Dear Glory,
It’s an angry moon this night and last. I like to think Toby sent it my way as a warning.
My mother always claimed a moon like this one—washed with crimson and violet—brings to the surface all the things we wish to hide.
Maybe that’s why Roy showed up on my front porch this afternoon.
We’d gone to late mass, Roylene and me and the baby, and came home to a lazy, warm afternoon. I’d invited Charlie and Irene over for lunch and a Monopoly tournament (we’ve been building up to it the past couple of Sundays) and the four of us sat around my dining room table, spooning chili con carne into our mouths and vying for Boardwalk and Park Place.
The insistent pounding on the door shrunk my heart to a stone. My body followed suit. I was immovable, barely breathing. Charlie got up, and I heard him turn the knob and something in his greeting told me it wasn’t the worst. Turned out to be pretty close, though.
Charlie’s body filled the door frame, forcing much shorter Roy to duck under his armpit. He shouted for both Roylene and me, calling out names that aren’t fit to write much less say.
The second I could clear my head I stepped forward, but Roylene put an arm out to stop me. “This is my fight,” she said, and tapped Charlie on the shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll talk to him.”
Charlie let her pass but didn’t budge from the door frame. She met Roy on the porch. Irene crept up to the front window alongside me. We wanted Roy to know he had eyes on him.
He glared at his daughter, sneering and vicious. I watched him open and close his fists, but they stayed at his side. Instead, he beat her with words. Slapped her with every insult a man uses to bring a woman down until she can’t rise again.
In one fluid motion, Charlie stepped forward and landed a right uppercut on the south side of Roy’s jaw. Roylene screamed and I pushed myself onto the porch, taking the girl in my arms.
“You get on now,” Roy yelled at her, blood dripping from his mouth into his cupped hand. “I mean it—get! Bull on all this nonsense. Pick up that kid of yours and move on home. You don’t run out on your responsibilities. Not while I’m livin’.”
“Roylene is welcome to stay in my home as long as she likes,” I said, managing to keep my voice steady.
“Liar,” Roy snarled. “If you hadn’t kicked her out she wouldn’t have made an ass of herself trying to join the WAVES. A married woman with a baby.” He said the word married like it was a dirty joke.
Roylene’s spine straightened. “You got it all wrong. I didn’t try, Pop. They took me. I’m goin’.”
“Why would they? All you’re good for is giving the Japs a laugh.”
My feet felt a little unsteady beneath me and I took a step back. I placed a hand on the small jutting bone atop Roylene’s shoulder. “You’re joining the WAVES?”
Roy snickered, a horribly wet, phlegmy sound. “Ah! You didn’t know, did ya?” He turned to Roylene. “What kind of game are you playin’? You’re gonna stick her with the kid, ain’t ya?”
I couldn’t speak. Even if I could, I didn’t know what to say. The more it dawned on Roy that I hadn’t a clue, the bolder he got, spitting on the ground at Charlie’s feet and then grabbing at Roylene.
She shook him off and took my hand. Her face was full of so much—shame at keeping the secret, embarrassment with her father, pride in herself. “I was going to tell you when the time was right,” she said softly. “I just told Roy last week, but it’s not like he’s making it out to be.”
“She’s runnin’ just like her mama,” Roy hissed.
Her grip on my hand tightened. “It ain’t the same. Not one bit. I’m coming back, and when I do I’ll be a better mama, and a better wife, and a better person.” She met my gaze, her eyes clear and determined. “I hope more than anything you can understand. You can, right?”
What could I do, Glory? Of course I was frantic at the thought of her leaving, but she was standing in front of me, this half-starved, determined girl with her father’s bloody handprint on her arm. What could I do?
I held her. I told her she’d be a valuable addition to the United States Navy and I was proud as could be. I said I’d welcome the opportunity to mother my grandson for a while. I said I’d miss her.
And, oh, I will. I most certainly will.
Roy finally left after Charlie backed him into the sunflower patch for a man-to-man talk. I don’t know what he told him. I don’t think I want to know.
When Roylene sat with me tonight for the late-news hour, she laid her head on my lap. I didn’t say a word, just stroked her baby-soft hair. She fell dead asleep on the couch, and I came out to where I’m sitting now, on the back patio, to watch the moon and write to you.
The air still holds the day’s heat and my dress is sticking to—
Later...
Charlie stepped into the backyard a few minutes ago, surprising the bejesus out of me. He’d been sitting at the dining room table looking over Roylene’s enlistment papers, but I think that’s an excuse not to leave me alone. I caught him glancing at Irene when I said I’d be fine, thank you very much, so I suspect they think I’m going to take a dive into the deep end again.
Sorry if the words above are smeared, but I stuck my hand over the letter the second I saw him. For some reason I didn’t want Charlie to spot his name. Like I was talking about him behind his back. Silly, right?
He must have sensed my nerves because he didn’t sit down. “She’s really leaving, huh?” He winced as he finished the question, like he felt sorry he asked it.
I tried to keep my voice lighthearted. “No changing your mind when it comes to Uncle Sam!”
Charlie looked me in the eye, but he didn’t smile. “I’ll drive you gals to Cedar Falls when the time comes,” he said, and squeezed my shoulder. “And you’re going to need some help once she’s gone. I may not look it, but I can cook a meal and mind a baby.”
I didn’t turn him down. I probably will need the help. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “I’ll leave you to your writing,” he said before heading out. “That’s going to help, too.”
He’s right about that.
But I am glad Charlie’s coming with us to the WAVES camp. It’ll be nice to have someone else along in case my heart gives out halfway through the trip.
Love,
Rita
P.S. Since I haven’t heard otherwise, I’ll assume Robert is not home yet. It must be driving you crazy, the waiting. Chin up, Glory. I’ll be thinking about you and your family in the coming weeks.