Two Halves: Chapter IV

Chapter IV: Two Wars

Amy shut her bedroom door and sighed. It was the first Sunday in December and the house was quiet except for the winter storm howling outside. The house tended to be fairly quiet most days since Ruth hardly was home during the day. Her dad, however, had tried to be more present ever since their talk in October when Amy had told him she planned to go to California after graduation. It was as if he was trying to show her how good of a parent he actually was by being more present physically. All of his attempts were too little, too late for her though. He might sit at the dinner table more often with her but they sat in silence. Hardly any conversation beyond politeness passed between them. She did appreciate the effort he was putting in but she had not changed her mind. If anything, the increasing absence of Ruth made her want to leave sooner. The house inside was growing as cold in social interaction as the December storm was making it miserable outside.

She had braved the cold and wind to attend church and just returned home. At one time, both her and Ruth would go to Sunday morning service but now she attended all by herself. Although she really hated going. She could feel everyone’s judgment masked behind pitying eyes. For being such fine Christian folk, they all seemed to know how Ruth spent her Saturday nights. And of course, they all knew about her dad. That was no secret in such a tight-knit community of church-goers. While Amy still attended church on Sunday, she would slip in a little late and leave a little early to avoid any well-wishing do-gooders in the congregation sharing useless platitudes and mini-sermons.

She laid down on her bed and pulled out Pete’s most recent letter. Even though she just received it yesterday, she had already read it several times.

“Dearest Amy,” he wrote. “Thanksgiving in Hawaii was definitely one for the books! While I have never had a big fancy Thanksgiving growing up in the orphanage, most of the men here have. One in particular, Petty Officer Marc Dennis Smith, who, because of his initials, has earned the nickname Doc (MD), couldn’t let go of the idea of having a turkey feast. He wrangled the new cook, Lewey (Lewiston on his birth certificate) into fixing up some type of dinner for the men here. Since I had spent so much time in the kitchen helping out the former cook I offered to help Lewey fix the holiday meal. I’m wishing I hadn’t done that.

“First off, Lewey got it into his thick skull that the menu needed to be more Hawaii based and less traditional Americana based. So, he chose for a kalua pig instead of roasted turkey. Before you run to the library and learn more about it than me, I’ll just tell you that kalua is the type of cooking. The pork is cooked in a ground oven and is a specialty here. People here have been cooking this way since they first set foot on these islands probably. Which just means they have perfected it. I have had my share of kalua cook-outs and it is one of the things I am looking most forward to sharing with you. Now, let me tell you about the pigs Lewey wanted for this feast. They are not tiny ones. No, they are big. Imagine a small horse and you’ll be closer in size to what I am talking about. Lewey barely stands 5 feet tall. I’m pretty sure he could have ridden one of those beasts. And who do you think got the job of obtaining the pigs? None other than yours truly. The city boy who has never set one foot on any type of farm. The guy who has only seen stray dogs and cats and of course, rats.

“I tracked down a farmer that would sell me the beasts but I had to come and get them. Looking back, I can see it was a devious plan of this old farmer to see an American sailor roll around in the pen with his precious pigs. Amy, this city boy was given the responsibility of getting not one, not two, but actually five large live pigs into a truck. You can imagine what a sight it was to see me attempting this feat of magnificent proportions. I would probably still be there wrangling, wrestling, and pleading with these beasts if the farmer’s daughter hadn’t returned home and taken pity on me. She taught me a trick and showed me how to get them loaded in the truck lickety-split! I could not thank her enough for her mercy on me.

“The kicker of that story is, by the time I got the pigs to the ship, Doc had caught wind of Lewey’s plan and vetoed it. ‘Absolutely not,’ he declared. ‘The men are going to have a traditional Thanksgiving away from home.’ Which meant turkeys. Luckily, he stopped it before any slaughter began. Guess who got to drive back to the farmer’s and exchange the pigs for turkeys? Yep, me again. This time I took several men with me and let them get the fowl all loaded up in the truck because I have sworn off all live animal contact.

“In the end, we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. Probably the best one I have ever had. I also think it will be quite some time before I can eat any kind of pork again. I mean, now that I have been in their home and in such close contact (much closer than I wanted to be), I can’t really bring myself to eat any pork.”

Amy pictured Pete trying to load all those pigs into the truck and laughed. She heard the living room door close and voices talking. It was Ruth. Her sister was home. All the more reason for her to stay in her bedroom. With both her dad and Ruth at home, she expected the house was not going to be quiet much longer.

She was right. The voices began to elevate in volume. There was a third voice that she didn’t recognize occasionally in the mix. When she couldn’t concentrate on the letter any longer, she ventured out to see what was going on.

