Chapter XXVII

Dear Juliet,

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you and Blythe are engaged! To each other! This is just the craziest thing I have ever heard in my life! I congratulate you both of course, don't get me wrong, I couldn't be any happier really, I love you both so much and just wish you all of the happiness in the world. I have never thought that you two will eventually end up together, and apparently neither did our family. We all thought that, after all, Blythe will marry Cornelia and you would find yourself a handsome soldier somewhere in this Rouen of yours.

But I'm glad that you two love each other as deeply as you wrote you do. I can't even think about Blythe not being able to walk again, it's impossible I'm telling you, he's so happy (he wrote me a long letter, you know) I'm sure that he will stand up from his wheelchair and take you in his loving arms!

Sheba, when your parents told us the news from the telegram that you sent, your Mother trembled to hold back her tears, she knew how much it meant to you, and your Father's voice was so moving I got goose bumps. Aunt Rilla said: "My Blythe? A husband to Jem's-girl… Why didn't I think of ot earlier?" and everyone laughed of course. Grandpa Meredith felt better again (you know he still feels quite weak after his long illness) and he laughed with us. Grandmother Blythe had a "sense of dreaminess" as you call it, all day that day. Even my little Jackie kept asking me: "Who's getting married, Mummy?".

Well, as you probably noticed by now, I am positively thrilled for you and Blythe, of course. I always thought you two were meant for each other and this only proves me right, doesn't it? Anyway, dearest of all Bathsheba, I wish you a very happy New Year of 1945, and hopefully it will bring you joy, happiness and the shining wedding bells.

I have to go now and help Mother with the cooking.

Take care darling,

Always yours,

Anna Rosemary Richardson (your old Rose)

P.S. You ask me about my John; he is perfectly fine, thank you. And he told me in his last letter that he thinks that the war is going to an end. We all hope so, and we all pray every night for this to happen.

Dear Julia,

You've probably heard it millions of times now, but I will say it anyway; Congratulations on your engagement with Blythe! I can't believe that you two will really be married, I won't say that I never failed in hoping that you will especially after so many years of you almost crying out for him to be heard. I am really, really glad and I wish you all the best in the world, especially because it's the very first day of New Year already. And New Years' are for wishing each other things, aren't they?

I have some news to tell you. Very happy news to be precise; Lewis and I are expecting our first baby. Yes, I am pregnant and couldn't feel more wonderful about it. Lewis is simply over the moon and can't stop talking about it. Grandmama is pleased, at last, and even made herself to congratulate us. I am due in July this year, and I already bought a sweet little cot for my baby, Lewis thinks that I'm "positively impossible" by buying it so quickly but I can't resist it (you'll know it soon enough!).

Well, I'm afraid it's the last thing I have to tell you, and besides I really do have to get back to preparing dinner for Lewis, he will be home in an hour.

I do hope that you're still safe out there, near the Rouen?

Make sure to write to me as often as you possibly can.

Yours,

Claire Anderson

The war was going slowly to an end and everyone in the small military camp in Rouen could feel it and sense it. Julia and Olive were now nursing with wide smiles on their faces, counting days till the end of each month, thinking that the war could end at anytime, and so they could start the countdown.

Niall still had lots to do around the camp but was still spending every evening together with Julia and Olive. Many years later they would all reflect on the first months of 1945 thinking of them as "the time of their lives" because of their joking, singing and dancing together day by day, welcoming each day with excitement and joy, like they always did but before the war started.

"Do you think that there really is a difference between the French girls and the English girls?" Olive asked on one warm afternoon in the first days of February.

"What do you mean?" Julia asked her curiously.

"I mean that there are so many people talking about the French girls and how beautiful they are. Do you really think that there's a difference?" she asked looking at both Julia and Niall sitting opposite to her.

Julia and Niall chuckled together "I don't think there is." Julia said honestly.

"Well, I heard that the French girls have got different facial features, or whatever you call them these days." Niall said and smiled at the two of his friends.

Olive giggled "Yes, that's what I think. But do you think they are prettier than us, the English girls?" Olive asked Niall pointing at her and Julia meaningfully.

"Why are you asking me?" he asked her, trying to hide his smile.

"Because you're a man." Olive rolled her eyes, making both of her friends laugh again.

"In my opinion, if the girl is beautiful, there's no difference whether she is English or French or Spanish." he replied.

"Just like a man." Julia and Olive said in the same moment and laughed together, looking how Niall's cheeks turned positively pink. Before they knew it, the famous all over their camp, Mrs Tate appeared next to their table in the canteen with a small envelope in her hand.

"Telegram for you, Nurse Blythe." she said sternly and handed her the telegram slowly.

The smile from Julia's face was gone and her eyes were focused only on the small peace of paper she took from Mrs Tate's hand. She gulped, and could feel the eyes of Olive, Niall and Mrs Tate looking straight at her, to see whether the news are good or bad. Julia opened up the telegram and read it outloud: "There was a gas-shell explosion in our trench. I'm fine but Merry is blinded. - Jake."

Olive gasped, Niall put his hand on Julia's shaking shoulder and Mrs Tate whispered: "At least he's alive, dear."

"But he can't see. And he never will." she whispered back.

Dearest sister,

I asked the nurse to write this letter to you, while I will be telling her exactly what to write. Don't worry about me, Jules. It is hard to get used to not being able to see anything for the rest of your life again, but I am so enormously happy that I don't have to go back to the trenches again! I think that I'm coping with my blindness just fine, and even the nurses think that I am too happy with the knowledge that I'm not ever going to see again.

