Chapter 8

Atlanta, 1941. Noah and Fin were above the city at a work construction from steel girders. From below, there was a commotion and a crowd. The other employees shouted and waved at them, and Noah and Fin took the little elevator down. On the ground, everyone listened to a radio. F.D.R had declared war on Germany.

Noah and Fin joined up, they enlisted together, and after three years of tramping through jungles in the Pacific they were re-deployed to Patton's Third Army in Europe.

They marched with the Third Battalion across the snowy Belgian plains. Allied tanks rolled with them. Suddenly, German warplanes flew overhead. The First Battalion was under fire, and soon explosions covered the land. Fin was sent flying. Noah ran over to his fallen friend. Fin's eyes were open, empty.

In Sarah Lawrence College, Allie walked through the hallway of the all girls school, carrying armloads of books as she arrived in the classroom. She listened to the professor, who wrote, "Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman" on the blackboard. Allie blinked.

She was in her third year of college when she volunteered as a gray lady.

In Army Hospital, she moved from bed to bed, tending to the injured. The scene was grotesque. Soldiers with missing limbs. Faces burnt beyond recognition. Men in great pain. But Allie moved with purpose. To her, the broken men with shattered bodies who filled the ward were all Noah or someone who fought beside him in the jungle or a frozen snow swept road.

Allie moved to Lon, 30, a heavily bandaged soldier and she lifted him into a sitting position, and started taking his blood pressure. "Miss?" He called. "Be still, please," she urged. She notated the blood pressure numbers. "I want to ask you a question," Lon spoke in pain due to his bandaged injuries. "Yes?" Allie rhetorically replied.

He continued, "I noticed you weren't wearing a ring. And I was wondering if I could take you out?" "Excuse me?" Allie was baffled, "Out," Lon emphasized. "Out?" Allie thought he was joking. "On a date," he completed her question with a rather closed statement.

Allie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was up to her elbows in sickness and death, and she was being asked out by a mummy. "Now, before you say no, I'll have you know that I'm an excellent dancer, and my intentions are completely dishonorable. And…" he broke into a coughing fit, coughing uncontrollably. She laid him back.

"Okay, Casanova. Let's get you better, then we'll see about a date," she shook her head as she walked away.

1 month later, Allie and her college friends, Ellen, Susan and Laura exited the ivy covered Tudor building. As they reached the street, they noticed an extremely good looking soldier, dressed in full uniform, standing next to a convertible Packard. .

"Would you get a load of him?" Asked Ellen in awe of her friends. "Jeez, Louise. He's dreamy," added Susan. "What's he doing here?" Asked Laura. The girls shot the soldier coy smiles as they passed. "Miss?" The Soldier called.

All the girls turned around, but he was speaking to Allie. She recognized him now. It was Lon. "I'm all better. Are you ready to go out on that date?" He asked hopefully. Then there was a hold on Allie's face. Allie was surprised how quickly she fell in love with Lon Hammond.

Lon and Allie were dancing at Supper Club. Lon wasn't lying. He really could cut a rug, he was handsome.

Allie and Lon were at the horse races at the race track. They cheered that their horse won. Sophisticated.

At the Hamptons, Allie and Lon were on a sailboat. Lon was charming. He also came from old southern money, and was fabulously wealthy.

A bottle of champagne popped inside Charlotte Restaurant. Lon was animatedly telling a story. Allie, her mother and father were laughing so hard it hurt. "You know, I've been thinking a lot about why we shouldn't get married," Allie giggled. She was a little bit tipsy. "Okay. I give up. Why shouldn't we get married?" She wanted to know the answer so badly.

"That's the thing. At first, I couldn't think of any reasons. But then it dawned on me. The one dark secret that will absolutely be the wedge that keeps us apart. Your parents," he said. "My parents?" Allie questionably asked. "Yes. Dear old Mom and Dad. You see, here's the problem. They love me. I am exactly the type of man your parents want you to marry. From the south, have a good job…" he explained.

"Don't forget you're a snappy dresser," complemented Allie, "and an absolutely wonderful dancer, if I do say so myself," he added. "Modest, too. So what's the problem?" She asked. "Just this. If you marry me, your parents will be ecstatic, and you will have lost a lifelong battle of defiance against them."

"Too perfect for me? You're right, can't have that. And I promised myself I would never end up with anyone my parents would approve of. Especially if I love him," she said. "See what I'm saying?" Lon made her aware he was her parents' type. "Oh, my goodness. What do we do?" Allie was confused to say the least. "I think you have to marry me. Because if you do, your parents will always know the unhappiness you feel for not being able to disappoint them," he reasoned.

"I think I see," Allie seemingly agreed with Lon's point of view. "Imagine the guilt they would feel for not allowing you to choose your husband unwisely. They'd be racked with guilt. They'd be miserable. So even though you've technically lost, you've really won," he said.

"Hmmm. That's a very interesting point, Lon, but I think you've overlooked one minor detail. You have to get their permission first, and I think you may have overestimated their affection for you," she confidently said. "I don't think so." "Why not?" She asked. "Because I've already asked them and they said, yes." "What?" She was shocked and looked over to her parents, who nodded. Anne squeezed her daughter's hand. Lon dropped to his knee.

"One more thing, I love you," he said, pulling out a ring. It was gigantic. "Will you marry me, Allie? I know I kid around a lot, but I'm crazy about you. Marry me, and make me the happiest man in the world," Allie took a moment to decide before breaking into a big smile, "yes, Lon. You bet, I will." He slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her, before standing up and announcing the news to the whole room, "excuse me, I would like everyone to know that this young lady and I are getting married." The restaurant erupted in cheers and the band played. Lon smiled at her. Holding onto Allie's face, she agreed with all her heart, but couldn't understand why, at the very moment she said "yes," Noah's face came to her mind.