Shame

the
Constellation.
For want of anything else to do, Elizabeth counted the lines. There were twenty-four of them. The crowd was getting more restive, reacting with more enthusiasm to everything. When the
Constellation
’s foghorn sounded, everyone burst into wild cheers. Blue and white pavilions were set up everywhere, providing informationand refreshments and a sense of community. The thousands waiting, of all colors and nationalities, seemed to be part of an extended family.
    The favorite game for those waiting was Find Your Sailor. There was so much ship-to-shore waving and whistling and shouting that her ears hurt. Excited conversations were going on all around Elizabeth, though many weren’t in English. She heard Spanish and what she assumed was Tagalog, as well as several languages unknown to her. Those waiting were holding flowers, balloons, and posters. It was a military exercise, but also an exercise in “I Love You.” That’s what most of the messages said, although one teenage boy had a unique way of advertising it. His poster read, “Dad, I Love You. How About a Raise in My Allowance?”
    That’s what I should have done, Elizabeth thought. Advertised my appearance to Caleb.
    The long docking process was finally completed, and those waiting were allowed to go forward along the pier. Elizabeth was swept along with the crowd. She could almost believe that she was waiting for her man to disembark. Amid the jostling and movement she turned her head, looking for Caleb. He still wasn’t to be seen.
    A piercing whistle drew her out of her reverie. The whistle captured the attention not only of Elizabeth but of most of those on the dock. The whistler, waving from on deck of the aircraft carrier, was no slouch in the shouting department either.
    “Corinne!” a sailor yelled. “Hey, Corinne!”
    Standing near Elizabeth was the apparent object of the sailor’s attentions, a young woman waving so vigorously that she was shaking from her fingers to her toes. “Right here, sweet stuff!” she said, somehow matching his volume.
    “You’re looking
good
, Corinne!”
    The crowd laughed at the sailor’s exuberance. Corinne preened for him, tilting her head back and running her hand through her braided black hair.
    “You’re looking
fine,
Corinne.”
    Corinne threw out her arms wide as if to embrace her man and span the distance between them. “I’ve been
waiting,
Willie.”
    And not willing to wait a minute longer, by the sound of it. From ship to shore, everyone seemed to be laughing. In the vocal department, Willie and Corinne were the perfect match, their calls heard over the sea of other voices.
    “You put that
mattress
in the bed of the truck like I told you, Corinne?”
    “Couldn’t wait that long, Willie. I tied it to my back!”
    Over all the raucous laughter, Willie was heard to say, “That’s my woman!”
    Elizabeth remembered the classic picture of the sailor kissing a woman on the street during the VE celebration in New York City, two strangers caught up in a moment of exuberance. There was the flavor of that all around her. She didn’t know any of these people, but she was still caught up in their excitement.
    The gangway was being lowered, with the exodus about to begin. Winners of the First Kiss Contest were being lined up to kiss their sailors. The band was playing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” There was no war on, but the crew was still getting a heroes’ welcome. Much of Elizabeth’s adult life had been spent around scenes of intense anticipation, but this was very different from awaiting the verdict at a death penalty trial or the countdown to an execution. The electricity was just as strong, but it wasn’t generated by storms.
    Sailors walked down the gangplank. They appeared to be under orders not to run but were hard pressed to obey. Sea legs that in other circumstances might have been unsteady held up just fine for their long-awaited reunions. All at once, everyone seemed to be kissing and hugging and holding. Babies were lifted high, some being held and seen by proud fathers for the first time.
    The giddy emotions were contagious. Even those sailors who had no waiting loved ones disembarked with wide smiles.Liberty was liberty, and San Diego awaited them. The men in white didn’t need to ask directions for a good time.
    Elizabeth watched a half hour’s worth of reunions. It was the show that kept her there more than any expectation that Caleb was going to appear. There