December brought 2nd Platoon a new leader, Lieutenant Compton. Or, as the men called him, Buck. Straight away, he was a well-liked man. The day he arrived, Buck took his men out to the pub for a warm beer and good conversation. And after, they played a round of poker. They learned Buck was a two-sport athlete at UCLA. Football and basketball. He played alongside a man named Jackie Robinson, who Buck talked fondly of.
Buck was born in Los Angeles, California, on New Year's Day. He grew up in a small apartment on Bunker Hill in Downton LA at the top of Angels Flight. It was named; "the world's shortest railway", Angels Flight took riders along a thirty-three per cent grade from the top of the hill to the bottom to the main business district. Bunker Hill was very busy, according to Buck.
Buck was also an only child and told his men during their beers;
"I asked mom about it once as a kid and she told me, that after my pop had seen her give birth, he vowed he would never put her through that again".
Buck then brought up his film career. His Aunt was a switchboard operator at Central Casting in Hollywood, an agency that hired all the extras to work at various motion pictures studios. She was able to register Buck to work as an extra, which meant he was always on call to go to work on a movie set. Casting calls came for Buck once or twice a week, meaning he had to miss school sometimes.
It seemed Buck had lived a pretty exciting life. But he never did rub it in. He shared a few funny stories here and there, but he didn't brag about anything. And out of everything he had shared, Toye had one question;
"your dad watched your mom give birth?"
Buck nodded;
"he sure did, Joe".
A moment of silence went by.
Until Malarkey asked;
"why?"
Buck smiled;
"I suppose my pop wanted to be there for her, you know? Hold her hand and all that".
Dallin smiled small;
"that is very nice…my Abba was thrown out of room".
Buck chuckled;
"my old man refused to leave, Dallin".
Clearing his throat, Campbell said;
"your dad's brave, sir".
The other's agreed with Jim Campbell.
When the Crown closed, the men headed back to their huts for a game of poker with Buck. Not being interested in card games, Dallin left the men to it. Buck had called in for some of the other men to join them, from 1st and 3rd Platoons. Luz and Perconte decided to tag along, as well as Smokey and Jim Alley.
When Dallin spotted Shifty walking away from the latrines, she felt her heart drop. It had been two months since Brighton, they hadn't been together since. Training kept them both very busy and weekend passes were sometimes put on hold, due to field exercises. She missed him. She missed being close with him the most. But she knew something had happened. Because Shifty could hardly look at her anymore.
They hadn't spoken since Brighton.
And when Shifty walked over to her, Dallin's stomach flipped with nerves. It felt awkward and uncomfortable. Shifty had his hands in his pockets, he looked nervous. Licking her bottom lip, she whispered;
"just…do it very quickly, yes?"
Clearing his throat, Shifty told her;
"we got a weekend pass two weeks ago". He started to tell her, "Earl, Popeye and Bill…well, we all went over to London. And you know, we was drinking and having a good time. Well, we ended up in this warehouse, see and-"
"stop". She cut him off.
Shifty's eyebrows twitched.
Shaking her head, Dallin huffed;
"you fuck prostitute, yes?" She asked, "how much did you pay for her, Shifty? Ten pounds? Or did your friends pay for you…it does not matter, I was never your girl, Shifty. You never ask me. We had fun, yes? But you didn't have to pay me because I liked you…a lot".
Shifty's eyes lowered to the ground.
He regretted it. Dallin could tell.
"Maybe it's for the best". She said, "we are comrades…we should not be couple or falling in love. But you must know that you were the closest I felt to home since I left mine in Poland".
His shoulders sunk into his body;
"shit…". He whispered, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Dallin, I-"
"you don't hurt me". Dallin cut him off, "you disappoint me…but you are young man, you have best friends in Easy. We were never chained together, Shifty. You were always free to do as you wanted. But I wonder why you…you told me you were falling in love with me?"
"Because that's true". Shifty promised her, "I was just drunk and…and stupid, Dallin. So damn stupid. I ain't 'gonna forgive myself for going behind your back like that".
"No, you should". Dallin whispered, "you can't…lose focus, Shifty. Combat is around the corner for us".
When she caught his eyes, he looked close to tears.
Frowning, Dallin said;
"I could never hate you, Shifty…and I don't dislike you. I could never. You were my first, yes? But you will not be my last…not anymore".
With a tight smile, Dallin then gave him a nod;
"I see you tomorrow, Shifty".
She turned around and walked away from him. Arms going over her chest, her face soon crumbled, and tears filled her eyes. Dallin clenched her jaw and stopped her tears from falling. Stepping into their hut, only half were inside, while the rest were with Buck. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Dallin reached down and took off her boots. Her eyes spotted her duffel bag and poking out from the top, was one of the carved animals she had made for Shifty.
