Margaret Houlihan got 3 letters that day. The first was from her father, describing his adventures as a defense contractor. He travelled a lot, so the letters tended to focus on that part of things. Someone had taken a picture of him by the Leaning Tower Pisa – looked like he was getting some sun, so that was good to see.

The second letter was from her old nursing school friend, Carolyn, who'd gotten a job in Columbus, Ohio and was still working there – promoted to Head Nurse, too! Carolyn's husband, Dan, had gotten a promotion at the insurance firm. Their 3 children were 5, 8 and 12 respectively, and all 3 girls photographed well. Also, Carolyn talked about the continuing problems they were having with their house. They needed new flooring. Sounded like they'd seen 3 different places and couldn't agree on the floor. Dan would have to "give" on this one, Carolyn noted, since he'd gotten a boat the year before.

Margaret liked to see who was writing, so she always checked the return address before opening her mail. She liked knowing what to expect from friends and family. People who wrote frequently would get into "patterns" – some good, some not so good. So, she wanted to be prepared for "bad news" letters she might get, like from her Uncle Mike, a man who started business after business, only to see each fail.

The return address for the 3rd letter was from Frank Burns, in New York? Maybe he was there on a trip, and didn't want his wife to know he'd sent the letter. Frank Burns tried to be a big man in Fort Wayne, with very mixed results. If he was trying to be a "big man" in New York City, he was in way over his head.

She'd never expected to hear from Frank after he'd left the 4077th. He'd gone crazy when she went on her honeymoon, then got promoted and was supposed to be in Ft. Wayne. Margaret had grown a lot in a short time. Marriage and Divorce almost hand in hand. When she thought of Frank Burns, she remembered mostly his immaturity and short temper. Once she'd gotten engaged, Frank tried and tried to rekindle the romance. On the other hand, they were very close for a time – it just felt like another lifetime.

Not ready to read the letter, she decided. Not now.

3 in the afternoon on another quiet day. No wounded had come in for 3 days and only a handful remained in Post Op. Too early for the mess tent.

Margaret felt the need to get outside, even just to walk around camp.

She liked to stop by the nurses' tent. Since she'd come to understand that they wanted to get along with her as much as she did, she'd made friends there.

No need to discuss the letter.

But, being around other women would be good right now. Thus, Margaret walked the short distance to the tent.

She knocked, and was welcomed in.

Able and Cooper were there. Killing time by re-reading magazines.

"Major," Able said, "You want a lousy cup of coffee?"

"This is the best place to go for the worst coffee," Margaret smiled.

"Glad you could make it," said Cooper as she looked up from her magazine.

So was Margaret.