Arriving in Clinchco, was like taking a step back in time.
They left on the Friday night and arrived on the Saturday morning, it was a long drive to Virginia and Dallin hoped it was worth it. They had a plan if things didn't go well, where they'd spend the night in a hotel in the next town and leave on Sunday morning. If things went well, Winters would be travelling back home alone. Passing by houses perched upon rocky hills, she led the way to Shifty's family house. But before she could knock on the door, Gaynell, his little sister, rushed outside.
Gaynell must have spotted Dallin from her bedroom window.
And though she smiled, it didn't reach her eyes.
Shocked, Gaynell told her;
"we never thought we'd see you again, Dallin".
Dallin frowned;
"why not?"
"Uh…well…why don't you come on in?" Gaynell asked, "a lots happened since Shifty came home".
"Where is he?" Dallin asked.
She looked over Gaynell's shoulder, hoping to catch the man inside the house.
The younger girl frowned a little, before asking;
"won't you come in, Dallin? You both are looking mighty tired…must've been some journey".
Shaking her head, Dallin mumbled;
"no…we are fine. Where is Shifty, Gaynell?"
Gaynell eyes met Winters, who cast a worried look her way.
With a sigh, the younger girl told Dallin;
"I do hate to tell you this, Dallin but…Shifty met someone".
Eyebrows twitching, Dallin asked;
"oh…he meets a friend now? So, we come back later, Gaynell?"
Shaking her head, Gaynell grabbed a hold of Dallin's hand;
"no, Dallin…Shifty's gone off to marry another girl".
Pulling a face, Dallin looked at Gaynell;
"marry?" She questioned, "but…I have not been gone long".
Frown deepening, Gaynell whispered;
"Dallin…he ain't heard from you in over two years".
A part of her hoped Shifty would have waited.
But Dallin knew it was selfish to ask someone to wait that long.
And two years was a long time.
"I'm so sorry, Dallin". Gaynell whispered, truly meaning it.
Dallin felt a little sick. Pulling her hand free from Gaynell's, she then took a step back.
Bumping into Winters, his hand went on her shoulder.
When Dallin couldn't speak, Winters smiled small at Gaynell;
"thank you, ma'am".
Gaynell was still frowning;
"take care of yourself, Dallin…don't be a stranger".
Married.
That was supposed to be Dallin. She was supposed to marry him, not some other girl. She still loved him, but he could move on. Turning away from the house, Dallin wiped a tear before it rolled down her cheek. Falling in love was comfort and security, it was supposed to be a going back to a home where there was no judgement, but someone had knocked that house down.
It wasn't what she expected to happen.
If Shifty had found another, Dallin might have fought to have him back, but he was getting married. He was obviously in love and happy enough to be with someone that wasn't Dallin. Still, it was soul-crushing and heartbreaking. She wasn't going to get that happy ending with Shifty, the same happy ending they had both dreamed-up together.
Dallin didn't want to spend the night in Virginia.
She just wanted to go back to Felix and hide under the covers.
It was a very quiet journey back to the car.
Getting into the passenger's side, Dallin rubbed her teary eyes.
Closing his door, Winters faced her with a frown;
"you 'wanna do something fun?"
Shaking her head, she mumbled;
"no…I want to hide in my room for a while".
Turning the keys, the engine roared to life. Winters reversed and followed the small road out of the mining town. When reaching the main road, he turned the other way and headed back in the direction of home. He didn't consider this a wasted journey, Dallin had to find out one way or another. But he felt terrible for her, he could only imagine how she felt. Because it wasn't some kid whose heart was broken, it was a twenty-four-year-old woman whose dreams had been crushed. Dallin wasn't a kid anymore. She wasn't the same nineteen-year-old who had walked into Toccoa all those years ago. Like Winters, she was an adult.
And she deserved to be treated as one.
After driving for ten minutes, Winters pulled over.
Running a hand down her face, Dallin looked at him;
"you stop".
Facing her, he told her;
"you can't go to the moon".
She sighed;
"fuck, Dick…why do you shit on me now?"
"Dill, you're a young woman. People need to start treating you like one. I can't play the role of your father figure, not when I can see myself going through what you go through".
With a sniff, she mumbled;
"so, I lost Shifty today…now, I don't rely on you for…for support?"
Smiling small, Winters reminded her;
"Dill, I'm your friend. I'm always 'gonna be there for you, no matter what".
Head bumping against the seat, she asked;
"so…why don't I go to the moon?"
"Because it's impossible". He said, "and even if they were sending people up to the moon, they'd be college graduates and probably the smartest people on earth. You are smart, Dill but you tell people you want to go to the moon because you're scared of your realistic goals being crushed. You know the moon isn't possible, so, you know that'll never happen. But that dream you have in your heart, I bet that could happen".
Licking her bottom lip, she looked away from Winters and faced the road.
With a shrug, she mumbled;
"I want to…stay with you, in New Jersey. I am sad Shifty moves on but…it is good he has found a girl who isn't like me".
"Then stay with me". Winters said, "I don't mind, Dill. I've seen the good in you, and I've seen your struggles. I know what it's like living with you. And I like living with you".
Sniffing, she wiped her nose with her sleeve;
"no more…crouching in front of me".
His lips twitched;
"you're a lot smaller than me…it's the only way I can reach your eyes sometimes".
"It is…degrading".
"Well, we'll get a step-ladder".
Chocking out a tiny laugh, she mumbled tearfully;
"you are…such a shit, Dick".
