Lizzie had a Christmas surprise too. Alfred, the wounded boy who had been a patient of hers when she first arrived and had declared undying love for her, and even proposed marriage, was back. He was suffering from tinnitus, a self-inflicted wound in his right foot, and battle fatigue. He was in their psychiatric ward, which was increasingly crowded these days. Alex had volunteered to work Christmas Day there, and told Lizzie that night that Alfred was telling all the nursing staff that he and Lieutenant Hatton were engaged.

“You might want to put a damper on that,” Alex said discreetly, particularly if Ed heard about it.

“He wrote to me a few times, and I sent him cheery little notes,” Lizzie said, thinking about it. “He actually did ask me to marry him when he was here last time, and of course I said no.” Lizzie looked mildly embarrassed by his claims. “How is he?”

Alex looked serious when she answered. “To be honest, Lizzie, he’s in terrible shape. He was on Omaha Beach. I think his mind is gone. Something snapped. I suspect the army knows it too. He has delusions in the daytime, like being engaged to you, and nightmares all night. He claims he was shot in the foot by a German soldier, but his commanding officer believes he shot himself. You’ve never heard anyone scream the way he does at night. They’re putting him on the next hospital ship home, and until then, we’re babysitting him here in the psych ward until one shows up. I think something in him is irreparably broken.” They had both seen others like him, and it was always sad. “I don’t know how they’re going to put boys like him back together when they get back to the States. The war has been hard on everyone, and we’ll all have nightmares about things we’ll never forget. But I think some of the men will never recover from them. The trauma they went through was just too great for their minds. I think Alfred is one of those. He’s just a kid, but his mind is shot. He says he met Hitler in Berlin.”

“Oh God. Maybe I’ll go see him,” Lizzie said, thinking about it, and sorry for him again.

“Be careful what you say. He’s delusional.”

“I’d like him to stop saying we’re engaged,” Lizzie said quietly.

“No one is taking it seriously,” Alex assured her, “any more than they are about his meeting Hitler.”

“The poor kid. He was a sweet boy. He wasn’t right in his head the last time I saw him either. He was desperate for me to agree to getting engaged. Ed and I aren’t even engaged and I’m in love with him.” They both laughed at that.

“Do you think that’ll happen?” Alex asked her, and Lizzie shrugged in answer and looked vague.