“Well,” Will said, carefully. “I think she’d be really upset if something happened to you.” If he came home in a pine box like James.
“Will, if boys didn’t join up because of what their mothers thought, there wouldn’tbea U.S. Military.”
“But we’re not talking about the military. We’re talking about you.”
“Right.Me.” Finn puffed up, anger creeping into his voice. “Which means it’s my decision.”
Will held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I never said it wasn’t. It’s just that…”
“What?”
“It’s a decision that affects other people, not just you.”
“Mom can–”
“What about your sisters? What about Leena?” Will bit his tongue, told himself not to say it, then, unable to help it: “What about me?”
A smile broke across Finn’s face. “See, that’s the other part. You ought to join up with me.”
///
“I hope his mother tans his hide,” Will’s mother said later that night. “What’s he thinking? He’snot, that’s the thing. He’s not thinking at all.”
“He’s still got a while yet, Helen,” Will’s father said, a soothing hand on her arm. “He may change his mind. Elias will talk sense into him.”
“Elias?” She snorted. “Since when does he talk to anyone? The old drunk.”
“Helen.”
“Heisa drunk. And Finn’s an idiot to go running off and leave his mother and sisters with no real man at home to take care of them.”
Dan Maddox heaved a sigh. “I take it you have an opinion on the matter, darling.”
She sent him a dark look. “You’re not funny.”
Will ducked his head over his plate and decided not to tell them that earlier, when Finn said Will ought to join up too…a very small part of him wanted to say yes.
June 1947
Julia Murdoch drove a ’46 Chevy Fleetmaster that Finn had free use of. It was the muted yellow of a just-ripe banana and they both thought it was the ugliest damn car they’d ever seen. But it ran well, and it beat walking, so they didn’t take it for granted.
Will sat in the backseat, the third wheel as usual. He’d tried to beg off for the evening, let Finn and Leena have a proper date, just the two of them. But Finn had insisted he come along, and Leena had seemed eager too. So what could he do?
Leena twisted around and hooked her arms over the top of the front seat so she and Will were face-to-face. Her grin made his stomach cramp.
“Will,” she said, voice bright. “I wanted to tell you this before, but Finn thought you might not come along with us if I did.”
The cramp tightened, twisted, pushed upward toward his throat. He swallowed hard. “Tell me what?”
Leena’s eyes cut toward Finn – she caught her red lower lip between her teeth – and then came back. “This is a double date.”
“What?”
“My friend Mary’s waiting for us at the theater – oh Will!” she exclaimed when he made a face, “don’t say anything yet. Just wait. Mary’s the nicest girl and I think you two will get on great. Just wait ‘til you see her, okay? Then you can fuss at me all you want.”
Will let out a deep, shaky breath and tried to smooth his collar down. “Wish you’d told me,” he grumbled. “I’da dressed better.” He glanced up and caught Finn’s smiling gaze in the rearview mirror.
“Pal,” Finn said, laughing, “you couldn’t dress better if your life depended on it.”
