Posted by hummingbird on 6/9/2014, 8:31 am VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Chapter Twenty-One
On the evening of June 6th, Lena burst through the swinging door to the kitchen of the restaurant excited and out of breath.
“Turn on the radio back here!” she told Rita. “The guys out front are listening to George Hicks radio broadcast...it was recorded live at the front...hurry!”
Rita quickly dropped her spoon and wiped her hands before turning on Sal’s old radio. It wasn’t the best in the world, but they could still hear the voice of George Hicks who had broadcast live from the USS Ancon that morning. She, Lena, and Nora listened intently.
"...you see the ships lying in all directions, just like black shadows on the gray sky," he described to his listeners. "Now planes are going overhead...heavy fire now behind us...bombs bursting on the shore and along the convoys..."
As Hicks described the scene he was witnessing, a nation tuned in could hear the sounds of heavy bombardment, sirens, low-flying planes, and shouting. The girls stood listening, fear in their hearts. They knew the men they loved were there...that Sal, Mick, and Bo were involved in that very battle…
The reality was too much for Nora. “Please turn it off,” she said quietly. Rita felt the same. Only Lena wanted to hear more. She caught what she could out in the restaurant while she waited tables that night.
* * * * * * *
Nora couldn’t wait until closing time...she was so tired. When the last of the dishes were dried and put away, Nora bid the girls goodnight and made her way up the back stairs to her apartment.
She ran a tubful of hot water and let her body soak awhile. She couldn’t help thinking about that radio broadcast...it brought the war to their back doors and made it seem more real.
She thought about Bo...wondered how he was...hoped he was alright. As she pondered these things, the tears started flowing again.
Stop it, Nora, she told herself. Tears won't change anything. You have to stay strong...
But in spite of her reprimands, the tears flowed unbidden down her cheeks.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her lately. She cried over the tiniest things. She couldn’t believe she cried the other day when the shoe salesmen told her that they didn’t have the shoe she liked in her size. She cried when she broke a glass she was drying at the restaurant. She cried when she spilled her breakfast juice all over the table yesterday. She knew she was just worried and feeling stressed, but it was ridiculous.
I know what's wrong with me...it's nearing that time of the month. I always get weepy like this around my period...and now, with Bo gone, I am just weepy anyway...
And she was so tired! All of the time! She sat down after work on Monday and fell asleep in her chair. She didn’t wake up until bedtime, so she just stumbled to bed and slept the rest of the night away. She looked at the sleep issue as a blessing in disguise...at least she wasn’t awake half the night missing Bo. However, she wouldn’t go to bed without eating anything again as it made her sick the next morning. She arrived at the library late and feeling positively wretched!
Nora climbed out of the tub, dried herself, and threw on some cozy pajamas. She padded to the kitchen for a glass of milk and a sandwich. As she ate, she glanced up at the calendar.
When is this cycle due anyway? I can't wait to get it over with. Then maybe I'll feel human again.
She flipped the calendar back to May. She knew she had her period just a week or so before their wedding on May 12th. Nothing was noted for May. She turned back to April...her last cycle had started at the end of April, the 24th.
I'm way overdue. That's strange, she thought as her periods usually came like clockwork.
As the week wore on, she found herself queasy almost every morning...Friday morning found her face to face with the toilet bowl. She made an appointment with a doctor on Friday afternoon where her suspicions were confirmed.
“Mrs. Buchanan,” the doctor said after her examination, “Congratulations! Looks like you’re expecting a baby...due about mid-February. Maybe you and your husband will get a tiny valentine. I’m very happy for you.”
Nora thanked him and caught a cab home. She couldn’t stop smiling.
We're having a baby...we're having a baby!... she told herself over and over again. She couldn’t believe it! And she couldn’t wait to get home and write a letter to Bo!