Anyone But You by Kim Askew

Author:Kim Askew [Askew, Kim; Helmes, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4405-7002-5
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2014-09-11T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

I Am No Pilot

THE NEXT MORNING, Benny and I stood among the jumbled throngs of other young men in a poor attempt at a line that extended almost four blocks in length. Our intended destination: the Army Air Corps recruitment office. Enlisting for our country was a given, as natural a reflex as blinking in the wind. And while I was champing at the bit to have a go at Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo, I simultaneously harbored some intense qualms about the route we were taking to do so.

“I don’t know, Benny. When I get my marching orders, I prefer to be, well, marching. I was thinking infantry, or maybe a nice armored tank division.”

My pal brought his arm down heavily on my shoulder.

“Where’s the glamour in that? Give me the ‘wild blue yonder’ any day.”

“Easy for you,” I said, craning my neck to note our progress in line. For my friend, there was no question about which branch of the military needed our able bodies. Growing up, Benny had kept a veritable squadron of model airplanes on shelves in his bedroom, not to mention scrapbooks full of flying machine pictures he’d clipped from various periodicals. He could still spend hours sticking his nose through the fence at the Municipal Airport watching planes land and take off. As for me, the only thought worse than spending the duration of the war 25,000 feet off the ground was the thought of spending the duration of the war without Benny, which is why I stood anxiously in line with him. I knew there was no guarantee we’d get to go through this thing side by side, but one thing was certain: I’d stick with him for as long as I could, come hell or high altitude.

“In my pilot’s uniform, I’m going to need my own armored tank division just to fend off all the babes who will be throwing themselves at me,” Benny boasted, before glancing at me hesitantly. He knew immediately what I was thinking. “And, seriously, Nick, just think of your wedding day—how spruce you’ll look in your dress uniform—probably decorated to hell with medals when this is all over.”

Proposing to Stella had been out of the question following yesterday’s earth-rattling news, and it now remained off the table indefinitely. In the blink of an eye, the future of millions of Americans had been branded with a giant question mark. Naturally, no one wanted to think the worst, let alone voice it aloud. I hoped that Stella would wait for me, and I was certain that I would return home—no Axis power could keep me from her after all I’d already endured. Still, given the nature of war, baiting Stella with the potentially illusory promise of a life together just didn’t seem fair. That discussion would have to wait. So, too, would the business. Pizza was no longer our priority.

We finally made our way inside the packed recruitment office, and Benny and I each checked in separately with harried officials who sat behind makeshift folding tables.

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