{"id":1074,"date":"2019-02-10T22:10:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T03:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/?p=1074"},"modified":"2020-06-01T09:06:59","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:06:59","slug":"ill-be-seeing-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/ill-be-seeing-you\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019ll Be Seeing You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n

I\u2019ll Be Seeing You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Melody Carlson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 7, 1941, San Francisco is on high alert following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Mulligan family is grappling with the news that Peter, beloved son and brother, is among the missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the Mulligan sisters Bridget, Margaret, Colleen and Molly strives to find her place in the rapidly changing world in these early days of World War II. With their father ailing, Margaret takes over management of the family\u2019s grocery store trying to keep hoarders at bay while daydreaming of a June wedding. Meanwhile Bridget focuses on her board exams and hopes to be accepted as an Army nurse. Beautiful Colleen, the \u201cfamily flibbertigibbet\u201d just wants to have fun despite the dire news of the war. But it\u2019s the \u201cbaby\u201d fifteen-year-old Molly who seems to be the glue that holds the family<\/a> together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With siblings, friends, and beaus being shipped out weekly, the remaining Mulligans quickly realize that this war will be fought on two fronts at home and overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the strong, hopeful Mulligan sisters will do their part if they hope to see victory and the end of the war.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Sunday, December 7, 1941<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Molly Mulligan loved Sundays. It was the only day the family\ngrocery store was closed and everyone could sit down to breakfast together. As\nshe set a platter of steaming hotcakes in the center of the big oak dining table,\nMolly glanced at the vacant seat next to her dad. The only one absent today was\nPeter. Her older brother had been gone for nearly two months now, but Molly\nmissed him as much as the day he\u2019d donned his sailor uniform and told his\nfamily good-bye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She wondered if Peter missed them\nthis morning. Or maybe he was glad to escape his four younger sisters.\nEspecially since he used to complain about how the girls always hogged the\nbathroom or never stopped talking. Molly imagined her brother\u2014enjoying his newfound\nfreedom from females as much as the tropical Hawaiian\n Islands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you think Peter eats bananas\nand pineapples for breakfast?\u201d Molly set a pitcher of warmed maple syrup next\nto her dad. \u201cOr maybe papayas?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her dad chuckled as he stirred\nsugar into his coffee. \u201cMore\u2019n likely your brother is dining on lumpy porridge\nand runny eggs this morning. From what I hear, ship food\u2019s not such a grand\ntreat, Molly Girl. Not when you\u2019re in the navy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d happily eat cold mush three\ntimes a day if I could be in Hawaii\nright now,\u201d Bridget declared. \u201cIt sounds so exotic and exciting.\u201d She was the\noldest of the four girls and, in Molly\u2019s opinion, the smartest. Bridget sighed wistfully\nand turned her attention back to the nursing school textbook nestled in her\nlap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeter\u2019s last postcard to me said\nit was eighty degrees on Thanksgiving Day,\u201d Molly reminded them. \u201cCan you\nimagine\u2014eighty degrees in November?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that I\u2019d care for it\nmyself.\u201d Her mother carried a platter of bacon from the kitchen. \u201cI\u2019d miss the\nseasons. Imagine having Christmas in hot summer weather. Very strange indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSunshine sounds better than this Frisco\nfog.\u201d Margaret patted her auburn hair which, thanks to dozens of bobby pins and\nthe pink hairnet she\u2019d worn to bed last night, now resembled Maureen O\u2019Hara\u2019s.\n\u201cThe damp air always ruins my hairdo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why you should wear a\nprayer scarf to Mass,\u201d their practical mother advised as she sat down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret held her head high. \u201cYou\nexpect me to go out in public wearing a prayer scarf? Like an old woman? Really,\n<\/em>Mam.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA prayer scarf is more sensible than\nthose silly hats you girls fancy. And a scarf can keep your hairdo smooth\nenough.\u201d Mam pushed a loose strand of her own graying hair back into her usual\nbun. \u201cNot only that, a scarf is helpful when you\u2019ve had no time to primp.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut they\u2019re so unstylish,\u201d Colleen\ndeclared. Of the four sisters, Colleen was by far the most fashionable and, in\nMolly\u2019s opinion, resembled Lana Turner. Colleen winked at Margaret. \u201cEspecially\nwhen you just got that sweet little number with the adorable fascinator that I\ncan\u2019t wait to borrow for\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll right now,\u201d Dad interrupted\nwith forceful volume. \u201cIf none of you gabby girls minds too much, I\u2019d like to\neat my breakfast while it\u2019s still hot. And in peace, if it\u2019s not too much to\nask. Bridget, dear, I believe it\u2019s your turn to say grace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same instant, all six of the\nMulligans bowed their heads, and Bridget murmured a brief prayer. Finished with\nher hasty blessing, Bridget\u2019s head remained bowed, but her eyes were on the textbook\nin her lap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe forgot something!