When they docked at Liverpool, the 506th quickly found themselves on a train with the windows boarded up. With the outside world blocked, the men could smoke. The English were still under threat from bombings and the entire country was blacked-out at night. They didn't have any streetlights on and windows from houses had thick curtains, to cover up any light from inside.
Word soon got down that they were heading for a place called Aldbourne. Dallin hadn't heard of it before but apparently, they could get a bus into London from the village. That excited the men. Especially Guarnere, who was anxious to see what the big city was like. But weekend passes into London wouldn't happen right away from the Paratroopers. When they arrived three miles outside of Aldbourne, it was dark, and the men had to march into the village.
Sobel was somewhere in the front, with a huge torch guiding him. The men weren't too keen on Sobel finding the village. But Dallin was confident he'd get them there. They were unable to see the full beauty of Aldbourne in the dark, but the men were tired anyway and ready for bed. When they eventually did reach the village, they lined up in a barn and were handed a sack to fill with straw for a mattress. Dallin and some of 2nd Platoon were billed in a Quonset hut. They had bed frames but had to use their straw mattress to sleep on.
Because it was a little chilly that night, Toye lit up the pot-bellied stove. And the hut looked cosy and inviting once a small fire was going. Dallin put down her straw-filled mattress on one of the bed frames. Looking around, she saw a few of her friends settling down for sleep. With a yawn, she got into bed and pulled the blanket over her.
"Everyone in bed?" Guarnere asked.
They mumbled out their responses.
With a nod, he turned off the last oil lamp and said;
"guess we'll see where we are in the morning".
…
No one wanted to wake Dallin when they eventually got up, she was sound asleep. And she remained sleeping until eight that morning. Which was considered a lie-in for a soldier. It was light inside the hut and warm. Taking off her blanket, Dallin put on her jacket and boots before she left the hut.
Stepping outside, she was greeted by long grass, colourful flowers and thatch-roofed houses. It was almost like she was back in Zabierzow, back home in Poland. And Dallin was left in a small state of shock, eyes a little wide while they took in what was around her. Eventually, the shock left, and she smiled with a tiny laugh. Near the wall, Begonia's bloomed wonderfully. Dallin jogged over to the wall and picked one flower up, to smell it. Dallin was reminded of her garden back home. It was the closest she had felt to her family since she left them.
Feeling her legs wobble, she ended up kneeling in front of the flowers.
Taking in a shaky breath, Dallin tucked the flower she had picked and put it behind her ear. She felt happy but sad at the same time because she missed her family and home. All around her, she was reminded of their little white cottage because all the houses in Aldbourne had thatched roofs. They had cobbled streets. Large Shire horses pulling vegetable carts. And surrounding the small village, were a few hills and plenty of farmland. Grassy meadows, cows. Little clusters of trees and country lanes.
It was a beautiful place.
Easy were stationed behind the main village square. The huts were built around, what looked to be a large front garden. There, they had a barn as their Post Exchange, latrines and a mess hut. The Officers shared a large house close to where Easy was stationed. And Battalion HQ was just outside of the village, in a large estate. They had it good in England.
Aldbourne had two pubs: The Crown and The Blue Boar. They had a post office, a laundromat, a bakery and a grocery store. The people of Aldbourne lived a quiet and humble life. So, Easy were given lessons on how to act towards the English people. They were told to keep out of trouble, keep quiet and not raise any hell. It was decided they'd raise hell in London, or any other city.
The brass gave them three days to get used to Aldbourne. The enlisted got used to the warm beer, more than anything. They'd sit inside one of the two pubs and drink beer by the buckets. They weren't used to warm beer and they didn't like it at first, but it was all Aldbourne had to offer. Another thing they had to get used to was the food. Fish and chips, pickled eggs, mutton. Lardy cake. Powdered milk. It was a lot to take in for the American's. Dallin could see they were starting to get a little homesick.
During their last day before training started up, Dallin and Shifty decided to go on a small hike outside the village. They mostly talked about the village itself and how kind and welcoming the people were to the American Paratroopers. But then, Shifty said;
"these folks are preparing for a German invasion, you know. They've got food hidden out in the woods and they've practised defending themselves against the Germans".
Dallin frowned;
"with what?"
Shaking his head, Shifty told her;
"pitchforks, shovels, rakes and hose's…they don't got weapons, Dallin. No guns or rifles. Nothing. Guess their Government don't like just anyone having a gun".
Dallin sighed a little;
"they will never defeat army with farm tools".
"I know…it would be a massacre". Shifty agreed quietly, "which is rightfully sad 'cause these folks are just minding their own business, Dallin. They ain't done nothing wrong of the sort".
With a small frown, she mumbled;
"yes…we all minded our own business, Shifty. And then Hitler happened".
