Dawn of a Thousand Nights Page 4

  Libby whirled around to see Dan Lukens walk into the office, dressed in his Army Air Corps uniform. Dan’s hair looked even lighter next to the pressed blue suit. A true California boy.

  Heat rose to Libby’s cheeks, and she glanced away, irritated that her girlish blushing displayed her emotions for all to see. “Come back for more, Mr. Lukens? Do you enjoy being abused?”

  Dan approached the counter, reached over, and gently took the flight schedule from her hands. Then he took a pencil from the desktop, wrote something on the page, and handed it back to her.

  Dinner with Dan. 8:00 p.m.

  “But I—”

  Rose’s throat-clearing interrupted Libby’s refusal. She glanced over to see her friend subtly nodding.

  Libby slowly mimicked the motion, looking up into Dan’s face. “If this isn’t a trick, and you still want to talk to me after yesterday’s tirade, then sure.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up at your place at six. How do I get there?”

  Libby scribbled down the address and handed it to him, her fingers brushing his as she did. “I’m upstairs. First set of stairs on the left. And if you see someone watching you from below, don’t worry. It’s just Mr. Atkins. He’s sure that everyone not wearing a uniform is a spy.”

  “I won’t be in uniform, but I’ll try not to look too suspicious. See you tonight.”

  It wasn’t until Dan had left the office, striding to a waiting jeep, that Libby noticed George, who had apparently been watching the transaction with quiet amusement.

  “What was that all about?” Libby demanded. “Why’d he stop by?”

  George pushed the bill of his cap up from his face and leaned against the wall. “Seems obvious to me.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a sly smile. “He said he wanted to show me the new P-40B that just arrived at Wheeler Field. It has some pretty fancy additions over the older model.”

  “Right,” Rose said with a grin. “Do a lot of pilots stop by to show you their new planes, George?”

  George shook his head and crossed his arms over his heavy paunch. “Nope. Can’t say that they do.”

  After work Rose came over to Libby’s apartment and made her try on every outfit in her closet. They finally settled on a light blue two-piece dress with a dart-fitted waist and a flared skirt. White pearl buttons trailed from collar to hem.

  “You’re going to be turning heads on the strip tonight, girl. You’re adorable.”

  “Hardly, Rose. But fortunately, ‘adorable’ isn’t a prerequisite for flying planes.”

  “Here, sit down. Let’s get your face on.”

  Libby rolled her eyes, then snatched up a brush and tugged it through her hair.

  “Hey, now, don’t make that face.” Rose’s voice was stern. “The makeup will be so light you’ll hardly notice. Just a little color to highlight those pretty brown eyes.” She patted the mattress beside her and opened her handbag.

  Libby took a deep breath and settled next to Rose.

  “You’ll be gorgeous, girl. Why don’t you ever wear makeup, anyway?”

  “Because, I’ve never been around girlie-girls. Until you, that is.”

  When her friend was finished, Libby stood in front of the mirror and had to admit she was pleased with the results. She threw her arms around her friend. “Thank you so much.”

  “Don’t mention it.” Rose pressed her cheek to Libby’s. “Just go out there and knock him dead. It can be your second attempt.”

  Both women laughed.

  “Or … just knock his socks off. You might want to keep that guy around awhile.”

  “You’re right.” Libby heard a knock on the front door. “I just might.”

  A twenty-five-cent cab ride took the pair downtown. They drove past the army and navy YMCA, past the tattoo parlors and the popular Black Cat Café where a soldier could get a hot dog for a nickel and spend all the money he’d saved for dinner on slots. White-uniformed sailors roamed the streets with Pacific tans and handsome good looks, money jingling in their pockets.

  The cab pulled over in front of an open-air fruit stand. Dan climbed out, then turned to offer his hand to Libby.

  “Let me guess … will it be the Kau Kau Korner or Chinatown’s Wo Fat? From the looks of you, I’d say you’re a Kau Kau Korner type of guy.” Libby watched the cab pull away, joining the mass of vehicles typical of a Friday night in Honolulu.

  “Do you think so?” Dan jutted out his elbow.

