Battle Cry - Leon Uris [42]
“If you don’t…I’ll go out and get drunk.”
She laughed. “You’d better not, Marine.”
Danny took her hand gently. It felt wonderfully soft and smooth. “I’m an orphan, Mrs. Yarborough.”
“Oh.”
“You see, my mom died in a fire when I was four…trying to save me. Dad did the best he could to raise me…but…but you know, whisky. He started beating me…I was just a tot. He was sorry for it when he was sober…I’m…I’m sorry.”
“No, go on,” she said, sliding to the seat next to him.
“I ran away from home when I was fourteen, rode the rails. Hobo camps, odd jobs. Then I met Kathy.” He held her hand as he spoke.
“Yes?”
“If you want to really know what happened, I’ll tell you.”
“You mean you were just pulling my leg?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Stinker. I’ll never believe another Marine again.”
“Mrs. Yarborough. Would you take a walk with me? I’d like to get my head cleared. Now don’t tell me how busy you are. Look…Marine…I mean scout’s honor. Walk me to the bus station at the Red Cross Club, put me on the bus and I’ll pass from your life forever. Really, I’d like to talk to someone…a girl. Would you?”
It was foolish in the first place, she told herself. She should have left him cold in the bar. The strange thing that originally attracted her seemed to grab hard now. For an instant she began to ward off this second mad idea and send him along. “Really, Danny…” She made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They pleaded as did a thousand pairs of eyes in the canteen; for a moment of talk, a moment of possession. “This is silly.”
“Where is your coat?”
“I didn’t bring one.”
He had her arm and led her over the long room past the singers, who were now deep in prayer. She caught herself at the head of the stairs, then looked up at him. He was very handsome, standing upright. “I’ll get my purse.”
He sucked in a deep breath as they stepped into the darkened street, the fresh air nearly sweeping him off his feet. “How do you feel now?” she asked. His first steps were not too steady, then she found trouble keeping in step with his long, easy strides. Vernon Yarborough took short steps, he was easy to walk with.
“I feel like a couple of two-hundred-pound tackles just converged on me.”
“Are you a football player?”
“Use to, just high school. Funny thing happened yesterday. I got a letter from the Georgia Tech Alumni Association accepting my application for a scholarship. My buddies nearly died laughing.”
Elaine laughed. He took her arm unconcernedly and assisted her across a street. “I used to have a crush on a football player,” she said.
“But he wasn’t as good as me.”
“He was much better looking. Every girl in the school was crazy about him. Of course, I kept the torch to myself.”
“Of course,” Danny repeated.
“Why do you say ‘of course’ that way?”
“Oh, I don’t know. You don’t seem one to follow impulses. You look well planned.”
“For instance?”
“For instance. You are probably wondering what you are doing walking down the street with me. You must be crazy, you’re saying to yourself. You’re really robbing the cradle. By the way, Mrs. Yarborough, I didn’t catch your first name.”
“Elaine.”
“Elaine the fair, Elaine the beautiful, Elaine the lily maid of Astelot.”
“That’s funny.”
“What’s funny about it? Tennyson, required reading—I suffered.”
“I know. But no one has said that to me for an awful long time.” They shoved through a crowded group of sailors. She held his arm tightly. He was strong. Vernon was strong too—in another way. Vernon was security.
“Why did you help me out, Elaine?”
“Oh, I suppose you reminded me of my kid brother.”
“Know something, I’ll bet you don’t have a kid brother.”
“Keep going, you’re doing fine.”
“Well, you are a big wheel at the canteen…probably head of a committee. You’re the wife of an officer, I’d say a Navy officer.”
“What makes you think so?”
“Something about a Navy officer.”
“Snob?”
“No, just that holy reserve.”
“Go on, you’re a very interesting young man.”
“Well, let me see. You’re not regular Navy, you’re reserve. Your husband is probably a lawyer, corporation. Maybe a banker or