Standing outside a run-down little lodge named "the Rocky Mount Hotel", Holly had no choice but to follow Winters inside. She didn't like the choice of décor, but Holly had no right to complain, after sharing an entire barrack with over fifty men. The man inside the reception was an older gentleman, who looked very surprised to see two customers walk into his hotel. Holly did feel bad for the man, he was trying to look busy.
"We'd like a room for the night". Winters said to the man, "we can share".
With slightly shaky hands, the man handed Winters a book for him to sign.
Taking the pen, Winters and Holly both signed the book.
After, they both paid for the room.
The older man smiled;
"enjoy your stay".
"Could I have the receipt?" Winters asked him.
The man looked confused;
"beg pardon?"
"A receipt". He explained.
But Winters was met by silence.
Holly had to hide her amused smile.
"For the room". Winters went on.
Still, the man looked clueless.
Clearing his throat, Winters told him;
"just take a piece of paper, write down how much we paid for the room and the name of the hotel and sign it, please".
After teaching the man what a receipt was, they were soon shown to their room. It was small, with only one piece of art hanging on the wall. The painting was of a deer, standing alone in the woods. The art hung above their only bed. But at least the room had a few chairs, even if they were beat-up. But Holly had to laugh at the table, which only had three legs. Surprising them both, they had running hot and cold water in a bathroom. With their own toilet, sink and bath.
They could have done worse, Holly figured.
Dropping her duffel bag on the ground, she jumped up on the bed.
The mattress was springy. She could feel one of the springs digging into her bed.
Clearing her throat, she moved over to the other side.
And nodded;
"I'll take the door side, Dick".
"Yeah, no problem". Winters called from the bathroom.
"This room feels haunted".
He laughed;
"stop it, Holly".
Smiling, she sat up;
"bet you it is". She continued to say, "bet the ghosts are proper raging because we're in their room for tonight. Bet they dislike you the most".
Winters ran the taps on the sink to wash his hands;
"why do they hate me the most?" He asked.
Holly shrugged;
"because…I'm nicer". She smirked, "and I don't care about receipts".
"Holly!" Winters exclaimed, "receipts are important".
Rolling her eyes, she said;
"that man didn't seem to think so".
"Well…he's not up to date, is he?" Winters said, "please tell me you used to give out receipts in the vet clinic, Holly".
A playful smile reached her lips;
"no way, Dick". She said, "that means they're entitled to a refund".
Winters turned off the taps and dried his hands with a towel.
Looking into the room, from the doorframe in the bathroom he raised an eyebrow;
"you're kidding, right?"
Holly ignored the question and changed the subject;
"where can we eat? I'm starving".
Turning off the bathroom light he walked into the room;
"you're always starving". He pointed out, "but I saw a little place down the road. How do you feel about hamburgers and fries?"
Holly nodded slowly;
"sounds decent". She concluded, "can we get pudding?"
"Yeah, okay-"
"can we eat the pudding here?"
"I don't think they do take-aways". Winters said, "but we can ask".
Holly looked her friend up and down;
"are you still pissed?"
"Not really". He mumbled.
"Your mum was proud, Dick". Holly reminded him, "she has the right to show you off".
He huffed;
"I know…but I wanted to do other things, you know?"
"I know". Holly said, "you wanted to go hiking. I don't know why. I'm glad we didn't".
Winters grinned;
"did you have a good time?"
She nodded;
"I did, yeah". She confirmed, "homecooked meals every day, a nice bed. And a great Christmas dinner with the Winters. Was brilliant".
His smiled softened.
With a happy sigh, Winters got on the bed and lay down next to her.
He soon frowned, however, when feeling something poke into his back.
Pulling a face, he sat up and stared at Holly, who was tying not to laugh.
He huffed;
"you're evil, Holly Duffy".
"Come on, let's flip the mattress". Holly said, "maybe the other side will be better".
After sorting out the bed, the two friends left their hotel room.
Holly stood by the door, waiting for Winters to lock it because she didn't have a key. And Winters was standing next to her, waiting for her to lock it. Frowning, they both looked at each other. Licking her bottom lip, Holly crossed her arms over her chest;
"we both don't have a key".
"We don't". Winters confirmed, "Holly, where the hell are we?"
