Saving Grace: A Novel (Healing Ruby Book 3)

by Jennifer H. Westall

  “You look terrible,” he said. “Long night?”

  “Something like that.” I hadn’t been able to find another empty bed, so I’d found a cot and set it up in the garden near a large palm tree. My neck was stiff, and my eyes ached.

  “Do you know what this is about?”

  “Probably the evacuation. Janine said they’re moving everyone to Bataan.”

  Joseph scratched at the short beard he’d grown over the past few weeks and looked out the window to his left. “Things could get even worse around here when the Japs show up. We should think about a safe place to go. Maybe the mountains with my mother’s family.”

  “I don’t want to leave Henry.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Henry may be forced to leave you if the military is evacuating the city.”

  I thought about that as Mrs. Fincher and Dr. Stimson closed the door to the meeting room and faced all of us with grim expressions. Janine had been right. It was about the evacuations. After confirming that the army and navy were moving all staff and military patients to hospitals being set up on Bataan, Mrs. Fincher explained that any remaining American citizens were being encouraged to stay put, since Manila had been declared an open city. I was certain the Japanese wouldn’t care what the city declared. They’d consider it an American military position, and treat it as such. I was shocked MacArthur would be so naive.

  “Although we respect the advice,” she continued, “those of you in this room have been extremely helpful, going above and beyond to serve your fellow countrymen, and we would like to offer you the chance to continue in that service if you so choose. We’ll begin the evacuation process tomorrow. Take some time to think it over, but not too long. And no matter what you decide, the United States of America thanks you for your sacrifice.”

  There were a few questions, but neither Dr. Stimson nor Mrs. Fincher had much in the way of details. It was a pretty straightforward choice. Evacuate, or take our chances with the Japanese.

  By the time we sat down for the late-afternoon mess—a valiant but inadequate attempt at Christmas dinner—I’d decided to evacuate with the army nurses, since it was my best chance to stay near Henry. There was no guarantee we’d be sent to the same location, but at least we’d be moving in the same direction. Joseph was still on the fence, unsure about leaving his mother.

  “Do you really want to risk being captured by the Japs?” Henry asked.

  Joseph pushed soggy roast potatoes around his plate with his fork. “No, but I don’t want to leave my mother to the same fate either.”

  “Didn’t you say she has family that’s going into the mountains? Could she go with them?”

  He shrugged, but before he could answer, the air raid siren went off, and we all jumped up from our chairs, that familiar lurch of fear in the pit of my stomach threatening to bring back my Christmas dinner. Janine supported Henry as he hobbled across the cafeteria and out the back door to the trenches in the garden. Joseph and I followed close behind, helping Henry and Janine down before jumping into the next trench over.

  “Some Christmas, huh?” Joseph said, once we were settled.

  Two other nurses and an orderly slipped into the trench beside us. I sat on the ground and waited for the concussions to begin. Joseph scooted over next to me, pressing his shoulder against mine. “I’ve decided to stay here in Manila.”

  “What?” I said, jerking my head around to meet his gaze. “That’s crazy. You’ll be taken prisoner.”

  “I’m not a combatant.”

  “That won’t matter.”

  He took a deep breath. “They need doctors to stay with the patients that can’t be moved, and I need to make sure mother is safe. If she goes with her family into the mountains, then I’ll get out of the city too.”

  I heard the roar of planes cross over the area. Most likely they were headed for Cavite and Corregidor, but it was unnerving all the same. Joseph looked down at his hands as he rubbed them back and forth. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I understood his reasons for staying, but I was afraid for him. I tilted my head to the side, and rested it against his broad shoulder. He was strong and intelligent. He could take care of himself.

  When the bombing finally ceased, we climbed out of the trench and helped other patients out as well. Joseph helped Henry to a bench, and we all gazed at the sky for a few minutes, unsure it was really over. “Joseph has decided to stay,” I said, hoping the others could talk him out of it, even if I couldn’t.

  “That’s crazy,” Henry said. “You should get out while the getting’s good.”

