“Among the many classes in which you will participate is one concerning specific health risks associated with fraternizing. You will have seen, no doubt, that there are a number of men in this facility. You may be asked to work with some. On occasion, you may meet socially.”
A few of the girls around Dot shifted, and she heard a muffled ripple of giggles. During their tour, Dot hadn’t noticed a lot of men around Conestoga, but she hadn’t been looking. The ones she had seemed to be working far from wherever the women were.
“Wrens,” Chief Wren Merrivale continued, “are under strict orders to limit these interactions and avoid socializing whenever possible. The Royal Canadian Navy and the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Services will not accept any sort of ill or untoward behaviour. Still, we are aware mistakes do happen. So during your time here, we will be including lectures on illnesses that could result from fraternization, such as venereal diseases. On that note, you should know, pregnancy is a dismissible offence.”
“Oh, mon Dieu,” she breathed. Of all the things Dot had expected to learn, it wasn’t the by-products of the birds and the bees.
“I have never heard ofthatbeing called ‘fraternization,’?” Alice whispered.
To Dot’s relief, they’d moved on from there. Lessons began with the history of the Royal Canadian Navy, introductory Morse code, and semaphore. Despite her knowledge of languages, Dot had never learned semaphore, and it interested her. She copied out all the little figures on the display Chief Wren Merrivale posted then memorized the semaphorealphabet while the other students were still working on the few first letters of Morse code. When each girl was handed a pair of flags made of two large red and yellow triangles then was told to stand, Dot jumped to her feet, ready to go.
“The movement of the flags is crisp and clear,” the Chief Wren explained. “Your message must be visible from a distance. Semaphore is habitually used to deliver messages from ship to shore or ship to ship, and often via telescope. Move with me now.” She held both flags straight down so the red triangle pointed at the ground. The one on her right was just outside her leg, and her left flag pointed directly at her knee. There was a flurry of material as every girl imitated her. “That is the letter ‘A.’ Now this.” Her left flag remained where it was, but the one in her right hand rose sharply so it was extended at the level of her shoulder. “That is the letter ‘B.’?”
Over and over they practiced, until the sharp snap of moving flags occurred at almost the exact same moment around the room.
As they exited the classroom on that first day, Dot hugged her notebook to her chest and smiled at Alice. “That was fun.”
“If you say so. My mind is spinning.”
“What’s next?”
“The gymnasium.”
Dot’s happiness vanished. From the moment she’d decided to join the Wrens, she had been anxious about the physical exercises she knew would be a part of the military. When they had begun to run, she puffed along behind Alice, daring to hope it wouldn’t be so bad. Unfortunately, it was worse. Dot struggled through sit-ups, push-ups, burpees, and a half-hour lesson on how to salute to the Chief Wren’s satisfaction. As the lesson ended, Dot stood straight then gasped, feeling a powerful cramp in her stomach. To her mortification, she was forced to sprint to the head and throw up. No wonder Dash hadn’t warned her. Dot never would have signed up if she’d known about this.
The second day had been no easier, but when the other girls ran, Dot did as well. About halfway through, she became convinced that she wasgoing to die before the end of the hour. Afterward, she sank onto the floor at the side of the gym, her chest heaving, specks floating through her vision. She felt utterly humiliated. Joining the Wrens had been a mistake. She never should have listened to her family when they’d said she could accomplish anything she put her mind to. She was going to fail.
Except she couldn’t get enough of the morning classes. Those made it all worthwhile.
Labouring for breath, Dot scanned the room, asking herself how she could ever earn a place with the Wrens. A few feet away, a couple of rosy-cheeked, sweaty girls laughed together, leaning on each other while they recovered from the run. The way they seemed to revel in the perspiration all this effort had produced reminded her of Dash, and she felt a familiar twinge of envy. Ashamed, she turned away and her gaze landed on a few quiet girls who remained on the fringe of the activity as she did. Taking in their stricken expressions, it dawned on Dot that she might not be the only one having trouble, which meant she wasn’t alone in her self-doubt.
