Tabitha (28 page)

Dear Miss Rose,

I have such wonderful news. Would you please read my
letter aloud at dinner when you receive this? I would ask you to read the
following first.

Miss
Tabitha Kathrine Hale
and
Mr. Mason Albert Carpenter
request your prayers and blessings
as we enter into sacred matrimony
the evening of September 20, 1916.

Mason and I dearly wish you all could be here to share
this moment with us. Although it is technically against the rules for VADs to marry,
my superiors at Colchester have granted us permission. In return, Mason and I
have agreed to keep our marriage a secret at this time and I have agreed to
remain as Colchester’s Head VAD.

We can consent to their terms only because we had already
determined that neither of us can bear to leave the work we are engaged upon:
Mason cannot leave off training new pilots, and I cannot leave off training new
volunteer aides. What we do is too terribly important to the war effort. We had
decided to marry but live apart so that we could continue in our present
endeavors.

At least our infrequent times together in the future will
be as husband and wife! Therefore, I request that you do not write to me as
Tabitha Carpenter, but continue to address me as Tabitha Hale, as I will
continue to be known to the hospital and its staff.

As happy as Mason and I are, one circumstance mars that
happiness—that all of you will not able to witness our vows. When this war has
ended and we return home, we hope to renew our vows before Pastor Carmichael
and all of our family in Denver.

Oh, Miss Rose! We are so
filled with joy.

Midweek, the morning of September 20, after her roommates
had left the dormitory, Tabitha packed a small bag. Then she bathed and washed
her hair. As far as anyone other than Matron and Sister Alistair knew, Tabitha
was taking a well-deserved three-day leave to rest by the seashore.

When she had dried her hair and carefully combed it out,
Tabitha donned a new outfit—a flattering sheath of deep green with an overdress
of gauzy cream shot with green, gold, and beige flowers. The waist and bodice
of the dress fit Tabitha’s figure flawlessly; the diaphanous overskirt flowed
around the sheath that hugged her hips to perfection. For once, Tabitha curled
her red hair and arranged it around the brim of the darker green cloche she
pinned in place.

No unflattering knot or bun at the back of my head today
,
she thought with a smile.
Today I am a bride!
The radiant woman staring
back from the mirror bore testament to the joy swelling in her heart.

Today I am marrying Mason Carpenter
, her heart chimed
again and again.

Tabitha walked off the hospital campus and met the cab she
had arranged for. The cabby drove her to the train station where she caught the
noon train. Three hours later, the train steamed to a halt at the small
platform that served the village of Farring Cross.

She saw Mason at the same moment he caught sight of her, and
she knew he had never looked more handsome, more distinguished.

“My darling,” he murmured against her hair.

Sister Alistair’s brother, the Reverend Markus Alistair, met
them at the tiny village church. His wife and a church elder stood with Tabitha
and Mason through the ceremony. The elder’s wife handed Tabitha a bouquet of
late roses and watched, smiling and sniffing into her hanky, from the front
pew.

Reverend Alistair looked from Mason to Tabitha, and said
solemnly, “The vows you are about to take are to be made in the presence of
God, who is judge of all and knows all the secrets of our hearts; therefore if
either of you knows a reason why you may not lawfully marry, you must declare
it now.”

“I know of no reason,” Mason asserted.

“Nor I,” Tabitha replied.

The minister smiled. “Well, then. Mason Albert Carpenter,
will you take Tabitha Kathrine Hale to be your wife? Will you love her, comfort
her, honor and protect her, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as
long as you both shall live?”

“I will,” Mason’s voice rang with confident fervor.

“And will you, Tabitha Kathrine Hale take Mason Albert
Carpenter to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and protect
him, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall
live?”

“I will,” Tabitha pledged.

“God our Father, from the beginning you have blessed
creation with abundant life. Pour out your blessings upon Mason and Tabitha
that they may be joined in mutual love and companionship, in holiness and
commitment to each other. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.”

“Amen,” Tabitha and Mason said together. They both had tears
in their eyes when they kissed. The moment his lips met hers, Tabitha felt
their healing power—the power of sacred trust and sacred bond.

