Lone Eagle by Danielle Steel Page B

get through, the lines were all busy. All the girls had been calling home. The U.S. had declared war on Japan by then. Japan had declared war on the U.S. and Great Britain, who had in turn declared war on Japan.
    “Not very good news, huh, Kate?” Joe said, sounding surprisingly calm about it. He didn't want to alarm her more than she already was.
    “Pretty awful. What's happening out there?” He was that much closer to Hawaii.
    “It's what somebody called discreet panic. No one wants to openly admit that they're terrified, but they are, and maybe with good reason. It's hard to know what the Japs will do now. They're talking about interning the Japanese in the Western states. I can't even imaginewhat that'll do to California.” They had businesses and lives and houses. They couldn't just walk away from them.
    “What about you, Joe?” Kate asked, sounding worried. He had already been to England several times to advise the RAF in the past two years, it was easy now to figure out what was going to happen. With America entering the war in Europe as well, he would more than likely be sent there. And if not, he would be involved in the war against Japan. But either way, he would be going somewhere to fly planes. He was exactly the kind of man they wanted, and he wasn't hard to find.
    “I'm flying east tomorrow. I can't finish my work here. They want me in Washington as soon as possible. They're going to give me my orders then.” He'd had a call from the War Office. And Kate was right, he would be shipping out shortly. “I don't know how long I'll be there. If I can, I'll try to come up to Boston to see you before I leave, if they give me enough time. If not…” His voice trailed off, everything was up in the air now. Not just for them, but for the entire country. A nation of men were about to be sent away to war.
    “I could meet you in Washington to say goodbye,” she volunteered, realizing that she no longer cared what her parents would think. If he was leaving, she wanted to see him. It was all she could think of as she listened to him, and tried to fight back panic. The thought of his being sent to war filled her with fear.
    “Don't do anything till I call you. They may send me to New York for a few days. It depends if they want me to train here before I leave, or go straight from Washington to England and train there.” He alreadysuspected he would be going there. The only question was when. “I'd rather go to England than Japan.” They had spoken to him about it that morning on the phone, and he had said he would go wherever he was sent.
    “I wish you didn't have to go anywhere,” she said sadly.
    All she could think of now were all the young men she knew, the ones she had grown up with and gone to school with, and the girls who were their sisters and girlfriends and wives. It was devastating for everyone, and a number of Kate's friends were already married and starting families. Everyone's lives were about to be disrupted, not just hers or Joe's and people she knew, but the lives of an entire nation. There was no hiding from the fact that many of them were not going to be returning. It was as though a pall hung over everything now. People were talking and whispering and crying, and everyone was frightened of what would happen next. There was even a rumor that all the cities on the Eastern Seaboard were going to be attacked by German U-boats. No one in the entire country felt safe from the minute they heard the news of the attack in Hawaii.
    “Just sit tight, Kate. Will you be at school, or at your parents'?” He wanted to know where to find her. It might only be a matter of hours before he had to leave. If so, he wanted to know where she'd be, in case he could see her. There was a possibility that he wouldn't have time, but he was hoping for at least a few minutes with her.
    “I'm going to my parents' house this afternoon. We're off until after the Christmas holidays.” But it was going to be a grim