Ruth was in the living room standing next to a soldier. Their dad was sitting in his chair. The radio was on. It was a lot of commotion and noise for Amy.

“I don’t care what you say,” Ruth said to their dad in a raised voice. Amy assumed their dad was too stubborn to turn the radio down. Ruth put a hand on the soldier’s chest. “We are in love. I didn’t come for your blessing, I only came to tell you.” Ruth looked over and saw Amy. Her face changed to her trademark smile. “Amy,” she said rushing over. “I have the best news! You are just going to die when I tell you.” Instead of explaining, she held up her left hand. There on her ring finger was a diamond ring. Or something that resembled a diamond ring.

Amy grabbed her hand for a closer look. Her jaw dropped open. “Are you saying…”

“I’m engaged!” Ruth said excitedly.

Amy looked at her sister and then over to the soldier who stood nervously shifting his weight between his legs.

He smiled, “Hi-ya sis,” he extended his hand toward her, “you must be the Amy I’ve heard so much about.”

She couldn’t reply likewise so she didn’t say anything.

“You’re too young,” their dad replied.

“I’m not that young,” Ruth said. “I’m only a year younger than mom was when she married you.”

“Hmph,” their dad replied and folded his arms.

Ruth ignored their dad and continued talking to Amy. “Don’t be rude, Amy. This is my fiancée Freddy.”

Amy shook her head and realized Freddy’s hand was still extended toward her. “Sorry, I’m just a bit surprised.” She shook his hand and said, “I’m Amy.”

Ruth laughed and he smiled nervously. “I’m Frederick McCallister,” he replied.

“Frederick sounds so formal and stuffy though. Just call him Freddy,” Ruth said.

Amy looked at him and wondered if he actually preferred Freddy or Frederick.

“We are getting married in the courthouse next Saturday,” Ruth said. “I do hope you can come. You are my maid of honor, after all.”

“That is quick,” Amy said slowly and then looked at Ruth whose face flashed a fleeting look of irritation and looked at their dad. “But you are my sister. Of course, I will be there for your wedding!”

Ruth hugged her tightly but not long. “Oh good! That’s settled. We are off to make our plans. There is just so much to do.” She looked over at their dad who seemed to be doing his best not to pay much attention to what was going on. “You’re invited, too, old man. If you can stay out of the bar that long.”

Amy felt that insult just as keenly as if it was aimed at her. Granted, there were years of pain that went into that jab but really, he had been trying a little harder for the past month. He wasn’t at the bar every day anymore. Although Amy was pretty sure he was heading there after this little visit. To calm the sudden anxiety she was feeling, she pulled the half-dollar out of her pocket and started rubbing it between her fingers.

And then just like that, Ruth and Freddy were out the door and Amy and her father in the room. She looked at her dad and suddenly could see her future for the next year and a half. All this time, she thought she had been the buffer between Ruth and her dad. She realized, Ruth had deflected the scrutiny and attention from her. Ruth had been her buffer and now she was leaving. Somehow the last year and a half suddenly stretched out and felt like forever.

Amy ran out after Ruth and banged on the car window. “Please,” she begged. “Don’t leave me.”

For the first time, Ruth’s face sincerely softened as she looked at her sister. She got out of the car and hugged Amy. “I’m sorry, kid. I really am. What can I say? Love calls.” she got back in the car and nodded toward Freddy. Amy watched as they drove away. When the car turned the corner down the street and disappeared she could feel the bitter wind prickling her skin. The wind reminded her of its presence. When she couldn’t take the cold anymore, she turned and walked back into the house.

She closed the front door and leaned back on it.

Her dad looked up at her and she could see his face was marked with sadness. He suddenly seemed so old.

“We’ll be fine,” she said though she was really trying to convince herself.

“I’m so sorry,” he said meekly.

It was unusual for him to show remorse over Ruth’s actions. He usually blamed anything and everything but himself for his daughter’s behavior. It was never his fault.

But then Amy realized he was listening to the radio. It was a news announcement. She started hearing certain phrases “Japan…attack…Pearl Harbor.” When she realized what was being said, she instinctively reached into her pocket to pull out the dollar bill but her pocket was empty. She remembered she had it in her hand when she ran out after Ruth. It must have slipped from her grasp when she banged on the window. She opened the door but knew it was useless. If she dropped it outside it was probably in the next county by now. She slowly closed the door. All at once the events of the last few minutes hit her and she backed up to the door. She lost her sister. She lost her half of the dollar bill. And she may have lost Pete. Those three thoughts became too heavy for her to process and she slid down to the floor and began to sob. Only one word came out of her mouth, “Pete!”