In Love and War

by Natalie Brock

  Sal fumed. “You won’t get away with this, Welles. I’m letting you know here and now that I’m filing an official complaint against you.”

  “What for?” Edward asked nonchalantly.

  “What for? You ... you took advantage of me,” Sal raged. “You raped me!”

  “You seduced me, love. You lured me into the PX and seduced me.”

  Sal gasped. “I did no such thing and you know it!”

  Edward shrugged. “Go right ahead, little lady. File your report. It’s just your word against mine.”

  “Why you arrogant little bastard.”

  “Curse all you want, Sally. It just proves what a low-life you are,” Edward said between clenched teeth. “Need I remind you that I’m a highly regarded Group Captain with the Royal Air Force, and you’re just a lowly nurse, an inferior who everyone calls ‘Sweet Cheeks’? Who do you think your commanders are going to believe? You? Or me? Good day, love.”

  Edward turned around and disappeared into the building leaving Sal alone with her thoughts. How dare he turn the tables on her like that. How dare he accuse her of seducing him.

  Sal felt her anger rise and her heart sink. She knew Edward was right. No one would believe her word over his. He was a decorated officer, and she was just a woman -- a woman who has worked so hard to build her credibility. Edward’s accusations would unravel all her hard work and she refused to let that happen. She looked toward the building door and mumbled to herself. “You may not have to pay for your crimes today, Edward Welles, but one day you will. I hope you burn in hell for what you did.”

  Chapter 12

  “All my plans of revenge must be abandoned in order to keep the peace.”

  -- Anne Frank

  By the time afternoon rolled around, Training Day had taken its toll. There were 10 infirmary cubicles in total, and all of them were occupied by soldiers who incurred various injuries, most of them minor. Mary slipped through the opening in the privacy curtains and entered Cubicle #7. A soldier sitting on the examining table was staring at his hand wrapped inside a bloody piece of cloth. She picked up a clipboard and ballpoint pen and prepared to take notes.

  “Name?”

  “Zacharius, Michael.”

  “Rank?”

  “Private, First Class.”

  “What happened to your hand, Private?” Mary was focused on the Private’s hand for a moment before she lifted her eyes from his hand to his face. She immediately recognized him as one of the soldiers who humiliated her by exposing her in the shower. “Oh my god! It’s you.”

  Michael finally looked up from his hand. He saw Mary’s face and realized who she was. “Crap.”

  Mary quickly gathered her composure despite the rage that was building in her gut. “Well well well. I figured we’d meet again someday.”

  “You’re ... a nurse?”

  “No, I’m Rosie the Riveter. What happened to your hand?”

  “Um, I cut it on some barbed wire during a training exercise.”

  “Let me see it.” Mary took Michael’s hand and began unwrapping the makeshift tourniquet. “That’s a nasty gash you’ve got there.” Mary started cleaning the wound with antiseptic. “Does that sting?”

  “Hell yes. ... Could I get a different nurse?”

  “Why?”

  “Well, you’re kind of young.”

  “Yeah, well, and you’re kind of a jackass. But I took an oath and I have to tend to the needs of jackasses along with decent people. Does it hurt when I put pressure on it?”

  “Ouch! Yes,” Michael winced. “Why did you have to do that?”

  “I didn’t.” Mary smirked, enjoying her newfound control. “I just felt like it.”

  “I didn’t know nurses take oaths.”

  “Since you’re a jackass, something tells me there’s a lot of things you don’t know.”

  “I thought nurses were supposed to be kind,” Michael said.

  “We are. The whole reason I became a nurse is to help people. It’s too bad that our patients aren’t always nice people, though.” Mary smeared salve on the gash and wrapped Michael’s hand in a sterile bandage. “You’re gonna need a tetanus shot.”

  “Great,” Michael said sarcastically.

  “Don’t worry, I can give it to you.”

  “Ha! I don’t think so.”

  “Well I do. You don’t want to get lockjaw, do you?”

  “I’m not sure I even know what that is,” Michael admitted.

  Mary wrinkled her nose. “It’s nasty. You don’t want it.”

  Michael sighed. “Well, okay.” He started rolling up his sleeve as Mary prepared the vaccination.

  “Uh uh.” Mary shook her head from side to side.

  “Uh uh what?”

  “That’s not where we give tetanus shots, Sergeant Richards.”

  Michael was contrite. “Um, I guess you know that’s not my real name.”

  “Yes, I found that out. The hard way.” Mary tapped her foot while holding the needle upright. “I’m waiting.”

  “For what?”

  “An apology maybe?” Mary said, repeating almost the exact same words Michael said to her when she barreled into him the other day. “It would seem an apology is in order when you humiliate someone like that.”

  “Oh that. Look. I’m sorry, Mary. Honest. I’m sorry you were humiliated.” Michael’s look of sincerity morphed into a mischievous grin. “But I’m not sorry I got to see you naked.”

