The Tuscan Orphan by Siobhan Daiko

Author:Siobhan Daiko [Daiko, Siobhan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Published: 2023-11-13T16:00:00+00:00

15

Carrie sat at the makeshift desk in the corner of the bivouac – a couple of crates one on top of the other – and picked up her pen.

Dear Mom, Daddy, and Helen

Thank you so much for the gifts you sent for Mimi. The wool coat is gorgeous, and I’m sure she’ll love the adorable red skirt and sweater. So Christmassy! I’ve saved my present to open tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see what you got me. I hope you like the leather belts and bags I mailed you. They were handmade in Florence.

The scene is very festive here. The hills behind Scarperia are blanketed with snow, and the hospital is all decked out for the holidays. We nurses spent a lot of time decorating the wards with holly, pinecones, wreaths, and candy canes. Now Jack Frost has arrived to complete the picture and sprinkle his magic over the tents. Thankfully, we’re warm and cozy inside.

Today, we held a party for the enlisted men, which included a banquet, a huge tree, decorated by us, and a stage show – yours truly dressed up as Santa’s elf and performed ‘Jingle Bells’ with her tentmates – and there were presents for all. Christmas trees and mistletoe adorn each ward and mess. Earlier this evening, there was a service in the chapel. When we sang ‘Hark the Herald Angel’ and got to the words, ‘Peace on Earth’, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The lyrics made me think how far we are from achieving that, and also about the bereaved families, the devastation of homes, the unhappiness and separation. I just pray it will all be over soon.

Tomorrow, we’re giving all the patients a stocking each. We stitched them ourselves from whatever fabric we could find. We also made one for every enlisted man in the detachment and in them, among other things, we’ve placed a 12-ounce bottle of grappa – Italian eau de vie – bought by our physicians and surgeons.

Well, I’d better get some sleep now. I’ll be up early to hand Mimi her gifts. I’ll finish this letter in a day or two and let you know how it all went.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.