You can change if you want,Gus had said once, and she realized he had been exactly right. Especially here. No one really knew her yet. She could be Dot the Dormouse or she could be someone else entirely. It was up to her.
And so today, the third day, Dot decided to try harder. She had been sabotaging her own efforts by doubting herself, and she was determined not to dwell on self-pity. She staggered stiff-limbed into the mess hall and ate all she could, then she hobbled to the classroom to translate Morse code to semaphore and back again. When it was time to head to the gymnasium, she stretched out her body as she was told to do, then she began to run. Yes, it was harder than anything she’d ever done before, but clearly, no one would let her die from her efforts. Now she surprised herself by not only surviving, but improving. She no longer saw stars when she ran. Eventually, she even smiled while she did it.
What helped Dot adjust the most was the navy’s strict adherence to rule and order. Structure kept Dot calm. Each morning, then again aftersupper, she smoothed out every wrinkle and crease on both uniform and bed, then she turned to the little table she shared with Alice. Her friend tended to place her things willy-nilly, and Dot felt more comfortable when everything was organized. For Dot to properly display her framed photographs of Dash, her parents, and one of both girls with Gus, she needed to shift Alice’s to a higher shelf. At first she’d worried about what Alice might say, but fortunately, her friend hadn’t seemed to notice, and Dot got comfortable moving things around.
That first week, Alice and Dot became close, which was a relief. She had assumed making friends would be much more of a challenge. Alice had a social personality, like Dash’s, and she was also very smart. She quickly caught up to Dot on semaphore, and they shared an interest in the more technical aspects of what they were doing. Other than Gus and herself, Alice was the only person Dot had ever known who thought Morse code could be fun.
At the end of the week, Alice came into the room where Dot was tidying the shelves and sank onto Dot’s bunk. Dot flinched internally as Alice laid waste to her perfectly straightened bed, but she reminded herself that it was all right. She would tidy it again later. How many times had Dash rushed in and dropped her things all over the freshly organized vanity, consumed with the need to tell Dot something?
“What’s happening here?” Alice asked, seeming to notice what Dot was doing for the first time.
Dot glanced nervously at her, hoping she hadn’t upset her friend by touching her things. “I was thinking that if you display your photographs up here by your bunk, you’d have a better view of them. Your other items can be stored underneath, on that shelf. Since I am on the bottom bunk, I’ll put mine on the lower shelf, beneath yours.” She braced herself for rejection. “What do you think?”
“I see.” Alice steepled her fingers and regarded Dot. “You’re one of those girls who likes things just so.”
“I’m afraid so. Will that bother you?”
“Not at all. My sister is the same way. You are now officially responsiblefor these shelves.” Alice paused, thoughtful. “But I want you to know that if you make mistakes, it’s okay with me. No human being is perfect. Not even you.”
Dot opened her mouth, prepared to argue that point as she had so often with her family. She’d always viewed the implication as condescending, and it had felt like an insult. This time she stopped herself and smiled instead. Everything here was new, and bit by bit, that included her attitude. Maybe she could accept the fact that what she’d heard was the opposite of what Alice had said. Maybe now she could let herself believe it.
Every day over those three weeks at Conestoga, Dot learned more, got stronger, and made more friends. She made sure to include the fact that sometimes she couldn’t help smiling, and her sister’s responses were filled with happiness for her. Near the end of their stay, the trainees were sorted according to their strengths—some were bound for the laundry, some for driving, some would be cooks—and Dot was thrilled that both she and Alice were selected for the administrative side of things. They joined a speedy typing pool and continued working with Morse code as well.
“I wonder what happens after this,” she said to Alice one evening over supper. “Our three weeks are almost up.”
“We’ll know soon enough, I’m sure. In the meantime, we’ll be home for Christmas!”
