Page 78 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
‘I’m ready,’ Grace mumbled from behind. Eva was standing with her, and April studied them both, certain there was something more going on than just her sister seeing Teddy.
‘Nothing happened between you and Teddy, did it?’ she asked.
‘I would never do that to Poppy,’ Grace answered quietly. ‘You know that.’
April nodded. ‘Of course. You just seem a bit under the weather today, and it got me wondering if you were regretting something—that’s all.’
‘Only the number of drinks I had and the lack of sleep I got,’ Grace said, seeming more like her usual self. ‘Next time I have an afternoon and night off, I’m going to spend it sleeping.’
‘Good idea. I think when we finally get home, we could all sleep for a week without waking.’
They all walked down to the breakfast line, and April braced herself for whatever goop they’d be eating. She was craving home cooking almost more than sleep right now.
‘How’s everything going with Arthur?’ she asked Eva.
‘Ugh, that man is infuriating. I’m in charge of his physical therapy at the moment, and I can’t even convince him to get out of the bed, let alone actually do any of the exercises. I’ve gone from being so compassionate to just wanting to shake him.’
April smiled over at Eva. Arthur might be driving her friend crazy, but something about him had almost brought her old friend back; she wasn’t as withdrawn or quiet as she’d been when they’d arrived. She’d been so worried about Arthur reminding Eva of Charlie, but it didn’t seem to be the case anymore.
After they’d finally eaten and slugged down a cup of lukewarm liquid that was supposed to resemble coffee, April made her way through the wards, checking on her patients as she passed on her way to find Dr. Grey.
‘Good morning!’ she said as she bustled into the surgical ward where he was working.
‘Morning, April,’ he said, without looking up. ‘It’s been a busy morning. We’ve already had one surgery this morning, and I’m going to be going all day from the look of it.’
She nodded. ‘What can I do?’
When he finally looked up, she couldn’t stop the warmth that spread up her body and flushed hot into her cheeks. His gaze was long and steady, his hazel-brown eyes appraising as he studied her.
‘I’d like you by my side today,’ he said. ‘Prepare the patient while I get ready.’
He passed her, almost too close, their shoulders an inch from brushing.
‘Your hair suits you like that, April,’ he murmured, and she instinctively raised her hand and brushed her hair, pleased she’d played around with the style while she’d waited for Grace to wake up. Her pulse was racing as she realized just how hard she’d started to fall for the doctor and how capable she now felt after all the responsibility he’d given her.
April bent over the patient and reassured him, taking his blood pressure and temperature and getting him ready for the anesthetist to put him under. The poor soldier had a tourniquet around his leg above the knee, and he was bleeding heavily from his arm and leg too.
While she waited for Dr. Grey to return, April murmured to him and bathed his face, cleaning him up and smiling down at him, hoping that at the very least she might be distracting him a little from his pain.
Within minutes he was out cold on the table, and she stood beside Dr. Grey and watched him work, cringing as he took the leg off with a saw—the most gruesome thing of all to be witness to—and although she tried hard, she had to look away. The smell of flesh and bone being hacked at and the noise of the bone splintering away sent ripples through her, and she knew she’d never become used to the sound of a limb being discarded and thrown into a container to be disposed of.
If she’d been braver, she’d have asked the doctor how he’d decided to remove this particular limb, what had made him choose that option over any other alternatives, but she was always too shy to bring it up again.I don’t want to offend him by questioning his medical skills.She smiled as she passed him an instrument. She knew that was the reason, and the last thing she wanted was to be asked to leave his service when there was so much for her to learn in the operating theater.Just do it. Don’t just stand by.Eva’s questioning of his practices and the way she’d so gallantly defended him were playing on her mind too. She knew he was an excellent doctor, but she wanted to understand him and the choices he made instead of just blithely accepting them. He certainly seemed to remove a lot of limbs.
‘Dr. Grey, may I ask a question?’
He barely paused, reaching out his hand as she passed him the scalpel. ‘Of course.’
‘I’m very interested in medicine, and I wondered if you could explain how you make your decisions? Are you working instinctively in here, or are you following specific guidelines about when or when not to amputate, for instance?’
‘And you’re back to questioning me again.’ He laughed and glanced at her. ‘You’re very inquisitive for a woman, aren’t you?’
She swallowed, not sure whether he was praising or criticizing her. He didn’t answer her question, but he seemed relaxed about what he was doing, so she decided to confide in him. They got along well working side by side, and she was tired of hiding her ambition. Why wouldn’t he be supportive of her desire to work in the medical profession one day?
‘The reason I’m so inquisitive,’ she said in a quiet voice, ‘is because I would like to study to become a doctor once the war is over.’
He was silent, finishing the stitch he’d moved on to, before straightening his back and holding the needle in the air. He was smiling, but it wasn’t directed at her.
‘Did you hear that?’ he called out to no one in particular, but she realized his words were meant for the anesthetist who was tending to another patient nearby. ‘My nurse here wants to be a doctor one day.A doctor!’
