Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 13:26:22 From: Christina L Bartruff Subject: "ETC" Chap 1 "ETC" Chapter 1: Friends and Lovers 0500 HRS. MONDAY, JUNE 6, 1960. NURSES' BOQ, PENSACOLA, NAS, FLORIDA Lieutenant Elizabeth Townsend liked Pensacola. She wasn't crazy about Navy pilots. "They're not so bad," Lisa Sherman told her, sleepily. It was 0200 in San Diego and her shift had just ended. Beth's shift was due to start. "Lisa, you were married to one who cheated on you every time your back was turned. How can you say that?" "I was referring to Bingo." "Who?" Beth never could get used to the nicknames, or "call signs" as they preferred, that the pilots gave one another. "You know, the one I was seeing for a while. The one who dumped me because I was divorcing Jack." "Oh. Wait a minute. *You* dumped him, because he didn't want to marry you." "Same thing." It wasn't but Beth didn't want to press the issue. "Anyway," Lisa continued, stifling a yawn, "Al's down there now, probably on sea duty, so you'll get a chance to see for yourself." Beth was confused. "Who's Al?" "Bingo. That's his real name. Albert Calavicci." *Like calla lilies*, Beth thought. "George Whitmore-Jones and Harmon Rabb are pretty decent, too, but I think Rabb has a girlfriend he's pretty serious about. Helen Something-or-Other." Lisa sounded like she was speaking with her eyes closed and her head resting on her arm. Beth didn't have the heart to tell her best friend that she wasn't interested in dating the pilots. Instead she said with genuine sincerity, "Get some rest, Lisa." Beth hung up the phone and headed back to her room. She passed several of her fellow angels of mercy. "Was that Lisa Sherman?" asked Janet Thomas, her Bostonian accent noticeable. "Hmm. She says ‘hi'. Just finished her shift." It was doubtful that Lisa knew Janet. Janet, however, knew Jack Sherman, Lisa's ex-husband. Jack ‘landed every blonde from here to Norway', as Lisa told her. Janet Thomas and Lenora Dubois were just two of the many at Pensacola Naval Air Station that shared Jack's bed. She wondered how many more there were. "Is the divorce final?" "Yes." Janet nodded vaguely, and Beth to her room. *Gentlemen prefer blondes*, Beth thought. She never liked that saying. There wasn't anything gentlemanly about Jack Sherman's behavior toward her friend. Picking up her brush, she ran it through her shiny black hair. Her hair was the same shade and length as Jacqueline Kennedy's. Several people had even stopped her on the streets, thinking she was the senator's wife. There was a light tap on the door and Kelly Hardy, a redhead from Savannah, Georgia, entered. "The carrier group should be back by the end of the week," she informed Beth ecstatically. Kelly's boyfriend was an officer on one of the destroyers. Beth smiled. The young woman continued to chat away about her boyfriend Tom Crenshaw. Beth was only half listening as she finished getting ready for work. Two weeks after the carrier group had departed, Beth arrived at Pensacola. Kelly immediately became attached to her and appointed herself as Beth's tour guide and shadow. Beth couldn't understand why Kelly did this, but didn't have the heart to tell the enthusiastic redhead to go away. They did not have much in common. Kelly was born and bred in Savannah, Beth was born in Greenbelt, Maryland and was raised in Columbus, Georgia. They were both nurses and that was about it. "Anyway," Kelly was saying, "Bingo promised me he would make seafood gumbo when he came back, so I'm going to make him keep his promise this weekend. Tom loves seafood gumbo." "Who?" She was beginning to sound like an owl. "Bingo. Tommy's friend. They were in the same year group at Annapolis." "Listen, Kelly. I've got to finish getting ready." "Oh. OK. I didn't mean to hold you up," she apologized, heading for the door. The door closed behind her and the room was blessedly silent once more. Beth checked her appearance one last time, straightened her collar, and nodded, satisfied. *Time for another fun-filled day*, she thought as she headed out the door. 1200 HRS. MONDAY, JUNE 6, 1960. HOSPITAL CAFETERIA, PENSACOLA NAS "I can't believe they moved the departure date up two weeks," Janet said over lunch. "Two carrier groups departing at once and a third returning. This place is going to be a zoo." "I know," Lenora sniffed. "Kelly's on leave, Renee's mother is in the hospital, Cathy's on bed rest, Margo's on her honeymoon, and Phyllis, Caroline, and Samantha left for the Nursing conference in Washington." Beth continued to munch on her salad, in silence. Lenora sighed and continued. "All those fly boys passing through for the flight physicals." "I've told Commander Layton that I will handle records," Beth informed them. She didn't have to look up to know that the two were smiling at one another, satisfied. Records were the worst job and none of the other nurses would have volunteered. Beth didn't mind, however. In her opinion, jet jocks were a conceited bunch of braggarts and she would prefer not to personally handle an entire air wing. Let Janet and the others flirt and simper over them. "Now, Janet, do you have anything special planned for George's homecoming?" Janet was George Whitmore-Jones' girlfriend, and according to Kelly, Janet was frustrated by the fact that she hadn't succeeded, yet, in securing an engagement ring. Janet made a face. "No, but I do have a few days yet." She smiled wickedly at her friend. "Is there anyone in particular you have made plans for, Lt. Dubois?" Lenora's smile was just as wicked. "I've always had a taste for Italian. Kelly better think twice about her dinner arrangements this