Failed Attempts at Marriage

Attempt #1

Lith and I were walking through the village after having dropped off my laundry at the barracks. We decided to go on a little walk through the village, before we went out later with the others at the pub.

I suppose people looking at us who didn't know us must have thought we looked an odd match. Me, at 6 feet and Ailith at 5'3 weren't exactly a height match made in heaven, and the fact that Lith was in the same uniform as I was in, would also seem strange, but I didn't care. It felt good, knowing that Lith understood exactly how I felt, having shared the experience of D-Day. I don't think many other men could say that their wives understood as well as Lith did.

"What are you thinking?" The sound of her voice made me jump a little. I looked down at her, as she wound her arms around mine. "You look like there's something on your mind?"

I smiled; she knew me better than I did.

"It's nothing to worry about. I was just thinking about you."

Lith smiled too, resting her head on my arm as we walked, "Oh? What about me?"

"Well... just that, when we get home, I won't have to explain anything to you."

"No, I don't suppose you would. Not many men can say their wiv-" She suddenly caught herself before she finished her sentence. I knew she was embarrassed; I could see that her ears had gone red.

"What?" I asked, hoping she would carry on saying what she wanted to say.

"Nothing." She answered quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep." She nodded, not meeting my gaze. We stopped by the bridge, sitting on the stone wall and people watching.

"Hey, Lith, d'you remember what you said, back in Normandy?"

"When?"

"Just after-"

I was interrupted by someone calling out to us, from across the street. It was Mrs Barnes, from the post office where Taylor, Lt Welsh and Captain Winters were billeted. She'd got a letter for me, from home, and chatted to Lith while I opened my letter. By the time Mrs Barnes had done talking to (or maybe at) Lith, it was time to go meet the others at the pub.

While Lith went over to play a game of darts with Luz and Buck, Skip and the others quietly asked me what was wrong.

"I was going to ask her something, but I didn't get a chance." I shook my head, taking a swig of my pint and glancing at Lith, who was faking that she couldn't play darts. She'd taken her hair out of the bun she'd had it in, letting it fall around her shoulders. She looked like she was having fun. Penk asked what it was I was going to ask her and once I checked she wasn't looking our way, I nodded under the table, pulling the ring box out and opening it for them to see.

"Well, there's plenty of time." Bill shrugged.

The second failure

Little did Bill know, we had been shipped off for another jump two days after us going to the pub and for the past week, we'd been back at Upottery Airfield. Ailith had been busy trying to get the others organised as best she could, until we were all told to stand down and that we'd be going back to the village.

"What a shambles." She sighed, stretching as she climbed out of the jeep.

"I hear ya." Taylor grumbled too, lighting up a smoke. "Does this mean our passes are reinstated?"

"I don't see why not. Go moderately wild." Ossy shrugged. "Do you mind dropping me at HQ?"

"Oh come on, can't you come with us just for once?" Taylor whined.

Lith agreed, pleading with her sister to 'come out to play'. "Buck always comes out with us! We miss you DanDan."

Ossy looked at the two pleading faces and sighed, finally relenting.

"Ah'ite! Fahn, ah'll come out to play. But only because you keep looking at me like two lost puppies."

The girls cried in unison, throwing their arms around the taller sister gleefully.

"Oh, shall I ask Mrs Evans to let you stay over?! We could have a sleep over!"

"Yes! We haven't had a real sleepover in years!"

As the trio excitedly planned for the weekend, Buck walked over to me with a slight smirk.

"Looks like you're going to miss this opportunity too."

I sighed and nodded in agreement. I'd fallen at the first hurdle.

3rd time not so lucky

Lately, getting some time with Ailith was like panning for gold. Ever since they'd their sleepover, the girls had been just as inseparable as they had been back when we first met them. We were once again sitting in the mess hall, the girls on a table next to the field, as we looked on. Hall walked over, sitting in the empty chair beside me.

"You hear about the dance this weekend?" He asked, holding out a cig for me. I shook my head as I took one. "Are you going to ask Mouse?"

"If I get the damn chance." I muttered, rolling my eyes. "I've already got something else I want to talk to her about."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"None of your fuckin' business Cowboy."

"Alright, jeeze, I was just asking."

A pair of warm arm suddenly appeared, wrapping themselves around my shoulders, something soft and bouncy pressing against my back.

"Oh so gwumpy! Is this what happens if I leave you too long? You go off?" Lith's voice asked, as she rested her head on top of mine.

"What am I, a bottle of milk?" I sulked. I felt Lith giggle, then heard her tell Hall not to mind me.

"Anyway, don't you mean 'grumpy'?" I asked.

