As Bright As Heaven

The draft calls for more men, and Thomas volunteers for the medical corps. Pauline dreads him leaving, especially since cases of influenza are rising. Thomas promises that he will return, but Pauline thinks that “wanting something is not the same as having it” (83). She is hurt by the distance she felt when she visited her mother, who is still upset that they moved away. Pauline thinks, “The heart always does what it needs to do” (86).

Evelyn is amazed at the number of people attending the Liberty Loan Parade, designed to solicit funds for the war effort. Uncle Fred is busy taking care of the sailors who came in from Boston with the “Spanish flu.” The sickness is also striking Army camps. Evelyn can see her mother wondering what the future holds.

Several students are missing from school, and Maggie’s remaining classmates discuss what the flu does to the body. Maggie’s friend Ruby asks why this is happening, and no one can answer her. Their teacher tells them that the school is closing and that the students are to go home. Maggie wonders if this is what Jamie feels: “[T]this chilly, empty fear that something bad is happening and it’s so quiet and quick you can’t even name it” (94).