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One Perfect Night
Townsville, Australia, 1943.
Tanner is a captain in the US Army, stationed at a radio post on an island in the middle of nowhere.
Nick is a coastwatcher, a man whose voice Tanner has only heard before over the radio waves.
They meet in the middle of war, when nothing is certain but this: Tanner and Nick are owed one perfect night.
Tanner is a captain in the US Army, stationed at a radio post on an island in the middle of nowhere.
Nick is a coastwatcher, a man whose voice Tanner has only heard before over the radio waves.
They meet in the middle of war, when nothing is certain but this: Tanner and Nick are owed one perfect night.
18 pages, ebook
First published May 3, 2015
14 people are currently reading
385 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Henry
102 books2,278 followersI like to tell stories. Mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters. They gotta work for it though. No free lunches on my watch.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
March 16, 2023
“You take care of yourself, Nick, okay?”
“Yeah, you too,” Nick whispered. He swallowed. “You’ll be listening out for me?”
“I will,” Tanner said. “I always listened for you, Blue Sky Guy. Always.”
“Good.” Nick closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they shone. “Do you suppose we can get more than one perfect night?”
“Yes,” Tanner said. Warmth spread through him. “As many as we want.”
…
Their one perfect night didn’t have to be their last.
…
Tanner waited with his feet in the water.
Nick would come.
Tanner wanted to believe that as long as he could.
i’m not crying.
i’m sobbing.
May 29, 2015
4 stars. Review posted May 22, 2015
Set in Townsville on Magnetic Island during WWII, Captain John Tanner is meeting Nick again. Nick, aka Blue Sky Guy, is working as a coastwatcher behind the Japanese lines on the island Bougainville. Before Nick has to return to Bougainville, he wants to spend one perfect night with Tanner. Or, will there be even more intense nights for these two men?
A beautiful and well-written short story. The ending guarantees some emotional heartache.
It only needs one beautiful cover, few poignant words and approximately 30 pages to drown out ugliness. Author Lisa Henry did it for me. Thank you.
Recommended read.
Set in Townsville on Magnetic Island during WWII, Captain John Tanner is meeting Nick again. Nick, aka Blue Sky Guy, is working as a coastwatcher behind the Japanese lines on the island Bougainville. Before Nick has to return to Bougainville, he wants to spend one perfect night with Tanner. Or, will there be even more intense nights for these two men?
A beautiful and well-written short story. The ending guarantees some emotional heartache.
It only needs one beautiful cover, few poignant words and approximately 30 pages to drown out ugliness. Author Lisa Henry did it for me. Thank you.
Recommended read.
Read
April 23, 2015I wrote this story, and the awesome Natasha designed the cover.
This is a short story - a little under 9000 words.
It's set in my hometown, during WWII, right on the edge of the War in the Pacific.
I also spent some time as a kid in Bougainville. If the few phrases of Tok Pisin in this are wrong, I take full responsibility for that. When I was a kid I was only interested in learning the rude words.
I also refer to the Japanese soldiers in this story as "Japs." I know this is sometimes used as a pejorative term, but I wanted to keep it historically accurate, and this is how the newsreels of the day referred to the enemy.
This is a short story - a little under 9000 words.
It's set in my hometown, during WWII, right on the edge of the War in the Pacific.
I also spent some time as a kid in Bougainville. If the few phrases of Tok Pisin in this are wrong, I take full responsibility for that. When I was a kid I was only interested in learning the rude words.
I also refer to the Japanese soldiers in this story as "Japs." I know this is sometimes used as a pejorative term, but I wanted to keep it historically accurate, and this is how the newsreels of the day referred to the enemy.
May 2, 2015
gorgeous.
a lovely visit to the other side of the world.
henry brings the feelz, so you should probably settle yourself with some tissues before you read this.
a remarkably fresh and engrossing read.
a lovely visit to the other side of the world.
henry brings the feelz, so you should probably settle yourself with some tissues before you read this.
a remarkably fresh and engrossing read.
July 27, 2016
A bright spot in all the darkness of war.