  Libby obliged but made sure there was space between them.

  “And what about you?”

  “Oh, I’m Wo Fat all the way.” She patted her stomach and grinned. “No, seriously, I’ve had a fascination with China ever since I was little. My favorite schoolteacher had a little treasure chest on her desk for us to put coins into. The money went to support Christian missionaries in China.”

  As they walked, Dan and Libby weaved through the crowds of sailors. To Libby’s surprise, they strode past both the restaurants she’d named.

  “I bet there’s not too many of those missionaries who’ve stuck around.” Dan scooted her around two soldiers who carried their buddy, smelling of beer, between them.

  “I know. I’ve read about Japan’s invasion of China. Millions of men, women, and children murdered for no reason. I’m just waiting for the U.S. to do something about it. It’s enough for me to want to join the army and fight for China myself.”

  “You’d be an asset, all right. But I don’t think our country will ever let women in its military ranks.”

  Libby was about to comment when Dan patted her hand and pointed to a side door near the marketplace. “This is it. Hold on right here for one minute.”

  Libby watched as he hurried to the door and knocked twice. When the door opened, a Hawaiian woman, about as wide as she was tall, stepped out and handed him two picnic baskets. She smiled and waved at Libby.

  “What do you have up your sleeve? A moonlight picnic on the beach?”

  “Well, we could do that. But I thought you might like to see the new plane at Wheeler Field.”

  “Are you joking? Is that where we’re going? But why two baskets? If we eat all that, I really will be wo fat.”

  “Yes, ma’am. That’s where we’re going. And as for the extra basket …”

  With perfect timing, a car pulled up to the curb and gave a short honk. Libby looked over to see Rose in the driver’s seat with a ridiculous hat pulled down over her forehead like a chauffeur’s cap. A large guy in a sailor’s suit sat next to her, with an equally wide grin.

  “Sir. Ma’am. Your ride awaits.” Rose gave another short beep of the horn, causing numerous heads to turn their direction.

  Dan and Libby slid into the backseat.

  Rose pointed a thumb at her passenger. “His name is Jack Webster. I picked him up down the road because I thought he was cute. Hope you don’t mind.”

  Libby glanced at the sailor with his white uniform and circular cap tilted to the side. This guy was huge—he had to be at least six foot four, and sitting next to Rose’s petite frame, he made her look like a little kid barely able to peek over the steering wheel.

  “Not at all.” Dan stretched out his hand. “Jack, nice to meet you.”

  Dan slid the basket next to the door and scooted closer to Libby. “It’s good our chauffeur has a date. I have a feeling love is in the air tonight.”

  “Actually, that’s the smell of roasted pig.” Libby pointed to a small restaurant with a long line out front. “Pig and stale beer.”

  Dan chuckled, then squeezed her shoulder. “That’s what I like about you, Libby. You bring me back to earth. But, no, this time I believe you’re wrong. I’m sure that fragrance is pure romance.”

  Rose and Jack decided to picnic in the moonlit car as Dan and Libby made their way to the hangar housing the P-40B. Libby had been to Wheeler Field a few times before, yet everything seemed larger and more mysterious at night. Pursuit planes lined the asphalt runway wingtip to wingtip. Machine guns were mou
nted on their wings. She let her finger glide across one of the planes as they walked by. They seemed so official and dangerous compared to the simple two-seaters she was used to flying.

  Yet Libby knew that even the power of these planes was limited in comparison to the large bombers located at Hickam. Libby longed to fly one of those bombers someday. Or at least one of these pursuits.

  Dan led her to a far hangar, picnic basket swinging in his hand, and flipped on the lights just inside the door. The large Quonset hut flooded with a warm, golden glow, and Libby eyed the newest pursuit from the assembly line, taking in the sleek gray machine with a large air scoop under the engine cowling. She pressed a hand to her pounding heart and let out a low whistle.

  Dan placed the picnic basket on the concrete floor. “What are you waiting for? Climb in.”