At least, the good thing is that I won't ever see how my face will look like with all its wrinkles when I'll be old and grumpy. The only thing I actually am concerned about is that I'm not sure what I will do with myself when I come back home. I want to get married, believe it or not, and I do want to work on a farm but how can I do that when I can't see if I'm even holding the right thing in my hand? Father sent me a letter and he suggested working with poeple and talking to them, solving their problems, maybe even about farming, something of a 'manager' as he called it, and I would love to try that but… What if it won't work?

Mother says that there's no pressure on me and she is waiting impatiently to see me back at home. The doctor here said that when my burns, which I got on my face, will get better and I will be quite used to being blinded (if I ever will be 'used' to a thing like that), I will be able to go back home, and he thinks it will be somewhere around early July.

I didn't even get the chance to congratulate you and Blythe on getting engaged. I'm thrilled to bits that you finally found a way to one another (I told you this, didn't I?). And I wish you two all the best out there in the world, you dear sister.

Thank you, Sheba, for keeping your spirits up for me, and for your lovely letter which brought tears into my unseeing eyes.

Take care, sweets,

Your loving brother,

Commandant Meredith Blythe

On one evening, in the middle of February, Julia had just finished her duty and was making her way with Olive and Niall towards the canteen, talking about Merry's last letter to Julia. She was glad that Merry didn't take his blindness as bad as he could have. She knew that he would think of something for a way of making money for himself, and maybe somewhere in the future, for his own family. Merry was always so strong, and so carefree, Julia thought, but what if he won't be like that anymore? What if the war really touched and changed everyone who had seen its biggest secrets which weren't known to everyone around the world?

Julia didn't have much time to think more about those frustrating questions as suddenly, from behind, she heard the most delightful voice which she would recognise even if she would become entirely deaf. "Is this my Nurse Julia Una Blythe?" a fammiliar laughing voice said. Julia's eyes widened and she turned around with a huge smile on her face, not quite believeing in the voice she just heard.

"Oh, Blythe!" Julia gasped and ran towards the man with black curls, sitting in the wheelchair with smiling grey eyes.

"I knew it was you!" he said and kissed Julia's lips once again.

"What are you doing here?" Julia asked him happily "You are meant to be leaving for Canada today!"

"That's true." he replied "And that's why I came here to say some sweet goodbyes to you, my Sheba." he grinned at her.

"Oh, I'm so happy that you did, Blythe!" Julia exclaimed and just then she realised that Olive and Niall were waiting for her to be introduced to her fiancee "Oh! I'm sorry! This is my Blythe, and these two are my Olive and best chum Niall." she said warmly.

Olive shook Blythe's hand energetically "We meet, at last!" she said.

"Eventually!" Blythe replied and chuckled at the way Olive shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet the man who could win over Julia's heart." Niall said with a funny smirk crossing his face.

"Oh, yes, I do get the joke, and I must agree with you on that." Blythe said and squeezed Julia's hand knowingly. Both men smiled at heach other, as the people who know the race of Joseph do.

"Well, we'll leave you two love-birds alone, then." Olive said with a smile "No objections Bath, thank you very much! We will meet again, Mr Ford, I am sure about that!" she bowed in front of them and the four of them laughed together.

"We sure will." Blythe agreed and waved to Niall and Olive as they walked away towards the canteen.

"How are you, dear Blythe?" Julia asked him and sat on his knees, ready to hear his sweet voice in her ears again.

"Oh, everything is just fine." he said joyfully and then looked in her eyes more seriously "I'm more concerned about how your brother, Merry, is." he said slowly, with a hint of heartbreak reflecting in his eyes.

Julia's smile came off her face at once, and she sighed heavily "He says that he's fine but it's quite hard to believe it, to be honest. The night when I learned the news, I simply couldn't sleep at all." she said and put a hand on her forehead, trying to hold back her tears.

Blythe drew her closer and she put her head against his chest "If he's fine now, then he will be fine. And I will make sure of it as soon as he comes back home." he said and grinned to Julia who grinned back, feeling that Blythe must be right about that.

She nodded gently and put her hand on his chin tenderly, looking in his eyes "Yes, and then…" Julia gasped suddenly and sat straight up "Did you hear the news?" she asked him with shining eyes.

"I did." Blythe smiled at her "Isn't it wonderful that Walt's little Julienne and Cilia's Knox were born on the same day?" he said.

"Oh," she gasped again "-it's so thrilling! And Walt named his daughter for me… I feel so very honoured." her cheeks flushed with red and she laughed.

"I completely agree with Walt on doing so, not mentioning that Julienne is a very elegant name itself." he said and poked Julia in the arm playfully.

She grinned at him "Maybe little Julienne and Knox will be made for each other one day?" she asked dreamily.

"I hope so, but," Blythe replied "-they will never be as perfect for each other as we are right now, my darling." and with that he kissed the woman of his dreams with passion and most importantly… love.

Julia said her farewells to Blythe two hours later, promising him that she would write to him whenever she would be able to and Blythe promising that he will do the same. They parted with no tears or sadness but with smiles on their faces and sweet dreams beggining to appear in their minds.

"Julia, when are you two going to get married?" Olive asked her when the two of them were getting ready to go to sleep.

Julia smiled at her wonderingly "As soon as the war will end." she replied "Blythe said today that as soon as he will be back in Canada, he will search for a job as an English Literature Professor and of course, for a home for us." she grinned at the very thought of the house that both she and Blythe would be living in, together.

"That's so romantic!" Olive gasped and sighed happily "I will come to your wedding, you know. Whether you like it or not!" she said, pretending to be serious.

"You better be!" Julia said in the same tone as her "Someone will have to eat all the food my family is going to prepare!" and the two of them ended up talking till the clock stroked midnight.