Bombers Moon

The damaged wing directly caused Chuck's entire crew to die for a day.The repair shop happened to be short of the parts needed for the B17 bomber, so we waited another day.Jody hid in the dormitory to sleep, and Leo went to a nearby village, refusing to say what he was there for.Chuck roamed the base like a hound on a leash, fretting over missed opportunities for pheasants.To pass the time, he prowled the hangar looking for opportunities to help, reloading HE rounds, cleaning turrets, and driving equipment from one side of the base to the other.

In the evening, just as Chuck and Jody were heading out to the bar, Leo returned, panting and flushed. "I did it." The navigator threw out the words without thinking, rushed over, and threw Chuck and Jody together so hard that they bumped their heads together, "I can't believe it, I I've sent a telegram to my mother."

"What?" Chuck asked aloud, too surprised to break free.

"She said yes."

"Who? Promise to what?"

It was Jody who reacted the fastest, yelled in Chuck's ear, hugged Leo's neck tightly, and patted him and Chuck's shoulders hard.Then it dawned on Chuck that "she" could only be one person, Natalie, the curly-haired dispatcher.

"Natalie agreed to my marriage proposal." Leo let go, sat down on the only chair, as if he could no longer stand still, "Does anyone know how to hold a wedding? I am I don't understand anything, should I wait for my mother to send her engagement ring, or buy a new one? Where can I buy it?"

Chuck has no clue.Fortunately, it only took half a day for this matter to spread in the base. From Captain Millston to the mechanic they didn't know, and then to the old blacksmith in the neighboring village, they all wanted to offer advice.Beacon Hill took this sudden wedding very seriously, as if people dug out the little hope and yearning they secretly hid in their hearts and poured it on the couple.The girls at the radio station were going to put together a wedding dress out of white sheets, but it went so badly that they decided to have both Leo and Natalie wear uniforms and a lace tea towel instead of a veil, because fighter jets are on duty day and night , They don't have much free time, and it took a week off and on to finish it.The village blacksmith improvised a brass ring for the newlyweds to exchange their vows with, until Leo's mother sent the ring over.Telegrams were also sent to the bride's parents, asking them to come from New Haven, more than 30 miles away.

Everyone was urging Leo to take his fiancée to the officer's bar. The navigator finally gave in and walked into the bar on a mild April evening, holding Natalie's hand, followed by four or five curious The girls at the dispatch office, they became the absolute focus of the night.Someone played the piano, and the pilots pushed the table against the wall to clear a small space where Leo and Natalie stepped onto the makeshift dance floor first.Jody waited anxiously for a while, and after Chuck repeatedly assured that "you can", he drank the wine in his hand, took a deep breath, and mustered up the courage to walk towards the girls.

Chuck watched as the Heavy stepped into the dance floor with a red-faced radioman, gave him a thumbs up, and then walked to the corner, leaning his back against the wall, and sipped the stout from his mug.A pilot with a tall girl in his arms leaps across the dance floor like an antelope, and the two are laughing, briefly grabbing everyone's attention.It was only then that Chuck noticed Louie, also sitting in the shadows, on the other side of the bar, across the merry crowd.The second lieutenant stared at the dancers with a half-absent smile. It took him several minutes to notice Chuck's gaze, and the smile disappeared. Chuck was a little nervous, thinking that the other party was going to run away again, but Louis sat where he was. Looking at him, as if to see what Chuck will do next.

Chuck did nothing but gripped the handle of the cup tightly.Louie nodded at him, looked away, and quietly checked out after the next dance song played.

Chuck hesitated for a moment, put down his glass, stepped over an overturned chair, and followed.

Louie's little blue car was parked to the side of the bar, completely engulfed in the shadow of the building.As the door closed and the music died down, the clatter of shoes on the gravel became more pronounced, and Louie turned to watch Chuck approach.

"Good evening, Sergeant."

"Good evening." Chuck had forgotten the lines he had just put together in his head, "Just wanted to let you know that, uh, wedding preparations went well, we, they, booked the chapel, the one in the village. Will you be here then?"

"I will, if a date is fixed."

"It's a little tricky. If only we could give the Germans a day off."

Louie smiled politely: "If there's nothing else—"

"Thank you, that is, for saving us at sea that day."

"Duty is there, Sergeant."

Louie opened the car door, apparently ready to end the conversation.Chuck took a step forward, trying to grab his hand, but didn't dare to do so, so he had to call his name again.Louis leaned on the car door and looked at him, not irritated, but not very happy either.

"You don't have to run away."

"I didn't run away, I just tried to avoid misunderstanding." Louis pursed his lips, not giving Chuck a chance to ask what the last sentence meant, "Good night, Charles."

The doors close.Chuck watched the little blue car bump over the cobblestones and into the dirt road through the wilderness.A happy laugh rose from the bar, sounding flat and pale in the empty street.

Now there is only one thing left to be sure, the wedding date.The great creaking cogs of war do not stop because one or two people are married or not.Everyone is looking forward to a rainy day. A rainy day is a good day for pilots. It is best to have wind and rain, lightning and thunder. No German aircraft will risk crossing the strait in this kind of weather. Even if there is, the thunderstorm will be the first lesson. them.

