Hope Rising (19 page)

T
he creak of the bureau drawer opening and shutting pulled Evelyn from sleep. She couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours—she’d spent most of the night thinking about Joel’s departure today.

She opened her eyes to find Alice bolting for the door, carrying her clothes and shoes. “Alice?” Evelyn called out, rising up on one elbow.

The only response came from the solid click of the door. With a sigh, Evelyn dropped back onto the bed. She felt horrible for hurting Alice’s feelings, but her roommate refused to let her apologize. Alice was either gone when Evelyn awoke in the morning or asleep when Evelyn came in at night. If they passed each other in the hospital, she acted as if Evelyn weren’t there.

Evelyn still worried about her, but she’d observed Alice’s interactions with Sergeant Dennis and had found their outward friendship to be above reproach. She’d hoped to tell Alice so, but that seemed more and more unlikely as the strain between them dragged on.

Throwing off her blanket, Evelyn sat up and explored the bump of her stomach. It felt a little larger today than the day before. Thank goodness Joel was going to marry her in two weeks. Everything was working out well. That is, if she could get through bidding Joel good-bye today.

She dressed and ran a brush through her curls. After placing her nurse’s cap on her head, she paused to stare at herself in the bureau mirror. Her hair and eyes were the same coffee color as they’d always been, her skin the same milky tone, though slightly tanned from her time outdoors.

Other than her burgeoning stomach, she looked no different than she had three months ago when she’d met Ralph, but she felt much older inside. She was going to be a mother in less than six months. There were other changes as well—she’d lost one love and gained another, stronger one. At least she hoped her and Joel’s love would prove to be stronger.

She still wasn’t certain how much he cared for her, even after last night when they’d said good-bye in the privacy of the woods. She’d all but admitted to loving him the other day, but he hadn’t yet returned the sentiment. The reticence she’d sensed in him had not completely disappeared either, despite the adoration she felt in his kisses or the way he looked at her.

Did he truly want to marry her, or was he doing it out of obligation to Ralph? Was Joel’s desire to be a father the real reason he’d asked her to be his wife?

Evelyn’s stomach twisted with nervousness at the unanswered questions, but she was determined to put on a good face for Joel. She was scheduled to help with a surgery in one hour. Joel’s ride to the convalescent home was due to show up before then. If the vehicle arrived on time, she’d have a chance to see him one last time before he left the hospital.

Evelyn pulled on her shoes and left the room. She made her way to the dining room for breakfast, more out of habit than from being hungry. Alice wasn’t around. Evelyn suspected her roommate had either eaten quickly and left or skipped the morning meal altogether for more time with Sergeant Dennis. He would be leaving for the convalescent home, too.

Evelyn nibbled at her eggs and fried potatoes, then gave up the idea of finishing her meal. After depositing her half-empty plate in the kitchen, she exited the hospital through one of the rear entrances. Her plan was to conceal herself at the front corner of the building, where she could see Joel but wouldn’t attract the attention of anyone else.

She rounded the side of the building but stopped short when she saw Alice perched in the very spot she’d expected to wait herself. Evelyn considered moving to a different corner, but she threw out the idea. The uneasiness between her and Alice needed to end, especially since Evelyn would be leaving the hospital once she and Joel married.

Stepping softly, she walked toward Alice. Her roommate stood with her back to Evelyn, her left shoulder pressed against the stone wall.

“I thought you might be here, too,” Alice said without turning. Her voice held no anger, only resignation.

Evelyn came to a stop beside her. She could see Alice had been crying. Her roommate’s sorrow tore anew at her guilt. She understood Alice’s pain—she, too, must bid good-bye to the man she loved. But unlike Alice and Sergeant Dennis, Evelyn would see Joel again in two weeks.

“I’m sorry, Alice.” Evelyn gazed down at the grass. “I was wrong to accuse you of anything improper with Sergeant Dennis.” She licked her lips as she searched for the words that would convey her sincerity but not incriminate herself. “I was worried about you for reasons that don’t matter now. I also didn’t want you to get hurt. But I’ve watched the two of you this last week. And even though it’s clear you care very much for each other, I saw nothing improper.”

Alice turned toward her. “You mean that?”

