It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. Ralph Waldo Emmerson
Adele threw off her little red dress when she reached her room, she didn't like it as much as the blue one.
She climbed into her pajamas and then into her bed.
She sighed contentedly as she picked up her copy of Farewell to Arms.
Her eyes flashed down the page as the words streamed into her mind, and then her eyes flashed back up again; she honestly wasn't interested in reading at the moment.
She had been honest with someone.
She had told him how she'd felt, even though she didn't have the words to fully express it verbally.
And she'd never been an outspoken person, even with her friends or family.
Surprisingly, the 'Eddie' that Jackie coaxed out was a more flamboyant, captivating Adele, than Adele herself.
That's why she painted- she could use stokes and colors instead of words.
She'd never been one to say much, which was the reason she'd never been completely happy with John Pauli, or he her.
And it irked her- why did her attraction to John Pauli die because of the war, but the war strengthened her connection to Bill.
Sighing, she turned off the light and set the book on the table beside her bed.
As soon as she had settled comfortably down into her covers there was an impatient bang on the door and the loud noise of merrily drunken voices.
Groaning, Adele pushed herself out of bed and trudged across the room to open the door.
When she did Jackie and Katherine came bursting in, laughing and giggling.
Adele gave them a tired glare, but neither took any notice.
Jackie laughed as Katherine continued to repeat some told joke over and over, and Jackie pulled out a cigarette signaling the night was far from
over.
Annoyed, Adele marched into the bathroom, plugged the drain, and turned on the hot water.
Jackie, spinning confusedly to see where her friend had gone called out, "What are you doing Ed?"
"Taking a bath!" Adele called back, throwing her nightdress to the floor and shutting the door firmly.
"Ah come on!" Katherine begged, "You've got to hear about the party."
Adele felt some of her irritation melt away when her feet slid into the warm water, and even more when she immersed her whole body.
"So, even though I was there-" Adele remarked snidely, "Tell me about the damn party." She sighed, dumping soap into the tub.
"Well I had my first beer!" Katherine screamed from the bedroom to the bathroom.
Rolling her eyes Adele shouted back, "Oh yeah? How was it?"
Scoffing, Jackie hopped off the bed and shouldered the bathroom door open.
"Hey!" Adele cried protesting, "My bathroom, my bath, my time! This is my time to sober up!
Jackie rolled her eyes dismissively as she took a seat on the toilet, leaning an elbow on her knee.
Katherine soon flounced in and took a seat on top of the counter.
Adele smacked her hand against the water angrily, "Do you two just wanna get in with me?" She offered sarcastically. "I mean really!"
Jackie threw her hands in the air, "Ed give us a break, the kid just had her first party and beer!"
Katherine nodded excitedly, and Adele couldn't help but smile.
"So what did you think?"
Katherine grinned as Jackie took a lazy drag of her cigarette from the toilet, and Adele slipped further under the water.
"It was strong, and kinda good too" Katherine described, "I thought it would be more fizzy."
Adele nodded, "I like it, but I like vodka better."
Katherine shook her head, "Ughh Carwood made me try some."
Jackie laughed, "She almost spit it up all over the poor man ."
Katherine blushed sheepishly and Jackie handed her a lit cigarette and motioned for her to give it to Adele.
Adele took it gratefully and lifted it to her lips, grimacing as she did so. "I need to stop smoking." She noted as she contentedly blew out the warm smoke.
Jackie snorted, "Yeah, but you won't try."
Adele let her slender pale hand drape over the cool porcelain edge of the bathtub and let the cigarette dangle loosely between her fingers, and laughed.
"Probably not- at least not anytime soon."
Katherine started off again with another story that seemed to be centered around her conversation with Carwood.
Adele lifted her legs out of the sudsy bathwater and propped her feet up against the tiled wall, admiring her toenails.
She mentally prepared herself to listen to Katherine's enthralling tale.
Four hours later, Jackie had fallen off the toilet seat and was lying curled up in the bathroom rug, while Katherine nodded off, her back to the
mirror.
