Battle Hymns by Cara Langston

Author:Cara Langston
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: 1940s, historical fiction, wwii, army, nursing, wwii romance, wartime romance, romance historical

Twenty

Nineteen forty-three arrived with no celebration on Charlotte’s part. She declined invitations to various New Year’s Eve parties, despite the urging from her mother, Evelyn, and Sandra. She missed her friends, but she still couldn’t endure the constant drone of sympathies. Even though they meant well, all it did was remind her of what she’d lost. And if she found last year’s hoopla tedious while Nick was in basic training, this year would have been even worse.

“I understand,” Will said after Charlotte answered his question about her holiday. “I can’t picture myself at a party right now either, even if I could stand on my own two feet.”

“We’re pitiful.”

Will shrugged. “It’ll get better. The future still looks bright.”

She smiled. “I like that you’re so optimistic these days.”

“It’s a good day. It’s a new year, hopefully the year the war ends . . . I get to see you, which is always a pleasure . . . and the doctor said they’ll remove my leg cast sometime today.”

“I heard. I bet you can’t wait to walk again.”

“You have no idea. My leg is the only reason I’m still here.”

“You still have to go to physical therapy, right?” Her voice wavered. “You won’t be discharged soon?”

Charlotte wanted Will’s leg to heal, but she dreaded him leaving. She had gotten to know him well since November. He was a fixture at the hospital and had always been supportive of her situation with Nick, before and after his death. Of course she’d developed an attachment to him. They were both survivors. Will in the physical sense, and her in the emotional one. They still hadn’t recovered, but they were well on their way. She needed him in her life. At the moment, he was her closest friend.

Will flashed a grin. “You can’t get rid of me that quickly.”

She gave a hesitant laugh. “Did you attend many New Year’s Eve parties? Before the war, I mean?”

“Every year. My father hosted an annual party at our home in Stamford. It was a lavish affair . . . dinner, live music, and liquor that flowed in abundance, even during the Prohibition years. Our nanny would make my sister and me wear our best clothes, and we’d pretend to be much older than we were. We were spoiled.”

“What about your mother? She must be a lovely lady.”

“I’m sure she was, but I wouldn’t know.” Will idly scratched the plaster leg cast. “She died while giving birth to my sister and me.”

Her cheeks flushed. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Will shrugged. “It’s all right. You can’t miss what you never had.”

Charlotte was at a loss for an appropriate response. She always asked the wrong questions, ones that sent him into his thoughts. She could’ve left him and moved on to other patients, but perhaps selfishly, she wanted to continue her visit.

She glanced at her wristwatch. “I’ll be right back.”

When Charlotte returned, she pushed a metal cart to his bedside. “I was going to wait until a little bit later.

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