  “I understand what I’m signing up for,” Joseph said. “I’ll stay here and look after the patients left behind. I’ll be fine. God will protect me.” There was a long silence, filled with all the words we couldn’t or shouldn’t say. Then Joseph smiled down at me. “Stay safe, all right? Thank you for all your help at the clinic, for being a shining light of God’s love, and for making me smile every day.”

  He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. Then he excused himself and left. I watched his departing back for a few moments, wishing I could change his mind. When I turned back at Henry and Janine, they both averted their eyes. Henry cleared his throat.

  “Well, we better get you back to your room,” Janine said to him.

  “I reckon I’ll see you ladies on Bataan, then,” he said with a smile.

  I tried to smile for his sake. “Don’t try anything ridiculous while we’re gone now. I’d hate to have to come back here and rescue you.”

  “No need to worry, little Rubes. I’ll be as good as new before you even get to your new jungle hospital. You need to quit worrying about me and figure out how you’re going to fend off the monkeys and lizards.”

  Janine shook her head. “I don’t know how you two can take this so lightly. I just can’t stand the thought of leaving you behind.”

  I took her hand and offered a gentle smile. “It’s just our way, I guess. Try not to worry. God will keep us all in His hands, and we just have to trust in Him.”

  She didn’t look too certain as she looked over at Henry. “I’ll write to you, even though I don’t know how you’ll get my letters.”

  “You take care of each other,” Henry said, winking at Janine. “You’re my best girls.”

  She leaned in and kissed him, her face flushing red. He slid his hand around her neck and held her there for a moment longer, resting his forehead against hers. For a brief second, I saw real concern on his face. I dropped my gaze as they whispered to each other. Then I gave him a last hug before Janine helped him up to walk him to his bed.

  It would be another night on the cot in the garden for me, and I had a sneaking suspicion I’d better get used to sleeping underneath the stars.

  December 25, 1941

  The next afternoon, Janine, Natalie and I gathered our things and boarded a truck that took us down to the docks. There we joined sixteen other army nurses on the Mc E. Hyde, which would ferry us across Manila Bay to the Bataan peninsula. Mrs. Fincher kept the girls moving along, and the ship shoved off just after sunset. Cavite and other installations in Manila burned bright enough that some of the girls read books or newspapers along the way. I joined some of them along the port rail, watching the shoreline grow farther and farther away.

  “Do you think we’ll make it across the bay before the Japs get us?” one of the girls muttered to no one in particular.

  Janine shot me a nervous glance. I was certain everyone on board had already wondered that, but mentioning it out loud seemed to be asking for trouble. I decided to try to change the subject. “What do you think the hospital will be like where we’re going?”

  “I imagine it will be like most hospitals,” Natalie said. “Though it’s not nearly far enough away from the bombs. I thought for sure they’d be getting us out of here by now.” She lifted a shaking hand to light her cigarette.

  “Say,” Janine said, pointing out over the bay. “Wonder why we’re heading toward Corregidor? I tho
ught we were going to Bataan.”

  I followed her finger, and sure enough, the front of the boat was pointed straight for the tadpole-shaped island that guarded the mouth of the bay. “Isn’t there a hospital in the underground tunnels?” I said. “Maybe there’s been a mistake. Maybe we’ve been assigned there.”

  We speculated on our destination for a while, Natalie telling us she’d heard the supplies on Corregidor could last three years. “I certainly hope we won’t need them for that long,” I said.

  Sometime around ten, Mrs. Fincher called us all together near the back of the boat. “Now ladies, we’ll be stopping at Corregidor for the evening in order for supplies to be loaded to take with us to the hospital on Bataan. So if you’ll just make yourselves comfortable and get some rest, you’ll be fresh for the trip tomorrow.”

  I had to admit I was disappointed. It sounded like Corregidor offered more in the way of protection and provisions. I leaned into Janine and whispered into her ear. “I hope for all our sakes this war is over soon. Surely there’s a military convoy on the way with reinforcements? I mean, this is the United States Army, for goodness sake!”

