Page 87 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
‘Since last week,’ April muttered. ‘I’ve been told not to return. I thought you knew?’
‘If I’d known, I’d have done something about it,’ he said, his voice an octave lower. ‘You leave this to me, okay? There is no way a confident, capable nurse is being sent home over this.’
April seemed surprised. ‘You’d do that for me? You’d actually question my suspension?’
He grinned. ‘Will you work with me in the burns unit as my nurse? The skills I teach you might come in handy when you go to medical school one day.’
Grace laughed. ‘You told him? You actually told someone you want to be a doctor?’
‘Hold on;Aprilwants to be a doctor?’ Eva spluttered.
April groaned. ‘So much for my secret.’
‘You’ll be a great doctor one day,’ Grace said, liking the fact that Harry didn’t seem outwardly fazed by the idea at all.
‘Thanks for the vote of confidence,’ April said. ‘But there’s this little issue of Dr. Grey and my suspension, not to mention that the last time I worked closely with a doctor, it didn’t work out so well.’
Grace’s heart broke for her sister. It wasn’t something she was used to, seeing anything get her down like that, but the suspension had almost broken her.
‘Can I walk you ladies back?’ Harry asked. ‘Perhaps I can convince you that I’m trustworthy on the way?’
Grace grinned and watched as April sighed and then nodded.
‘Of course,’ April said.
Grace stood back and let April and Harry walk off together, taking up the rear with Eva. They both smiled, and she wondered what Eva was thinking. She’d never really talked about losing her fiancé, seeming to prefer keeping it to herself, and Grace wished she’d been a better friend. Had she been so caught up in herself, in her own grief over Poppy and then the excitement of traveling halfway around the world, that she’d somehow forgotten how to be a good friend?
‘Eva, you seem more like your old self,’ she said, cringing as she heard the way her words sounded. ‘Sorry—that came out wrong. I just mean that after Charlie ...’ Her voice trailed off.
‘I actually feel more like the old me, so it’s okay—you don’t have to apologize for noticing,’ Eva said. ‘I don’t know why, because I still miss him and think about what I’ll do when the war is over, but I don’t feel so dark anymore.’
She slung her arm around Eva’s shoulders as they walked. ‘I’m so happy to hear that, and if there’s anything you ever need to talk to me about, I’m here. You’ve been so good to me when I’ve needed you.’
Eva leaned into her, and Grace wondered how long it would be before her friend actually confided in her what she was so scared of, what it was about home that terrified her so much. She could almost feel Eva’s words trapped inside of her, waiting to spill out, but Eva never said a thing, and Grace wasn’t going to ask her again. When she was ready, she’d tell her.
‘Thank you for not telling April—about that night, I mean.’
Eva’s whisper was barely audible. ‘We all have secrets, Grace. Sometimes we share them, and sometimes we just learn to live life without ever telling a soul.’
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EVA
‘Good morning, Arthur,’ Eva said, forcing a smile as she came past his bed, calling out brightly as she always did, as if he were a regular patient pleased to see his nurse. She hadn’t told anyone, but today would have been Charlie’s birthday, and all she wanted was to get on with her day and keep busy so she didn’t have to think about it.
As usual, Arthur didn’t even bother to grunt a reply, but she was used to it by now. So long as he let her do her job, she was happy to just do her best with him.
‘I see you haven’t eaten your breakfast again today,’ she said, deciding not to ignore the untouched plate. ‘I bet there’s a lot of soldiers who’d love to be served that on the front line.’
That at least got a reaction; he glared at her as if he were trying to murder her with his stare alone.
‘The doctors have reprimanded me for not getting you mobile yet, so today we’re going to get you out of this bed and outside for some fresh air.’
He stared at the wall. Heat traveled the length of Eva’s body; it didn’t come naturally to her to boss him around, but she had to do it. Instead of letting him ignore her this time, she walked around to the foot of the bed, folding her arms and giving him a tight smile.
‘Ah, there you are. So nice to actually make eye contact for once,’ she said. ‘If you’d prefer another nurse, please let me know; otherwise you and I are—’
‘I don’t wantanydamn nurse,’ he muttered. ‘Unless there’s one better equipped at listening to me when I say to get the hell away from my bed!’
