Peace

So far, Heddy has found a German man, Artie, hiding in Dr. Monroe's abandoned beach house. She gets a new friend when Lester comes to stay with his aunt and uncle, the Collettes. Lester and Heddy share a kiss, and later Lester lets it slip that Artie is on the island. Heddy's brother, Willis, has returned home from the war and has nightmares about what he's seen. Mrs. Collette tries to kill Artie and then comes after Heddy. Now, Lester informs Heddy his mother is coming to get him from the island.

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Once the war ended, the world started to mend. It wasn't the only thing people had to talk about and think about. I still walk the beach looking for anything out of the ordinary. Nonni shows herself less and less as the months pass. I still look for her and finally have come to realize maybe, just maybe, she knows I can handle things better.

Mrs. Collette was put into an asylum for almost three years. When she came home, she was very different. She no longer has her job at the post office, she just spends her days sitting on her home's front porch and looks at the road. Momma says its because they treated her at the asylum. I heard Willis talking about things they did to her brain, but I don't know what. In roughly six years we have gone through eight different post masters. At present, we have a volunteer from the mainland who comes twice a week to sort and deliver mail.

My daddy took Artie to the mainland, and put him in touch with the office that handles citizenship and naturalization. We sponsored him until he could become a citizen. He was so proud when he was sworn in. He hugged me tight and almost giggled when he showed me his identification card. "I am just like you now." He still comes for visits several times a year.

My brother got married last spring. A local girl named Alice McGee, who also served in the war. She was a nurse, and saw some of the same things that Willis saw. She understands his nightmares and can just hold his hands through them, whispering things to help his get through the moment. Momma says if there ever was a match meant to be, it was Willis and Alice McGee.

That only leaves me. Nothing much has changed, other than me getting older. I still write to Lester, and he to me. But I haven't seen him since he left late that summer. I've had other boys come calling but none of them can hold a candle to Lester.

So, here I stand on the beach, just after dinner, letting the cool salt water stir around my feet. I come down here as much as possible. It has a way of smoothing the sharp edges off of the day. I can sit on the warm sand and let the lulling of the waves as they crash carry my heartaches and troubles away. That's how it is with the ocean.

"I thought I might find you here," he says.

The voice is deep, the accent different yet familiar. I turn and look behind me. A tall, dark haired man stands, just ten feet behind me, his hands slung into his pockets. "You still looking for pirates and U-boats?" he says, a slight teasing edge to his voice. He pushes his black framed glasses up slightly.

"Lester?" I ask. Hope fills me as I struggle to stand up.

"I told you I'd be back." He smiles and it is when he smiles that I see him, the Lester I remember, my best friend Lester.

"You came back to the island. Oh my gosh, how long are you here for?"

Lester withdraws one hand to brush his dark wind blown hair back. "Well, now, funny you should ask. I start my new job on Monday. So, I really just have until Sunday."

Whatever hope was in my heart suddenly dissipated. "Oh, well, tomorrow is my birthday. Seventeen."

"I know. I wanted to get you flowers but they would have died by the time I got here." He digs into his pocket and pulls out a wrinkled envelope. "Here, my first official delivery." He holds it out to me.

"Official?"

"My new job is here. I'm the new post master."

A laugh catches in my throat. "You're teasing me now, aren't you?"

Lester sighs and smiles, peering over the top of his glasses at me. "I'm back, Heddy." He takes a few steps closer, then looks down at his shoes. Quickly, he reaches down and unties them, pulls off his socks and places them on the sand, high enough away from the water's over wash. "How about we go look for pirates, you know, for old times sake."

He takes a few steps down the beach before stopping. He turns to look back at me. "Coming?"

It is then that I feel Nonni standing close to me. She whispers in my ear. "Go, Heddy, that boy didn't come here for any job, he came back for you. Now, go."

With her words still dancing on the wind I hurry to him, where he stands with his hand outstretched.

"I missed you, Lester."

He kisses the top of my head. "I've missed you, too. Now, open the card."

I pull the flap of the envelope open and pull it free. There are hand painted roses on the front, with my name written in beautiful script. I read the inside.

Dearest Heddy,
I want to wish you the happiest birthday.
You are now and have always been my very best friend.
Here's to a lifetime of friendship and adventures together.
Love always,
Lester

Impulsively, I lean in to kiss him but he pulls back.

"No, no, Heddy. Remember the last time you kissed me? I said I'd be initiating the kissing from now on." He cups my chin and tilts my face, then lowers his mouth to mine.

I open my eyes and stare into his for a moment, and in them I see the saltwater ghosts and the rush of a world that's changed in the time between one kiss and another.