“When I called his folks to ask if they knew where he was, they gave me your number.”
“You don’t know how glad I am to hear you’re back,” Sarah said. “So am I,” he said.
“I never thought I would be delighted to be stationed in Selma, Alabama, but-” “Is that where you are?” Sarah asked.
“Alabama?”
“They gave me a fighter group down here, Mrs. Bitter,’ he said. I will thank him for my husband’s life, for Joe’s daddy, hut this isn’t the time. Oh, please call me Sarah,” she said. “I hear there’s a baby, too, I didn’t know about,” “Yes, there is,” Sarah said.
“I’d like to see Ed,” Doug lass said.
“And if he’s going to be available, this weekend. I’m coming up to Washington. “He’ll be available,” Sarah said.
“And you’ll stay here with us.” There was a perpetual shortage of hotel rooms in Washington for civilians. And so many officers were visiting the city, Ed had told her, that rooms in transient bachelor officers’ quarters had become nothing but wall-to-wall cots. Sarah was at first delighted to have the chance to offer Doug Doug lass a place to stay, until she remembered that her old friend Charity Hoc he was coming on Friday afternoon and Ann Chambers on Saturday, which meant there would be no spare room. Well, they would just have to make do, have the hotel send up cots or something. Both Ann and Doug lass had large claims on her. And Charity was a dear. Fortunately, it turned out there wasn’t going to be a problem after all. “Well, that’s very kind, Sarah, but I already have a place to stay,” Doug said. “A nice place?” she challenged. “Very nice.” He chuckled, “I’ll be staying with my father.”
“Well, there’s a room here if you need one,” Sarah said.
“Are you going to be here on business?”
“I am solemnly informed that the entire war effort will collapse unless I immediately acquire some cross-country time,” he said.
“So I decided to cross the country to our nation’s capital instead of Hogwash, Wisconsin.” He has a nice voice, Sarah thought. And seems like a nice fellow. “Well, if the fate of the nation depends on it,” Sarah said. “How long can you stay?”
“Overnight, anyway,” he said.
“If you can find a baby-sitter, I’d like to take you out to dinner.”
“No, you won’t,” Sarah said.
“We’ll have a party. I even know some girls.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said. “I want to,” Sarah said.
“When and where are you arriving?”
“I’ll leave here, say, six, six-thirty,” he said.
“I should touch down at Bolling no later than half past ten.”
“You can’t make it from Alabama that quickly, can you?” she said.
“You can in a P-3 8,” he said. “I really look forward to this,” Sarah said.
“Me, too, Sarah,” he said, then: “Gotta go! See you Saturday.” The line went dead. What I really would like to do, she thought, is call Ed and tell him. But he doesn’ the me to ca im ere.
She meditated a moment, then lifted her finger off the switch. When the operator came on the line, Sarah gave her Ann’ number at the Memphis Advocate. “Ed’s friend Doug lass is going to be here Saturday, too,” she announced.
“If he’s going to see Ed, maybe he’ll see Dick Canidy, too.”
“At least I should be able to corner him and see if he has a number or an address,” Ann said. Then: “Just for the bell of it, why don’t you try the National Institutes of Health again for me? Save me the price of a call. If he comes on the line, hang up.” Sarah giggled.
“Okay,” she said.
“I will.” Ann gave her the number, said, “See you Saturday,” and hung up. just as before with Ann, the operator at the National Institutes of Health informed Sarah that no one named Canidy worked there. “I’m sure there’s some mistake,” Sarah said.
“I was told to call him at the National Institutes of Health building.
There was silence on the line, and Sarah had just about decided the operator had hung up on her, when there was the sound of a phone being rung. A woman answered and said,” Hello? The one word was enough for Sarah to judge that she was young, sophisticated, and intelligent.