Tanner is an American soldier fighting in an island on what's today called Papua New Guinea where me meets an Australian youth, Nick, who serves as a coast-watcher. Nick has lived in the place his whole life, he knows it like the back of his hand. Nick is well-known for his radio broadcasts during his incursions, which gave him the nickname of Blue Sky Guy.
Tanner recognizes him instantly, and they both decide to have a perfect night together. Because the future is uncertain and the past doesn't matter.
In just a few pages, Lisa Henry manages to convey what she wants to convey.
So short and so many emotions.
*****
Thank you so much for the gift!!! :D
Tanner is an American soldier fighting in an island on what's today called Papua New Guinea where me meets an Australian youth, Nick, who serves as a coast-watcher. Nick has lived in the place his whole life, he knows it like the back of his hand. Nick is well-known for his radio broadcasts during his incursions, which gave him the nickname of Blue Sky Guy.
Tanner recognizes him instantly, and they both decide to have a perfect night together. Because the future is uncertain and the past doesn't matter.
In just a few pages, Lisa Henry manages to convey what she wants to convey.
So short and so many emotions.
Tanner couldn’t hate the war, not entirely. Maybe without it there would have been other men, other nights that almost reached the heights of this one, but Tanner couldn’t know for certain. It seemed a lot to take on faith. He only knew that the war had given him one perfect night with Nick. Out of the chaos and the madness and the horror, the war had given him Nick. And this place, this point in time, suffused everything that had gone before with meaning.
There were hundred of men, hundred of thousands, who would never find meaning in any of this.
Yesterday, Tanner was one of them.
Now, he wouldn’t change a thing.
Tanner raised himself up onto his elbow. He stared down at Nick, and Nick’s grin faded away. Tanner leaned down and kissed him gently. “You take care of yourself, Nick, okay?”
“Yeah, you too,” Nick whispered. He swallowed. “You’ll be listening out for me?”
“I will,” Tanner said. “I always listened for you, Blue Sky Guy. Always.”
“Good.” Nick closed his eyes briefly. When he opened the again, they shone. “Do you suppose we can get more than one perfect night?”
“Yes,” Tanner said. Warmth spread through him. “As many as you want.”
“That’s us,” Nick said. “Years before the war, Feldt came out to all the islands. Gave us radios and told us we were like Ferdinand the bull. That’s what we do. We sit under the trees and smell the flowers, and we watch the world go by. Until we get stung.”
Tanner inhaled slowly, savoring the smell of the ocean. “What happens when you get stung?” he asked at last.
“We fight back,” Nick said. He smiled, but it wavered. “But mostly we sit and smell the flowers.”
*****
Thank you so much for the gift!!! :D
Random Act of Sant-ness
Everyone needs to have as much Lisa Henry on their shelves as possible. Enjoy!
Happy Holidays! :)
April 16, 2020
I almost quit at 60%, when, after having to put it down for an hour, I realized I felt no need to pick it up again. If I had stopped there, my review would have said it was just too fluffy and romance-y for my tastes. The guys never felt real to me, so I couldn't get emotionally invested in them.
But I did continue on, to my regret. The ending . But plenty of folks whose judgement I respect gave it 4 or 5 stars and lots of praise, so maybe I'm just being contrary and difficult to please. It wouldn't be the first time.
But I did continue on, to my regret. The ending . But plenty of folks whose judgement I respect gave it 4 or 5 stars and lots of praise, so maybe I'm just being contrary and difficult to please. It wouldn't be the first time.
November 5, 2019
This was beautiful! Thanks, Alison, for the nudge. xx
May 9, 2015
4 Sky High StArS
Lisa Henry....Had Me Floating Across The Ocean In The Night Air
One Perfect night...was Simply Gorgeous.
Stunning, Emotional, I'm now left bereft, wanting more.....
Lisa Henry....Had Me Floating Across The Ocean In The Night Air
One Perfect night...was Simply Gorgeous.
Stunning, Emotional, I'm now left bereft, wanting more.....
May 12, 2015
Lisa Henry slays me every time.
Lisa Henry is one of the most talented writers I have read in that she can turn her hand from light-hearted fluff, to something other-worldy, to something deep and angst filled seamlessly. I cannot say how much I admire this talent.
