Gooz, and the whole population of the barrack really, knew that something was going on by the clatter that was coming from down the hall. A stream of whined curses, the clattering of objects on linoleum, the creaking of bedsprings, gasps and groans, and all manner of other sounds could be heard coming from Milly's room.
"What in the blue hell is going on in there?" Earl asked after about five minutes of listening the ruckus. Gooz, Red, Billy, Joe, Anthony, and Danny were all wondering just about the same thing.
"Just leave her," Red dismissed with a wave of his hand. He in particular did not want to know what was going on in there. Danny gave an affirming nod.
"Yeah, but Gooz is right here," Joe said, jerking his thumb over at where Gooz was sitting, listening with a distraught look on his face. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it certainly did sound like some extracurricular activities were going on in there.
"Should we go check on her? I don't hear anyone else in there," Billy asked, but Danny gave him a strange look.
"Don't you think that would be even more awkward?"
"Are you kidding? He'd be in there like a dirty shirt," Earl scoffed, making Danny and Joe laugh, but Gooz shushed them and held up his hand. Listening hard, he could pick up the sound of a long, terrified shriek being muffled by something like a pillow. Gooz jumped up immediately.
"Milly!" Joe called, having clearly heard the scream too. The men skidded their way down the hall, and as he was in the lead, Gooz was the one to fling open the door and reveal the disaster zone.
"What am I going to do?" Milly cried, her eyes wide with madness.
Books, clothes, several hairbrushes Gooz hadn't even known she owned, what he supposed were curlers though he wasn't quite sure, and a pair of what looked like curved pliers were strewn everywhere. They didn't really look like pliers at all in fact, they had a band of what appeared to be rubber padding where they clamped down, they were small, and the handles looked more like scissor handles than pliers handles. He was quite frightened of asking what the object was meant to do.
He could see where Milly had screamed into her pillow, the edges being wrinkled from being clamped down upon, and an imprint her face had left was still visible as it sat amongst the various other things that had been haphazardly tossed onto her bed.
"Milly?" he asked curiously. Her drawers were all open, clothes spilled out of them as though they had somehow managed to come alive and vomit shirts, socks, and a rather pretty polkadot dress all over the room.
"I need a- no, I can't do that..." Milly muttered, spinning around to looked at her room. "What if they don't like me?" she asked, looking meaningfully up at Gooz, clutching a tube of unidentifiable blue goop to her chest, which had fancy black lettering written on it. He could just make out the word 'conditioner' on it before she tossed the tube into a small bag, stopped, and took it back out again, throwing it into her small bathroom, presumably into the sink, with a clatter. Perhaps he had taken too long to answer her question.
The men exchanged looks of confusion mingled with concern.
"I don't even have a nightgown or any pyjamas, oh Lord Almighty they'll think I've slept with all of you!" she yelled, running her hands through her hair before getting to her knees and searching for something on the floor.
"You sleep in the nude?" Billy asked, only to receive a glare from both Gooz and Milly.
"It's a lot hotter in Oahu than I'm used to, alright?" she snapped, getting up and running into the bathroom, coming out just as fast with the same tube of goo, and tossing it back into the bag she had previously taken it out of.
"What happened?" Gooz asked, worried, because whatever had upset her had to be worst than sharks, ruining the water supply, and being treated like just some brainless twit all put together. This was the most upset he had seen her yet.
"Evelyn, Sandra, Barbra, Betty, Martha, the girls, they invited me to spend a night with them." she said, sitting cross legged on her bed and clutching a pillow to her chest. "A girl's night..." she whispered as though it was some horror that shouldn't be spoken in polite public.
"I thought you liked Betty," Red said stiffly. Milly clutched her pillow harder.
"I do, but I don't know the first thing about the others except their given names!"
"So... because you don't have any pyjamas, they'll think you're a slut?" Joe asked, again receiving a glare.
"Well, what use would a slut have with pyjamas, Joe!" she asked. "I don't even know how these curler things work!" she fretted, picking up a curler and tossing it aside hopelessly. Red picked up the curved metal pliers-scissor like tool, and held it up to Milly.
"Do you know what this is?"
Milly took it from him with a nod.
"Oh good, because they're starting to scaring me."
"It's for your eyelashes. To make them flip up, it makes your eyes look bigger, brighter."
"Is it painful?" Anthony asked, making Milly laugh.
"Not if you do it right."
Gooz was shocked. He had only seen makeup on Milly a few days ago at the party, but she had looked so beautiful then, how could she have managed that if she didn't know what half her stuff did?
