“Sunset Hill”

Lisa Ivany

It was April 2, 1945, in London, England, when Dr. Tom McBride washed up after ten straight hours of surgery. The dark circles etched under his blue eyes gave evidence to chronic lack of sleep. He removed his mask and cap, revealing a thick mass of black curls with flecks of grey, now plastered to his sweat-soaked head. Even in his present state, at the age of fifty-two, Tom still retained his boyish good looks. Most of the hospital’s female personnel would have jumped at the chance to date the handsome and charming Dr. Tom McBride, but he seemed oblivious to their overtures.

The object of Tom’s desire was Lynette Chafe, the young nurse from Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, who had joined their team two years ago. She had just graduated from nursing school and decided to use her newly acquired skills to help the Allies of World War II. There was a shortage of nurses in Europe at the time and Lynette was one of many new recruits from Newfoundland who had enlisted to help the cause.

Her hair hung in long strawberry-blond waves around her oval face. Her sparkling emerald green eyes were what first captured Tom’s attention. When she flashed her beautiful smile, she captured his heart.

She probably thinks of me as a father figure, he thought, noting their twenty-seven-year age difference. He would certainly never let her know his true feelings, or he would risk losing the close friendship they shared.

She was cleaning up in the sink next to him, and he thought it sad that she was spending her twenty-fifth birthday rinsing blood from her delicate hands instead of being home in Newfoundland, celebrating with her family and friends. He felt she should have stayed on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and kept herself out of harm’s way, but he knew her strong yearning to make a difference in people’s lives where it was needed most. He shared the same desire and determination.

“What are your plans for your birthday?” he asked.

“I guess I’ll just get cleaned up and go down to the cafeteria for dinner after my shift.”

“Mind if I join you?”

She smiled. “I’d love it.”

By the end of the workday, both doctor and nurse were ready to collapse. The cafeteria was packed with medical staff and ambulatory patients, and there were no spare tables available. Exhausted from being on their feet in the operating room all day, they both agreed they didn’t have the energy or inclination to wait in line, choosing instead to go back to Tom’s quarters so he could prepare a birthday dinner for her.

The crisp spring air energized the two, and by the time they reached Tom’s flat, their fatigue had completely dissipated. Tom refused Lynette’s help in the kitchen, insisting that it was her birthday and he wanted her to relax. She watched him prepare dinner and was pleasantly surprised to see how adept he was in the kitchen.

After a hearty dinner of shepherd’s pie, Tom and Lynette unwound on the sofa and spoke of their respective homes. She described the fishing community of Petty Harbour, with its houses built on grassy hills overlooking the inlet. She came from a family of fishermen, her father and three brothers making their living on the water. It was hard work, but they never seemed to mind, and she and her mother would watch for their return each morning and breathe a sigh of relief when they motored back safely into the harbour.

Tom admitted to his own yearning for home back in Salthill, Ireland. He had inherited his family’s 300-acre estate when he was in his early twenties and had made a prosperous business out of the riding stables and sheep farm. It was enough to support him through medical school, and he knew it was now being well looked after by his sister, Maureen.

“The pasture land is bright green and looks as thick and soft as a carpet,” he said as he described his estate to Lynette. “My favourite spot is at the very back of the land, where I used to play with Maureen and my best friend, Paddy, when we were growing up. The edge of the cliff stretches to the sky, and when you look at it from a certain angle at sunset, it looks like two separate suns are setting, one on each side of the hill. Shades of pink, blue, and violet cover the sky. That’s why we nicknamed it Sunset Hill.”

“It must be beautiful,” Lynette said.

“Yeah, it is. Best of all is that the land runs parallel to Galway Bay. There is nothing more breathtaking than watching the sun set over the water from that spot. Paddy even said that, when he dies, he wants to be buried there so he can enjoy eternity near the most beautiful sunsets in the world.”

“Where’s Paddy now?”

“I’m not sure. The last I heard, he was headed for the front lines. He’s a major in the military and I can assure you, if his men are in the midst of battle, he’s right up front with them, leading the charge. I pray for his safety every day.”

“Sounds like you two are still close.”

“He’s the closest I’ve ever had to a brother. Even though he’s a year younger than me, I’ve always looked up to him. Paddy has this strength of character and serenity about him that keeps him calm in the most stressful of circumstances. Nobody ruffles his feathers, and he can find humour in almost any situation, which is why everyone adores him.”

“I hope I get to meet him someday.”

“When this war is over, you’ll have to come to Ireland and do just that.”

Tom’s heart raced at the thought of having Lynette come home with him, even though his head was telling him to smarten up. This young girl would never fall for someone who was old enough to be her father. If only he could stop his torturous desire for this woman who had unwittingly laid claim to his heart.

The lateness of the hour, coupled with the long day in surgery, were taking their toll on Lynette. Her eyelids drooped and, after several attempts to stay alert, she finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep on his sofa. Tom didn’t have the heart to disturb her, but he wanted to make sure she was comfortable for the night. Sliding one hand behind her back and another beneath her knees, he carried her to his bedroom.