  Mary’s jaw dropped. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?”

  “Define ‘manners’.”

  Mary rolled her eyes. “Well, when you’re born with a silver spoon in your mouth, I guess you get away with a lot.” Mary tended to think everyone had a better childhood than she did, complete with caring parents and a happy home life. “I’m surprised your parents didn’t get you out of the draft.”

  Michael shook his head. “You sure do make a lot of assumptions about me, young lady. What makes you think I was born with a silver spoon?”

  She didn’t really have a comeback, so she changed the subject. “Enough talking.” Mary was enjoying the feeling of being in charge for a change. “Shut up and bend over.”

  “What? You’re kidding, right?”

  “I don’t have a sense of humor, Private. Bend over.”

  Very reluctantly, Michael stood up and turned his back toward Mary. He unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and let them drop. Mary pushed her hand into Michael’s back, forcing him to bend over.

  “I’ve never given anyone a vaccination before.”

  Michael straightened up. “What???”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve practiced ... on dolls.” She loved making Michael sweat. “I hate to tell you this, Private, but I’ve heard that the tetanus shot hurts like hell. I’ll try to make it quick.”

  “It’s already not quick,” Michael whined as he bent over again.

  “This is gonna hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  Mary pinched Michael’s rear and stuck the needle into his hide with force. There was a round of applause and Michael jerked his head quickly to see that Mary opened the privacy curtain and a group of doctors, nurses, and patients were standing around watching, giggling and clapping. He pulled up his drawers and zipped up.

  “Very funny,” he growled.

  “You deserved it,” Mary clucked, obviously pleased with herself. “I told you I’d get you back. Now we’re even.”

  Chapter 13

  ~April 1944~

  Preparations were underway for the USO Dance. The USO organizers arrived Friday morning to set up and supervise, and Maggie pressed the staff from the kitchen -- Ray, Millie, Suze, and Cathy -- into service.

  They hung strings of small white Christmas lights from the ceiling in the Conference Hall to give the impression of twinkling stars in the night sky. Ray and some of the soldiers helped the USO team do the heavy lifting and moved benches and chairs out of the C
ommissary and into the Conference Room for additional seating; they arranged the seating around the room’s perimeter. A conference table was converted into a bar where hard liquor would be served, and tape was placed onto the floor to section off an area designated for dancing.

  “Millie! Watch it! You almost dropped that hammer on my foot!”

  “Sorry Suze.”

  “I’ve never known anyone as clumsy as you are,” Suze exclaimed in her thick Louisiana accent. “I’m surprised you haven’t set the kitchen on fire yet.”

  “Now Suze,” Maggie scolded, “Millie’s just excited, isn’t that right, honey?”

  “You bet I am! We’ve never had anything like this happen since I’ve been on base,” Millie trilled. “Finally a chance to be close to a man!”

  Suze laughed and spoke in a sing-song chant. “I know who you want to be close with. Joe Douglas!”

  Millie threw a roll of tape at Suze to get her to stop teasing. “So what if I do? You’re just jealous because the object of your desires isn’t interested in you!”

  Maggie stopped what she was doing to interject. “Oh? Who would that be?”

  “No one,” Suze lied, as she snarled at Millie. “Millie’s just trying to start rumors.”

  “Susan honey, you’re a lovely young woman,” Maggie said in a motherly tone. “There no reason to waste your time chasing after a man who isn’t interested in you.” Maggie looked at the other two girls. “I hope you’ll all remain good girls until you find a man who will marry you. Don’t give it away. A man won’t buy the cow if he can get the milk for free. Do you understand?”

  “Um, don’t worry about me, Miss Maggie,” Suze said, knowing that she’d given plenty of her proverbial “milk” away free of charge. “Millie was just joking. Weren’t you just joking, Millie?”

  “Whatever you say, Saint Susan.”

  Maggie’s attention turned to Cathy, who was quieter than usual. “What about you, Cathy? Aren’t you excited about the dance?”

  Cathy adjusted her eyeglasses and avoided looking at Maggie. “Not really. I’m not going.”

  “Why not?” Maggie demanded.

  Millie laughed. “She has a good book she needs to cuddle up with.” Suze joined in Millie’s laughter.

  “That’s not a good enough reason to miss the big dance.” Maggie urged her. “Cathy, dear, I think you should go.”

  “I don’t dance and I have nothing to wear,” Cathy insisted.

  “So?” Millie smirked. “None of us has anything to wear. Besides, the guys would like it if you wore nothing.” Suze and Millie broke into hysterics.

  “That’ll be enough out of you. Cathy, come here.” Maggie took Cathy’s hand and walked her outside so they could talk alone. “I know you like to keep to yourself, Cathy, but it’s not healthy to be alone so much. What’s the worst that can happen?”

