Willie’s Final Romantic Choice

Willie’s pursuit of May after the war tests whether his love can survive pride, rejection, and her independent life.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Letter Without Reply

A Letter Without Reply Proposal After the Kamikaze, Willie writes May a long and earnest marriage proposal, accepting a modest academic future and reconsidering his earlier class prejudice. Silence No reply reaches him during the remaining months overseas, leaving him unable to distinguish rejection from a lost letter.

The Missing Address

The Missing Address Search Willie telephones May’s former candy-store contact and learns that she and her family have moved without leaving a forwarding address. Suspense His discharge medal and reprimand arrive together, but neither can answer the more personal question of whether May has read his letter.

The New Name

The New Name Discovery Marty Rubin takes Willie to the Aztec Lounge and shows him that May performs as Marie Minotti with Walter Feather’s band. Shock Willie learns that May’s life has continued without him and that Feather may be more than a professional partner.

An Honest Disclosure

An Honest Disclosure Question Willie asks whether May is Feather’s mistress. She says she has not slept with him and explains that he is still married, while she remains attached to the hope that he will divorce. Conflict Willie must confront his jealousy without using the revelation to cast himself as a rescuer.

A Future Not Settled

A Future Not Settled Proposal Willie asks May to marry him and promises a life together that need not be comfortable to be meaningful. Uncertainty She agrees to meet him again but cautions him not to mistake one emotional reunion for a settled decision.

Three months before the Caine is decommissioned

After the Caine reaches Pearl Harbor on its way home

Navy Day, after Willie decommissions the Caine

The first conversation in the Aztec Lounge

At the end of their first meeting after decommissioning