Shifty looked at her;
"yeah…he sure sounds evil, Dallin".
"He is". She confirmed softly, "very…and his followers. It's scary because…they are so evil but still human, yes? They go to sleep, kiss their children goodnight and then wake up the next day, killing innocent families".
Shaking his head, he muttered;
"who gave them the right, huh? To carry on as normal with red hands".
Licking her bottom lip, she said;
"Hitler did…and for a start, the world did. They turn blind eye on issues. Real problems. But one day, we will all see what happened. And every man will cry on that day".
Shifty took her hand.
Dallin looked up at him.
With a small smile, Shifty led her up one of the hills. It wasn't like the mountain they hiked up in Clinchco but the view at the top was still bright and colourful. Dallin's lips twitched at the view. The sun was beginning to set as well, marking the end of their last day. They sat down on the dry grass, sitting close together, with their legs and hands touching.
With a sigh, Shifty said;
"shame to think this place is so pretty but has the worst chow".
Dallin smiled small;
"everything has flaws, Shifty Powers…but I agree".
And, in her best Shifty impression, she said;
"the English don't know beans 'bout cooking".
Shifty laughed and shook his head;
"why, was that meant to be me, Dallin?"
Nodding, Dallin chuckled;
"is was good, yes? I could be movie star".
He grinned;
"I'd be sitting right at the front of the theatre, watching you on the big screen".
Smile softening, Dallin leaned into his side and Shifty wrapped his arm around her.
She closed her eyes while breathing in his scent of tobacco and the cream from his shaving kit. Dallin could get used to having Shifty's arms around her. She liked him a lot. She liked his smile, the sound of his voice. She liked his eyes and the way they lit up when he was happy. She liked hearing him talk fondly about his family and tell her stories from when he was a boy. Dallin liked everything about Shifty Powers.
Dallin remembered what Fred had told her;
"we need each other to breathe".
She wondered if she'd smile and laugh less if Shifty wasn't around.
…
When training started back up again, it felt like being back in Toccoa. Sobel had them going out on long marches through the countryside. They did night operations out in the field, dug plenty of foxholes and regular jumps. During one field exercise, they were practising going over different manoeuvres. With each Platoon in different positions, they all had the same meeting point by the junction. While 2nd and 3rd Platoons were lucky to have good leaders, 1st was stuck with Sobel leading them.
When Winters reached the meeting point with 2nd Platoon, 1st were nowhere to be found. So, they had to take a knee and wait. It was raining as well and cold. Dallin was behind Toye, he had his squad close to Winters, with the mortar squad a few yards behind the Platoon. The exercise had taken up a few hours out of the morning and now they sat and waited for Sobel to catch up.
Forty minutes had gone by and Dallin shook her head before telling Toye;
"I can't hold it…".
The squad leader sighed and turned to face her;
"be fucking quick".
She got up and took off into a run, heading for a small cluster of trees.
The men were getting annoyed, having to wait for Sobel. They figured he must have gotten lost again and was probably tied up somewhere far away. Some even joked that he had led his men into London. But that joke started to lose its humour after waiting around for forty minutes.
Just as Malarkey checked his watch, he heard Dallin scream from behind the trees.
A few seconds later, a heard of cows raced out of the trees and onto the road.
The men from 2nd stared at the running animals, baffled by the sight.
Pulling a face, Winters mumbled;
"what the hell is going on?"
Toye sighed;
"Dallin?!" He called.
For whatever reason, Toye thought she had accidentally opened up a gate. But Dallin emerged a few moments after he called for her, covered in mud. Eyes a little wide, she jogged back over to her Platoon. The men watched, torn between amusement and confusion. When she re-joined her squad, it seemed they were all waiting for an answer.
"Oh". She said, "there are cows free".
"No shit". Lowrey smirked, "how'd that happen?"
Dallin shrugged;
"they came from the path…and almost flatten me".
It was no accident that the cows had escaped. Sobel did end up getting his men lost in a cow field and they were held-up by a barbed-wire fence. Wanting to get things going, Luz put on his best Major Horton impression and ordered Sobel to cut down that fence and get the Platoon going. At first, it worked. Sobel cut the fence and his men made it back into the village.
But then Sobel found out Major Horton was in London.
Sobel would never find out who was behind the prank because no one would tell him. Not even Dallin. She didn't want to rat Luz out. She considered it payback for Sobel ripping up her picture of Felix. And like the men, Dallin found the prank funny. Revenge was sweet and Dallin let go of the grudge she held over Sobel.
The Captain had every right to shut fun down that weekend but instead, he decided to allow his men to go to the dance in Swindon, providing they keep on their wool blouses. It was a planned dance; the whole of 2nd Battalion was going. Dallin assumed it was to celebrate their safe arrival into England. The brass had been kind enough to invite a lot of Red Cross girls to the dance. The men were very excited to dance with pretty young women.