"That's what Betty said anyway. Truth be told, she did all my hair and makeup on the night of the party. I don't know what that foul gunk does either. I just know she put it in my hair." she said, looking to the tube of conditioner in her bag. "They're going to think I'm so clueless. I don't even know what Vogue is... Evelyn said they were going to discuss it. It's not some sort of test, is it?" she asked, looking hopefully up at the men in her room.
"Well, they'll be right about you being clueless..." Billy said bluntly, earning himself a cuff on the back of the head from Red. Milly put her head on her pillow.
"I'm good with engines, not all this cosmetic stuff. I'm going to be an elephant in the room." she muttered. Gooz shoved several articles of he didn't quite know what over to the side and sat down beside her.
"You can borrow one of my shirts if you want," he said softly, to which Milly nodded. At least if it was borrowed from him the girls might think that her sexual activities were restricted to one man, which seemed to be one of her main concerns. It wouldn't exactly make her seem puritanical, but he figured it might help. Billy just shook his head.
"No, no, no. We're going to fix this properly," he said, taking Milly's hand and pulling her up. "Grab your purse. Boys, we're going shopping. Let's go." He pointed to the door. No one moved for a moment. "Well?" Billy asked, and everyone shuffled out. Milly grabbed her purse and locked up quickly, noticing she was nearly being left behind.
"Does he normally do this?" Milly asked, but Gooz just shrugged.
"This is new to me too."
The car ride was rather awkward, as everyone was waiting on Billy's instructions for what to do. When they stopped, they were in the shopping district of Pearl Harbor, parked in front of a rather large department store.
Billy stopped and turned to face the others.
"At attention," he commanded, and the others, being military, obeyed without question, but with questioning looks. "Mission Objective; procure proper equipment for future night operation. Red, get a Vogue magazine, and ask the lady at the makeup counter for the 'Spring Package'. Joe, get a decent bag. It should be able to comfortably fit three uniforms, a mortar gun tube and base plate, and a tennis racket with enough pockets to fit three grenades and two days worth of K rations, and make it green. Gooz, go to the fourth floor, ask for Annabelle. Tell her I sent you, and that it's girl's night. She'll give you what you need. Danny, if you see any of the nurses Milly is spending the night with, head them off. Tell them the building is on fire."
"Won't they-" Danny began, but was quickly cut off.
"Get back in the car. Everyone else put all the purchases on Rachael Delois's tab. Meet back here in fifteen minutes. Earl, you're with me." Billy ordered, and Milly watched in shock as they all ran off to do as they were told. They marched off, leaving a very confused Anthony behind calling to them; "What about me?"
"What about Anthony, and why do I need a mortar tube?" Milly asked, a little concerned about what exactly Billy thought she might be doing that night.
"Anthony, you're with us. For... moral support," Billy called before turning back to Milly. "You think he's going to know how big that bag needs to be if I tell him make it big enough for a set of pyjamas, a pack of girl's night candy, and the 'spring package'?"
No, she suppose he wouldn't know, given that she herself didn't know. "How do you kno-"
"I've had a few girlfriends. Come on, we need to find you some pyjamas."
"But Gooz said he would give me-"
Billy stopped and gave her a look. "Trust me."
Milly shut up and followed him to the second floor, and into the evening wear section.
"What's your size?" Billy asked, as he began to rummage through the various nightgowns and other such sets.
"Large." Milly mumbled indignantly, looking jealously over at all the selection the tiny women had. She had never had any luck when it came to finding things to wear. Her mother had always had to make her clothes for her, which was sometimes a blessing, other times a curse. Billy, Anthony, and Earl made quick work of the rack, the later two holding up each item for Billy to approve or disapprove of. Within ten minutes, he seemed to settle on one set of pyjamas.
"Here. Go try that on, make sure it fits," he ordered, handing her a set of pyjamas consisting of a t-shirt and pants.
"Won't that be a bit hot?"
"Its cotton, it'll breathe. If it gets too hot it's acceptable to roll up the pant legs and make shorts out of them." he said, herding Milly to the change room. She slipped the outfit on, making sure it fit while trying not to let the absurdity of this whole situation sink in just yet. Within fifteen minutes of Billy giving his orders she was back at the front of the store. Gooz, Joe, and Red were all carrying packages and bags of varying shapes.
"This girl's night is complicated business, isn't it..." Milly murmured, as they put the purchases into the car. "Who's Rachael?" she asked, suddenly realising that she had just gained quite a few items without paying for them.
