Island Of Sweet Pies And Soldiers. Sara Ackerman

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СКАЧАТЬ you must have a woman back home?” Jean persisted. Lord, she could be pushy.

      “When I first enlisted, I was with the Paramarines. It was a tough unit to get in with, but they had a rule you couldn’t be married,” he said.

      Tommy laughed. “Sergeant Stone, married?” His mouth was full and he nearly choked on his bite.

      Zach slapped his knee, which was almost level with the tabletop, and laughed out loud.

      “Fellas, cut me some slack here,” Parker said.

      “He’s on his best behavior here, but...”

      Parker cut Zach off. “But nothing. Am I going to have to make you do an extra hundred push-ups tomorrow?”

      Violet turned to Ella, who had finished eating and was watching the men’s banter with her mouth hanging open. Surely there had been nothing like this in their house before. Herman had been a straitlaced family man. Once in a while, he and Luther would have a few beers on a Saturday, but there was never this kind of loose conversation and maleness.

      Out of the blue, Ella spoke. “Do you think the Japanese are going to bomb your zoo?”

      “The Japanese will never get close enough to bomb my zoo. Rest easy. We’ll be taking care of them long before they ever get near California.”

      “What about here? Miss Ferreira says that you guys are here because the Japanese submarines are sneaking up on us. And we should move back to the mainland before it’s too late,” Ella said.

      Where had Ella gotten this information? “Darling, you know not to believe everything Miss Ferreira says. She tends to exaggerate.” Violet would have to have a word with Miss Ferreira, sooner rather than later.

      Zach cleared his throat and Tommy stared at his corn, but Parker addressed her concern. “You bring up a good point. A lot of unexpected things happen during war. But I can promise you this—the animals are safe, and you’re safe, so quit your fretting.”

      Over Ella’s head, he winked at Violet.

      “I wouldn’t want to leave anyway,” Ella said. “Without my papa.”

      Silence dropped onto the table. Jean had probably mentioned Herman to Zach, but Violet had no idea what the others knew. Everyone in town knew the story, so she never had to explain it.

      “Nor should you have to,” Parker said.

      Jean mouthed the word “Sorry.”

      “Thank you for your confidence in our safety, Sergeant. You may or may not be aware that my husband disappeared a year ago,” Violet said.

      Ella folded her arms and looked into her lap. There was that word again. Disappear. Violet was conscious of the difference between disappeared and died. And how she always chose the former. The likelihood of Herman coming back was slim to none. That much she knew. But without a body, would she ever be able to draw the line? Would she grow old wondering with an ache in her soul? There was no easy way to talk about it, but people needed to know. These men especially, if they were to be sharing meals with them.

      The truth was the truth, and the sooner everyone knew it, the better.

      “Did it have anything to do with the war?” Tommy asked.

      “Unfortunately, we don’t know. There was a search and an investigation, but they turned up nothing.” Violet told them her practiced version of the story while she rubbed Ella’s shoulder, at the same time tasting bile in her throat. Talking about this had that effect. Maybe having the men over hadn’t been such a good idea.

      Parker didn’t seem to have a problem talking about it. “Either way, I’m sure that you loved him and he loved you. And that will never go away. Not knowing’s got to be hard.”

      She nodded. By now, the whole house smelled like baked coconut and Violet excused herself to check on the pie. “Ella, I could use your help.”

      Ella scooted in with her. The pie still had another minute or two before browning. She sat Ella down at the table and looked into her eyes. “Sweetie, we both want your father to still be alive. More than anything. But we’ve been over this before.”

      Ella bit her lip like she was holding back tears. “I know, but sometimes it helps me to pretend.”

      “Oh, Ella.” Violet hugged her in tight as the burning in her gut intensified.

      If only it could be that easy. She could pretend forever that Herman was out getting milk, that he was just around the corner. That she would wake up to him snoring next to her, filling the whole room with his sounds. She had to hold back a laugh at the thought of their first night together, and how she had woken in a panic, certain that a tornado was pulling off the roof. But it had only been his god-awful snoring. She caught herself. This was happening more lately—thinking about him without tears. Where are you, Herman?

      Violet sliced up the pie with freshly polished silver, and she and Ella carried out double slices to the soldiers. Living on the farm, especially in her later years, her folks had been so poor, meals were about staying alive, not about pleasure. But since moving to Hawaii, and especially since living with Jean, all that changed. In Hawaii, crops grew year-round and in such abundance, you could pluck the fruit off a tree whenever you pleased. Fruit designed for baking outlandish desserts.

      * * *

      A late-afternoon shower drizzled down outside, adding steam to an already muggy day and chasing the mosquitoes away. Violet and Ella set plates down in front of each man and you could have heard a pin drop. Then forks began clinking on china.

      After taking a whole minute to chew his first bite, Parker was the first to speak. “So, which one of you is responsible for this?”

      “Why, that would be Violet,” Jean said.

      “Don’t blame me. This is your recipe,” Violet said, not wanting credit, or any marriage proposals.

      Tommy put his fork down. “Zach was right. I think I’m going to have to marry you.”

      “Me, too,” Zach said.

      “Is there a reverse word for polygamy?” Jean asked.

      “Polyandry,” Zach said.

      Jean looked confused that her brother would know such a thing. “And you know this, how?”

      He shrugged. “No idea, but it sounded interesting.”

      All this talk of husbands made Violet nervous, but she knew they were teasing. Then Parker said, “The whole war would be worth it if I knew I was coming home to this.” She felt her body go motionless and her heart pick up speed.

      He put another piece in his mouth and chewed, all the while staring into her as though she were some kind of conundrum.

      She wanted to be clear on one thing—she wasn’t up for grabs. There were more important things to worry about. Not that Parker would ever be interested.

      “Well, that is awfully kind of all of you. And, Sergeant Stone, I have СКАЧАТЬ