Dressed in their Class A's, the men boarded the buses. They had twenty minutes before they arrived in Swindon at the Red Cross club. And Guarnere wanted to make the most of their journey. So, he managed to grab a bottle of gin for the journey. Dallin was no stranger to gin. She sat at the back, close to Guarnere and Toye. The bottle was shared between the three of them. They had to be sneaky about drinking because Winters and Welsh were sat at the front of the bus. It was their job to keep an eye on the men that evening and make sure they stayed out of trouble.
"Ain't we supposed to have a mixer?" Toye mumbled to them.
"With gin?" Guarnere asked, "no idea, Joe. Only had enough room to take this bottle".
Dallin shook her head;
"it is fine…just drink".
Gin was a strange drink. After three or four shots, they were already starting to feel pretty nice. It didn't have the best taste, but Dallin preferred it to beer. She was glad Guarnere brought along the gin because they were only serving beer at the dance and their beer intake was limited. The officers were supposed to bring the men home merry but not drunk.
After taking her fifth shot of gin, Dallin mumbled;
"we are…in so much trouble".
Toye looked at her and grinned;
"only if you get caught, kid".
When the bus pulled up outside the club, the men got off. They entered the club in a single file, with Winters giving them a final warning to stay out of trouble. Dallin wondered how many actually took that warning in because when Winters finished talking, they broke apart and headed off towards the bar or to talk with the girls. Guarnere and Toye dragged Dallin towards the bar, where they grabbed a bottle each.
Guarnere ended up mixing the gin into their beers. Dallin didn't have any hope that it would taste nice, but she drank it anyway. No one looked impressed with the taste. But they wanted to have a good night and Guarnere figured the only way to have a good night, was to get drunk.
Very drunk.
It was almost like a field trip for sexually active men. The guys from Easy had no bother pulling young woman. And with the gin in their system, Guarnere and Toye spoke to the girls with ease and confidence. Dallin wasn't interested in picking up women. In her drunken state, her intoxicated eyes were glued on Shifty Powers. Being that drunk was very new to Dallin, she was impressed that everyone seemed to have an extra head and she found it funny that Dallin's legs couldn't walk in a straight line.
She'd bump into random guys, slurring out apologies in Polish. Some of them didn't mind, while others shoved the drunken girl away. Dallin didn't put up any fuss when she got shoved. In fact, she laughed, with a silly grin. When she walked onto the dancefloor, a sparkly ball hung above them. It rotated and specs of light hit the walls and floor. Dallin might have found the ball nice if she was sober. But Dallin was drunk, and the rotating ball only made her dizzier.
Shifty was sitting at a table with Popeye, Kiehn McClung and a few Red Cross girls. When Dallin noticed the girls, she stopped walking. If she was sober, things might have gone differently, but she was drunk, and her head wasn't in its right mind. Feeling her shoulders sink into her body, Dallin downed the rest of her beer with gin. And once the glass bottle was empty, she smashed it onto the floor.
The people dancing near her quickly moved away from the shattering glass.
One of them happened to be Liebgott.
He stopped dancing with his partner and quickly walked over to Dallin;
"what're you doing?" He asked, confused.
She whispered something in Polish.
Liebgott's hand went on her shoulder;
"you drunk?" He asked loudly, over the music.
Dallin's head sharply looked up to meet his stare.
She glared but it wasn't a very steady glare.
Raising her hand, she pointed at Liebgott and snapped;
"your hands…get off me!"
Liebgott let her go and raised both hands;
"fine…you don't want my help? I'll leave you the fuck alone".
Dallin's reason must have come into play for a moment before she was soon on her knees, picking up sharp pieces of glass. Liebgott sighed heavily and walked back over to Dallin. He was shaking his head while kneeling next to her;
"what the fuck are you doing?"
"I make…mess". She slurred, "we clean up mess, yes?"
He sighed again;
"Dallin, that's sharp glass you're picking up…how 'bout I deal with it, huh? Why don't you head into the bathrooms, sober up a bit".
"No…fuck you".
Liebgott snorted;
"you're a mean drunk, Dallin". He said, "what the hell have you been drinking anyway? We're only allowed three beers tonight".
Dallin grinned;
"gin…gin and beer". She replied, "Bill and Joe have same but…they are fine".
Shaking his head, Liebgott told her;
"if Winters or Welsh catch you, they're 'gonna give you hell".
Without even thinking, Dallin told him;
"Shifty…he talks to girls".
Liebgott frowned;
"so? Everybody's talking to girls, Dallin. It don't mean a thing".
Shaking her head, Dallin hissed;
"but the girls…are pretty. They wear nice dress and have big boobs…with red lips, Liebgott. I don't have those".