Her bottom lip quivered.
She reached down and brought the small animal out. Looking towards the lit pot-bellied stove, Dallin got up, walked over to it and pulled the hatch open. With one last look towards the wooden animal, she then tossed it into the fire and slammed the hatch shut after.
Shortly after, Guarnere, Malarkey and Toye walked into the hut. Dallin sent Guarnere a small glare, before asking him;
"you take men to warehouse two weeks ago, Bill?"
"Yeah…". He replied, pulling a face, "why's that a fucking problem, Gorski?"
Shaking her head, she stared into the flames and mumbled;
"there is no problem".
Her little summer fling was over. Which allowed Dallin to focus more on the up and coming drop. No one knew when it would be, but they were prepared for the call. With a sigh, she looked away from the flames and back at Guarnere;
"you have anything?"
"I got booze". Guarnere winked at her, "what will it be, sweetheart?"
Following him towards his bed, she shrugged;
"whiskey?"
"Nope. But I've got gin".
Her lips twitched;
"very nice, Bill".
"Don't puke this time". Toye smirked.
The three of them sat down on Guarnere's bed and passed around the bottle of gin.
After a few swigs, Toye asked her;
"whose ass am I kicking, kid?"
Dallin shook her head;
"no ass, Joe…we are both to blame".
Guarnere looked confused;
"you had a fella out here, Dallin?" He asked, before taking a drink.
"Yes…we have sex twice".
Guarnere choked on the gin;
"what?!" He exclaimed.
Toye looked angry;
"and this guys just left you?!"
Clearing her throat, Dallin took the bottle from Guarnere and had another drink;
"he sleep with other woman". She mumbled, "but we were never…committed. And he was drunk. He did stupid mistake. He's very upset".
"He fucking should be". Toye grumbled, "stupid Limey bastard".
"Fuck him, Dallin". Guarnere said, "you don't need a fella out here…you've got us, your brothers. We'll look out for you".
Dallin wouldn't tell them who it was.
Shifty was a kind and gentle young man, who had a lot of friends in Easy. He didn't deserve to be disliked by anyone. Not even by Dallin.
"I don't dislike him". She told her friends, "he will always be my friend".
Toye sighed;
"if a gal did that to me, I'd never speak to her again".
Dallin shrugged;
"he's a good person". She said, "he doesn't deserve any ill-treatment towards him".
Guarnere shook his head;
"his loss, Dallin".
Staring down at her hands, Dallin wondered how she'd get over the hurt in her heart. She figured jumping behind enemy lines might help. At least then, she wouldn't have much else to think about, other than surviving.
"Next time we get a furlough, we'll take you to London". Guarnere promised her, "you'll soon forget about that asshole".
…
Slightly hungover the next morning, Dallin got out of bed and got ready for another training day. It would be Buck's first time leading their Platoon and the men had high hopes for their new Lieutenant. Dressed in her coveralls, Dallin left the hut for the latrines and saw Shifty leaving his hut with Popeye and Kiehn. Feeling something stab her in the heart, she chewed down on her lip and turned around, aiming to head back into the hut but Liebgott was standing behind her, with a raised eyebrow;
"what?"
Shaking her head, she mumbled;
"nothing".
With a huff, he nodded;
"right…well, we going or what?"
"Yes…we are going".
On their journey to the latrines, Liebgott asked her;
"feeling rough this morning?"
"A little". Dallin replied quietly, "I will feel better after coffee".
He smiled;
"hey…best thing for a hangover, huh?"
When they reached the latrine line, Dallin spotted Shifty near the door.
Her stomach started to hurt, just as much as her heart.
Dallin must have gone pale because Liebgott soon asked her;
"feeling alright, Dallin?"
Shaking her head, she mumbled thickly;
"I ask for day off…".
Frowning, Liebgott took hold of her arm;
"over a hangover, Dallin? That ain't 'gonna sit well with Diel".
Shifty must have heard her because he left the line to check on her;
"Dallin?"
Closing her eyes, she suppressed a groan.
Opening her eyes again, she asked the ground;
"yes?"
"You don't…look good".
"Oh, thank you". She grumbled.
Shifty cleared his throat;
"I mean…you look all sick or something".
Clenching her jaw, she soon quietly snapped;
"I'm fine…anything else?"
Liebgott's eyes widened a little but he didn't say anything.
Shaking his head, Shifty said to her softly;
"I'm just…I'm sorry, Dallin, I-"
"go away". She said.
"Alright, Dallin". Shifty whispered, "I'll just leave you to it".