Adele was dozing in the tub, the tips of her hair immersed in the water.
Adele woke, not that she'd been in any kind of wonderful sleep. Her legs had tiny goosebumps trailing up and down, and so did her arms.
In an attempt to ward off the cold, she slip further under the water, only to find it colder than the surrounding air.
Lazily she groaned, she didn't have the energy to get up, but she was freezing.
She lifted her hands out of the water and smirked at how wrinkled her fingertips were.
Scowling, she got out of the water, attempting to be quiet.
However, the sound of the parting water still made some noise, and the splash woke Jackie, who stirred on the floor.
"Goddamn it!" She hissed, watching Adele cover herself with a towel. "Thanks for waking me up!"
Adele shrugged, "Sorry, the water was freezing!"
Jackie looked up at her friend in a sort of dazed annoyance. "You've been sleeping in the bathtub this whole time?"
Adele nodded and began drying her hair.
Jackie moaned and held her head, "I don't like vodka!"
Adele laughed, a smile creeping tiredly to her face. "Yeah?"
Jackie rolled around turning over on her other side, and pulling the rug around her.
Adele smacked a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "You could get up and get in bed."
She shook her head, "Nah, I'll stay."
Adele gaze her a confused look as she tied the towel around her body, "Why ever would you?"
Jackie rolled over once more, and gave her friend and equally annoyed look. "Because I'm already on the bathroom floor."
Adele nodded and sighed, "Can I get you anything?" She turned to leave but Jackie called her back.
"You can get Katherine's head out of the sink for me!"
Adele turned and saw the younger girl lying fast asleep on her back, her head had fallen down into the sink.
Adele shook her head, dumbfounded. "How the hell did she get to sleep like that."
Jackie pulled another rug off the floor and snuggled into it, fixing Adele with a dirty smile. "She had her first beer last night." She noted wittily.
Adele giggled, and Jackie motioned to the sink. "People spit in there, and it's gross. Just get her out of there."
Adele gently lifted Katherine's head out of the sink, and her nose wrinkled as she saw toothpaste clinging to the girl's pretty brown curls.
Adele lifted her small body off the counter and carried her to the bedroom.
She tucked Katherine under the covers and climbed into bed herself.
However only a couple minutes later there was an abrupt distinct knock on the door.
Blinking, Adele turned over in bed, willing herself to sleep.
This whole crazy night had been a wild dream, hadn't it?
The knock persisted, and groaning, Adele hopped out of bed, pulling down her hiked up lacy nightdress.
She opened the door, and saw a nurse in full attire wearing an old bloodstained apron.
She raised an eyebrow at Adele's scanty dress. "Are you Adele Roux?" She asked, as Adele noticed gray wisps of hair peeking out from under her cap.
Adele nodded, "Yes mam. I'm Adele."
The woman looked down at the clipboard she held. "And you roommates are Jacqueline Johnson and Katherine Neely?"
Again, Adele nodded, and the woman's eyes widened. "Let's go then!" She urged, "I expect you downstairs in the bay in ten minutes. There have been casualties."
Adele could feel her breathing quicken as she slammed the door and ran into the room, throwing off her nightdress.
She ran naked around the room, searching for her uniform, screaming for Jackie and Katherine to wake up.
Katherine awoke with a start, and Adele threw her uniform at her, which the girl immediately put on.
"Get up Jax!" Adele screamed, as she burst through the bathroom door.
She threw the rugs off of her friend, "Up!"
Jackie growled and slapped Adele on the leg, muttering for her to leave.
Adele kicked Jackie hard in the back, causing the redhead to scream and thrash wildly about, finally looking up Adele.
"Bitch!" She breathed, holding her back.
Adele took her friend by the hand, "They're have been casualties Jax. We've gotta go now!"
Jackie's eyes suddenly came into focus, and she seemed to spring to life.
She jumped off the floor, and threw on her uniform that Adele had brought her.
She ran for the door, "Is Katherine up?" She asked.
Katherine was hurriedly throwing on her shoes. "Yeah I'm up!"
The three ran out the door, wondering what awaited.