by Alexa Kang
Her eyes hidden behind her glasses, Fran nonetheless let a quick smile slip from her face.
"Before I do that, though," Callahan said, "do you want to run the idea by Colonel Haley first?"
"No need," Fran quickly dismissed the suggestion. "Colonel Haley won't be back from the medical conference in Naples for another week. I'm in charge of all personnel matters for 33rd while he's gone. As for the evac hospitals, I have no doubt they'll all do whatever is needed to help."
"That's true," Callahan said. "Command's been thoroughly impressed with our medical units' performance."
"I'll get everything moving straight away. No point in stalling. Any delay can be another life lost."
"Agreed. The sooner the better."
"The sooner the better," Fran affirmed with a professional, courteous smile. Her true satisfaction could not be seen behind her glasses.
Ellie Swanson.
Out of sight. Out of mind.
Standing by the window in the administrative office, Fran Milton sipped her cup of coffee while she looked out onto the street. She was in an unusually good mood. The medical department command's approval for the transfer of nurses to Normandy had come quickly. In just three days, arrangements for reassignment and transportation of personnel were already in place. The speed at which everything happened surprised even her. She could only surmise that the need for support and reinforcement on the northern front must be critical. It pleased her to know she was able to come up with a solution to provide some relief for their army's larger efforts.
On the personal side, she couldn't be more pleased to think that she could finally get rid of that annoying thorn in her side.
Ellie Swanson knocked on her door with Tessa Graham behind her. "You wanted to see us, Captain?"
"Yes, Lieutenant. Come in."
The two young nurses entered at her order.
"Have a seat," she told them. Ellie and Tessa each took a seat at the table.
Fran walked away from the window and sat down across from them. "I don't know if you've been keeping up with the news coming out of Normandy," she said. "If you have, you'll know that the Allied troops there are running into severe German counter-offenses. The First Army is in serious need of reinforcements, including nursing and medical staff."
Ellie and Tessa listened, exchanging a glance.
"In light of the situation, the army medical command has decided to reassign some of our personnel to the hospitals in Normandy to provide them immediate relief and support."
Tessa gripped the arms of her chair. The uneasy look on her face did not move Fran in the least. Fran had not forgotten the night when their medical unit was on its way to Rome. That night, Tessa had tried to persuade Aaron Haley to join Ellie Swanson by the campfire. She did not appreciate Tessa giving Aaron that kind of distraction. Tessa Graham, too, needed to be weeded out.
Keeping her voice detached and business-like, Fran continued, "The 33rd will be reassigning two nurses and six medical corpsmen. You'll both be transferred to the 51st Field Hospital attached the U.S. First Army."
Silence seized the room as if a gust of cold wind had passed through and the air had frozen.
"Captain…," Ellie said. "Do you mean…Are you sending us away?"
"No one is sending you away. You are being transferred because your service is more urgently needed somewhere else."
Speechless, Ellie sat stiffened in her seat.
Fran shifted her glasses. "Actually, Lieutenant Swanson, you might want to thank me." She softened her face with a patronizing smile. "For you, this is also a promotion. You'll be assigned to the position of deputy chief nurse for the 51st Field Hospital. You're now a first lieutenant. Congratulations."
The news did not bring any joy to Ellie. Disappointment spread across her face.
"I personally recommended you," Fran said. "Remember in Anzio when I put you in charge of the hospital when I went on leave to Naples? I was very impressed with your performance managing the nursing staff while I was gone. You did a marvelous job. It's time you take on a bigger role. Your promotion ceremony will be at 1600 tomorrow. Your achievement will be recognized before the entire hospital."
"Thank you," Ellie said, the reluctance in her voice belying her words of gratitude, "but…"
Fran looked intently at her, waiting to hear what she wanted to say. She had a ready answer prepared if Ellie dared to ask her to reconsider. But instead, Ellie asked, "What about Tessa? Does she really have to go too? She just got married. Lieutenant Ardley's with the Third Division. Can't we send someone else in her place instead?"
