Captivated (3 page)

"I'm sorry to hear it, I would be happy to spend all night with you."

"All night?"

"Yes, I'm sure we could find a hotel somewhere."

Lilli's jaw dropped, completely shocked by his suggestion. Never before had she been offered, that. "I'm sorry if you miss understood my friendliness Mr. Sinclair, I'm not that kind of woman."

"I shouldn't have brought it up. It was impulsive of me, it's just, I don't know what's going to happen where I'm going."

"I know, it's ok, but I can't, I won't." she stuttered.

"I would still like to get to know you Lilli, could you forget what I just asked, and, let me write to you while I'm gone?"

"Yes, please, I'd like that very much." she took out her order pad that was still tucked into her purse. She carefully wrote out her address and slipped the ticket into his jacket pocket. They had finally reached the Diner and Lilli was just about to slide into the front seat of her mothers sedan. He took the jacket from her, and promised to write as soon as he arrived at his first post. With the door opened and Lilli safely inside, he bent down and gently kissed her cheek, causing her pulse to quicken.

"I look forward to hearing from you."

. . .

November 6, 1942

Dear Lilli,

I have just arrived in Europe with my friends Sam and Wes. Nothing much has happened yet, we've just been spoken to by more than six commanding officers. I wish I was still with you in Norfolk, taking a leisurely stroll in the park. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be home soon.

Joe

December 12, 1942

Dear Lilli,

I just can't stop thinking about you! If it weren't for the war I would wish you were here right with me, enjoying these beautiful views. I hope all is well where you are, I'm staying safe, please don't worry.

Joe

December 26, 1942

Dear Lilli,

I know you may not get this for some time, but I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We were given extra rations to celebrate the holidays. I hope you were given something a great deal better than extra rations.

Joe

January 30, 1943

Dear Lilli,

How are you beautiful? I so enjoy reading all you have to say about you ife. Things are quite simple here, living in tents and eating dehydrated food. But if that's all for the good of our country, and really the world. Your letters keep me going.

Joe

March 6, 1943

Dear Lilli,

Winter is sill stomring around us here, I'm sure you are experiencing sunny weather where you are. If only there was a building with heat! The battles are beginning to become more fierce, men are dying, it's all becoming so very real. But I will come home to you, and soon.

Joe

April 16, 1943

Dear Lilli,

The men around here are growing restless around camp. The weather is beginning to get nicer, but our lives are still very much the same. I wish we could stroll through the park and talk like we did that first night.

Joe

Chapter 1

May 17, 1943

"I hope they send the Sinclair's his body." Sam Carter sighed, unable to stop thinking about the recent loss of his best friend. The image of him falling just a few feet from his eyes played over and over in his mind. It was just like Joe to be doing something ridiculous behind the line. He never seemed to understand the dangers of war, and joked about every aspect of it. And now, he was gone, forever.

"Of course they will, they only bury unidentified soldiers here." Wes answered, lighting a cigarette.

"That's what the
tell
us, who knows if it's true." Sam lifted his head from his hands, pushing a puff of air through his lips. "I need to go through his letters, I promised to write his lady friends if anything ever happened to him."

"Yea, you didn't exactly make out in that deal. Most soldiers are only writing to one woman, which makes it easy, Joe was writing to how many? Six was it?"

"Yes, six girls, six stupid girls." Sam heaved the box of Joe's belongings up on his cot, staring at the six distinct packs of letters inside.

"You don't know if they're stupid." Wes said sarcastically, laughing. Sam raised his eyebrows, and began laughing too. They both know that Joe only managed to attract stupid women. Most smart girls were too in tune with his womanizing ways to waste any time with him.

"If they fell for Joe's act, and were buying the two sentence letters he was sending them all, then yes, I'd believe them to be stupid."

"Stupid or too kind hearted to stop communication to a soldier who might die any day. You don't know them."

"And neither do you! Why are you playing devils advocate? It's not like you don't think the same thing I do."

"I know, you're right, but let's face it, there's not much entertainment over here, and debating kept me occupied for...oh, three minutes? Now that you've ruined that for me, I have to find something else to do."

"If you want entertainment, you can help me with the condolence letters."

"No thanks! Besides, if something happens to you, I'll be doing double duty." Wes smirked. "That wouldn't be fair, would it?"

