Against the Tide Imperial: The Struggle for Ceylon (The Usurper's War: An Alternative World War II B by James Young (story reading txt) 📕

“Her Majesty’s government is considering moving to Vancouver,” Myla said, apparently reading his expression. “We moved there briefly, then Ian was asked to come down here on a matter he could not tell me about. We’d been here only six months before he was detached to go to India, then the war resumed.”

“I’m sorry to hear that you are separated by his duty,” Sam said sadly. “That’s really unfortunate.”

“Well, America is a much better place to spend a war than Usurper Hong Kong,” Myla observed.

Sam was saved from responding by the door opening to reveal Beverly in a red gingham dress. She’d brushed out her long brunette locks and applied very subtle make up. In her flats, she barely reached his chest, but exuded a presence that far belied her size.

The head nurse returns. Sam’s eyes burned slightly as he remembered Beverly sneaking Toots, David, Nick, and himself in to see Eric after his younger brother had been injured on Hornet.

“I would hope I don’t look that horrible, Sam,” Beverly said softly. Startled, he looked at her and saw a twinge of sadness in her own brown eyes.

“You don’t look horrible at all,” Sam said, his face warming as Beverly smiled.

“I better get back inside before my pie burns,” Myla said hurriedly, sensing the tenseness. “If you see that son of mine while you’re walking, tell him he better get home, no matter what that cursed dog has them up to.”

Sam looked at Myla and nodded.

Beverly may have saved him from a talking to about the bike, but he’s definitely going to get gnawed on about being late for dinner.

“Will do, Myla,” he said. Beverly put on a hat that matched her dress, then took Sam’s left arm.

“Shall we, Captain Cobb?” she asked.

“Lead on, Mrs. Bowden,” Sam replied, then kicked himself.

A few blocks of companionable silence later, Beverly finally spoke.

“So I was not expecting you to come find me, obviously,” she said. “I just wanted to tell David and you thank you for what you did with gathering the belongings.”

“It was the least we could do,” Sam replied earnestly. “I…we…”

“If you’re about to say you’re sorry, don’t,” Beverly said, her tone edgy. She took a deep breath. “And if you’re going to feel guilty, that’s stupid.”

Sam looked over at Beverly, seeing that her eyes were wet.

“Max told me once that anytime you go up in a plane, you’re taking your life in your hands,” she continued, her voice raw. “I knew what he did for a living, I saw what could happen firsthand after the battle.”

The Battle of Hawaii was an eye opener for a lot of us.

“Knowing and having to face it are two different things,” Sam stated, his own voice catching as he recalled that horrible morning.

“I can only imagine how horrible you feel,” Beverly replied. “I heard the scuttlebutt that you were in the landing pattern when it happened.”

“Yes,” Sam replied. He shook his head as if a mosquito was buzzing around it, trying to stop his mental replay of the Long Island’s demise. Beverly squeezed his arm.

“They told me that Max had just returned to the ready room when the torpedo hit,” she said. “He probably never even knew what hit him.”

Who the fuck told her all those details? Sam seethed, both angry at the security breach and the morbidity of explaining to a widow just how her husband had died.

“I asked,” Beverly said, as if reading his mind. “I begged the chaplain to find out for me, as I had horrible nightmares of Max slowly drowning as the carrier sank.”

Sam patted her hand, then returned the salute of a pair of passing Army soldiers.

“We need to talk about happier tidings,” Beverly said. “How is David? Did they ever finish moving his wife to the States?”

“Sadie arrived really early this morning,” Sam said. “He caught the train down to Seattle to meet her. Haven’t heard from him since.”

“I can only imagine,” Beverly said, giggling. “I hope you won’t think less of me if I admit to that being the part I liked the most about Max coming back from a tour.”

Sam shrugged.

“You were a happy couple,” he said with a smile. “Reminded me of my parents in a lot of ways.”

Beverly swatted his arm.

“I’m not that old, thank you very much,” she said, aghast

“Well obviously not in that way,” Sam replied. “Just two people who clearly loved each other a lot.”

“His mother always believed he could have married better,” Beverly said. “She let me know it, too.”

“Well that’s just stupid,” Sam said. “Maj…Max clearly loved you. I think that’s all that was important.”

“Loretta wanted grandchildren,” Beverly said. “The comment came out in a fight about Max wanting to go to Hawaii for his next duty station and me being fond of the idea.”

Gee, what it is it with mothers being mean to their children just because they’re going to Hawaii? Toots and Mom are still really stiff about one another, and that’s been almost a year.

“Mrs. Bowden sounds like a mean hag,” Sam said.

“Well, both of them are,” Beverly allowed, then continued before Sam could argue with her. “I did remind the woman that maybe the problem was her, given how her husband ran off and now her son was running away as well.”

Sam sucked in a pained breath.

“So, tell me, who won the catfight?” he asked, bemused. “I can only assume you, seeing as how you have both your eyes still.”

“I won for two reasons,” Beverly said archly. “One, we went to Hawaii. Two, Max spent his mother’s Christmas gift money on a nice necklace for me the next day.”

“I bet that went over like a lead balloon,” Sam observed.

“She never brought up the topic again,” Beverly said. “I think that Max had a talking to with her as well.”

Their conversation was interrupted by furious barking and laughter coming from below the foot bridge they were standing on. The two of them went to the side and looked