When Lisa offered up five copies to commenters of this book for a read to review I have to admit I jumped straight in without even checking out the book she was offering. That is how much faith I have in this author's writing. I should have remembered her penchant for pulverising my heart though...
This book is beautiful and poignant especially with the 70th anniversary of VE day (here int he UK) coming up. We hear so much about war, both current and past, we know the facts and the figures and the atrocities that occurred - yet sometimes it is the little stories that truly bring it home how much devastation war can cause.
This story is about one perfect night. One perfect night in the midst of the second world war - and it was beautiful, it was a moment out of forever that could not be taken away from either of them. I won't lie and tell you this story has an hea, because it doesn't, and that is not what it is about. It's about that moment of brightness in the darkness.
Though this story is short it packs a punch. It made me stop and think - it still makes me stop and think. What Nick and Tanner had in that moment, it was destined to never be more. Even if things didn't turn out how they did, at that time (I believe) homosexuality would not have been tolerated, so there was never going to be more than one perfect night. The night where two people from completely different worlds meet. Do I believe in soul mates? I think after reading this I do. Maybe a soul mate doesn't necessarily mean forever and ever, but instead just for now?
I don't know, but what I do know is that this is a story well worth reading. Lisa Henry will make you remember the little heartaches in the huge scheme of horror. She'll also make you remember the moments of perfection that seem all that much brighter because of the darkness surrounding them.
Lisa Henry is one of the most talented writers I have read in that she can turn her hand from light-hearted fluff, to something other-worldy, to something deep and angst filled seamlessly. I cannot say how much I admire this talent.
When Lisa offered up five copies to commenters of this book for a read to review I have to admit I jumped straight in without even checking out the book she was offering. That is how much faith I have in this author's writing. I should have remembered her penchant for pulverising my heart though...
This book is beautiful and poignant especially with the 70th anniversary of VE day (here int he UK) coming up. We hear so much about war, both current and past, we know the facts and the figures and the atrocities that occurred - yet sometimes it is the little stories that truly bring it home how much devastation war can cause.
This story is about one perfect night. One perfect night in the midst of the second world war - and it was beautiful, it was a moment out of forever that could not be taken away from either of them. I won't lie and tell you this story has an hea, because it doesn't, and that is not what it is about. It's about that moment of brightness in the darkness.
Though this story is short it packs a punch. It made me stop and think - it still makes me stop and think. What Nick and Tanner had in that moment, it was destined to never be more. Even if things didn't turn out how they did, at that time (I believe) homosexuality would not have been tolerated, so there was never going to be more than one perfect night. The night where two people from completely different worlds meet. Do I believe in soul mates? I think after reading this I do. Maybe a soul mate doesn't necessarily mean forever and ever, but instead just for now?
I don't know, but what I do know is that this is a story well worth reading. Lisa Henry will make you remember the little heartaches in the huge scheme of horror. She'll also make you remember the moments of perfection that seem all that much brighter because of the darkness surrounding them.
May 2, 2015
Beautiful story!
This is a short, beautifully written story by Lisa Henry. I loved it.
The title is perfect.
I really, really didn't want it to end.
This is a short, beautifully written story by Lisa Henry. I loved it.
The title is perfect.
I really, really didn't want it to end.
October 11, 2019
A truly beautiful short story set in the summer of 1943.
John Tanner, an American officer stationed on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean, encounters during a debriefing Nick, a coastwatcher he only knows through his voice and thanks to the radio updates that Nick sends to the American troops.
In the middle of the chaos, grief, and uncertainty of the war Tanner and Nick spend 'one perfect night' together talking, dancing and finding a connection that would deserve, perhaps, an entire life to be explored.
I'm astonished at the way Lisa Henry managed to create such compelling characters and situations in the space of fewer than fifty pages. Not a line is wasted, not a word is superfluous.
Even if we only spend a very short time with Tanner and Nick, the tension of the war, the fear that anything could happen and the shy hope and elation with which they embrace this chance fate has gifted them are incredibly powerful and vivid on the page.