Evelyn lifted her head and nodded. “He’s lucky to have someone as loyal and true as you. I sincerely hope things will work out for both of you once this war is—”

Her sentence was cut off by Alice’s tight hug. “I’m sorry, too, Evelyn. I never should have let my anger get the better of me.” She released Evelyn and stepped back. “I couldn’t understand how you could fault me when you were acting the same way with Corporal Campbell, but that didn’t justify what I said. I didn’t realize the two of you love each other just as much as George and I do.”

“You think Corporal Campbell is in love with me?” The question slipped from Evelyn’s lips before she could call it back.

Alice chuckled. “Don’t you think so?”

“At times, yes.” She didn’t want Alice to know how much she both feared and lived for Joel’s answer to that question.

Looping her arm through Evelyn’s, Alice gave her shoulder a playful bump. “I’m sure he does. Whenever I went walking with him, his eyes always sought you out.”

Evelyn let Alice’s words seep into her heart and give her hope.

The sound of gravel crunching beneath tires drew her notice to the front of the hospital. An ambulance shuddered to a stop, and the drivers hurried to help several wounded passengers disgorge themselves from the back. The buzz of conversation floated through the morning air.

Evelyn waited beside Alice for a glimpse of Joel. Would Louis come to see him off as well? He’d told her yesterday that he would. She let her gaze sweep the trees. Sure enough, the dark-haired boy burst from the woods and sprinted toward her.

“Did he leave yet?” Louis asked, his breathing hard from running.

Evelyn shook her head. “Any minute now.”

“Hello, Nurse Thornton.” Louis offered Alice a friendly wave. He’d come to know several of the nurses and sisters over the last few weeks.

“Hi there, Louis,” Alice said. “Did you come to see Corporal Campbell off?”

With a nod, Louis slipped his hand into Evelyn’s. She gave it a gentle squeeze. She might be losing Joel for a few weeks, but thankfully she still had Louis—at least for a little while longer.

Alice tightened her grip on Evelyn’s arm as Sister Marcelle walked to the waiting truck, followed by Joel and Sergeant Dennis. The three exchanged pleasantries, then Sergeant Dennis shot a look in their direction. He winked at Alice. She waved her free hand in farewell.

“I won’t cry; I won’t cry,” Alice whispered as the sergeant disappeared into the back of the vehicle. “We will survive this, won’t we, Evelyn?”

She didn’t answer. It was Joel’s turn to depart. Evelyn kept her gaze fastened on him as he shook Sister Marcelle’s hand and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. With slow but sure steps, he walked with his cane toward the truck. One of the drivers waited to help him inside.

Please look over. Please look over.

Evelyn held her breath. Would Joel acknowledge her or would he count last night as their good-bye? She’d asked the same question three months ago with a different soldier.

Time seemed to spin in reverse. Instead of standing outside a quiet hospital, she was standing in the noisy, crowded train station. Ralph stood on the bottom rung of the train steps with that devil-may-care grin on his face.

“I’ll see you again,” he shouted, not caring who heard. “I promise, Evelyn.”

It was the last time she ever saw him.

Panic gripped her heart, hard enough that her chest hurt. Would something happen to Joel, too? Might this be her last time seeing him? Losing Ralph had been a devastating shock. How would she go on if Joel were ripped from her life, too?

“Evelyn?” Alice nudged her in the ribs. “He’s looking at you.”

Evelyn squared her shoulders against her worry. Joel wouldn’t be fighting again for another few weeks. They would both be fine until then.

While the driver placed Joel’s cane and bag inside the truck, Joel stood watching her. She smiled, hoping the wordless gesture would convey all she felt for him. Louis waved vigorously beside her. Joel returned the boy’s wave, but he kept his gaze locked with Evelyn’s.

For one brief second it was as if they were back in the woods with no one else around. Evelyn could feel the firm press of his lips against hers, the warmth of his hand on the small of her back. The memory vanished as the driver helped Joel into the truck and dropped the canvas flap. He was gone.

Evelyn waited with Alice and Louis until the truck rumbled back down the drive and disappeared behind the trees lining the main road in front of the hospital.

“Will we see him again?” Louis asked when the three of them turned around and headed for the back lawn.

Evelyn squeezed his hand again. “I believe we will, Louis.”

She wanted to tell him she and Joel would be married in a few weeks. But that meant admitting she was leaving, and Evelyn wasn’t ready to voice that yet.

