The Journey Home

by K'Anne Meinel

  Cass lay there a while after she had removed and hung up her first gown and its matching petticoat in its plastic overlay. It was beautiful. She had felt wonderful and enjoyed herself immensely. She wondered though how Stephanie would have reacted to the dance, if she would have had as much fun. She couldn’t wait to write to them and tell them all about it but perhaps she would leave out quite how much fun she had had. She would certainly never tell anyone, even Stephanie about what Annette had revealed to her. She thought about what Annette had lost that fateful day last December and wondered how she would handle it if it had been her. She wondered how Stephanie would handle it if she were the one lost. She hoped to never find out.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  A few days later, “I need a couple of volunteers,” Major Volure announced as the women under her command stood at attention. Cass, as an ‘observer’ who had helped on several occasions stood off to the side and listened respectfully. Hands went up immediately including Annette, Pamela, and Kim, the friends that Cass felt closest to. “Okay Ryder and Fedor pack your gear; I’ll have your orders ready and waiting by the time you done.” After a few more notices she dismissed the women to go about their duties. Cass looked at her friends wondering where they were being reassigned, no one was told to pack their gear unless they were leaving their current assignment. She exchanged puzzled looks with her friends before being brought up short.

  “Lieutenant Scheimer! Come with me to my office,” Major Volure announced and Cass saluted in acknowledgement and followed her.

  Their morning meeting had been held in one of the smaller unused wards, it wasn’t too often that a ward was ‘unused’ as they had patients in all the time but they had just loaded a ship with wounded to ship back to the mainland and now had many empty beds. Cass followed her through the empty ward and to her pristine little office in the corner.

  “Lieutenant you will be pleased to know that arrangements have been made and you will be leaving for Wiquaqau this afternoon.” She picked up some papers on her desk and handed them to the astonished Cass. After having a couple of glorious weeks in Pearl Harbor she had almost forgotten it was just a layover. “Here are your travel papers and orders,” she told her.

  Cass read them quickly and nodded still at attention.

  “You will want to pack and say your goodbyes, I suggest you get on it immediately,” the Major advised. “We’ll miss you around here, you really pitched in and were a great help, I’ll remember some of those ‘backwoods’ tricks you taught me forever,” she smiled ruefully and dismissed her.

  Cass saluted and left quickly, she was still stunned. She headed quickly for the used wards to say goodbye to the woman she had come to know, Annette and Pamela were nowhere to be seen but she knew they were packing. She hurried back to her own bungalow and quickly began to pack. Her woolen outfits went in the bottom; she wouldn’t need those for a long time from what she had heard about Wiquaqau. She dressed in her Class A uniform knowing that some would frown on a woman in fatigues and she never knew who she might be meeting at the end of her journey or if there would be time to change. She put the gown and its petticoat in the bottom of her bag cringing at how wrinkled it was going to be by the time her journey was over. She knew she would probably never wear it again but it sure was beautiful and she remembered that night well. She used the telephone, something she had had to learn in Milwaukee and was still uncomfortable doing. She had been surprised to find one in the bungalow but apparently they all had them. She called the photographer to ask him to send the pictures on to her at Wiquaqau and he promised he would. She carefully hung up the phone; she just didn’t trust those things. They had them in Wausau and Merrill but she couldn’t ever see having one out on the farm, who would she call?

  Next she tidied the bungalow, she had been surprised to find out that a ‘cleaning crew’ frequently came into these bungalows in between occupants to clean for the next person assigned to the bungalow. As this was the colonel’s when he was here she made sure it was extra clean before she carefully locked the door behind her and headed back to the hospital where the orders said she would be picked up. She wondered if she had time to say goodbye to Annette and Pamela and then she wondered where they were being sent. Everyone loved being in Pearl, it was no wonder it was called paradise.