In the background of their tropical night, lingers the melancholic but hopeful voice of Vera Lynn and her We'll Meet Again https://youtu.be/HsM_VmN6ytk
Moving, sad and yet full of a quiet sense of hope. Highly recommended!
John Tanner, an American officer stationed on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean, encounters during a debriefing Nick, a coastwatcher he only knows through his voice and thanks to the radio updates that Nick sends to the American troops.
In the middle of the chaos, grief, and uncertainty of the war Tanner and Nick spend 'one perfect night' together talking, dancing and finding a connection that would deserve, perhaps, an entire life to be explored.
I'm astonished at the way Lisa Henry managed to create such compelling characters and situations in the space of fewer than fifty pages. Not a line is wasted, not a word is superfluous.
Even if we only spend a very short time with Tanner and Nick, the tension of the war, the fear that anything could happen and the shy hope and elation with which they embrace this chance fate has gifted them are incredibly powerful and vivid on the page.
In the background of their tropical night, lingers the melancholic but hopeful voice of Vera Lynn and her We'll Meet Again https://youtu.be/HsM_VmN6ytk
Moving, sad and yet full of a quiet sense of hope. Highly recommended!
June 10, 2015
Ended up reviewing for Prism Book Alliance® - extended review over thar
This is a quiet story, a literal snippet in time when nothing was guaranteed. That's probably one of the worst feelings in the world, realizing there's no guarantee.
No guarantee can also cause a great determination to take a chance, to grab hold, to use that ability to shut out the rest of the world for a night.
Inside the hall, the band played on. The music carried outside on the breeze, muted by the whispering of the palm fronds and the chirping of insects.
Sometimes it really does feel like fate when you meet someone. Sometimes when you meet someone, your time together is short, not meant to be a part of your life forever. Sometimes when you meet someone, they stay with you forever, even when the sun rises and the world breaks back into your life, taking back control.
So much potential, you can't help but desire more. Sometimes more isn't meant to be.
This is a quiet story, a literal snippet in time when nothing was guaranteed. That's probably one of the worst feelings in the world, realizing there's no guarantee.
No guarantee can also cause a great determination to take a chance, to grab hold, to use that ability to shut out the rest of the world for a night.
Inside the hall, the band played on. The music carried outside on the breeze, muted by the whispering of the palm fronds and the chirping of insects.
Sometimes it really does feel like fate when you meet someone. Sometimes when you meet someone, your time together is short, not meant to be a part of your life forever. Sometimes when you meet someone, they stay with you forever, even when the sun rises and the world breaks back into your life, taking back control.
So much potential, you can't help but desire more. Sometimes more isn't meant to be.
May 17, 2015
O gawd... there are no more pages!!!
One perfect short story.... dying here...
Nick would come. He'd make that rendezvous with a patrol boat, and he would come.
Their one perfect night didn't have to be their last.
Tanner believed it then, and he believed it now.
Nick would come.
Tanner wanted to believe that as long as he could.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2015
I forgot to review this! I read it a while back because LH took pity on me and gave it to me to read.
Strong, beautiful writing. Vivid imagery laced with an easy flow.
Wonderful, realistic, sad ending. Not all romance (IMO) has a HEA or HFN. Some slices of life, and love, are meant to end.
Strong, beautiful writing. Vivid imagery laced with an easy flow.
Wonderful, realistic, sad ending. Not all romance (IMO) has a HEA or HFN. Some slices of life, and love, are meant to end.
March 22, 2020
A quiet, bittersweet short story about two men caught up in WWII in the Pacific Theater finding each other for one perfect night. Not much to say about it but I liked it, especially in comparison to the other two short stories I've read by this author. She keeps this one simple and lets the emotions carry the story.
January 14, 2020
The past didn’t matter and the future was unknowable.Crying? I’m not crying. Sometimes my eyes start leaking, that’s all.
October 23, 2015
Beautiful short story.
November 15, 2016
3.5 This one managed to fly under my radar. What a nice surprise!
May 3, 2015
Lisa Henry shreds my heart once again.
