Actually, going into R.T. in the first place was my aunt's idea. She was an R.N. Said a woman should have a skill even if she didn't use it, and that I should find something that would always be in demand, like health care. With the way we were ruining the air, people smoking, she felt there'd always be a call for R. T.'s.'
'Your aunt sounds like someone with strong opinions.'
She smiled. 'Oh, she was. She's gone now.' Rapid eyeblink.
'She was a fantastic person. My parents passed on when I was a kid and she basically raised me by herself.'
'But she didn't encourage you to go into nursing? Even though she was an R.N. ?'
Actually she recommended against nursing. Said it was too much work for too little pay and not enough.
She gave an embarrassed smile.
'Not enough respect from the doctors?'
'Like you said, Dr. Delaware, she had strong opinions on just about everything.'
'Was she a hospital nurse?'
'No, she worked for the same G. P for twenty-five years and they bickered the whole time like an old married couple. But he was a
really nice man-old-fashioned family doctor, not too good about collecting his bills. Aunt Harriet was always on him for that. She was a real stickler for details, probably from her days in the army-she served in Korea, on the front. Made it to captain.
'Really,' I said.
'Uh-huh. Because of her I tried out the service, too. Boy, this is really taking me back a few years.'
'You were in the army?'
She gave a half-smile, as if expecting my surprise. 'Strange for a girl, huh? It happened in my senior year in high school. The recruiter came out on careers day and made it sound pretty attractive-job training, scholarships. Aunt Harriet thought it would be a good idea, too, so that clinched it.'
'How long were you in?'
'Just a few months.' Her hands worked her braid. A few months after I arrived I got sick and had to be discharged early.'
'Sorry to hear that,' I said. 'Must have been serious.'
She looked up. Blushing deeply. Yanking the braid.
'It was,' she said. 'Influenza-real bad flu-that developed into pneumonia. Acute viral pneumonia-there was a terrible epidemic in the barracks. Lots of girls got sick. After I recovered, they said my lungs might be weakened and they didn't want me in anymore.' Shrug.
'So that was it. My famous military career.'
'Was it a big disappointment?'
'No, not really. Everything worked out for the best.' She looked atCassie.
'Where were you stationed?'
'Fort Jackson. Down in South Carolina. It was one of the few places they trained only women. It was the summer-you don't think of pneumonia in the summer, but a germ's a germ, right?'
'True.'
'It was really humid. You could shower and feel dirty two seconds later. I wasn't used to it.'
'Did you grow up in California?'
