Mitla Pass - Leon Uris [200]
He turned her around and lifted her chin so he could see into her eyes. “I think so, with all my heart. I don’t ever intend to see her again. Val, I need your forgiveness for her and for a lot of others.”
“I’ve always forgiven you,” she said.
“I don’t ever expect you to forget. I’ll try to know when you are hurting and I’ll comfort you. But I promise ...”
“No promises,” she interrupted, “just do your best and remember, we’re very touchy and we’ve got to learn how to manage our own pain and to help each other.”
“Val.”
“Yes, dear.”
“I forgive you for your little deal, too.”
“Thanks, pal,” she said, “I’ve really needed that.”
They held each other softly. The song over the American Armed Forces radio station played ...
“Dance, ma’am?”
“Love to, Marine.”
I saw you last night,
And got that old feeling,
When you came in sight,
I got that old feeling.
The moment that you passed by,
I felt a thrill,
And when you caught my eye,
My heart stood still
Once again I seemed to get,
That old yearning,
And I knew the spark of love
Was still burning.
There’ll be no new romance for me,
It’s foolish to start,
For that old feeling
Is still in my heart. ...
“Hey, Marine.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You’ve got a lousy voice.”
“Singing is not my long suit. I’m going to be a great writer someday. Hey, why don’t you come over to the hospital tomorrow night? I’m putting on a play.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Wrote it, directed it, produced it, and I’m starring in it.”
“Cocky, aren’t you?”
“You bet. Stick with me, honey, and I’ll take you over the rough spots.”
The music stopped. “God, that bed looks good,” he said.
She lay down and opened the top of her robe for him.
“I love your tits,” he said, crawling alongside her and rubbing his face against a breast, gently, with sweet soft brushes of his lips.
“My tired little warrior. Shhhh. Shhhhh. The battle’s over for now. The fighting’s all done.”
He was already half asleep. Tomorrow you go into battle again, Val thought. All of your strange breed seem to have this compulsion to take on the pain of the world. That’s why you love John Steinbeck. What pain you must be in now. I have to understand it better and help you. My Gideon, the soul of a poet, the rage of a lion.
They had never felt so good to each other. His head was now buried in her bosom as she ran her fingers through his hair. She and Gideon had inflicted terrible damage on each other, and much of the bitterness was just below the surface. They’d get through this book together; then what? What war would her warrior seek next? Could he ever stop fighting?
Well, no use thinking about it now, Val thought. There was Rome, Christmas at sea, then the greatest time of all, The Galilee would be set down on paper.
“Sleep, baby ...”
“Sleep ... sleep ...”
Just before the battle, mother,
I am thinking most of you,
While upon the field we’re watching,
With the enemy in view,
Comrades brave are ’round me, lying ...
Miss Abigail! Miss Abigail! Oh, look at the stars! It’s so beautiful up here! Watch me! I’m going to step out of the plane! I’m not scared anymore! You’ll be so proud of me! Look! Here I go! MISS ABIGAIL! MISS ABIGAIL! I’VE CAUGHT THE TAIL OF A COMET!
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
THIS BOOK REQUIRED EXTRAORDINARY research, and an extraordinary researcher. Clarifying confusing military history and accounts of battles plus running down a thousand and one little sticklers was a gigantic job, beautifully done. I would like to thank and acknowledge Priscilla Higham for her tremendous skill and ingenuity, for her complete devotion to this project, and mainly for her friendship, particularly when the waters got rough.
And to my wife Jill. God bless the writer’s wife.
A Biography of Leon Uris
Leon Uris (1924–2003) was an author of fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays who wrote over a dozen books including numerous bestselling novels. His epic Exodus (1958) has been translated into over fifty languages. Uris’s work is notable for its focus