Luz didn't ask Margaret tomorrow, or the next day. He realized this was a delicate topic, something he wasn't savvy in. He watched her though, but he could see no sign of anything out of the ordinary. She still checked on all the guys daily, helping warm hands when she could. She laughed easily, something he always loved about her. She was Margaret.
Easy made their way to Haguenau, France. Although the city was secure, the stray mortar struck around them every now and then. The enemy was only over the river. But Haguenau felt like a paradise vacation compared to the woods of Belgium. They were able to stay in houses, in actual beds with real sheets. They had a hot meal everyday, sometimes multiple times a day.
The extreme change in living situation had some other extreme effects. Lipton, now a lieutenant, had come down with a pneumonia, unable to perform his new duties. After months outside in the frozen tundra, now the poor man gets ill. The sickness aggravated him greatly. He attempted to sneak into meetings, which only aggravated Spiers. And no one wanted to piss off that man.
The soldiers started to enjoy other simple pleasures - at least most of them did. Four men had to force Malarkey into the showers after he refused daily to clean himself. His depression had some strange side effects. For the most part though, the change was a huge welcome.
Margaret sat in her bunk, Roe sitting in a chair across from her, reading a small book. Luz laid his head in her lap, and she stroked his hair absently.
Her fellow soldiers liked to visit her not only for her company, but because she had a small room all to herself. Sometimes being the only female soldier had its perks.
"Luz, you need a haircut," she murmured, brushing his long and choppy locks from his face.
With his eyes closed, he shrugged sleepily. "Whatever you say, Mags."
Margaret grinned at Roe. "I love when he says that. Can I borrow your scissors, Eugene?"
Luz sat up. "What? Now?"
Margaret stood, and took the shears Roe offered her. She smiled brilliantly at him and he couldn't help but smile back.
Roe stood. "I can't witness this nightmare." He left without another word.
Luz followed her as she pulled the chair Roe vacated to the middle of the room. He craned his neck as she searched for a towel. "Nightmare? What is he talking about, Mags?"
She pulled out a clean towel triumphantly and shrugged. "Oh, I just nicked Bill once when I cut his hair in Holland. Eugene is exaggerating."
Luz raised his eyebrows. "Doc does not exaggerate. Besides, how did he find out about it?"
Margaret rolled her eyes. "He insisted on giving Bill a few stitches. Quite unnecessary in my opinion."
Luz's eyes grew wide and he stood. He headed straight for the door. She caught him by the shoulders. "Come on, George! It wasn't that bad. And he has short hair. I just want to give you a trim." Luz mock contemplated before pushing forward towards the door again.
Margaret pushed back, digging her heels in. "Don't you want to look handsome for some pretty French girl?"
He pushed harder. When did she get so strong? "I'm already handsome!"
Margaret let go abruptly and he fell forward. "OK, fine."
Luz didn't have much relationship experience with women; most of his time with them had been in bed. But he knew enough that when a woman said "fine," it was anything but. He sighed and flopped into the chair.
She giggled happily, draping the towel over his shoulders. "You're lucky you're cute," he grumbled.
She giggled again. "I've been hearing that a lot lately."
Over the next hour, Margaret worked on Luz. She gently wet his hair with warmed water before starting the meticulously process of trimming his dark hair.
Luz couldn't help but close his eyes when she towel dried his hair. Her fingers massaged his scalp and he moaned softly. She brushed his hair back with her comb, and he moaned again.
"Quit it, George. Someone is going to walk by and think you're getting some," she scolded.
He frowned. "But that was the plan." She swatted him.
Luz saw the opportunity to ask her about Winters. He'd been waiting for the perfect moment, but they were always surrounded or busy. Or he just didn't have the guts to open this particular can of worms. But he couldn't ignore the perfect moment. Now he just didn't know how to begin.
"Mags?"
She murmured back, "Yes?"
He opened his eyes to see her concentrating completely on her task. She had an adorable determined look on her face as she snipped his hair.
"Remember when I was joking about how I get to be the guy that hits on you? Not Spiers?" She nodded, but continued to cut.