  “From your lips to God’s ears,” Janine replied.

  After breakfast the following morning, I leaned onto the starboard rail and stared out across the bay at the dense Bataan jungle spreading up over the mountains. It didn’t seem too far, perhaps within swimming distance, if necessary. That only gave me a small amount of comfort from my thoughts of a Japanese attack. I was keenly aware of the fact that the final leg of our trip across the bay would take place in broad daylight.

  As the boat churned through the water, I pulled Matthew’s letter out of my pocket and read it again. He still loved me. I held onto that grain of hope as I closed my eyes and prayed once again for his safety. But while I was deep in prayer, his letter was rudely snatched from my hands.

  I opened my eyes to find Natalie shaking the paper at me. “What are you doing with a letter from my boyfriend?” she yelled.

  My mind whirled. “What? Your boyfriend?”

  “Yes! You…you said I could trust you. You said you’d stay away from him. I believed you!”

  “Wait, Natalie,” I said, trying to understand and calm her at the same time. Other ears were beginning to perk up. “There’s nothing to get upset over.”

  “Nothing to get upset over?” she cried incredulously, holding the letter up in front of her. “He says he loves you!” She threw her hands up and shouted even louder. “You lied to me!”

  Heat rushed up my cheeks. Three other girls peeked around the front of the boat at us and whispered to each other. I had no idea what to do. If Natalie snapped, and told everyone who I was, would I be arrested? Sent to a military prison to ride out the war? I couldn’t fathom what might happen to me.

  “Listen, I didn’t lie. Matthew and I agreed to only focus on our jobs. I had no idea—”

  “You must have done something, tricked him somehow with your lies.”

  “No—”

  “That’s all you do is lie, isn’t it? Does he know who you really are? He mustn’t if he thinks he loves you!”

  I could hear murmuring behind me. I had to get this under control. I lowered my voice. “Natalie, I promise. I haven’t answered the letter. I haven’t encouraged Matthew in any way. I have stayed away from him, and I didn’t lie to you. You can trust me. What do I have to do to show you?”

  The fury in her eyes cooled, and she too looked around to see the curious faces watching us. She looked down at the letter, then back at me. Slowly, she ripped the letter to shreds and dropped the pieces over the side of the boat. Then she took a step toward me and lowered her voice as well. “I don’t know what to believe. But you’d better stay away from Matthew.”

  She brushed past me and went to the back of the boat, where several girls pulled her aside. I had to wonder what she might say. I was going to have to figure out how to get away from Natalie as soon as possible, and in the meantime I’d have to do my best to steer clear of her altogether.

  By the time we docked at a wharf on the peninsula, not a single girl on the boat had spoken to me. They had, however, been speaking about me. I caught several disapproving shakes of the head, and dozens of harsh stares. I waited with a few other girls to retrieve our suitcases. Most had left theirs behind to be unloaded with the supplies, but I couldn’t take the chance of getting separated from my cherished memories, or Matthew’s gun.

  As I came out from the storage room and headed out to the gangway, I heard several girls gasp and scream. I jerked my head in the direction they were pointing, back across the bay. My heart raced to life when I saw planes bearing down on our position.

  I yelled to the girls in front of me. “Let’s move!”

  We ran down the gangway, along the dock and onto the sand. Girls scrambled everywhere, diving into foxholes and behind trees or bushes. I scanned for a foxhole, but the few I could see were full of terrified, screaming bodies. I heard the zip of bullets hitting water.

  Oh God, save me!

  I spotted a large fallen tree, so I dropped my suitcase and ran across the sand, launching myself over it. I shoved my body up against the trunk amid a cacophony of screams, gunfire, and explosions. Within minutes the planes were gone, but I huddled against the tree, unable to straighten my shaking body. I concentrated on breathing until I felt steady again. Then, bracing my arms against the trunk, I pushed myself up to standing.

  The first thing I noticed was the boat ablaze in the water, tilted to one side, and sinking. Slowly, the nurses came together in a huddle on the beach and watched it drop beneath the surface. “Did everyone make it off the boat all right?” Mrs. Fincher shouted. “Let’s take a head count.”