\u201d As the\nothers reached for food, Molly closed her eyes.\u201cAnd God bless Peter and give him a good day!\u201d Of course, everyone\nheartily echoed her \u201camen,\u201d re-crossing themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you for that, Molly.\u201d Mam patted\nher hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI pray for Peter every day,\u201d Molly\nquietly told her. \u201cI taped the picture-postcards he\u2019s sent me on my dresser\nmirror as a reminder.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boisterous family commenced to\neating\u2014and talking all at once. As usual, everyone seemed to have something\nimportant to say, and the volume increased with the enthusiasm. The Mulligans\nknew how to talk, that was for sure and for certain, but the topics sometimes\ncame and went so quickly that Molly felt slightly lost. Even so, she loved her\ngregarious family\u2014and she felt surprisingly grateful for each of them today. If\nPeter were here, it would be perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBridget, put your book away,\u201d Dad scolded.\n\u201cTell us what you\u2019ve been learning in nursing school of late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Molly chewed on a crispy strip\nof bacon, she listened to her sisters chattering like magpies. Sometimes\namongst themselves, sometimes with the parents. Molly tried to inject a word\nhere and there, just to remind them of her presence, but as usual the three\nolder girls dominated the conversation. And why not\u2014they were grown-ups with\nexciting lives to lead. Bridget was twenty-one and in her last year of nursing\nschool. Margaret, just a year younger, managed the family grocery store. And Colleen,\nthe social butterfly, was eighteen-and-a-half and looked like a film star. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Molly\u2019s three older sisters always had\ninteresting topics to discuss and strong opinions to back them. Far more appealing\nthan anything fifteen-year-old Molly could bring to the table. Her sisters\ncould even make a boring subject sound colorful and fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe missing produce delivery\nfinally arrived just before closing last night,\u201d Margaret was telling their\nfather. \u201cThe truck driver had a breakdown just outside of Sacramento and had to hire a different\ntruck.\u201d Margaret was still getting used to her new role at the store. Peter had\nstarted training her as manager after he\u2019d made up his mind to join the navy.\nBut it was no secret that Margaret didn\u2019t particularly like her new\nresponsibilities. She would rather be a wife than a storekeeper. But Dad\u2019s poor\nhealth had made it necessary for the rest of the family to take over the store.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo the produce was in good shape\nwhen it arrived\u2014not damaged?\u201d Dad asked in a distressed tone. \u201cAnd it got\nunloaded all right?\u201d Molly knew how much it bothered Dad to be stuck at home\nand unable to help\u2014especially when something went awry at the store. But his\nphysician had insisted rest was necessary, and they were all trying to be\nsupportive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Margaret assured him.\n\u201cYoung Jimmy stayed late to help me. It was almost ten by the time we finished.\nBut it\u2019s all taken care of, Dad. No problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His smile looked relieved as he\nturned to his wife. \u201cYou see, Mary, I told you the store would be in good hands\nwith Margaret at the helm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut for how long?\u201d Colleen asked\nwith a twinkle in her eye. \u201cI\u2019m guessing our Maggie may have other fish to fry.\nOr should I say, wedding bells to ring<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat have you heard?\u201d Dad looked worried\nagain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust that someone\u2019s been talking\nto Brian\u2019s brother.\u201d Colleen nudged Bridget with her elbow, fluttering her\nthick dark eyelashes in a mockingly flirty way. \u201cHaven\u2019t you, Bridgie?\u201dColleen might\u2019ve been the closest to\nMolly\u2019s age, but she was so sophisticated and worldly that the gap between them\nfelt bigger than three years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI happened to bump into Patrick\nHammond on the street car on Friday,\u201d Bridget answered in a nonchalant tone, fixing\nher eyes back down on her textbook again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure it was a complete coincidence<\/em>,\u201d Colleen teased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Molly wanted to defend Bridget and\npoint out that, of all the sisters, Bridget was the least likely to flirt with\nanyone. Even if it was Patrick Hammond. But, as usual, her tongue felt tied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was simply on my way home from\nschool,\u201d Bridget said crisply. \u201cLike I keep telling you and everyone\u2014Patrick\nand I are only friends.<\/em> That is all.\nI wish you\u2019d all quit making a mountain out of a molehill.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMethinks thou protesteth too\nmuch.\u201d Colleen\u2019s fine brows arched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd methinks you\u2019d like to go\nafter Patrick yourself,\u201d Bridget shot back at her. \u201cNo one is stopping you,\nColleen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess I could do worse.