For Danny and Sandra Walker, 1949 was a year of changes. And when they took their children to Tennessee to ring in 1950 with the McCawley's, there was so much to talk about and a new baby to show off.
It started off with the knowledge of Rafe's decision to fly again. Without telling Danny, he re-enlisted in the military as a reserve Air Force pilot late in 1948 and began the task of learning to fly jets. He received frequent updates throughout that year and at times Danny could sense his friends frustration. It was different than before because they'd gone through it together and this time Rafe was on his own. When Danny and Red learned to fly the new jets, they were able to do it together and he was thankful that he didn't have to go through the rigorous training by himself.
Rafe told Danny that his father helped him as much as he could, but not having flown for the Air Corps since the Great War, Tom wasn't sure how much help he actually was. Rafe also told him that Evelyn supported him, but he wasn't sure how wholehearted it was. She would never tell him that she wished he wouldn't fly, but he conveyed to Danny how she tried to hide her worry the first time that he actually got to go up in a jet. He wasn't flying solo yet, but it was coming and Danny suspected that Evelyn wasn't telling Rafe how she really felt.
He knew Sandra understood Evelyn's worry and talked to his wife about it. But he also knew that Rafe loved to fly and if anyone could master a jet plane, it was he.
Sandra's pregnancy progressed through the early months of 1949 without a hitch. It was a tremendous relief to them both that their second child hadn't had the problems that its older sister went through. By June though, Sandra declared that she was ready to have the baby. As their third anniversary approached, she told him in no uncertain terms that she did not want to spend their weekend at the Royal Hawaiian looking like a beached whale.
What was a fellow to do?
It wasn't up to him or to her when the baby came. He or she would come when they were ready and not before. Two weeks before their anniversary however, the baby seemed to decide that it was ready to come into the world.
It was an early Saturday morning and Danny was sleeping in. It was the one day that he was able to do do and Sandra usually took Annie out the backyard so the house would be quiet. This morning however, he heard his daughter crying and he opened his eyes. Sandra was next to him and her eyes were closed. She had lost some color in her face and Danny could see she was trying to relax.
"Is this it?" He took her hand and she gripped it hard.
"This is it." She answered without opening her eyes. "Could you check on Ann? I've been too afraid to move."
Danny leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Sure thing honey. Is it time to call the hospital?"
"Yes. The contractions started in the middle of the night and I think my water's getting ready to break." Sandra answered him matter of factly.
He sat up and felt that he was beginning to panic, but he knew he had to stay calm not only for his wife but also for his little girl. "The middle of the night? Why didn't you say somethin'?"
She finally opened her eyes and she smiled at him. "Because you would have done that." Sandra laughed softly in reference to his badly disguised panic. "And because there wasn't anything you could have done to help. But I would really appreciate it now if you would check on our daughter and call the hospital."
Danny smiled back at her. "Well Sandra, it looks like you won't be pregnant for our anniversary."
"Thank goodness." She answered as he got up and grabbed his bathrobe from the foot of the bed and went to check on Ann.
He opened her door and saw her standing at the edge of her crib in her sleeper and had the most pitiful look on her face. He could also see in spite of her sad look how much she looked like her mother. He walked over to the crib, pulled her out and held her until she calmed down. "What's all the fuss Annie? It's a happy day today for us 'cause your mama's gettin' ready to have your little brother or sister. How 'bout that?"
Ann looked at him with her red eyes and sighed.
Danny smiled. "That don't impress you much, does it?"
As he held his daughter, it didn't take him long to figure out why she'd been crying and set about changing her and getting her dressed. He figured Sandra had enough on her mind without having to worry about that too.
He carried Ann out to the living room and picked up the telephone receiver to call the hospital. The nurse he spoke with asked how Sandra was doing and when Danny told her, she informed him that she would call Sandra's doctor and have him meet them at the hospital.
After he hung up, he headed back to the bedroom to check on Sandra and she was dressed. "My water broke." She sighed.