Fucking hell, that was good... but I hurt now and need to eat an entire pint of ice cream and watch a Disney movie under a tent of happiness and hug my dog.
Fucking hell, that was good... but I hurt now and need to eat an entire pint of ice cream and watch a Disney movie under a tent of happiness and hug my dog.
November 18, 2025
Too short. Sweet. Sad. Heartbreaking. Too short.
May 3, 2015
A very well-written teeny tiny short as you'd expect from Lisa, but I of course, found myself wanting more. The cover is beautiful. 4 stars from me for Tanner, Mr 'Blue Sky Guy' and Nick, his 'One Perfect Night' companion.
And yes, we have the same saying here in the UK regarding the Americans during the war 'Overpaid, Over-sexed and Over Here'..of course, I think most of it was jealousy...;)
May 29, 2017
5 Stars
Usually I am quite the realist. Shit happens and sometimes life is not always gonna grant you a happily-ever-after...and for the most part I really like the not-so-pleasant aspects of a less-than-perfect existence to be portrayed in the books I choose to read. I don't read to escape, necessarily; sometimes I read to simply feel.
Well, JFC Lisa Henry has once again ripped out my heart and done it so excruciatingly well that I thankfully hold its still beating carcass, a bruised & bloody mess, in my quivering hands, happy to hurt this much and grateful she deigned to hand it back to me. And in this ONE instance, I'm gonna choose to believe that these boys got their happy ending. I don't care that - based on real life experiences relayed by survivors of those skirmishes in WW2 - it's the least likely scenario in which to have that optimism...especially when compared to other books with much more plausible positive plot outcomes.
I. Don't. Care.
Gawd, I love this woman's talent.
Usually I am quite the realist. Shit happens and sometimes life is not always gonna grant you a happily-ever-after...and for the most part I really like the not-so-pleasant aspects of a less-than-perfect existence to be portrayed in the books I choose to read. I don't read to escape, necessarily; sometimes I read to simply feel.
Well, JFC Lisa Henry has once again ripped out my heart and done it so excruciatingly well that I thankfully hold its still beating carcass, a bruised & bloody mess, in my quivering hands, happy to hurt this much and grateful she deigned to hand it back to me. And in this ONE instance, I'm gonna choose to believe that these boys got their happy ending. I don't care that - based on real life experiences relayed by survivors of those skirmishes in WW2 - it's the least likely scenario in which to have that optimism...especially when compared to other books with much more plausible positive plot outcomes.
I. Don't. Care.
Gawd, I love this woman's talent.
June 9, 2017
This was a beautiful, bittersweet story. It was so well done. A lot of feels packed in to these 18 pages. My heart hurt at the end but my brain was remembering why Lisa Henry is one of my favorite authors.
May 3, 2015
Beautiful short story. Left me a little teary!
May 22, 2015
A beautiful little sorry, but boooo it was sad. I'm trying to remain hopeful...and failing.
September 22, 2024
Beautiful and heartbreaking. 😔 It is going to ruin the next MM that I read after this, as it will never compare to the depth of this one.
July 6, 2017
I get that there are a lot of reasons not to like short stories. Going by some I’ve read, I assume they aren’t easy to do well—too rushed, too vague, too cliché, too implausible, too superficial… Whatever. But let me tell you, right here and right now, Lisa Henry has blown every one of those reasons, and any others I might think of, to smithereens with One Perfect Night. This quiet and gorgeous story culminated in some of the most perfect minutes I’ve ever spent reading.
Set in the Pacific theater during World War II, One Perfect Night is a story of fate and futility. It’s the story of two men, Captain John Tanner, and a man Tanner knows only as Blue Sky Guy—until a stroke of good fortune brings them face-to-face. Blue Sky Guy is the disembodied voice that travels the radio airwaves, a civilian hero working behind enemy lines on the tiny island of Bougainville. He’s a coastwatcher, a volunteer tasked with keeping American troops apprised of the Japanese military’s movements.
When Tanner is in Townsville and happens to hear a voice, a voice he never hoped to attach to a face, let alone a name—Nick—Tanner wants for nothing more than to buy him a drink and spend a little time with Blue Sky Guy.
