I awoke some time later on a cot in the ward where I’d been working. I tried to sit up, but I couldn’t. I was completely done. No matter what I tried to tell my body to do, it simply would not move. I managed to somehow roll my head to the side, and could just make out a nurse wending her way through the ward. My vision was too fuzzy to see who it was. And I couldn’t hold my eyes open any longer, so I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
Matthew
March 17, 1942
I paced along the riverbank with my boots squishing in the damp grass and mud, trying to make heads or tails of Henry’s news. It had rained earlier, and every piece of my clothing stuck to me like it was glued on. My pacing had set me to sweating, which wasn’t helping matters. Henry sat on the fallen tree trunk smoking a cigarette like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“So, you’re sure you can trust this Mike guy?” I asked for the third time since Henry had told me about Mike’s message.
He took a long drag on the cigarette. “Yep. Known him since we played ball together in San Diego. He’s a good fella. If he says they’re getting planes and subs through the blockade, then they certainly are.”
“And you trust him to get the girls through the blockade?”
“I do. Ole Dugout Doug made it through. And I trust Mike a heckuva lot more than I trust him.”
I grimaced at the mention of MacArthur’s escape to Australia. I’d done my best to give the general the benefit of the doubt, but my opinion of him sank every day this debacle of a war continued.
“And he’s certain there’s no way he can fly over here to the peninsula to get the girls?” I asked. “Only way we get them on the plane is from Corregidor?”
Henry let out a deep sigh. “I done told ya; he says any evacuations are coming from Corregidor. We gotta get there first. He said if there’s an evacuation, he’s pretty sure he can squeeze two more bodies on board.”
“And you trust him?”
“Again. Yes, I trust him. Now can we please focus on getting to Corregidor? Ain’t nobody going nowhere if we can’t do that.”
I glanced at my watch. The girls were late. I was already uneasy from my discussion with Henry, but something else was gnawing at me too. I still hadn’t gotten a solid promise from Ruby that she’d even get on the plane. How was I going to convince her to go?
Henry jumped down from the tree trunk and moved swiftly toward the path behind me. As I turned, he met Janine running toward us. My heart raced when I saw Ruby wasn’t with her. And from Janine’s expression, I could tell something was wrong.
As I came over to them, I heard her explaining to Henry that Ruby had taken ill. “She just wouldn’t listen to me. I tried to get her to stay in bed today and rest, but she insisted on working, and now she’s being treated at the ward.”
“What for?” I asked. “What’s wrong with her?”
“It’s malaria,” she said. “I’m sure of it.”
“Which ward?”
“The one near the dental clinic.”
I set out along the trail, determined to see her for myself. Janine ran up beside me, and I could hear Henry’s boots clomping along behind. “Remember to be discreet,” she pleaded. “Natalie’s been hovering around like a fly. I think she’s been using Ruby to get more than just a bit of breakfast.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’ve seen Ruby giving Natalie her quinine dose a few times.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised, but this news sent my blood to boiling. By the time I reached the ward, I was good and worked up, but once I found Ruby, I almost lost my composure altogether. That Joseph fella was seated beside her, watching her sleep like he had some claim on her.
I went to her side, and Joseph looked up at me, startled. “She’s just fallen asleep,” he said quietly.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Don’t you have patients to attend to?”
His dark features hardened as he glanced over my shoulder at Henry and Janine making their way toward us. “Why don’t we step over here and talk?”
He gestured toward a cluster of mango and palm trees a few feet away, and I followed him. I felt like decking him right there, but I kept my composure and forced myself to listen to him. He crossed his arms and set a defensive stance, as if somehow I was the one trying to steal his wife.
“Look,” he said, “Ruby’s fever is much higher than it should be. She’s nauseous and her blood pressure is significantly raised. She needs rest.”
“What can we do to help?” Henry said.
“We’re very low on quinine. Do you have access to any at your camp?”