  “Really?” Libby didn’t wait for him to offer twice. She kicked off her heels and scampered into the cockpit the best she could in a dress and stockings, sliding into the firm leather seat. She reveled in the smell of new parts and oil as she scanned the operational controls. She figured out what most of them were, but some of the new devices were a mystery. Dan climbed up, standing on the footholds on the wing.

  “What’s this for?” Libby pointed toward a row of switches near the throttle.

  “That would be the control to drop the 700 pounds of external bombs.” He smiled. “It seems the instructor is now the one receiving a lesson.”

  After thirty minutes of pilot talk, Dan jumped to the ground, his boots slapping the concrete. “How about some dinner?”

  He spread a torn parachute on the concrete floor, then laid out a variety of Hawaiian dishes similar to those Rose’s mother usually packed.

  Libby eased herself onto the silky white parachute and pressed her skirt around her legs. “This is by far the best date I’ve ever been on.”

  She picked up a piece of smoked poi, then gazed into Dan’s face. His boyish excitement was easy to read.

  “Me too.” Dan took a large bite of pineapple and wiped the juice dribbling down his chin with the back of his hand.

  Libby took a neatly folded white napkin from the picnic basket and handed it to him. “Except for Rose, I’ve never had a friend who understood about flying. I mean, my dad supported me and all, but to him, flying was just a job. Nothing more.”

  Dan shook his head in disbelief, then nodded toward the pursuit. “Taking that baby up and checking out what the V-1710 engine can do—that could never be just a job. Speed. Weightlessness. And soaring through the air as though I’m part of the machine.”

  The evening passed quickly, and Libby smiled to herself and the giggly Rose who drove them home. Maybe this pilot’s a keeper. And when Dan walked Libby up the stairs to her apartment, they lingered a few minutes at the door.

  “You’re a very pretty girl, Libby Conners,” he said. “But that’s not what made me interested in you that afternoon on the beach.”

  “What, then?” Libby demanded. “I suppose you could tell I was a pilot just by looking at me?”

  “Actually,” Dan said with a wicked grin, “it was the spiral. I’ve never seen a football thrown so perfectly by a girl.”

  Natsuo and his friends from Kobe, who were now official soldiers, had been transferred to a training camp in the jungle on Japan’s southernmost coast. It was a part of his country Natsuo had never seen before, and it felt like a different world. His days once again consisted of war games with his friends, but on a much grander scale.

  Cuckoos lived among the tropical coconut trees. A fine drizzle fell continually on the fresh green leaves. And it was among this beauty that Natsuo first witnessed death.

  Like many of the others, Natsuo had known Akio Satosan since boyhood. He knew Akio did not want to return home to his family as a failure—his sickly father whose hopes all rested on him, his screeching mother who was impossible to please.

  Akio worked hard to succeed, but he struggled with both the physical and mental demands of the training. When he finished the first obstacle course far behind the others, he was called to step out of the straight line of recruits. Natsuo and the others were forced to watch as the bamboo cane crashed against Akio’s flesh again and again.

  “We will indoctrinate you with the military man’s spirit. Nippon seishin. You will be made worthy to wear the uniform of an imperial soldier!” their trainer declared.

  As the trainer beat Akio again and again, Natsuo’s eyes widened. He noted the strained smile on Akio’s face—teeth clenched, cheeks drawn back, eyes narrow.

  It wasn’t the first time Natsuo had seen that look. Akio had always been slower, dim-witted; yet when his anger released, it was with the fury of an uncaged tiger.

  With a loud shout, the wire in Akio blew. He snatched the cane and turned with fury on the officer doling out his fair punishment.

  With a rush of screams, the other trainers attacked Akio with leather straps, canes, and even their leather shoes, slapping against Akio’s skin with horrible thuds.

  The recruits in line stood frozen. Natsuo didn’t even dare turn to those on his right or left to catch their expressions. Surely they were as horrified as he.

  “How dare you turn a hand on the emperor’s chosen!” one officer screamed. “You will receive your just due!”

  Ten minutes later, the officers stepped back, panting and weak from their spent energy. Akio lay like a human puddle on the ground, his swollen face not even recognizable to those who’d known him for years.