He gently tucked her between the sheets on his bed and pulled a blanket up to her chin. I shouldn’t have kept her up so late, he thought, but he certainly didn’t regret their evening together. As he left the room, he couldn’t resist the temptation to turn for one more glance at her sleeping form. She looked so small and vulnerable in his bed, and he felt a strong urge to wrap himself protectively around her. If only I were twenty-five years younger . . . or even twenty, he thought despondently. Then everything would be different.

Tom spent the rest of the night tossing and turning on the sofa. When he closed his eyes, all he could visualize was Lynette’s green eyes, her soft rosy lips . . . lips he wanted to claim with his own. Then a thought struck him. What if she had feelings for him as well? His thoughts drifted back to earlier in the evening, when they were sitting on the sofa and she was looking up into his eyes with complete interest and hanging onto his every word. She had shifted her weight, wedging her arm next to his, and she made no attempt to move it. Was it a deliberate manoeuvre?

By morning, Tom had made a decision to tell Lynette how he felt about her and let the chips fall where they may. Sure, she would probably reject him in a gracious manner, but if there was any chance at all that she could have feelings for him, he needed to find out.

“Tom, wake up!” Lynette called.

“What?” he asked sleepily, trying to open his heavy lids.

She shook him by the shoulder. “Wake up!”

“What’s up?” he asked, now wide awake.

“The siren has been blaring for the last five minutes. We’re needed at the hospital,” she responded. “You must have been really tired to have slept through that.”

They arrived at the hospital minutes later to await the incoming casualties. But instead of the usual large influx of wounded, the medics only carried in one stretcher. The stillness of the patient made Tom wonder if he was DOA.

“Where are the rest?” he asked.

“There are no others,” one of the medics replied. “There were no survivors from the blitz this morning, except for this poor guy. He’s more dead than alive, by the looks of him.”

Tom and Lynette checked the soldier’s vitals and found a very thready pulse at best. His face and hair were blackened with smoke and blood and the all too familiar stench of burnt flesh wafted from his body. The gauze dressing wrapped around his head was doing little to suppress the oozing of blood from his right temple. Lynette removed the dressing and cleaned the deep gash, and while she waited for Tom to suture the wound, she searched for the soldier’s identification.

She found his dog tags and read, “His name is Major Patrick Brendan Doyle.”

“Oh my God!” Tom exclaimed. He leaned down and studied the man’s face. He said, “It’s Paddy! I didn’t recognize him under all this black soot.”

“Is this the friend you told me about last night?” Lynette asked.

Visibly shaken, he could only manage to nod in response. A hard lump constricted his throat. Composing himself, he finished the physical examination of his best friend. Not only did Paddy have a severe concussion, but he had suffered extensive burns to his lower limbs, a fracture to his left ankle, and from the sounds Tom heard through the stethoscope, there was a possibility of a punctured lung. However, this would be easier to assess when, and if, the patient regained consciousness.

After his shift, Tom stayed by Paddy’s bedside throughout the night, and by the time Lynette arrived for work the next morning, he had not slept a wink. Paddy had still not awakened. Lynette insisted that he leave to get some sleep, or he would be of little use to anyone. She promised to keep constant vigil over his dear friend in his absence and to notify him immediately if Paddy’s condition deteriorated.

When Tom returned to the hospital, he was relieved to hear the sound of Paddy’s laughter mingled with Lynette’s as he neared his friend’s cubicle. He whipped open the curtain that surrounded the bed.

“I’m glad to see you’re not as dead as I thought,” Tom said.

“I couldn’t let you off that easy,” Paddy countered. “You still owe me a steak dinner at McGuinney’s Pub for the last time I slaughtered you at darts.”

“Well, I guess the concussion didn’t wipe out your memory,” Tom laughed. “Now, on a more serious note, are you having much pain?”

“Not since I looked into the emerald eyes of this sweet angel and was reminded of the beautiful hills of Ireland.”

Lynette laughed. “It’s more likely due to the large dose of morphine I gave him.”

Tom performed a thorough examination of Paddy and breathed a sigh of relief to find his lungs were clear. Several ribs were fractured, but they would mend with a little R and R, and Paddy’s positive attitude would undoubtedly speed his recovery.

With a shortage of surgeons, Tom’s time with his friend was quite limited, but Lynette’s schedule permitted her more time to care for their favourite patient. Indeed, she and Paddy had become instant friends. Tom was happy to see two of the people he loved most in the world getting along so famously.

He was so wrapped up with work and spending his rare off-duty hours with Paddy that he decided to delay telling Lynette how he truly felt about her. There would be ample opportunity to tell her once Paddy had recuperated and was medically discharged.

By the last week of April, Paddy’s diligence with his rehab program paid off, and he was able to walk without the aid of crutches. He still used a cane in his left hand for support, but most of the time he had his arm wrapped around Lynette’s shoulder. It was quite obvious that he preferred her assistance to that of the cane. The burns on his legs would leave permanent scars, but the pain had lessened substantially and he never complained.

Since Paddy’s recovery was going so well, he would soon be able to report for duty, albeit with a new company since he had lost all his men in the last battle. Although Tom dreaded the thought of his friend returning to fight, he was also anxious to have Lynette back to himself and finally reveal how he felt about her. He had been feeling a little left out lately. Although he would never begrudge his friend anything, a little prickle of jealousy was starting to raise its ugly head. He brushed the thought aside and knew that Lynette was just one of many people who easily made friends with Paddy.