“I don’t know all the answers, sweet Mary. I’ve spent three days trying to figure it out, and I’ve gotten exactly nowhere. When I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you. Does that mean I’m in love with you? I don’t have any idea. I have no frame of reference by which to judge. Seems to me it’s too early for that sort of proclamation after one date, but what do I know?”

“If you need convincing, go out with me again. New Year’s Eve is coming. Let’s have another movie date. That should be harmless enough. Friends go to the movies together all the time. I already checked. Destination Tokyo opens that night. It’s Cary Grant and it’s a war movie. What do you say? Please? Give us a chance, Nora. Please say you’ll at least give us a chance.”

Nora closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She let out a heavy sigh. “How am I supposed to say no to you?”

“That’s easy. You’re not. So, you’ll go? It’s a date?”

“Okay. We’ll go to the movie and I’ll make us dinner at my place afterward.”

“Yay! I promise, you won’t regret it.”

Nora flinched as the downed Japanese pilot stabbed seaman Mike to death. She snuck a peek at Mary and easily read the horror in her eyes, as well. That reaction was magnified tenfold after the American submarine came into peril, first from the unexploded bomb attached to it, and then when the Japanese discovered the sub’s presence and searched Tokyo Bay for it.

Several times, she caught Mary reaching for her hand but then she withdrew it and grabbed the seat arms with a death grip. Misery enveloped Nora. You’re an insensitive jerk.

When Mary gasped as the sub was crippled in the attack by the Japanese aircraft carrier escort, Nora couldn’t stand it anymore. She eased Mary’s grip on the seat arm, slid her hand underneath, and intertwined their fingers. A frisson of excitement coursed through her, reaching directly to her core. It felt so right. How could anyone think this was wrong?

The audience stood and applauded as the USS Copperfin cruised safely into San Francisco Bay, and Nora and Mary cheered along with them. Even after they reached the street, people continued to buzz about the film.

Nora and Mary left the crowd behind and climbed the hill to 105 Georgia Avenue. “Did you enjoy the movie?”