"It's all right honey. I called the hospital and the doctor is goin' to meet us there." He reassured her.
She kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
He picked up her small suitcase that had sat by the bedroom door for the previous two weeks and followed her out to the living room. As best he could, he helped Sandra on with her coat and they left the house and walked to the car.
Everything seemed a dream to him after that and in no time at all they arrived at the hospital. Sandra was taken away and Danny was left standing alone with Ann in his arms.
He was directed down to the Fathers Waiting Room and settled into a seat with Ann on his lap. He smiled to himself and shook his head because he remembered the time when Rafe was in his position. His little son was settled in his lap as he'd waited for word about Evelyn when she'd gone into labor with Sarah.
"Any word yet?"
Danny looked toward the door and saw Red standing there. "We just got here, so it's goin' to be awhile."
"Did you call Rafe?"
Danny shook his head. "Didn't have time. I got Annie taken care of and Sandra was ready to go."
"I can go back to my quarters and call him if you want." Red offered.
"That's all right. I'll need to take Annie home later to feed her, so I'll call him then." He saw his friend smile. "What are you thinkin' about?"
"I was just thinking about how many times we've been here in the last six years. Twice for two of Rafe's kids and now the fourth time for your second."
He laughed. "I think every nurse here knows who we are."
"I just can't believe how much things have changed." He mused.
"It's all been for the better Red."
"I wouldn't argue with you about that Danny." He nodded in agreement as they settled in for the long wait.
*~*~*~*~*
It was finally over and they had their baby.
She never thought about how it would be having another baby. And maybe it was because she'd been through it before but all things considered, Sandra thought having her second child was easier.
Their third anniversary was spent at home that year because Sandra didn't want to leave her two-week-old daughter. Shelby Margaret Walker came into the world in what her mother thought was record time and been named for her father's home town while her middle name was in honor of her mother's mother.
Margaret O'Connell came out to help as she'd done with her first granddaughter and two weeks later when it came time for her to return to Ohio, Sandra was able to let her go without any trepidation. She was now the mother of two young girls and all the lessons that she learned from her firstborn, she applied to her second born.
That summer of 1949 was a tense one at Wheeler Air Force Base because Korea was becoming a serious issue. American troops had been pulled out of the south and the communists in the north were making noise about reunification.
As the girl of an Air Corps pilot, Sandra watched as Danny constantly trained when he hadn't been away on long missions. It was hard on her at the time because there was the constant worry that he might not come home. Now, as the wife of an Air Force pilot and the mother of his two young daughters it was harder because she didn't know what the future held for him.
Sandra put off marriage until the end of the war because she saw how hard it had been on Evelyn and she didn't want to go through that. It now appeared as though she might have to anyway if the situation escalated. Danny tried to assure her that war was not imminent and the possibility was remote at best. But as a military base, Wheeler had the obligation to be on the alert.
With that as a backdrop, the summer faded into fall and Ann had her second birthday. She was walking and had begun to run. That always scared the life out of Sandra because if she didn't keep a constant eye on her toddler, she would run. There was more than one occasion where Danny would have to catch her before she ran into the street or into the surf, when they happened to be at the beach.
They made it to Ohio for Thanksgiving that year and her father got to meet his newest granddaughter. Christmas and New Year's was spent with the McCawley's. Tom and Sarah got to see Shelby for the first time.
Sandra and Danny got to see Rafe and Evelyn's children at least once a year, but it always amazed her how fast Danny, Sarah and Joseph seemed to grow every time she saw them. Danny turned seven that September and Sarah's birthday was the day after his and she turned six. Joseph was all of three and a half having turned three the previous May, on Rafe and Evelyn's eighth anniversary.
That New Year's Eve long after the children had been put to bed, Danny and Sandra, Rafe and Evelyn and Tom and Sarah raised their glasses as the clock struck midnight and they said goodbye to the last year of the 1940's.
A new decade was before them and what 1950 would bring for Sandra and her family was anyone's guess.