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Chapter 13
The lecture on a newsurgical technique ended with a round of polite applause. Meg closed her notebook and stood, hand on lower back, and stretched. Beside her, Doctors Ransom and Newton became involved in a discussion of the technique.
Meg looked around at the assembled medical personnel, inspired by what they were collectively achieving. Honoured at being one of the youngest sisters-in-charge, she was also excited. They were on the cutting edge of surgical advances and medical treatments, and she had a small, but important, role to play. Tomorrow, she would instruct her nurses on the changes from tonight’s lecture. But her delight at being part of this had been tempered by the commander’s introduction, that more medical advances occurred during wars than in peace time. New weapons, often more devastating to the human body, required new surgical techniques.
‘Sister Dorset?’ The woman’s voice was familiar and Meg turned to discover an old friend.
‘Pat!’ They exchanged a happy, one-armed hug and looked at each other. ‘You look well. Where are you stationed?’
‘You wouldn’t believe my luck. I was sent to Brisbane after the evac from Darwin, and, as luck would have it, I was in the right place at the right time. Maybe because I’d been in Darwin during the bombing—I don’t know—but I was selected for this visit to the north. Where did you end up?’
‘Currajong, Central Sick Quarters here in Townsville.’
‘How is it?’
‘I love it. I’ve learned so much, and the doctor in charge of my team made me his head nurse. I reckon that was luck at work too. I was the first and only nurse for the first few days so he trained me to his requirements and put me in charge. Can you imagine?’
‘Well done. Are you staying for the dinner? I hope so. I want to catch up now. We can sit together and chat.’
‘I should check if that’s okay with Dr Ransom. Hang on a minute.’ She stepped up beside Doc and waited until he finished talking to Don Newton then asked if he minded if she sat with a friend.
Doc glanced at Pat and smiled. ‘Of course.’ He resumed his conversation and Meg hurried back to Pat.
‘That’s your doctor? You lucky duck! He’s cute, and his Yankee friend’s not bad either.’ Envy tinged Pat’s voice and she nodded towards a portly, middle-aged man standing near the door. ‘Behold, my travelling companion. Want to swap?’
Meg laughed and threaded an arm through Pat’s. ‘I’ll hold onto mine for now, thanks.’ They headed into the dining hall and found seats together near the door, away from the bigwigs at the head table.
‘So tell me, do you have a thing for your Dr Gorgeous?’ Pat flicked her serviette open and set it across her lap as lower-ranked soldiers co-opted to wait on table began serving bowls of soup.
‘Of course not.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’m engaged.’
‘What? When?’ Pat set a hand on her arm and peered into her eyes. ‘It’s only been—what, five months since I saw you and there was no fiancé then.’
‘Remember Corporal Flanagan? Seamus and I worked at Adelaide River for several weeks. We fell in love and he asked me to marry him.’
‘Flanagan? My goodness, Meg. I thought you’d have aimed higher. You could easily catch a doctor. Why settle for a corporal?’
Pat’s cavalier attitude stung. Meg hadn’t taken her for a social climber, but maybe that’s what came of working with the higher ups in the service. She shrugged. ‘When you fall in love with someone, that’s all there is to it. As soon as he gets back on leave, we’ll marry.’
Doc and Don Newton arrived late to the table, still deep in conversation. They stopped, looked around and, discovering two empty chairs across the table from Meg and Pat, took them.
‘Margaret, who’s your friend?’ Geoff smiled at her.
Conversation flowed and Meg gradually relaxed. Pat’s comment wasn’t anything new. Most nurses would set their caps at a doctor, and why not? But Meg had fallen in love with Seamus and his poetic soul. She admired Geoff in much the same way as she admired Don Newton. Of course Geoff would be a good catch. If she wasn’t already engaged, and if she wasn’t in love with her fiancé, she might have fallen for him.
Meg set her cutlery on her plate and turned to her friend. ‘Tell me about working in Brisbane, Pat.’
Over post-dinner drinks, Geoff introduced Meg to a small group of surgeons as ‘my excellent head nurse, Margaret Dorset, a matron in the making if ever I saw one’. She gave an embarrassed half smile and sipped her soft drink.
A tiny flutter in her womb as she had sat at the dining table gave her a moment of wonder, quickly followed by a heavy sense of guilt. By rights she should have told Doc about her pregnancy and accepted whatever decision he made for the good of the unit, but she had clung to the idea of training up her replacement before she told him. This flutter meant her baby was real. If her pregnancy went well, he or she would arrive in four or five months. The baby would be dependent on her for everything since she doubted Seamus would be home. The war wasn’t going to end just because she wanted it to, but her responsibility for this little person was just beginning.
Worries circled in her mind, chasing one another around and around. She had no answers. Not yet. Going home to her parents wasn’t an option. Unmarried, she would be a stain on their good name. A different city then. How would she cope alone? Where would she live? No, where would they live?
It was late as Meg climbed into the jeep beside Doc. The meal had been better than she was used to, and once Pat got over her disappointment in Meg’s engagement to Seamus, they had chatted non-stop. Then Doc had been so intent on connecting with as many surgeons from other units as he could that it was nearly midnight. Suppressing a yawn, a wave of fatigue hit Meg.
