...
...
On a clear December morning, the 506th waited to board the C-47 planes and jump out for the first time. The waiting was the hardest part, they had to sit, and nerves would build up inside of them and some men were powerless when it came to nerves. But they had a lot of pride and some even had a fat ego – no one got up and left the waiting area. Some jokes were shared but mostly they smoked and sat anxiously. Easy's tent was turning into a smoke room, Astrid was glad to leave when the time came. Marching towards a plane, she looked over her shoulder and spotted Winters and Nixon seeing them off. Sending her friends', a small wave first, Astrid was then pushed onto the plane. She sat next to Guarnere, who was the first to jump. Meaning she was second to jump. Like her friend from Philly, Astrid just wanted to get the first jump over with – Carson had the same idea and sat next to her. Their jumpmaster was a tough-looking Sergeant from New York. He was chewing on a piece of gum and sitting near the opening. A jolt of excitement reached Astrid's belly when the plane engines roared to life – she was finally going to fly. Looking over her shoulder, she stared out the window and watched the plane move away from its parking space and towards the runway. First, the plane stopped and worked up enough power and speed to race across the strip of concrete. When the plane started to zoom along the runway, Astrid's body was pushed back against the side. With all that power, the plane safely took off and left the land. Astrid's eyes found the window again, where she saw buildings and people turn into tiny ants. Licking her bottom lip, a smile soon formed. She looked at Carson and found he was staring out of the window as well. The two friends looked at each other, eyes lightened with excitement and adrenaline.
"This is so fucking cool!" Carson exclaimed.
She nodded eagerly. "Did you see Winters and Nixon getting smaller?"
"Yeah! That was fucking crazy!"
For a bunch of guys who had never been on a plane before, the experience was crazy. The plane reached over one thousand feet quickly and began circling over the drop zone. Outside, Astrid saw men beginning to leap out of the planes and into the clouds. But her attention was brought to the body of the plane when the Sergeant told them all to get ready – the red light had turned on. Hands grasping her clip, she was soon on her feet and hooking herself onto the static line above them. Just like they had learned during training, they each began to check each other's equipment and sounded everyone off as "okay!" There wasn't a lot of time to think what would happen next because the green light blazed to life and Guarnere had shot out of the plane. Astrid squatted by the opening and got into a "ready" position. Hands grasping the outside of the plane, she waited for the Sergeant to tap her leg. After receiving that light lap, Astrid pulled herself out into a whirl of white clouds and began her just jump. It wasn't like jumping at all for the first four to five seconds – it was falling. She was dropping fast and could hardly breathe. Mouth bone dry, Astrid raised her head and watched, as her canopy popped out. Relieved, she grabbed ahold of the risers and slowed down. Out of the clouds now, Astrid looked down and spotted the grassy fields, where tiny men landed safely at the bottom. The world was beautiful from the sky and Astrid couldn't believe she was doing this – she was parachuting to the ground. For a while, she forgot why she was learning to jump out of a plane. Astrid simply enjoyed the feeling of falling slowly and safely to the earth. All around her, white balloons took to the sky, with happy men attached to them. Astrid could hear the men talk to one another, all eager and happy with their first jump. Above her, Carson was screaming with excitement – he couldn't wait to jump again that afternoon.
Tucking and rolling, Astrid landed perfectly on the grassy field. Punching the snap-release on her harness, she gathered up her collapsed canopy and rolled it up before evacuating the drop zone area. When reaching the road by the field, Astrid's legs felt shaky from the adrenaline. A lot of men were hunched forward, hands on their knees and breathing in deeply. But it was good to see so many happy, windswept faces around her. Taking off her helmet, Astrid walked towards Winters, who was shaking a few of the men's hands, congratulating them on their first jump. When she reached him, Winters gave her hair a ruffle.
"Well done, kiddo". He smiled. "How did that feel?"
Astrid nodded. "Yeah, great". She said softly, "Chute opened after four or five seconds".
"You looked good". Winters said, "I watched you coming down".
Looking up at him, she smiled. "I watched you and Lieutenant Nixon getting smaller".
He chuckled. "That must have been strange".
"Maybe birds are so scared of us because they see us as ants at first and then when they get to the ground; they realise we're massive". Astrid said, "Something to think about".
Winters chuckled again. "I never thought of it like that, Astrid".
"Eriksen!" Some called out and then whistled to get her attention.
Frowning, she faced the call of her name – it was Gordon, better known as 'Smokey' now around Easy because of his tobacco chewing habit.
