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Gerry tut-tutted and shook her head. ‘You’re way too nice, Catherine. If Eva had any, she hid them well. And I won’t miss her trying to go through my belongings.’ Gerry had never warmed to Eva and it seemed to Meg that Eva had been more of a thorn in the side of her nursing mates than she’d known.
‘How do you know that?’
Gerry heaved a sigh. ‘I caught her red-handed one day. She was pawing my red dress and my locker was wide open. When I challenged her about it, she said you’d sent her to our hut to pick up something and she’d opened the wrong locker. As if she couldn’t read our names!’
Janet nodded. ‘Same with me. She said she pulled open my locker by mistake for hers.’
Meg’s thoughts raced through the letters she’d written to Seamus and his, to her. Had she locked them away after every reading? Could Eva have read their loving words and excitement about the baby?
But no, Eva wouldn’t have kept something like that to herself. She’d have found a way to use the information to somehow make life easier for herself. Not for the first time, Meg wondered why Eva had become a nurse. A calling to serve others hadn’t been a hallmark of her time at Currajong, so what had attracted her to nursing?
Shaking her head, Meg could only be grateful that Gerry had caught Eva before she’d caused any mischief. ‘Ladies, if tomorrow proves to be a quiet day, I thought those of us who are off duty might go for a picnic on The Strand. Who’s in?’
##
For a winter day, theweather was warm and inviting, and while Meg didn’t plan on swimming, the thought of paddling in the sea lifted her spirits. Doc had readily agreed to authorise the use of a jeep. ‘An excellent suggestion to keep morale up, Sister. Such a shame I can’t join all of you.’ But his eyes stayed on her face a moment too long. She wondered if his answer would have been the same if she’d invited him to join her alone.
Gerry begged to drive. ‘I’m an excellent driver, Maggie, and I know the shortest way there, and the best spots for swimming.’
Happy to simply be a passenger and enjoy the moment of freedom from duty and responsibility, Meg agreed. In her absence Catherine was in charge. While there was nothing major scheduled, it would be an opportunity for Doc to watch and assess her in the role.
She removed her hat, leaned back, as much as one could in a jeep, and tipped her face to the sky. The air was balmy and pleasantly cool on her skin. Squished into the back seat, Lesley and Janet, and Ria, a nurse from hut three, sang, their voices growing louder as the jeep approached the southern end of Castle Hill. Driving past a truck of Aussie soldiers, they waved at the men.
‘Oi, where are you off to, luv?’
‘The beach!’ Ria yelled back, and Janet let out a loud ‘Wheeeeee!’ that lasted all the way around the dogleg corner on Sturt Road. Ahead of them, Castle Hill loomed redly, its bulk too often blocking cooling sea breezes from Currajong.
St James Cathedral passed on their right as they crested a hill and suddenly, there it was—a vista of sea and palm trees. Across the water rose the bulk of Magnetic Island. Sunlight tipped small waves in diamond bursts of light, and nearer in, dotted amongst the green, it reflected off tin roofs.
‘I wouldn’t mind living in one of these houses,’ Ria said, turning to keep a beautiful wood and stone building in her sight before Gerry turned onto a road that ran along the beach.
‘You seem to know where you’re going, Gerry.’ Meg appreciated the brief reprieve from making decisions. For a few hours, she could forget the war and just have fun in the sun.
‘The supply sergeant told me we should stay at this end of The Strand so we’re out of the way. There’s a rock pool big enough to sit in, he said, but we shouldn’t go further north than Rowes Bay.’
Janet piped in. ‘Aren’t there gun emplacements up at Pallarenda? I shouldn’t think it would be very nice that far up. Bet they’ve got barbed wire and barriers in place. Let’s stay near the rock pool.’
Gerry pulled off the road beneath the shade of a huge Moreton Bay fig tree. She looked at Meg who raised an eyebrow and climbed out. ‘What? The water’s not far and the shade will keep the car and our food cool.’
Meg raised both hands in surrender. ‘Good thinking. You’re in charge of the jeep. Choice of parking is yours to make.’ Grinning, she lifted her arms high and turned a full circle. ‘What a glorious day. Look at the colour of that water, and the red of Castle Hill and the island. It’s shimmering under the sun.’
Gerry stopped beside her, a towel slung around her neck. ‘Yeah, the colours are intense. If I was an artist, I’d like to capture the day on canvas, but seeing all I’ve got is this—’ From behind her back, Gerry produced a Box Brownie camera. ‘I’m going to record our outing for posterity. Sit on that bit of fence all of you and look at me.’
Four nurses perched side by side on the round wooden railing. Janet and Ria put an arm around each other’s neck, and Meg rested both hands beside her.
‘Smile, ladies.’ Gerry peered down into the viewing screen, taking her time. Meg’s cheeks ached with holding a smile, but finally Gerry announced, ‘Got it! One more.’
‘You should be in the next one, Gerry.’ Meg pushed off the fence and held out her hand for the camera. ‘I know what to do. Go take my place.’
Gerry scurried over to the others and leaned in, her arm sliding around Janet’s shoulder before she raised her other arm. ‘Smile, everyone!’
As soon as Meg clicked the shutter, Ria jumped to her feet and set off running, down the slope and across to the sand. She stopped long enough to pull off her shoes and drop them next to her bag then headed for the water, Janet and Lesley close behind. Meg handed the camera to Gerry who stowed it safely in her bag. Together they sauntered in the direction of the untidy pile of bags dropped by the others.
‘I’m not swimming, but I might paddle for a bit. Feel free to join the others.’
‘Are you sure?’ Gerry eyed her thoughtfully. ‘Why come to the beach if you’re not swimming?’
‘Wrong time of the month.’ The lie slipped out, glib and far too easy. It didn’t sit well with Meg, but the truth wasn’t for sharing. Not yet.
