When Dallin returned to Easy in Driel, she learned that Guarnere had gotten into a motorbike accident. He got spotted by a sniper, who shot Guarnere's leg. It resulted in the bike crashing and Guarnere taking a trip to the hospital. Malarkey took over as Platoon Sergeant. But there was light at the end of the tunnel because not only was Carl back from the aid station but Toye had returned as well. Dallin was so relieved to see them both.
Things were almost back to normal again.
Instead of sleeping outside in foxholes, Toye settled his squad into a barn. Their outpost was on the top floor of the barn, where they had a machine-gun poking out from the top window. They had a clear sight of the railroad track which ran along the Allied side of the Rhine. The Germans held the higher ground beyond the river. 2nd Battalion Headquarters was stationed in a farm at Schoonderlogt, west of the village of Elst.
When they first walked into the barn, their new home, for the time being, they found a large dead German officer lying next to a dead cow. Dallin inspected the officer; he was SS. A tiny shiver rolled down her spine. Looking at Toye she muttered;
"Nazi".
"Let's get rid of him". Toye said.
But Dallin shook her head, with a frown;
"no…Baker Company make this mess…they clean it up".
Raising his eyebrow, Toye looked at her;
"you 'wanna tell them that?"
She nodded and quickly left the barn. The squad from B Company hadn't left yet, they were waiting for their ride. So, Dallin walked over to the Sergeant and told him simply;
"we have…dead cow and German inside".
"Yeah". He grinned, "you missed one hell of a party".
"Well…you should clean party mess up now, thank you".
He snorted;
"fat chance".
Dallin's eyebrows twitched;
"why?"
He sighed and looked down at her;
"we're tired, kid". He said, "it's fucking shit out here…we ain't cleaning up".
"Yes…we are also very tired". Dallin mumbled, "but we always clean up".
"Good for you". He muttered, "get out of my face".
"Just…bury him, at least-"
"no, fuck off!" He stressed, "come on…Jesus, leave a guy in peace why don't 'ya?"
"There is no peace…". Dallin reminded him, "we are…at war".
He sighed heavily;
"look…just leave, alright? I 'wanna get my fellas rested before fuck knows what happens next".
"Yes…I want the same for my friends". She told him, "we want to…set up OP, communications but we have dead German and cow inside…we have a lot to do".
He wasn't budging.
Shrugging, Dallin reached into her pocket;
"I give you…twenty bucks?"
He looked interested;
"make it fifty".
"No". Dallin almost laughed, "we call it…twenty-five?"
"Forty".
Shaking her head, she said;
"thirty-five?"
He spat in his hand and held it out;
"deal".
Dallin pulled a face;
"I will not…touch your germ hand".
He raised his eyebrow;
"then it ain't a deal, kid".
With a sigh, Dallin nodded.
Grimacing, she grabbed the man's hand and shook it;
"this is…disgusting".
He chuckled;
"hey, you make a good deal, kid".
With thirty-five dollars gone, the cow and German were soon removed from the barn. Using the straw, they made soft mattresses on the ground. Toye created a trench-latrine outside of the barn. And gave them a warning;
"I don't care how fucking cold it is…no one's shitting inside the barn".
"Noted". Jackson said, "no shitting in the barn".
"Good". Toye mumbled, "cause if you do…I'll fucking kill you".
Dallin wiped her hand against her trousers again, for the fiftieth time.
Looking over at Toye, she told him;
"yes…no shitting in barn".
"The hell are you doing with your hand?" Toye asked her.
She grimaced;
"I had to…make deal with Sergeant". She replied, "he spits on his hand…then we shake".
Heffron barked out a laugh;
"first time?"
Dallin frowned;
"and last".
"You paid him?" Shindell questioned.
Toye sent Dallin a small glare;
"you paid the bastard to clean up? Kid, they ain't running a fucking maid service".
Sighing, she muttered;
"well…they only clean for money".
Shaking his head, Toye knocked her helmet;
"stupid, kid…wasting fucking money".
Jackson snorted;
"what's she 'gonna buy out here with American money, Joe?"
"Maid services, apparently". Joint remarked.
"The moon fund…grows ever weak". Dallin mumbled while sitting on her straw bed.
"Moon fund?" Hughes asked quietly, "what's that, Dill?"
Neil, Shindell and Heffron looked curious to know as well.
Smiling, Bellino informed the replacements;
"well, kids…Aunt Dill wants to go to the moon".
"And she thinks, she can buy her way to the moon". Joint added.
