“She was, but she got married a couple of years ago. She and her husband and their new baby live in Toronto. I plan to visit her when this is all over. What about you? What will you do after the war finally ends?”
“My pa’s an accountant, and I’m good with numbers. I worked with him before I came here, so I’ll probably go back to that.”
She reached for his empty bowl then dabbed a wet cloth around his stitches. He noted with surprise that for the first time, he could actually feel her gentle touch on the bridge of his nose. He must be recovering, as she said. He wondered what he looked like these days.
“And your father? What does he do?”
“My stepfather is a whiz with engines. He’s always fixing something.”
He studied her. “Stepfather?”
“My father died in the last war. I was just seven. I don’t really remember him. My stepfather fought beside him, but he was the only one who came back.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, not knowing what else to say.
“Oh, there’s no reason to be sorry. He’s a wonderful father.” She smiled. “And he adores my mother.”
He almost smiled at that. “Yeah, my parents are like that too. They’re always together. They married real young, and it’s been over twenty-five years. He still takes her dancing. He’ll dance with her at home some nights. When he built our house, he made sure there was a big room downstairs just so they could dance whenever they wanted.”
“How romantic. Tell me about your brother. Is it just you and him?”
“Yeah. Just us.”
“What’s he like? I only met him briefly, but he seems like a good man.”
“John’s older than I am. He’s always the loudest voice in the room. He doesn’t hold back. People love him. He’s rarely alone.”
But he’s alone now, isn’t he?
“It’s difficult, isn’t it?” she said. “Being out here, away from our families, I mean.”
He nodded carefully, but his attention had shifted to the elegant smoothness of her neck. She might be a nun, but how could he not admire her? She was beautiful.
“Why did you become a nun?” he asked, then he immediately regretted it. “I apologize. That’s none of my business.”
She cocked her head to the side in thought before softly replying. “I’m not a nun.” She touched the stiff white material at the side of her face. “This is just the uniform. Originally, they only had Nursing Sistersout here, but they needed more help, nuns or not. They had to take that requirement out.”
“That’s good. That you’re not a nun, I mean.”
This time she laughed. “Is it? What a thing to say, Corporal Bailey.”
His face burned. “This is why I shouldn’t talk. I apologize again. I don’t mean to be fresh.”
She reached for her book, smiling slightly. “Would you like me to read?”
She was letting him off the hook. Very kind, he thought, abashed. “I think that would be wise.”
“Where were we?”
“Chapter Five. He crashed his car, and the Scot gave him his bike.”
“That’s right.” She started flipping through pages until she found it. “Chapter Five.”
She had just begun reading when her name was called from across the tent.
“I’m sorry. It’s the matron,” she said, rising. “Would you like to keep reading yourself?”
“Nah,” he said, missing her company already. “The story’s better when you read it.”
