Nurse Jenny Experiences Midway Ch. 06

"Sleep tight, sailor," Jenny said, stroking the side of Brad's face.

"Will I see you before you go?"

"Not likely. We have to be at the docks and on the seaplane by 0800 hours."

"I'll miss you, Jenny," Brad said, sadly.

"I'll miss you too, Brad. Will you write me?"

"Sure. Fortunately I'm righty so I can still write," Brad replied, with a smile trying to make a joke of it. He had come along way and a lot of it was thanks to her.

Jenny dressed as Brad tried to memorize every inch of her before it disappeared. When she was dressed and had checked her appearance in the small bathroom mirror, she came to him one last time. She kissed him and he held her close as if he didn't want to let go. Jenny could feel it and she felt the same way. He playfully tried to grab her tit as she backed away. She smiled at him and blew him a kiss as she walked to the door. Seconds later she was in the hall and walking towards the front door, with a tear forming in her eye.

Mary Jane broke her thoughts, "Jenny, goodbye, Jenny."

"Goodbye, Mary Jane," Jenny replied, stopping to meet her advance.

"I have to get the night shift settled on the new shift schedule so I won't be there to see you guys off," Mary Jane said. "Say goodbye to Charlotte and the rest of the girls for me."

"I will. Do the same for us with the other nurses," Jenny said.

"Sure. I hope to see y'all again sometime," Mary Jane responded, in her cute drawl.

"That would be nice," Jenny agreed.

"You're a good nurse, Jenny Wells," Mary Jane said. "Y'all are. I'm sure Charlotte will look after you guys and want to keep you around."

"Thanks, Mary Jane. It's been a pleasure working with Charlotte and you. We learned a lot."

"Nursing isn't just medical; it's mental care too. I think you know that as well as anyone, Jenny. Keep up the good work," Mary Jane said.

They hugged and Jenny walked back to the dorm. It was late and she needed to get rest before the trip. May and Bea were already asleep when Jenny crawled into bed. She could hear Viv and Dorrie come in. They were making a good bit of noise and sounded somewhat drunk.

May's alarm clock bolted Jenny awake at 0600 hours. She was still tired and felt like her head just hit the pillow. May and Bea jumped out of bed, obviously the smarter ones for getting to bed early. Jenny slumped back into her pillow.

"Get up, sleepyhead," May yelled.

"Wonder what she was up to last night," Bea said, with a chuckle.

"Jenny, where did you go last night?" May asked, gathering her toiletries.

"Oh, give me fifteen more minutes, please," Jenny groaned.

"Somebody had a good party. Did you go find Viv and Dorrie?" Bea asked.

"No, I just took Brad back to his room," Jenny confessed.

"That's it?" May asked. "Nothing more?"

"Can't be," Bea stated. "Why were you so late then?"

"I slept with him, okay," Jenny said.

"Oh, my god, you did," May exclaimed.

"Wow, a regular Miss Hot Pants," Bea proclaimed, with a big giggle.

"Quiet please," Jenny groaned.

May and Bea left for the bathroom giggling to themselves at Jenny's expense. Jenny tried to fall back asleep but she knew she should be getting up so she couldn't get back to sleep. May came to get her up again after her shower. After some prodding, she got Jenny to sit up and swing her legs out of bed.

"You really did? You slept with Brad?" May asked.

"Yes, I did. One thing just sort of lead to another and I did. We were a little drunk," Jenny said, trying to use alcohol as an excuse for her promiscuousness.

"Could he do it okay?" May asked, referring to his lost limbs.

"May, he didn't lose his thing, you know. He did it just fine. In fact, he's quite a good lover," Jenny stated.

"My god! You've changed. What happened to the innocent Nebraska girl?"

"I know. My morals seem to be deteriorating, aren't they?" Jenny agreed.

"I'd say," May answered.

"I guess with all that's happened I just want to live for the day. This damn war has already cost me a boyfriend, taken a second from me, and hurt people I love. May, I'm beginning to believe I need to live in the moment, not wait for the next bad thing to happen, and then it's too late."