"She's 'gonna need one powerful aircraft to get her there". Jackson said, "which is why she's saving. She's 'gonna be the first Jew on the moon".
The three replacements stared at Dallin blankly.
Neil eventually said;
"that's stupid-"
"and unrealistic". Shindell said, "we don't have the brains to send someone to the moon".
Toye sent them a glare;
"hey! Quit shitting on Dill's dreams".
"Yeah, you guys are fucking harsh". Bellino snapped, "crushing your Aunts dreams like that...".
"What a shitty thing to do". Jackson muttered.
"You're…kidding, right?" Hughes asked, with a smile, "Dill, you really 'wanna go to the moon?"
Smiling small, Dallin nodded;
"yes…my brother…his one wish was to be first man on the moon".
Licking her bottom lip, Dallin reached into her packet pocket, bringing out her tin;
"so…I will do it for him".
"No offence". Neil started to say.
But Dallin cut him off;
"I am already offended".
He cleared his throat;
"well…was kinda hoping an American would be the first guy on the moon".
Shrugging, she rolled up a cigarette and mumbled;
"it will be a race…I hope to win".
…
With Joint taking the first watch, everyone else settled down for the night.
Toye handed out fresh water and apples. Much to their disappointment, they were still living off a very bland diet of apples or whatever other fruits they could find. With apples on the menu yet again, Dallin tried hard to savour every last bite. Though not thankful for the food, she was thankful for the roof over their heads and the straw.
They weren't sleeping in flooded foxholes.
A barn was a blessing.
"What was Normandy like, Sarge?" Neil asked Toye, "anything like this?"
"Nah…". Toye replied quietly, "well, we was waiting around a lot for something to happen most of the time…and when something did happen, we was always behind the fucking eight ball".
Dallin frowned.
Putting her apple down, she looked at Toye and mumbled;
"we were never…behind balls, Joe".
Bellino chuckled;
"it's an expression, Dill…means we were in a tough spot".
"What kind of tough spots?" Shindell asked softly, "like…being surrounded?"
Toye nodded;
"yeah…or being left alone to push a bunch of Krauts back".
"Yikes". Hughes sighed, "guess you'll be all good to retire soon, huh?"
Bellino snorted;
"listen, if the war ain't over…we're not 'gonna retire".
"Damn straight". Jackson whispered, "I'm not going anywhere until this war ends".
"Too damn soon to talk about it ending". Heffron mumbled, "it's not 'gonna end anytime soon".
"You don't think so, Babe?" Neil asked him lightly, "heck, if we do well here…it might end".
Shindell finished off his apple and tossed the core away.
Rubbing his hands together, he looked at Dallin.
"Dill? What do you dream about?" He asked her quietly.
Jackson, Bellino and Toye shared a look with each other.
And Dallin looked a little surprised by the question.
"Sorry". Shindell whispered, "it's just…after Eindhoven. We all heard you screaming".
Shaking her head, she whispered back to him;
"don't be sorry, Johnnie…".
His lips twitched, created a tiny and soft smile.
Shindell was a sweet kid.
Dallin thought he might have cared about her.
Clearing his throat, Heffron added;
"I mean…it's 'gotta be bad, right?"
Nodding, she told him quietly;
"yes…it is…very, very bad". She admitted, "when I jump into Poland, we were found. The Gestapo found us. They killed Jakub on the road, they killed Jan inside basement. And they keep me alive for torture…and interrogation. For one year and six months".
Frowning, Toye sat down next to her;
"you don't have to tell them, kid".
"Maybe not". Dallin whispered, "but…it is important".
"What's the Gestapo?" Hughes asked her quietly.
She looked at him;
"secret police". She answered, "evil people…they do unimaginable things. And here we have the SS. Some have only ever seen the front line but…I meet those who would love to see my race dead".
"That's why you spent a few days at Battalion". Heffron mumbled, "cause of what that bastard said, huh?"
"Yes". Dallin admitted, "if SS capture me…they will know who I am, and they will likely torture me for information again".
Toye clapped her shoulder;
"that ain't ever 'gonna happen, kid".
"Because it already did happen". Dallin whispered, "if I was ever recaptured…I would break very quickly".
Shaking his head, Neil whispered;
"I hate 'em…I hate what they did to you".
"I hate what they do to us". She said, "what they are doing…to our friends".
Leaning forward, Shindell gave her arm a gentle nudge;
"I hope you get to the moon, Dill".
Dallin was about to thank him but Joint soon yelled from their outpost;
"Krauts coming over the dike!"
