“I’m prepared,” was all I said.
“If you want, I can show you around. There are some nice little towns not too far away. If I can get a truck we could—”
I wanted to laugh, and wished I had Char, Tilly, and Paulette to turn to and roll my eyes. Instead, I just smiled and shook my head.
“I’m tired,” I said. “But thank you anyways.”
“You sure?” he asked, his eyes wandering down my blue uniform.
“Positive.”
A few minutes later the wheels touched down and I got out of the way as the supplies onboard were hurriedly removed.
“Office?” I asked another one of the men who’d been on the flight.
“I’m happy to show you,” he said, giving me a dashing smile.
I sighed. It would be like this until they got to know me and realized I had no interest. After which, it would still be like this, but then I could at least tease them about how silly they were.
“Fine,” I said. “Thank you.”
He talked while we walked, and I nodded and murmured, feigning interest as I took in the lay of the land.
The base here was much different than where I’d been in the New Hebrides. Instead of palm trees and jungle we were surrounded by low, sweeping green hills dotted with sheep. The flat plot of land the base was spread out on was scattered with wooden buildings rather than tents. There were hangars for planes, buildings with actual walls and roofs, and pavement instead of dirt and sand. As much as I missed my friends and the island I’d spent months on, I had a feeling I’d be comfortable here. A feeling that came with a tiny bit of guilt.
“Here we are,” the soldier leading me said, waving toward the one-story building in front of us. “I’m Jim, by the way. If you’re not busy later—”
“Thanks for your help, Jim. See you around,” I said and hurried in the door.
There was no one at the front desk when I entered, though I could hear the murmur of voices coming from elsewhere in the building. I looked for a bell to ring or a sign-in sheet, but there was nothing so I headed toward one of the chairs in the lobby to sit and wait.
“Oh!” a voice said. “I didn’t know anyone was here. Can I help you?”
I turned back around and saw a woman who looked to be around my age coming out of a nearby office, a stack of papers in her arms. Her light brown hair was neat as a pin, her uniform of button-down shirt, jacket, and trousers a familiar one. I had several just like it, though mine were normally wrinkled and covered in dust or blood.
“I’m Lieutenant Kate Campbell,” I said. “I’ve just flown in from La Guardia Field. I’m MAETS. Medical Air Evacuation—”
“Transport Squadron,” the woman finished for me. “Of course.” Her warm brown eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled. “I was told to expect you. Follow me, please.”
I did as I was told and found myself trying to keep up as she strode through the building, delivering papers here and there before pushing out a side door into the rain that had started coming down.
“Has anyone shown you around?” she asked over her shoulder as she led me around the building to where several bicycles were lined up.
“No. I’ve only just arrived.”
“I’ll get one of the other nurses to give you a tour of the base later. But that’s the mess hall,” she said, pointing to a one-story white building. “And the hospital is over there.” She pointed to another one-story white building that looked identical to the first. “I’m Luella, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you. You’re a nurse too then?”
“I am. I was injured a couple weeks ago though and have been relegated to shuffling paperwork until I heal.” She held up a hand wrapped in a bandage. “Bullet ripped through the fuselage...and part of my hand.”
“How long you out for?”
“Not much longer. Thankfully it only took a chunk off the outside edge. But I could barely grip anything until a few days ago. Hopefully, I’ll be back at it next week. Until then, if you have a paper you need pushing, I’m your gal.”
She rolled her eyes and I laughed.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.
