Ruth itched at the white veil on her head. She had put the blue and white uniform on before leaving the house. Catharine had burst into tears when she saw her sister. Catharine clung to her and cried, but managed not to beg for her to stay. Ruth had to bite onto the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from crying. Her eyes burned with tears, but she did not cry.

Ruth fidgeted with the white cuffs on her sleeves. She let out a deep breath and looked around the train. The white veils of all the other nursing sisters were visible above the seats. Ruth was happy to secure a seat next to the window. She had never gone past Toronto before in her life, and she wanted to see what was between Toronto and Montreal.

A few more nursing sisters boarded the train and took their seats. The seat next to Ruth remained empty. She wondered if the girl who was supposed to sit there lost the nerve to go.

The train whistled and Ruth looked up to see one more girl walking down the aisle. Her blonde hair was twisted back and under the white veil. She was tall and slender. Ruth was in awe at how she could be so beautiful and move so gracefully down the aisle. Ruth stared down at her lap when the girl got closer. Her chest tightened when the girl sat in the empty seat beside her.

Ruth glanced up to see the girl smoothing the skirt of her dress. Her porcelain skin was shining from the sun coming through the window. The girl's crystal blue eyes connected with Ruth's eyes. Ruth looked back down at her lap, and continued to fidget with her uniform.

"My name is Birdie," the girl said.

She extended her hand out to Ruth. She looked up and shook Birdie's hand. Her lips spread into a wide smile, and Ruth's heart pounded in her chest. She had not been so attracted to another girl since she had met Ellen.

"Ruth," he voice came out as a squeak. She cleared her throat and rested her hand on her chest. Birdie stared at her with a smile plastered across her lips.

"Nice to meet you," she said. "Are you from Toronto?"

The train jolted as it started to move down the track. Ruth glanced out the window to see they were moving away from the train station. She looked back to see Birdie had turned in her seat so that she was staring at her.

"I'm from St. Catharines," Ruth said.

"Oh, you're a Mack nurse?" Birdie asked.

"I am. How about you?"

"Born and raised in Toronto. The city is not nearly as exciting as it seems."

Ruth laughed, and Birdie joined her with a giggle. Ruth twirled her fingers around the end of the apron of her uniform. She could feel the heat rush up to her cheeks because of how Birdie was watching her with those crystal blue eyes.

"Why did you volunteer?" Birdie asked.

"I wanted to help," Ruth said. "I felt like it was my part to play in the war."

"Do you have a husband that is going to miss you?"

"I do not really occupy my time with men."

The corner of Birdie's lips tugged into a smile.

"Neither do I," she said.

"May I see your tickets?"

Ruth looked up to see that the train conductor was at their seats. Ruth fished around in her pocket for the train ticket the Medical Corps had sent her. The man punched Ruth and Birdie's tickets before heading down to the next row of seats.

Birdie turned so that she was staring at Ruth. Ruth continued to fiddle with her uniform. The way Birdie was watching her made her heart pound. Ruth had never disclosed her secret to anyone in her life. She seemed to be the only woman in her life who felt an attraction to other women. She carried her sin with her like a bag of rocks.

The way Birdie was watching her made her feel like Birdie shared a similar secret. Ruth knew she could not ask her the question straight. It would be embarrassing to Birdie, and Ruth would feel like a fool if she said no.

"Are you married?" Ruth asked.

"I was," Birdie said. "Paul passed away."

"I am so sorry to hear that," Ruth said. "Did he die in the war?"

"No, he died in an accident." Birdie finally turned so that she was no longer staring at Ruth. She sunk back into her seat. "He was not happy when he found out that I had applied to be a nursing sister. At least now we no longer fight."

"My family was not too happy that I volunteered either," Ruth said.

"Oh, really?"

"They think I am going to be killed."

Birdie burst into laughter. Ruth furrowed her brows at the girl's strange reaction. Birdie shook her head and put a hand on her chest.

"Sorry, I do not mean to laugh," Birdie said. "It just reminds me of something that Paul's drinking buddy was telling me."

"What was it?" Ruth asked.

"He said if I go overseas I was going to be ripped apart."

"By Germans?"

"No, by these things he called creatures. I am laughing because this man is always in a drunken state. It was complete nonsense he was trying to tell me."

"He does not sound like a reliable resource."

"He definitely is not."

--

The day was spent travelling, and Ruth was getting ancy. Birdie had brought a novel with her and had spent the whole train ride reading. Ruth gaze out the window, but there was not much but trees between Toronto and Montreal. She hoped that life would be more entertaining when she got off the train, but it was not. The nursing sisters were ushered to trucks that drove them to the docks. From there they were piled in on a boat.

Ruth did the best to stay close to Birdie. They managed to get onto the same truck, and were able to room together on the boat. Ruth had the cot that was next to Birdie's.

Ruth turned out to be seasick, and had to spend much of the journey in bed. She was curled up into a ball on her cot with the thin blanket pulled up over her head. She was excused from all of her duties during the day. Birdie would always check in on Ruth during the day and bring her a tea.

Ruth was excited to get to war because that would be the end of feeling sick.