Fran gave Ellie a cold look through her glasses. Ellie's concern for Tessa fully convinced Fran that she had made the right call to send Tessa Graham away too. These two looked out for each other. She did not want Tessa to remain in case Tessa would act as a bridge between Ellie and Aaron after Ellie went away.
"Would you please reconsider for Tessa's sake, Captain?" Ellie asked. Tessa sat up and leaned forward. She looked from Ellie to Fran. Her hands tightened even more around the arms of her seat.
Fran's patronizing smile disappeared. Her stony expression returned. "What bearing does that have on our tasks at hand? There are thousands, millions of servicemen on active duty away from their wives. There are other military nurses separated from their husbands. Why should Lieutenant Graham be any exception?"
Lost for an answer, Ellie lowered her head and clasped her hands on her lap. Tessa's face turned white as a sheet.
"We're on a military mission, not a honeymoon," Fran said. "We're here to do our jobs. There are sick and injured soldiers in desperate need of help. I've given serious thought as to who to send for the reassignment. My decision is based on the army's needs, and I chose the most suitable candidates. The staff's personal concerns are irrelevant."
Tessa held on to the chair, tensed. Ellie stared at the floor, dejected.
"Lieutenant Swanson." Fran gave Ellie a stern look. "You're about to take on a new role. It's a role that will require an even higher sense of responsibility. The needs of the army and the hospital should always be your first concern. Not personal favors. You need to keep that in mind. That's my best advice to you."
"Yes, ma'am," Ellie answered meekly without looking back at Fran.
"Your new job is a good opportunity, Lieutenant. Don't waste it."
Angry, Tessa looked away to the window. Fran glanced at her and said to Ellie in a consoling voice, "I'm sending Lieutenant Graham too because I think you can use your own support. Your new position will be challenging. You and Lieutenant Graham are good friends. With Lieutenant Graham going with you, you won't be all alone." She smiled at Tessa. "Lieutenant Graham, you do want to support Lieutenant Swanson, don't you?"
The impossible question put Tessa in a bind. Ellie shook her head lightly at Tessa, but Tessa could only say, "Yes. I do."
"Good." Fran folded her hands, satisfied. "Departure is this coming Friday. You'll be joined by the reassigned medical corpsmen from our hospital and staff members from 15th Evac who are also being transferred. Be ready."
"This Friday?" Tessa asked. "That's the day after tomorrow."
Fran silenced her with an icy glare. Tessa held back and didn't say anything more.
"That'll be all. You're dismissed." Fran began reviewing a file on the table to signal that their meeting had ended. Reluctantly, Ellie and Tessa got up from their seats and left the room. Fran ignored their departure without looking up. She couldn't wait for these two to be gone. Not just gone from her office, but gone for good. There would be no more distraction to Aaron from Ellie Swanson, and no more meddling by Tessa Graham.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Outside of Fran's office, Tessa shook with anger. She was so angry, she could not speak. Everything had happened so unexpectedly. She would have to leave Anthony. She could not believe this was happening.
"I'm so sorry, Tessa," Ellie said. "I don't know why, but I feel like this is all my fault."
/> "It's not your fault. I suppose they really do need help up in the north. I just wish we weren't the ones being reassigned."
"I know. You came here to be with Lieutenant Ardley. What if you try to contact General Castile again? Maybe he can help? Maybe he can halt your transfer?"
"No." Tessa started down the hallway. "I can't do that. When he assigned me here, I promised him I would always put my work as my number one priority. If nurses are needed in the north, I can't ask him to halt my transfer for selfish personal reasons. He won't like that, and I don't want to break my promise to him. Anyway, I'd be long gone before my message would even reach him."
They walked in silence. Not wanting Ellie to feel bad, Tessa said, "Congratulations. You're going to be a first lieutenant."