You make everything beautiful in its time, Lord,
her
heart sang.

After the ceremony, Mason asked the two couples to join them
for a wedding supper at a nearby hotel. The Reverend Alistair, his wife, and
their friends were more than happy to accept.

Mason had arranged for everything, from the food to the
flowers to the cake. The hotel sat upon a bluff overlooking the ocean, and
their wedding table for six, adorned down its length with fragrant stems and
blossoms, faced the sea so that the crash of breakers upon the seawall was
their accompanying serenade.

The hotelier was delighted to supervise their celebration
himself. Under his direction, his servers brought course after course to the table.
With each course, the four guests saluted the bride and groom and wished them
well.

For the finale of the dinner, the waiters served tiny cups
of sherbet and the hotelier’s wife bore a small two-tiered cake, artfully iced
and bejeweled with sugar roses. All the hotel staff gathered around and
applauded as Tabitha and Mason cut the top layer and fed each other a bite.

Then Mason and Tabitha served around the rich slices
chock-full of chopped
raisins, almonds, and cherries
until everyone present had a slice of the cake. Tabitha had the hotelier box up
the last large, uncut bit of the cake.

I will save this for Matron
and Sister Alistair,
Tabitha decided.

The long, happy afternoon wound
toward late evening before the celebrations ended. Then Mason led Tabitha
toward their hotel room.

The following morning, they slept late and drank their tea
on the balcony facing the crashing surf. Tabitha leaned her head upon Mason’s
shoulder as they watched, mesmerized by the everchanging sea.

“Everything was so perfect, Mason. Thank you.”

His fingers pressed hers in acknowledgement. “Could anything
make our honeymoon more perfect? Is there anything your heart desires?”

“No, nothing,” Tabitha sighed.

“Are you certain?”

She snuggled in closer to him. “I am. I cannot imagine
anything more delightful than this.”

He chuckled. “Well, my love,” he teased, “How would you like
to fly over the sea?”

Tabitha was baffled and sat up to look up at him. “Why,
whatever do you mean?”

Kissing her forehead he replied, “I mean that I did not take
the train here as you did, for I wanted to give you a gift no other bride would
likely receive from her new husband. To finagle this gift, I requested a
five-day
pass for our wedding. I knew Catterick’s RFC commandant would balk at the length
of my request. In actuality, though, I have taken so little leave in the last
two years that I believed he would feel obligated to honor my request.”

Mason chuckled. “Then, in typical American fashion, I
offered him ‘a deal,’ an alternative: I would reduce my request from five days
to three, if—
if
—he would allow me to borrow a plane, one of our older,
less-used trainers, thus reducing my travel time. I agreed to pay for the
petrol, of course.”

“You flew here!”

“I did, indeed. My
B.E.2
is anchored just there.” He
pointed, and Tabitha followed his finger up the beach until she saw the nose of
an aeroplane peeking out from behind a sheltering shed.

“Oh!”

“So I ask you again: Could I, your husband, give you the
wedding gift of flying over the sea?”

Tabitha’s heart quickened and she breathed, “Oh, yes!”

He bundled her against the cool air they would find above
the sea water and made sure the scarf covering her head and ears would not work
loose. The seat he buckled her into this time was behind his seat instead of
beside it, and the entire body of the plane was enclosed rather than open.

“You cannot fall out, darling,” he told her, “no matter
what.” He pulled the straps snug about her waist and over her shoulders and
grinned, “I would not have dared to touch you so familiarly before today, would
I?” He leaned closer to brush a kiss across her mouth. “Or dared to do this.”

Tabitha sighed in contentment and excitement as Mason undid
the anchors on the wheels and grasped and spun the propeller. When the engine
caught, he climbed into his own seat, regulated the flow of fuel until the
engine purred, and donned leather helmet, goggles, and his own seat restraints.

