City of God

Another long “Author’s Bio” section begins, this time about Everett’s brother Ronald and his experiences as part of a WWII bomber crew. After briefly describing his brother’s birth and his father slipping into the middle-aged man Everett knew growing up, Everett muses on the nature of the B-17 Flying Fortress, then begins his story in earnest:

After a number of missions, Ronald is given a weekend pass and sent to a small English castle where he was hosted by an unnamed Lord and his daughter, who Ronald calls Miss Manderleigh. Ronald and Manderleigh are caught in a rainstorm while touring the castle grounds, and they retreat to the barn, where they have sex; Ronald was hesitant with details, so Everett turns it into a romantic, tragic scene. They have sex again after her father goes to bed, and when the weekend is over, Ronald feels no lingering feelings for her as they say their goodbyes, instead seeing the “genderless sad soul that stared from her eyes” (174).

Twenty-four hours later his crew is sent on a large mission that takes a disastrous turn, as the squadron and its accompanying fighter planes are decimated. His plane is shot, and he rushes to the cockpit, where the copilot is dead.