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( Chapter Seventeen: NURSEY NO-BRAINS )
ROBIN WAS IN THE MIDST OF GIVING PATIENT #337 A SPONGE BATH, clamping her jaw shut to stop herself from making any unwanted noise, swirling the sponge slowly on the man's shoulder. After meeting James in Paris, her life became harder than ever. Days were longer and she could hardly withstand the hours she spent away from him. She was worried sick and constantly wanted to just cry her eyes out at the thought of never being able to see her again, especially now that she was carrying his child.
"You act like you've never given a flannel bath before," the nurse standing behind her teased, and Robin's cheeks flared up at the thought of doing a less-than-adequate job. She turned her head to see who was chastising her, but the face wasn't a stranger's; it took a moment, and it was frustratingly as if the name was on the tip of her tongue. Deep brown blow-dried curls and a white nursing cap, squared jaw and thin mouth. Another second passed, and then it came to her. Mrs Honeycott. Her hands on her hips, the woman cocked her head to the left and greeted, "Hey, Nursey No-brains. I thought I saw your name on the clocking in register. There aren't many women in this world with a name like Robin-Winifred, I'll tell you that ... I'm Earnestine Honeycott. I don't know if you'll remember me, we took nursing classes together in Aldbourne, you know ... with Prudie Darling and Polly Nettle and that. Your sweetheart used to come and meet you outside to walk you home."
"Yes," Robin breathed out softly, her whole body turning towards the woman and with the dripping wet sponge still in hand, she began to stand up to greet the woman properly. How long had it been? It must have been years since she'd last seen the woman. They weren't exactly friends — she remembered Tina as astute and pious and being brave for requesting a billet out to France, but not exactly the same kind of friend she'd found in Prudie, "Yes, I do remember," the brunette smiled weakly and the older woman, "I never forget a face. Hello."
When she actually paused to think about it, it seemed like an eternity ago that she was attending her nurse training classes, or that she was with Prudie Darling in general. The golden-haired girl seemed like a distant memory Robin couldn't quite reach, no matter how much she strained. She did though, remember the three men that were trying to court her — Percy Blackwood, the war artist and her childhood friend who wanted her to run away to Ireland with him; Enoch Cross the poker player and already-married lieutenant from the airforce who wanted to have an affair with her; Tolly Lusk, her Polish pen pal who wanted to wed her once the war was over so they could live together in Cornwall by the seaside.
"Ah, no need, I'm just on routine checks for now," Tina claimed as Robin tried to stand, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder and urging her to remain seated, "I'll come and find you and we can chat later. Back to work now, Nurse Hubbard," she winked and then left to resume her duties, and Robin watched her leave after swallowing thickly and nodding. The water was turning more and more tea coloured every time she dunked the cloth in. She was so incredibly uncomfortable with the job she'd been assigned that she wanted to just burst into tears there and then, to fold in on herself and crumple up like a paper doll.
