Duncan stood outside, smoking in the warm summer night air. He just couldn't keep his mind from wandering back to Courtney. Who kissed who first? Then he would scoff and remind himself it didn't matter, and that they both had kissed back. He felt guilty of somehow taking advantage of her, since she was an orphan as of only two and a half weeks ago. She was still distressed, he could tell from her nightmares. She probably just wanted a friend, and here Duncan was, kissing her to the point of breathlessness. Seriously, where did that kiss come from?
Suddenly Duncan saw her. Courtney was walking back from wherever she had gone this late at night. He would have guessed she went to the bathroom, except for the fact that she came from the opposite direction. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, taking a drag on his cigarette and trying to distinguish any hidden emotions in her eyes.
But her face was blank.
Courtney silently passed him and went back into the tent. Duncan was genuinely wondering what she had gone out to do. But he simply finished his cigarette, snubbed it out with his boot, and went in the tent. He tossed A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, which he had bought off of Thomas for a handful of cigarettes, under his cot and fell into a much-needed sleep.
The next few days were torture. Courtney had been having more nightmares than ever, often two or even three a night, but ever since that kiss, Duncan hadn't felt welcome back in the nurses' bedroom. What most frustrated him was hearing Courtney cry and whimper in the middle of the night and knowing he couldn't comfort her. Her crying nearly killed him.
Another source of torment was that he and Courtney barely talked, only polite small talk as she would change his shoulder bandages. The rest of her time would be spent with Sam, which made Duncan surprisingly lonely and jealous. He would hear them both talking in German, which pissed Duncan off because he couldn't even tell what they were talking about.
Late one afternoon, Duncan's troop was called out to the courtyard. Duncan stood up from his cot, threw on his camouflaged jacket over the camouflaged pants he was already wearing and jogs out of the hospital tent. Courtney had told him his bullet wound would take approximately three and a half weeks to heal, since it hadn't hit any major arteries or bones or nerves. He'd been through three weeks of recovery and rehab, so just a few more days and he'd be free of the hospital forever.
Free from Courtney forever.
Free from seeing her smile everyday.
Free from comforting her from her nightmares.
And Duncan wasn't sure if he wanted that or not.
Duncan falls in place in line between Travis and Thomas, standing tall and stiff, waiting for the general. Soon General Smith comes out of the tent and salutes his troop. Duncan lifts his right shoulder, cocks his elbow, and rests his flat hand against his eyebrow simultaneously with his troop. He would have smiled for being able to salute again, if not for the fact that you were supposed to keep a blank face when saluting.
The general lowered his salute and the soldiers immediately followed. "Men!" General Smith calls out, pacing in front of them. "We have gotten word that there is a surplus of Nazi soldiers in Potsdam, just southwest of Berlin. The place is probably swarming with the bastards. I'm planning a surprise attack on the base that is, in all likelihood, positioned in Potsdam. It very well may be a suicide mission for all the Nazis that are there. But I am hoping that we'll have the element of surprise on our side. Three other troops will be meeting us there, and with a bit of luck, we can plant bombs around the camp under the cover of darkness. We will attack, and for some reason, if we have to withdraw, we can detonate the bombs."
The general became silent and looked over his troops. "I know this very well may be a suicide mission. I've told you that. But this is our duty to our country, stopping these German bastards from taking over the world, as their insane leader wants to do. For those of you who wish to join me in the attack, please step forward," General Smith commands.
All of the men in Duncan's troop take a step forward.
"Good," General Smith continues, "We leave at sunset." The general salutes the soldiers, and they salute back. The general turns and heads back to his tent, and the soldiers drop their hands to their sides. Only once the general was out of sight did they break from their stations. Duncan looked up at the sun, which was only about forty five minutes away from setting.
Soon Duncan was gripped with panic. Courtney! What about Courtney? What would she do if he was leaving her here? What if she needed her, or… He needed her? How would she cope with her nightmares? How would she learn English?
"Life is always difficult in proportion to its intensity and reality."
- Edward Howard Griggs
Duncan slid past the crowd of his fellow soldiers and he heads towards the hospital tent. Inside, Courtney and three other nurses were transferring Sam from his cot onto a stretcher. Apparently the truck had arrived to take him to a larger hospital.
Duncan puts his hand on her elbow and says, "Courtney… I need to talk to you." She turns around and looks at him.
"What do you want, Duncan? I'm busy."
"I need to talk to you," he repeats, with more emphasis, "In private. Come on, follow me." Duncan takes her hand and starts to pull her away, but Courtney stops him.
"No," Courtney replies. Clearly there was an internal battle being raged inside of her, if her unsure eyes were any clue. "I need to help Sam right now."
"With what?" Duncan asks, motioning to the three nurses carrying Sam out of the hospital tent. "They have it under control. Please, Courtney, I'm begging you. There's not much time."
Courtney sighed and rolled her eyes. This time, when Duncan tried to pull her out of the hospital tent, she followed him without resisting. He takes her behind the hospital tent on the edge of the forest and behind a thick tree for some privacy.
"Courtney, I'm leaving."
The I-don't-care mask on her face slipped a little, and Duncan could see her worry. "What? Why?" she asks.
"I… can't tell you where I'm going," Duncan answers regretfully. There was a popular saying in the US that went, Loose lips sink ships. The same thing applied to soldiers and where they're positioned in Europe. The enemy can never get word of it. Not that Duncan didn't trust Courtney not to say anything, but if she were to be tortured for information, she may unwillingly let it slip. "My troop is being relocated to somewhere else in Germany."
"But… I'll see you again, won't I?" Courtney asked in a whisper. Her eyes welled up and she tried to blink them back. Duncan put his arms around her waist and hugged her. She desperately needed it.
"I don't know, Princess," he answered honestly. He left out the part about his mission possibly being a suicide mission. She didn't need to know that. "I'll miss you, though."
Courtney hugged him tighter, burying her head deeper into his arms. "I'll miss you too, Duncan," she replies. Even though her voice was muffled in his clothing, he could still understand what she said perfectly.
"Listen…," Duncan begins, lifting her chin up so he could look at her, "I'll write to you every day. And I shouldn't be gone for more than two weeks."
Thomas suddenly came around the hospital tent and looked towards the woods. "Duncan?" he calls out.
Duncan dropped his hand from Courtney's face and stepped out of their embrace. "Over here," he calls back, since his friend couldn't see him from behind the thick tree.
"Well, come on, then!" Thomas continues, "We need to get going!"
Duncan looks at Courtney once more, memorizing each detail, and turns to follow Thomas to the courtyard. But before he disappeared around the corner of the hospital tent and into view of the other soldiers, he heard Courtney exclaim, "Duncan!" from behind him.
He turned around just in time to catch her as Courtney jumps into Duncan's arms, kissing him hard. Duncan holds her off the ground with his hands on her hips and spins them in a tight circle to burn off extra velocity from her jump.
Duncan places Courtney back on the ground and they soon break their kiss. "Goodbye," she tells him breathlessly, offering him a small smile.
He smiles back and replies, "Bye, Princess." Duncan turns and heads into the hospital tent, grabs his duffel bag from under his cot, waves goodbye to the soldiers who were awake, and goes out to the courtyard. His troop was already loading up into the olive green truck which would transport them to Potsdam.
Duncan quickly hopped on board and took a seat between Thomas and Travis. He set his duffel bag between his feet and held his helmet in his hands. Taped to the inside was the Polaroid picture of him and Courtney, in the hospital tent. Duncan bit his lip and plopped the helmet on his head. He would see her soon.