"Funny you should say that. Since being with Ben those two times, I'm starting to feel the same way," May agreed.

"You two better hurry," Bea said, as she entered the room already with her hair and make-up done.

Jenny grabbed her stuff and went into the shower. May combed her hair as Bea went to wake Viv and Dorrie. It took some doing but she got them up and into the showers. Both still looked half drunk. May, Bea, and Jenny were all ready on time when the truck pulled up to get them at 0730 hours. Charlotte was inside yelling at Dorrie and Viv to hurry up or they would leave them behind. About 0740 they were all on the truck and driving the short distance to the seaplane hangers, repaired since the bombings.

Several sailors helped them load their bags into the seaplane upon their arrival at the hangers. Charlotte had arranged for box lunches of sandwiches, fruit, and coffee. No sooner were they seated on the plane and away from the dock than Viv and Dorrie were falling asleep again. Jenny watched as the powerful engines propelled the long range aircraft across the water and into the air. The pilot banked hard as he turned towards Hawaii giving the nurses one last look at their old home.

The flight was long and boring. There was nothing to see but the blue water of the Pacific. Jenny wrote Jerry and her brother letters about their redeployment while they were on the plane. Bea, May, Charlotte, and Jenny ate their lunches around mid-flight. Viv and Dorrie were still sleeping and didn't wake to eat until they were closer to Hawaii.

The three younger nurses picked Charlotte's brain about where she thought they might be headed. Charlotte had some interesting tidbits they hadn't heard. She said her boyfriend, the good Doctor Sandler, was pretty connected with some of the higher command. He apparently came from a wealth family with political ties. She told them that the United States was planning on going on the attack. With the severe blow to the Japanese navy in the Battle of Midway, the navies were closer in parity now and the high command felt they could now counterattack.

Charlotte didn't know much more than that though. It was top secret where and when the next major battles might be. She did say that Doctor Sandler wanted to stay close to the front lines as he enjoyed being involved. She felt sure that meant that she would be wherever he ended up. It wasn't said but that probably meant the five younger nurses would be there too.

The seaplane landed in the harbor near Pearl and made its way over to the hangars. Doctor Sandler was waiting for them along with two jeeps when they debarked. Charlotte couldn't contain herself and ran to hug and kiss the doctor. Sailors helped load the duffel bags into the back of one of the jeeps. Charlotte told the nurses she would catch up with them later and departed with Doctor Sandler in a car. Four of the nurses could fit in the first jeep with the driver but one other nurse had to ride alone with the driver of the second jeep. Viv, now rested, volunteered.

Dorrie sat up front with the driver while Bea, May, and Jenny sat huddled in the back. They had to remove their hats to keep them from blowing away and watch their skirts in the wind. Pearl Harbor was gorgeous despite the visible remnants of December 7th. The jeeps wound through the base making their way to the hospital and the nurse's quarters adjacent to it. They would all be staying there until further orders arrived. Until then, they were free to relax and do as they pleased.

It was past suppertime by the time they were unpacked and settled. The set up in this dorm was just two people to a room. Bea drew the short straw and had to room with Charlotte, not that she minded much. Charlotte was nice even for a head nurse. Viv and Dorrie teamed up again and so did May and Jenny. They grabbed dinner in the mess and afterwards grabbed a smoke outside. Viv and Dorrie had either taken up smoking or had been closet smokers all along. They were now more open about it. Bea tried one once in a while but May and Jenny still opted not to.

As they sat outside of their quarters on benches, they once again talked about the future. Bea, May, and Jenny filled Viv and Dorrie in on the conversations in the plane with Charlotte. They were all dying to know what the future held for them.

End Book 1

Dear Reader,

I meant for this to be the last chapter of Nurse Jenny when I started out writing it. Obviously, I have set this up for the possibility for more though. I have received a lot of nice encouraging emails as it relates to Nurse Jenny, so thank you for those. If you want me to continue this series I will but just be patient with me as I like to try different things too.

BW69