“Because the facts seem to be that I do love you, and I came here to-” “Shut up!” Canidy interrupted furiously.
“Just shut up!”
“-see if I could get you to-” she went on relentlessly. “Shut up!” he screamed again.
“Goddamn you, shut your mouth! You don’t know what you’re saying! She met his eyes and saw determination in them, and knew that she had failed. Her own eyes teared, and she felt a sob rising. There were the sounds of footsteps on the stairs. “Major Canidy? Everything all right in there, Major?” It was the sentry. He pushed her against the wall, “Ssh!” he cautioned. “Major Canidy?” the sentry asked.
“Everything’s just fine,” Canidy said. “You’re sure, Sir? I thought I heard shouting.”
“I didn’t hear any shouting,” Canidy said innocently.
Ann started to giggle. Canidy quickly clapped his hand over her mouth.
“Well, someone was shouting,” the sentry said firmly. “Not me,” Canidy said.
“Everything’s perfectly normal in here.” Something was pressed painfully against Ann’s abdomen. She put her hand down to push it away, but when she realized what it was, she put her hand around it and held it tightly. She felt her heart pound. For a moment, she thought she might faint. “Well, good night, Sir,” the sentry said. “Sorry to disturb you, Major.”
“Perfectly all right,” Canidy said.
“Keep up the good work.” When the sentry had gone down the stairs, he took his hand from her mouth. She did not remove her hand from where she was holding him. She heard him exhale deeply, almost as if it hurt him, and then he picked her up and carried her to the bed. She was glad that she had taken off the cutesy-poo pants, because all he had to do was push the cotton robe out of the way. it didn’t take long to become a woman, Ann thought, and I never believed those horror stories about the pain anyway. And when it was over, when he said, “You goddamn fool!” she heard tenderness in his voice, and was sure she had done the right thing even before he reached for her, and pulled her to him, and held her tightly against him, and said all the things she was so afraid she would never hear him say.
The second time was longer, and better, and so was the third.
I TURKE I Summer Place Deal, Now Jersey 0830 Hours July 5, 1942
When Barbara Whittaker left the table to go to the kitchen to ask for another pot of coffee, Charity Hoc he smiled sweetly at Ann and said, “The tabletop is glass, so I think I should tell you that everybody can see you playing kneesie with Major Canidy.”
“Charity!” Sarah Child Bitter snapped. Captain Stanley S. Fine had trouble swallowing his coffee, while Ann Chambers and Richard Canidy flushed and separated at the knees. Then Ann looked at Canidy. “I don’t mind if you don’t,” she said, and Canidy moved his knee against hers again. Ann thumbed her nose at Charity, and Fine and Sarah laughed. This was the scene that greeted a security man and two Air Corps officers-both captains and both appearing to be in their mid-thirties when they walked into the breakfast room: A very good-looking young woman was thumbing her nose at two other equally attractive young women and two men, one wearing an insignia-less tropical worsted uniform and the other, younger, wearing swim trunks and a battered, washed out gray sweatshirt with cutoff sleeves. On the front of the sweatshirt was still faintly visible the legend “Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” They were all giggling and more than a little red in the face. It was not what two officers who had volunteered for a hazardous secret mission expected to find when they reported for duty on orders conspicuously stamped Top Secret.
“These gentlemen have orders to report to you, Major,” the security man said.
“I’ve verified their identity.” Canidy took his knee away from Ann’s.
She sensed it would be a long time before she felt that delightful pressure again. “Thank you,” Canidy said, and reached out for a manila envelope the older of the two captains held in his hand. “I’m Canidy,” he said.