On the last Tuesday in April, Chuck was awakened by thunder, rain whipped the roof and windows, and the ground crew had piled up sandbags at the hangar door to keep the rain from pouring in.After a brief noise, the radio on the base blared, announcing that the wedding began today.

It was like a live-fire drill, and the two pilots drove to the village first to inform the priest and the improvised choir.Leo changed into full uniform, his fingers trembling with nervousness, and he almost couldn't get his boutonniere on.Chuck drove an army truck to the door of the dormitory, the groom and Jody got into the cab, and half a dozen other pilots crammed into the cargo box with spare cables.The path was already flooded, and the truck kept bumping and splashing muddy water half as high as a person. Chuck squinted his eyes, trying to see the road ahead through the rainwater cascading down the windshield like a waterfall.When the car finally stopped in front of the chapel, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The twelve rows of benches are almost full, except for the dispatcher on duty, the entire Beacon Hill base is here, the blue of the Royal Air Force and the brown of the US Army Air Corps are mixed together, with varying degrees of water. Stains, some people are still dripping water.The door opened, and when the father of the bride came in with Natalie on his arm, a gust of wind almost knocked down the candelabra on the altar.Jody played the role of flower girl, delivering the ring on a faded cushion.The thunder overshadowed the priest's words from time to time, so that many people did not hear the vows exchanged by the newlyweds clearly, but they could all see Leo and Natalie kissing.People stood up, applauded, and a few people cheered, like it was some kind of country music concert.Chuck took the opportunity to survey the crowd and spotted Louie in the penultimate row, standing next to Captain Millston, both in RAF officer uniform.

Normally the wedding party would be held in the garden behind the chapel, but since there were no normal parts of the wedding, it was acceptable to move the party inside the chapel.There was no wedding cake due to a severe shortage of flour and sugar, but the Air Force base kitchen managed to whip up a batch of small cupcakes, with no cream or other toppings, that remained a favorite.Liquor was plentiful, and Captain Millston's Westminster schoolmate was a dealer, and his underground warehouses, far from London, were full of wine and whiskey.

Chuck approached Louis in three steps. First, he slowly moved to the edge of the crowd, then carefully approached the long table with wine, and finally, pretending to be casual, he walked up to the second lieutenant.

"Tell me this is the best wedding you've ever seen," Chuck said, grabbing a glass of wine.

"Not been to many weddings." Louie gave him a look without smiling, but Chuck didn't expect him to, "but it's got to be the wettest wedding I've ever been to."

"can we talk?"

"Can't be here." Louis lowered his voice slightly, "Go to the corridor. I'll go first, you can follow after a while."

He walked away, pushing open an arched side door.Chuck looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to their small movements.Louis didn't say how long the "wait a minute" was. Chuck estimated that he waited for 5 minutes, put down his cup, and went out through the side door.

On the other side of the door is a short corridor that leads directly to the garden that was beaten by the rainstorm. It is not so much a corridor as it is a spacious doorway.The two umbrellas were thrown on the ground, and the wind kept blowing fine water droplets in, and the bricks were all wet.Louis crossed his arms, looked at the rain, and didn't look away when Chuck approached.

"I was thinking," Chuck said, clearing his throat, "I understand the 'deadline' we talked about before, I just don't think it's necessary to play hide-and-seek with each other, we can still go to the bar for a drink or something every now and then, Like friends, isn't it? Everyone's like that, there's nothing weird about it."

"Like a friend," Louie repeated, eyeing Chuck.

"I promise I won't suddenly jump up and kiss you."

"It's a good idea."

"The friend part or the kissing part?"

Louie shook his head, as if despairing of him.He patted Chuck on the arm to say goodbye, turned to the side door, and Chuck stopped him.

"Can I ask you to dance?"

Louie frowned in bewilderment, perhaps too surprised to refuse right away.Chuck took a cautious step forward and held out his hand to Louie the way Roger taught him, feeling like a complete idiot.

Louie glanced at Chuck's hand, "It'll be seen."

"Who? A tree?"

"Charles, this isn't funny at all."

"It's a wedding and people have the right to dance."

"Not your wedding."

"There's free music anyway. Besides, aren't you going to check out Roger's teachings?"

"It's crazy."

"But it's fun." Chuck finally grabbed Louie's hand and pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Dance with me, sir."

"Hand position is wrong."

"Sorry, I'm an amateur."

They spun slowly in the corridor, to the faint beat that came from the chapel.Louie's ears turned red, but he said nothing more.Chuck accidentally stepped on him, apologized quietly, and both laughed.They made a successful circle, and Chuck lowered his head to get closer to Louie's face.For a few minutes they watched each other in silence, forgetting about the music.

Louie pushed Chuck gently away and went back into the noise and crowd of the chapel.Chuck sat down against the wall and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.Another gust of wind and rain blew in, hitting his cheeks and arms, he squinted his eyes and ignored it.