Battle Hymns (20 page)

Charlotte exhaled in relief. She took a slip of paper
and a pen from her pocketbook and wrote down her contact
information. “These are my telephone numbers. The first is my
dormitory and the second is my parents’ home.” She pressed the
paper into his hand, stood onto her tiptoes, and lightly kissed him
on the cheek. “Please call me. I’ll show you some of my favorite
spots in D.C.”

July 1943

Twenty-Six

T
wo blocks away from the
Macy’s in downtown Washington, D.C., the Sunday lunch rush ended at
a popular pharmacy. Charlotte took a seat at the counter and
ordered a Coca-Cola. The young soda jerk slid a bottle toward her.
“Hot outside?”

She nodded. “Sure is. It feels much better in
here.”

“Yeah. We try to keep the fans going,” the kid
replied.

Rachel plopped onto the stool next to Charlotte and
placed her pocketbook and a folded newspaper on the counter. “Sorry
I’m late.” She looked at the soda jerk. “Hi, may I have a glass of
lemonade?”

As Rachel waited for her drink, Charlotte studied
her. She was dolled up more than she’d ever been at the hospital.
Her lips were painted a dark pink, she wore high heels, and her
hair was perfectly styled. Charlotte hadn’t seen her since Rachel
quit volunteering at the Army Medical Center in April. Then on
Saturday morning, Rachel called Charlotte out of the blue and
suggested they meet at the pharmacy before her shift at Macy’s.

Rachel took a sip of her lemonade. “How are you? You
look good. Are you still volunteering at the AMC?”

“I’m doing pretty well,” Charlotte replied. “I’m
still volunteering at the AMC. I was there yesterday afternoon.
It’s gotten busy. All the beds are full.”

“I bet . . . Any gossip I’ve missed
out on?”

“I know nothing.”

“You were always bad at that,” Rachel teased. “What
about Will Kendrick? Did he ever get out of there?”

Charlotte nodded. “He was discharged in May.”

“That’s good. I wonder what he’s up to now.”

“I don’t know.” Her cheeks reddened. “Now tell me,
how’s your new job?”

Rachel sighed. “Working at Macy’s is not as glamorous
as it seems. I have to deal with snooty shoppers, and standing near
the perfume counter gives me a permanent headache. Gosh, I’d rather
change bed pans.” She laughed. “Anyway, I can’t do it for much
longer, which brings me to why I asked you here.”

Rachel unfolded her newspaper, flipped to an
advertisement, and laid it in front of Charlotte.

“I’m going to do this, and I think you should join
me.”

Charlotte perused the ad. “What’s this?”

“I’ve seen it in the newspaper for the past week or
so. It’s for the Cadet Nurse Corps. Charlotte, they’ll pay you to
go to nursing school now! Plus, you get a monthly allowance. It
says they urgently need sixty-five thousand student nurses this
year. Because we qualified for the Red Cross, we’ll easily meet the
age and education requirements. If we sign up this summer, we’ll
start in September.”

“I have another year of school left.” Charlotte shook
her head. “My tuition is already paid, and I can’t leave my
roommate in a lurch.”

“You could do it next year then.” Rachel shifted in
her seat. “Listen, I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you
into doing this with me. I’m joining regardless. But I know you
love working as a nurses’ aide, and I think this is an
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You should at least give it some
thought.”

“Thanks, I will.”

Rachel pulled two nickels from her pocketbook and
placed them on the counter. “I need to skedaddle. I don’t want to
get fired before I quit. We should meet up again, maybe when I’m
not in such a hurry.”

“It was nice seeing you.” Charlotte offered Rachel
her newspaper.

She waved it away. “You keep it. I’ve read through it
already. See you later!” The door chimed as she left the
pharmacy.

Charlotte remained at the counter and read through
the Cadet Nurse Corps advertisement while she finished her soda.
Rachel was right about it being an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The government offered to pay for the tuition, fees, lodging, and
uniforms associated with nursing school, as well as offering a
living stipend of fifteen dollars a month. In return, the cadets
would be nurses in training and allow registered nurses to fulfill
their services domestically and abroad. The advertisement promised
there’d be time for dates, dancing, and even marriage within the
program.