“Are you her doctor?” I asked.
“Not exactly,” Joseph said with a hint of annoyance. “But I offered to help out in the ward during my break. I wanted to make sure she was all right.”
“That’s my job.”
“Then maybe you should do it. She’s wasting away, in case you haven’t noticed.” His eyes narrowed with unspoken accusations.
Henry cleared his throat. “Hey, we’re all doing the best we can. No one’s exactly thriving out here.”
Joseph took a deep breath and turned away for a moment. Then he turned back to Henry, visibly forcing himself to relax. “I get that. I really do. And I know how she is. She’d give all her food away to some poor local family and starve herself if she had half the chance. I’m just worried about her.”
It struck me in the oddest way that he would know her so well. I had to wonder what else he knew. “Look, I appreciate that you’re doing your best to care for her. I’m sorry if I came on a little strong.”
Henry coughed, and Janine smiled. I didn’t have the patience for those two right now. For any of this, actually. I needed to figure out a way to get Ruby to Corregidor. But she wasn’t going anywhere in this condition. I turned to Henry. “So what do we do now?”
“We wait for her to get better,” he said.
“How long before she can travel?” I asked Joseph.
He lifted a brow. “Where is she going?”
“Don’t worry about that part. How long?”
He hesitated, then looked at Henry. “No less than a week. More like two most likely. Henry, where is she going?”
Henry glanced at me before he answered. “We might have a way to get her and Janine to Australia. But we got to get them to Corregidor first.”
“Wait a minute,” Janine said. “What’s this? I’m not leaving my patients. Or you, for that matter.”
Henry rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing definite yet.”
“Uh, uh. No way.” Janine crossed her arms and shifted her weight. “If the other nurses aren’t leaving, and the soldiers aren’t leaving, then I’m not leaving.”
Henry glanced at me for support. I shrugged, and he pulled Janine away to finish their conversation in private. I headed back to Ruby’s bed and crouched down beside her. Sweat trickled down her temples, and I could see in her neck that her pulse was racing. I was so helpless to do anything for her; it made me crazy inside. I reached over and pushed a few strands of hair away from her face. Her skin was hot as fire.
Over by the dental building, I could see Henry and Janine arguing. She was clearly not budging. Looked like Henry and I both had our jobs cut out for us. I was wondering just what I could possibly say to convince Ruby to leave, when I noticed someone moving through the trees between the dental building and the ward. A figure I recognized, and despised. Natalie snaked through the rows of beds toward us. I didn’t think she’d seen me yet, so I headed out of the ward in the other direction. If I stuck around, I’d surely confront her on this business of taking Ruby’s quinine. I had to keep it together a little longer.
Just a little longer.
Ruby
March 24, 1942
I knew that days were passing, but I couldn’t tell how many, and I couldn’t tell the difference between my dreams and reality. Once, I crept along the ground and stole fresh cabbag
e from the mess hall. Another time, I came across a pile of bananas on the ground and dove into eating them; only, after a few bites, I realized that they were rotten and filled with maggots. Sometimes, I saw Natalie’s face bending over me, studying me closely before moving away. Those were the worst dreams.
Other times, I found Matthew sitting beside me, holding my hand and whispering prayers. He’d tell me how much he loved me, about all the wonderful things we were going to do together once I was better, and how we were going to make our way to Australia to live out our lives in peace. I’d never been to Australia, but in my mind it was beautiful. Beaches, the ocean, and all kinds of flowers. When I pictured us walking hand in hand across the sand, it was so real I almost cried.
Janine checked on me every day it seemed. Sometimes Henry came with her. She’d check my temperature, my pulse, and get me some fluids. She and Henry spoke quietly nearby, sometimes whispering of their own future plans, sometimes fussing over my lack of recovery, and a few times arguing over her stubborn refusal to leave if the opportunity for escape were to come.
