1: Jane
It was a cold, snowy Sunday morning when things indelibly changed in the small town of Middlebury, Connecticut. What started as a normal, lazy morning of home-cooked breakfasts and dressing up for worship services, quickly turned into a day of mourning and death that shook the country to its core.
Jane Higgins and the other nurses of Middlebury Medical hovered over the radio throughout the day, listening intently as the news reports continued to come in. The death toll from the military assault on Pearl Harbor was astronomical, a terror attack on the home front the likes of which the country had never experienced before.
As a healthcare professional, Jane could only imagine what the local hospital staff was enduring at that very moment; the chaos that must be ensuing as patients were brought in by the dozens, the doctors and nurses working to save their patients’ lives while unknown dangers hid in the skies above them.
As Jane did routine medical procedures on her patients, she kept one ear tuned into the radio, listening for updates. Her Daddy had always said it was only a matter of time before the war came knocking, and here it was, right on America’s doorstep.
It was still surreal the day that had started so normal, had turned tragic so quickly. Jane had woken up at the same time as she always did, ate a quick breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, and dressed for work, how much America was about to change in such a short amount of time.
Oblivious to the terrors awaiting the people of Pearl Harbor, Jane hummed her favorite hymnal as she pulled on her white and blue uniform with a red cross on the left breast. She put on minimal makeup so her bright red lipstick would stand out against her alabaster skin, then proceeded to curl her brunette hair into a roll and tuck, slipped into her stockings and white oxfords, and placed her white nurse’s hat on top of her head.
Jane gave her parents a quick peck on the cheek before slipping into her winter coat and stepping into the cool December morning. She smiled when she saw that there was a blanket of snow on the ground and a chill in the air. The winter weather meant that Christmas was right around the corner. The entire drive to work, all Jane could think about was the beautiful Christmas lights, her mother’s roast turkey, and eating fudge and around the fireplace with her family.
By the time Jane arrived at the hospital, she was in a cheerful mood. She put the car in park and stepped into the cold, the air nipping at her nose. She rubbed her hands together to try to warm them up as she walked to emergency room for her morning shift.
When Jane walked inside, she noticed a heavy silence hanging in the air. Most of the staff gathered at the nurse’s station, listening intently to the radio. Her normally bubbly coworkers wore somber frowns or covered their mouths with their hands. Knowing something serious had happened, Jane became weary.
Her eyes locked Betty’s from across the room. Jane walked up to the petite blonde she considered her favorite colleague, her forehead creased with worry.
“What’s going on, Betty?”
Betty’s blue eyes widened. “You mean haven’t heard?” Jane shook her head. “There was an attack by the Japanese this morning. They dropped bombs on a naval base in Hawaii.”
Jane’s stomach clenched. “Where in Hawaii?” she asked, her voice seemingly far away.
Betty’s eyes filled with compassion, knowing what she was really asking. “Pearl Harbor,” she breathed.
Jane felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Are there any casualties?” she choked.
Betty nodded. “They are saying that the death toll is in the thousands.”
Jane leaned against the nurse’s station, afraid she might be sick.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Betty said, knowing where her best friends mind was. She rubbed Jane’s back reassuringly. “Edward is a fighter. If anyone could come out of a terrorist attack stronger than ever, it would be your brother.”
Betty gave her a reassuring smile, but Jane could see her own fears in Betty’s eyes. “I can cover you if you need to go home and be with your parents.”
“No,” Jane said, shaking her head. “I need to be here. Being at home would only cause me to dwell. I need the distraction.”
Betty nodded in understanding and turned up the volume on the radio so they could keep up with the news of Pearl Harbor while tending to their patients. Her legs still wobbly, Jane scrubbed her hands and started helping patients, hoping there was some nurse in Hawaii doing the same thing for Edward if he was hurt.
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When all of the patients had been helped, Jane excused herself to use the pay phone outside. She dropped the quarters into the coin slot, placed the handset against her ear, and took a deep breath before calling the number Edward had given them for the military base.
Her stomach clenched when the busy signal echoed on the other end of the line. Jane hung up and tried the number again, twisting the phone cord nervously between her fingers, but the busy tone continued to resonate in the receiver. Jane knew it was a long shot, but she still felt her stomach clench being unable to get in touch with her baby brother. It made her heart ache not knowing if he was okay.
