The cloud of dreamy images of Everett and I living together for a bit evaporates into a mist.
This is what I wanted.
This is what I want.
But my stomach hurts and my chest feels tight.
“You will fly to Boston on January 19th, and from there, take a charter bus to Fort Devens,” Dad adds to what I read, reiterating the time I will have to leave. “Well, at least we can celebrate your birthday before you go.”
Lewis steps up behind me and wrenches his bear claws around my shoulders. “The baby of the family is turning twenty-one. How is it possible?” I haven’t given my birthday much thought. It doesn’t feel very significant with everything going on, but now I suppose whatever celebration I have, it will be a going away party too. “You can finally purchase beer and wine. How about that?”
Dad clears his throat as if Lewis has gone too far with his celebratory ideas. “Let’s not start any bad habits a week before you leave for training.”
“Dad, it’s her twenty-first birthday. We aren’t letting the kid leave without a proper celebration,” Lewis argues.
“It’s not a big deal.”
“This training looks like it might be intense, Elizabeth. You should start exercising over the next few days to prepare yourself more.”
“I have been jogging almost daily for the last few weeks,” I tell him. “I am well aware of what I signed up for, despite what you might think.”
“Well, you are bone pale for someone who knows for certain what they volunteered for,” Dad continues. The paperwork falls from his hand, fanning out against the table before he retreats to his bedroom without another word.
“He will get over it, Elizabeth, because he would be a hypocrite if he didn’t.” Dad’s biggest pet peeve is being a hypocrite. Lewis has a good point.
“I’m a woman and his daughter. In his mind, I don’t think he sees me the same as one of you.”
“Give it time. The world is changing at full speed right now. He will have to come to terms with reality sooner rather than later. For the record, though, I’m proud of you. I’m going to miss you like crazy, but I always had this little suspicion in the back of my head, you would be the first in our family to make a giant leap into the turn of the century.”
“Mom was a nurse too,” I remind him.
“Sure, for the Red Cross, which is more than noble, but you’ve taken things a step further. You are the first woman in our family to enlist in the military, Elizabeth. This is a big deal.”
I wonder if what I’m feeling is natural. Adrenaline carried me through the door to the Red Cross. Pride escorted me home with the explanation I was honored to stand up for. Now, panic is ensuing from thoughts about a tomorrow, the day after that, and so on. I can no longer live one day at a time. Now I must face what lies ahead: all the warnings I have been digesting for the last few weeks.
31
January 1942
When I think backto the anticipation leading up to this day, like everyone else my age, I was looking forward to my twenty-first birthday. I imagined a wild party on the beach with a bonfire while welcoming the newfound sense of freedom. At eighteen a person becomes a legal adult under state laws, which allows men and women to vote and men to enlist in the military. At twenty-one, I’m now allowed to drink alcohol and join the Army Nurse Corps, but the only thing that feels different from all the days drawing closer to the special milestone in my life, are my nerves.
I’m sure once Everett arrives, I’ll be able to put my racing thoughts to the side for a bit and enjoy what I can of the day. I promised Dad we could have a family dinner later tonight, and he even offered to cook something up, which frightens me a little. It’s the thought that counts, though.
With my bright floral sundress and matching navy-blue bolero, I feel ready to enjoy the warm sun and mild breeze. After receiving my orders last week, I fleetingly came to realize how much sun I should soak up before leaving for the Northeast. When I arrive in Massachusetts, I believe the temperatures will be below freezing. I’m not sure what that will feel like having grown up in a tropical paradise, but I imagine it will take some adjusting. I must have spent a minute too long inspecting the shade of strawberry-red lipstick I colored over my lips because the doorbell makes me jump, causing a slight smudge of the top right corner on my lip.Just wonderful. I snag my handkerchief from the top of my vanity and dab away the stain. The doorbell rings again, proving impatience or perhaps eagerness. Mom always told me it was important to make a man wait sometimes, but it’s something I have a hard time with.
I grab my white low heel peep-toe pumps and run for the door, opening it with a flurry of anticipation, finding a magnificent bouquet held out in front of Everett’s face. My favorite fragrant sunshine-yellow plumerias surrounded by sweet scented pink ginger and towering lobster orange heliconia. I wish my first thought isn’t whether I can bring these along with me on the plane next week. The second thought is to take them from Everett’s hand so I can kiss the beautiful man who thinks so dearly of me today. “My, oh my, I believe you might just be the sweetest man alive,” I tell him.
With a soft prideful grin, he drops his gaze as if embarrassed by my comment but resets his eyes on mine immediately. “Happy Birthday, doll-face.”
“Thank you,” I coo. “These are beautiful.” I take another whiff before making my way into the kitchen to retrieve a vase from beneath the sink. “I don’t think I’ve ever received something so extravagant for a birthday. You sure know how to spoil a girl, Everett.”
“I wouldn’t call this spoiling you. You deserve the world, baby?”
His words settle in my head as I twist the faucet knob to fill the vase. I remove the paper wrapping and lower the stems into the freshwater. “Perfect,” I say, spinning around to face Everett. He appears troubled while staring out the bay window. “You know, even if you just showed up with a smile today, it would have been more than enough for me. You know me better than to wish for extravagance.”
“There is a difference between what you may wish for and what I believe you deserve. And you, Miss Elizabeth, deserve the whole universe.”
“Part of me feels as though you’ve already given that to me and then some,” I reply.
