Steve left Monday for a week of sea trials, so it’s really been lonely around here. It’s the first time I’ve been in the apartment completely alone since I arrived in Seattle. It gives me lots of time to write to you so I don’t mind.
I suppose you know by now that Susan is pregnant. She’s feeling surprisingly good, especially after the doctor confirmed that there’s only one baby. Susan’s hoping for a girl this time.
I’m going to mail this off since I don’t want a repeat of what happened last month. Remember, I love you. Please don’t take any crazy risks.
Lindy,
What the hell do you mean, you’re going to see a male strip show! You’re damn right I didn’t tell the others. Good God, they’d stage a mutiny. As for me being mature and coolheaded, you couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t like it. Not one damn bit.
My dearest, darling Rush,
The male strippers were sexy as hell. What gorgeous bodies! What cute buns. What attractive…never mind. We had a fantastic time, but, quite honestly, it was too much for us men-starved navy wives. We talked it over and agreed this kind of entertainment would be better served later in the tour when we could count on our husbands being home soon. We decided to go back for a Final Fling the week before the Mitchell is scheduled to arrive home.
I love you, Rush Callaghan. Take care of yourself.
Love,
Lindy
* * *
P.S. Would you ever consider wearing spurs and a cute little cowboy hat to bed?
“Line 314,” Lindy murmured absently, answering the phone at her desk.
“Lindy, it’s Steve.”
Something in the pitch of her brother’s low-modulated voice, something in the way he said her name instantly alerted Lindy. Goose bumps shot up and down her spine. Not once in all the weeks that Lindy had worked for Boeing had her brother telephoned the office. She didn’t even know where he’d gotten her work number.
“What’s wrong?”
Steve hesitated. “I just heard a news bulletin over the radio. There’s been a report of an accident aboard the Mitchell.”
“Oh, God.” The words were wrenched from her heart. “Rush…. Did they say anything about Rush?”
“No, but it’s much too soon. Don’t panic, Lindy. There are nearly four thousand men aboard the carrier. The chance of Rush being a fatality is minute.”
Lindy closed her eyes and cupped her hand over her mouth as terror gripped her. Her heart roared in her chest so loudly that it nearly drowned out her brother’s words.
“I think it would be a good idea if you left work and met me at the apartment.”
She nodded, unable to find her voice.
“Lindy?”
“I’m on my way.” Already she was clearing her computer terminal, doing only what was absolutely necessary so she could leave.
“Lindy, can you drive? Do you want me to come get you?”
“No…. I’m fine. When did it happen? How?”
“They’re not exactly sure, but the preliminary reports are mentioning a plane crash.”
“How many are dead?”
“Sweetie, listen. The only reason I phoned was so you wouldn’t hear the news yourself or from someone at the office and panic. I’m telling you everything I know. I called the base and they’re setting up an information center for wives and family. Once you’re home I’ll take you there.”
“I’ll meet you as soon as I can.” Worry had already clogged Lindy’s throat by the time she replaced the receiver. Her supervisor was just walking into her office when Lindy scooted her chair back from the desk.
“You heard? Someone just told me there was something about the Mitchell on the radio. Take whatever time you need.”
“Thanks.” Lindy grabbed her purse, her legs so weak she could hardly walk.
The drive from Renton to the apartment normally took fifteen to twenty minutes. Lindy made it in ten and had little memory of the ride. She dared not turn on the radio for fear of what she’d learn. The entire time she was driving, she prayed, mumbling the same desperate plea over and over again. An aircraft carrier was a huge ship, a city unto itself, able to house as many as six thousand men. The possibility of Rush being a fatality was infinitesimal. He was the chief navigator. The bridge was possibly the safest place of all. He would be free from harm. At least that was what Lindy kept telling herself.
Steve was waiting for her when she burst in the front door. “Did you learn anything more?”
He looked terribly pale, and nodded. “Lindy, sit down.”
“No!” she screamed, knotting her fists. “Tell me! Is he dead? Is he?”
Steve raked his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. Apparently an Intruder was landing and a wing caught on the arresting gear. It cartwheeled on the flight deck, spewing wreckage,” he hesitated. “They haven’t released any names yet. Five are known dead.”
“Dear God.”
Her brother placed his hands on her shoulders and his eyes revealed his own personal torment. She knew in that minute that he would have given his soul not to be the one to tell her this.
“What is it?” she asked, in a voice that was as calm and as accepting as she could make it.
“The latest information reports that part of the plane careened into the bridge.”
Lindy shut her eyes and it was the last thing she should have done. Instantly she felt her legs give out as her mind conjured up the worst possible scene of bodies being hurled through space and men screaming in agony. Fire seemed to have erupted everywhere. Lindy gasped and her hands shot out.
Steve managed to catch her, pressing her head against his shoulder. “Rush is going to be all right,” he murmured, while his hand smoothed her hair.
“No,” she said, in a whisperlike sound. “He isn’t.” If there was any action or any trouble, Rush would be there right in the middle of it.
Steve escorted Lindy to the naval base, where an information center had been set up. The first person Lindy saw was Susan. The two women looked at each other and started sobbing. Timmy and Tommy, not knowing what to make of everything, were soon crying, too. Lindy took Tommy and attempted to comfort him, but the youngster wanted his mother and squirmed in Lindy’s arms.
“Jeff?” Lindy finally managed to ask.
“I don’t know. What about Rush?”
Lindy heaved in a calming breath. “I haven’t heard.”
It seemed hours passed before any additional information was released, and then the names of the injured were read. Neither Jeff nor Rush were listed. Lindy didn’t know whether to be happy or terrified. The only choices that remained were that both men had somehow magically escaped the explosion or were among those listed as dead.
Steve was at Lindy’s side as much as possible, doing what he could. One look at her brother told Lindy he suspected the worst. As much as she could, Lindy tried to be positive. If Rush had died in the explosion, she reasoned, she would have felt it. Deep within her heart, she would have felt a part of herself die. She wouldn’t be this calm, this accepting.
People milled around everywhere. Wives, children, parents. Rather than sit and worry, Lindy mingled with the others, talking, praying and crying—sometimes all three at once.
It was when she turned