MAY COCKER COCKER BROTHERS BOOK 24 FALEENA HOPKINS CONTENTS Introduction 1. JERALD 2. MAY 3. JERALD 4. JERALD 5. MAY 6. JERALD 7. MAY 8. MAY 9. JERALD 10. MAY 11. JERALD 12. MAY 13. JERALD 14. MAY 15. JERALD 16. MAY 17. JERALD 18. MAY 19. JERALD 20. JERALD 21. JERALD 22. MAY 23. JERALD 24. MAY 25. JERALD 26. MAY 27. MAY 28. MAY 29. MAY 30. MAY 31. JERALD 32. MAY 33. MAY 34. JERALD 35. MAY 36. MAY 37. JERALD 38. MAY 39. JERALD 40. JERALD 41. MAY 42. MAY 43. JERALD 44. MAY 45. MAY 46. JERALD 47. JERALD 48. JERALD 49. JERALD 50. MAY 51. JERALD 52. MAY 53. MAY Glossary Note From Me Cocker Brothers Series Links Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION WHERE TRUE LOVE BEGAN… THIS NOVEL COMES WITH A GLOSSARY OF 1940’S SLANG WORDS FOR THE FUN OF IT. Confidence... thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live.” FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT JERALD SEPTEMBER 1944 “T hanks just the same, Hank, but I’m not in the mood.” Turning the page of Crime and Punishment, I straighten my left knee on my bed, wide pant leg bunching around the calf, foot bare. My brother had poked his head into my room but now his whole body is in. “You’re back on duty in a few days! On a submarine! With no women! You mean to say you’d rather read that bloated yawnville over filling the dance cards of dozens of girls who believe you’re a legend!” A smile tugs at my lips. “Legend?” He gestures to the window as if khaki-wacky dames were at this very moment swooning on our family’s front lawn. “Jerald, a Congressman’s son protecting our great nation from within the depths of oceans all around the world! Think about it! You can pick any doll you want!” “Hank, you’re a devilish good salesman.” He shuts the door to whisper, “We’ve got gin.” “Sure you have. But I want to stay home and read. You go on now. Have your fun. I’m too old for high school girls.” I’m back in my book, but as the minutes tick by — minutes, not seconds — it occurs to me that I haven’t heard Hank leave. Glancing over, I see my kid brother staring at the rug Ma brought back from India when she and Pop were newly married. It’s had some wear and tear since then but she won’t hear of getting rid of it, and it’s been mine since I was a boy. This room is kept exactly as I left it when I joined the Navy right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. It’s a few months shy of three years now. Hank is staring at the palest section of my rug, kicking it with his wing tip shoe while gnawing his cheek, hands shoved in the pockets of his best pin-striped suit since the dance starts in under an hour. I set the novel on the warm cotton of my white under-shirt. “Say, what gives? You alright?” I’m the somber one between the two of us. He’s the joker. But there’s no smile this time. Hank’s voice is different now. “Jer, here’s how I see it. Now hear me out. Pops’ ticker is on the mend. But we had a scare, see? He almost didn’t make it. And I was just thinking, now hear me out…what if this time you don’t come back, Jer? I may not have lost a Father, but what if I lose a…” I sit up straighter, grabbing the book before it topples. “Look here, if you want me to come tonight because…” We stare at each other, the unsaid heavy between us. A lot of guys don’t come back from service. Too many of my friends are gone for good, a fact I try to forget. Now it’s looking at me through the eyes of my seventeen-year-old brother. Jumping off the bed I cross to my closet, muttering, “Well, why didn’t you say so?” Hank pulls his hands free, taking a step. “Then you’ll come?” “Sure, why not. I can read when I’m back on the sub, can’t I? Loads of time there.” “Ah Jer, I knew I could count on you!” Hank disappears into the hall, shouting downstairs, “Hey Ma! He’s changed his mind! He’s joining me after all! We’re gonna need Pops’ car!” “Fine but no gin!” “What makes you think we’d have gin?” I glance toward my door, frowning. My brother has been hoping for the draft now that he’s a senior and turns eighteen mid-February. Our parents won’t let him enlist until after graduation. For him that’s too long, but I disagree. He wants to become a pilot for the Navy, since that’s the branch I joined. But he’s not a seaman, prefers air. A ‘sailor with wings’ they call his future position, patrolling the ocean in which I live day in and day out. He’ll keep it safe for subs and battleships, fly back to tell us when he spots the enemy. The thought is sobering. To me he’s still a kid and his display just now, didn’t change my opinion. He’s gonna need tougher skin to make it in this war. Ah damn. Looks like I gotta wear a suit. Doesn’t feel right not wearing my uniform but Ma took my dress-blues for washing. Can’t be helped. After I change, I walk out of our bathroom and hear Hank downstairs with laughter in his voice. “Sure, he’s coming! I said I was worried about losing him to the war. You know he believed me? I should be in pictures!” I pause, surprised. He pulled a fast one on me! And I fell for it. Hank, you dog, I’ll get you back for this! Our father’s weak chuckle makes it upstairs. Well good, his ticker needs a laugh. With a frown I go brush my teeth. Hank deserves my desertion after the stunt he just pulled. I’ll stay five minutes and ditch him when he finds a girl. A high school dance at my age. What’d I get myself roped into? MAY I groan, “Why must you be so stubborn?” Ignoring me, Mother sews a new button onto Father’s best shirt, her back straight in a chair made for posture, not comfort. I pull back the curtain, aghast to find twilight looming. I’ve no time to waste! I fall at her feet, grabbing a stockinged leg. “Please let me go to the dance! I simply must go. If I don’t, I’ll die!” Children run through our living room as she reminds me, “I said no
