Rafe had a few questions for his best friend.
He and Evelyn had been so happy for Danny and Sandra that they had not realized that Danny seemed to have held on to the ring for a few weeks before popping the question.
Evelyn had made that observation the night before as they ate dinner and discussed the engagement. "He either held on to it, or they kept it a secret."
"Honey, they don't have to tell us everythin'."
"Oh I know that. But after wanting us to see the ring and then not hearing anything from him, I just wonder why?"
He did too and he asked Danny to meet him at the Hula-La when he'd finished for the day. It had been awhile since they'd been there and he figured it was the one place they could talk without being interrupted. The bartender had set him up with a bourbon and soda and he waited at a table. He'd never developed a taste for the more exotic drinks that seemed to be all the rage with many of the pilots and he couldn't understand the attraction.
When he'd called Evelyn from the base to tell her of his plans, she told him she'd go ahead and feed the kids and eat with him when he got home. "You don't need to do that."
"I know, so don't argue."
He grinned. "Yes ma'am."
Maybe it was because he was getting older or maybe it was that he had a family or both, but Rafe had never really cared for the Hula-La. It was a place where young, unattached pilots went to meet up with other pilots to swap stories or to cozy up to the women who frequented the place. He'd heard other pilots talk about it and he'd even come with Danny, Red and Gooz on occasion when he would much rather have been at home with his wife and his kids. He laughed to himself over that one. What ever happened to the cocky pilot that Evelyn had once accused him of being?
He hadn't heard Danny come into the bar or order himself a drink and it was only when Rafe looked up to see him grinning, that he pulled himself out of his reverie. "What are you grinnin' at?"
"You must be thinkin' about Evelyn because you always get this stupid look on your face." And he laughed.
Rafe answered with a laugh of his own. "Wait until you and Sandra are married for awhile, you'll get a stupid look on your face too."
Danny put his drink on the table and sat down across from Rafe. "All right Rafe I'm here. What's so important?"
"Evelyn and I would like to know if you've been keepin' this engagement a secret or did you just pop the question to her?"
He smiled. "So much for not pressin' me for answers."
"I know we've been keepin' to ourselves the last few weeks, but I didn't want you thinkin' we weren't interested in what was goin' on in your life."
"You and Evelyn have had more important things on your mind and I didn't know how to tell you I'd lost my nerve, at first."
"What happened?" Rafe looked at Danny with concern.
Danny sighed. "I had it all figured out. I was goin' to get into my best dress uniform, take her to the nicest restaurant in Oahu and pop the question over a glass of champagne."
"You got cold feet." He said matter of factly.
"Yea. I got into my uniform, had her ring in my pocket and I was headed for the door. Then suddenly I realized what I was about to do and wasn't sure if I was doin' the right thing." Danny sighed again.
"What did you do?"
"I broke our date." He answered and ran a hand through his hair.
Rafe was waiting for the other shoe to drop. "What ain't you tellin' me Danny?"
"You ain't goin' to like it."
"What ain't you tellin' me?" He repeated.
"I did exactly what I shouldn't have done, I avoided her."
"Oh hell Danny, you didn't."
"I did. Rafe, I was so embarrassed for bein' too scared to ask her what I'd been wantin' to ask for such a long time and I didn't know how to explain it to her."
"Well, you must have figured it out because you're engaged now."
Danny smiled. "I've got Sandra to thank for that. After a month of my avoidin' her and not takin' her telephone calls she came and found me at the base. She told me she'd had enough of my behavin' like an ass and wanted to know why."
It was hard for Rafe to imagine Sandra calling Danny an ass and tried not to laugh. "She had you pegged didn't she?"
"She did. So instead of my takin' her out to the nicest restaurant in Oahu I went back to the barracks, got her ring and proposed over a cup of coffee at the Black Cat."
This time Rafe did laugh. "Very romantic Danny."
"That's why I took her out to dinner last night, to make up for my lousy proposal." He grinned.
"We're just so damn happy for you both."
"Thanks Rafe. Now that you know all about my love life, how are you doin'?"
He knew what Danny was asking. "A little scared. There's no guarantee that she won't lose this one and I worry what that might do to her if she does."
"What about you? Don't you think Evelyn worries how it would affect you?"
"This is different though Danny. Evelyn already lost a baby once, I just don't want to see that happen to her again." Rafe ran a hand through his own hair in worry.
"You can't think that way Rafe. I'd like to believe it's goin' to be smooth sailin' from here on in. The damn war is finally over, you and Evelyn are goin' to have another baby and Sandra wants to marry me. It can't get much better than that." And he reached across the table to clap his friend on the shoulder.
Rafe smiled. "When you put it that way, how can I argue?"
"You can't. So let's finish these drinks and get out of here." Danny answered.
When Rafe walked into the house twenty minutes later, Evelyn met him at the front door with a kiss and a question. "Well, what did he say?"
"I'll tell you while we eat, I'm starvin'." He told her as he put his arm around her and steered her toward the kitchen to share a late supper with his wife.