A smile lifted her face;
"an alternative universe where people haven't heard of receipts or keys for hotel rooms".
Huffing out a laugh, Winters ended up groaning at the end;
"was this a mistake?"
Shaking her head, Holly uncrossed her arms and took his hand;
"no, Dick. This wasn't a mistake".
A gentle smile met his lips;
"it might be fun to look back on". He said softly, "come on, let's get some food. This man obviously doesn't possess keys".
Holly snorted;
"God, you must be going crazy, Dick…no receipt, a three-legged table and now, no key for our room?"
With a small chuckle, Winters gave her hand a squeeze.
The pair of them walked down the corridor and back into the reception area. Still behind the desk, was the man who booked the pair in. Not being able to help himself, Winters let go of Holly's hand and approached the man.
"You didn't leave us a key". He told him.
"Oh, that's all right". The man replied lightly, "you have a bolt on the inside".
With a smirk, Holly nodded her head;
"that's great".
Winters ignored her comment and said;
"but we want to go out. Do we take our luggage along, or just leave the door unlocked and trust you?"
The man smiled;
"your luggage will be safe with me". He assured him, "I have a shotgun".
Holly coughed back a laugh;
"see, Dick? He'll guard our stuff with his life".
After a nice meal of burgers and fries, they walked back into their hotel room. And found their luggage untouched. Letting out a sigh of relief, Winters bolted the door after closing it. Holly took off her jacket and sat down on the bed to take off her boots.
It was New Year's Eve; they were both reminded of that while out for dinner.
Winters checked his watch;
"should we stay up?"
"For the New Year?" Holly asked, "sure, why not".
Sighing, Winters said;
"1942, huh?"
"Yeah…pretty strange". Holly mumbled.
"I wonder where we'll be this time next year?"
Shrugging, she said;
"I don't know, Dick". Holly said, "I just hope I'm with you".
Winters smiled softly at her;
"we'll be together". He vowed.
A moment of silence went by.
Holly tucked her boots under the bed, while Winters brought out two cokes from his jacket. Placing them on their three-legged table, he soon took off his jacket and hung it over one of the chairs. Holly's eyes watched him. Winters wasn't aware at first. But soon felt her stare. With a tiny frown, he looked back at her;
"what?"
Shaking her head, she said;
"just can't believe it's almost been three years since we met".
"I know". He smiled, "coke?"
Holly grinned;
"aren't we the life of the party?"
Winters chuckled;
"we'll never stay up for midnight".
Holly looked at her watch;
"it's almost nine". She said, "we'll be asleep by ten-thirty".
With the two bottles of coke in his hands, he sat down next to her;
"yeah, probably". Winters said, "but we've 'gotta try. We have to make our resolution".
Holly sighed;
"do we?"
"Yeah, of course". He said, "it's tradition".
"No, our tradition is a hot drink". Holly pointed out, "and we've not had one of those since we moved in with your mum".
"I miss that drink". Winters said fondly.
"Yeah, me too".
After taking a drink of her coke, Holly said;
"You'd make a good Officer". Holly told him, "there's just something about you".
"Well, I was considering being an Officer". Winters said, "but I'd need to be picked for Officer Candidate School".
"If they're not considering you, then they're mad". Holly told him.
"Alright, let's say they do pick me". Winters said, "and I end up graduating as a Lieutenant and I'm put in charge of the same Platoon you're in".
Looking at him, she smirked;
"then you'd better not give me latrine duties, Dick. Or we're over".
He chuckled but then said to her;
"you ever considered being a medic?"
"Like dad?"
Winters nodded.
Sighing, she shrugged;
"maybe a couple of times". Holly admitted, "but that's a big pair of boots to fill, Dick".
"Holly, do you remember when half of us had sunstroke?"
She shuddered;
"I try to forget".
He smiled;
"I've never seen you look so damn confident". Winters told her, "we all trusted you that night. Even Slusher was following your orders".
Holly smiled small;
"I mean…it would be nice, doing what dad did".
"You could train the new medics". Winters added, "get them ready. You'd be good at that".
Her smile softened;
"if you get picked for Officer school, then I'm getting picked too".
He raised an eyebrow;
"is that right?"
"Even if I don't graduate as an officer, at least I was with you for a bit".