Charlotte couldn’t think of a good reason
not
to join the Corps.

She finished her soda and left the pharmacy with the
newspaper tucked under her arm. On the bus ride home, she scanned
the front page. The bolded headline read, ALLIES INVADE SICILY. She
glanced at the date—July 11, 1943. Only yesterday, Allied troops
invaded the southern coast of Sicily, and according to the
Washington Post
, John Cartwright’s division partook in the
invasion.

As soon as she arrived home, Charlotte said a quick
hello to her mother and escaped to her father’s office to use the
telephone. She laid the newspaper on the desk. The operator
connected her to the Armstrongs’ number. After Natalie answered,
they exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes before Natalie asked
about the reason for Charlotte’s call.

“Have you read your local paper today?”

“No. Why? Should I? Did something happen?” Natalie’s
voice became muffled. “Joey, get me the paper.” She groaned into
the phone. “My brother moves at the pace of a sloth. Tell me what
happened.”

“We invaded Sicily. The article in the
Post
said John’s regiment participated in the invasion. I figured you’d
want to know, and if you already knew, I wanted to let you know you
can talk to me if you’re feeling blue.”

“What does it say?”

“
During the early morning hours of July tenth,
armed forces from the United States, Canada, and Britain invaded
the Mediterranean island of Sicily. Airborne troops in parachutes
and gliders were dropped over the island between Gela and Syracuse
just after midnight. Hundreds of ships carrying troops, weapons,
artillery, and armored vehicles landed on a one hundred and five
mile stretch of the southern coast only hours later. There were
heavy Axis defenses from the coast, but Allied forces made
significant progress inland. Last month, Sicilian air bases were
bombed to weaken Axis air forces and prevent the arrival of
reinforcements.”

Natalie sniffled. “That’s it?”

“Well, it goes on to list the U.S. involvement, and
the Ninth Division was on the list. Did you not hear anything from
John? I suppose he couldn’t tell you they were leaving Africa in
case the letter was intercepted.”

“No, he didn’t say anything.” Natalie’s voice
cracked.

“I’m sure he’s fine. He’s smart and they’ve been
trained for this.”

“So was Nick and look what happened. Oh God,
Charlotte, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” Natalie cried
into the phone.

Charlotte was proud of her ability to remain calm
over a statement that would’ve sunk her into a depression only
months ago. “It’s fine, Natalie. Take a deep breath and try to
relax. You’re right, but worrying isn’t going to help him. I wish
I’d done less of it last year.”

When their conversation resumed, Natalie sounded more
upbeat. “Tell me about your summer so far. Are you still seeing
Will?”

Charlotte folded the newspaper and pushed it away. If
Natalie didn’t want to discuss the invasion, she wouldn’t press the
subject. In fact, she welcomed the opportunity to discuss her
relationship with Will. Since their first date in May, it had been
her secret. Only Natalie knew of their connection.

“Yes, I’m still seeing Will.”

“Did he find a job?”

“He did. He works Monday through Saturday as an
aircraft mechanic. On Sundays, I’ve been showing him around the
city. We’ve visited most of the monuments and parks already. Today
we’re going to the National Museum of Natural History.”

“You sound happy.”

Charlotte smiled. “I am happy. I like him, and it’s
been great, except . . .”

“Except? You have to tell me.”

Charlotte lowered her voice to a whisper. She didn’t
want to risk her mother overhearing their conversation. “Will is a
gentleman, which is wonderful, except he won’t initiate any
affection. I guess it’s my fault for being conflicted about a
relationship with him in the beginning. But I’m not conflicted
anymore. He’s a good guy, and I find myself really attracted to
him. Anyway, I think he’s waiting for me to let him know it’s all
right.”

“And you haven’t let him know that yet?”

“No, because what if there’s a reason he hasn’t done
anything?”

“He wouldn’t keep seeing you if he didn’t like you.
Have you been alone with him at all? He’s not likely to kiss you if
you’ve only been spending time together at monuments, museums, and
other public places. See, this is when a car comes in handy,”
Natalie said.

