With the weather coming into freezing temperatures, the men put on the pot-bellied stove to keep their bodies from freezing overnight. The barrack heated up nicely and with the orange glow from the fire, it created a warm and cosy scene inside. It reminded Holly of nights back home, when Winters put the fire on during the winter. Her eyes moved towards the window and she half expected to see her old goldfish, Santa, swimming in his bowl. But instead, she saw a pair of damp socks. Nose twitching, Holly looked away from the pair of socks.
Her nose twitched again.
And she sneezed into her jacket sleeve.
Winters sharply turned to look at her;
"bless you".
Holly sniffed;
"cheers".
Removing her sleeve, she smiled;
"it's everywhere".
Winters smirked;
"you need a towel?"
She smiled at him;
"I need a sheet".
He laughed;
"that's gross…how bad is it?"
"You 'wanna see?"
Winters shook his head;
"I think I'll pass, Holly".
Trent snorted;
"you guys are weird".
Winters got up from his bed and told her;
"I'm getting you a tissue". He said, "need anything else?"
"No, I'm alright, 'ta". Holly responded softly.
Her eyes then moved over to Trent;
"fancy chumming me to PX tomorrow? Need to get more sweets".
"Sure". Trent agreed, "I've 'gotta buy more pencils anyway. Dorothy won't stop writing me letters".
"That's 'cause she's your wife, you numpty".
Trent grinned at her;
"thanks for reminding me, Holly". He remarked, "anyway, what sort of candy you looking for?"
Holly sighed;
"well…Dick doesn't rate the ice cream here".
"Yeah, it's pretty bad".
She shrugged;
"I don't mind it…pretty thin though".
"That was my issue too". Trent said, "it's not thick, you know? The Italian's make the best ice cream. When I visited New York, I got the best ice cream from a little Italian joint".
"You ever had their pizza?" Holly asked, "me and Dick did. I'll never forget that meal".
Trent smiled;
"I've had their pizza. It's the best damn thing I've tasted-"
"yeah, same". She cut in eagerly, "the cheese…it's so cheesy".
He chuckled;
"and that base, huh? Even the crust tastes good".
"Fuck". Holly whispered, "I want pizza now".
Winters came back with a few tissues, handing them to Holly, he said;
"pizza is good". He added, "but I still like hotdogs better".
Holly blew her nose into the tissue, while Trent commented;
"I'd take a good hotdog any day". He said, "mustard, onions…you can't go wrong".
"Nope". Winters agreed, while sitting down on his bed, "you can't".
Wiping her nose with the tissue, Holly said;
"imagine putting hotdogs on a pizza…me and Dick were 'gonna do that once".
Trent looked interested;
"that sounds…like a brilliant idea".
She smiled;
"it would have tasted brilliant". Holly said, "but we messed up the base".
Winters chuckled quietly;
"it got stuck on the ceiling".
Tent grinned;
"sounds like you two had a great time living together".
Winters smiled at Holly;
"yeah, we did". He said softly.
Smiling back at him, Holly then grabbed another tissue and blew her nose.
Winters frowned a little;
"are you getting sick?"
"Yeah". Holly replied, sounding slightly 'stuffed-up'.
"A head cold?"
She nodded;
"yeah, nothing bad".
Winters reached over and brushed his hand against her forehead.
Holly looked at him with amusement;
"alright, mother hen".
Winters chuckled quietly;
"shut up". He mumbled, "I was checking if you had a fever".
"Hey, Holly? You're still coming on Saturday, right?" Trent asked, "those two Red Cross girls 'wanna meet you".
"Yeah, I'll go". Holly said, "If I'm not on KP".
"Great". He smiled, "Annie and Frances are really nice, Holly. You'll like them".
Holly smirked;
"of course they're nice, they made you brownies, mate".
Tent sighed happily;
"those brownies were good".
"They were". Holly agreed, "' ta for bringing me a few back".
Her nose twitched again, and she sneezed into another tissue.
Pulling a face, she blew her nose;
"Christ". She mumbled, "I hate having a blocked nose".
Winters chuckled sadly;
"poor you, Holly". He said, "too bad we can't have a hot drink".
Holly sighed;
"aw, don't". She said, "you'll make me homesick".
Lying back on her bed, Holly pulled the blankets up to her chin.
Her hands curled under the blanket and she yawned softly into the fabric;
"fuck – I'm shattered". Holly said, eyes watery from the yawn, "time is it?"
