There was a special potluck dinner after services at the Oakwood Methodist Church, and Carole had somehow convinced George they needed to go. And even though the ache in his heart from losing his daughter was still deep and raw, he did have much to be thankful for. He was home, doing well at work, and he and Carole were expecting again. Their baby was due in April. This child certainly would not fill the hole left by Rose’s absence, but it would at least bring life and energy back into their home. They so needed both of those things.
Almost everyone had finished eating their choices from the potluck table and were now sitting around the tables catching up on local talk when an expected guest walked into the fellowship hall. His mere appearance at church caused all eyes to turn to the door.
“My goodness,” Beatrice Eicker announced, “don’t go outside. I don’t care how cold it is, lightning might strike you. Sam Johns has actually come to church.”
A half-dozen people laughed, but not for long. Everyone was staring at Johns. He simply didn’t look like himself. The usually fastidious man hadn’t shaved, and he was wearing old, stained, and wrinkled pants and an equally shabby flannel shirt. He wasn’t smiling either. His grim posture bathed the room in an uneasy silence. He moved to the head table, stood beside Reverend Morris, and sized up the crowd. Finally, after more than a minute of awkward silence, he spoke, “I come bearing some very bad news.” His tone was as somber as his message.
“Is someone dead?” Carole Hall asked.
He nodded. “Many are. The Japanese hit Pearl Harbor today. They bombed our Navy yards.”
“Where’s that?” one woman asked.
A man yelled out, “California.”
“No,” Johns corrected him. “Pearl Harbor is a Navy base in Hawaii. Jap planes hit us this morning. Radio reports state that thousands were killed, and there was evidently much damage done to American ships. I am hearing that other Pacific bases are being hit as well.”
Johns took another deep breath. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war!”
Almost instantly, a host of people picked up their belongings and headed out the door. One of the first were the Halls. Neither Carole nor George noticed the stiff breeze or the near freezing temperatures as they walked in stunned silence to their home. It was only when they were inside and were removing their coats that Carole posed the question she dared not think, much less speak. “What does this mean?”
George shook his head. “It changes everything. I’m sure I’ll end up in the service somewhere. I’m sure, since Germany and Italy are allies of Japan, that we’ll be fighting them as well.”
“No,” Carole whispered. “You can’t leave me again.”
“I’ll put it off as long as I can,” he promised. “Hopefully I’ll be here when the baby comes. But I won’t have a choice. They’ll need men like me. I’ll have to go when they call. You have to understand that.”
She shook her head and sighed. “Why now?”