  Cass had enjoyed her time here and the people she had met. She had been astonished to meet one of the first negros she had ever encountered. There had been some in Milwaukee but she never actually met one until she was here in Pearl. She was amazed at how dark their skin was and how exactly like her they were. They were the same, yet different, just darker. It reminded her of the difference from whites and Indians she had met over the years through Cal. She didn’t have the prejudices against them as others did and she was horrified at how they were often treated. The same thing with the native Hawaiians. They were treated like they weren’t here first on the islands. Cass had never encountered prejudice like this before and it shocked her. She found the people she met to be polite and just like her, just with different values and cultures, it was endlessly fascinating. She also found that if she treated them polite they did back to her. She just didn’t understand others interactions at all.

  As she waited for her transport she looked around hoping to say goodbye to the two women she was closest to.

  “Hey Cass,” Kim called out when she saw her waiting outside with her bag.

  Cass gave her a hug as she said, “There you are, I was looking for you to say goodbye!”

  “I was in surgery with Dr. Weimer, he’s such an exacting surgeon,” Kim told her as she returned the hug. She would miss this woman from the Midwest; they had such fun with her. “I have to get back as soon as possible to monitor the patient but I didn’t want you to go before I said my goodbyes.”

  “Oh I’m going to miss you gals, I hope I get to see Pamela and Annette before I go!” she said earnestly.

  “They’re in Major Volure’s office now.” She looked around and said, “I’d better get back. You have a safe trip!” She quickly gave her a hug again and quickly hurried back into the hospital.

  Cass watched her leave with mixed feelings. In the short time she had been here she had felt like she had made friends, real friends for the first time in her life. Not someone who had known her since birth, not someone who knew her parents or grandparents. Other than Stephanie she had never made a stranger a friend. It was an empowering feeling.

  “Lieutenant Scheimer?” a woman in a Jeep pulled up.

  Cass looked at her in surprise. She had been expecting a little corporal or private as she had seen so many times before. She nodded.

  “I’m here to take you to your plane. If you don’t mind waiting a moment there are a couple of others.”

  Cass didn’t mind as she climbed into the Jeep carefully in her skirt and placed her bag in the back herself. It was a far cry from the men who had tossed it behind her in the past and she nearly laughed at the memory. She sat there waiting and suddenly Pamela and Annette came hurrying out carrying their own bags. She was surprised to see them as they made for her Jeep.

  “We’re going with you to Wiquaqau!” Pamela announced as she tossed her bag in the back. Maybe it wasn’t a ‘mans’ thing after all thought Cass before Pamela gave her a hug and climbed in the back.

  Annette placed her bag a little more gently before she too climbed in the back. They were both dressed in pants but had their dress jackets on showing their rank and insignia.

  “Ready ladies?” the private asked as she began to drive off.

  “Maybe we should make Cass drive!” Pamela quipped and the three of them laughed at the joke.

  They were soon on the base and making their way towards the planes. A large plane, one as large as the one that had brought Cass to Hawaii was loading up. She wondered if that was the one they would be taking but the woman drove around the massive plane and to a smaller one. It had the insignia of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) on it and was bei
ng loaded with supplies.

  “Ladies, you are now guests of the RAAF, they are going to give you a ride to Wiquaqau before going on to Australia,” the private informed them.

  “I thought they changed their logo?” Pamela asked him but he shrugged.

  “What’s wrong with the logo?” Annette asked as she looked at the loading and they came to a halt nearby.

  “The logo for the RAAF kind of looks like the Japanese Hinomaru and I heard it was mistaken for it in some battle out there,” she gestured to the ocean. “I heard they were going to change it as a result so it didn’t happen again.”

  “You know a lot about what’s going on out there,” he too gestured to the ocean and grinned cockily at the women as he got out to help them with their bags.

  Pamela shrugged. “I know people.”

