Forget Me Not, Books I, II and III

Friends and Lovers

"Oh my God," Teddi said through a dry gasp.

Calvin cursed loudly as the voice on the radio changed from the distant choppy sounding man to the clear booming voice of the local station announcer.

"Shh." Teddi frowned, hanging on the announcer's words.

"We are sorry, ladies and gentlemen. Our contact from KTU Honolulu has broken the line for an emergency call. But you heard right. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor and have effectively declared war on the United States."

Calvin strode over to the radio and switched it off. "I can't believe this."

"What did you do that for?"

"I don't need to hear any more. You heard enough, didn't you? We're under attack. We're at war. Next, we'll be fighting those Nazi bastards. I for one can't wait to get over there and rip off..."

"Calvin!"

He sighed, the crease between his brow never dissipating, as he moved in front of her and pulled her to her feet and into a hug. "I'm sorry, Teddi."

"Please, don't do anything stupid, Calvin," she said, sniffling into his shoulder.

"Teddi, this is a war. It's bigger than you or me."

She pushed away from him, then clutched the material of his shirt in her fists. "Is this your way of getting respect or something?"

"What?"

"Who cares what people think of you?"

"I care. And it's not about me. "

"No! I couldn't stand it. You promised you'd stay with me." A slow tear began a trail down her cheek as her eyes searched his in desperation. "Didn't you?"

He placed his lips on her forehead and whispered, "Yes, I did."

But it wasn't Calvin's promise to keep. The next day, they sat together in Teddi's living room and listened to President Roosevelt announce to the country that the United States had declared war on Japan. Three days after that Hitler and his Nazi Party declared war with the U.S.

By the end of winter—March 19, 1942, to be exact—Calvin found himself woefully walking toward Ben Holliday's house with a goodbye to give and some news to break.

Before he had a chance to step on to the Holliday front porch, Elizabeth Donovan's voice cut through his somber haze from her property, just next door. "They left for the train a short while ago," she said.

Calvin startled momentarily until his eyes came to rest upon Mrs. Donovan nursing a cup of tea on the front porch swing and wearing an old but very fine housecoat to shield herself from the afternoon chill.

"Theodora is with them."

"Thank you," he sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets, trying to decide if he should run to the station. He really wanted to say goodbye to Ben. He'd promised Teddi he would, and he had a few things to say to his old friend before he went off to face the unknown.

Calvin's eyes shifted back toward the Donovan porch to see Teddi's grandmother gesturing him to come closer with a light flick of her wrist. As much as Calvin wanted to see Ben, he was curious about what she might have to say—and he really was not interested in returning to her bad side.

Calvin moved in front of the tall structure of the house, a place that no longer seemed as powerful and daunting as it had to him in the past. "He looked very brave, the Holliday boy," she said.

"I'm sure he did," he replied when he finally reached the top step of the porch.

Mrs. Donovan put her cup of tea aside, her usually stoic expression melting into a somewhat contemplative countenance. "Still," she said, "he did not want to go. I could see his fear. It reminded me of my son Richard the morning he and his brother left to enlist. They were both married at the time. Terrance had a little girl. Couldn't have been more than two years old. I rarely got to see her—Liza. They named her after me. I was very flattered though I never let on." She expelled a rather ironic chuckle. "I pretended to shun her mother, called my son Terrance a disgrace, and still... they named their child after me. I never could understand why. I never thought I deserved it."