Smiling, Winters started the engine again;
"we're not going home. We're 'gonna have some fun".
Sighing heavily, Dallin wiped the last of her tears;
"fine". She mumbled, "what is fun?"
…
Fun turned out to be a great time after all.
Parking outside a ranch, Winters rented two horses for them to ride. After tacking up, they took to the forest trail and enjoyed scaling up grassy hills and racing across lush meadows. Dallin's horse was called Bullet and he truly lived up to his name. The dark bay overtook Winters's horse and reached the end of the meadow in a matter of minutes. By the time Winters reached her, Bullet's neck was low, while he munched on the grass. Tying their horses up for a break, they sat down on the soft grass and enjoyed the view around them.
"This is the life". Winters sighed in content, "I always wanted to live on a farm, you know".
Nodding, Dallin mumbled;
"I always want to own horses".
"Oh, you do?"
"Yes…I think horses are very smart and sensitive animals. They are very good for the soul".
He smiled;
"you might be right about that, Dill. I feel loads better".
He was lying down on the grass, hands behind his head.
With a tiny smile, Dallin lay down next to him.
"This reminds me of the field in Holland". She whispered, "when we jumped into that field".
"Yeah…it does, huh?" Winters murmured, "I was just thinking that".
Dallin snorted;
"I vomit on the plane…do you remember that?"
He huffed out a laugh;
"yeah, I remember that too…you ruined your uniform".
With a tiny smirk, she told him;
"you had a meeting the day before we left for the airfield. I heard the whole thing".
Winters frowned, confused;
"what do you mean?"
Her smirk widened;
"Bill…he tells me to spy in on the meeting. We went into the manor's basement and I climbed through a crawl space and up a vent to listen".
Eyes widening, Winters let out a huff of laughter and surprise;
"well, I'll be…".
"Horton did not know the British wore Beret's…he calls them beanies".
Winters laughed;
"oh, God…you really did hear the whole thing, huh?"
Dallin chuckled;
"I did, yes".
The laughter leaving his voice, Winters smiled softly;
"do you remember our trip to Edinburgh? And I had to apply mascara on your eyelashes? I'll be honest, I was terrified I'd take your eye out".
"You follow instructions well". Dallin smiled.
"It's funny…the night before we left, and we were staying with the Barnes's, I got up before you and was speaking with Mrs Barnes. She was really fond of you, you know and she thought…well, she thought we were – uh – an item, of sorts".
Dallin frowned a little;
"that is…strange".
"Is it?" Winters asked quietly, "we spend a lot of time together".
"Yes, we did". She agreed, "and now…we live together".
"Yeah, why is that?" He questioned.
Sitting up, Winters leaned on his elbow and looked down at her;
"you didn't go to Shifty, or Joe…you came to me, why?"
"I missed you the most". Dallin answered, without thinking.
And once that answer was out in the open, her eyes widened a little.
"I…I will try and explain". She mumbled, "but yes…I miss you the most".
"Alright, I'll take that answer". Winters replied softly, "and I missed you a lot too…I guess we've always shared this bond of sorts".
Dallin nodded;
"yes, I agree".
Huffing, he mumbled;
"I figured you looked at me as this sort of replacement for your father".
"Dick, you fill a hole in my heart". She said quietly, "you stop it from…from breaking. When I see your face, I know everything will be okay. And when I hear your voice…I know I am still alive. That is something…no one has done for me before. Maybe you were our only parental figure out there because we all leave home, and you lead us. You care so much about us, Dick, even now. I only ask you to walk me down the aisle because…you are most important person in my life. And I needed you there by my side…holding my hand".
Clearing her throat, she added;
"when I go back to Poland, and I know I am going to die…whenever I thought of a happy memory, it was very full. But you were…always there. You were the first officer to be so kind and understanding when I get to Toccoa. And you believed in me when I couldn't believe in myself. You saw the girl I left behind in Poland, the girl who was covered in soil and who laughed all the time. You knew I could fight whatever battles were in my head, Dick. And if it wasn't for you, I would be dead".
Rubbing her lips together, she nodded.
"That is why…I come back to you, before anyone else".
Winters's head was still trying to process everything she had told him.
She never did have a bad thing to say about him.
"I'm glad you did". He whispered.
Smiling, Dallin sat up;
"we ride back to ranch, Dick?"
"Uh – sure, yeah…".
"And then, we eat food?"
Clearing his throat, Winters nodded;
"yeah, you hungry?"
"Yes…I want to eat soup and chocolate".
Coming out from his daze, a small smile met his lips;
"at the same time?"
She sighed;
"why the fuck not? The war is over…I will eat both together".
Both got onto their feet and walked over to the grazing horses.
While taking the reins, Winters asked;
"you're okay…'bout Shifty getting married?"
Shrugging, she mumbled;
"well…not really but…I cannot do anything about it, Dick".
"I respect him but he's an idiot". Winters stated.
Her lips twitched.
Foot going into the stirrup, Dallin mounted the horse.
After getting on his horse, Winters turned to face her;
"'wanna race again?"
Shaking her head, Dallin smiled small;
"no…it is nice place here, Dick".
"Yeah, you're right". He agreed quietly, "I put a down payment on a piece of land a while back. I'll take you there one day".
"Where?"
"Lancaster". He replied, "nice place, think you'd like it".
Dallin smirked;
"we better be careful…people will think we are…an item, yes?"
Winters chuckled;
"yeah…am I really that bad?"
Shaking her head, she mumbled;
"no…I say nothing bad about you ever, Dick Winters".
