News From the Pacific

So far, Heddy has discovered a German man living in the abandoned house just down the beach. A new boy, Lester, has come to the island to stay with his aunt and uncle. Lester and Heddy share a kiss. Heddy's brother Willis has returned from the war and is haunted by what he has seen. All the while, Heddy takes solace in the fact that she can still talk to her deceased grandmother, Nonni. Now, the family waits while a hurricane hits the island.

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My daddy's hair is plastered to his forehead by the time he and Lester get back inside. Lester looks like he was just plucked out of the ocean. His clothes are dripping and he's shaking. But worse than that, there is a look of such pain on his face.

"Lester, what on earth has happened?" Momma swoops in and wraps the afghan she grabbed from the back of the chair around his shoulders.

He looks at her and opens his mouth. He doesn't say anything, just lets a heart wrenching sob out. He all but collapses into her right then and there.

"Lester, are your aunt and uncle alright?" Daddy asks. He's helping Momma guide him to the couch. "What on earth brought you out here in the middle of the storm?"

He pulls his thick rimmed glasses off and lets them fall to the floor. "My-my-my daddy,:" he says. "He's dead. They got his ship. He's g-gone," he says, his words trailing off into a sob.

Momma closes her eyes and pulls him against her. She wraps her arms around him tightly and rocks him like she did to me when Nonni passed. It didn't stop the hurt but I didn't feel alone.

Neither Willis nor I know what to say. Willis looks down at his hands clasped tightly in his lap and I just watch my momma rocking my best friend in her arms, whispering over and over, "It's going to be alright. I know it hurts, sweetheart."

After several minutes, Lester stops sobbing and a rhythmic sniffling and ragged breathing replace it. "She got a letter two weeks ago. She never showed it to me. He's been gone for two weeks and she never once told me. I found it in that hiding spot she has at the post office. Why wouldn't she tell me?" he whimpers.

Daddy shudders, then reaches over to rub Lester's shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe your momma didn't want her to." He tries to sound convincing but he doesn't. He and Momma exchange looks.

Lester swipes his wet forearm across his teary eyes. "I read the letter. Momma said for me to be strong. That my daddy would have wanted me to be strong." He no sooner gets the words out then another crying fit overtakes him.

Willis finally looks over at Lester, his own eyes red. "Lester, your daddy died a hero. Those navy men, they are some of the best. I'm sure your daddy was a hero, right to the end. You hear me, Lester? Be proud of that fact."

I can't say anything. All I can do is watch him, try to understand his pain, but I can't. I've got my whole family here with me. I look towards the kitchen and see her. Nonni is watching, her careworn face sad. "Another good man struck down by the devil's hand. This has to stop."

I stare at her, hoping she will be able to say something wise or tell me what to say. But she just looks at Lester and shakes her head.

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Momma, Daddy and Willis go into the kitchen to fix lunch. Lester is laying on the couch, the afghan draped over him. He's quiet, maybe asleep, but I can't tell.

"Heddy," he says. "You're so lucky."

"I know. I'm sorry about your daddy, Lester. I wish he didn't die."

"Me, too." He shifts on the couch so that he can look at me. "I just want to go home. That's all I want."

"I know." I wish there was something I could say to make him feel better. "You were awful brave to come out in the storm like this."

He pushes himself up on the couch so that he is sitting. "I couldn't look at her without wanting to do something bad. She knew about my daddy and didn't think to tell me. What makes a person be so mean?"

I shrug. I don't understand Mrs. Collette and I kind of hope I never do. There are some people in the world that are just ugly acting. They like to hurt others. Hitler is one of those, so is Mussolini. I used to think all Germans were mean like that, but not anymore, not since I met Artie. Maybe, Mrs. Collette isn't as bad as those two, but what makes what she did so awful, is that she did it to her own kin. Family should look out for each other.

Momma waits until Daddy lights a fire in the fireplace then stirs in a jar of canned vegetable soup in a cast iron pan. She stirs it, telling us stories about going to stay with her grandmother. She talks about getting chased by a snake when she went to use the outhouse. She kept talking and before long, even Lester was smiling a little bit.

For just a little while, Lester was right there with her running from the angry black snake. He wasn't a little boy who just lost his father. It was only for a few minutes but it was enough.

"Hey, Lester, how about a rematch?" Willis asks as he carries the box of checkers from the dining room into the living room.

Lester nods, a small smile on his lips.

And while the storm batters the island and the war batters the world, my house is a safe place, where we eat cheese sandwiches and vegetable soup around the fire.