"We got a fainter!" He said and waved her over.
Putting down her collapsed chute and helmet, Astrid ran across the road and reached Gordon, who was kneeling beside Francis Mellet – Gordon's assistant machine-gunner. Astrid knelt on his other side and took off Mellet's helmet before unfastening his jacket and harness. Balling her hand up into a fist, she began to rub his sternum. It was uncomfortable but a very fast way to wake someone up. After a few hard rubs and calling out his name, Francis woke up.
"There we are". Astrid mumbled softly, "Feeling okay, Mellet?"
He groaned. "The fuck happened?"
Gordon smirked. "You fainted, you wet towel".
Mellet tutted. "Shut up…I didn't faint".
"You did".
Checking his pulse, Astrid asked him, "What caused the fainting? Did you hit your head?"
"No". Mellet replied, "I just dropped, Eriksen".
Gordon laughed. "He's trying to find his plane legs, Astrid". He said, "Guess he got scared or something".
"Bodies under a bit of stress". She said, "From the jump – let's sit up, have some water". Astrid felt a little sorry for Mellet, Gordon wasn't so forgiving when it came to jokes. But Mellet was okay and felt better after a drink of water and a breather. Mampre was nowhere to be seen, it's why Gordon called her over. Astrid searched the Platoon and spotted Mampre talking with Shifty, Popeye, and McClung. Giving the medic a tiny nod, Astrid beckoned him over with her hand.
"Okay, Astrid?" Mampre asked, "How'd your jump go?"
"Yeah, great". Hands in her pockets, she told him softly, "Mellet fainted. He's okay, body just went into a bit of shock after the jump".
"I had no idea". Mampre frowned. "Shit – I should go check on him, huh?"
"His pulse was stable last I checked". She said, "Maybe in ten minutes see how he is?"
Nodding, Mampre clapped her shoulder. "Will do, Astrid".
"Yeah, thanks".
Despite a tiny incident with Mellet fainting, the day couldn't have gone better. And their second jump that afternoon was just as successful – minus the fainting.
…
Out of all the five jumps they had to do to earn their wings, Astrid liked the third one the best. The jump itself went great for all the men and they left the plane empty in a matter of seconds. On the ground, Astrid found Captain Sobel on his side, in a great amount of pain. At first, she was worried and quickly made her way towards her Captain to assess the situation. Kneeling beside him, she carefully tried to roll Sobel onto his back. But he was quick to stop her. Letting go of him, Astrid asked him softly.
"What's hurting, sir?"
"My ass!" Sobel exclaimed. "I landed on it".
It was a good thing Sobel wasn't lying on his back because he'd see the small, amused smile on Astrid's face. "Did you land on your tailbone, sir?" She managed to keep the amusement out of her voice.
"Yeah, I think so". Sobel replied.
"Does your neck or back hurt at all, sir?"
"No". He sounded annoyed, "Just my ass, Corporal".
"We'll send you over to the clinic, sir". She said, "Get you checked out". Looking behind her, Astrid stuck her hand up into the air and waved over a jeep – there was always a jeep standing by, in case anyone injured themselves during a jump and needed medical attention. Whoever was driving the jeep was quick to reach them. Astrid took Sobel's arm. "We'll get you up slowly, sir". She said softly, "Just nice and easy". Helping the Captain up, they got him onto the back of the jeep and took him back to camp. When Astrid found her way back to Easy, they were all bursting to hear what happened to Sobel.
"What happened?" Guarnere asked, "How come the swan ain't here?"
The swan was a nickname the men came up for Sobel, due to his flatfeet and him resembling a duck while he ran. His flatfeet got him into a spot of bother during that jump. His feet seemed to send out a distress signal to his brain, causing him to have a last-minute knee-jerk reaction, which resulted in Sobel landing hard on his ass.
"He landed on his ass, hit his tailbone pretty hard".
For those gathered around Guarnere and Astrid, they burst out laughing. The news of Sobel quickly spread across the rest of Easy and everyone in the Company found it hilarious. Even Winters laughed when he found out. Sobel was jumpmaster on her plane, but she didn't witness the fall to his ass. He was the only minor casualty during a jump. Their last jump came on Boxing Day and once completed, Colonel Sink pinned on their jump wings and threw the men a massive party. In the morning, each man would receive a ten-day furlough home. Of course, Winters told Astrid she was more than welcome to go back with him to Lancaster and she accepted the offer. She wanted to see the Winters's again and possibly Ellen. Astrid was happy to get a small break away from the army. But first, they had to celebrate getting their jump wings. For most, it was the proudest moment of their life – their greatest achievement. Training had been tough, and Sobel pushed them fierce. But they made it. Boots were polished, trousers were bloused, and wings shone against their jackets. Astrid had two beers and stopped – she didn't want to get drunk and start fights. Music played around the large hall and a group of Red Cross Girls joined the party, so men could dance and unwind. George Luz didn't want to dance with a Red Cross Girl.