“There hasn’t been an opportunity.”

“You’ll have to be more forward with him. You need to
flirt. I’ve seen you do it before with Nick, so I’m not sure why
you’re so hesitant to do it now.”

“I was less afraid of getting my heart broken at that
point.” Charlotte’s response sounded defensive. She cleared her
throat. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. This is exciting, actually!” Natalie
sighed. “New love . . .”

“Don’t get any ideas, Natalie.”

“I wouldn’t. But while John is gone, I’m living
vicariously though you, romantically at least. You need to keep me
updated.”

Charlotte chuckled. “I will.”

“Well, I guess you should get ready for your date.
Have fun, tell Will I said hello, and remember what I said about
flirting.”

“I’ll try. I hope you hear from John soon. I’ll call
you next week.”

Charlotte reentered the living room. While she was on
the telephone, her mother had amassed a pile of clothes in the
middle of the floor and sat on the rug, hemming and stitching the
old, worn clothes so they could be recycled and donated. “Are you
going to be home this afternoon? I need a model to make some of
these alterations,” her mother said.

Charlotte shook her head. “Sorry. I’m meeting a
friend in about an hour.”

Her mother threw the sweater back onto the mound.
“Who are you meeting?”

“Evelyn.” Charlotte retreated into the hall so her
mother couldn’t read her guilty expression. “I’ll tell her you said
hello.”

***

C
harlotte arrived at the
Smithsonian museum and spotted Will sitting on a bench outside the
entrance, his gaze locked on a distant distraction. She waved to
him as she climbed the wide, granite steps. It wasn’t until she
stood in front of him and called his name that he jumped in his
seat and noticed her presence.

She sat down next to him. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, sorry. How are you?” He smiled.

“Wonderful. It’s a beautiful day outside, and I’ve
been looking forward to seeing you.” Charlotte’s heart beat fast
and her cheeks flushed as she attempted to be more forthcoming with
her feelings. She fanned her face with her pocketbook. “It’s too
hot out here. Let’s go inside.”

“Sure.” Will stood from the bench and picked up his
cane. He only needed it when walking for an extended amount of
time, but he despised it. On one of their dates earlier in the
summer, he’d insisted on forgoing the cane on their visit to the
newly constructed Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Only an hour later he
confessed that walking was painful without the support.

Charlotte and Will entered the neoclassical building
and purchased tickets to see the exhibits. “Have you been to this
museum before?” Will asked as they strolled through the rotunda
filled with sculptures and fine art.

“My parents brought me here a few times as a kid.
It’s been quite some time since my last visit. Where would you like
to start?”

Will studied the small map they were handed at the
entrance. “I suppose we can start with the marine exhibit and work
our way around to paleontology. It looks like a good enough
route.”

They took their time meandering through the museum,
admiring the various artifacts and wondering what it would be like
to travel the world in search of exotic species. By the time they
entered the paleontology hall and surveyed the excavated dinosaur
bones, Will’s hand trembled as he put more and more pressure on the
cane.

“Let’s sit,” said Charlotte. “I feel terrible about
keeping you on your feet for so long. You should’ve said
something.”

“It’s nothing,” Will replied, though he readily
accepted her offer to take a break.

They found a bench and sat down. Charlotte took
Will’s strained hand and gently massaged it. “Is walking getting
any easier?”

“Yeah, it’s improving. Not as quickly as I’d like,
though.” Will enclosed her hand in his and brought it to his lips.
“Let’s not talk about this. Tell me about your week.”

Charlotte fought back a grin and kept her hand still.
“Let’s see . . . I talked to Natalie on the phone
earlier this afternoon. She says hello. Did you read about the
Sicily invasion this morning?”

Will nodded.

“Well, her beau, John Cartwright, was part of the
invasion. She was understandably upset about it. Oh, and do you
remember Rachel? I saw her today. She’s joining the Cadet Nurse
Corps and thinks I should sign up. The program will pay for an
accelerated program of nursing school and then place graduates in
federal hospitals. I told her I couldn’t do it this year—I want to
finish my degree—but I was thinking maybe I could join next year.
I’m pretty excited about the opportunity. What do you think?”