By now her mother and father would be out of church and would have heard the news. She dialed her parents’ number to see if they had heard from Edward.
“Hello,” her father answered, a hint of panic in his voice.
“Hi, Daddy. It’s Jane,” she said. “Have you heard anything about Edward?”
He let out sigh. “No, we haven’t. You’re mother’s worried sick.”
“I know,” Jane said. “I don’t think any of us will be able to relax until we’ve heard from him.”
“Try not to fret, sweetheart. We can’t think the worst just yet,” her father said reassuringly. Easier said than done, though, she thought. “He will call when he is able to. I just know he will.” Though he couldn’t see her, Jane nodded, hoping he was right.
“Well, I’ll let you go in case Edward tries to call,” Jane murmured.
“We will call you at the hospital if we hear anything,” he promised.
Jane hung up the phone, her heart galloping out of her chest. She bit back bile and fought the urge to cry. She prayed that Edward was okay. She wasn’t sure what she would do if something happened to her baby brother.
Even though he was four years younger than her, Jane was close to Edward. They did everything together. Edward became Jane’s shadow from an early age and followed her everywhere, looking up to his big sister. It was part of why she was shocked to learn he’d enlisted in the Navy.
Jane didn’t like the idea of her baby brother being in the military, but she would never tell him that. Though war hang on the horizon, terrorizing the rest of the world and threatening to cross America’s borders, Jane championed her brother’s decision to fight for his country, supporting him as only a big sister could.
Growing up, Jane and Edward didn’t have much, but they had everything they needed in their family. They had a roof over their heads, food on the table, and two parents who loved them dearly. They couldn’t have asked for more than that. Though the Great Depression had really put their family through the ringer, they still had their parents, and more importantly, they had each other. Edward was the best friend Jane could ever have asked for. Which is why hear heart was shattered thinking he might be hurt, or worse... she couldn’t think the word.
With a sigh, Jane went back into the hospital, trying to keep her mind off of Edward. Despite the ache in her heart, Jane didn’t let her worries interfere with her ability to do her job. She took vital signs, stitched wounds, took patients to get X-rays, and even worked quickly to apply a tourniquet to a patient’s leg to keep them from bleeding out.
Throughout the day, as she tended patients, Jane kept one ear tuned into the radio, listening for anything that could give her news about her brother. She was thankful for the never ending flow of patients to keep her mind occupied.
Jane’s last patient of the morning was a tall and muscular man with sandy blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. She looked over his chart- Joel Turner. Jane read that he had a deep laceration on his forearm from a farming accident. She knew without looking that he would probably need stitches.
In most hospitals that was a doctor’s job, but they lived in such a small community and were so short-staffed, most of the nurses were able to do simple procedures like this. Jane had probably stitched a hundred patients in her short time at Middlebury Medical, and she was quite good at it. Her patients almost never scarred. At least it would be a quick interaction so she could take lunch and check in with her parents again.
“Okay, Mr. Turner,” she said, gesturing to the blue-eyed patient. “Let me see what I can do to help.”
Jane pulled up a seat and sat next to the man. She removed the cloth that covered his arm to examine the wound. Yes, definitely stiches, she thought, inspecting the deep cut.
“I’m sorry for your wait,” she said, cleaning the wound and applying a numbing ointment. “It’s been a little hectic around here.”
“It’s alright, ma’am. Today isn’t exactly a normal day,” the young man, his voice rustic. He gave her a sad smile.
Jane let out a sigh. “You’re right about that,” she whispered.
As she started to stitch the wound, Jane worked to keep a blank face and provide the best patient care she could manage, but her mind was elsewhere. Her anxiety must have shown on her face.
“You alright, miss?” The young man asked, his blue eyes narrowing in concern.
She considered lying, but what was the point?
“Not really,” Jane answered honestly. “My brother is stationed at Pearl Harbor and we haven’t heard anything yet.”
Joel’s eyes filled with compassion. “I’m so sorry to hear that, ma’am. I hope he’s alright,” he said, his voice soft.
“Thank you,” Jane said.
The man smiled at her, the gesture reaching his eyes. For some inexplicable reason, Joel Turner’s kindness had eased her pain more than anything else had and, despite herself, Jane returned the smile, feeling a little more at peace than she had in hours.