\u201d Colleen\nlaughed lightly. \u201cBut rest assured, although Patrick is very handsome\u2014in a Dick\nPowell sort of way\u2014he is not my type.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut what did Patrick say?\u201d Molly\nasked Colleen. \u201cIs Brian going to propose to Margaret soon?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you think that\u2019s between\nBrian and Margaret?\u201d Bridget said without looking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret cleared her throat in a\ndramatic sort of way. \u201cWell, I didn\u2019t mention it to anyone yet, but I did get a\nletter from Brian yesterday\u2026.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd<\/em>?\u201d Colleen nudged Bridget again, as if she felt they were\nharboring a secret about Margaret\u2019s future. \u201cAny mention of marriage?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cA proposal in a letter? Really<\/em>?\u201d Margaret looked aggravated as she wiped her mouth with her\nnapkin. \u201cBesides, it\u2019s none of your business, little sister.\u201d They all knew\nthat Brian Hammond wouldn\u2019t graduate from college until June\u2014and that Margaret\nwas impatiently waiting for that day\u2026and for a wedding. But it seemed like\nMargaret had been waiting for Brian for as long as Molly could remember. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen why is Colleen talking about wedding\nbells for you?\u201d Molly looked from one sister to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure I don\u2019t know.\u201d Margaret\nrolled her eyes. \u201cBrian simply wrote to remind me of his Christmas vacation\nschedule. I assume it\u2019s so we can spend some time together during the holidays.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChristmastime is the perfect time\nto become engaged,\u201d Colleen said slyly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpeaking of Christmas vacation,\nmine\u2019s about to begin too.\u201d Bridget directed this to Margaret. \u201cI\u2019ll be able to\nhelp out in the store after my final exams next Monday and Tuesday. So I\u2019ll be\navailable to work by Wednesday.\u201d She tapped her book. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m\ncramming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Dad grilled Bridget about her\nupcoming registered nursing exam, and she reassured him that it was scheduled\nfor January. Then Colleen told everyone about the USO dance she\u2019d gone to last\nnight. And finally Margaret described the Christmas display she wanted to put\nin the store\u2019s front window\u2014and Molly begged to help. It wasn\u2019t long until\nbreakfast was finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As usual after a family meal, the\nMulligan sisters flocked into the kitchen to wash up. Today they worked to the\nHit Parade on the radio and, thanks to the fast tempo, they all moved quickly,\nsinging along with the likes of Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington.\nWith Bridget washing, Margaret rinsing, Colleen drying, and Molly putting\ndishes away, they finished up in record time. With some extra minutes of\npre-church primping, sharing the bathroom sink and mirror, the girls were\nfinally clustered by the front door as they pulled on coats, hats, and gloves, filing\nat last out into the cool foggy morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere goes my hair,\u201d Margaret\ndeclared as they traipsed down the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mam and Dad had left a few minutes\nearlier, allowing themselves plenty of time to stroll slowly to Old Saint\nMary\u2019s, since Dad was not supposed to overdo it. It wasn\u2019t long before the four\ngirls caught up with their parents, trailing behind them so that they resembled\na small, talkative parade. As they headed down Kearny Street, Molly thought that the\nonly thing missing today was Peter. And as her older sisters continued to\nchatter amongst themselves, leaving her out, Molly missed Peter more than ever.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More specifically, Molly missed all\nthe times that Peter had accompanied her to Mass. He was the only sibling who never\ntreated her like a baby, and she had loved walking with him to Old Saint\nMary\u2019s. The two of them would remain behind the rest, talking uninterrupted.\nPeter would inquire about school and friends\u2026and most recently he\u2019d begun to ask\nher about boys. She giggled to remember the brotherly speech he\u2019d given her\nright before joining the navy. He\u2019d warned her that teenage boys were not to be\ntrusted. \u201cNot until they\u2019re at least eighteen,\u201d he\u2019d said in a no-nonsense\ntone. \u201cMaybe not until twenty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, she had just laughed.\nAnd then she reminded him that he\u2019d been a teenager once. Of course, he simply pointed\nout that was the reason he understood this issue so well. \u201cAnd that is\nprecisely why I want you to stay just as you are,\u201d he\u2019d told her. \u201cPigtails and\nall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She knew Peter loved her braids,\nand she\u2019d already kept them longer than she\u2019d planned. But it was simply\nbecause she loved her big brother and wanted to make him happy. Still, she\nwasn\u2019t a child anymore. \u201cIt will be rather hard to avoid all<\/em> teenage boys,\u201d she told him. \u201cI am in high school, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true. And I want you to\nremember that you\u2019re a very attractive girl,\u201d he said in a somber tone. \u201cThose\nblonde curls and blue eyes could be your downfall, Molly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy downfall?