#rattlebrainedangel

She hadn’t seen Ashley smile and laugh the way he had at dinner since when they were children, back when Mother was still alive. When he had written of this girl—Effie—India had maintained a protective level of skepticism, as she had concerning all of his girls. As the eldest of the Wilkes children, Ashley had been in a role to protect both her and Honey, but India, as the lady of the house, had drifted into what should have been their mother’s place. It was no secret that most of the girls in the county were fascinated by her brother, and equally true that very few—if any—of the girls in the county were worthy of her brother, in her eyes at least. 

The day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Then after that, Hitler declared war on them. Friday morning, Ashley had walked to the recruitment centers of first the United State Marine Corps, and then the Navy. Both had rejected him because of his delicate age of thirty and poor eyesight. That left him no other choice but the Army. He was scheduled to leave for basic from the San Francisco bureau directly, which left him no time to visit his family.

He had written his father and sisters to tell them of his decision, and that he would be in Georgia once his training was finished and he was given leave. His father, he was certain, was pleased with his choice to serve, as he had fought in the Great War. India would be worried sick, and Honey would likely brag to the whole of Jonesboro about having a brother in uniform. His own feelings were a bit more mixed. He’d felt a sense of guilt for the past two years, going about his daily life like normal when his friends from Oxford were fighting and yes, dying, in defense of Europe as Hitler blitzed it. He’d toyed with the idea of quitting his job and joining the RAF or the Foreign Legion, but had always deferred to something—he wanted to say it was his work, but he wasn’t quite sure what it was—and never went.

As it stood, he bid his office goodbye, and his friends, including Effie. Of all the people he’d met in San Francisco, he figured that he would miss her most of all. Their last conversation had ended with his asking if he could write, and he’d been delighted when she had accepted. It was with that very thought in mind that he unloaded his suitcase from his taxi cab as he reached the train station. All around him, men, some in uniform, some with suitcases like him, were bidding their families and girls goodbye. He dug in his pocket for his ticket and tried to find his platform, squeezing his way through the crowd.