‘You never know, though, do you, what’s gonna happen in life? One thing’s for sure, I’ve learnt me lesson.’ Valerie looked bashfully at May. ‘I’m gonna grow up and be a nicer person from now on… For Maureen’s sake.’
‘Till the next time,’ May laughed and it eased the awkward moment.
They sat in comfortable silence.
‘Maureen was special, wasn’t she?’ Valerie mused and then shook her head. ‘But I couldn’t be a nun though, could you? Not with all that silence and prayin’.’
‘We won’t be anything if we don’t study for the class certificate,’ May told her.
* * *
Later, as the pair of them a sat in front of the fire and shot medical questions at each other, May said a silent prayer to Maureen. Every cloud has a silver lining and on this tragic day mine is that me and Valerie have made up and become friends.
Later still, when May retired to bed, she tossed and turned. In her mind’s eye, she saw Richard’s smouldering eyes as he kissed her.
Sitting up, she punched the pillow into a comfortable shape. The question was, could she give her heart to anyone again?
* * *
On the day of class exams, the third of March, the three remaining nurses were nervous and exhausted, because none of them had slept. They stood in front of Home Sister.
‘As you know, nurses,’ she told them, ‘you will have two days of exams, oral and written, and a half day in the kitchen.’
‘Who will be the examiners?’ Eileen asked.
‘Three Sisters from the wards.’ Her kindly but serious eyes penetrated each of theirs in turn. ‘I won’t wish you luck, as luck has nothing to do with passing exams. Hard work and study will see you through. I trust each of you has been enthusiastically dedicated to both.’
‘Yes, Sister,’ they chanted.
Shortly after that, three Sisters entered the room, each of them in blue uniform, a cape around their shoulders. May was surprised to see Sister Jordan was one of them. Their eyes met but the Sister kept the detached look of a stranger.
The written tests came first. They took up most of the day as they had to be answered in essay form. May was thankful that the first question focused on sterilising equipment on the ward, a subject she was competent at.
The oral exam came next and May surprised herself by knowing the answers to the questions about the different sorts of bandages. In the practical, she was delighted she had to apply a many-tail bandage.
Next morning, she breathed a sigh of relief when she was asked to make a meal for a patient on a light diet, setting to work on a thin consommé made from chicken bones.
Later in the afternoon, Home Sister Chilvers summoned each probationer in turn into the classroom to give the results of the exams. When it was her turn to be seen, May’s hands shook as Sister handed her a sheet of paper with the results. May was thrilled when she read she had achieved average scores in all subjects and excelled at the circulatory system. Well I never! she thought. She was over the moon she’d passed, but the reality wouldn’t sink in that she, May Robinson, was going to carry on at Edgemoor General Hospital.
Her joy was complete when Sister Chilvers shook hands and said, ‘Well done, Nurse Robinson. Both your dedication and sense of vocation will see you through.’
‘Thank you, Sister.’
‘And, Nurse, it hasn’t escaped me that your manner of speech has improved.’
‘I try, Sister.’
Sister gave a brief smile.
‘Did yi’ pass?’ Valerie stood at the front door, suitcase at her feet.
May grinned. Nothing would induce Valerie to change her Geordie twang, not now – not even the wrath of Matron.
‘I did,’ she told her friend proudly.
‘Me too.’ Valerie beamed from ear to ear. ‘And, of course, Eileen, the clever clogs, was top of the class.’
The thought that Eileen might fail had never entered May’s mind. ‘Which ward did sister say you were allocated to?’
‘Outpatients department.’
‘Casualty for me.’
A sudden thought nagged at May and she felt a little down. Mam wasn’t here to celebrate and in fact there was no one to tell her good news to.
‘I’m rather sad,’ she told Valerie, ‘to be leaving men’s surgery.’
‘Which reminds me. I can’t believe Sister Jordan.’ Valerie’s voice broke into her thoughts.
‘Why? What has she done?’ It had been four days since May had been on the orthopaedic ward.