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome high school boys will only\nsee you as a pretty face,\u201d he explained. \u201cSome may go after you for their own\namusement. And I won\u2019t be around to fight them off for you. And you know that\nDad\u2019s not been so well lately. So you\u2019ll have to stand up to those boys\nyourself. Promise me you won\u2019t let them take advantage. You hear?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had agreed to be on guard about\nboys in general, assuring him that she\u2019d store his advice in her heart. But now\nthat Peter was gone and she had been privy to some of her older sisters\u2019\nchatterbox conversations\u2014particularly on their way to Mass\u2014she\u2019d come to\nrealize their favorite topic, besides fashion and film stars, seemed to be\nyoung men. So much so that she wondered if Peter had ever warned them about the\n\u201cdangers\u201d of boys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were nearly at the church when\nMolly, who was dawdling in the rear of the Mulligan parade, heard her sisters\nletting out some high-pitched squeals, as if someone had just shared a good\njoke\u2014probably about a boy. But the shrieks were loud enough that their mother\nturned around to shake a finger at them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGirls\u2014girls<\/em>!\u201d She pointed up at the statuesque brick building just ahead.\n\u201cShow some respect, please!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her sisters\u2019 voices softened some as\nthey got closer to the church. Old Saint Mary\u2019s wasn\u2019t a highly ornate building,\nbut it was substantial and sturdy\u2026and nearly a hundred years old. The big clock\nabove the Madonna statue gave the structure a sense of dependability. Molly\u2019s\nolder sisters grew much quieter as they passed through the tall Gothic arches\nand into the vestibule, politely exchanging greetings with friends, minding\ntheir manners around their elders, and going through the usual pre-Mass paces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before long the four sisters, still\nwearing coats, hats, and gloves, filed into their usual pew and took their\nseats. With their parents on the aisle, the Mulligan family could nearly fill\nthe wooden pew. But without Peter, they could make room for Mr. and Mrs. Nelson\non the other end. Because it was the first week of Advent, the church was\nfuller than usual today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Molly glanced around with\nsatisfaction. Taking in the familiar faces of friends and neighbors, she felt\nsuch stability and security being in Old Saint Mary\u2019s. Like a home of sorts.\nFrom the carved majestic arches and beautiful windows to the pipe organ\u2019s\nworshipful music\u2026even the slightly musty smell of old wood surfaces and\nfurniture polish\u2026it all filled Molly with the sense that God was on his throne\nand all was well with the world. And this Sunday was no different. Very\ncomforting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did that mean Molly listened\nattentively and reverently to the readings and recitations? Did she absorb all\nof Father McMurphey\u2019s words? Not as much as she should\u2019ve\u2026and not nearly as\nmuch as she pretended to. But at least she was beyond the age of doodling and\nnote-passing and secretly sucking on lemon drops. Perhaps she was growing up\nafter all. There was hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as Molly started to feel\nrestless and tempted to check her watch\u2014a habit her parents frowned upon in\nchurch\u2014she observed something that made her sit up and take notice. Officer\nStone, dressed in his dark police uniform, was striding up the center aisle\u2014even\nthough Father McMurphey was still speaking. With a sense of purpose and urgency,\nand a flushed face, Officer Stone waved his hands in the air to get the\npriest\u2019s attention. Father McMurphey stopped speaking in mid-sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole congregation came to\nattention as Officer Stone rushed to the pulpit, looking so agitated that Molly\nwondered if he had come to arrest someone. Now that would be an exciting way to\nend Mass. She glanced around, wondering if they were in danger. Perhaps there\nwas fire somewhere in the building. The interior of the church had burnt down\nonce before. But Molly didn\u2019t smell smoke. Maybe an earthquake like the one in\n1906 was eminent. Old Saint Mary\u2019s had survived that. But since nothing was\ntrembling or shaking, she knew that wasn\u2019t it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With wide eyes, Molly watched as\nOfficer Stone held his emergency conference with Father McMurphey. The priest\u2019s\nface grew paler and more serious as he listened, his furrowed brow mirroring\nOfficer Stone\u2019s. Something was definitely wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church became so silent that\nMolly was surprised they couldn\u2019t hear the two men whispering for what seemed\nlike several minutes. Waiting impatiently, Molly felt a twisting sensation deep\nin the pit of her stomach\u2014something was really wrong. What was it?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officer Stone stepped back, and Father\nMcMurphey returned to the pulpit. Laying his palms flat on the podium, he sadly\nshook his head, gazing out over the congregation. \u201cI have some very difficult\nnews to share,\u201d he said solemnly. \u201cNews that will severely shake our\ncommunity\u2014some right here in our congregation. Indeed, this news will shake the\nentire country\u2026the world at large.\u201d He paused to take a deep breath. \u201cIt is\nreported that Japanese forces launched a massive air strike this morning. They attacked\nthe Hawaiian Islands by air. The devastation\nto our military there has been brutal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n