Grabbing their weapons, Toye's squad rose to their feet and raced outside. Setting up the machine-gun, Heffron got down on his belly and waited to fire. Joint was soon blasting out the gun from the barn, hoping to push them back. They got behind the track and aimed for the Germans on top of the dike. However, the Germans came prepared.
"TAKE COVER!" Joint screamed, "THEY'VE GOT A MORTAR!"
The shell whooshed by them and collided into their barn.
It took the roof right off.
Furious, Dallin fired back;
"those…shit fucks!"
"There goes our fucking roof!" Jackson exclaimed.
"What we got, Joe?!"
Malarkey soon came down with his mortar squad.
Toye looked relieved to see him;
"bunch of Krauts took off our roof, Malark! On the dike!"
"Tough luck!" Malarkey said, "don't worry! We'll take care of them!"
"Yeah, little too fucking late!"
With Malarkey's help, they pushed the German patrol back over the dike. Eddie Joint appeared out of the barn. He wasn't hurt but looked a little shaken by the explosion. The worst damage the Germans had done that night was destroying their billet. It was disappointing but Toye was happy with the outcome because no one got hurt.
Walking inside their roofless barn, Joint climbed back up the ladder.
Their gun hadn't been damaged from the shell.
But their straw mattresses were covered in wood from the collapsed roof.
And then, the heavens opened.
Big fat raindrops pinged on their helmets.
Shaking her head, Dallin looked up to the sky and cursed in Polish.
"Just our luck, huh?" Jackson mumbled, "oh well…could be worse".
"That's right". Toye said, "lets clean this shit up and get some shut-eye".
Dallin looked over at the Sergeant;
"we can…do better, Joe".
"Where? I don't see another barn about, kid".
Sighing, she looked back down at the wood covering the floor and mumbled;
"we deserve better".
…
With little sleep, Dallin sat outside the barn and smoked her cigarette. It had stopped raining, but their clothes and blankets were wet. She shivered under the October's low sun. Dallin had hoped for some warmth from the orange glow, but it only blinded her.
She wasn't in the best of moods.
No one from the squad was.
What did lift her mood significantly, was seeing Liebgott. He walked over to her, body glowing from the sun. There was a tiny smirk on his face. His eyes landed on the barn, where he soon looked amused by the lack of a roof. Dallin resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Shaking her head, she muttered;
"please…no jokes".
"You lot really raised the roof last night, huh?"
She stared at him blankly and asked;
"did you come…to make fun of us?"
Huffing out a tiny laugh, Liebgott shook his head.
Sitting down next to her, he let out a tiny sigh and asked;
"how many Krauts did you face last night?"
Dallin shrugged;
"I am not sure…once they took off our roof…I was too angry to see".
He smiled small and gave her side a gentle nudge with his elbow;
"it's better than a foxhole".
And Dallin nodded, agreeing with him;
"that is true, Joey".
Liebgott faced the low sun.
The smile remained on his face;
"it's a nice morning".
"Yes…you are right". Dallin mumbled softly, "it is".
"Few guys are thinking the wars 'gonna end after this". He told her, "I think they're fucking nuts thinking that".
Her lips twitched;
"yes…I think the replacements already miss…normality".
Liebgott hummed;
"yeah…do you miss it?"
"Miss what?"
He looked at her;
"normality?"
With a tiny sigh, Dallin shrugged and mumbled;
"I…can't remember what that is, Joey".
"Well, I'll remind you". Liebgott murmured, "it's waking up when you want…eating when you're hungry and playing by your own rules".
She huffed;
"that sounds…strange".
"It's pretty great, Dill". He said, "you'll get that one day".
Frowning a little, Dallin faced the low sun.
Liebgott smiled small;
"think about it, Dill…hot showers, warm grub…a bed with fresh sheets and fucking pillows".
Shaking her head, Dallin whispered;
"no…I don't think about it, Joey".
"You should want that life again, Dill. A normal fucking life. With a white picket fence, bunch of kids driving you crazy. A home, you know. A place to grow old in, place filled with memories to keep you smiling for the rest of your life".
When she didn't reply, Liebgott took her hand.
"Hell, that's what I fight for, sweetheart". He whispered, "some blue-sky suburb town. A family, a home…normal stuff".
Wordlessly, she leaned into him and placed her head on his arm.
Smiling small, his cheek fell on her helmet.
Staring at the low sun, Dallin thought about a blue-sky suburb town.
A picket fence.
And a peaceful, normal life.