‘Haven’t you heard? That son of hers… the pilot on your ward, developed septicaemia and died after his second amputation.’ Valerie shook her head in a bemused fashion. ‘Poor lad was scarcely cold when Sister took the exams. She’s the talk of the hospital.’
May gave a heartfelt sigh; Sister Jordan didn’t deserve this kind of treatment.
She defended Sister. ‘The woman has a heart of gold and will be coping the only way she knows how… by submerging herself in work.’
Valerie looked shamefaced. ‘I suppose so. I only hope one day I’ll have the same kind of dedication.’
So say us all, May thought.
* * *
The three nurses made their way to the Nurses’ Home, accessed by a paved walkway from the back of the main hospital. Home Sister Bertram met them in the day room, which smelled of stale cigarette smoke. A large room, it had a polished parquet floor, and tables and chairs dotted around.
‘Welcome, nurses.’ Her tone was authoritative. ‘This will be your home for the next three years. You are expected to live in, apart from days off – and there will be no exception.’ Her eyes travelled the three of them. ‘Requests for holidays will sent by letter to Matron and a thank you note will be expected at the time of your return. The house rules are as follows: the front door is locked at ten and lights out is at ten-thirty when everyone should be in their own rooms… which, might I add, should be kept tidy at all times.’ May could have sworn Sister glowered at Valerie.
‘You may request a late night as you did in Preliminary school and if it is granted you must put the request in the late book which is kept here in the nurses’ day room.’ She nodded towards a wooden schoolroom desk behind the three of them.
Sister continued, ‘Men are not allowed in any part of the building and the windows leading to the fire escape must be kept locked at all times with the key kept in the lock.’ She raised her eyebrows. May just knew there was a story to be told behind that rule.
‘Dirty linen will be disposed of in a laundry bag and left at the end of the corridor to be collected on Tuesdays. Each floor has its own kitchen and bathroom where you will use the water sparingly in line with wartime regulations. Is that all clear?’
‘Yes, Sister.’
‘I will now give you the keys to your rooms and Nurse Bradley will show you the way.’
A nurse sitting on a chair drained a cup of tea, stood up and smiled witheringly at them, as if she’d seen it all before and first-year nurses were such a bore.
May was delighted to find the three of them were on the second floor. They poked around in each other’s compact rooms and when they came to Valerie’s they discovered their quarters were all identical. A slim bed, radiator (hurray!), desk with chair, wardrobe with drawers at the bottom and—
‘A full-length mirror behind the door.’ Valerie beamed at herself in the glass.
‘When you’ve unpacked,’ Nurse Bradley told them from the doorway, making it obvious by her restless manner she couldn’t wait to leave, ‘put your suitcases in the day room, where a porter will collect them and take them to the cellar.’ That said, she hurried away.
‘Blimey. What a cow.’ Valerie heaved a sigh. ‘But I suppose she sees us as a chore.’
May went back to her room and unpacked, then picking up the empty case, she took it down the flight of stairs to the day room. Opening the door, she saw a porter standing with his back to her.
Anticipation surged thr
ough her as she hoped it was Richard. She was surprised she hadn’t heard from him at all but perhaps he was trying to protect her because he feared he would damage her reputation.
The porter turned. ‘I’ll take that, Nurse.’ A mature man, he limped towards her.
May hoped the disappointment she felt didn’t show.
* * *
That night after supper in the canteen, May opened the door of the day room and the hubbub of noise that blasted from inside took her by surprise. Nurses, some in mufti, others in uniform without their caps or starched aprons and with the studs of their collars open, lounged on chairs, chatting to one another. In the background came the strains of Jo Loss’s Orchestra playing on the wireless.
‘Have you got a ciggie spare?’ a second-year nurse, sitting on the arm of a chair, asked May. She had a wan face with dark smudges beneath her eyes.
‘Sorry. I don’t smoke.’
The girl, losing interest in May, spoke to the nurse who sat in the armchair. ‘I’m gasping. Go on, Mavis. Be a pal, halve your last ciggie with me. It’s pay day tomorrow.’