He cleared his throat. A moment before he was about to ask her another question, he remembered the scissors to his hair. He reached up and gently grasped her wrist, lowering her hand. She looked down at him curiously. "George, I'm not even half done. Don't back out on me now."
Luz shook his head, shushing her. "Not that." He paused. "When I mentioned about the other guys not being able to hit on you like me, because, well, who can sweep you off your feet like old Georgie?" She smiled, rolling her eyes. "You had a strange reaction when I said Captain Winters' name."
The smile fell from her face. She looked away from him before focusing on his hair again. He heard the scissors snip a few more strands. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Luz was quiet for a long time as she worked. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Maggie, did he hurt you?"
"What?" she yelled, and at the same moment, the edge of the scissors cut a huge chunk from the top of his head.
Yowling, Luz jumped up, feeling the raw skin. Margaret put her hands to her mouth in shock. He touched the abrasion, but it didn't bleed. He looked at her in disbelief. "What the hell, Maggie?"
He looked around the room frantically. "What the fuck? You're a girl! Girls have mirrors!" She didn't dare lower her hands from her mouth. She could barely keep a huge smile from her face at the sight of Luz racing around in a panic.
Luz finally found a hand mirror on the dresser. What he saw reflected made him gape. He turned to her. "I try to be a good friend and you deform me?"
That was it, Margaret burst out laughing. It was a long time before she could even stop to hiccup. Tears coursed down her face and she couldn't catch her breath. "Did you do this as a revenge prank? Because I have to tell you, this shit ain't funny!"
Margaret shook her head, trying to stop laughing. "Not...a...prank.." she was able to get out. Then she looked at his face before keeling over once again, howling with laughter.
"What going on up there?" they heard Randleman call from downstairs.
"Oh, nothing. Only Maggie decided to mutilate me!" Luz yelled back.
They heard roars of laughter below them. "OK then! Carry on!"
Luz sat back on the chair in a huff. He waited for to calm down enough. "Now you have to fix it," he said, his eyes dangerous. "And no funny business."
She finally stopped laughing, wiping the tears from her eyes. She stood up, a rogue chuckle leaving her from time to time. "I'm sorry, but you just caught me so off guard." She started to cut his hair again, shorter than she originally intended in an attempt to hide the flaw.
Luz snorted. "I try to make sure my best friend wasn't groped by our CO and instead she decided to attack me."
Margaret got quiet, focusing on his hair once again. "Captain Winters never groped me. You were quite right - he's a good man."
Luz waited. "But?"
Margaret sighed. She put down the scissors on the dresser. She then closed the door and sat on the bed, facing him. He could feel her nerves building.
"I haven't been completely honest with you, George," she said quietly. "You and I tell each other everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly." She paused. "But I didn't tell you this. I guess I was worried that you'd be angry with me, probably for being so stupid."
Luz froze. "Wait. You and Winters?"
Margaret gave him a hard look. "Don't say it like that. We aren't sleeping together. We aren't even together." Her fingers played with a stray thread on her pants. "We just had two days. We got to know each other outside the war. I quickly grew to...to..." Her eyes looked far away. Another long pause. "And we kissed."
A dawning look came over his face. "In Paris?"
She nodded. "Yeah. But it didn't go any farther, I want to make that clear. We only kissed. And then, he stopped it."
Luz looked at her sad eyes. "He stopped it," he repeated. He stood up and sat down on the bed beside her. "But you didn't want that?"
She shrugged. "I stopped it at the time, too. I just…" she looked at Luz, sadly. "I miss him."
Luz wrapped his arms around her, leaning her head against his chest. He stroked her hair calmly. "I bet he misses you too, Mags. Who wouldn't?"
She chuckled, closing her eyes. "You? I bet you wouldn't miss the haircut I just gave you."
He laughed running a hand through his hair. "I'd still miss you, Mags. You're the only one that laughs at my jokes."
She giggled and sat up. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "One day you're going to make some lucky girl very happy, George Luz." She stood, motioning to the chair. "Come on, let me try and even it out."
He grimaced but sat down anyway. They stayed in silence awhile. "Hey Mags? You aren't stupid." She smiled softly. "You're just in love."