weekend, because Bingo's been at sea six months, and food is going to be the last thing on his mind." *Not him again*, Beth thought. "Good luck," Janet said sourly. "Phyllis tried for two months to catch his eye. She said he wasn't quiet himself since Theresa Cambridge was reassigned to Norfolk. Now he spends most of his time with those jets." Her curiosity piqued, Beth said, "Will someone please explain to me everyone's fascination with this ‘Bingo' person." "Well," Janet said, leaning over conspiratorially. "Lt. Al Calavicci has a reputation with the ladies, if you understand my meaning." "He's very polite and always a gentleman. He will not pressure you into doing anything you don't want, if you fail to fall to his charms," Lenora added. "He never take a ‘no' personally. Before he met Theresa, he was seeing Samantha Freeman. Rumor has it that he asked her to sleep with him. She said no, but he didn't stop seeing her. *She* ended the relationship a few months later when that Marine arrived." "Also," Janet continued, "he never looked at another woman while he was involved with either of them." "Renee," Lenora added, "tried to catch his eye when he and Theresa first started seeing each other. It came to nothing and you know how gorgeous Renee is." So far, Lenora and Janet's story corroborated with Lisa's story about Al Calavicci. "I think he was serious about Theresa, or very close to it," Janet mused. "Can't imagine what caused them to end it, other than her assignment to Norfolk, of course." Beth shook her head as she rose to leave. "See you later. If anyone's looking for me, I'll be in records." 1100 HRS. THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 1960. HOSPITAL, PENSACOLA NAS Beth cursed softly to herself. Exhausted from pulling double shifts, she had over slept and was running behind at the hospital. Beth had volunteered for double shifts because she believed, wrongly, that records would be easy enough for all-nighters. Now, she couldn't find the file cart and was forced to carry a large stack of files in her arms. Moving briskly, she dodged two doctors, three pilots in their flight suits, the head nurse, and an orderly, without losing her stack. Rounding the last corner with her destination in sight, she couldn't avoid colliding with another pilot, who wasn't paying attention to where he was going. The files, including the one he was carrying, fell to floor. To her amazement, none of the documentation fell out. Beth felt her cheeks turn red in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry," she started. "No, it's my fault. I should've been watching where I was going," the pilot said, stooping for the files. Beth got a good look at his face before he ducked down. Hair as dark as hers, cut to regulation, still had enough of a wave in it to suggest it was naturally curly. He had bushy eyebrows above dark eyes framed with thick, long, black eyelashes. He had smiled at her and it was turning her insides to mush. Confused and flustered, Beth joined him. He glanced at her reddened and tired face. "You look like you're at the end of your rope." "Double shift," she explained. "When's your lunch break?" he asked, handing her half ofthe files. He retrieved his own file and put it on the top of the other stack. Beth realized several things as she watched him. First, how. . . alive. . . he felt. Without having to touch him, she could feel life and energy radiating from him, just like her grandfather. Second, that he was a hair's breath shorter than she and he was looking at her dead in the eyes, with a frank and appreciating look. Last, that he was waiting patiently for her to do and say something. "I... That is . . . My break is in an hour," she stammered, "but I can't take too long because I over slept and now I'm behind." Beth knew she was rambling but she could help herself. "What do you want for lunch?" "Just a salad." The conversation was confusing. She couldn't understand why he wanted to know that. She turned and led the way to the records room. She was aware, however, that he walked slightly behind her, just enough to watch the way she walked. For the first time in her short Naval career, she didn't mind it in the least. He set the stack down on the grey metal desk and took his off the top. "I'll go to the snack bar, bring back a salad, and we'll dine in the hospital cafeteria. It's the least I can do for knocking you down like that." Beth laughed. "You didn't knock me over." She smiled at him. For a second, the man stared intently at her smiling face. "You're new here, aren't you?" "I arrived in January" He held out his hand and she took it. It was warm and he didn't crush her fingers like some men did. She liked the way his hand felt. In fact, she liked it so much, she almost didn't hear what he was saying. "My name's Al Calavicci." Beth stiffened and he released her hand. Al raised an eyebrow. "I see you've heard of me." "You've been the topic of choice among the nurses for the last week," she replied blandly. He nodded thoughtfully. "Is my lunch plan OK with you?" With one word she could back out, diplomatically and painlessly. So far, he was just as Lisa and the others had said he would be. *What would it have a quick lunch in a public place?* Beth thought to herself. A good reason failed to come to her. "That sounds good." His answering smile took her off guard, again. "Are you going to tell me your name?" he asked gently. She blinked. Of course. She forgot. "Elizabeth Townsend, but I prefer to be called Beth." "Nice to meet you, Beth." After he left, Beth stood staring at the closed door and regained her equilibrium. *I hope I'm not making a big mistake*, she thought.