  Cass was astonished how they spoke English but such an English that she had never heard. It was quite unlike the slow drawl of a Southern accent or the nasal twang of some of the Eastern accents she had heard. She liked it but had to listen hard to understand them when they spoke. The three nurses were soon tucked in the aircraft, a finished interior Cass noted, and the plane took off soon afterwards. It was full of supplies but also various soldiers, officers, and unlisted men getting a ride out to Wiquaqau, Australia and beyond.

  Cass had already been informed it would take just as long a flight as it had for her to come from San Francisco. As she had slept through that long flight she had no idea how long this one would take. She spent the time delightfully chatting with her friends and the enlisted men who couldn’t help but chat up a pretty girl. She learned to play ‘cards’ as they patiently taught her the games. It was a laughable event for her as she couldn’t make sense of it for quite a while and then it was like a light bulb went off as she understood more. By the end of the flight she even managed to win a round as they taught her something simple like Go Fish.

  Getting off the plane in Wiquaqau it was as though someone had turned on a faucet. The humidity was so high that they were all drenched with sweat within moments. Looking around they could see the runway was lined on both sides by tall waving palm trees; the breeze was hot and blowing crossways which accounted for their rough landing. The land was relatively flat except for a large mountain that rose up at one end of the island. The tropical lushness was beautiful but they all longed for a long cold drink and a chance to get out of the sun. A small bus had been sent for them to take them to their final destinations. A private stood by the door checking off their names as they approached with their bags.

  “You are Lieutenant Scheimer?” he questioned when Cass gave him her name; she was one of the last in the small line to mount the bus.

  She nodded to confirm. “Please stay on the bus until the end,” he informed her and turned to the next in line.

  Cass was no wiser as to what her assignment was. Both Pamela and Annette had been told to get off at the hospital. What was she here for?

  Cass found out in no time at all as they dropped some of the men off at a barracks and went on to the hospital where they dropped the two replacement nurses who happened to be her friends. Cass wasn’t alone on the bus but looked around curiously at the village. She didn’t know the different islanders but she could tell there was a distinct difference from the Hawaiians she had met and these islanders, it could be the miles she had flown to account for the difference. They looked to her untrained eyes as though their eyes had more of a slant, their bodies more lush, and perhaps a little more wild as she looked curiously out the mud speckled windows. The rest of the men got off at the end of the village where an ensign escorted them to their destinations. Cass was alone on the bus except for the private who had greeted them at the airstrip.

  They stopped at the end of the various huts that the villagers apparently lived in. At the end was a house, a real house, such as you would see in any American city. It had been painted white, it had a front porch and a sloping roof not made out of thatching as the huts had but instead made of real shingles. A bright white picket fence bordered the yard and went around behind it and out of sight. Cass was amazed as she gazed at it and then realized the bus had stopped and the private stood up and was waiting patiently.

  “Ma’am, we’re here ma’am,” he told her politely and looked at her curiously. They had waited months for her arrival and they were all anxious that she fit in.

  Yes, they were here, but ‘where,’ she wondered to herself and again wondered for the millionth time why she was here and not at the hospital.

  As she began her descent down the few steps of the bus a woman and a man came out of the front door of the house, there was a screen door as well, something not often seen. It thumped shut with a satisfying bang.

  Cass looked up to see them studying her as she stopped at the bottom and began to walk up the path, she noted there were climbing roses and other tropical flowers she didn’t recognize along the fence. It was beautiful and smelled heavenly. She realized the man standing there waiting for her was a Lieutenant Colonel and she could only assume was the mysterious Colonel Anderson she had seen on all her paperwork. She whipped herself to attention and saluted him.

  He smiled as he returned the salute. She looked smart in her dress uniform, out of place, but right smart. “Lieutenant, I’m Lieutenant Colonel Anderson, this is my wife Mrs. Anderson,” he introduced the woman who had come out with him.

  Cass acknowledged the woman with a nod and a, “Ma’am.” She stood there waiting for him to continue. The heat was sweltering.