"A girlfriend from a while back. She'll never notice those items with all the shopping she does. A little extra money on her tab won't kill her," he said rather bitterly.
"That's not right, Billy," Milly said sternly, resolving to go back when she had time and pay back what she owed on this Rachael woman's tab. He just snorted, and gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles went white.
Upon getting back to the barracks, the men swept Milly's belonging's from the bed, and replaced them with her new purchases. They made quick work of the wrapping and began putting all of the things into the new bag Joe had picked out for her, which happened to be quite a lovely shade of light green. Next, Billy took up some of Milly's old clothes and packed them as well, expertly folding them and placing them gently into the bag. Lastly, he put in the package Gooz had gotten for her.
"That's chocolate, and some candy for you and the girls, so hold it away from your body or it'll melt. A dirty joke will go a long way in helping them trust you. Honesty goes a long way too, just not about their behaviour concerning you. They do everything right if they do it to you. And this is the most important thing, so listen up," Billy ranted, getting closer and closer to Milly as he spoke. "If you have feelings for a man," he flicked his eyes to Gooz for a second before returning them to Milly. "Let them know. Let them know that he is taken and defended, because otherwise, and make no mistake about this, they will snap him up in an instant. It doesn't matter if the odds are 4000 men to 1 woman on this island." He seemed so serious about it, that she didn't dare question him.
"Yes, sir," she whispered, now more terrified of the girl's night than ever before.
"She's sweet," Danny mumbled. "Evelyn, I mean. She'll look after you."
"Betty will too," Red added with a smile.
"Oh, and don't forget: clean panties and your toothbrush," Billy noted as he made for the door. He stopped for a moment, and flexed his arm in a rather comical manner, showing off the strength of the limb. "And don't forget to play us men up. Put in lots of good words for us." He smirked, and with that, he left.
"Thank you!" Milly called, as he and Joe and Danny left. "I'll talk to Betty, Red. Really I will," she said with a smile as the red haired man left as well, leaving Gooz and Milly alone.
"Well, that was a once in a lifetime experience," Gooz said thoughtfully.
"He's had more than just a few girlfriends, hasn't he," Milly stated more than asked. Gooz arched an eyebrow.
"I think he said last month the count was up to fifty six in the past four years? That could have changed by now though."
They sat in silence on Milly's bed for a moment before he nudged her gently.
"Come on. I'll give you a ride to the nurse's barracks," he said, taking her hand after she had snatched up a last minute book and leading her to his motorcycle. It took a bit longer, considering the fact that the nurse's barracks were a bit farther down the island than the department store was, and also the fact that Gooz wasn't blatantly breaking the speed limit as Billy had been. Gooz was perfectly happy to take his time, enjoying the feeling of Milly's arms around him, her head resting gently on his back.
"Milly?" Gooz asked as he pulled up to the nurses' barracks. She grunted drowsily, clearly having fallen asleep during the drive. She heaved herself off the bike and rubbed her eyes.
"Thanks, Gooz," she said through a yawn. He chuckled lightly, thinking of how cute she looked.
"Milly," he began once she opened her eyes. His grin was replaced with a frown. "What I said at the party, I think you have to understand something," he said, letting go of the handlebar to touch his forehead. He stayed quiet for a moment, but Milly remained still and silent as well, patiently waiting for him to finish. "When I said you wouldn't be getting a boyfriend, I didn't mean it as though you couldn't get one." Another pause. "I just meant that I wanted to be that man," he said finally. Milly nodded knowingly. Joe had trailed her that night just made sure she understood that was what his friend had meant. He had made an excellent wingman.
"So I should let the girls know that you're taken then," she smirked, making Gooz grin.
"Here," he said, slipping off his hula shirt and bundling it up in front of him. He then slipped off his undershirt and handed it to her. Milly took it as though it was as delicate as a Swarovski crystal flower.
"That'll let the girls know I'm taken," and I'll be telling everyone in the barracks where that t-shirt went, and that unlike the cookies, you, Milly Anderson, are not for sharing. He thought a little too ferociously.
He reached out and brought Milly to him, kissing her soundly to make sure the message had time to sink in. It pleased him to see she looked a little dazed as he pulled away. "I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow night, alright?" he asked, to which Milly just nodded. "Have fun, and be yourself. They'll have to like you," he added, pulling his hula shirt back on and kissing her forehead. She waved as he departed, and he gave a small wave of his own.
Later down the road, as the pebbles from the road were pelting his naked chest and stomach, he made a mental note to himself. If I plan on being romantic, he thought, wincing as another pebble struck, bring extra shirts.