So Far From Home

Welcome to England

Welcome to England

After spotting Lieutenant Winters and enduring Laura’s insistent curiosity, I was all too happy to cut my meal a bit short and essentially flee the dining hall. Depositing my tray and dishes in the appropriate area, I made my way outside for what felt like the 10th time that morning. The sun was much warmer now and the breeze had picked up, ruffling the top of the water and sending little waves slapping against the hull of the ship.

I had nothing to do, my bags were packed and ready for reaching land but I still has several hours of time to endure before I could set foot in England. The deck was busy, but not crowded enough as to be unpleasant quite yet. I sighed and began a slow walk around the perimeter of the ship, allowing my thoughts to drift and generally enjoying the sharp smelling sea air.

On my fourth trip around the ship, I was beginning to despair passing by the cluster of officers near the bow who insisted on following me with their eyes as I walked by. They were all gentlemen enough to keep their mouths closed, but as one of only a handful of women on board, I was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable with the attention.

I mentally chastised myself, knowing it had to be uncomfortable for them also, as they were careful of their language and actions whenever nurses were in their presence. Nevertheless, I retreated to my room, making one last check to ensure I would not leave anything behind when I left. Satisfied that everything was where it should be, I sat on the edge of my bunk once more without bothering to close the flimsy door to my room. Nothing in here of interest, I decided, so I might as well watch those who are passing by.

The best I can figure is I must have dozed off, because the next thing I was aware of was Laura standing over me, her firm hand nudging my shoulder.

“Mae. Mae, come on sleepyhead, time to get up.”

“Hmm, what?” came my sleep slurred response.

“Get up. We’re almost there.”

That woke me up in a hurry.

“Really? I was asleep that long?”

She folded her arms across her chest and looked pointedly at me.

“Yes. Yes, you were.”

Sitting up, I worked the kinks out of my neck and back and slipped my feet into my shoes.

“I’ll be glad to get back on land,” I mused quietly.

“It will be nice to be back on dry ground,” Laura conceded. “Though this trip wasn’t bad.”

I must have given her a look because she sighed and amended her words.

“Okay, this trip wasn’t that bad.”

“You’re right, it could have been worse.”

Laura’s bags were waiting by the open door, all packed and ready to go. I grabbed my own luggage and made my way out of the room for the last time, a thought which cheered me more than I’d like to admit.

“We can wait up top, the view is impressive. The harbor and docks are so busy, it seems we could be back in New York,” Laura called over her shoulder as she walked a pace or two in front of me.

Laura was more than accurate in her description, as I soon found out. The harbor was a bustling center of activity with chains clanging, dockworkers calling to each other and young enlisted soldiers leaning far over the railing, calling out to the young women on the docks, trying their hardest to attract their attention.

“I wonder what they’ll be having us do,” Laura said to me.

“Yes, though I suppose where we end up is a big factor in determining what we’ll be doing,” I said. “I don’t know much about what operations are going on over here, but we could get shipped to a unit moving out soon or perhaps we’ll end up in one still training up.”

“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Mmmm,” was the only sound I made as we slowly pulled further and further into the harbor. I could hear the calls of the Gulls flying high above and smell the strong odor of fresh fish the closer to shore we came.

As it turned out, getting off the ship proved to be slower than getting on it, due mainly to the vast quantity of supplies and equipment that had to be offloaded before anyone was allowed off. Eventually, though, Laura and I made our way down the sloping ramp to the floating wooden docks alongside the ship. It didn’t take long for a Sergeant in his mid twenties or so to come up to us, nodding his head once in greeting.

“Afternoon, ma’am, ma’am,” he said to each of us in turn.

“Good afternoon,” came my reply, sitting my bags on the dusty ground at my feet in order to rest my hands for a bit.

“I have orders to escort you two ladies to the staging area for all incoming nurses,” he informed us directly.

“Alright, then,” Laura told the young man. “Let’s get going.”

Another nod of the Sergeant’s head followed, and we began making our way to a Jeep waiting several hundred feet away. Placing our bags in the back, the Sergeant helped Laura into the front seat while I swung myself into the back not waiting for help but being careful not to catch my skirt on the vehicle and fall on my face.

The Jeep clanked into gear and we were soon speeding down a narrow dirt road outside of town. The English countryside was more beautiful than I’d imagined it could be with plants so green and lush they looked almost unreal. The air was heavy and humid but a touch of coolness from the ocean kept it from being uncomfortable.

We traveled for a fair bit, how far it is difficult for me to say as I have always been terrible at estimating both distance and direction despite the best efforts of my father and brothers to teach me. At any rate, we bumped and jerked along for well over twenty minutes before reaching a small village possessing a handful of quaint buildings and cottages, most of which looked taken over by the Army. Olive drab trucks lined the streets and crates of supplies were stacked neatly on the cobblestone walkways with officers hovering over them, anxiously making notations on papers they held in their hands.

“Here we are,” the Sergeant said, pulling the Jeep up to the curb in front of a pretty little two-story building.

So this was home-at least for the moment.



~samile~