Satin Salli

Marietta, Georgia - June, 1943

Salli Cahallan stood atop a ladder replacing books on the library shelves and wondering why the heaviest books always seemed to be the ones on top. As she reached down to the cart to retrieve another book, the door to the library opened and she heard heavy footsteps walking across the marble floor toward the front desk. The deep male voice that followed was not familiar and sounded much younger than most of the men who frequented the library these days. Stretching over the top of the books, she tried to catch a glimpse of the stranger.

All she could see was a mass of dark wavy hair and a military uniform. Definitely not anyone she knew. Bessie, the librarian, was talking now and Salli couldn’t quite make out what was being said. Then she heard the footsteps again, moving in her direction. They headed down the aisle next to the one where she was working. Again, she stretched to peer over the row of books and could only see the top of his head. He had stopped almost directly in front of her. Not wanting to be overly obvious in her curiosity, she realized that if she tilted a book at the top with enough force on this side, it would cause the book on the opposite side to fall and she would have an excuse to go around to the other side. Unfortunately, the divider board that separated the two sides was loose, and when she pushed one book, perhaps a little harder than she intended, the board dislodged and numerous volumes rained down on the other side, including a rather large atlas with metal clips on the corners of the cover.

From the other side came an anguished exclamation; “What the…!” followed by a loud thud. Salli almost flew down from the ladder and scrambled to the next aisle where the man in uniform lay dazed on the floor among half a dozen scattered books. Oh my God, what have I done! Salli was in a complete panic as she knelt down next to the man, lifting his head into her lap.

“Are you okay? I am so sorry. I didn’t mean…that is I didn’t know that there was a loose board.” She was almost in tears as Bessie came running down the aisle. “What in the name of heaven happened?”

The man in Salli’s lap moaned as he slowly opened his eyes. For a moment he just stared at the angelic face above him. The eyes were absolutely amazing; green with little gold flecks encircled by a ring of charcoal and surrounded by long dark lashes. A mass of long straight chestnut hair flowed over her shoulders, brushing his cheek. Her mouth was small but the lips were full, with a slight downward curve at the ends. He resisted the urge to reach up and touch them. “Are you okay?” she asked again.

“I…I think so…my head…” He moved his hand from the spot where he was holding his head and Salli’s flushed face lost all its color. “You’re bleeding! Oh my gosh!” Her face moved closer to his as she examined the wound. The nearness of it made Dom’s heart start racing. “I need to get you to Uncle Matt’s. You’re probably going to have to have some stitches. Uncle Matt is a doctor.” Salli quickly explained when she saw the confused look on Dom’s face. Bessie, who had been watching the drama play out before her, reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a handkerchief.

“It’s clean…I promise. You may want to hold it over the cut to stop the bleeding.” “Can you stand up? Salli asked as she placed the handkerchief over the wound and lifted him into a sitting position. My goodness, he has broad shoulders! With Salli’s help, Dom carefully stood up. He wasn’t sure if the dizziness he felt had to do with the injury or the girl next to him. Maybe a little of both.

“I have a car out front,” he volunteered. “How far away is…the doctor’s office?” “It’s only a couple of blocks. I’ll drive,” Salli offered, holding out her hand for the keys. Once they were standing, Dom realized what a tiny little thing this girl was…and young. Too young? But her offer to drive gave him encouragement. “Do you have a license? You look awfully young,” he tested. She rolled her eyes as she looked up at him. “I’m old enough…and yes, I have a license,” she said dryly.

They walked slowly to the door. Dom was thoroughly enjoying the attention, but stopped abruptly. “What’s wrong? Are you dizzy? Do you need to sit down?” Salli was all concern as she eased him toward a chair.

“I’m fine,” he said. “It’s just that if I’m going to trust myself to your care, don’t you think I should at least know your name?”

Her face broke into a wonderful smile. It was the first time he saw her teeth…and they were slightly uneven, not perfect like everything else about her. She’s real. Thank God I’m not just hallucinating. “My name is Salli…short for Salina so I spell it with an ‘i’, not a ‘y’.” She offered her hand, which Dom took saying, “I’m Dom…short for Dominic. Captain Dominic Francis Valliant, Eighth Air Corps.” “A pilot! I think you’re the first pilot I’ve met.” “You think? Do you pick up a lot of military men around here?” Dom’s obvious teasing remark was met with a quick reply.

“More than you might think. But they don’t always volunteer their rank, so I’m not sure if any of them are with the Air Corps since they aren't always in uniform. And I don‘t pick them up. I volunteer at the USO.” Dom wasn’t certain why this information upset him. For some reason, he didn’t want to be just another military man to this girl.

The car, a small coup, belonged to his navigator who had talked Dom into coming along while he visited his family. When Salli reached to open the passenger door for him, he automatically made a quick move to open it himself, ended up losing his balance again and almost took them both down. “You’re not being a very good patient,” she admonished, giving him a playful smile. “I’m the one responsible for your injury, so let me take care of you…please.”