‘Oh, all right,’ Mavis huffed.
‘Shh! Listen to the news,’ someone called from the throng.
A hush descended on the room.
‘…is the BBC.’ May heard a male newscaster’s vigorous voice resound into the room.
The newscaster went on to tell them that Hitler’s bombers continued with deadly raids on London and how the city bristled with guns and searchlights criss-crossed in the night skies.
‘They say it’s a revenge attack by Hitler. Here, Betty.’ Mavis cut the cigarette with scissors and handed it to the nurse sitting on the arm of the chair. ‘They say attacks only last an hour or two but the cost to lives and buildings is devastating. Apparently, hospitals are filled to capacity.’
Betty lit the half cigarette. ‘The papers are dubbing it the Baby Blitz.’
‘How long have the raids being going on now?’ Mavis asked
‘Since January. Two months.’ Betty let out smoke with a long, beleaguered sigh. ‘I thought we were supposed to be winning this war.’
A sudden burst of disbelief overcame May. Here she was at Edgemoor Hospital conversing in the nurses’ day room with bona fide nurses, one of which she now had become.
The downside was the bad news from the war had them all nervous and jittery.
19
March 1944
When May reported to Casualty at half past seven that first morning, Sister sent her into a cubicle to take an elderly man’s pulse and temperature.
Sister Grieves, a slender woman with thin blonde hair through which her pink scalp showed, had a perpetual sneer and nothing pleased her. That first morning, Sister found fault with everything May did.
Haven’t you got eyes, Nurse? Can’t you see the laundry bag is full and needs changing? That sheet on the bed in cubicle three won’t change itself…
‘She’s not so bad once you’ve settled in. She’s testing your mettle,’ Doreen, a second-year nurse, told her when they met up in the canteen at dinner time. ‘Sister does that with all the nurses straight out of school.’ Doreen, a redhead, gave her a look of sympathy. ‘I’ll show you the ropes. Just shout if you are in doubt.’
With a pang of sadness, May was reminded of Maureen. She too, had red hair and was always there for anyone in need.
Late one afternoon, May was in a cubicle with a patient who was waiting to see the doctor. The young man had been in a collision with a car while riding his bicycle. He didn’t show signs of concussion but May knew he needed checking over. The young man, called Reuben, was emaciated with a sickly pallor.
As she took his pulse he surprised her by saying, ‘I’m an atheist, Nurse. I don’t believe in no God.’
May suspected that the accident had caused him to think about his mortality.
She didn’t answer but nodded.
He took this as encouragement to talk. ‘I was shot down at the beginning of ’42. Spent the time since in a prisoner of war camp.’
‘In Germany?’ May knew she should get on with her duties but something told her the man needed to talk.
He nodded. ‘I got a kidney disease and I was repatriated a few months ago. They say I’m lucky…’ He gulped and his eyes went pink and watery.
May had seen this reaction before. Men, weakened and fragile, who couldn’t handle strong emotions or upset. She waited, knowing he would go on.
He turned towards her, agonised eyes meeting hers. ‘All I ever wanted, Nurse, was to come home and see the wife. You see, wi’ just got married beforehand and Lilly got pregnant straight away.’ May could see the emotional state the poor lad was in and so left him to do the talking. ‘I never saw me kid and when I came home… well… he’s two now and doesn’t know me from Adam. It’s the same with Lilly, we’re like strangers… awkward with each other. Even Mam isn’t the same. She used to be bolshie but now she’s frail and wouldn’t say boo to a goose. The war’s changed everybody. I’m like a guest in me own house.’
He tried his hardest not to let his emotions get the better of him.
May thought of Maureen and how she’d handle the situation.
‘Give it time. It’s just as difficult for your wife. You’re a stranger and she’s had a tough time bringing up your son on her own. See if you can talk to her about it. If I was you—’
‘Nurse.’ Sister Grieves appeared around the screen. ‘Finish up here and take these notes to records.’ She looked at Reuben, then May. ‘Now, Nurse.’
