Free The Discovery, A Novel by Dan Walsh

be a faithful, even passionate Nazi. Now, he was only a few days out from finally being rid of this albatross. The calluses that had crusted over his lies were already beginning to soften.
    A few moments later, the submarine shuddered, the deep groaning sounds followed by the swoosh of the forward torpedoes releasing.
    “Won’t be long now,” Jurgen said.
    Ben sighed, then tried to conceal it. Both men sat in silence. A few minutes went by, then a deep bass sound. A moment later, another . . . Boom .
    “They got her!” Jurgen yelled and jumped to his feet. “You hear it? Both torpedoes. She’s going down.”
    Ben stood, forced a smile.
    “Let’s go,” Jurgen said. “Maybe they’ll let us up on deck. Must have been amazing to watch, don’t you think?”
    “Amazing,” Ben said. He didn’t want to see it. Those booms meant dozens of American men, some his same age, had just died. Others were clinging to flaming debris or drowning in the surf. I am an American , he said in his mind, walking a few steps behind Jurgen toward the conning tower. He knew he was making a choice, firming his resolve—
    “Excuse me, young man.”
    “What?”
    “May I get by? There’s a car coming across the bridge or I’d walk around you.”
    Ben looked down at the face of a short man wearing an overcoat and fedora, a bit bundled up for the slight chill in the air.
    “You weren’t thinking of jumping, were you?”
    “What? No,” Ben said, smiling.
    “Got girl troubles then?” he said, stepping by as Ben leaned up against the rail. “A man stands out on a bridge this long without a fishing pole, I figure he’s either gonna jump or he’s got girl troubles.”
    “You got it, sir. Girl troubles. No plans to jump. Too much to live for.”
    The man stopped. “So you shipping out soon, wondering if she’ll wait? Lot of that going on. My boy went through that a few months ago. He’s in England now.”
    “Well, that’s not exactly my problem. I’m 4-F. The girl I love loves someone like your son, only he’s in North Africa.”
    “Ah,” the man said. “That could stick a man out on a bridge, I guess. If you don’t mind me saying, hope she stays true to her young man in Africa, after seeing what my boy went through. But then I hope you find somebody else, just right for you.” He waved, turned, and started walking toward the mainland.
    “Good night,” Ben said. He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and started walking toward the beachside. Why had he told that man about Claire? He’d just blurted it out, like it was . . . the truth.
    It was the truth.
    And it felt good to say it. It had been so long since he’d said anything close to the truth. But it saddened him to think about what the man said, hoping that Claire would stay true to Jim Burton.
    As he looked out over the water, he remembered she’d talked about Jim the day they met, that first week he’d come into town. He’d been heading into the diner at Woolworth’s.
    Lying there, blocking the entrance to the front door, was this big brown dog. He seemed friendly enough. Ben was about to step over him when the dog looked up and began wagging his tail. Ben bent down to pet him. “Hey, boy, how you doing?” As soon as Ben patted his head, the dog rolled on his side. “I see, you want me to scratch your belly.”
    He heard the front door open. Before he could look up, a woman shouted, “Oh no!” The next moment, a thick stream of water poured over his head and all over his clothes.
    “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry.”
    Ben rubbed the water from his eyes and looked up into the face of a beautiful young woman.
    “I am so sorry,” she repeated. “I didn’t see you.”
    “I’m all right, really. It’s just water.” How could he be angry? She was so lovely.
    “No, it’s not all right. Let me go get a towel. You stay there, I’ll be right back.”
    He stood and so did the brown dog. The girl returned with a white towel and began drying him