Ellie rolled her eyes. "I don't care about that. I don't plan on staying in the military after the war. I'm here to help our soldiers. The ranks mean nothing to me."
"Well, you'll be a deputy chief nurse."
"I'd rather stay here, to be honest. All my friends are here."
"I'll be going with you." Tessa smiled. "Milton said she's sending me to support you, and I want to do that. I don't want you to go off all alone."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that I don't want you to come with me, but I'll be fine. She didn't need to transfer you too. I can work here, I can work there. It's all the same."
Tessa stopped. It would not be the same. Dr. Haley would not be there. An urgent look passed over her face. "Ellie, we're leaving in less than three days. Dr. Haley won't be back from Naples by then. You won't even get to say goodbye to him."
To Tessa's surprise, Ellie didn't appear concerned. Instead, she smiled. "It doesn't matter. It was all wishful thinking on my part. He's already in a relationship with Captain Milton."
"Dr. Haley? In a relationship with Captain Milton? You must be mistaken."
"I'm not mistaken. She told me. He gave her a wooden heart he carved for her for Valentine's Day. She keeps it on top of her desk in her room."
"He couldn't have." Tessa felt sure Milton had manipulated the situation again. "I don't know why Milton has that wooden heart, but she had to be lying. He's not in a relationship with her. Dr. Haley likes you. I know he does. He practically told me."
"He told you he likes me?"
"Not in so many words, no. But he doesn't deny it when he talks about you. He worries he's too old for you. Maybe I should have told you, but I didn't want to interfere so directly. Besides, I thought he would rather tell you himself how he feels."
A gleam of hope came to Ellie's eyes, but just as quickly, it vanished. "It doesn't matter. I'm now with 51st. We're leaving in less than three days. Maybe it wasn't meant to be."
"Ellie…"
"Don't worry about me." Ellie put her hand on Tessa's arm. "You have to go find Lieutenant Ardley and tell him what happened. I'll be all right."
Uncertain about leaving Ellie to cope with the news by herself, Tessa hesitated.
"Go. You don't have much time."
Tessa agreed and took off. As she left the building, a lump rose in her throat. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving Anthony. She swallowed hard to hold back her tears, but the lump wouldn't go away. It choked and constricted her, souring her heart.
Anthony knew at once that something was wrong when Tessa showed up at the Montellos' home looking for him. Her face was as white as a sheet. She tried to speak, but instead of speaking, all she could do was stare at him while clutching on to him. Signora Montello, realizing that something terrible had happened, hustled her family out of the living room, leaving Tessa to talk to him alone.
"What is it?" Anthony asked. "What's wrong?"
"They're sending me away," Tessa said, her voice trembling. "Captain Milton. I can't be with you anymore."
"What? Hold on. Sit down." He led her to the sofa. "What are you talking about?"
"They're reassigning hospital staff to the medical units in Normandy. I'm being transferred. Captain Milton's sending me away."
The news struck Anthony like a thunderbolt. "How soon?"
"The day after tomorrow. I have to leave for Omaha Beach the day after tomorrow." She threw her arms around him. Pressing her face against his body, quiet tears began to fall down her face. "Why? After all we've been through. I did everything I could. All I want is to be near you. I'd do anything to be near you."
He put his arms around her. What she was telling him slowly sank in, but he still couldn't believe it. He thought they would finally have a break now that Anzio was behind them. He could not believe their time together would be cut short like this. He could not believe she would no longer be following him.
Worse, Tessa was being sent to another dangerous war zone. If they couldn't be together and near each other, then what was the point of her being exposed to the dangers of battle? She could've been safe at home. Her being here now was all wrong. What if something happened to her when she went away? "This is all my fault," he said. "You shouldn't be here in the first place. I got you into this."
"No." She looked up at him. "You didn't get me into anything. It was my decision to come. I wanted to be with you."
