not stop talking about the blonde Texan inside the hospital. Jack said he would go through the line again just to get another look at her. Both airmen were rubbing their upper arms. They sat on the grass and lay back on the ground.
Em closed his eyes and began to think of home. It would be getting hot in Kentucky now. The first of June always brought rain. Along with the rain came the humidity. Kentucky was a rather-decent place to live, but the humidity was stifling. His father would be setting the tobacco now. He had no one but Em’s two sisters to help this year. They would pitch in as much as they could, but without him and Corby, the work would be almost insurmountable. As soon as he got his first pay, he was going to send it home. He wanted his father to hire some help. He desperately wanted to be there himself, but he felt torn between loyalty to his country and devotion to his aging father. In a letter from home, his dad assured him that everything was just fine. The weather had cooperated. He was sure he would finish before July. He repeatedly said in his letters not to worry about anything at home. He only wanted him to come home when the blasted war was over. Em read his letters every day. He knew that his dad was scared. He had been a young soldier in “the Big One.” He never wanted Em to enlist. He wanted him to remain in school. His dad said, “Let me take care of it, and you can stay here and take care of the farm.” Em lost his temper for only the third time in his life. The two of them had spent the entire harvest season avoiding each other. At such a hectic time of year, this took some great effort from both of them.
As Thanksgiving came and went, his dad knew that no matter what he said or did, Em was joining the military. Em realized this was when he began to grow up. They started to talk again before Christmas. Since then, he and his father had had the best conversations of their lives.
He felt a tug on his sleeve. He slapped at the hand and said, “Hands to yourself, Turner.” He slowly opened his eyes. Silhouetted against the sun stood a dark shape. Em gradually focused on the figure and bolted to a sitting position.
Cannon was squatting between him and Jack. “Listen up, you two,” he began. He told them that he was going to take the rest of the flight to the theater to watch some newsreel. He and Jack were to remain at the hospital and report to the lab. They would receive further instructions once they arrived inside. After they finished, they were to make their way to the chow hall. They were to eat and then get ready for their meeting. Once again, he reminded them to look sharp and not be late.
They waited in the lab for over an hour before they were instructed to strip to their underwear and wait again. They stood on a cold tile floor. They looked like a couple of scared baby chicks, which were looking for their mother.
“If I don’t find out what’s going on, and I mean real soon, I’m gonna have to kick someone’s ass,” Jack said through clenched teeth.
“Behave yourself,” Em told him. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
For more than an hour, they were put through physical tests. They had to lift weight over their heads, sometimes as much as 120 pounds. Jack had no trouble lifting any amount they asked of him. Em struggled slightly but managed to lift the weight. They had to breathe into inflatable rubber hoses. This proved to be the most difficult task. More than once, Em felt light-headed. They were asked to contort their bodies into different positions and hold the position for undetermined amounts of time.
As soon as they were both beginning to sweat, they were led into another room. An elderly woman with glasses suspended from the end of her nose gazed at them. Then she pointed to two chairs across the table from her. She had several empty vials and some needles in front of her. She spoke, and both of the airmen were startled. “Please place your right arm on the table, palms up.” Her voice was as if sandpaper were lodged in her throat.
“Excuse me, ma’am. What exactly is this for?” Em asked in the sweetest voice he possessed.
She picked up a needle, held it up in front of her, cocked her head back, and looked at it through her glasses. She squinted and looked down at Em’s arm. He suddenly felt like drawing his arm back. She picked up a clean cloth, dipped it in alcohol, and began to vigorously rub Em’s forearm. “We just want a little of your blood.” Her voice caused goose bumps to break out all over Em’s body. Now he was cold again. He wanted to put his clothes back on.
“What’s it for, ma’am?” Em instinctively asked her again.
“You boys must be going somewhere to need these physicals,” she croaked.
Jack and Em exchanged glances. What? They were both expressing the same idea. Neither of them spoke the remainder of the time blood was being drained from their veins.
She took five vials from each of them. They both felt dizzy. Next, they were given a cup of orange juice but were still not permitted to dress. A doctor entered the room and instructed them on their next task. He wanted each of them to squat and, while in the squatted position, walk to the far side of the room. When they reached the other side, they were to turn and waddle back.
“At least, no one is here to see this,” Jack said under his breath. Both of them felt rather foolish as they waddled their way across the floor. They began to laugh when they approached the wall. Each of them looked at the other. When eye contact was made, both erupted into fits of laughter. The doctor seemed unconcerned about the laughter. As long as they kept waddling, he seemed to ignore them altogether. When they tried to turn, it caused another hysterical fit. They each reached down to steady themselves.
“No, no, no. I need you to do this, and I need balance. Do it again.” Em didn’t even think the doctor had been watching them. As they were turning around again, feeling double foolish, they heard a door open. They both turned to look at the sound and instantly felt naked.
In through the door walked the goddess. She carried a tray filled with utensils of some type. She wore a simple yellow cotton dress with blue ribbon around her waist. She also had blue ribbons in her hair. The ribbons were the exact color of her eyes.
“Yes, Meredith. May I help you?” The doctor was uninfluenced by her beauty. She approached his desk and sat the tray on it. She acted as though she had not noticed Em and Jack. The two of them squatted in their underwear, motionless, on the other side of the room. She spoke quietly to the doctor for a moment and turned to leave. When she turned toward the door, Em saw her eyes focus on Jack. Then he thought he saw her smile. As quickly as the smile appeared, it disappeared, replaced by a look of embarrassment. “Excuse me.” Her face became crimson red as she hastily closed the door.
“She looked right at me,” Jack boasted.
“In your dreams, pretty boy,” Em retorted. “You’re squatting on the floor in your underwear. She probably wanted to laugh.”
“Why else did she come in here?” Jack asked as they waddled back across the room.
The doctor finally told them they could get dressed. Then he told them to wait in the reception area. “Hey, doc. Who is that girl?” Jack asked the doctor.
He looked up from his clipboard and said, “You mean Ms. Roth? Why? She only volunteers here. You boys would be best to leave her alone.” He put his pen in his pocket and turned to go.
The two of them marched side by side back to their barracks, carrying the files they had been given. As soon as they dropped them off in Cannon’s office, they could go and eat. It was only twelve thirty in the afternoon. They had plenty of time.
“That’s his daughter. I know it.” Jack remained obsessed with the girl. “Meredith Roth,” he kept repeating her name.
“For
