At the end of World War II, the young girl had no idea she was the answer to a dying old man's prayer when along came a soldier into her life. Whether it was the power of the unknown prayer or the persistence of the soldier, that chance meeting changed her life into a roller coaster ride that was filled with fun and zany antics. Along Came a Soldier is a page turner in the style of June Harman Betts' first two books, Father Was A Caveman and We Were Vagabonds. It recreates the life of an American family immediately following World War II into the turbulent years of the Vietnam War. COMMENTS FROM ACTUAL READERS: I enjoyed June Harman Betts' articles in our local paper for years. Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that she had written a book. AND WHAT A READ! ...As she did so well in her newspaper articles, she takes us to a place of memories, romance, heart-filled times of joy and sorrow-all while sharing the still unwinding story of our greatest generation. Dianne Cline, Denison University As June Harman Betts pens the true story of the family's history, one becomes riveted by the highlights and heartbreaks of this intriguing family. The reader is drawn into the family's history with her ability to bring back memories of the reader's own bygone days through her vivid description of the various areas of the country where the family lived. One looks forward to her third book as she continues to weave her story with the young girl's marriage to a young soldier and their life together. James Ritchey, Newark, Ohio ...Father Was A Caveman was so great, especially when it described days of long ago. I enjoyed it so much and also the sequel, We Were Vagabonds. June Harman Betts is a wonderful author. I could not put the book down. Even though I read it from the library in Petersburg, West Virginia, I had to order my own copy for future generations. Katherine Vance, Amazon.com Reader Review.

Along Came A Soldier

By June Harman Betts

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 June Harman Betts
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4490-9304-4

Chapter One

SHOULD I OR SHOULDN'T I?

June noticed the young dark haired soldier as he entered the theater lobby. A petite curvaceous blond clung to one arm while a dignified older brunette woman walked sedately beside them. "Isn't that sweet? He must have just gotten home from the war and is taking his girlfriend and his mother to the movie," June thought. When they stopped at her concession stand, and bought three boxes of popcorn, she found his friendly somewhat flirtatious manner puzzling. "Hmm," she murmured under her breath as she watched the trio disappear from her sight. For a brief moment, she looked into the darkness and wondered about them. Then she busied herself with other customers and didn't give them another thought.

For the last few months June had been working at the Midland Theater in downtown Newark, Ohio. First starting as an usherette at the Midland, then being given the job to work the concession stand at the Midland's sister theater, the Auditorium. While the new job hadn't offered an increase in her thirty-five cents an hour salary, it had included a whopping commission of ten percent. This had amounted to a penny for each box of popcorn she popped, boxed and sold. When cowboy movies starring Roy Rogers and his girlfriend, Dale Evans, were shown, she could actually sell one thousand boxes a night for the grand sum of ten dollars in commission.

The job offered two perks that she considered as valuable as the money she made. She could attend any movie at either theater free of charge. Also her position in the lobby afforded her a front row seat to the comings and goings in her small part of the world.

Four months earlier, Newark had joined the rest of the world in a massive celebration of the end of World War II, the war that had engulfed the major part of the world for a large part of her life. Now the men who had fought so bravely were returning home to get on with their lives. For many of them, it meant getting reacquainted with the women they had left behind.

Always a romantic, June would often stand behind the counter and watch happy, young couples surge through the lobby and imagine romantic scenarios about each one. In her minds eye, every young couple who passed by was part of a bittersweet story of young lovers who had been torn apart by this long agonizing war. As she had done many times, she sighed at the thought of the soldier and his girl finally being reunited.

* * *

She was so deep in her daydream that she was startled when she heard a male voice say, "Hi there! How about some more popcorn?"

Turning toward her customer, she was surprised to see the dark-haired soldier. "Back so soon?" She exclaimed. "You certainly haven't eaten three boxes of popcorn already, have you?"

A glint of mischief was in his grin and in his voice when he replied, "You'd better not let your boss hear you say that. He might think you are trying to cut back on sales."

She quickly glanced around to make sure Mr. Tysinger, the theater manager, hadn't heard her comment. Assured he was nowhere in sight, she returned the young man's gaze and in her most dignified manner asked, "How may I help you?"

His grin had widened and there was a sparkle in his brown eyes as he responded, "I'll have three boxes of popcorn and a date with you." Astonished by his last four words, she was momentarily speechless. Only a few minutes ago he had walked in with two girls and now he was asking her for a date!

While he stood waiting for an answer, she boxed the popcorn and handed it to him. "That will be thirty-one cents," she said.

He placed three dimes and a penny in her outstretched hand and said, "I also asked for a date. How about it?

Her smile matched his as she quipped, "The date? It is December 21, 1945."

"I didn't ask the date, I asked you for a date. You'd say yes if you knew how much trouble I had getting rid of all that popcorn so I'd have an excuse to come out here and talk to you."

She could feel her cheeks turning pink when she looked into his mocking eyes. Straightening her shoulders, and pulling herself to her full height of five foot seven inches, she returned his smile, but her voice sounded haughty to her own ears when she gave him her answer, "I don't go out with people I don't know."

"You mean you would go out with me if we were properly introduced?" he asked.

"I ... I" she stammered. Then her voice took on a cutting edge when she asked, "What about your girlfriend?"

"You mean the girls I came in with?" he asked.

"Yes, it seems you have left your girlfriend and mother alone for too long. Don't you think it is time for you to go back to them?"

Her words had a sobering effect on the young soldier. He nodded curtly and muttered, "You may be right." With these words, he spun on his heels and strode away without a backward glance. She was surprised at the sense of disappointment she felt as she let her gaze follow his departing figure. Although she had made an effort to hide her feelings from him, she had enjoyed the give and take of their bantering.

As she filled the orders of the surge of customers who stopped at the concession stand, she wondered if she would ever see him again.

* * *

She soon found that all thought of the fresh young soldier was wiped from her mind by the steady stream of customers who stopped by her booth. She'd been too busy to give them more than a cursory glance as she went about her usual routine of filling the popper with corn, adding the oil, popping the corn, boxing it, and filling their orders. That was why she hadn't even looked at the next customer before she'd automatically asked, "How many please?"

"No popcorn this time! I don't think I could stuff another bite down my throat or down the girls'," a familiar sounding male voice said. Before she could reply, he added, "And I don't think the janitor will be very happy when he finds most of the first boxes on the floor!" In response to her quizzically raised eyebrow, he said, "The girls wouldn't eat it fast enough to suit me, so I sort of accidentally spilled it."

June tried to give him a cool look, but she couldn't keep the laughter from her eyes at his words. Pictures raced through her mind of the cantankerous old janitor's reaction to the mound of popcorn he was going to have to dispose of tonight. "You'd better not be around when he sees it," she warned him. She hadn't been aware that one of the usherettes was standing beside him until the girl cleared her throat to get their attention.

At the sound, the soldier turned to the chestnut-haired girl and smiled before saying to June, "You said you didn't go out with anyone until you'd been properly introduced. It appears that we have a mutual friend." When he finished speaking, he let his eyes move first to the young girl in the booth then to the usherette who was standing beside him. When June didn't reply, he said, "Phyllis and I went to school together, and she has agreed to introduce us." The usherette was beaming when she made the introductions. The persistent young man's name was Dick, and he'd just returned from two years of military duty in Europe ... including being part of Patton's Third Army during the Battle of the Bulge. Turning to Dick, she informed him that the blond girl's name was June and that she was a junior in high...