"I don't write to any girls except for my sisters, and I'm fairly certain the two officers that would show up at my front door would relieve you of your obligation to write."

"Lucky for me I drew you when we decided! And it's also lucky that two other guys will have to break the news to your family. Wouldn't want to be the sorry bloke that draws that straw. Katie and Annie will probably give 'em a black eye."

Sam laughed at the truth of Wes' statement. "Alright, get out of here, let me get these done as quickly as I possibly can. I'll meet you in the canteen when I'm finished?"

Wes turned to leave and was half way out the small opening in their rough canvas tent when he looked back at Sam. "Seriously, don't spend too much time on it, you don't need to dwell on Joe any more than you already are."

Sam nodded in acknowledgment and pulled Joe's tin toward him. Inside were six tightly bound packs of yellowed envelopes. The first belonged to Cynthia, who had only written a few letters, she must not have been too impressed with Joe's charm. Then there was Julia and Margaret, each with an equal stack, the envelopes thick. It seemed that they had little to do at home, so they poured their souls out to a soldier they believed they could trust. He started with those three, copying identical letters for each which included the facts of Joe's death and his apology for their loss. He knew that most of these letters usually included a statement to make the girl feel special, like,
Joe spoke of you all the time, it was obvious he cared for you a great deal
, but he refused to lie to them.

He carefully folded the parchment and inserted them into dusty envelopes, writing their addresses on the front. Another sigh forced it's way from his lungs as he dug back into the tin, this time pulling a pack of letters from Lilli. Lilli, he had remembered hearing about her, the one girl Joe spoke of that stayed in his mind. Joe had been grumbling about the fact that Lilli had refused to spend the night with him, Sam had been impressed, Lilli was obviously a girl of moral fiber, much to Joe's dismay.

The handwriting on the envelopes was elegant and flowing running on a perfectly straight line. Everything about the letters was perfect, as if straight out of a handwriting book from an elementary school classroom. Looking close at the defined loops, he caught an aroma upon the envelope, it smelled like a hamburger, a greasy, wonderful hamburger. Sam seemed unable to stop himself from opening the envelope and taking out the letter, making the smell even more noticeable. He breathed deeply, as if tasting through his nose, then began to read her letter.

November 18, 1942

Dear Joe,

Thank you for your letter, I was so excited to finally receive it. I was beginning to worry that you would forget to write. I suppose I didn't anticipate it taking so long to get to your first posting, but seeing as I have no experience in traveling across oceans, I don't know how I came to my conclusion. I hope it's ok for me to say I was excited to receive your letter, my mother would certainly frown upon me being so open with my emotions, and I really don't know how this letter writing works.

I hate to end my letter so quickly, but I am completely at a loss for what to say. I've never really written to a soldier, or to any man. I suppose that's fairly evident by my babbling. It would be so much easier to talk while taking a walk in the park. Talking to a blank piece of paper is more difficult than I expected! I am glad to hear you are safe and I promise that my next letter will be much more interesting.

Affectionately,

Lilli

Sam didn't hesitate, he carefully returned the letter to it's envelope and then took out the next in sequence. Her first letter had made him smile, really smile, she was so innocent and sincere, and completely unaware of her power with a pen, even when she said nothing at all. The next letter smelled like cinnamon, he could imagine her enjoying a hot piece of apple pie while she was writing.

December 10, 1942

Dear Joe,

I've not received another letter from you since the first, but I wanted to make sure you received this in time for the holiday. I can't even imagine what it's like to be away from home on Christmas. I am an only child, so Christmas has not been very exciting, but I would not like to spend it alone, in a foreign country. Even though my Christmas is usually quiet, there are a few things that I look forward to every year. I love tip toeing down the stairs Christmas morning, my robe tied tightly and my hair still in rags, finding the Christmas tree beautifully decorated with our brightly wrapped presents sitting beneath it. There is something about that feeling, I'm not sure what it is, but I don't think Christmas would be Christmas without it.

The other thing I love about Christmas, is playing Christmas Carols on our family piano with a warm cup of coffee on the bench beside me. My favorite is 'O Holy Night', a real original I know, but the song is so beautiful. I know Christmas is coming the Sunday we sing Christmas Carols in church. After Carols, we exchange gifts, I receive one gift each year, last year, I got a beautiful set of pearls that matches almost every outfit I have.