"Almost ten". Winters replied, while looking at her, "you okay?"
Holly nodded;
"yeah…bit tired". She said, "been a long day".
Holly closed her eyes, while Trent and Winters discussed their next weekend pass. November was ending and December was on its way. So far, Holly hadn't bothered leaving the camp. For whatever reason, she had avoided heading to Asheville with her friends. But she did promise to leave camp with them on the 7th of December, as DeEtta had planned a lovely trail on horseback through the Biltmore Estate. Holly couldn't turn down an opportunity to ride another horse.
She just hoped her cold would clear off by then.
It was nearing the end of their thirteen weeks of basic training. And the very next morning, before Holly and Trent had the chance to get some supplies in the PX, Slusher called the three friends into his office. Standing at attention, their Sargent then told them;
"at ease".
Once standing at ease, Slusher said;
"you three know your stuff. You've worked hard and learned well. After graduation, this class is being shipped down to Panama. I'd like you guys to consider staying on and helping to train the next batch of recruits. Do well, and you'll soon be wearing your Corporal stripes".
It was a no brainer.
The three friends decided to stay in camp and help train the next batch of recruits. However, they did have to watch their friends leave on the 27th of November. Which meant, Zerbe and Wolf were leaving too. Still, the three of them would much rather stick around in Croft, rather than fight off mosquitoes down in Panama.
…
On the 7th of December, the three friends journeyed into Asheville, seventy miles from camp. There, they checked into a local YMCA, paying for the cheapest room on offer. And once checked in, the three of them met DeEtta and Frances outside, by a car. DeEtta was a petit, redhead. She was nine years older than Holly but didn't look it. With a delightful smile, DeEtta shook Holly's hand.
"How do you do, Holly? I'm Annie".
Holly smiled back;
"alright, Annie? How's it going?"
DeEtta chuckled;
"my…I do adore your accent". She said, "Dick warned me about it…said I might find it hard to understand you".
"Don't worry, Annie". Holly assured her, "I don't know half the shit he talks about. We even each other out".
DeEtta laughed a little harder;
"you are funny, huh?"
She then addressed to the others;
"well, hop in! I'll drive us all to the Estate".
The drive to Biltmore wasn't long but it was uncomfortable. Holly was sitting in the back, squished between Winters and Trent. The road was bumpy and filled with potholes. It was a country road, probably used for farming vehicles. Holly tried to ignore nausea in her stomach and mentally scolded herself for eating too many sweets on the bus journey into the city. Still, the view made up for it and the Biltmore Estate was a sight to behold.
When they got out of the car, Holly looked over at the mansion;
"wonder how many bathrooms that place has?"
Winters smiled;
"probably enough to care for the entire Asheville population".
She snorted;
"yeah, probably…those greedy bastards hogging all those toilets".
Holly sighed and then added;
"we used to have to share a toilet with thirty other families back in Gorbals. If I had all that money that those folk have in this Estate, I'd buy toilets for all those families back in Glasgow".
He continued to smile at her;
"well, let's hope we make a bunch of bucks one day, huh?"
There was nothing like galloping through the fields in the Biltmore Estate. It felt like freedom, with the wind blowing in their hair and the horses hooves slamming against the dry grass. Trent had the fastest horse, he had managed to take the lead, while the other four horses raced to catch up with their friend. And while the five friends galloped and enjoyed freedom, the Japanese surprised America, by bombing their Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii territory. The attack would end up killing more than two thousand Americans.
While, Holly, Winters and Trent looked forward to graduating from basic training, the rest of America would soon be informed of the attack. And they would cry, knowing that their country would be going to war. But the five friends couldn't hear about the attack while riding their horses. And they didn't plan on ending their ride anytime soon. Oblivious, they enjoyed themselves.
And then the good feeling stopped when Trent's horse tripped.
He fell off and the horse fell to the ground.
The four friends halted, while Holly and Winters jumped down from their horses. Holly went straight over to the fallen horse, who was slowly getting back onto her feet, while Winters went over to Trent;
"you okay, bud?" He asked him, "anything hurt?"
Trent groaned and slowly at himself up;
"I think I'm okay". He said, "how do I look?"
Winters looked him up and down;
"you look fine, Trent".
