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It was departure day for the soldiers of Dover. They were to get onto a train and leave for France, a town that was unrecognizable to any of the four friends. Elizabeth knew what Grace was feeling. She felt the same on the day Damien left Ireland for France. Except, Grace actually got to say goodbye to Alex. Nevertheless, Elizabeth was going to the train station. She was going to say goodbye to Tommy, whose family was apparently not very supportive of his decision to go into the army, she was also going to support Grace, who apparently could not stop crying the previous night. So much so, Alex had made the executive decision that the last night he was in Dover, would be spent with Grace, Tommy, and Elizabeth, in Elizabeth's home.
Tommy and Alex had left early in the morning, leaving Elizabeth to an all too emotional Grace. She had made the bed, made up a perfect breakfast for Grace, and got her friend dressed in the nicest dress she owned before Elizabeth took care of herself. She made herself a piece of toast, putting on a dress and sliding on her boots, before turning to do Grace's hair.
"What if he finds a pretty French girl while in France."
"According to Churchill, Alex won't have much time to eat breakfast. I don't think you have to worry about Alex finding a French girl to run away with." Elizabeth looked up from Grace's hair to see the girl close to tears. "Besides, Alex is so in love with you that he wouldn't dare do something that would result in losing you." Elizabeth felt sick.
"How do you do it, Lizzie?"
"Hm?"
"Stay away from Damien so long?" Elizabeth sighed, finishing with Grace's hair. "Doesn't it hurt to be away from him."
"I keep busy. You and Alex helped keep me distracted. Besides, Damien and I grew up in a very different area than you. Both our families lived outside of the town on farms with acres of land. We were used to not seeing each other for a week's time. Also, when it was the harvest season, Damien would only ever come into the pub where I worked on Saturday nights."
"What did you do together?"
"Well, the night was the one time of the week where we were all allowed to sing. So, I'd stand up on the bar and all the men would watch me as I sing traditional Irish songs. He approached me one night afterwards. He said that I had the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. I laughed and we talked all night. He walked me home and asked me when he would be able to see me again. I guess that was the start of everything."
"I would like to meet him. Someday."
"Someday, maybe, yes. Now, come on or we will be late in sending off our soldiers." Grace smiled and followed Elizabeth out the door.
At the station, Elizabeth stood with Tommy as Alex and Grace spoke to each other, not letting go of each other's hands.
"You'll watch him, won't you?"
"I'm not in the same regiment, so we may be placed separately, but if we're near each other, I'll make sure he behaves himself. You watch over Grace, now. And write to me. Tell me how your Damien is doing." Elizabeth smiled as Tommy hugged her. "I'll write as soon as I can. I have no idea what we're walking into."
"Of course. Please stay safe. Write to me as often as you can. Maybe I'll see you over there, if they need a nurse or two."
"Stay and watch over Grace. If she has all three of us-" He was interrupted by Alex grabbing onto Elizabeth's wrist, pulling her towards a walkway in the train station.
"Alex, stop it. I was speaking with Tommy."
"I just needed to talk to you. One last time. Make sure that you're okay."
"I'm fine, Alex, it's Grace you should be worried about." Alex sighed as Elizabeth looked towards the opening to see that Tommy was watching them. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going back to-"
"I'm sorry about what I said about Damien. I was just jealous because at the end of the day, he's got you. I'm sorry. I'm sure he's strong enough to survive even the toughest of conditions, Betty. Besides, he's going to have to keep you on track, yeah?" She smiled slightly. "Promise you'll write to me. Even if it's two sentences about how shitty Grace is acting without me around, yeah?"
"Yeah, promise. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to Tommy." She pushed past him, taking a deep breath before heading back to Tommy, who was now speaking with Grace.
"There you are! I was just about to go look for you. Have you seen-oh, there he is." Grace moved back over so she was next to Alex, and the engaged couple was once again in their own world.
"Are you okay, Elizabeth?"
"Yeah, he just apologized for what he said the other night. Are you alright?" Tommy nodded, but he looked ghostly pale. "You'll survive, Tommy, you have us to come back to, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then you'll come home. You've got to come home. You need to meet Damien. You've also got to find yourself a wife, yeah? So, come back. You have so much more waiting for you. Come back to us."
"No promises with the war looming, but I'll try my best. You keep Grace out of trouble, alright?" One of the officers called the soldiers to board. "I'll write when I can!"
"Stay safe!" Elizabeth felt someone's hand slide into hers and she looked to the right to see Grace next to her, crying as she waved. "They'll be okay, Grace. Alex is too stubborn to die and Tommy is smart enough to stay out of trouble. They'll be okay."
