Chapter 1: Three Words
Words. Simple, short little words. Everything that is complicated seems to start with the shortest and simplest of words. They're dead for example, or will you marry me? Sentences that everyone has heard, and no one mistakes their meanings. Margaret had made the mistake of using the most dangerous sentence that one friend could ever say to another, "I love you".
Did she love him? That was the question that had been circling her head ever since the sentence left her mouth.
Sitting at her desk in her tent, she tried to block the rest of the world out and think through what had happened. From the moment that her, Hawkeye and Klinger had been chosen to go together to the Battalion Aid station, to the moment that Hawkeye kissed her in the Officer's Club. It was all a blur to her, but she still had to force herself to figure it out. There was no way that she could go out there and face everyone without any answers. Sure, she didn't say it loud enough for everyone there to hear, but she knew that Hawkeye talked to Trapper, and they would use it against Frank and soon everyone would know.
"Major Houlihan?" Radar called from the door as he began to knock.
"What?" she yelled, irritated at the disturbance.
"I have a delivery for you! It's from Major Burns, he says that it's urgent!" Radar explained as best as he could through the door.
Margaret huffed as she stood up and went to open the door. "What is it?" she sharply questioned.
"Here ma'am," Radar said as he handed her an envelope.
Margaret's face softened as she studied the item for a moment before taking it. "Thank you Corporal," she said, blankly staring down at the unopened letter. Without even paying attention, she closed the door in Radar's face.
Carrying it over to her bed, she tried to think of what the letter could say. Usually, it was some sort of love note and she would be excited to receive it, but this time, she wasn't so sure. It was almost as if she were afraid to open it.
If Frank knew what was going on, the odds were that everyone else also knew. He was the one to always find out about things last, so really, this letter was about to tell her whether or not people were out there talking about her. Whether or not she could leave her tent without having people laugh at her or talk about her in passing.
She finally forced herself to rip open the envelope and unfold the paper placed within it. "I'll meet you tonight after they go to sleep," she read to herself. Anti-climatic. She let out a sigh of relief and tossed the note aside. She kept in the back of her head though, that this was only a temporary relief. Sooner or later, they would all know.