  “This is an example of the cost of disobedience, of dishonor!” One officer shook his leather strap toward the other recruits. It extended from his hand like another appendage, trembling, daring them to say a word or make a move.

  They remained there, standing erect in line, Akio’s body before them, until they were released for dinner. Natsuo forced his food down, feeling as if it would come back up at any moment.

  After dinner Haro, Kin, and Yashiku joked around, wrestling on the manicured lawn in front of their bamboo barracks. Natsuo didn’t know how they could joke and play after what they’d just witnessed.

  The next morning, as they gathered after reveille, one officer stepped forward. “As a result of yesterday’s display of dishonor, Akio Satosan’s parents were notified that their son was a traitor to his emperor, and his name is forever to be a disgrace to their family. As for you, if the thought ever crosses your mind to commit an act of disobedience against one of the emperor’s chosen, remember the cost to your family. Think of their disgrace!”

  When Natsuo wrote home that evening, he kept his thoughts to himself. He knew to speak of it would cause his own disgrace.

  Besides, in the end, what did it matter? Akio was now in a better place. A place of peaceful slumber. Akio would become like a god, protecting their nation. Protecting his friends who still remained.

  May he ever have peaceful repose.

  Five

  U.S. DESTINY IS TO THE WEST, MAAS ASSERTS

  Honolulu. August 5. Representative Maas (Republican) of Minnesota, House Naval Affairs Committee member on active duty as a Marine Corps colonel, said today, “We are either going to be an empire or we are going to be part of somebody else’s empire.

  “There’s only one defense against modern warfare, and that is to strike first and hardest, otherwise you are licked before you have started.”

  Excerpt from the Washington Post, August 6, 1941

  Libby led Dan by the hand as she made her way through John Rodgers Airport, gazing at the new dawn that wrestled to replace the darkness. For the past month, they’d spent every evening together. They walked the beach at sunset and took rides around the island with friends. Mostly they spent their time talking about planes, flying, and the threat of war from both sides of the ocean.

  But today was different. Today Libby had Dan to herself all day.

  “Sorry, kiddo. No lessons today,” she muttered as she walked past the Piper Cub.

  Dan lifted her hand to his li
ps and kissed it. “That’s right, little Piper. She’s all mine today.”

  While Libby enjoyed giving flight lessons, her favorite part of her job was taking customers up on sunrise tours. She usually flew them in open-cockpit biplanes, making a ninety-minute loop to the west side of Oahu. Today, Dan would be Libby’s honored guest, and instead of the biplane she’d chosen George’s new Interstate Cadet with enclosed side-by-side seating.

  “Get in and buckle up, sir,” she said in her best tour guide voice. “Today you will get a view of Hawaii from the air, something every tourist dreams of.”

  After taxiing the Cadet to the runway, Libby pushed the throttle forward, the engine revved, and the Cadet lifted effortlessly into the sky. “As we lift off, Mr. Lukens, if you look to the west, opposite the rising sun, you’ll see Pearl Harbor. It’s a bit crowded this morning, and I’m sure you know the reason why even more than I—military secrets and all.”

  Dan leaned forward to peer out the window. “No comment.” He grinned.

  “As we turn, you’ll spot an industrial area to the north, then forest. Beyond that the Ko’olau Mountains.”

  “Oh, I like the way that rolls off your tongue.”

  Libby tried to ignore his comment, but she couldn’t help but smile. “To the south is the Pacific, of course. And to the east, with the rising sun, are Waikiki, Diamond Head, and downtown Honolulu.”

  “My least favorite part of the island, if I may say so.”

  “I agree.” Libby turned the plane toward the tropical side of the island. “Now comes the good part. Prepare for a beautiful flight over gray green pineapple fields and banana trees. We’ll reach our destination in about twenty minutes.”

  They rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way. The landmass below sparkled green and alive as dew-covered vegetation reflected the sun’s first rays.

  Libby sighed contentedly as they neared the farthest shore. “We’ll be landing today near the Haleiwa, an old hotel right at the edge of the ocean. It’s a beautiful place and … well, just wait.”