For those of you not familiar with my stories, most of them differ from the movie plot with the exception of Aftermath and Trespasses. In my alternate universe Pearl Harbor stories Danny and Evelyn do not get involved. Evelyn does get pregnant but the baby is Rafe's and Danny does not die in China. In addition, Danny becomes involved with Sandra and they eventually marry.
Danny McCawley and Ann Walker have known each other since they were children growing up together on Pearl Harbor. They were always aware of the closeness of their fathers who themselves grew up like brothers in Tennessee and as a result the six McCawley and Walker children grew up much the same way, regarding each other as brothers and sisters.
Things would begin to change between Danny and Ann however, as they slowly begin to see each other as more.
This is their story.
March 1952
Mama asked him to do it.
She didn't ask him very often to do something for her, but he knew how important it was to her that he be a part of her friends wedding.
He'd given his father a hard time about wearing the tuxedo and resisted getting into it. But somehow Danny McCawley thought that he understood and didn't wallop him the way he deserved. Not that Rafe McCawley would have ever laid a hand on his son, but Danny knew he deserved it.
Sarah couldn't wait to get into her dress because Mama asked her to be in the wedding and his sister was excited about it. But Sarah always got excited about things like that.
Dad reminded him that when Captain and Mrs. Walker got married he and Sarah were in that wedding as well. It wasn't quite the same though because he and his little sister were the ring bearer and flower girl, not a junior groomsman and a junior bridesmaid. Besides, he could barely remember it.
The reception was at their house and Danny sat on the back porch while the rest of the wedding guests ran after the newlywed couple as they ran to their car. All he wanted to do was change out of his tuxedo and into a t-shirt and dungarees so he could go play baseball with his friends.
As he sat on the sofa and pulled on the bow tie, his mama found him. She sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. "Thank you for being such a good boy today Danny."
He looked up at her and she was smiling.
"I know the last thing you wanted to do today was get into a tuxedo and be in the wedding of someone you don't know very well. But it meant an awful lot to Barbara to have you and your sister be a part of her day. And it meant a lot to me too that you would do it."
"Sure." He felt his face flush in embarrassment.
She laughed as she put her arms around him and hugged him. "Why don't you get changed out of that tuxedo now and change into your play clothes." And she looked at her wristwatch. "It's still early and the boys might still be at the ball field."
"That's all right. They're probably gone by now."
"Well, it seems to me that there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" She reasoned with him.
Danny nodded. "If it's all the same to you, I'd just like to go to my room."
His mother looked concerned and put her hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling all right?"
"I'm feeling fine Mama. It's just that you and Dad got us up so early to take our baths before we had to go over to Captain Walker's for breakfast and get dressed for the wedding. I'm just tired is all."
She still looked worried. "Well, a nap will probably help then. Just make sure to hang everything up. Dad will need to return it on Monday."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Are you sure you're all right son?"
"I'm sure." He nodded as he stood up. "It was a nice wedding and I know how hard you worked to help Mrs. Dearborn."
She stood up next to him and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Thank you Danny, I appreciate that. If you're interested Dad was thinking about going down to the beach later on. The younger kids have gotten pretty restless and he and Danny thought if they could splash around a little bit in the water, they would settle down."
"Sure Mama." He smiled at her and headed into the house. He glanced out the front door on the way to his room and saw his father and godfather standing together on the lawn and talking with Captain and Mrs. Winkle. Their friend Mr. Harrison was there as well with his wife and they were all smiling.
"They've known each other for a long time." He heard his mother's voice behind him. "Red was your dad's co-pilot and Gooz was Danny's when they bombed Japan in the last war. They all went through a lot together and with the exception of two of the boys, they all came through it."
He turned and looked at her. "Who didn't make it?"
"Billy Harmon. He was killed when Pearl Harbor was bombed and Anthony Deluca. He died when Danny's plane went down after they bombed Japan. In fact, Ann was named for him."
He laughed. "Mama, Ann's a girl. How could she be named for a man?"
She ruffled his hair and smiled. "You're a smart aleck, just like your dad. It was something that Sandra and Danny decided when they found out she was going to have their first child. The truth is they never thought about the baby being a boy or a girl, they just wanted to do that for him."
"Does Annie know about that?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't know that she's quite old enough yet to understand."
"She's a shy kid." He observed.
His mother smiled again. "Honey, she's barely five years old."
"Was I that shy?" He wanted to know.
"A little bit. But the older you got, the surer of yourself you got and you grew out of it."
Danny looked up at her. "Am I really a lot like Dad?"
She laughed and brushed his hair back. "Yes you are and you're as handsome as he is too."
"Mama." He felt his face flush again.
"I'm sorry Danny, I don't mean to embarrass you. But you are a picture of your dad and someday some girl is going to be very lucky to get you."
"A girl?" He was mortified.
His mother laughed again. "It will happen someday and believe me, it won't sound as awful as it does right now."
"I'm going to be a pilot Mama." Danny said as though it would explain everything.
"Of that I have no doubt because you've got flying in your blood, just like Dad." She commented before she hugged him. "One of us will come check on you later, okay?"
"All right, Mama." And he hugged her back.
When she let him go, Danny watched as she walked out to the front porch and met his father on the front lawn. He put his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek as their friends talked. He saw her put her head on his shoulder and Danny knew that it had been a long day for his mother.
He walked down the hall to his room and closed the door behind him. He untied the bow tie that his dad tied that morning and dropped it on his bed. He slipped his arms out of the jacket and hung it on the hanger as his mother requested he do.
There was a knock on his door and when it opened his father was standing there. "Mama said you were goin' to take a nap. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine Dad. Are we going to go to the beach later?"
"That's my plan. It's been a long day for your mama and I think she's lookin' forward to relaxin' for a little while. I know it's been a long day for you too Danny and it sure meant a lot to Barbara for you and your sister to be in her weddin'."
"I'm sorry that I was so bad this morning." He told his father and felt a weight come off of his chest and he sat down on the foot of his bed.
"I know you are son." And he sat down next to him and put an arm around Danny's shoulders. "I know that you would rather have been playin' baseball today and I don't blame you for bein' a little ornery. But you did as your mama asked and that squares it in my book, all right?"
"Thanks Dad." And he put his arms around his father and hugged him.
He could feel the rumble of laughter from his father's chest as he held him. "You are just like your mama."
Danny smiled because for the first time that day really felt like it. "She says I look just like you."
"That you do son, but it's what you're like on the inside that's more important. And that's where you're just like her."
"She said that some girl was going to be very lucky to get me." And he shook his head.
His father laughed. "Well if she's anythin' like your mama, you'll be a very lucky fellow. But there's plenty of time for that, you ain't even ten yet."
"But I won't have time for that Dad. I want to be a pilot."
"Son, you can be a pilot and have a girl too. It ain't impossible you know."
"But what if I don't want a girl?"
"Danny, when your older and you meet the right girl flyin' won't seem quite so important any more."
He wrinkled his nose at the thought of a girl being more important than flying and his father laughed again. "I know it don't seem possible right now but there will come a time and you'll know without a doubt in your mind."
"The way you knew with Mama."
He nodded as he stood up. "The way I knew with Mama. Now I'm sure she told you to hang up that tuxedo of yours when you change."
"Yes Sir, she did."
"All right then." And he walked to the door. "Rest well son."
"Thanks Dad." And he stood and watched his father leave the room and close the door behind him.
A girl more important than flying?