She handed over the notes and marched away.
Reluctantly, May stood up. ‘I’m sorry but I must—’
‘Nee bother, Nurse… You’ve got a job of work to do.’ May made to hurry away. ‘Nurse…’
May turned to see an appreciative smile spreading on Rueben’s gaunt face. ‘I want to say thank you for helping us out. I never thought to look at things from Lilly’s point of view. You’ve made us see things differently. When I go home I’m goin’ to have a chat with the wife.’
He welled up and couldn’t go on.
‘I’m glad I could be of help.’ May smiled.
Aware she had no choice, she hurried away.
As she made for the exit, the door opened and she almost collided with a man entering Casualty.
‘Oops, sorry,’ she apologised.
It was Richard. As if in a quandary as to what to do he just stood there and gaped at her.
‘Oh, it’s you,’ she said. Maddeningly, her face flushed and her pulse raced.
She felt his bemused eyes on her as she hurried from Casualty into the corridor.
* * *
After delivering the notes, May came back to Casualty and saw that Reuben’s cubicle was empty. She assumed he’d been seen by the doctor and taken to X-ray.
Mercifully, Richard Bentley wasn’t to be seen either because May couldn’t afford the distraction.
She took her watch from her uniform dress pocket and saw that her shift had finished two minutes ago. She checked all was tidy in Casualty and then made for Sister’s office.
She rapped on the office door and entered. ‘Nurse Robinson reporting off duty, Sister.’
Sister looked up from her desk. ‘Keep it up, Nurse. You did well today.’
‘Thank you, Sister.’ May’s face turned pink with pleasure. She had received not a reprimand, but praise. She might enjoy her time on Casualty, after all.
In a happier frame of mind, she opened the door leading outside and headed over to the Nurses’ Home.
A cold northerly wind was blowing and she wished she’d thought to wear her cloak.
Richard stood beside the wall halfway up the path.
She told him, ‘It seems wherever I go you’re following me!’
He looked amused. ‘I’ve just finished duty and I’m enjoying a cigarette.’ He held up his hand to verify that indeed, he was smoking.
Though May felt a fool, she was glad she’d made an excuse to stop and spe
ak to him.
‘But now that you’re here’ – his eyes studied her – ‘I’d like to apologise for the other day when—’
‘Don’t bother. I haven’t given it another thought.’
Of course May had.
The trouble was, instead of being shocked by the kiss, May had enjoyed the experience immensely – and that was why she’d fled from the house. She was flustered because she couldn’t trust herself. She hardly knew the man and yet, she discovered, she had strong feelings towards him. And when he turned those stunning brown eyes on her, her insides were reduced to jelly.
‘The kiss was spontaneous. I didn’t want you to think—’
‘Shush!’
A nurse walked by and stared at both of them.
After she’d passed he told May, ‘It’s best you’re not seen with me here.’
May felt a sliver of guilt at the cool way she often behaved towards him, because Richard clearly had her welfare at heart, after all.
He drew on his cigarette and studied her, choosing his words before he spoke.
‘Why are you so nervous around me?’
His direct question left May lost for words. But wasn’t she the same? They both liked to be honest. Only in this case it was awkward because she didn’t want him to know the truth, which she was only just beginning to realise herself.
Richard studied her with a stillness that calmed her jangling nerves.
‘I’d rather not answer that question.’
He dropped his cigarette onto the path and ground it out with his foot. Folding his arms, he gazed good-humouredly at her with twinkling brown eyes.
‘What I think is… you look frozen. How about we wrap up and take a wander together and talk this through?’
May nodded. She could think of nothing she would like better.
* * *
Even though it was dark, they agreed to meet far away from the hospital grounds and prying eyes. She changed into outdoor clothes – her old wool coat, the red beret she’d been thrilled to find in a second-hand shop, knitted scarf and mittens. Flurries of snow were beginning to fall.
Our Last Goodbye: An absolutely gripping and emotional World War 2 historical novel Page 20