At one point, I finally awoke with enough clarity and energy to sit up in bed and take a little food. I couldn’t taste it though, and I could barely swallow. I only got down a couple of bites. Joseph came by to check on me, looking concerned.
“I just don’t understand why your recovery’s so slow,” he said, pushing my hair back to feel my forehead. “You should be at least a little better by now. Have you been able to eat anything?”
I shook my head. “I can’t seem to swallow anything.”
The world still seemed a bit unsteady. I had the strangest sensation that I was about to fall out of my bed. Joseph took his hand away and made a note on the papers he held. Then he sighed and looked down at me again. “I wish I could do more for you. If I could get you out of here, I would. I should’ve sent you into the mountains with my mother.”
I managed a weak smile. “You’re a good doctor, Joseph. And an even better friend. Thank you.”
He gave my hand a pat and assured me he’d return after supper. Then he said goodbye and headed toward the main surgery building. I closed my eyes for a moment to try to steady the dizziness. When I opened them again, I saw Natalie making her way through the rows of beds toward me. I actually hoped I was having another nightmare.
But I was definitely awake. She stopped beside my bed and took my wrist in her hand. “Thought he’d never leave,” she muttered. “Why does everyone in the world fuss so much over you? Got ’em all fooled, don’t ya?”
I pulled my arm away from her grip. My head pounded, and all I wanted was for her to go away. “What do you want, Natalie? I don’t have anything I can give you right now.”
She put on a fake smile and nodded toward another nurse a few rows away from us. “So,” she said loud enough for others to hear. “How are we feeling today?”
“We?” Just for a split second, I wished I needed to vomit. Then she’d see just how we were feeling.
She eyed me with a hint of triumph as she felt my forehead. “Still a touch of fever I see. And your pulse…very fast.” She handed me a small cup of water, along with something in her hand. “Here’s your quinine.” She placed her hand over mine, but didn’t release the pills. Then she handed me the cup of water as she slid the pills into her pocket. “Drink up,” she said.
I put the cup to my lips and took a sip while she wrote something on my chart, probably the fake quinine dosage. She smiled at me and took the cup. I expected her to turn and leave at that point, but instead, she plopped down onto the end of my bed and frowned at me with a look of disappointment.
“Just can’t figure out why you’re not recovering faster. Reckon it’s God’s judgment? You know, this arrangement of ours could’ve worked in both our favors if you’d have stuck to your end of the deal. But you just couldn’t do it, could you?”
My head swam, and my stomach churned. She had that look in her eye. She was determined to get something more from me. But I couldn’t think of one thing more I could give her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said.
“Yes, you do.” Natalie’s tone was icy. “You think I’m a fool? I see what’s going on. I see Matthew here with you. I’ve heard your brother and his girlfriend arguing. And it isn’t right. You—a dangerous criminal, a convicted murderer who runs around with negroes—you steal my boyfriend, who you swore you’d stay away from, and now you have some plan concocted to escape justice once again.”
Gingerly I scooted back down the bed until I was flat on my back again, then I rolled onto my side so that I wouldn’t have to look at her. “Natalie, I don’t know what delusions you have in your head, but I don’t feel like playing games. I assure you, I am not escaping anything.”
“Then what’s all this talk about a plane to Australia?”
“That’s just a lot of wishful thinking. Like everyone else around here. How many times have we heard rumors of convoys headed across the Pacific? Or supplies that will arrive any day now?” I looked over my shoulder and into her cold eyes. “There’s no one coming but the Japanese. And none of us are getting out of here.”
I didn’t think her face could get any paler, but somehow she looked even more sickened when I said that. Some part of me went cold inside as well. It wasn’t until that moment, when I said it out loud, that I realized how true that statement was.
Natalie stood, her hands shaking. “No. You’re lying again. That’s all you know how to do. I’m going to find Mrs. Fincher and tell her everything. Right now.”
