Author's notes: sorry these chapters are a bit tedious, but the good stuff is coming up soon!

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 Ruth spent the morning packing her suitcase. There was no much for her to pack, but she kept unpacking and folding her clothes. She was unsure of what to do with herself until she planned to go get tea with Ellen. Ruth knew that keeping her hands busy helped ease her nerves. Catherine was dusting the house, but Ruth noticed how she lingered around Ruth's open door.

Catherine always did this after a night of fighting with Jonathan. Typically, Catherine would spend the morning crying in Ruth's room. For the past year, Ruth had been living with her sister. Almost every night, Catherine and Jonathan yelled and blamed each other for the fact they did not have a baby. Ruth's heart broke for her sister for weeks when she first moved, but she had grown immune to the noise. It was the same as when Ruth began cleaning bedpans. The horrid smell would turn her stomach, but after nursing school she was immune to the stench.

The chimes of the grandfather clock in the living room rang through the house. Ruth closed the suitcase and set it down next to the bed. Catherine was sitting on the couch with her bible open on her lap. She twisted the cross on her necklace around her finger. She looked up when she heard Ruth step into the room.

"Have you talked to father?" Ruth asked.

"I went to his work, but he was with a client," Catherine said. "Interrupting him would not be helpful in persuading him. I was going to go and visit them after dinner."

"Thank you," Ruth said.

"Would you really go even if you could not say goodbye to our parents."

Ruth nodded her head. Catherine sighed and looked back down at her bible. Ruth walked across the rom, and picked up her coat off of the rack by the front door. She slipped it on and grabbed her hat.

"Where are you going?" Catherine asked.

"I am getting tea with Ellen," she said.

"You will say goodbye to your friends, but not your parents?"

"I would love to say goodbye to them, but I am not going argue. I know Ellen is happy that I was accepted."

Catherine turned on the couch so that she was staring at her sister. Ruth had one hand on the doorknob. She shifted her weight from foot-to-foot. She was ready to get out of this house.

"Did you already tell Ellen?" Catherine asked. "Did you tell her before you told your family?"

"I did," Ruth said. "I knew that she would support me."

Catherine let out a deep breath and turned back around.

"Have fun, Ruth," she said. "You will not be able to have such fun in the war. You have now spent your life sacrificing freedoms."

"I have experience sacrificing freedoms," Ruth said.

She left before she could hear Catherine's response. Her family lived on the edge of downtown, so it was only a short walk to the cafe. Catherine was currently her only ally in the family, so Ruth knew that she should be nice. Growing up, Catherine always spoke with a condescending tone and she had barely changed.

Ellen was already at the cafe when Ruth arrived. She had on a brown dress lined with orange ribbon, and a matching hat. It amazed Ruth how Ellen could wear something so ugly, but somehow remain beautiful. She hurried over to the table when their eyes met.

"I hope you were not waiting too long," Ruth said.

"No, I just arrived," Ellen said.

Ruth sat down, and the waitress arrived. They both ordered a tea, and the waitress left. Ellen tucked one of her light curls into a bobby pin in her hair. She had a round face that never seemed to lose her baby weight, but it suited Ellen. Althrought nursing school, Ruth would always be taking second glances at the girl. She was the first girl that Ruth felt infatuated by. The heat would rush up to Ruth's cheeks when ever she would fantasize about kissing Ellen's plump lips. She thought it would be distracting when Ellen became a surgical nurse too, but Ellen's surgical mask covered most of her face and Ruth was able to focus. She remember the day Ellen announced her engagement. She could not look at Ellen for weeks without her heart sinking into her chest.

"Tell me you finally told your parents," Ellen said. "You are starting to run out of time.

"I have," Ruth said. "They took the news just as bad as I expected. My mother was hysterical. Catherine said she will talk to them and try to calm them down.

"Is Catherine alright with you becoming a nursing sister?" Ellen asked.

"I do not think so, but she says she is," Ruth said.

The waitress came back with a teapot and two cups. Ellen thanked the girl before pouring herself a cup.

"At least you still have Catherine because she can keep your parents updated on you," Ellen said. "Please write to me too. I would love to hear all about your work."

"I will," Ruth said, "but you must write me about the hospital. I am going to miss the operating room."

"It is a deal," she said.

Ruth giggled and poured herself a cup of tea.

"I wish you did not have to leave so soon," Ellen said. "You are going to miss my wedding in a month. Richard has insisted that his cousin Florence takes your place as a bridesmaid. She has been complaining about the pink lace on her dress for days."

"It is unfortunate, you will have to write me a letter about it," Ruth said.

Ruth knew that would be a letter she would burn and never read. Ruth tried not to appear gloomy when Ellen brought her to a dress boutique with her mother. She was gorgeous with her lace dress and a long veil. Ruth wanted to stand up and announce how much she loved her, but she knew that Ellen would not approve. Ruth and Ellen attended the same Catholic church. Ellen was much more involved. She often sang while Catherine played the piano. Ruth covered many Sunday morning shifts to avoid from going to church. She did not want to sit in a pew amongst the crowd. She believed that the priest and churchgoers knew about her sinful thinking.

"I was really excited about you meeting Richard's friend Jeffrey," Ellen said. "I am sure that you too would get along well."

"I am not looking for a man," Ruth said.

"Are you sure? He is really kind and funny. He is studying medicine, so you would have a lot to talk about."

"Ellen, I am about to be sent overseas. As lovely as he may be, I do not have time."

Ellen took a sip of tea. Ruth continued to stir her spoon in her cup hoping that it would cool down.

"It is quite amazing what you are about to do," Ellen said. "I wish I could go."

"You should have sent in an application," Ruth said.

"I could not. Richard would be furious if I postponed our wedding so that I could go join a war."

"I hope that is not all that is stopping you."

Ellen nodded her head. Ruth put down her spoon and wrapped her hands around the warm cup.

"It is," Ellen said. "What an adventure it is going to be for you. I have already heard a few nicknames of nursing sisters, such as Bluebirds or Angels of Mercy. You are so brave, and you are going to have a great time. Working at the hospital will seem really mundane when you come back home."

When you come back home

Ellen was the first person to not say if. That eased some of the tension in Ruth's shoulders. She was scared to go, but she knew that she was needed. She knew this was right for her, and she hoped she returned as a new person.

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Catherine was sitting on her piano bench when Ruth came home. Catherine was dragging her fingers along the keys. She was not playing a song, but more a mixture of noise. Her hair was falling out of her clips. She did not bother to look up at Ruth.

"I am sorry," Catherine said, staring down at the piano keys. "I should have not been so mean to you."

"I forgive you," Ruth said as she hung up her coat.

"You are my little sister," she said. "I do not want you to get hurt."

"I promise I will stay safe."

"I will still always worry about you, but I admire that you are doing something so brave. It will be odd being just Jonathan and I. I wish I was as brave as you."

"If you were a nurse you would apply?"

"I would not have been a nurse, but I also would not be married." Catherine bit down on her lip to suppress her sobs. "I got married because mother and father loved Jonathan. I should have never listened to them, and I am glad you are not."

Catherine closed the piano lid. She stood up and smoothed her skirt out. She glanced up at the grandfather clock.

"I better start dinner," she said. "If you need any help packing, let me know, please."