Liebgott felt his lips twitch;
"Dallin…who gives a shit, huh? All women are fucking different. Quit sounding so damn jealous, it's not a good look. Just have a good time, stop thinking 'bout shit".
She snorted;
"not…jealous".
He chuckled;
"yeah, fucking right…whatever, look – you ain't 'gonna remember shit in the morning. But you ain't 'gonna be feeling great either. Just chill out for a bit. Sit down, get some water".
Helping her up, Liebgott led Dallin over to a table where Skip and Malarkey were. Pulling out a chair, Liebgott sat the drunk trooper down and warned them;
"she's drunk. Watch out for her".
Liebgott soon left the table and rejoined the girl he was dancing with.
Sighing, Skip got up and told Malarkey;
"I'll get her water".
When their friend left the table, Malarkey moved his chair closer to Dallin. With a frown, he asked;
"you okay, Dallin?"
She bobbed her head and slurred;
"tak…".
Her drunken eyes moved to look at him.
There, she said;
"I smash bottle on floor…Joseph thinks I am drunk".
Malarkey huffed out a tiny laugh;
"oh, he does, does he?"
She nodded;
"yes…silly…I'm fine".
Malarkey raised his eyebrow;
"we're leaving soon…you 'gonna be alright?"
Dallin hummed;
"yes…fine…".
She was anything but fine. There was no hiding from the Lieutenant's that she was very drunk. Toye and Guarnere somehow managed to get away with it but it was only a matter of time before the Lieutenant's would see just how drunk Dallin was. When they got on the bus, Dallin slipped by the officers and sat herself down. So far, they were none the wiser. A few of her friends held their breaths, worried she'd give herself away. But they relaxed when she was sitting down, figuring Dallin would be okay for the next twenty or so minutes.
Even when Welsh did a headcount, he didn't notice drunk Dallin.
And with everyone on board, the driver pressed down on the gas and they were off. Throughout the bus, men talked about the girls they danced with. They shared stories and cigarettes. Dallin was sat next to Toye, who had his head resting against the window, sleeping. She was trying to roll herself a cigarette but wasn't doing a very good job. After a few more attempts, Dallin gave up and decided to stop wasting her rolling equipment.
Looking over at Toye, she gave him a weak nudge.
He groaned;
"huh?"
"Can…have smoke, please?"
Still half asleep, Toye reached into his jacket pocket and brought out his cigarettes. Dallin took one from the packet and thanked him quietly before lighting it up. She hadn't smoked in hours because she was too busy being drunk. And because she wasn't used to the American brand, the tobacco gave her a huge nicotine rush. It didn't help with her current dizzy and drunk problem.
She felt sick.
With a sigh, Dallin stubbed the cigarette out on the seat in front of her. It took a few attempts, but she was soon standing on her feet. Stepping out into the narrow strip, Dallin grabbed the backs of the seats to help her along the way. She might have fallen flat on her face a few times because the bus driver was full speed ahead and the tyres dipped into small potholes on the road. But by some miracle, Dallin didn't fall over.
When she reached the front, Dallin turned to face Winters and Welsh.
The two Lieutenant's looked up at her curiously.
"Yeah?" Welsh asked her slowly.
Dallin ended up telling them;
"we…must stop, sir".
"Dallin, we'll be there in ten minutes". Winters told her, "I'm sure you can make it 'till then".
She hiccupped.
And Welsh's eyes widened a little;
"are you drunk, Gorski?"
He looked both annoyed and impressed. Because Welsh was under the impression that Dallin managed to get drunk off three beers. He assumed she was a lightweight. A very light – lightweight.
Winters frowned;
"that's impossible". He said, "they had a three-beer limited tonight".
A few seats behind them, Guarnere cursed.
Dallin got caught. And if Winters and Welsh found out where she got the extra booze from, then they'd all get into trouble. He was hoping she would keep her mouth shut. All Guarnere could do was sit and anxiously wait.
Welsh sighed;
"maybe she's got a secret stash".
Winters didn't look very happy with Dallin;
"is that true, Private?"
Too drunk to lie, Dallin slurred;
"yes…we stop now, sir?"
Pulling a face, Winters almost snapped at her;
"sit back down, Private. We'll be there in ten minutes".
With a tiny nod, Dallin turned around and started the walk back to her seat. But she didn't get very far before the whole bus started to spin. Dallin wasn't even aware that she had started to vomit. She was so dizzy and confused. But she did feel someone grab her arm and pull her off the bus, which had soon stopped.
Shaking his head, Winters muttered;
"why didn't you tell me you felt sick?"
Dallin was too busy getting sick to answer.
After watching her suffer for a few more moments, Winters eventually put his hand on her back;
"I won't chew you out tonight". He told her, "but tomorrow, you're on KP duties".