Still - h.s (au)

Chapter 18

Grace

"I can't believe you are finally going on a real date with him tonight!" Martha says while she helps me do my hair, removing the rolls that have been sitting on my head for an hour now. Tonight I need to look absolutely dashing for my first real date with Harry. I had no idea what he had in mind because he hadn't even given me a clue, but I couldn't wait for it. Harry would surely surprise me in the best way possible.

"Me neither! Who would have thought, right?" I smile looking at myself through the mirror in front of me, while Martha fixes my soft curls.

Being without him at the hospital was definitely strange, because every time I passed by his bed, there was a stranger there and not my boy. But at the same time knowing that he was safe was more than enough for me to feel happy as well. And it did feel good to finally work normal shifts, my body was craving some well-deserved rest. Thankfully tomorrow is Sunday and I have a day off and so does Harry, which means we are going to spend the day together and I could not wait for that.

"Are you coming back tonight?" Martha asks me and I look at her confused.

"What do you mean?" She sighs staring at me through the mirror.

"I'm asking if you are going to sleep here." I can feel the blood rush to my cheeks immediately with her question. "Don't be shy, he is your boyfriend." Martha smiled at me. "When I began dating Mathew I told my parents I was going on a sleepover at my friend's house and ended up sneaking into Mathew's bedroom in the middle of the night." She closed her eyes as if she was playing this memory back in her head.

"Your parents didn't find out?"

"Oh no, we did that again multiple times." Martha says with a big smile on her face. "What I am trying to say is that it is perfectly fine if you want to spend the night with him." When I started to feel the taste of blood on my tongue, I realized that I had been biting my bottom lip too hard. I always do this when I am nervous about something.

"I don't think that will happen." I sigh. "Harry shares his bedroom and so do I." I didn't even know if I was ready for that, and besides I am sure Harry would not want that.

"If you decide to stay with him don't worry I have got you covered." Because we live in a nurse residency composed of women only, sometimes we have an inspection to see if we are in our bedrooms or not. However, that is quite easy to get around as they usually only come during the night while we are asleep. If we stuff the bed with pillows it looks just like a person sleeping, and they will never find out.

"Thank you, Martha." I smile while she resumes her work. "Have you ever... Done it with Mathew?" My questions comes out in a whisper. I am not used to having this conversation with other people, even though my school friends talked about this very freely. But I feel comfortable around Martha, comfortable enough to ask her this personal question.

She giggles a little with my question before nodding with her head. "Yes, several times." I notice a blush on her cheeks immediately.

"How do you know if he is the right person? Or when it is the right time?" I ask confused. I don't even know why I am so worried about this, but after our heated moment the other day it is all I can think about. What would have happened if his roommate hadn't showed up? Would we continue what we were doing?

Martha kneels down next to me, holding my hand. "You simply know it. I never thought that I would do it before I was married but then on that night it just felt right. Don't think too much about it, Harry respects you and he is completely in love with you." I smile with her words.

"Thank you, you are the best friend I could ask for." I wrap my arms around her neck pulling her closer to hug her.

I had told her the other day about Charlie's proposition, and she was thrilled for me. But I couldn't help but feel a little sad because it meant that we were not going to be together in the front line. I knew that I could make other friends, but Martha is one of the kindest people I have ever met in my life. All I hope is that she remains safe throughout the war so we can remain friends for many years to come.