It didn't take Liebgott long to place two and two together. With a long sigh, he shook his head, before grabbing Dallin's arm and pulling her out of the line. She didn't put up much of a fight and gladly allowed him to drag her away from Shifty. Once at a safe distance, he hissed;
"Shifty?"
"You tell no one". Dallin warned him, "right?"
He nodded;
"right – nah…I ain't 'gonna say shit". He said, "it's not my fucking business, Dallin".
Rubbing her lips together first, she then said;
"I did not mean to snap-"
"no, you had every right". Liebgott mumbled, "he did a stupid thing, Dallin…Jesus, no wonder you had some gin last night".
Dallin looked up at him;
"I want things to…remain as normal". She said softly, "Shifty is good person, Joseph. Very good person. If anything, he will always be my friend".
With a small and soft smile, Liebgott nodded;
"he's fucking lucky you didn't rip his nuts off".
Dallin snorted, with a tiny smirk;
"there is still time".
With a quiet chuckle, Liebgott then told her;
"I'm sorry he did that to you, Dallin".
"He's very sorry". She whispered, "I feel bad…that he feels bad".
Shaking his head, he mumbled;
"nah…let him dwell in it, he'll stop feeling so shit one day".
"You promise?"
"Yeah – 'course, Dallin. It'll be alright one day".
Dallin's eyes lowered back to her boots;
"I hate…him being sad". She mumbled, sounding close to tears. "He's so…lovely. It's not fair".
Liebgott sighed;
"Christ…you're breaking my fucking heart, Dallin".
His hand went on her shoulder;
"look…let's get through this shitty training day first, huh? Then me and the boys will take you for a round at the Boar. You know what else? We'll eat ourselves a hot meal there too, how 'bout it?"
Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she nodded and croaked;
"okay".
Liebgott gave her shoulder a squeeze;
"atta girl".
…
She didn't eat much supper but she did drink a lot of warm beer. And Dallin soon found herself talking absolute nonsense to Buck. She talked about her heart hurting, the troubles in Poland, sometimes she brought up the bear family, which Buck didn't understand but the officer did listen. He took in her troubles and put them on his shoulders. Buck knew the girl was drunk and probably wouldn't share so much sober, but he never once judged her.
Shaking his head, Buck told her;
"don't feel bad for what that idiot did to you, Dallin". He said, "he'll stop feeling guilty soon enough. And when you're ready, talk to him and be friends again. Because it sounds like you miss him as a buddy, huh?"
Frown deepening, she nodded;
"yes…that's right".
A lovely smile met his lips then;
"the guys tell me you like to garden…is that true?"
She nodded;
"I do, sir…me and my Abba would spend hours in the garden".
His smile saddened then;
"and you haven't heard from him? Or your mom?"
Shaking her head, Dallin looked down at her boots.
She decided to change the subject;
"when I meet officers in Toccoa…I was scared of them. But when I meet you, I don't feel scared".
"Thank you, Dallin". Buck sounded sincere. "Why were you scared of them?"
Eyes widening a little, she slowly looked up at him and asked quietly;
"you don't…know?"
With a frown, he shook his head;
"no…not much. I'm just getting to know all of you".
"But…you know I was Polish Paratrooper?"
Buck nodded;
"yup. And you were sent here after jumping into Poland".
With a tiny huff, she whispered;
"sir…I was captured for…one year and six months".
Buck's face fell;
"by the Germans?"
Nodding, she told him;
"Gestapo…Secret Police".
"Jesus".
With a tiny frown, Dallin offered him a sip of her warm beer.
But he declined the offer;
"I don't drink".
She frowned a little;
"oh…like Winters".
Buck nodded;
"yeah, I suppose – one year and six months?" He asked, "how the hell did you survive?"
After taking a long sip, she shrugged;
"don't know". Dallin mumbled, "luck…they wanted to keep me alive".
Reaching into her pocket, she brought out her tin and told him;
"before we jump into Poland…they give us pill to take. If we were ever captured, we were to take the pill that would end our lives but…I never take it. And I don't let go of pill".
A haunted look crossed the Lieutenant's eyes;
"you still have it". He said.
Dallin nodded;
"yes…". She whispered, "just in case I am…captured again".
"You didn't take it before". He pointed out quietly.
"No…I was too scared".
Buck cleared his throat and ran a hand down his face.
Giving himself a shake, he said;
"you're not 'gonna get captured again. I won't let that happen".
With a small smile, Dallin began to roll herself a cigarette;
"you smoke?"
"Nope". Buck replied, "I don't drink or smoke, but I do gamble".
She snorted;
"yes…the men like that about you". She said, "the officers we have leading us…they feel like fathers to us but you…you feel like brother".
"I'll be honest". He said, "I've never been good at giving orders".
Dallin shrugged;
"that's okay…you just ask us, and we'll do it, sir".