"So – uh – you dance, right?"
Astrid looked at Luz, a little wide-eyed.
Luz grinned. "Take that as a no". He said, "Well, you 'wanna dance with me?"
She remembered that night in Ashville, where she watched Trent and Winters dance with Annie and Frances. Besides from vomiting, Astrid could remember wondering what it would be like to dance with a man. And who better to wonder with, than George Luz? Giving him a tiny nod, Luz took her hand and led them onto the dancefloor. She looked like a fish out of water, and he found it hard not to laugh. Gently, Luz placed her other hand onto his shoulder. His free hand rested near her waist. Raising her eyebrow, Astrid looked up at him.
"Rules of dancing". Luz shrugged. "I ain't holding your ass, am I?"
Astrid huffed out a tiny laugh and shook her head.
He smiled. "Then no foul". He said, "Alright, we're 'gonna move our feet real slowly to the music".
"Okay". When her feet started to move slowly, from side to side, Luz nodded.
"Great". He praised, "Easy, right?"
"I'll stand on your foot". She mumbled softly.
"You won't". Luz said, "Even if you do, it ain't 'gonna hurt".
With a soft and concentrated frown, Astrid looked down.
"Nah…you 'gotta look at me". Luz corrected her, "Eye contact – those the rules".
Raising her eyes, she looked at him. "Alright".
He smiled. "Fun, right?"
Bobbing her head, she replied mildly, "Not really".
Luz barked out a laugh. "What? Come on…".
Astrid's lips twitched.
"This is great, I'm having fun". He said, "Music's slow, you ain't stomping around like a fucking drunk elephant".
Eyes brightening, she smiled. "An elephant?"
"Yeah". Luz grinned. "A drunk elephant".
She shrugged one shoulder. "I like elephants".
"You ever seen one?"
She shook her head.
"They got 'um at the zoo". Luz said, "I'll take you one day".
"Okay". Astrid agreed softly, "Let's go".
"Maybe highjack a giraffe, huh?" Luz joked. "If the Krauts saw a giraffe charging at them, they're just 'gonna fucking tail it back to Germany".
She chuckled quietly. "Leave them alone, George".
"The Krauts?" He asked with a smirk. "Astrid, we can't leave the Krauts alone".
"No". She chuckled again. "The giraffes".
"I know, I know". He smiled. "Listen, I was kidding around again. 'Gotta stop doing that, huh? Heard this is a serious sort of song". Luz told her lowly, "Lot of fellas sneaking in a kiss for this song, you know".
"Oh". Astrid mumbled, "I didn't notice".
With a tiny sigh, Luz's smile saddened. "Guess you ain't ever kissed a fella?"
She shook her head.
"Real easy, you know". He told her, "Just happens naturally. You don't 'gotta think about it, you just 'gotta let it happen, Astrid".
Astrid remembered being around for Margo's first kiss. They were thirteen and she kissed an older boy at the beach. Margo told Astrid it was wet and got complicated when his tongue went into her mouth. Astrid got a little scared about kissing boys when she heard a tongue might be involved. She didn't want someone's tongue inside her mouth.
"I don't want a tongue in my mouth". Astrid decided to tell Luz.
He looked amused. "No?"
"No".
Luz grinned and assured her, "You don't have to have a tongue in your mouth".
"There's a lot of germs on the tongue, George".
He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure". He said, "If a fella ever sticks his tongue in your mouth, bite it".
Astrid looked a little disgusted by the thought.
Luz chuckled again. "Or not, huh?"
Rubbing her lips together, Astrid pressed the side of her face against his chest. Closing her eyes, she relaxed into him. Dancing with a man for the first time, was a good experience for Astrid. Luz was kind, funny, and gentle. She didn't feel nervous while dancing with him – she felt happy and comfortable.
"That's it". Luz murmured gently, his chin now on the top of her head. "Nice, huh?"
Astrid nodded into his chest. "Yeah". She said softly. "It's nice".