14. Keep Hope (2/2)

"michael… oh, michael is dead-" she

eathed out between the sobs.

michael jones died in action in the battle of the atlantic on the 11th of november, and this moment changed olive, firstly for the worse as she was grieving after her only

other for a week without leaving her bed at any time. however after that week, and after long hours of talking with julia about death, julia's experience with troy's death and keeping strong for all the boys "out there", she got better. olive changed for the better as she did get stronger and promised herself not to grieve anymore but to always and no matter what, like julia told her, "to keep hope, dearest".

"bacause hope is the only thing stronger than fear." blythe wrote to julia at the beginning of war and that was the sentence she would remember till the rest of her life and she would live by it always, teaching other people its powerful meaning wherever she might be.

it was not always death that julia, olive or claire experienced during the war. nor it was always pain or fear. not every soldier they tried to cure died, nor every soldier suffered or stopped believeing in the better days to come. many of the soldiers got better and returned either to the front or back home, and that was always the finest price julia and every other nurse could ever dream of. and it was also life that came to julia's family at the end of november.

rose gave birth to a healthy son whom she called gerald jake richardson. 'jackie', by what everyone called him, was the very first baby of the new generation in their family and he really was the sweetest and the chubbiest baby in glen st. mary. rose wrote a long letter to julia in which she described in detail his round face, big blue eyes, curly

own hair and "perfectly perfect toes and fingers".

"do you want to have children, olive, somewhere in the future?" julia asked when her friend when she finished reading the rose's letter outloud.

"of course i do!" olive said and sighed joyfully "i love little children. i hope that i will have five or six one day." she said decidedly.

"five or six?" julia repeated and shook her head "that's too many for me. i want to have two perfect babies. my grandmother blythe has seven children! i mean five... who are alive today." she added the last bit with a loud sigh and put the letter away.

"when it comes to me-" claire added "i really don't like children and i don't intend on having even one in the future!"

"you will have children one day, you'll see." olive said to her, glancing at julia knowingly.

claire humphed "i will not. they are fat and… uncleaned all the time!" she said and shivered as if something disgusting crossed her mind. julia and olive giggled together.

"and what about your captain? does he want to have children?" julia asked playfully and grinned knowingly to olive.

"i would never talk about such things with a man, julia una blythe!" claire said indignantly, her eyes being wider than usual.

"why ever not?" olive asked her curiously.

"there are some topics which girl shouldn't talk about with a man. that's what my grandmama taught me and i'll obey everything she says." claire replied sternly.

"do you think that your relationship with him is something serious?" julia asked her suddenly.

claire shrugged "i don't know. half of me hopes that 'yes', the other that 'no'… i don't know myself." she shook her head.

"and are you in love with him?" olive asked her with a raised

ow.

claire looked down, trying to hide her red cheeks and a smile on her lips "i think… i am. yes, i am in love with him." she said eventually in a voice which sounded as if she just discovered something extraordinary.

olive opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the knock on the door "come in!" she said loudly.

the door opened and mrs ashby entered the girls' room "i just wanted to tell you something nurse blythe." she began in her usual cold manner.

"yes, matron?" julia stood up quickly and felt how her heart began racing with the thought that maybe there's a long-distance call or a short telegram from p.e.i or the front.

"me and the head nurse, mrs lowny, allow you to go on a three weeks leave beginning 15th of december." mrs ashby declared, crossing her arms.

julia gasped and jumped under the wave of happiness which drifted over herwhole body "oh, thank you matron! thank you so so much! you don't know how happy i am in this very moment!" she shouted and started shaking mrs ashby's hand in gratitude, almost forbidding herself to kiss her cheeks.

however mrs ashby took her hand away immediately and scanned julia from head to toe "yes i do know, nurse blythe. i have eyes and i definitely have ears." she said and with that she exited the room.

dear sheba,

we are all unbelievebly happy that you will spend your christmas with us again! mum, dad and cee jumped from their seats when they read your letter and i found myself not being able to do anything else but to run and write to you. i can't wait to see you, dear sister o'mine! don't you think you will be able to escape my arms throughout those two weeks you'll be back!

and you will meet little jackie! and i will be able to hear your voice again! and you will sing "silent night, holy night" for all of us again! oh, i really think i will go mad until i'll see you at the train station in a three weeks time.

i have to tell you something, dear sister. two days ago i told our family that i will enlist after the new years eve like i told you i wanted to, two months ago. this decision was very hard to make, i assure you. but i did decide and i feel good with it for i feel that it is my duty i have to fulfil. i can almost swear that a massive gulp which was in my throat for a long time, disappeared entirely. i will enlist to the lfc like merry, jake and marshall did with hope that i will end up being in the trenches with them.

father took my news well, mother cried for a bit but then also said that she agrees on my going, and little cee, well you know our sister, she couldn't stop hugging me for the rest of the afternoon. the others also took it well, i think. blythe was the only one who showed me that he didn't like my news at all. he asked me if i know what i am doing and i replied that of course i know. and it's true, i know what i'm doing and what i'll do; merry wrote me a quite long letter describing exactly what he does day after day and so i think that i am partialy aware of what awaits me.

lily was very sad but at the same time she was very understanding. and that is the other reason she will come from kingsport to glen for christmas, so that she can see me off after the new years eve. i am going to propose to her next saturday. i'll catch my train in the morning and i will return in the evening. i'm getting more and more nervous, i do hope she will say "yes"!

i have to go to my other lesson now.

i'll see you soon then, dear sister!

always yours,

walter blythe

three days before julia's journey to p.e.i., the telegram from walter came with nothing but the jolly news: "lily said "yes". you'll meet her soon. - w.b.". "i knew she would say "yes"!" julia thought to herself "oh how glad i am that at least my

other didn't experience the heartache i carry in my soul for almost two years!"

and with this she went towards her suitcase which got quite dusty while lying under her bed for a year and a half. she opened it and with a happy sigh, she finally felt that she was going home.