All she could think about as she hung up the phone was how exciting her life had become, and this was just the beginning.

Two months from now, she’d be leaving for her assignment, wherever it was. She wondered how hard the classes would be, and she hoped she’d pass them. Lizzie had said that some of the training would be physically rigorous, from what she’d heard. But Audrey was ready to face anything. She knew she was on the right path now, and didn’t doubt it for an instant, nor did Lizzie and Alex. The dangers and potential discomforts didn’t even occur to them. They had a job to do, and could hardly wait to get started.

Audrey finished packing and closing her parents’ house. She left Will’s room untouched. Her mother had slept there, but left all of Will’s belongings as he had had them. It still felt like a shrine to her, and she wanted to leave it that way until she came home. She wasn’t ready to put his things away, even after two years. Her mother had never wanted to either.

She said goodbye to Mrs. Beavis, who was taking some time off before taking on a new patient. Ellen’s death had hit her hard after so many years of caring for her, and Ellen had been such a sweet person.

Audrey took a train to Boston the morning of Christmas Eve, and Lizzie picked her up at the station. It had been twenty-one months since they’d seen each other, although it felt like only yesterday. Nothing had changed between them, and Lizzie felt like even more of a sister now that they would be army nurses together. On the way to the house, Lizzie said that she had told her parents the day before when she arrived, and they were upset that she was hoping to ship out to England, and was joining the air evac squadron. The war would be close at hand if they were sent to England, as they hoped, and the risks greater than being safely on American soil in San Francisco, as long as the Japanese didn’t bomb them again. There was no sign of it so far.

“They never thought I’d get shipped out. I hope we will be. I told them you’re coming too, and that just made my mother cry harder. I think my father is proud of me, but he won’t say it in front of Mom, or she’d get angry at him. But all three of their children will be on the front lines now.” It seemed like a lot to Audrey too, and she suspected her mother wouldn’t have liked it either, but there was nothing to stop her now.

The holiday at the Hattons’ was tense, with Lizzie’s new assignment looming. She hoped she’d get a short leave to see them when she finished training, but she wasn’t sure. She promised she’d come home to say goodbye if she could. The four of them spent Christmas Eve together, and went to midnight Mass. They spent a quiet Christmas Day.