She turned and stomped a few steps away, and desperation rose inside of me. “Wait!” She turned around, and I saw a brief chance to stall her just a little longer. “What do you want from me?”
She walked back to my bed, looking around to see if anyone was listening. But it seemed that each soldier in the beds around mine was struggling with their own special kind of hell. No one cared about mine. Natalie leaned down and lowered her voice. “I want off this godforsaken island! I want food, and real clothes. I want my life back!”
In her eyes I saw my own desperate desires for home and safety. I could almost sympathize with her. She was going about it in the worst possible way, but I could understand how she felt. “Look, I know this is hard. It’s hard on everyone. I can’t guarantee that there’s a plan to escape. I’ve been out of it for a while. But if there is, if a chance comes up to get off the island, a real one, not just a rumor, then you can go too.”
She eyed me with suspicion, stepping away to consider this. “You swear?”
“I’m sure there will be enough room for one more.”
“How can I be sure you’re not lying just to keep me quiet?”
I was, and I prayed to God he’d forgive me for one more untruth. “Because if you turn me in, then you have no chance at all of escaping. I’m your only hope.”
***
Within a couple of days, I was sent to recover in my own bed in the nurses’ quarters. When I could manage to walk well enough, Janine and I made our way back to our meeting place to see Matthew and Henry. I was so happy to see Matthew again, but I was also still weak from the malaria. I nearly collapsed as soon as I arrived.
Matthew sat beside me, our backs against the tree trunk, my head resting on his shoulder. And Henry and Janine sat leaning into each other on a large rock protruding from the bank. When I’d caught my breath, I told them everything that had happened with Natalie. I could feel Matthew’s body tense when I told them I’d promised her a place on the plane.
“Ruby, we can’t do that,” he said. “Mike said he could get two people on. No more. That’s you and Janine.”
“I know that, but I didn’t know what else to say. She was going to tell Mrs. Fincher who I really am.”
“So what if she does?” he said. “At this point, I can’t see what Mrs. Fincher could do to you. The army has much bigger problems than a wild story from Natalie that she can’t prove.”
“It’s not jus
t about me anymore. All three of you could get in big trouble. Courts-martial? Prison? Who knows what could happen to you? I love all three of you, and I won’t put any of you in that position.”
“Not that anyone seems to notice,” Janine said, “but I think I’ve made myself clear on this. I’m not leaving Henry or my patients. And Ruby’s been just as clear on the same point. So all this discussion about us hopping on a plane to Australia is meaningless. Natalie can have it.”
Henry removed the cigarette from his mouth and blew out smoke. I hated that he’d taken up smoking in the past few months, but it seemed like such a silly thing to be worried about when he was dodging bombs and bullets. He pulled away from Janine so he could get a good look at her.
“Listen here. You have to be reasonable. I ain’t talking about sneaking you away from your duty in the middle of the night. We’re talking about a legitimate evacuation. No one’s getting court-martialed. I’m just asking you to be ready and willing if the opportunity presents itself.”
Janine jumped off the rock and pointed a finger at him. “No, you’re talking about making my decisions for me ’cause you think you know better than I do.”
She turned and stomped away with Henry jogging to catch up. I could hear them arguing as they headed for the shelter they’d been using as a ramshackle honeymoon getaway. They’d be making up soon enough.
“Sounds like a familiar conversation,” Matthew said, grinning down at me.
“She has a point.”
“So does he.”
I didn’t have the energy for arguing, so for once I let him have the last word on the matter. I shuffled down until my head rested on his lap, and he ran his hands through my hair. I closed my eyes and wished I could block out the sounds of bombing in the distance. Every day, it seemed to be getting closer. And just the day before, Radio Tokyo had announced that a large convoy from the U.S. had been obliterated. Every one of us had known it was propaganda, and yet, it was more discouraging than anything else we’d heard so far. Just that morning, five of the nurses didn’t even try to get out of bed, while others returned immediately after their shifts. Morale had sunk to new depths.
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