“Paul, I can’t thank you enough.”
“Thank me when you come back alive, all right? I’ll even let you buy dinner this time.”
She hung up then looked in the mirror. “Guess what, Dr. Hart?” she said, unsure whether to laugh or cry. “I hope you remember how to stitch up a body, because you’re going to Vietnam.”
thirty-oneSASSY
The phone rang, and Sassy reached for it, distracted by a form she’d been reading. “Good afternoon. Rankin Real Estate. How may I help you?”
“Sassy? Is that you? You sound so serious!”
“Marion! Far out. You never call me at work. What’s up?”
“I got some news today, and I can’t wait until tonight to talk with you about it. Do you have some time?”
“Of course. It’s just me here right now.”
“Okay. Um, it’s pretty big news.”
“Let me have it.”
“After the funeral, I did a lot of thinking, and I’ve made a pretty radical decision. Um, you know how I’m always saying I wish I had more courage? Well, I think I just claimed the lion’s share.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you sitting down?”
“Don’t freak me out, Marion.”
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to prevent that this time.”
“What are you talking about?” Sassy repeated.
Marion took a deep breath. “Because of this Tet Offensive, the CanadianRed Cross announced that they need more doctors in Vietnam. So I made a phone call to find out more.”
Silence. “You’re not thinking of going.”
“I am. I know it probably won’t help Joey, but—”
“No one in their right mind would let a woman go to Vietnam.”
“Did you know there are thousands of American nurses down there?”
Sassy couldn’t actually register that news right now. “I did not.”
“Nobody talks about them, but it’s true. Anyhow, I just got a phone call, and I… I’ve been approved. I’m going to Vietnam in a couple of weeks. I will be there for two months.”
Sassy stared at nothing, trying to make sense of what she’d just heard.
“Sassy?”
“This… this is for real?” She got up and strode to the window, needing to move. “Like, you’re actually going down there?”
“I really am.”
Sassy’s gaze dropped to the street beyond, mushy with melting snow. “But you’re not a surgeon.”
“No, but I have surgical experience, and they’re pretty desperate. The Red Cross has approved it, as long as they can find a volunteer bodyguard to come with me.” She hesitated. “Sassy?”
