The Boy from the Band

Good Night Nurse

We get up and eat breakfast, then go see Midway. I didn't want to but said nothing, this is the last day we have together, maybe for a long time. If I'm lucky I may see him in September; if he can steal some time to see me.

The Midway is huge, I'd forgotten just how big aircraft carriers are. She's old, but wasn't commissioned until 1945 so she missed the battle she's named for. She's seen a lot of action, though, when you walk these decks you know can tell you're walking on history.

We decide to do the tour, even though it's three hours. The tour guides are a little surprised that we decline the "souvenir photo" that seems to be part of the package, but we don't care. We have been careful to make sure there are no pictures of us, save one or two that paparazzi snapped: I don't need pictures I have memories.

The aircraft on the deck and in the hangar are the real thing, and we get to try the flight simulator—I surprise both Rick and myself when I do as well as he does. I am enjoying this more than I thought I would and I'm glad he insisted.

The living quarters are cramped, it would drive me crazy to live onboard ship. The officers' quarters are a little better, but not by much. You'd have to want to be here to serve on this damn ship.

I see shadows flickering around that no one else seems to notice but that doesn't surprise me. It would have surprised me if this ship hadn't been haunted. I strain my ears trying to listen to see if there are any voices, but we are surrounded by too many people.

Rick notices what I'm doing and squeezes my shoulders. "Ignore what you're seeing," he whispers, "I saw someone watching you." He understands, he's Ukrainian and they know all about these things though he claims he doesn't believe in ghosts he understands they are real for me.

We hang towards the back though we don't need to, no one recognizes him. No one cares who he is, we're just tourists doing tourist things, a guy and a girl in love. One old lady whispers to her friend, "They're so in love, it's so sweet." You got that right, cowgirl.

We get back to Venice about five and catch an early dinner then go back to my apartment. I'm suddenly aware that he's leaving tomorrow, and I don't want him to go. We'd fallen back into the old patterns of when we were together and suddenly it's all going to come to a halt--again.

We have our talk after we make love, we have to now while we're feeling relaxed and in the glow, though I think neither of us wants to.

He pulls out a cigarette, looks at me and sighs, then puts it away. "So, you're coming to Woodstock the second week of September? I'm not going to be there, can't you trade with someone? "Like always, he's trying his best to charm me into doing what he wants.

"That's harder than you realize, Rick. Besides, I've thought about this, maybe it's best if I do this on my own. I'm going to rent a car so I can drive around and see about different schools, check out the employment situation, and what's available in rentals. If I do decide to go to nursing school it'll take me two years to get my certificate and license. I think I'd rather live where I'm going to school than face a long commute. After I graduate, I'll look for someplace close to where I work. I want to go to work in a hospital if I can get hired."

"There's a hospital in Kingston, maybe you can get a job there. It might be a good place for you. What's this fascination with nursing, anyway?"

"Well, the way I see it, I can use it to look after you. Face it, someone has to. I can remind you to take care of yourself and go to the doctor if I think something's wrong. I do worry about you, you know."

"So, you're going to move to New York and study nursing so you can take care of me?" He tried to tickle me and I slugged him.

"So, what's wrong with that? It's a good field to go into and I can expand my education and maybe become a nurse practitioner and have more autonomy. I'd like to work in an emergency room or an ICU, it's a lot of stress but it's rewarding. The more I think about it, the more it seems to fit."