A/N: I'm so sorry about the lack of updates recently. This chapter has taken me unbelievably long to write…and it didn't end the way I wanted it to! (nor did it focus on the character I planned it to) I'll now have to devote the next chapter to the scene I meant to put in this one. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! To those who have been watching this story since its creation, thank you for 'keeping faith'.

Chapter 7 – A Bend in the Road

Jem and Jerry did not come back that night, and the Glen buzzed over the fact that two of its inhabitants would be soldiers soon; but even in the light of such exciting events, life had to go on. The manse ran out of potatoes two days later and Di, who was paying Faith and Nan a visit, offered to run down to Carter Flagg's store and get some.

Faith went with her and the two girls walked slowly down the Glen streets, saying little. Neither knew what was happening in Charlottetown; only once had Jem been able to get through on the phone, and then he and Dr. Blythe had talked for a brief three minutes before he had to go. "They're undergoing medical checks," was all the information Dr. Blythe could give.

Life in the Glen was quickly changing. People who had before never been interested in what went on in the next town, much less in Europe, now pored over the newspapers with a diligence that could put Redmond's finest students to shame. Old women forgot the price of eggs and criticized the Kaiser with all the wisdom of military critics. Plans were underway for a Red Cross, and Dr. Blythe and Mr. Meredith were in talks over organizing a men's Patriotic Society. Old Abner Flagg, who had never taken interest in anyone or anything outside of himself ever since he turned sixty and became rheumatic, was said to be thinking very hard about joining. People were saying that Mrs. Jim Howard was holding back her husband one day from enlisting, then encouraging him to enlist the next.

"Isn't it strange how a few days can make so much difference?" Di observed as they strolled down a longer route, intent on making the most of their walk.

Faith nodded, half-entranced by the beauty around them. The Glen was always very lovely; it was even lovelier today, with enchanting, perfumed breezes kissing the heads of blood red poppies. Just beyond they could see the blue, sun-dappled harbour with its little foamy, white-crested waves. She pictured, for a moment, the grey streets in Charlottetown filled with young men jostling to enlist, then put the image away.

Their route took them near the train station, and as they passed down a small whimsical path towards it, Di suddenly stopped. "Faith, look," she said, stunned.

Faith stopped and looked accordingly. She saw two tall young men making their way towards them, their faces swathed in smiles under khaki caps, and barely recognized these two khaki-clad figures. Then she gasped and dropped her purse in the shock. "Jem! Jerry!"

"Faith, Di," cried Jerry gaily as they came closer. "Don't we look awe-inspiring? How do you like my new threads?"

"When did you arrive?" Di cried almost at the same time. "Why didn't you send any word of your coming?"

"You've been away for two days and they've made you into a soldier?" Faith asked incredulously.

"More or less," Jerry grinned. "We're sorry we didn't send any word, but it was pandemonium over there and we tried the telephone lines six times before we gave up. Feast your eyes on Jem; you're looking at the heart's darling of all the nurses in Charlottetown. The way they flocked to him was scandalous, as Mrs. Alec Davis would say."

Jem raised an eyebrow playfully. "I won't have you telling tales of me," he said. "Where are the two of you headed to?"

"Carter Flagg's store for potatoes," Di said, laughing a little at the practicality of their mission. "I guess both of you had better go back home first; your parents have been worried sick about you."

"You're right," said Jerry. "Much as I would like to accompany you on your quest for potatoes, duty comes first. So long then; we'll meet soon." He grinned again, returned Faith's purse, kissed both their cheeks and went off.

Jem followed his example, but as he kissed Faith's cheek he whispered in her ear, "Meet me at Rainbow Valley tonight." Then the both of them were gone down the road to the Glen, laughing heartily over some joke that only they could understand.

Their return did cause a stir, and when Faith and Di returned to the manse they found Jerry sitting the midst of a crowd of people and relating his Charlottetown experiences. There had been tons of boys over there, all vying to join up, and about a dozen medical checkups that they had to undergo. Beds were simply bunks in an old dingy room, and the pillow, according to him, was as hard as a rock. None of them slept a wink; Jem and some other chap passed the night playing checkers and he played chess with someone else. Then they'd been issued their khaki uniforms and told to go home; when the time came for them to leave for the Valcartier training camp, they would be summoned.

"Did they say you'll get a piece of the fighting?" Ritchie Warren wanted to know.

"We didn't meet anyone who had the authority to tell us that," said Jerry. "But we believe we will!"

Murmurs of appreciation greeted this declaration. "Did you handle any weapons?" asked James Elliot, his eyes wide with interest.

"No, not yet," said Jerry a touch reluctantly. "There were only checkups. But when they call us to Valcartier, we'll definitely learn to handle weapons."

"Valcartier?" Di asked.

"Training camp," Jerry answered. "They're going to make civilians into proper soldiers. We can't go marching off to camp without knowing how to fire a gun or throw a grenade!"

"Oh," said Ritchie enviously, and Jerry looked at him sympathetically. Everyone knew that Ritchie would have been on the train bound for Charlottetown with Jem and Jerry if his mother hadn't forbidden him to go. Mrs. Warren had spent that night at Mrs. Alec Davis', discussing vehemently all the reasons on earth why young boys should not be allowed into this madness and why they should stay at home like sensible sons and study so they could enter college the following year. Ritchie hadn't agreed with those sentiments, but Mrs. Warren's word was law in her household and no one dared trifle.

