She sat down to dinner with her parents and told them about the course she had just taken. Her father was deeply impressed. Alex had always seemed so feminine and graceful to him. He couldn’t imagine her doing a tenth of what she described to them, or even doing it himself.
“It sounds like the course was designed for men,” he said respectfully.
“Probably, but we have to be able to survive and get our patients back to the hospital at the base in any circumstances. Eighteen percent of the wounded are evacuated by air transport now, not ambulance. It’s faster and saves lives. That’s what we’re there for.” She didn’t tell them that the Germans had been making a point of shooting down planes with a red cross on them, or any planes suspected of transporting wounded men, and sinking hospital ships, killing thousands more injured men.
“I’ll be so happy when this war is over,” her mother said, looking forlorn. “When President Roosevelt declared war, I was so grateful I didn’t have any sons who would be drafted, and then you went and enlisted,” she said in a plaintive tone.
“I’m sorry, Mother. I just couldn’t see myself going to the cotillion as a spinster every year, until I died of old age. I’d rather do something useful for my country.”
“You could roll bandages, like every other woman I know. Besides, you would have found a husband eventually. You’ll be old now when the war ends.”
“I’m turning twenty-four, not forty, Mom,” Alex reminded her.
“At twenty-five, you’ll be competing with eighteen-year-olds for a husband,” her mother said, sounding discouraged.
“I’ll just have to find someone who wants an old bag like me.” Alex grinned at her, and clearly wasn’t worried about it.
“Will you give up nursing after the war?” her father asked her.
“I hope not. I doubt it. I don’t know what else I’d do. Somehow flower arranging and ladies’ lunches don’t appeal to me.” He nodded and wasn’t surprised.
“You could spend time with your sister in Greenwich, and help her with the children,” her mother suggested, and Alex didn’t comment. Jumping out of a plane with her parachute on, which had terrified her in evac training, sounded more appealing. She was a nurse, not a nanny.
“Do you know where you’ll be stationed in England?” her father asked her.
“They haven’t told us yet,” she said vaguely, as she was supposed to, and gave nothing away. “But you can write to me just like you did when I was in San Francisco. It’ll take longer, but I’ll get it eventually.”
“I wish they were sending you back there,” her mother said mournfully. And shortly after, they left the dining room and retired to their rooms.
It was nice to be home, in the luxury of their apartment with all the comforts her parents provided for her, but there was a sense of unreality to it now too, as though all the bad things happening in the world beyond these walls didn’t exist. Alex used her three-day leave to do errands and pick up things she’d need on the trip. She had the feeling that she might not have a chance like this again. She didn’t know how much time off they would get once they were in England, or how close together their missions would be.
It felt odd walking around New York in her olive uniform and khaki blouse. She saw people looking at her, wondering what branch of the service she was in. There were little gold wings on her lapel, with a maroon “N” on them, which identified her as a flight nurse, which most people didn’t recognize.
She had dinner with her parents on the last night and said goodbye to them after dinner. She would be leaving at six the next morning and didn’t want to wake them. She had to report to the troop ship that would take them to England. It was hard to find the words to say goodbye, knowing that there was always the possibility that they might not see each other again. Her parents were acutely aware of it, and Alex tried not to be. On the whole, the three days had gone smoothly, and Charlotte had come to have dinner with them on the last night to say goodbye too. And for once, she was warm when she hugged Alex.
“I wish you weren’t doing this,” she said in an emotional tone.
“I wish I didn’t have to. Hopefully, the war will end soon.”
“Maybe I should have been nicer to you,” she said, looking guilty. “Then you wouldn’t have run away and joined the circus.”
“I probably would have anyway. And the Army Air Forces needs nurses desperately.”