New Jersey, January, 1942.
The wet snow splattered against the windows of the Russo family home where Evelyn and three of her brothers sat around the wireless in the living room. Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese a few weeks earlier but reports of the disaster were still coming in. The front door slammed with the wind as their mother, Martha and her youngest daughter, Penny came in from their morning shopping trip.
"Turn that damn radio off; you'll scare your grandmother." Martha demanded, hanging her coat on the back of a chair near the blazing fireplace so it could dry.
"Don't mind me, I'm napping." Irene, best known as Gran, wheezed from her fairly permanent spot on the sofa, eyes closed, her knitting resting in her lap.
Evelyn sighed and turned the volume down on the radio and followed her mother into the kitchen to help put groceries away. Her brothers huddled even closer around the now whispering device. Martha was emptying the brown paper bags and handing the contents to Penny, who piled them on the table.
"Evelyn, clear the table, will you." Martha said without turning around.
Evelyn pulled a face at her mother's back, which made Penny snicker, and grabbed the boxes of crackers off the table to bring to the pantry.
"Margaret and her boys will be over for dinner, but John is working this evening. It's a shame, too, because I planned to make his favorite." Martha said to no one in particular, taking her roasting pan out from underneath the sink.
Evelyn groaned inwardly and marched back to the table for more groceries. Not only would she have to deal with her older sister whom she'd never gotten along with, but she'd have to listen to her family praise her sister for having two perfect boys all night and she'd have to eat the sickly sweet ham her brother in law favored so much.
"Why is Margie coming over tonight? It's not Sunday." Penny asked, leaning against the ice box.
"Well, my dear, your big brothers are going away for a while, so we are having a party for them." Martha explained as gently as she could to the seven year old, tucking a stray curl behind the child's ear.
"You mean they're going to war." Penny stated.
Martha turned to glare at Evelyn. Evelyn rubbed a finger against a water ring left on the kitchen counter, avoiding her mother's eyes.
"Penny, why don't you go upstairs and play with Lucy," Martha suggested.
Penny nodded and skipped away up the stairs. When she had gone, Martha rounded on Evelyn.
"Why did you have to go and tell her there was a war on? Are you trying to terrify her?"
"She asked what was going on; why you have those stars hanging in the window and why the boys were talking about uniforms and Japs and Krauts, so I told her. She'd have found out anyways." Evelyn explained, looking her mother in the eyes this time, leaning against the opposite counter with her arms folded.
Martha huffed and turned to the cupboard, grabbing various spices. Seeing as how the conversation was over, Evelyn pushed off from the counter and left the kitchen.
"I have to go to work." She muttered as she passed her mother. Martha stayed silent.
Evelyn made her way up to the room she shared with Penny to change into her nursing uniform. Penny was sitting on her bed, with Lucy the cat, waiting for Evelyn.
"Did I get you in trouble?" She asked in a quiet voice once Evelyn had closed the door.
"No, you didn't. You know how she is; always has to be mad about something or other." Evelyn reassured her little sister, kissing her on top of the head as she walked to her own bed where her white uniform was laid out. "Did you put this out for me?"
Penny nodded.
"Thanks, doll." Evelyn changed quickly, throwing the green dress she had worn across her bed, and pinned her dark hair into a bun at the base of her skull. She grabbed her small nurse's hat and kissed Penny on the cheek before going back downstairs to put on her coat and scarf.
The walk from the Russo house to Saint Francis' Hospital was not a very long one, but the wet driving snow made it a bit difficult. Evelyn found herself slipping a few times on the icy sidewalk, and had to walk with her eyes squeezed nearly shut to keep the snowflakes from blinding her, but she managed to get to the hospital with five minutes before her shift officially started.
Evelyn's shift partner, Lena Manning, was waiting at the hospital entrance with a mug of coffee in each hand
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it." Lena said as Evelyn took the proffered coffee and warmed her hands around the mug.
"Nothing can keep me from you." Evelyn joked, and took a sip.
The two nurses walked briskly to the locker room where Evelyn hung up her sodden coat and quickly drank her coffee, before heading back to the front desk to pick up their patient charts.
"Mr Dunham's been asking for you, Evie." Viola, the receptionist said as Evelyn readjusted her hat.
"Well, I'll pop in during my rounds." She replied and headed off down the hall to check on her first patient.
Just after two, Evelyn met up with Lena and the two went down to the cafeteria for lunch; potato soup, buttered bread and more coffee. They sat together by a window and began to eat. Evelyn shivered as the warm soup filled her belly.
"That good, huh?" Lena snorted, lifting her spoon to her mouth.
"Nah, I'm just cold." Evelyn replied, rubbing her upper arms.
"We can move away from the window if you want." Lena said, moving to grab her tray.
"No it's fine; we'll be done soon anyways." Evelyn said, putting her hand out to stop Lena.
Lena settled back down and the pair began eating again.
"How's your mother?" Lena could barely stop herself from smirking.
"Awful as always." Evelyn said bitterly, dropping her spoon into her empty bowl. She grabbed her bread and began tearing off chunks, dipping them into her coffee before eating them.
Lena didn't bother trying to hide her laughter.
"Why don't you just tell that old bat off already? I'd pay good money to see you do that."
"What's the point? She'd just walk away as if I wasn't talking to her. She's got six other kids she likes much better than me, so it doesn't matter to her if one, especially me, don't like her back." Evelyn explained, taking two cigarettes from her pocket.
The murmuring in the cafeteria came to an abrupt hush as the head surgeon, Doctor Carrigan, entered, followed by five men, all in military uniforms. Doctor Carrigan cleared his throat, fiddled with his glasses and straightened his white coat before stepping forward to address the cafeteria.
"Ladies…and gents, this here is Major Hartley and he wants to talk to you about…something…" Carrigan stuttered before awkwardly shuffling to the side for Major Hartley to take his place.
"Ladies," Hartley began in a booming voice, causing many nurses to jump in their seats "as many of you may know, the United States is at war. The Marine Corps needs nurses to keep her fighting men fit and healthy to bring our great nation to victory. At this time, I would like to ask for volunteers."
The room was silent; the only sound coming from the kitchen in the back. Evelyn turned to look at Lena who was already grinning slyly at her. Evelyn nodded.
"Now don't all start at once!" Hartley said jokingly, though the vein in his forehead was visibly pulsing.
Evelyn and Lena slowly raised their hands.