11. Christmas At The Hospital (1/2)

chapter xi

the next day was certainly much better not only for julia, but for every other new nurse as well. julia finally got over her fears and doubts and was one of the most optimistic nurses in her day-duty. she eventually started feeling good in what she was doing and everything she did, she did with great efficency and it seemed to her as if she was a nurse all her life. with every day, julia felt that she was born to help other people, and those soldiers were simply putting their shaking hands in front of her. she started to feel that she achieved one of her main aims in her life, that something from life was completed. she got used to all the sights of dying men, agony, pain and blood, she wasn't afraid of that anymore.

at the end of each day julia, olive and claire used to sit down on the floor in their room and each of them were telling each other stories about their families, interests and hobbies. olive didn't have a big family, it was just her, her older

other michael who was serving as a navy officer, and their strict parents.

"they didn't allow me to go and sign up." olive said one afternoon after the supper when the three of them sat down together on the floor while eating faith's cookies which she sent to julia a day before.

"so how did they react to you signing up anyway?" julia asked while finishing eating the last cookie.

"mother shut herself in her bedroom and didn't speak to me until the day of my leaving whereas father quarreled with me for the whole afternoon. but i think, that after all, they both knew i would join up anyway." olive shrugged as if it was really nothing that her parents didn't agree on her going into nursing.

"i would never disobey my parents!" claire exclaimed.

"my parents are very understanding and so i don't even have to think about disobeying them." julia added with a smile, looking at the black-and-white picture of faith and jem blythe standing on her night-table.

"i love your family so much!" olive giggled and looked at all the frames standing on julia's night-table with shining eyes "it's so big and everyone seems so much fun!"

julia laughed at her friend's reaction but agreed with her by nodding "yes, you're quite right, all of my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents are really fun." she said and then chuckled again "and so very imaginative!"

"and your

others are so handsome…" claire sighed while looking at the picture of walt and merry.

olive and julia chuckled and looked at each other knowingly "yes, they are." julia said eventually, still giggling.

"do they have any girlfriends?" claire asked in a hoping tone, raising her

ow.

julia opened her mouth and hit her friend playfully in the arm "claire!" she exclaimed "if you must know, yes, walt has a sweetheart in redmond but merry... i think that he doesn't have any girl of his own." julia said with furrowed eye

ows.

"interesting." claire whispered and then chuckled with her two room-mates.

"and you claire?" olive questioned "is your family big? you never really talk about them."

claire grinned sadly and sighed "no, it's just me and my grandmama emily and our little house in birmingham. my parents died in a car accident when i was very small and i don't remember them at all." she told them, absent-mindedly.

julia sighed and suddenly felt sorry for claire. it was unimaginable to think that someone can have no family except for a grandmother, without parents, siblings or even uncles or aunts. she put her hand gently on claire's shoulder.

"but let's not talk about sad things." claire waved her hand and grinned "tell me julia, do you have any "sweetheart", as you call it?" she asked with a meaningful smile crossing her red lips and a raised eye

ow.

julia's face darkened and her cheeks turned rosy red "i… um…" she murmured "it's complicated."

"bath, don't be embarrassed in front of us!" olive said and patted julia's shoulder "you can tell us everything."

"alright then…" julia sighed and told them her story. how troy entered her life, how she blythe kissed, how she got a telegram saying that troy is dead, how she got a letter from troy which made her to realise that troy never loved her and eventually how she came to a realisation that blythe was the one and only man for her. olive and claire listened as carefully as if they were hearing a story from a book. their eyes were wide open when they heard about troy's letter and their hearts melted when they heard the sound of julia's voice

eaking when she told them about her feelings for blythe.

"i've been such a fool!" she concluded and put her hands on her cheeks helplessly.

"you have." olive agreed and shook her head "but don't you worry, dear bathsheba." she put her friend in her arms "everything will turn out the way it should, you'll see." she smiled to julia who couldn't do anything else but to smile back.

"oh, heaven's!" claire gasped and stood up as if something pinched her "we're late for our supper already!" she said.

julia and olive stood up immediately and followed claire downstairs for they felt that whether blythe will love julia back or not, they had to fill up their empty stomachs nonetheless.

dear sis,

i'm so glad that you arrived in london safetly and that this horrible blitz didn't affect you as much as it could have. the description of olive and claire makes me think you will have a fun time with them, especially in a city like the dear, old london.

mother sent me a picture of you in the uniform; gosh, you look so fromal it's hard to imagine that you're still our bathsheba! but in a way, i think that the nurse-uniform really suits you and i'm so very proud of you, sheb, i really am.

you ask "how is our trench-life"? well, very uncomfortable i must say and definitely not as adventurous as i thought it would be when i joined up. i don't think you would like it, i don't think anyone would have liked it, it's so muddy and rats are everywhere… but i'm very glad that jake and marshall are here with me, however annoying they might be sometimes, i'm so happy that they are in the same place as me.

i managed to make some new friends as well but i try not to (which is very hard, as everyone is very nice around here) because you never know if they will survive till the next morning. enough of the sad things, did you know that they want me to get promoted to become a captain? i don't know if i'm ready yet for such a big step-up so i'm asking you: what do you think? do you think i should accept this offer?

anyway, tell me more about how you're feeling about… well, what you see in the hospital? are you really fine, as you said in your last letter?

i have to go now, darling. jake and marshall are sending you their love.

and so will i, you dear sister o'mine,