She said that, but he couldn't forgive himself. She risked her life to be with him, but he was always powerless to do anything for her. He could not protect her against the enemy raids when they were in Anzio. He could not protect her now when she would be sent to another dangerous place. As a man, there was never anything he could do to keep her safe. He felt useless.
"I just want to be with you." She held on to him. "Our wedding day was the happiest day of my life." She buried her face against his chest. Her tears were soaking his shirt. It broke his heart to see her like this. "I love you."
"I love you too," he said. But in his mind, he questioned what that meant. For all his love, he had no way to make things better for her. He wished he could tell her how sorry he felt that he couldn't do anything for her. He wanted to tell her how much it hurt him to think she would be away from him.
But he couldn't. She was already so sad. If she knew how bad he felt, it would only add to her burden and worries. He had no power to change their situation. The only thing he could do now was to be strong for her. He had to be strong for both of them. To keep their hopes alive. "Don't be sad." He stroked her arm gently and kissed her on the head. "This war has to end sometime. We will outlast this war. We have to because I want to give you many, many more years of happiness to come when we're together again. And I know we will be together again. We were married in the Eternal City, remember?" He wiped the tears off her face. "Promise me. When you leave, when we are far away from each other, no matter what happens, you won't give up hope."
She leaned against him, unable to utter a word.
"Promise me, you'll get through this. Please? Tell me you won't give up."
Through her tears, she nodded. "I won't give up."
He hugged her tighter. "I'll be thinking of you. Every day."
"I won't stop thinking of you."
"Yes." He put on a brave face. "We'll get through this war. We will be back together again. For all eternity." He gave her a firm kiss. Her faith now hinged on his words. He only hoped that what he said would be proven prophetic. It was all they had now. Hope.
10
The voices of hotel guests stomping down the inn's hallway outside his room woke Jesse up from his sleep. He stared up at the ceiling. The fan hanging above him rotated around and around. For a moment, he couldn't tell if the fan was really turning or if it was his own head that was spinning. His temples were thumping with a splitting headache. His mouth and throat felt drier than sandpaper.
"G'morning, honey," Gracie mumbled next to him, half asleep.
"How'd you get in here?" He jolted up from the bed and pulled away from her.
"We came back together last night, remember?" She snuggled up to him. "I've been looking all over for you. Jonesy finally told me you were at the pub in this hotel. I found you, and we came back.
You were so drunk."
Jesse fell back against the headboard. His head throbbing, he put his hand on his forehead. He had no memory of what happened last night. He grabbed his canteen on the nightstand and guzzled down the water. Gracie put her arm around him, but he dragged himself out of bed to the bathroom. In the bathroom, he wrapped a towel around his waist, turned on the faucet, and splashed water on his face, trying to clear his head.
"I haven't seen you all week," Gracie said from the bed. "I thought we'd spend more time together once we got to Rome. Where do you go all the time? I can never find you."
He continued washing up without answering her.
"I need you, Jesse. It'll be so lonely without Ellie and Tessa. I can't believe they're going to be gone."
Still wiping his face with a towel, he paused. "What do you mean they'll be gone?"
"They've been reassigned. That bitch Milton is sending them up to Omaha Beach to join the 51st Field Hospital. They're leaving tomorrow."
Alarmed, he came out of the bathroom. "Tomorrow? They're leaving tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow afternoon. They're leaving with three of our corpsmen and the nurses from the 15th who are being transferred too," she continued talking, oblivious to the shocked, urgent look on his face.
"I'll have to find myself a new tentmate when we go on our next mission. It's going to be so lonely without them. They're the ones I get along with best at the hospital." While she talked, Jesse picked up his trousers from the sofa and put them on. "Can't you come see me more after they're gone? I really hate being left all by myself…"
"Gracie," he interrupted her. "It's over."
She sat up in the bed. Confused, she asked, "What's over?"
He looked away, then stared directly at her. "Us. It's over."
"What are you talking about? Are you joking? Please don't joke about this."