He smiled small;
"then we're good, Dick". Trent then looked over at Holly, who was feeling the horse's legs. He frowned and asked, "how is she, Holly?"
"Her front right leg is warm". Holly said, "she's hurt herself. Should probably walk her back, Trent. Take my horse, I'll walk her".
"You sure?"
Holly nodded;
"yeah…I'd rather keep an eye on her, mate".
Winters helped their fallen friend onto his feet.
Trent still looked worried for the animal;
"did I hurt her, Holly?"
"No, don't worry, Trent". Holly assured him, with a tiny smile, "she probably tripped over a mole hole or something. It happens a lot".
DeEtta frowned;
"poor girl…will you be okay, Holly?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine". She said, "I'll take it slow with her".
To save the horse becoming distressed, they all decided to walk back. Winters rode his horse close to Holly, making sure they were both okay. It wasn't how they expected their ride to go but at least the horse and rider didn't appear to be severely injured.
It took them over an hour to get back to the Estate where the horses were kept. And at the stables, no one was around. Holly took off the mare's saddle and placed it over a fence, while DeEtta went off to find the stable hands. Trent gave the mare's neck a rub;
"sorry, girl". He murmured, "will she be okay, Holly?"
"Yeah…we'll cool her off and put her back in the stable". Holly told him quietly, "she wasn't limping, so, I don't think she's fully lame".
Trent sighed;
"thank God". He said, "I'd hate it if I hurt her, Holly".
Holly frowned at him;
"you didn't, mate". She assured him, "she's fine, alright?"
DeEtta did return with a stable hand. But she looked pale and teary-eyed.
Frances walked over to her friend, struck with worry;
"Annie, what's wrong?"
DeEtta looked at the three soldiers;
"Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor". She whispered, "we're going to war".
It felt like a slap in the face.
And for a moment, no one knew what to say.
Slowly, Holly looked over at Winters, who was staring at her.
While Winters continued to look at Holly, he said;
"okay". Very quietly, "Holly".
Taking in a deep breath, Holly gave him a tiny nod;
"it's 'gonna be a long year of service, Dick".
"I think they've just extended it". He mumbled.
A tiny smile reached her lips, which looked close to breaking;
"greedy bastards".
"You don't have to-"
"no". Holly shook her head, "no, I want to". She said, "with you".
Winters stare softened into her eyes.
A small smile appeared on his face;
"alright, then. Looks like we're going to war".
"We've done worse". She whispered, trying to make a joke, "remember that shit show we saw? That was fucking terrible".
Winters choked out a little laugh;
"who would want me?"
Holly winked at him;
"me". She mouthed.
Rolling his eyes, Winters found his smile again;
"behave, Holly".
They didn't know that Trent, Frances and DeEtta were sharing their worries with each other, while the two roommates tried to make a dark situation light. But the mood could not be lifted. After untacking their horses and brushing them down, the five friends left the Estate. Winters decided to drive this time, with DeEtta in front to show him the way.
Inside, the car was quiet, while they all thought about what might happen next.
Holly only knew one thing.
Wherever the war decided to take them, she would be either be right at Winters side or following behind him. Either way, she would not let a war tear them apart. Because they belonged together. And to her, love was so much stronger than hate.
And Winters and Holly, were stronger together.
Back in the city, they waved goodbye to Frances and DeEtta, not knowing when they'd next see each other. With that slightly depressing thought, the three soldiers entered the YMCA and found their room on the top floor. It was a modest room, with three beds and a view of the city.
It was there, where they finally discussed their options.
"I mean, we're stuck with the army". Trent said quietly, "until this thing blows over".
"What are we 'gonna do?" Holly asked them, "Navy, Infantry?"
Winters shrugged;
"I guess we stick with Infantry?"
Trent nodded;
"yeah…good idea".
Holly sighed quietly;
"I don't feel ready".
"No one does". Trent mumbled, "that's why it's a shock, you know?"
Shaking her head, she said;
"I don't even know how to swim". She whispered, "so, I can't join the Navy".
Looking at her, Winters frowned;
"I'll teach you". He promised her, "when the weather gets warmer, we'll head to the lake".
Holly frowned back at him;
"but…you're shit at swimming, Dick".
He felt his lips twitch;
"then I'll get better".
With a tiny huff, Trent said quietly;
"everything's 'gonna change now, huh?"
With no words to comfort him, Winters and Holly agreed.
"Yeah, it is". She said.