Walking Beside You (World War II Romance)

Can You Keep A Secret?

Can You Keep A Secret?

 24 November, 1942

Dear Stephanie,

Forgive my late reply and poor hand-writing. My palms were burnt by bullets, which were accidentally discharged from my weapon. Don’t worry; I am already a lucky one. Some boys got shot and withdrawn from their company.

I start my day by jogging and doing push-ups every morning and later followed by a series of combating trainings till evening. It’s very tiring; I have never done so many push-ups in my life before. Sometimes, I just forget my shower and sleep on a chair all night long. (Smelly) Guess who is my commander? He is Jonathan Harker! I bumped into him again in Atlantic. Now, I can see his face everyday but not in a way I had longed for. (Sad, very sad)

Anyway, thanks for taking time to visit my parents; I’m sorry to get you in trouble like this. Please forward to other girls my message that, “I miss you soooooooo much!”

Last but not least, I’ve heard other guys talking about marrying a British girl but so far I haven’t attended one wedding ceremony like this; therefore, I treat it also as a rumor up till now.

Take care and looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours,

Al

“Al, it’s time to go.” I hid the letter under my sleeping pad when Sidney came in.

 “Okay.” We went to a night pub near Seaforth Barracks. It was packed with war workers, soldiers on leave and girls. Everybody was enjoying themselves. Some were dancing with girls, some were drinking and eating peanuts; the others were playing snooker I spotted a few familiar faces among the crowd. Benson was smoking while thinking his next strike beside the snooker table. He lost deep in his thought so I didn’t interrupt him. Todd was sitting by the bar table, talking to a girl who was wearing an A-2 leather jacket. I could tell she is an American by her accents.

 “Guys, having fun and happy weekend, bye.” Carl could not wait to invite girl dancing with him. Sidney, Twinson and I just ordered beers. I caught Kevin’s in sight unexpectedly. He landed his arm on a female’s shoulders which did not belong to Stephanie! It was hard not to jump to a conclusion at this moment. He left with the girl immediately when noticing I was watching. What the hell!

 “Hey, you’ve got someone to dance?” Sidney was approached by another girl who wore leather jacket.

 “A girl invites a guy to dance?” It was awkward but he accepted with pleasure. Didn’t he always miss his lovely Betty so much? Twinson and I were left sitting side by side. Apart from eating peanuts, I did not want to do anything.

 “Why don’t you invite someone to dance?” Twinson had another glass, “You are popular.” He eyed three girls who had been staring at our direction, giggling.

 “Come On, I am damn tired by lifting the Bren gun followed by extra push-ups, a single-handed version! No more exercises today! Please, please!” I stopped drinking when the alcohol started having its effect. I didn’t want to throw up like a mess!

 “Al, can I ask you a question?” He looked at me seriously.

 “What?” I finished another saucer of peanuts, “Go ahead.”

 “Did you…um…know Sergeant Harker for a long time?”

 “No, I just met him on the ship. Why?” I lied, putting some more peanuts into my mouth.

 “Um…the interaction between you and him is strange.”

“Strange?”

 “Forgive my rudeness; I’d say it is “unusual”, if I have to pick a word from dictionary.”