Lizzie wasn’t absolutely sure that she wanted to go back to Boston when she graduated, and she talked to Audrey sometimes about going to work in New York if she could find a job there. She wanted to see more of the world than just Boston. She talked about California too, but that seemed like it was on another planet, and for now she had nursing school to finish in Annapolis, before she made any big decisions about her future. Audrey admired her spirit of adventure. Lizzie always said that if her parents wouldn’t let her pursue the career path she really wanted as a doctor, they couldn’t keep her tied to Boston forever too. The life she would have there would be entirely predictable: a job as a nurse in a hospital or a doctor’s office, a husband as soon as she could find one, and children immediately thereafter. She wanted more out of life than that. Her options seemed numerous to Audrey, whose future would be even narrower, living at home and caring for her mother.

Neither of the girls had a revolutionary spirit. They were expected to follow their family traditions. They talked about it sometimes late at night, when Lizzie spent the night at the Parkers’ and they talked about their futures. Lizzie didn’t want a life entirely designed for her by her parents. They had already stopped her from doing the one thing she wanted: medical school. She wanted a voice in the rest, to make her own decisions.

The week they started their second-year classes in nursing school, war was declared in Europe. Both girls followed it with interest, with the reassurance from the White House that America would not be drawn into it. President Roosevelt assured the American public that they would not participate in another war in Europe. But it was concerning anyway, to read about what was happening. Will came home on leave at Thanksgiving, and said he was sorry America was determined not to get involved. The country didn’t want to engage in another war. He was still an ensign. He had had some combat training by then, and he would have loved to engage in the war in Europe.