  “All our things!” someone wailed.

  “My clothes!”

  “My mother’s earrings!”

  I walked over to my suitcase where I’d dropped it in the sand. A single bullet hole had pierced the top right-hand corner. Dread filled me as I peeked inside, checking Matthew’s gun. The barrel had been badly dented, and would be of no more use to me now than a blunt instrument. It was disappointing for sure, but thankfully, Daddy’s Bible and my dress had survived.

  December 27, 1941

  After spending the night at a staging area a few kilometers from the wharf, we loaded our weary bodies into another truck. Luckily, seventeen doctors and thirty medics and orderlies whose supplies were not sitting at the bottom of Manila Bay joined us. At least we wouldn’t be showing up to the hospital completely empty-handed. Then we made the trek to what was called Jungle Hospital #2. I wasn’t exactly sure where the first hospital was located, but one of the medics in our group said it was near Limay. “Won’t last long there,” he said. “The Japs are bombing all around that area.”

  As the trucks bounced along the road, I couldn’t help but worry about Henry, Matthew, and Joseph. What if Henry was sent to the other hospital? What if Joseph was captured? What if I never saw Matthew again? My thoughts swirled in all different directions, and try as I might, I couldn’t quiet my fears, even with prayer. My head knew God was in control and that I shouldn’t fear for them, but my heart felt like lead in my chest, weighted down by what-if’s.

  The trucks pulled off the main road at kilometer 162.5 and headed straight into the jungle. The ride became even more jarring, and several times we had to stop for men to cut down dense underbrush ahead of us. During one of our stops, I scooted over toward Janine and asked her how she was holding up.

  “All right, I suppose,” she said. “As long as I don’t think on things too much. I just pray Henry’s all right.”

  “I’m sure he is. The Japs don’t know what they’re getting into if they try to take him. He’ll have them all charmed into surrendering within a day or two.”

  She let out a half laugh, half sob. “You’re probably right there.” She sniffled and swiped away a stray tear. “What about you? Are you doing all right? Some of the girls were talking about a
fight between you and Natalie.”

  “Oh, that was nothing. Just a misunderstanding. There’s much bigger things to worry over, I reckon. I keep telling myself that God holds us all in His hands. Our lives. Our deaths. Worrying don’t add a thing to my life except trouble. But I can’t seem to chase it away.”

  The truck lurched forward again, and we continued into the jungle for another hour, creeping along at a snail’s pace. By the time we finally stopped for the last time and unloaded, it was nearly dinnertime. I climbed out of the back of the truck and stretched my aching legs and back, before joining Janine and the other nurses as they clumped together beside the trucks. I realized that every man in the small camp had stopped what he was doing, and was now gaping at us as if we were standing there as naked as the day we were born.

  Most of them mumbled to each other, but a few were less discreet about their displeasure at seeing us. “Nurses? What in Sam Hill are we supposed to do with a bunch of women?”

  “Well, if you don’t know the answer to that one…”

  Several of the men chuckled, and then they all went back to their business. Most of them kept glancing at us though, shaking their heads and commenting to their buddies.

  “…shouldn’t be allowed…”

  “Can’t fight a war with women around! They got no training for such things.”

  “Now I’m gonna be worried about protecting them instead of killing dirty Japs.”

  Mrs. Fincher stepped in front of us, thrusting her chest out. “Ladies, gather your things and follow me.” She turned on her heels as well as any soldier, and we fell in behind her. Most of the girls kept their heads high as they walked through the makeshift camp. I couldn’t help but notice that nothing in the camp looked remotely like a hospital. In fact, it didn’t look like much of anything, except jungle.

  We wound our way through dense trees, bushes, creepers, and clumps of bamboo until we reached the bank of a river. A group of seven or eight men were leaning on tree trunks, waiting for us. They didn’t look too happy to see us either. One of them, a husky fellow with a cigarette hanging from his mouth came over to Mrs. Fincher and took up a wide stance, crossing his arms over his chest.