But then, a drink turns into so much more.
Point number one in this story’s favor—Henry doesn’t have to waste a lot of word count on drawing an emotional connection to the time and setting. We already know war is hell, and we can already intuit that the men and women who fought in WWII, some so far from home, would have grasped at every opportunity for normalcy in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. Some of that normalcy would have been found in simple human connection. One perfect night. One perfect, private, dangerous, forbidden, sweet night.
Because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and to speak of anything more is a fool’s wish.
This story takes place over a matter of hours. Not days. Not weeks. One. Perfect. Night. Just enough for me to hold on to the hope that Tanner and Nick couldn’t afford to hold on to for themselves—that their one perfect night might somehow become a future of perfectly average but no less beautiful nights together. Just enough for me to appreciate that this story is written in such an intimate and spare way. It’s not cluttered by extraneous detail, unnecessary characters, or grandiose action; it’s just Tanner and Nick, everything the story needs, a moment of peace in the midst of war, two men who might not have a single thing in common other than their need for a brief and beautiful moment of communion.
I know I’m never going to convince you to read a book by begging you. Time is time, money is money, and an opinion isn’t the gospel truth. It’s an opinion. If I were going to try, though, this would be the one. It’s heartbreaking and gut-wrenching and wonderful, it wrecked me a little, and it’s everything a short story should be.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
Set in the Pacific theater during World War II, One Perfect Night is a story of fate and futility. It’s the story of two men, Captain John Tanner, and a man Tanner knows only as Blue Sky Guy—until a stroke of good fortune brings them face-to-face. Blue Sky Guy is the disembodied voice that travels the radio airwaves, a civilian hero working behind enemy lines on the tiny island of Bougainville. He’s a coastwatcher, a volunteer tasked with keeping American troops apprised of the Japanese military’s movements.
When Tanner is in Townsville and happens to hear a voice, a voice he never hoped to attach to a face, let alone a name—Nick—Tanner wants for nothing more than to buy him a drink and spend a little time with Blue Sky Guy.
But then, a drink turns into so much more.
Point number one in this story’s favor—Henry doesn’t have to waste a lot of word count on drawing an emotional connection to the time and setting. We already know war is hell, and we can already intuit that the men and women who fought in WWII, some so far from home, would have grasped at every opportunity for normalcy in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. Some of that normalcy would have been found in simple human connection. One perfect night. One perfect, private, dangerous, forbidden, sweet night.
Because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and to speak of anything more is a fool’s wish.
This story takes place over a matter of hours. Not days. Not weeks. One. Perfect. Night. Just enough for me to hold on to the hope that Tanner and Nick couldn’t afford to hold on to for themselves—that their one perfect night might somehow become a future of perfectly average but no less beautiful nights together. Just enough for me to appreciate that this story is written in such an intimate and spare way. It’s not cluttered by extraneous detail, unnecessary characters, or grandiose action; it’s just Tanner and Nick, everything the story needs, a moment of peace in the midst of war, two men who might not have a single thing in common other than their need for a brief and beautiful moment of communion.
I know I’m never going to convince you to read a book by begging you. Time is time, money is money, and an opinion isn’t the gospel truth. It’s an opinion. If I were going to try, though, this would be the one. It’s heartbreaking and gut-wrenching and wonderful, it wrecked me a little, and it’s everything a short story should be.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
October 25, 2017
I swear Lisa Henry just likes to break me. I've been putting this off because as history with her has shown, the shorter they are the more I'm gonna cry.
So hopeful and hopeless at the same time. I'm not even sure how a person can do that.
My best friend lived in Townsville for a few years and I went to visit her for my 30 birthday. I spent my birthday night drinking in pubs on The Strand and during my time there we walked Castle Hill (A LOT) and we camped on Maggie Island and a million other things so it was especially lovely to read a story that was set there.
This is worth a read. It's very fast but it will stay with you.
May 5, 2015
Such a beautiful story..and so heartbreaking.
**sniffle**
**sniffle**
May 9, 2015
I wish this was a longer story. Lots of emotion in this short one
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews