Another Encounter

Charlie was on a mission early the next morning. He had to make all the arrangements for a dinner party and a Bridge game afterwards for that evening. He held no thoughts about the feisty motor pool driver who had slapped his face.

Emily was also awake fairly early. She had had breakfast in the nearby Mess Hall. Now she was sitting near the receptionist who assigned the drivers.

Charlie was in such a hurry he had decided to go to the motor pool office himself to find a driver for the day. He immediately saw Emily sitting there. And she saw him and thought, I hope Sheila is assigned to him.

That wasn't to be. Sheila was on call. Emily heard her assignment.

"Emily, take Commander Madison over to Hendon airport."

Reluctantly, she rose from her chair and met Charlie at the door. Their eyes brushed a gaze. But neither spoke. Although Charlie was polite; he opened the door for Emily and allowed her to exit first. And she performed her duty by opening the back door of her car for him.

As she pulled away onto the street, she asked. "Where specifically to you need to go at the airport?"

"The joint forces depot. I need to pick up some groceries."

Emily was rather surprised. She had no idea of Charlie's duties. She drove on until she came to the guarded entrance to the depot. Charlie showed his Identification Card to the guard and heard him ask a question.

"Is Lieutenant Hayworth still Navy Supply Officer here?"

"No, sir. There's a Lieutenant Wade there now, sir."

"Thank you. Miss Barham, the entrance to the warehouse is straight ahead. I'll be a few minutes."

Emily drove to this large building and parked. Charlie didn't wait for her to open his door. He was in a hurry. He found Lieutenant Wade.

Charlie spoke to him as if he was his long lost friend. He even used his best imitation of speech spoken in the southern states of America, a southern drawl. It elicited a comment from the young man.

"You're quite a dog-robber, ain't you, Madison?"

"Just let me tell you. My admiral sets the best table in the European theater of operations including the Supreme Commander. Everything must be the best you have, prime everything. If you fink on me you could end up at the North Pole like the last supply officer did. Do you get my drift?"

"I understand you commander. If you have that sweet young thing drive around to the dock, we'll have the Buick loaded in no time."

"You're a quick learner Lieutenant. Here's my list for today."

Charlie gave the young Lieutenant a pat on the back as he hurried to the car. He once again entered the car without assistance from Emily. She heard.

"Miss Barham, drive to the rear of the depot. The men will load the car."

Emily stopped the car where she saw several crates stacked high. She couldn't help but ask.

"Commander, is all this going to fit in the car?"

"The men will find a way. You'll see."

And he was right. After the trunk was full, the men sat other crates in the back seat and another crate full of oranges was placed in the front seat beside Emily.

"See, Miss Barham, everything fit. My admiral deserves to be well-fed while he waits for the invasion of Europe to begin."

"I never knew there was going to be an invasion of Europe."

"That's good you don't know. It means it's a well-kept secret. Try to drive carefully. I don't want any of the eggs to crack."

"I'll do my best, commander."

Emily did drive slower than usual. She received directions from Charlie as they approached the hotel.

"Miss Barham, you need to park in the rear of the hotel. I believe there's an alley back there."

Charlie was correct. There were several sailors waiting with carts to take the food to the admiral's suite. After all the crates had been unloaded, Emily heard.

"Miss Barham, drive around front and wait. I may need you later."

"I'll be there."

While she waited, she had thoughts about Charlie. He may be worth knowing. Little did she know she would have that opportunity.

Charlie was sitting on a window seat in a room full of all kinds of dresses and perfumes. He was desperate to find another Bridge player for that evening. His eyes gazed out the window. He saw Emily pacing beside her car with her log in her hand.

Perfect, it's worth a try. He thought.

Charlie thought that perhaps pity would give him an affirmative answer to his question. He borrowed a walking cane and pretended to limp.

Emily saw through his charade; she turned down his request to have dinner and play Bridge with the Admiral. Charlie signed her log and she began to walk away.

Charlie felt he needed to respond. "You're something of a goody-two-shoe."

Emily stopped and turned to look at him with wide eyes of surprise. After a slight pause her face softened and Charlie heard.

"I don't mean to be." Words Emily spoke as she observed his face. His face didn't show anger. It showed a small pleasant smile. Perhaps his smile told her something more.

And Charlie walked away with a slight lowering of his head wondering why he had been rejected. Something he wasn't accustomed to; he never had been rejected by anyone before. He never showed his feelings to anyone. He carried on.

For Emily, being called a goody-two-shoe had made her think, maybe it was time to shed her mantel of grief and begin to enjoy life again. She had lost her father at the end of World War One, her brother from the German raids on England and a man she had married shortly before he joined the military.

Emily returned to the dormitory styled room for all the ladies. She took off her jacket and her manly tie and sat on her bed.

She observed the young woman in the bed next to her. "What on earth are you doing to your hair?"

"Dyeing it red, love. Charlie asked me to. He invited me to his party tonight."

"I was invited too."

"And you should go, it would cheer you up. You can go to a room in Charlie's suite and find you a dress to wear."

"If I decide to go, I have my own dress to wear. Charlie also asked me to complete a foursome for Bridge."

"That's all the more the reason you should go."

"Maybe I'll surprise you and Charlie."

"That's the spirit."

Emily still couldn't believe Sheila was dyeing her hair red for the occasion, but when she saw the finished product, she looked very attractive. And her dress with the pearl and sequin bodice looked lovely on her.

Sheila left before Emily had dressed and fixed her hair in a fuller style. The building with the motor pool wasn't far from Charlie's hotel. It was a lovely late afternoon to walk there; Emily arrived shortly before five-thirty.

Her entrance into the loud and rowdy party room did not go unnoticed. Charlie was completely stunned by her beauty. There she was in an all-black dress with a deep V-neck which didn't show but a tiny part of her bosom. She was immediately whisked away by a male guest. Charlie went to be the gallant sailor.

"Allow me sir to greet my date."

The man didn't make a fuss; he found another girl to hit on.

"So, I'm your date, Commander. I didn't notice your limp. Did it go away miraculously?"

"I never had a limp. I thought if you pitied me you would come to my party. What made you come?"

"Sheila convinced me. And I wanted to ask you a question. Do you have a girl?"

"I would be flip, Miss Barham, but I'll tell it like it is. No, but maybe I do now. Are you attached?"

"No, I'm only little old me searching for someone to rescue my heart."

"Maybe we can explore that notion later; right now I must move dinner along. The Admiral wants two hours to play Bridge. You should fix your plate; I must tell you someone put avocados on the menu. I thought it was an odd choice.

"But I'm sure the steak will be nice and tender; you can probably cut it with your fork. I must circulate; holler if you need me. I'll come running."

Emily smiled as she watched Charlie play the role of host which he did quite well. The last guest had been seen to the door. The dirty dishes had been cleared away. And the card table had been prepared for the foursome. Emily wasn't partnered with Admiral Jessup, Charlie was. Her partner was General William Hallerton or Willie as the admiral called him.

Charlie was glad he wasn't sitting across from Emily; he had enough temptation not to stare out of the corner of his left eye at her. Now he couldn't wait for the game to be over.

The General hastened its ending by standing and peering over Charlie's shoulder. He wasn't really looking his cards he was standing to stretch his legs and to refute the Admiral's request for more Navy involvement in this event called D-Day. Emily was able to win the game for her and the general.

His car was waiting for him. Admiral Jessup had gone on to his room; he wasn't there to say goodbye to the other officers.

Charlie made eye contact with Emily. "Thank you for being so understanding. Do you need someone to walk you down?"

"No, Commander, I can see myself down. I think you need to tend to the Admiral; he seems disturbed about something. I had a lovely time. I hope you will ask me again."

"You bet I will and thank you again for being so understanding."

Charlie watched Emily leave the suite and hurried to the Admiral. She was right. First he told Charlie what he presumed would happen to the navy after the war was over. He believed it would be downsized.

Charlie heard. "What can make them change their minds? I must think of something. I've got the darnedest headache because of all this."

"I'll fix you a drink sir."

The Admiral entered the tub room rambling. Charlie heard phrases like, "Sure, George sure, support that peanut, the Chinese and the communist, murderers, murderers."

These phrases should have given Charlie a clue something was wrong with him. The Admiral shoved the door closed and Charlie set his drink on his bedside table. He went on to his bedroom. His mind thought his eyes had deceived him.