"I flubbed my line." She shrugged, letting go of me and stepping back. "Well, since you're too busy sulking, I suppose you don't have time to walk me back-"

I quickly got up, "Who said I was sulking?"

Lith looked at me, her hands on her hips, with a look that told me I was so easy to read.

"Going home already?" Hoobler raised his eyebrows, implying something that there was something else going on.

"Mrs Evans is going to stay with her sister, so she wants me to go over the chores before she leaves in the morning." Lith said, missing what Hoob was trying to imply. I shot him a glare from behind her, over her head.

"I think she thinks this is the first time I've been left at home alone." Lith said, taking out a cigarette and grabbing her chest, looking for her lighter. She checked her other pockets too, looking around the floor, before I got a glare.

She held out her hand expectantly, "Will you stop nicking my lighter?" She pouted as I handed her zippo back to her. "Finland gave me that."

"The country?"

"My brother, you chestnut." She rolled her eyes. "Everyone used to ask what Fin was short for, so I used to tell them his name was Finland… oh, he used to get so mad! It was hilarious… almost as funny as the time I chucked a bucket full of snow on my Pappa while he was asleep."

I chuckled, "And here we are thinking you've never done anything bad in your life."

"Are you kidding? She's never even gone past the do no step on the grass signs." Wyoming piped up, as she sat next to Liebgott.

"Yeah, she's like Glinda from The Wizard of Oz." Ossy agreed.

"See? I'm a good kid." Lith shrugged, putting her cigarette in her mouth and her hands in her pockets as she walked off.

After telling Hoobler to watch his mouth when he was talking about my angel on Earth, I caught Lith up as she rounded the corner. I began to match her pace and sought out her hand, her cheeks growing pink as she tucked her curtain bangs behind her ear. I wasn't ashamed to admit that it made me feel like I was back in my teens, on my first date with my first girlfriend. I felt like I was the luckiest guy on the planet.

"Aren't you embarrassed?"

Huh?

I looked down to see a frown on her face as we walked along.

"About what?"

"Well… I'm really short… don't you think it's a bit odd?"

I looked at her for another minute or two, before I snorted a laugh. I couldn't help it, but the fact she was worrying about something so simple and insignificant…oh boy, I was crazy about her.

"Don't laugh Malarkey!" She puffed out her cheeks and scowled at me.

"Oh, Malarkey now is it? Does that mean you're mad with me?"

"Yes." She said, after thinking about it. "From now on, when I'm mad at you, you'll be Malarkey."

"Alright then." I agreed. "So, what can I do, so that my Lith won't be mad at me anymore?"

"I'm not giving you answers! That's like… cheating on a test! Use your brain!" She laughed, giving me a playful shove. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her into my side, while she held on to the hand that draped over shoulder. I suggested that I could take her to London for a week, if she wanted to go. She admitted that while it would be nice, she'd rather do something inexpensive, so long as we were together, which was sweet of her. Lith knew my home situation better than Skip probably did and so preferred for me to send as much home as I could. I couldn't wait to take her home, but then I had a thought.

"Will you be able to come back with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"When we go home, won't you need a passport or something?"

Lith shook her head, "Nah, they just made up a load of documents for the three of us. My official back story is my parents died and I got adopted by my dad's cousin's American family. So, technically, I'm a US citizen."

I had to admit, when I first heard the story I didn't believe her, but the more I got to know her it eventually seemed like she was telling the truth. And, if the Government believed her, why shouldn't I?

"Wait… what do you mean, come back with you?" she stopped suddenly, after realising what I'd said. I stared back at her blankly, then felt a red creep up my neck to my face.

"Like I said, once we've won and we get to go home… I want you to come back to Oregon with me." Lith's face went from shock, to a cerise colour and tried to hide her face behind her free hand.

"Do you know what you're saying?"

"Yeah, I do…" I was just about to say it plainly, when a voice called out to us. Lith seemed to let out a breath she'd been holding. Mrs Evans was walking down the road, and she didn't seem pleased. She started to tell Lith that her sister had been taken ill, and would have to leave that night.

"I'll be lucky if I manage to catch the last train." She fretted, looking at her watch. Lith smiled and took Mrs Evans' hands in her smaller ones, patting them gently.

"Don't worry Mrs Evans, I'll ask Taylor to take us to the station."

"I wouldn't want to impose."

Lith shook her head and said she wouldn't hear it and that Taylor wouldn't mind the drive to the station. The two left, and I was left standing alone and annoyed. Skip and Penk came around the corner, asking me what happened as Lith, Taylor and Mrs Evans drove by. She glanced back, giving me a sympathetic glance as she went. I sighed, watching the jeep disappear. Skip patted my shoulder and said something like better look next time.

I'd better have better luck next time.