  “Let’s get you inside out of this heat, I can see you’re not used to it,” Mrs. Anderson said kindly and Cass smiled out of appreciation. Mrs. Anderson put her arm around Cass to lead her inside and as her blouse raised slightly and tightly against her Cass could see she was pregnant. She led her inside the nicely appointed house; the inside as well as the outside were typically American, from the throw rugs on the wooden floor to the calico curtains at the windows. There were comfortable easy chairs in the living room a wooden dining room set with matching chairs for six to dine, a galley style kitchen and three bedrooms and a full bathroom with a bathtub. Cass looked longingly at the bathtub hoping she would be able to soak in it eventually. She’d used the shower back in Hawaii but there was nothing like soaking in a warm tub.

  “Here is your room,” Mrs. Anderson said pleasantly. A four poster brass bed with a homemade quilt spread across it dominated the small room. A basin on top of a wooden stand under the sole window in the room. A small dresser in the corner with cabinet doors on top which Cass would find was perfect for hanging up her dress and uniforms. “You’ll find we are kind of informal here on the island, you will want to change out of your dress uniform and into fatigues, perhaps you have jeans and a blouse?” At Cass’s shake of her head she said, “Well, maybe we could send for some eventually. Mine won’t fit your frame.” She eyed Cass’s large muscular body. “You are going to want to wear shorts and a thin blouse here or the heat will kill you!” she exclaimed.

  “Ma’am, if you don’t mind my asking, why I am here? Why am I not at the hospital with the other nurses?” Cass asked her. The Colonel was not in evidence as Cass and she had gone through the house, he must have stayed outside.

  “Why for me of course, silly,” the woman retorted in surprise. “You mean, no one told you?”

  Cass shook her head and wondered what exactly the Colonel’s wife meant.

  Mrs. Anderson smoothed back her blouse to make her baby bump look even bigger. “I’m expecting,” she leaned over to confidentially whisper as though Cass couldn’t see for herself.

  Cass nodded and waited for more information. She could see the woman wasn’t going to tell her. “Ma’am, but what am I doing here?”

  “I believe that’s my prerogative,” a voice behind them said and they turned to see the Colonel in the doorway looking delighted. “Lieutenant, if you’ll drop your bag I’ll meet you in my study and give you your orders.”

  Cass
hadn’t seen a study so she had no idea where that was but she dropped her bag as ordered and pulling away from the Colonel’s wife she followed him into the master bedroom, through it, and into a room she hadn’t realized was there. It was lined with wood walls and it was obvious the Colonel was a smoker as the room still had a cloud in it. Hanging on the walls were several framed degrees declaring Thomas Anderson a Phd from Harvard. The rich wood frames matched the walls perfectly. The dimness of the room, the wood, all of it made it seem cozy. The room was also cooler than the rest of the house.

  “Come in, come in, in my home we are informal. You will of course continue to call me Colonel but may I call you Cassandra?” he requested as he sat down behind the desk.

  Cass stood at ease across from the desk and answered, “Cass would be fine sir.”

  “Sit down, sit down,” he waved to one of the two chairs in front of the desk and opening a large cigarette box he offered her one and upon her refusal took one himself. The lighter was a dragon where the flame came out of its mouth. “Cass, I am sure you’ve been wondering why we brought someone of your experience halfway across the world. Well you see, my wife is expecting.”

  Cass waited, still not comprehending, she didn’t say a word as she looked on anxiously for the reason she was here.

  “My wife has never had a baby to full term,” he explained. “She’s at five months now, the farthest we have ever gone. We looked for a doctor that could attend her but with the war on that wasn’t feasible. They need every doctor for the boys.” He sounded disgusted at this news. “So we looked for the next best thing. A good midwife.” He looked at Cass pleased by what he saw, she even looked competent. “Believe me, finding one with qualifications such as yours wasn’t easy,” he told her.

  Cass sat there stunned; she had been flown at government expense halfway around the world to attend a woman’s pregnancy? How was this helping the war effort?