by Kelly Stone Gamble
The storm was a day away, but the cold winds of its impending presence bit at Helen’s cheeks and brought tears to her eyes. She hurried across the tarmac and up the steps of the waiting transport turning one last time before boarding. A cold and gray December. Tomorrow everything changes.
She removed her coat and smoothed the skirt of her uniform before taking her seat and buckling in. The old plane would make two stops before landing in Los Angeles. There, she would board a refitted DC-3 for the duration of her journey. A new post, paradise for an Army nurse, and the beginning of a life she never thought possible.
There was one other passenger on the flight, a young Seabee named Hutchins. She had heard him talking on the phone in the terminal, a last goodbye to his wife, a promise to stay safe, as if fate had no say in the matter. Hutchins nodded as he sat down directly across from her and secured his harness.
On her last overseas tour, Helen had accepted that she would never have a life involving a husband and children. She dated, but the demands of her work made it difficult for a relationship of any kind to develop. She realized she could have only one commitment, and she bled green. When she had returned to the states, she re-upped for another four years, content to make the Army her life. She looked at the ring on her finger and smiled. It’s funny how quickly things can change.
Hutchins had pulled a photograph from his inside pocket and was looking at it in the dim interior light of the cargo plane. Helen suddenly felt empty, having no pictures of Frank. Christmas is coming, she thought, we’ll have pictures then.
Frank had been a patient at Bragg’s Station Hospital Two where she worked the night shift. A minor injury, followed by a major infection, had kept him in longer than expected. They spent many nights talking and discovered that they both had a passion for books over movies and also shared a love of big band music. After his release, he called her several times until she finally agreed to go out with him.
He was all Navy and would be shipping out soon. She was gung-ho Army and had no intention of it going any further than a few nights of fun. Frank, however, was not interested in anything short term and was determined to make it work. When he was shipped out, she had put in for a transfer to his station, knowing it was a highly sought-after post and her chances were slim. Fate intervened.
“Work or R & R?”
“Excuse me?” Helen said, startled from her thoughts by Hutchins’s voice. She spoke loudly, trying to overcome the noise of the twin-propeller engines that reverberated through the plane’s hollow metal interior.
“You going over for work or vacation?”
“Work. Schofield Barracks. I’m a Nurse.” Helen noticed he still held the picture in his hand.
Hutchins nodded. “You’re gonna love it. Not much action and the weather is always beautiful.”
She glanced over Hutchins’s shoulder and looked out the small window. The first flakes of winter were ash against the darkening sky. The storm was coming early. It was going to be a December no one would soon forget.
Helen turned back to Hutchins. “I report at oh-six-hundred on the eighth.”
He shook his head. “The eighth? Less than twenty-four hours after we land. You won’t even have time to hit the surf.”
Helen felt her cheeks warm. She did not reply.
Hutchins nodded his head. “Oh, I see. It’s not the surf you’re interested in. Is he Army?”
“Navy,” she said. She twisted the ring on her finger. “He’s on the Arizona.”
Hutchins glanced one last time at the picture in his hand. He pulled out his wallet and slid it carefully into a protective sleeve. He turned back to Helen and smiled.
“The Arizona? Finest ship in Pearl Harbor. He’s a lucky man.”
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