Winter of the World

No one wanted the USSR to pull out. Without the Soviets, the United Nations were not the United Nations. Most of the American delegation were in favour of compromising with the Communists, but the bow-tied Senator Vandenberg prissily insisted that nothing should be done under pressure from Moscow.

One morning when Woody had a couple of hours to spare he went to Bella’s parents’ house.

The swanky neighbourhood where they lived was not far from the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill, but Woody was still walking with a cane, so he took a taxi. Their home was a yellow-painted Victorian mansion on Gough Street. The woman who came to the door was too well dressed to be a maid. She gave him a lopsided smile just like Bella’s: she had to be the mother. He said politely: ‘Good morning, ma’am. I’m Woody Dewar. I met Bella Hernandez in London last year and I’d sure like to see her again, if I may.’

The smile disappeared. She gave him a long look and said: ‘So you’re him.’

Woody had no idea what she was talking about.

‘I’m Caroline Hernandez, Isabel’s mother,’ she said. ‘You’d better come in.’

‘Thank you.’

She did not offer to shake hands, and she was clearly hostile, though there was no clue as to why. However, he was inside the house.

Mrs Hernandez led Woody into a large, pleasant parlour with a breathtaking ocean view. She pointed to a chair, indicating that he should sit down with a gesture that was barely polite. She sat opposite him and gave him another hard look. ‘How much time did you spend with Bella in England?’ she asked.

‘Just a few hours. But I’ve been thinking about her ever since.’

There was another pregnant pause, then she said: ‘When she went to Oxford, Bella was engaged to be married to Victor Rolandson, a splendid young man she has known most of her life. The Rolandsons are old friends of my husband’s and mine – or, at least, they were, until Bella came home and broke off the engagement abruptly.’

Woody’s heart leaped with hope.

‘She would only say she had realized she did not love Victor. I guessed she’d met someone else, and now I know who.’

Woody said: ‘I had no idea she was engaged.’

‘She was wearing a diamond ring that was pretty hard to miss. Your poor powers of observation have caused a tragedy.’

‘I’m very sorry,’ Woody said. Then he told himself to stop being a pussy. ‘Or rather, I’m not,’ he said. ‘I’m very glad she’s broken off her engagement, because I think she’s absolutely wonderful and I want her for myself.’

Mrs Hernandez did not like that. ‘You’re mighty fresh, young man.’

Woody suddenly felt resentful of her condescension. ‘Mrs Hernandez, you used the word “tragedy” just now. My fiancée, Joanne, died in my arms at Pearl Harbor. My brother, Chuck, was killed by machine-gun fire on the beach at Bougainville. On D-Day I sent Ace Webber and four other young Americans to their deaths for the sake of a bridge in a one-horse town called Eglise-des-Soeurs. I know what tragedy is, ma’am, and it’s not a broken engagement.’

She was taken aback. He guessed young people did not often stand up to her. She did not reply, but looked a little pale. After a moment she got up and left the room without explanation. Woody was not sure what she expected him to do, but he had not yet seen Bella so he sat tight.

Five minutes later, Bella came in.

Woody stood up, his pulse quickening. Just the sight of her made him smile. She wore a plain pale-yellow dress that set off her lustrous dark hair and coffee skin. She would always look good in dramatically simple clothing, he guessed; just like Joanne. He wanted to put his arms around her and crush her soft body to his own, but he waited for a sign from her.

She looked anxious and uncomfortable. ‘What are you doing here?’ she said.

‘I came looking for you.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I can’t get you out of my mind.’

‘We don’t even know each other.’

‘Let’s put that right, starting today. Will you have dinner with me?’

‘I don’t know.’

He crossed the room to where she stood.

She was startled to see him using a walking stick. ‘What happened to you?’

‘My knee got shot up in France. It’s getting better, slowly.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Bella. I think you’re wonderful. I believe you like me. We’re both free of commitments. What’s worrying you?’

She gave that lopsided grin that he liked so much. ‘I guess I’m embarrassed. About what I did, that night in London.’

‘Is that all?’

‘It was a lot, for a first date.’

‘That kind of thing went on all the time. Not to me, necessarily, but I heard about it. You thought I was going to die.’

She nodded. ‘I’ve never done anything like that, not even with Victor. I don’t know what came over me. And in a public park! I feel like a whore.’

‘I know exactly what you are,’ Woody said. ‘You’re a smart, beautiful woman with a big heart. So why don’t we forget that mad moment in London, and start getting to know one another like the respectable well-brought-up young people that we are?’

She began to soften. ‘Can we, really?’

‘You bet.’

‘Okay.’

‘I’ll pick you up at seven?’

‘Okay.’