Then, with a small crowd ogling them from the balcony of the
hotel and along the shore, he pointed the aeroplane down the beach and they
raced ahead. Tabitha stared, enthralled, as the sand fell away and Carpenter
banked toward the sea. For the benefit of those watching from the hotel’s
balcony, he turned in a wide circle and flew directly over them.

Tabitha shrieked with glee and waved her hands at them. They
waved and shouted in return. And then Carpenter, pulling the plane into a long,
tilting turn, circled back and flew westward along the shore. He did not fly
into the swirling clouds, but kept the plane low so that Tabitha could consider
the rows of breakers pounding the bluffs and cliffs and study the villages they
passed over.

Perhaps ten minutes later, he turned, following a river
inland from its mouth. Tabitha was amazed when the familiar town of Colchester
came into view. She was able to see so clearly the layout of the army barracks,
stables, parade grounds and buildings. She pointed to her dormitory and the
familiar hospital wards as they circled above Colchester twice. Then Carpenter,
again following the Colne River, took them back to the sea.

He flew straight out above the sea and took them higher.
“Would you like to have some fun?” he shouted.

“Yes!” Tabitha shouted back. She could not believe how much she
loved the wind in her face and the earth in miniature below her—the incredibly
freeing sense of flight.

“Hang on!” Carpenter yelled.

Tabitha was not prepared for what happened next. Carpenter
pulled the nose of the plane back so that they were climbing higher and higher
into the sky—and then just as they leveled out, he dove the plane downward,
only to put them into a loop-the-loop. When he again leveled out, he banked
over into barrel rolls. They rolled over and over until Tabitha was dizzy.

But she was not scared—no! She was thrilled.

“Again!” she screamed. “Again!”

For the next fifteen minutes, Carpenter did everything he
knew to do with the plane: He dived, he rolled, he dipped and looped. Tabitha’s
laughter and screams of delight were his delight, too. When he turned them back
toward Farring Cross they were quiet in their joy, but Tabitha felt that her
first day of married life had been perfect.

He knows my heart
, Tabitha sighed.
My husband
knows my heart.

Tabitha returned to Colchester Friday evening. Getting on
the train and leaving Mason while he stared after her was the hardest thing she
had ever done.

The following morning she picked up a small box wrapped in
brown paper and took it to Matron’s office.

“Good morning, Nurse . . .
Hale
,” Miss
Thompson greeted her, her blue eyes dancing.

“Ah, good morning, Miss Thompson. Could Matron spare me a
moment?”

After checking, the young woman said, “Please go right in.”

Tabitha closed the door behind her and then placed the box
on Matron’s desk. “For you and Sister Alistair,” she smiled. “We thought of you
when we were sharing our cake.”

Matron undid the paper and eased open the box. “Oh, how
lovely! Cake is so dear these days. We shall certainly enjoy this.” Then she
leaned toward Tabitha. “This is a very generous serving. Perhaps you might
offer Miss Thompson a slice?”

Tabitha’s brows shot up. “She knows?”

Matron chuckled. “Little happens in this office to which
Miss Thompson is not privy. However, she is most trustworthy, I assure you.”

Tabitha cut the cake into three portions and laid one slice
on a napkin Matron offered her. As she was leaving, she placed the napkin in
front of the receptionist.

“Lord love you, Nurse Hale!” she exclaimed, eyeing the cake
with avarice. Glancing at Tabitha, she added in a low voice, “And
mazel tov
.
We are quite happy for you.”

Tabitha went back to her work that day with a spring in her
step.

“Quite the rest you had,” Ellen Darby remarked. “Us slavin’
away whiles you drink in the sea air!”

“It was perfect,” Tabitha answered. “The beaches were
beautiful and, as you said, I
drank
in the sea air.”

In her mind she was flying, dipping down toward the
whitecaps, and racing over the surf. . . . Mason looking back at
her and grinning like a lovesick fool.

She sighed. “Most refreshing!”

~~~

As Matron had suggested, the struggle on the continent only
intensified that fall. No one spoke anymore of the war ending. It stretched out
before them, an endless conveyor of the dead and wounded, bad news followed by
worse news, defeat upon defeat.