Letters Across the Sea by Genevieve Graham (best short novels of all time txt) 📗

thought. Forty million casualties, and we’d still never heard a word about him. He had deserved so much better than that.

I took a deep breath, pasting my smile back in place, and pushed the memories back where they belonged. “No, no. I can see well enough. This is such a happy day,” I said, pasting my smile back in place. “It feels like everything’s going to change now.”

On one hand, I was right. Things did change around the city. The streets filled once again with young men and cheerful couples, but also with beaten-down veterans and crutches. I saw some of the boys from baseball so long ago, like Snooky Rubenstein and Matteo Rossi, looking twenty years older than they had five years ago. When I said hello, they didn’t appear to recognize me. Then I learned that Phil Burke had been killed fighting in Germany. Despite everything that had happened between us, I sat down and had a good cry. No one had deserved what this war had done.

On the other hand, I was wrong. Some things didn’t change. The war between the United States and Japan raged on, and I found myself busier than ever, covering the conflict in the Pacific. At home, Liam still stayed in the dark most of the time, though he continued walking with Dad in the mornings, and he’d sit in the yard with Mark if he stopped by. So I suppose that was a bit of a change for the better, at least.

Jimmy was difficult to predict and always seemed to be on the move, though he never told anyone where he went during the day. Sometimes Ian came home to a houseguest, and sometimes he was alone. When I saw Jimmy, he was usually quite dirty but didn’t seem to notice, and he only reluctantly agreed to my offer to do his laundry. Jimmy had always been independent, but this was extreme behaviour even for him. It hurt to see him so broken, but I was so glad to have him back I didn’t tell him that.

One night he showed up unexpectedly at our house for dinner. Mum, Dad, Liam, and I all scrambled, making him a seat at the table and trying to ease through conversations, but Jimmy didn’t say a word the whole time. I could feel anger rising off him in waves, but none of us had any idea where it was coming from. When it was time to clear the table, I stood and reached for his plate, and he shot out of his chair as if I’d struck him. The four of us stared in confusion as he grabbed his coat and left, slamming the door behind him.

“I didn’t do anything this time,” Dad said pitifully.

“No, you didn’t,” I agreed. “It wasn’t any of us.”

Mum had put her head in her hands, lost. Jimmy was back from the war, but we still grieved his loss in a way. I went to her side and hugged her, noticing the sharpness of her shoulder blades against my hands. Between taking care of Dad and Liam, helping Barbara and the girls, worrying about Jimmy, and still mourning the loss of Richie, she was weakening by the day.

“It’ll be all right, Mum. We’ll all be all right.” But I hardly believed my own words.

Ian tried to be supportive, but after three months of letting Jimmy crash at his place, even he got frustrated.

“I don’t know where he goes or what he does, but he always comes back reeking of booze and worse,” he said. “He needs to get help, Molly. I can’t look after him—I’m at work during the day.”

“Just a little while longer. Please, Ian. He’s the only big brother I have left,” I pleaded.

“Okay, okay,” he said, taking me in his arms. “But we can’t keep doing this forever. We have to move on with our lives. We haven’t even picked a wedding date yet.”

We’d worked right through the August 4 date we’d agreed upon earlier, and I knew he was impatient, but it hardly seemed like a priority to me. My hands closed into fists behind his back, and I pulled out of his reach. “I can’t think about our wedding right now. Mum’s run off her feet, and Mr. Hindmarsh has me on so many assignments. You tell me, Ian. I kind of think writing about the end of a world war should trump booking the church, don’t you?”

“Do you even want to get married?” he asked quietly.

“Of course I do,” I said, immediately sorry. “I just have too much on my plate right now.”

“All right,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m just impatient to be your husband. Can you blame me?”

I hopped up on my toes and kissed him lightly. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I will get to it. I promise.”

But the following week, Ian stormed into the office and pulled me aside, clearly upset. “Your brother’s got serious problems. Last night I went out to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and he pinned me against the wall. I don’t think he recognized me. I don’t think he even knew where he was at first. To be honest, he scared me. Jimmy’s wiry, but he’s strong as an ox.”

“He’s scared too,” I replied, aching for Jimmy. “Let me talk to him.”

But Jimmy wanted none of my sympathy. “Look after Liam if you need to fix someb-b-body,” he said. “I’m fine. All I need is a place to sleep at night, and if Ian doesn’t want me there, I’ll find somewhere else.”

The next morning, Ian told me Jimmy had grabbed his pack that night and left.

From that day on, whenever I walked downtown and saw the sad, shadowy figures of veterans wandering or sleeping on the streets, I looked for my brother. I wondered if I would ever see him again. Jimmy had always done what he wanted. This time he’d wanted to disappear.

Not long after, Hannah rang me.