Cago was taking her turn as a Sunday afternoon hostess at the U.S.O. when she suddenly grabbed her head. “The room is spinning; I’m very dizzy,” she told a fellow hostess. “I think I’m going to faint.”
She was helped to the volunteers’ lounge, where she collapsed on the sofa. “I’ll be alright,” she said as she pressed her eyes with her fingers. “Just a little dizzy spell.”
When she tried to sit up again, she collapsed back onto the couch. “The room won’t stop spinning. I can’t imagine what’s happening.”
“Look, I’m not a doctor,” the girl helping her said, “but I am a student nurse, and you need to see a doctor. If you don’t feel better, I’m going to take you to Urgent Care at the clinic. It’s only a few blocks from here.
“By the way, my name is Tonya; I know you’re Cago. All the girls think you are wonderful. Please let me take you to the clinic.”
“Thank you. Maybe I better see someone.”
Tonya helped Cago to her car. “You and I are in the same boat, only my guy is in the army in Europe. I heard your guy is in Korea.”
As they parked at Urgent Care, Cago winced, “Maybe I should just go home.”
“No way,” Tonya took Cago’s arm and helped her inside. “You’re going to get help.”
While they waited for a doctor, Tonya held Cago’s hand in hers. “It shouldn’t be long now. I bet it’s your ears.”
Cago frowned when helped by a nurse into a tiny examining room where she was handed a folded gown. “It opens in front,” the nurse said.
“It’s probably only my ears,” Cago anguished as she was helped onto an examining table where a nurse checked her vitals and then gave her a specimen bottle.
The doctor was younger than Cago expected. He examined Cago’s eyes. “Are you still spinning around?”
“The room is. My friend, who is a student nurse, thinks it’s just my ears.”
“Let’s hope your friend is right. Let’s have her wait outside while I examine you.”
Cago grimaced when she spotted the stirrups at the end of the examining table. “I hate them.”
“I’m Dr. Block,” she was calmly told. “Haven’t I seen you before?”
Before Cago could answer, he asked, “Have you taken a steam bath, sauna, or been in a hot tub recently?”
“I was in a hot tub just this morning. Does that matter?”
“Your body certainly is in good shape. Are you an athlete?
“No, I am a dancer,” Cago tried to smile.
“My God, yes,” Dr. Block grinned. “I recognize you. You’re Cago, the lady I’ve been reading about.”
The nurse returned to the room and handed the doctor the results of the urine test. Dr. Block quickly scanned the paper and smiled. “Would you like your friend to come back in to share the good news?”
Cago nodded her head. “Only my ears, I’ll bet.”
Tonya was relieved to join them. “How’s our beautiful girl?”
Dr. Block helped Cago sit up. “She’s going to be a mother. Cago, you are pregnant.”
“Pregnant!” Cago embraced Tonya. “My God! I’ve got to let my husband know right away.” Cago felt her stomach. “Can I feel her—or his heartbeat yet? I think I can. My husband’s in Korea.”
Cago counted on her fingers. “Just think, our baby was conceived in Hawaii. I’m overjoyed!” She began crying; Tonya joined in.
The nurse reappeared with a hypodermic syringe. “This should help you with your dizziness. Do you have a ride home?”
“I’m driving,” Tonya insisted. “I can pick up my car later.”
Cago ignored Dr. Block’s remark, “Til we meet again,” accompanied by a wink.
While driving, Tonya teared. “I wish I were you. I’d love to have a baby to hold and love.”
“You will, some day,” Cago reached for her hand. “My husband is going to bust his buttons.”
“My Tom is in Europe with General Patton’s 3rd Army. We decided to wait until he gets home to be really married.”
Cago pulled out a Kleenex. “It’ll work out, just wait and see.”
“Can we be close friends?” Tonya asked. “I don’t have anyone else. I promise to help take care of you.”
Cago crossed her heart. “We already are; I need you, too. One of the first things we need to do is find a good gynecologist,” Cago looked down. “Feel my belly. I think she or he is trying to tell me something.” They both laughed.
That night, Cago wrote in her diary and sent Arro the same message in a cablegram.
Dear Angel. I have a great joy to share with you tonight. I am pregnant. I just found out today that Arro is going to be a daddy. Although he’s halfway around the world, part of him is with me. I can’t think of anything more wonderful than the giving of life. Just think, I’ll soon have two loved ones to pray for. Since our beautiful baby was conceived by love in Hawaii, I want her or him to have a name symbolic of that beautiful place. When I look into the sky tonight, it’s hard to believe that I am seeing the same moon and heavens that Arro can see. I remember a little poem I learned in foster care. It went something like this: “I see the moon, and the moon sees me. And the moon sees the somebody I’d like to see. God bless the moon, and God bless me. And God bless somebody I’d like to see.” By the way, I have a new friend. Her name is Tonya; she’s also a volunteer at the U.S.O. Tonya is a cute little blonde with blue eyes. Her man is in the army in Europe. She’s the one who drove me to the clinic when I had my dizzy spell at the club. Anyway, Tonya has agreed to help me with some of the womanly things