The Last Heroes (Men at War 1)

‘‘A little touch of Scotch, please, Robert,’’ he said, and then he seemed to remember that he was still holding her hand, and let go of it as if it burned him.

‘‘And you, miss?’’ Robert asked.

‘‘Nothing for me, thank you,’’ she said.

‘‘Want to try it with me, Sarah?’’ Davey Bershin asked.

She turned and smiled at him. ‘‘Thank you,’’ she said.

It wasn’t the same, dancing with Davey. His hand felt like any other boy’s hand on her shoulder felt, and she didn’t get dizzy or feel funny down there.

She desperately wanted Ed Bitter to dance with her again, but he didn’t. He spent the rest of the evening sitting around a table with his friend and Mr. Chambers. From the way they were moving their hands around in the air, making believe they were airplanes, she knew what they were talking about.

6

Carrying drinks, Mark and Sue-Ellen Chambers walked to where Ed Bitter, Dick Canidy, and Brandon Chambers were sitting and dragged up chairs.

‘‘If you come down on a guy,’’ Brandon Chambers was saying, using his hands to illustrate his point, ‘‘and he tries to evade you by pulling up into a climb, then it’s a test of engine power. You either keep up with him, climbing after him, which means overcoming the inertia of the dive, and you get your fire into him; or your engine won’t do it, and he gets away from you, and then he’s on top.’’

‘‘Can two civilians join this ghastly conversation?’’ Mark Chambers said.

‘‘Certainly,’’ Brandon Chambers replied, a little embarrassed.

‘‘I have a small announcement to make,’’ Mark Chambers said. ‘‘I just called Mobile, and in the morning Stuart’s going to bring the boat up.’’

‘‘That’s a good idea,’’ Brandon Chambers said.

‘‘It’s near a hundred miles against the current, which means it’ll be nearly noon before it gets here,’’ Mark Chambers went on. ‘‘Would that be too late for you to fly Stuart and me back to Mobile?’’

‘‘I thought you and Sue-Ellen were going back tomorrow night?’’ Brandon Chambers asked.

‘‘No. What Sue-Ellen did was call her mother, and the kids will be gotten out of bed at four, then Stuart will pick them up, and they’ll come up and they’ll stay with Sue-Ellen. I have to get back, but there’s no reason the kids can’t have some fun. They love the boat, and Charley’s friends, and Ann and her friends. . . .’’ He left the rest unsaid.

‘‘But who’s going to operate the boat?’’ Brandon Chambers asked.

‘‘You’ve just insulted an officer—two officers—of the United States Navy. You can run it, can’t you, Eddie?’’ Mark asked.

‘‘Why not?’’ Ed Bitter replied a little thickly.

‘‘And if he’s still drunk,’’ Sue-Ellen Chambers said bitchily, ‘‘I’m sure Lieutenant Canidy can.’’

‘‘Not drunk,’’ Ed corrected. ‘‘Tiddly. There is an enormous difference.’’

‘‘I’ll take you to Mobile whenever you have to go,’’ Brandon Chambers said. ‘‘I’m just sorry you have to go.’’

‘‘You know what things are like at the yard,’’ Mark Chambers said. ‘‘We’re running three shifts, seven days a week. And you’d be surprised what comes up when I’m away just a couple of hours.’’

‘‘Well,’’ Brandon Chambers said. ‘‘It’s very nice of you to think of the boat, Mark.’’

‘‘Don’t be silly,’’ Mark said. ‘‘Anyway, it was Sue-Ellen’s idea.’’

‘‘It’s clearly my patriotic duty,’’ Sue-Ellen Chambers said, thickly sarcastic, looking directly into Dick Canidy’s eyes, ‘‘to do whatever I can to bring a little joy into the lives of lonely sailors.’’

‘‘What you’re really doing,’’ Dick Canidy said, ‘‘is drafting two sailors to amuse a bunch of college kids.’’

‘‘That was uncalled for, Dick,’’ Brandon Chambers said.

‘‘Sorry about that, Sue-Ellen,’’ Canidy apologized.