"Just imagine," said Bertie Shakespeare Drew. "A month later you might be firing a rifle and blowing up haystacks!"

"I think that is adorable," said Irene Howard, making eyes at Jerry. "And I simply love uniforms. Will you be wearing that till they call you up, Jerry?"

"Of course not," laughed Jerry. "But I'll definitely be wearing it when they call me – I don't think I can walk into training camp in civilian clothes!"

"You lucky chap," said Ned Jensen with jealousy punctuating every syllable. His wife, Lisbeth, smiled at him, but she didn't look too happy. Few wives wanted their husbands gallivanting – to quote Mrs. Alec Davis – off to war when there were two baby boys at home and a farm to tend.

Mrs. Meredith appeared at the door of the kitchen. "Faith," she said, "where are the potatoes?"

"Oh!" Faith jumped up. "I'll put them in the cellar now."

Di followed her into the cellar, her eyebrows creased. "Isn't it awful?" she said with a little shudder. "I can't imagine how they can be so excited about it. Nan was in such a state the night they left – I've never seen her cry so."

Faith settled the sack next to a box of apples before replying. "It's not so bad…yet."

When they went back upstairs, they found Nan there – a Nan of red eyes and pale cheeks, who barely smiled when Faith greeted her. A few of the visitors had drifted off but there was still a good-sized group there, interrogating Jerry and threshing out every detail of the war news.

"The same thing is happening at Ingleside," said Nan when they approached her. "I thought I might find some relief here, but…" she glanced at the eagerly chattering group. "I suppose not."

"Sometimes I wonder whether we're the only ones worried about this," said Di wistfully. "Nobody else seems to be taking the war very seriously. Perhaps we've lived our lives too much in comfort to understand what danger means. Everything has always seemed so far away from us – who would want to touch harmless little Glen? – but now it seems so horribly near and nobody cares."

"Nobody will care until something really near happens," said Faith thoughtfully. "But no…" she shook her golden head. "I hope that will never happen."

The visitors stayed until dinnertime, when Mrs. Meredith, with all the graciousness of a minister's wife, invited all of them to stay for the meal. Most of them declined, but the Jensens accepted the invitation gladly. Everyone knew that Lisbeth Jensen often wearied of the endless rounds of household chores she had to do, and always looked forward to any excuse to get away from them.

"I'll stay too, thank you very much," said Nan.

"I won't," said Di. "I should get back to Ingleside. Have a good dinner, folks."

While Jerry and Ned left to lure Carl away from his ants, Lisbeth turned to Nan and Faith. "I can't help hoping that the war will be over soon," she sighed. "I feel so guilty keeping Ned away when I know he wants so badly to enlist – but if he goes, whatever shall I do?"

"For king and country, Lisbeth," said Nan with a humourless smile.

"I think Ned has as much duty to the boys and me as he has to king and country," said Lisbeth defiantly. "Oh, I sound horrible, I know, and I should not say such things, but it's true!"

Dinner was a very cheerful affair despite the girls' relative silence. Ned, Jerry, Carl and Mr. Meredith talked lingeringly and avidly over the war and Jerry's experiences in Charlottetown. Even more anecdotes spilled out – how this boy had misread his chart and cried all night thinking he would surely be rejected and how that chap wrote down the time for his check wrongly and undressed himself two hours early. Even though Faith listened and laughed at the funny parts, Nan longed for the meal to end. She had a sudden, crazy urge – so crazy that she wondered at her own sanity – to take Jerry and keep him away, out of sight, where neither the world nor the war could take him away.

She watched as Jerry's eyes lit up whenever he laughed, watched the careless grace in which he handled his utensils while he chatted gaily to them, watched the way a lock of dark hair would fall over his eyes whenever he moved his head to the left…loved every gesture, every movement, with such an aching tenderness that she thought she would surely go mad if the meal didn't end soon. She wasn't like Faith; couldn't be like Faith – the way Faith laughed and talked was positively inhuman.

Finally…thank God…it was over. Ned and Lisbeth were getting to their feet, thanking the Merediths for their hospitality. Faith was looking at the clock. Carl was examining a new beetle he'd kept secreted in his pocket the entire meal. Una was preparing to clear away the dishes. Nan caught Jerry's eye in a bid for his attention. "Do you have time?" she mouthed.

She wanted so much for him to say yes. To nod, smile, bring her away someplace where no eyes could look at them. Ease some of the fears in her heart; assure her that nothing serious would ever come out of going away to train for a war.

But he shook his head. Gave her a smile, but not the type she wanted. "I have to talk to my father," he mouthed back.

Of course he would want to talk to his father, especially on a night like this; Mr. Meredith's eyes had been on his eldest son's face all evening and Nan knew only too well how much the Merediths adored their father. No matter how much they loved others, their first priority was their father.

Still, she couldn't help feeling a certain sort of bitterness overtaking her. "I'll be going now," she said shortly, glaring at Jerry, wanting to invoke some sort of reaction from him, before realizing that she had rudely interrupted Lisbeth in the middle of a sentence.

"I'll walk part of the way with you," said Faith, looking at Nan with perhaps more understanding than the latter would have liked.

"It's been a very enjoyable evening," said Lisbeth. "Thank you all again."

"Good night, dear," said Mrs. Meredith. "Come as frequently as you can."

As she walked out of the manse with Faith and the Jensens, Nan couldn't help but notice how Lisbeth's hand curled over Ned's arm, unconsciously and lovingly, and wondered, with a little pang, whether she and Jerry would ever reach that level of intimacy.