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-7-
Nurse training is not what I'd call "easy".
You change a lot of bed pans and give sponge baths to people. Serve food on trays. Soothe agitated relatives.
Then you learn how to bandage and care for small wounds.
It gets more interesting from there.
The only part I don't like about my new occupation is the uniform. It's starched and heavy, a weight I have to get accustomed to.
My colleagues are mostly nice.
We all help each other.
Some of the doctors are pigs, so we tend to travel in packs whenever we can.
One day, while taking care of an elderly man, I realize I have what can be counted as friends again. It's a strange feeling.
Then Walt brings me home from work one day.
"You're going to volunteer to do something stupid, aren't you?" I ask, watching the people passing us by.
He sighs, shoulders dropping a bit. "How did you know?"
I raise an eyebrow at him. "I'm omniscient. All women are. Oh no, now you know our deepest, darkest secret," I gasp, deadpan.
He smiles, tugging me under his shoulder. "Never change, dolly."
"Seriously, Walt. Don't do something I have to kill you for."
He squeezes my bony shoulder. "I would never even think of it."
I nod decisively. "Good. Or I'll hunt you down till the ends of the earth to give you the lecture of a lifetime."
Walt grins. "That's why you're my favorite."
"You're my favorite too, Mister College Graduate."
"I just know a little something about how to operate a business. You know how to put people back together, Miss Nurse. Your skills will be infinitely more useful, the way I see it."
He tugs at one of the curls that got loose from my hairpins.
"Never mind that I know for a fact that you should have been allowed to go too."
"I love you."
"And I you," he whispers, smiling. Pleased with himself and the world.
Just as we reach the entrance to our parents' apartment building, I turn to him.
"Promise to write when you can."
He nods.
Then we climb the stairs, all signs of joy wiped from our faces.
Father is home.