Miranda ran down the beach towards the harbor. She saw Steve running in the same direction.
"Hey, Steve!" she called, slowing down as he caught up to her. "Were you there?" she asked. Steve nodded. "What happened?'
Steve shrugged. "I dunno, people just started punching. If Captain Smith finds out…" he said, shaking his head.
"I know," said Miranda. "Let's get out of here." They ran towards the dock and scurried silently down the empty halls. "Oh, and guess what!" Miranda whispered through her half-shut door. "I'm engaged! To Danny!"
Steve smiled and nodded as he went to his own barracks, and Miranda shut the door and went to bed.
***
"What the hell"- Miranda said, rubbing her eyes. Weak morning sunlight strained through the porthole, casting a circle of light into the room. She looked at her watch. It read 7:54 AM. "The Navy doesn't do practice on Sundays," she realized, almost falling back to sleep.
And she would have, had not an explosion rocked the boat at that very moment.