“Maybe I should find a job here, or in Baltimore. At least I’d be close to you. I’m going to miss you so damn much.” They had been together constantly for three years. The tears spilled down Lizzie’s cheeks then, and the two women hugged, thinking of their futures, which weren’t what either of them wanted. Audrey had no choice. She wouldn’t abandon her mother, and Lizzie couldn’t fight her overpowering father, and her mother agreed with whatever he wanted. Their entire family followed his lead in all things. Her brothers never challenged him either. Neither had she so far. She was due to start the job he’d found for her in Boston in two weeks. They expected her to live at home, which was what proper young women did. She would have liked to get her own apartment, possibly with some other nurses, but she knew her parents would never let her do it. She would be living under their roof until she married. And Audrey had to live with her mother anyway. She hadn’t applied for any nursing jobs. She had her life cut out for her too. She would be at home, nursing her mother.

Ellen was entirely aware of the sacrifices Audrey made, and grateful for them. She stunned Audrey with the graduation present she offered her. She told her about it the night before graduation.

“I want you to make plans for a vacation, Audrey,” she told her firmly. “I’ll pay for you and a friend. I want you to fly to Hawaii. I’ve already spoken to Will about it, he is stationed in Hawaii now and loves it. He says he can take some leave to escort you around. I assume you’ll want to take Lizzie, but that’s up to you. I want you to have a real vacation, in a beautiful place. And not sometime in the distant future that never happens. Figure it out. Mrs. Beavis can stay with me for a week or ten days. I already asked her and she agreed. And you go kick up your heels. You’ve earned it. I’m very proud of you for getting your nursing degree, especially since I know you did it for me. But now it’s your turn. So figure out when. You can fly to California from New York, and from there to Oahu on Pan Am. I’ve already put the money aside for the trip, and I won’t take no for an answer!” Audrey looked at her in astonishment, and rushed to the phone to call Lizzie in her dorm and tell her about it.