A Promise Kept - Segment #3
Several days later Annabelle stood over Jack holding a tray with a metal bowl of warm water, a razor, a shaving brush and a jar of shaving cream. “Can you sit up in a chair?” With each day Jack grew stronger and Annabelle knew it. She wanted him to do as much for himself as possible.
“Yeah, I can sit up in a chair,” he said, scooching himself up the bed in slow, gradual movements. As soon as he was upright, he swung his legs over the side. “I don’t think I’m up to shaving yet, though.”
“No, I expect not,” Annabelle commented. “I’ll do it for you.”
Jack’s round eyes widened. “You know how to shave a man’s face?”
Annabelle let out a guffaw. “Of course! Have you any idea how many men I’ve shaved in here? Hundreds, probably more than a thousand.”
“No nicks?”
“No nicks. Well, maybe when I first started. Not now. I’m pretty good,” she said with obvious pride.
She set down the shaving supplies and helped Jack stand, then turned him around and settled him into the chair. She dipped a small cloth into the bowl of warm water, wrung it out and laid it over his face. When she was sure that the whiskers had softened she removed the cloth and using a shaving brush applied shaving cream with circular motions. He looked like a man caught in a snowstorm. One stroke at a time, she used the double-edged razor to remove both the shaving cream and whiskers hidden underneath. After each swipe she rinsed the razor in the bowl and shaved another swath across his face. By the time she finished he was cleanly shaven and his skin felt as soft as a young child’s. She stood back to get a good look at him, crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. While she thought when she first saw him that he was no doubt a nice looking man, with all he’d been through, she couldn’t tell. Now his sandy brown hair and warm russet eyes circled in long dark lashes stood out, radiating warmth. She reached over for a mirror and held it up in front of him.
Jack let out a long whistle, turning his head from side to side examining Annabelle’s work. “You are good, Annabelle. That’s as nice a shave as I’ve ever had at a barber shop. Better than I do myself. Why, when you go stateside you could get a job in one of those fancy barber shops. The guys would love having a pretty gal like you giving ‘em shaves.”
Annabelle wrinkled her turned-up nose. “Thanks, but think I’ll stick with nursing.”
A slight cough sounded behind them. The doctor stepped forward, around a pile of files looming up from the floor, like stalagmites. “Speaking of stateside, Mr. Marino, you finished your antibiotic treatment.” The doctor nodded. “So if you’re done lollygagging around here, I’d like to send you home.”
Jack let out a howl of delight.
“Now, hold on,” the doctor continued. “Not home as you know it, but to a hospital in the states where you will continue your recovery. You’re from San Diego, aren’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” Jack answered, grinning as wide as his face would allow.
“Then we’ll send you to Balboa Hospital there. It’s a good facility. They can determine how long you’ll need to recover further. At this point I’m comfortable with sending you home on a military transport, as long as we have a medic or nurse on board in case you or one of the other wounded needs help. There will be many patients on board from several of the field hospitals and the transport will make numerous stops dropping people off in various cities. San Diego will be the last stop and it will be a long trip.”
Jack sat up straighter. “That’s fine with me! I don’t care if it takes a month to get home. When do I leave, sir?”
“Depends on a couple of things,” the doctor answered, crossing his arms and rubbing his chin with a thumb and forefinger. “First I need to find a nurse or medic willing to accompany the group and when I do I’ll contact transport to schedule the flight. Could be two or three days.”
“I’m from San Diego,” Annabelle interjected, her crystalline blue eyes a bit brighter than usual. “And I trained at Balboa Hospital.”
The doctor looked over at her. “Did you now?” the doctor asked, raising his eyebrows. “You’re due to end your tour of duty next week as I recall.”
“Yes, sir,” Annabelle nodded.
“Lucky break for us if you would you be willing. It might be grueling, caring for all those wounded in flight.”
“Doctor, I doubt it would be any more grueling than working in a medical tent in a war zone,” she said, sweeping her hand around the tent to illustrate the difficult environment where she had been working for the last three years.
“Yes, yes, you’re quite right,” he said, nodding in agreement. “Thank you for volunteering. I’ll sign the papers completing your tour of duty and let the transport service know.” He turned and left the tent, his feet just missing the stalagmite of files.
“I’m sure glad it’s you going home with me. My family is going to love you,” Jack grinned at Annabelle, his eyes dancing.
“Your family?”Annabelle’s mouth hung open a notch.
“Yeah,” he grinned. “Yeah. No question, they’ll love you.”