  Cathy shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not really interested in men. And the ones I like don’t like me. I’m not feminine enough. And I look ridiculous in a dress.”

  Maggie sighed. “I find that hard to believe. Tell you what. I saw a dress in Lost and Found that’s over 90 days, and I was going to place a bid on it. I think it would be perfect for you.”

  “For me?” Cathy looked into Maggie’s face. “You’d do something like that for me? Why?”

  “I don’t know. I think it’s because I really miss my daughters,” Maggie said, her lower lip starting to quiver with emotion. “If you let me do this for you, it’ll make me feel like I’m doing something for one of my girls.”

  Cathy was touched. “I don’t know what to say. Except ... even if you put me in a nice dress, there’s still my face. And my hair. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

  Suze and Millie were listening from inside and came barging out into the open.

  “Ever hear of makeup, Cathy?” Suze said.

  “My mom’s a beautician,” Millie piped up, “and I know how to do hair and makeup. We’ll make you look beautiful.”

  Cathy looked at the three women and couldn’t help but wonder if they had an ulterior motive. Then she thought of Dr. Dave and wondered if he would be at the dance. A smile erupted on her face. “Okay.”

  Chapter 14

  "War is hell."

  -- William Tecumseh Sherman

  The whole base was abuzz with excitement about tonight’s USO Dance, but Sal didn’t have the heart to muster even a little bit of interest in it.

  The Brits were gone; they stayed on base for only a couple of days -- a couple of days too long. And for the past week, Sal felt numb. She went through her day dealing with the usual medical dramas, chauvinistic doctors, uncaring administrators and greenhorn nurses. And, of course, Louis.

  Sitting across from him at a table in the Commissary, he was droning on about something in between bites of his lunch. Suddenly, Louis felt like a stranger to her. Everyone did. Edward was right. She couldn’t tell anyone what he did to her. She was the victim here, but she was bound to be blamed for what happened. And labeled. She couldn’t risk that, not when she worked so hard all these years to establish her credibility.

  “Well, do you?” Louis asked, touching Sal’s hand.

  Sal instinctively pulled her hand away. “Do I what?”

  “You haven’t heard a word I said, have you? I may as well be speaking Russian.”

  Sal detected the hurt in Louis’s eyes. He put on a tough-guy act for everyone else on base, but Sal knew how sensitive he was.

  When Louis first arrived at the 1044th, the Colonel asked Sal to show Louis the ropes. From the minute she laid eyes on Louis, it was love at first sight. But she soon learned he was married and she always had a policy about that. It was one thing to be trampy, but she drew the line at married men.

  Unfortunately, her attraction to Louis was stronger than her commitment to morality. They just couldn’t fight their feelings for each other, so Sal gave up trying.

  And even though she was closer to Louis than anyone else on base, she still couldn’t bring herself to tell him what Edward did to her. She wasn’t even sure Louis would be on her side. She couldn’t bear it if he blamed her too.

  “Sorry, Louis. I’ve been distracted lately.”

  “I can see that. What’s going on with you?”

  Sal drew a deep breath. “Can I tell you something in confidence?”

  Louis’s brows knit in concern. “Of course, honey. You know you can tell me anything.”

  Before she could continue, Willie Wilson, the company clerk interrupted their conversation. “Sorry to interrupt, Sarge. This came off the teletype. Looks important.” The clerk handed Louis a piece of paper and left.

  Louis shifted in his chair and read the notice. “Oh jeez. What the hell?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Some cousin of the King of England wants a favor.” Louis slapped the piece of paper with the back of his hand. “This guy wants one of our doctors to come to his estate in Southampton immediately.”

  “Why? Don’t they have their own doctors there?”

  “Says here, there’s a patient who can’t be moved.”

  “Do they think we have a surplus of doctors around here?” Sal was incredulous at the nerve of those royals. “We need every man we’ve got!”

  “So who can we send?”

  “Didn’t you hear me, Lou? I said we can’t send anyone. We’re short-staffed as it is.”

  “Well, we’re gonna have to figure something out. It’s not a request, Sal. It’s an order.”

  “An order? Who do they think they are?”

  “Like I said, this guy’s a relative of the royal family so ... you know,” Louis tried to explain. “Reciprocity.”

  “You’re making that up.” Sal looked at Louis with skepticism. “What the hell is reciprocity?”

  “Well, they’re allowing us to use their country as our base of operations ....”

  “Yeah, to help them fight their war,” Sal noted bitterly.

  “
Our war, Sal. We have no choice.” Louis handed Sal the telegram.

  “Fine. Fine, I’ll handle it.” Sal knew from the get-go she’d get stuck handling this request.

  “You’re a living doll.” Louis leaned across the table and kissed Sal, surprising her. “So, you ready to jitterbug the night away tonight?”