I was reading over a file when a young nurse with the name of Audrey came in to tell me there was a patient who needed stitching. I closed the file and stood from my metal stool; preparing for the patient. I went over to the sink and washed my hands as I heard footsteps enter in behind me. "Sit on the bed, please." was all I said before drying my hands on a small, hand towel. "What seems to be the -" my words were stopped as I turned around to see that the patient was none other than Jerry Lee Lewis sitting on the heavenly white bed. "Jerry Lee," I beamed, "I'm surprised to see you here." He shrugged; tucking a cigarette in his mouth. "Well I'm surprised to be in here." he said honestly. I smiled sweetly and walked over to him. "Well since you're new in here, I'll give you the basics," I quickly pulled the cigarette away from his lips before he could lite it, "No smoking." He flashed me a sarcastic grin and then sat back on the head of the bed frame.
"Let me see your wound." I commanded. And just like that, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a deep gash in his shoulder. It was then that I got all of the things I needed to a stitch up his arm and began to sew the cut.
"I swear," I huffed, "You boys get hurt training more than you do before actual war time." Jerry Lee chuckled at me. "Its the damn course runs," he complained, "Too much barbedwire if you ask me." I kept my eyes on his wound as I fixed him up, but replied with a smart remark. "That's why they don't ask you." Again, he chuckled at me. I finished sewing him up and cut the loose string that hung from his shoulder. "There. Good as new."
"Thanks, doc." he said playfully as he looked down at the stitching. "No problem." I smiled. He ran his finger tips over his wound and then looked up at me curiously. "What?" I inquired.
"I heard about the date... with Elvis." he said. I swear I nearly turned tomatoes red with embarrassment. I knew I had looked like a fool last night. How could I not have? I didn't want to talk about it and so I tried to get rid of Jerry Lee. "Well, I'm glad you can hear," I said bitterly, "Looks like your all better. You can show yourself out." I turned away from him with the sewing objects in my hand, and began to put them back where they belonged.
"Elvis didn't kiss her, y'know," his southern accent spoke from behind me; causing my actions to become stiff. "She kissed him," he continued," - She's always been trouble to Elvis... But, what's new?" I slowly turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind me asking," I spoke carefully, "What happened between them?" Jerry Lee smirked and looked past me as if looking into the memory itself as he began to reminiscence. "What didn't happen between them," he said, " - They met back when Elvis first joined the military... They were young and fell for each other. Only thing was, Elvis fell a little more in love with her than she had for him... A year after they had been together, Liz was recruited to Hawaii to help train new nurses at the base over there. She told Elvis that she loved him and that she'd write. They even promised each other that no matter what would happen they'd always come back to each other. Little did he know, she wasn't intending to keep any promises to Elvis much."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Jerry Lee sat up straight and continued.
"I guess Liz was secretly in love with Red... She kept writin' 'im while she was in Hawaii; askin' him not to tell Elvis what she had told him. You see, she had stopped writing Elvis months ago, but kept on sending letters to Red about how much she loved him and wanted him. So Red, bein' Elvis's best buddy, let's him know what Liz was doin'. So Elvis writes to Liz and says he knows what she's been doin'. She never writes back, but we all know damn well she got the letter. Long story short, they never spoke again and eventually she stopped writing letters to Red. Elvis hasn't been able to forgive her since."
I felt completely heartbroken for Elvis. He was so hurt by her. I mean, who had the nerve to do that? Go after your partners best friend is so idiotic! I began to feel a bit of empathy for Elvis. I can't imagine what it would be like... I didn't say anything to Jerry Lee... How could I? I felt like a fool for just walking out on Elvis without letting him explain. And now that I realized he thinks I'm just like Liz is terrible! He thinks I've broken his heart just like her!
"He really does like you..." Jerry Lee suddenly spoke again, "He talks about you none stop and feels like he ruined things between you two. - He misses you pretty badly." I cleared my throat and nodded in understanding. I went to speak but before I could a Sergeant entered with the request that Jerry Lee be in the Main Hall. I said my goodbye to him and wished him well on his arm before he left.
Once I was alone all I could think about was Elvis. I had hurt him... I suppose; or at least let him think he hurt me. I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for me, but Elvis did and he was obviously upset about what happened. I can't say that Elvis is a bad guy or intended to upset me, but I can say that things seem to be easier when I keep to myself and don't go out on dates with him... Maybe we weren't meant to be... Not that I ever thought we were.
*Elvis's POV*
"Alright, men. Settle down, settle down." the Sergeant known as, Sergeant Myers, spoke over the woven voices of us army men; quieting us down. He lifted his hat and ran his fingers through his short brown hair before putting the cap back on. He was an older man - older than me anyways - at the age of forty-seven, and he had a thick mustache above his lips.
"I'm sure your all wondering why I've called you into the Main Hall..." he spoke loudly; a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Well," he continued, "I will tell you why you're here... It seems as though the war between us and Korea has truly became uncontrollable and out of hand. American men are dying left and right; unable to fight back hard enough. And with our own men in need of our help, we cannot just sit back and watch their men die while we do nothing but laugh and live amongst each other... So - we're sending the rest of you to war."
At that moment, the silence between all of us turned into a wave of thunderous questions and comments about the situation. Though, Sergeant Myers was quick to shut us up before we got too out of hand.
"That is enough!" his shout echoed; silencing us all. "Now," he sighed, "I know that some of you may feel as though you aren't ready or need more time to train; trust me, I believe that most of you still need it... But there are people out there who need us. And we cannot just sit in silence as they cry in pain... Besides, Italy, being our alliance, is willing to help us out as well by sending us some of their soldiers... You joined the army to be a hero, yes? Well now is the time to be that hero! Now is the time to stand up and help those who need to be helped; save those who need to be saved!! It is time that you become the men, I know all of you are! Now if you are not man enough to fight in war then you can leave now!" The room was completely silenced; no one stood up or even began to. We all knew what we had gotten ourselves into. The letter in the mail even warned us that we would soon be shipped off to fight; though, none of us expected it to be only after a week of training...
The Sergeant grinned at the fact that all of us stayed seated. "That's what I thought," he said cockily, "Now... pack your things... we're going to Korea."
*Ann's POV*
"Korea?" I gasped in disbelief at what Hedy had just told me.
"Yes," she sighed, "They need more soldiers for the war as well as nurses to aid to the injured soldiers. We're all being recruited to help." The room seemed deafeningly silent as all of us nurses were trapped in our own thoughts. We were all going to a war sight to help the sick and hurt. This was it... it was what we all had trained for. I was ready to help, but my thoughts flicked to Elvis. He would be fighting in this war. Would he be alright? I knew I wasn't the only one worried about any soldiers. Hedy too was choking back tears at the thought of something happening to Jerry Lee. He too would be fighting in the war, and I can't imagine how hysterical she would be if something happened to him. But this was war and we had to shove our feelings down and do what we did best; heal.
I put a comforting hand upon Hedy's shoulder and she gave me a weak grin. "Alright," she said to all of the nurses, "Let's get packing... We leave tomorrow at six a.m."
***********************************
Ooooh, war time... How sad :(
Vote this chapter if you know someone who was sent off to fight in war for your country.