"I think we've done more than most married couples have done". Winters joked lightly.
With a tiny smirk, Holly shrugged;
"well, not everything".
Winters snorted;
"behave, Holly".
…
When Holly opened her eyes the next morning, Winters arm was covering her face.
Groaning, she mumbled;
"Dick?"
He hummed as his response.
"We fell asleep".
Winters sighed;
"we missed midnight?"
Holly patted his arm;
"yeah…we missed midnight".
"God, we're a sorry excuse".
Holly smiled;
"but at least we're a sorry excuse together".
Winters chuckled quietly;
"damn straight".
Carefully, Holly moved his arm off her face and sat up.
Rubbing her eyes, she looked over at the two empty coke bottles and a half-eaten chocolate bar. Shrugging, she grabbed the Hershey's bar and took a bite. Winters sat up next to her. With a smile, he kissed her cheek.
"Happy New Year, Holly".
Swallowing the chocolate in her mouth, Holly faced him and smiled;
"Happy New Year, Dick".
Holly's eyes moved towards her chocolate bar.
But Winters continued to look at her.
With a slightly serious expression, he said;
"we're friends". He mumbled, "we're…best friends".
Chewing on the chocolate slowly, Holly nodded. But didn't verbally answer him.
Clearing his throat, Winters continued to say;
"and we 'wanna continue to live with each other, even after the war".
Again, she nodded.
Rubbing his lips together, Winters then added;
"so…let's say, we 'wanna live together for a while – or, forever?"
Swallowing the chocolate, she looked at him.
He smiled a little;
"I'd love living with you for the rest of my life, Holly".
Winters tucked a piece of hair behind her ear;
"you're beautiful, Holly. And I 'wanna make sure you know that, every day".
Holly smiled a little.
Hs smile widened;
"I mean…you can be pretty gross but…hell, I love that about you sometimes. Because you're right, life isn't perfect, so why not live in a bit of mess?"
Placing her chocolate bar down, Holly wiped her hands on her pyjama bottoms.
"What I 'wanna say is…". Winters murmured, "is that…is that I love you. Have done for a while and I'll always love you, Holly". His eyes looked a little watery, "you make me feel…feel so comfortable and secure. And you're so caring, Holly. And you're funny too. You're my best friend and I love you".
Pursing her lips together, Holly nodded;
"did you just declare your love for me in this filthy hotel room?"
Winters frowned;
"Holly!" He exclaimed, "does it really matter?!"
With a soft smile, she placed her hands on the side of his face;
"no". She whispered, "you could have said it in a toilet, Dick. And it would have still meant the world to me".
Winters let out a shaky breath;
"good". He mumbled thickly, "cause I just poured my heart out, Holly".
"I know you did". Holly soothed, "and I love you".
He felt himself smiling;
"yeah?"
Holly nodded;
"yes…I really do". She said, "you mean the world to me, Dick Winters".
Winters sniffed softly, before saying;
"it was when we first saw snow together". He whispered, "that's when I knew, I was going to fall in love with you".
Tilting her head to the side, she rubbed his jawline;
"when will you kiss me?"
Winters searched her eyes;
"now".
Holly moved her hands to the back of his neck, while Winters hand went to the side of her face. Pulling in closer, their lips eventually met. And there, they kissed each other so softly and perfectly. Holly always imagined their first kiss together would be sweet and tender. It was like tasting magic.
The kiss deepened.
It got more passionate.
But the moment ended, when someone knocked on the door.
Frowning, they both pulled apart.
They half expected it to be Ryan.
"Would you kids like some breakfast?" The hotel owner asked.
The couple looked at each other.
Before Holly grinned and called back;
"yeah, sure!"
Winters sighed with a smile and lay back on the bed.
Grinning still, Holly looked at him;
"I'm not me when I'm hungry". She stated, "and breakfast is the most-"
"important meal of the day". Winters mumbled, "stop quoting my mom".
Chuckling, Holly leaned down and kissed his lips;
"come on, let's eat".
After breakfast, they packed up their things and hit the road once again. They were returning back to camp. Their ten-day furlough was over. Holly had enjoyed the journey to Lancaster, but she loved the return journey more. Taking his hand, the pair of them walked towards the highway and stuck their thumbs up in the air, waiting for a car to stop.