“Life is going to be mighty dull.” Alice rested her head on Evelyn’s shoulder. “Who am I going to yell at now?”

Evelyn laughed. “You are welcome to yell at me. It’s better than your silence.”

Alice lifted her head. “I know. I’m sorry, Evelyn. I don’t know what I’d do without your friendship.”

“Me, too,” she managed to say over the lump in her throat. She would miss Joel the most when she left France, but Louis and Alice would be close seconds. She pushed away her sadness and smiled at Louis. “Let’s see what job Sister Marcelle has for you today.”

She wouldn’t dwell on the fourteen days she had to endure until she saw Joel again or how she’d bear to say good-bye to everyone at St. Vincent’s when she left for good. Today she would be grateful for the absence of fear, and the knowledge she and her baby would be taken care of once Joel returned.

As the ambulance drove away from St. Vincent’s, Joel wished he could see out the back flap so he could get one more look at Evelyn. Not that he needed it. He had sketched, though rather poorly, her face in his notebook the night before. While lifeless pencil didn’t capture the pool of feeling in her dark eyes or the vivacity of her smile, he figured it was the next best thing to a photograph in helping him remember her face.

“Think they’ll let us go earlier than two weeks?” Dennis asked from his seat on the bench across from Joel’s. “My knee’s just fine. I bet I only need a week in that convalescent home.”

Joel shrugged. “Maybe. Why are you suddenly so eager to get back to the trenches?”

It was Dennis’s turn to act nonchalant. “Just want this war over with, that’s all. The sooner we end this thing, the sooner I can get back here.”

“You’ll miss the sisters that much, huh?” Joel teased.

The sergeant grunted. “I don’t think it’s a secret who I’m hopin’ and prayin’ to see again.”

Joel shifted on the wooden bench as the hardness bit into his right leg. It was going to be a long ride. “Did she say she’d wait for you?”

“I haven’t asked her yet.” Dennis’s face turned a shade of red, but he was grinning. “But if things don’t wind down soon, I’ll come back here when I get leave in another few months.”

Joel gave an absent nod in response. At least he’d see Evelyn in two weeks. After that, though, it wouldn’t matter when he got leave. Evelyn would be home with her grandparents and preparing for the baby’s arrival. The thought of a lengthy absence from her brought a tangible ache to his chest.

“Nurse Gray gonna wait for you?” Dennis asked. He flashed a cocky smile when Joel feigned confusion. “Don’t go denying that you want her to. I seen the way you two would sneak off into the woods when you thought no one was looking.” He held a hand up as Joel started to protest. “I’m not sayin’ you weren’t a gentleman. Just that you’re as gone over her as I am with Alice.”

Joel couldn’t help smiling at his friend’s intuitiveness. Did he dare confess his and Evelyn’s plan? He wanted to share his good news, and Sergeant Dennis couldn’t spoil their secret, now that they were leaving the hospital.

“Actually I’m going to marry her.”

“I knew it. She can wait with Alice, once I ask her.”

Shaking his head, Joel chuckled. “No. Not at the end of the war. I’m going to marry her in two weeks when I’m released from the convalescent home.”

Dennis rested his arms on his knees, his eyes wide. “You’re serious? And she’s fine with gettin’ sent home because of it?”

Joel chose his next words carefully—he could divulge his surprise, but he wouldn’t betray Evelyn’s. “Her grandparents aren’t doing well. She’d like to be home with them for whatever time they have left.”

“Well, congratulations, Campbell.” Dennis leaned across the space and shook Joel’s hand with one of his giant ones. “Wish I’d thought of that. Though I don’t think Alice would’ve agreed to up and leave.”

“I think you’re right.”

“That Nurse Gray must really love you—to be discharged like that, even if she does want to care for her grandparents.”

Joel smiled to himself. Evelyn had declared her feelings right before they’d confronted the renegade German soldier in the woods. Any fears he had about living in Ralph’s shadow had disappeared with that confession.

“That’s a long time not to see your wife,” Dennis added. “Good thing she knows how much you love her, too.”

The smile on Joel’s face faded into a frown as the import of his friend’s words settled like a weight around his shoulders. He twisted on the bench to face forward, wishing he had a window to look out.