Purgatory in the heavens

“No” said his father, looking at him over wire rim glasses, with cool blue eyes.  “This is not our war; you will not leave this company to fight another county’s war.”  Gavin Whyte’s father, Alistair, was a large, tough man, who had grown accustomed to getting his way.  He owned a large portion of one the leading railroad companies in the United States.  A company he had built from the ground up, some of which with his own hands.  He had given his son everything he could ever want. He had paid for him to go to school at Oxford and now it was coming back to haunt him.  Damn his wife for talking him into that.



Gavin sat back in his chair and eyed his father.  He had gone over this argument numerous times in his head, and things were going almost exactly he imagined.  “Father, you yourself taught me to value my friendships, and the importance of family.”  “The friends you make in college will be lifelong friends and allies for your future endevors.  Cherish them and make those boys your family.  Those were your words, father.  Now my friends are going to war.  How am I to sit back and let them go without me?  Hell, father it is even family grandfather and uncle Peter are going as well.”



“Alistair,” Julia, Gavin’s mother, chimed in “I have already spoken to my father and brother, Gavin will be perfectly safe.  Peter says he has arranged for Gavin to be given a commission and placed on his personal staff.  He will be nowhere near the fighting.”  Everyone at the table knew that was a lie and keeping the boy out of the fight would prove to be next to impossible.



Julia, was born into a military family.  She was more than used to sending the men in her life off to war.  She saw her poor mother reduced to tears on a few occasions and wanted no part of that life.  That is why she had married the attractive wealthy American in the hopes that she wouldn’t have to live that life herself.  Now her son had come to her and asked for her help to join the Army and go to war for a country she had not called home in over 20 years.  She had offered a stiff resistance at first, but knowing her son would only go without her permission, she sent letters to her father and brother asking for their help and to keep her only son safe from harm.



“Well, I see I have already been bypassed” said Alistair.  “What was the point of this meeting if you already have enlisted?  I will not be a part of this.  I will not send my only son off to die in another country’s war.  If you decide to go, go with the knowledge you will not have help from me.  I will not have your death on my head.  You will not have any money or your job with the company if you return.  I emphasize the “if”.  War does not care about your breeding boy.  You can be cut down with the rest of them.  There are no hero’s, it is an ugly business.  I wish you the best of luck.”



With that Alistair Whyte stood from the table, reached out and shook his son’s hand and wished him luck once again.  Then he strode from the restaurant without even the hint of looking back.  Gavin and Julia sat together in silence at the table for a while after watching him leave.  “When do you set off?” asked Julia.  “I already have a ticket for tomorrow morning on a ship from the harbour,” said Gavin.  “Well, then take this” Julia said as she took $1,500 from her purse and slid it across the table to her son.  “Please be sure to write to me as well.  God knows I will be worried sick about you.”  “Mother you have nothing to worry about.  I am always safe,” said Gavin, with a sly grin.  She knew that grin well and was even more worried than before about her son.  Then she stood and prepared to leave the restaurant.  She leaned down and gave her son a last kiss on the forehead and a brief hug, then turned and left hiding the tears from him as she strode away.



Gavin sat back in his seat and pondered the events that led up to this pivotal moment.  The outbreak of war had caught him by surprise.  Then there was the fateful letter from his friend Bernard, telling him he was accepting a commission along with their other Oxford pals.  They were all joining the British Expeditionary Force in France and would soon be in the thick of the fighting with the infantry. 



He thought of all those boys, Bernard, with his bright red hair and his carefree smile, Clive, the serious one who was always studying, Glenn, the boy who could charm any lady with his rugged good looks and wit as sharp as a bayonet.  He had grown to love them as brothers and now they were fighting for their lives.  He thought of the way they would drink in the pubs after classes, chasing after young girls and brawling with one another for fun.  How would they fair in war.  He worried for all of them and wished more than anything to be there with them.  The adventure of war was alluring for all young men.



Gavin slowly got up from the table leaving some change for the tip.  He put on his jacket and began the long lonely walk to his hotel.  His ship was to leave at 8 a.m. the next morning and he would need some sleep before he started the long journey to England and then hopefully to join his friends in France.