Mary didn’t have to ask what the telegram said. She knew. “Phyllis? What can I do to help?”

Phyllis shook her head. She fell to her knees on the sidewalk and took her mother in her arms. Together, they rocked and cried. The sound pierced the peacefulness of the tree-lined street.

Mary tried to decide whether she should stay or go. Phyllis seemed to have forgotten that she was here. The front door was wide open. After a moment, she came to a decision. Gently, she rubbed Phyllis’s shoulder and spoke into her ear. “I’m going to make you both some hot tea. Bring your mother and come inside.”

Mary’s mother wouldn’t be happy that she would be late getting home, but when she explained why, she was certain her mother would understand.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Are you going to come inside, or are you going to continue to wear out the sidewalk?” Bill stood with his arms folded in the front doorway of their parents’ house.

Nora’s face reddened. She should’ve known he’d be there and that he’d be only too happy to make her look like a fool if he thought he could get away with it. She stalked up the steps and brushed past him without a word.

“Nice to see you too,” he muttered, as she passed him.

Her parents were seated in the living room. They were listening so intently to the news on the radio, she doubted they’d even heard her come in.

“Mor, Far.”

“Shh.” Her mother waved her away.

“They sunk six German U-boats today, and it looks as though we’re about to win surrender in North Africa,” her father said. “Finally, things are starting to go our way.”

“It’s about time,” Bill said.

Nora helped herself to a glass of water from the kitchen. When she returned to the living room, Edward R. Murrow was signing off in his characteristic fashion.

“To what do we owe the pleasure?” Nora’s father turned off the radio.

“I came to say goodbye.”

“You going somewhere?” Bill asked.

She ignored him and instead addressed her parents. “I expect I’ll be gone for a long stretch, but I’ll write or call when I can.”

“Your brother asked you a question. Where are you going?”

“Away.”

“Don’t be vague, dear. Coy doesn’t suit you.”

Nora frowned at her mother. “This is the opportunity I told you about—the job I accepted. It’s not a question of being evasive, Mor. I’m simply following orders.”

“Orders?” Bill scoffed. “What, you’re in the military now?”

“No. But I’m not going to sit around like a coward and hide from doing my duty.”

He took a menacing step in her direction, and their father stepped between them.