"Happy birthday!"

1915 marked a year of new beginnings. Not only was the World War raging across Europe, drawing the United States closer with its battles and threatening to end neutrality, but Katherine had grown to a remarkable ability to balance both domestic life and her career. Her children were growing older, with Joseph now reaching ten years old, Veronica at fourteen, and Velma at fifteen. Katherine didn't want to waste a minute when she could be experiencing her children's lives.

Velma stood in front of a small cake that Katherine had managed to make. Though she had never been one for cooking and baking, Katherine had somehow succeeded in creating what she considered a masterpiece. Velma leaned down and blew out the single candle atop the cake, opening her eyes and smiling from her wish.

"What'd you wish for?" Joseph asked, looking at his elder sister with a twinkle in his eyes.

"You know that new dance academy in Los Angeles? Denishawn?" Velma responded, looking between Veronica and Joseph with a bright smile. "I want to get accepted as one of their first pupils."

"But that's all the way across the country!" Joseph expressed. "Would you really want to leave and go there?"

"For a chance at recognition, I'd do anything."

<><><>

"T-They're doing what?" Katherine asked with a stunned whisper, arms crossed at her chest as she observed Jack. In his hands was a letter that had arrived that morning and that they chose to read once they were both home.

Jack sighed, putting the letter down and bringing his eyes up to Katherine's own. "A German submarine sank the Lusitania. The president called for all men over the age o' eighteen ta begin training in case we go ta war."

Katherine shook her head in disbelief, running a hand through her hair. Her eyes never left the letter in Jack's hands. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and it seemingly rendered her speechless as Jack continued to speak. "But it's only for two months. An' I have another month 'till I have ta go in for training."

"This is... this is unnecessary. The President has chosen to remain neutral in the war."

"The US army is outnumbered twenty ta one. There's no escapin' it."

Katherine bit back a retort, placing her hands on her hips as she brought her eyes back up to Jack's. "I suppose it's reasonable. It's only training. It isn't like you're actually going to war. Let's just hope the US remains neutral..."

"You're leaving?" Veronica appeared in the doorway, eyeing her parents with an unsettled eye. Her words caught the attention of Joseph and Velma who were standing in the hall. The three children positioned themselves at the entrance to Jack and Katherine's bedroom.

Jack shoved the letter into his pocket, keeping it out of the three's eyesight. "Only for a couple o' months. I won't be gone forever."

"But you're still leaving," Veronica commented. "This is about the war in Europe, isn't it? They're calling men to fight?"

"Not fight," Katherine corrected with a quiet voice. Her eyes were focused on the floor, not being able to muster the courage to look her children in the eyes. "They'll be training."

"Training to fight," Velma echoed, standing beside Veronica with a chin held high. "This means the US is preparing for war. It's evident. We won't be neutral forever."

Katherine sighed, looking up at Jack with sad eyes. She stepped over to the door, pressing a kiss onto each of her children's foreheads. "Get ready for bed."

<><><>

"Five hundred dollars for twelve weeks," Velma whispered to herself, looking at the jar sitting on her bed with an intrigued eye.

"The school is that expensive?" Veronica asked with a woeful tone, looking at her sister as she slipped her nightgown over her head. "Mama and Papa won't dare pay that much to send you there. Not to mention the price of the train ticket. It'd be around six hundred for everything you'd need."

Velma grinned crookedly, looking up at her younger sister. "Then it's good I'm over halfway. I've been saving for four years. Right now, I have three hundred and sixty-seven dollars. With some of the money Mama and Papa inherited from Grandfather's will, it should be able to cover everything."

"Good luck convincing them," Veronica remarked. "Mama and Papa could barely afford the car when they bought it."

"That was in 1907. Mama wasn't working then, and Papa hadn't received his promotion. We've never been in a better financial state."

"You're blinded by your ambitions," Veronica stated grimly, pulling the switch on the lamp by her bed and allowing it to swallow the room in darkness. "Just think this through. Papa won't be working once he goes in for training, so the family finances will be deprived of its typical capabilities. Mama will certainly want us to save more money. And imagine the stress she'd be under. With the impending war, Papa will certainly be called into fight. She'll be working more hours than necessary just so she can support us. She has three children to look after."

"Two if I leave," Velma argued, feeling herself being pressed further into defeat with every word Veronica spoke.

"Five hundred dollars will not be sufficient. Mama could use that money to support the family for two years. That amount of money for twelve weeks is simply unreasonable."

"I thought you wanted to be a dancer, too?"

"I do!" Veronica exclaimed, shifting underneath her bed sheets. "But I also know how to successfully get there. How do you know this dance school will help? There's never been one in the states before. Why not focus on the resources at hand rather than focusing on things you aren't certain will help you?"

Velma didn't respond, sliding underneath her sheets and attempting to ignore the sounds from the city streets outside the window. She heard Veronica's inaudible sigh, listening as the younger sister softly spoke, "Wait it out. If the war ends sooner than we think, maybe it'll be a great opportunity. For now, our parents need our assistance."