Flying Angels(2)

   She tried not to think of it as she helped her mother dress for the graduation ceremony. Ellen looked lovely in her blue-gray silk suit, and sat waiting on the couch in the living room for Audrey to dress hurriedly. She was wearing a red cotton suit, and was unaware of how beautiful she looked as she helped her mother stand and walk to the front door with her awkward halting gait. She held her mother’s arm firmly, helped her into the car, and drove them to the Yard, which was what everyone called the campus. Audrey had recently gotten her driver’s license and was a careful driver. She was responsible in all things, and enjoyed driving and the sense of freedom it gave her. She felt very grown up at the wheel of the family car. Both women were smiling as they took their places and waited for the graduation to begin.

When he appeared in the procession of graduating students, Will looked as tall and handsome as their father had been: six feet four, with straight blond hair that was neatly trimmed, and broad shoulders. He was wearing his dress white uniform. He was graduating with honors, which was no surprise to either of them. The graduates marched in while the Annapolis band played. President Roosevelt was the commencement speaker, and there were several other speeches. The diplomas were handed out, after which, as dictated by tradition, all the graduates threw their hats in the air in jubilation, clapped each other on the back, and there was a brief moment of pandemonium. The ceremony ended when they all sang “Navy Blue and Gold,” and Audrey saw that her mother was crying. It was an emotional moment for both of them, and William was beaming when he came to find them afterwards.

He promised to meet up with his friends again later in the day and helped walk his mother to the car in the parking lot. He drove them to Reynolds Tavern, where there were graduates having lunch with their families at almost every table.

   Ellen couldn’t believe how quickly Will’s Annapolis years had sped past them. His father had died during Will’s freshman year, and the next three years had been a blur to Ellen, and to Audrey too, while she worried about her mother and learned how to care for her and address her increasing needs. And soon Will would be a navy pilot. He was twenty-two years old, and looked every inch like what an Annapolis graduate should look like. He was the perfect all-American boy. Tall, ramrod straight, a powerful athlete with a bright mind, broad smile, and kind heart. In Ellen and Audrey’s eyes, he was the perfect son and brother, and his father would have been proud of him too.

He drove them home after lunch, and Audrey could see that he was eager to meet up with his friends again. They all had plans for that night, and she knew that Will would be seeing the girl he had been dating most recently. She was a beautiful local girl, but he wasn’t serious about her. Will loved to have fun, and he had big plans that centered more around airplanes than women for the moment. He’d always had an easy time meeting women, but he was careful not to get too deeply involved. His father had warned him about that. Will wanted a career in the navy, and he had years ahead of him before he’d want to settle down. Several of his classmates were already engaged, and there were a number of weddings planned in the next few months. Will thought that at their age, it would be more of a burden than an asset. He had no interest in marriage for the next many years. He couldn’t wait to start flight school and was excited to become a lieutenant eventually. This was only the first step in what he hoped would be a long, distinguished career like his father’s and grandfather’s. There had been talk of tensions rising in Europe, and a possible war coming, but even if there was one, they were certain the United States would never get into it. They had learned that lesson once, with the last war. Never again.

   It was four in the afternoon when Will left them. He told his mother he’d be home late, and not to worry about him. There were half a dozen parties he knew about and wanted to go to. He had waited a lifetime for this day and was determined to enjoy it to the fullest. Audrey was sure he’d come home drunk, but he’d try not to wake them. It had been a beautiful day, and she smiled when Will kissed her on the cheek and left a few minutes later. For an instant, she envied him the freedom he would have now. It was so different being a man. He could do whatever he wanted, and always would. She had so much less independence as a woman, and it would have been that way even if her mother wasn’t sick. As a young single girl, Audrey’s life was much more restricted than Will’s. And even one day if she married, she would never have the freedom her brother did. He could go and do and be whatever he chose. The same opportunities weren’t available to women.

She and her mother had a quiet dinner at the kitchen table that night. Her mother looked exhausted by the emotions and exertions of the day, and she was grateful when Audrey helped her up the stairs and put her to bed at eight o’clock. She was asleep minutes later, and Audrey went to her own room, listening to the silence in the house. She could hear a dog barking in the distance and a car honking. She could imagine the graduates going from party to party that night, celebrating. Their graduation from Annapolis was a huge accomplishment and an important rite of passage. Audrey knew that nothing in her life would ever be like that, neither her own high school graduation in a week, nor her graduation from nursing school in three years, which would be a quiet, ladylike event. Annapolis was a very, very big deal, and would win Will the respect of his peers and superiors for the rest of his life. Nothing Audrey had achieved, or ever would, would compare to it, in her eyes or the eyes of others. She knew how much it had meant to her mother. She’d been smiling when she fell asleep. Will had done it. He had fulfilled their father’s dream. Will had known what was expected of him ever since he was a small child. He had never wavered for an instant. The navy was going to be his life, and planes his passion. The navy was what their family did, and what was expected of him.