"What do you think is going to happen?" Luz asked me as we were sitting with some of the Company men outside their cabin at the grounds, waiting to hear what was going to happen to Captain Sobel since he was summoned to talked to Colonel Sink about what was going on with Winters and him receiving a Court Martial. We were waiting for an answer back to see what was going to happen to him, if not, what was going to happen to Winters. Something told me that he was in serious trouble since he went against Sobel's wishes. I had no idea how precisely, but all I knew was that it was bad. Bad to the point where we were all sitting together outside a cabin, waiting together and hoping for the best for Winters, and the worst for Sobel.
"No idea, Luz." I replied back to him, taking a long drag from my own cigarette that I got from Toye. We were all smoking at that point, our nerves getting the best of us. I never thought of Winters being in such a bad position. He was a good leader, a great one. Us going to war without him would be disastrous for all of us.
"They can't kick him out, he's way too good as a leader here." Malarky commented from his spot, having me look over at him as I felt the smoke leave my nose and sink into the air.
"But it's all about what Sobel says/" Bull said in a gruff, "His word around here is the law."
"Not according to Sink though." Webster countered back to him, breathing from his own cigarette, "He's still in charge."
"Will he go with Winters though? He had a good argument against Sobel." Guarene wondered in his huff, having me watch him as he looked irritated about the situation as well as the rest opus, though he was a bit of a hothead. I took another drag, having me knee start to tap from just thinking about it. Would Winters leave us, now? It didn't seem like them since he cared about us too much.
I looked over at Joe, who was sitting with myself and Bull and was taking his own drag from the cigarette. He looked rather cool about it, his wrist was limp as if he as down this for years. His hair was smoothed back, his body leaned against the porch on the grass with his knees up to have his arms resting on the top of his knees. It felt nice being close to them, not arguing or talking to him. Just his presence alone was soothing enough for me, almost as if he brought peace to my chaotic mind.
I was sitting next him on the porch, almost perched over him as I was smoking a cigarette and wearing my medic army shirt and army pants. Doc was on my other side, looking more reserved as he was almost eating his fingers in silence with the nerves.
"He shouldn't go, he doesn't deserve it." Doc said from next to me, having me place the cigarette between my lips and then place a hand on his back to reassure him, give him peace.
"You think any of us thinks differently, Doc?" Joe asked in a low tone, dragging out smoke and breathing it out of his mouth. After a few seconds, I could see someone coming out from the house that was a bit away from us, clear on the other side of the field and I watched. There was Sobel, coming out of the house with a private behind him, but I watched his body language to see what was up, since I couldn't see his face from this far away. Did he win the argument? Or was he defeated? Who knew? A part of me wanted him to suffer, but the religious part of me wanted to give him mercy from all that he has done. My cigarette was still in my mouth, but my hands were folded in front of me as I watched and waited. His head was ing down low, and he walked away in solemn looking in his walk.
Holy Christ.
I hadn't the heart to say anything to the boys, since I knew this was a touchy thing to walk around on for Sobel. If I did say something, and the boys were cheering, Sobel would have heard and felt more like crap. Who was I to grant him that despair, since I too was a sinner and trying to be a better person other than a bitter one. Everyone else in the huddled group that we had were looking rather solemn themselves, not paying attention to the now defeated walked Sobel as he was walking away from us. No, I would say nothing, but pray silently for his heart and how he could somehow make his way back to God. But I wasn't going to rejoice in his defeat.
That was not my victory.
"I'm gonna hit the hay, since we could get in trouble for being out here for too long any who. I don't want Sobel to breathe down my neck again." Malarky said aloud, getting up from his spot and cracking his back in the process. Some more of the men followed, saying goodnight to Doc and I as they went inside their cabin. It left me there with Joe, Doc and Webster, all who were silent for a moment or two before Joe looked up at me, his eyes filled with warmth and curiosity.
"Marley?" he asked me as I looked off in the same direction as Sobel was walking, only now looking in the darkness. I took a long drag, having the smoke escape my nostrils again.
"Hhhmm?" I replied, showing that I was listening.
"What's New Orleans like?" I looked down at him, seeing the genuine interest in how he was looking at me and turning his body to face me slightly as he was still on the grass. That question came out of nowhere, having me ponder for a moment or two.
"Why you ask?" I questioned him, seeing him shrug his shoulders as if was getting dust rolled off.
"Wonderin' is all, since you never really described it to me." He merely replied, having me see that smirk once more on his face as I smiled back, looking up at the stars in the sky. The England stars had nothing on New Orleans stars, or even Louisiana stars to be fair. They were faint here, very faint and dull to what I was used to at home.
"There's always music there, the good kind too: Zydeco and folk." I explained, having me see Doc smile finally for the first time that night as I took another drag, "I would hear music all the time walk to and from work. You can always smell broils and seafood in the air, even in the early mornings. The sky's tinted gold, at least to me, it's almost like seeing a bit of Heaven on earth when you walk the streets of New Orleans."
"I miss the grass," Doc said suddenly out of nowhere, his thick Cajun accent seemed so sweet in the cool England air as we all looked over at him, "The tall green grass in the summer with the fireflies and the sweet smell of sugar cane." That reminded me of home as well, having me picture that in my now head.
"Sounds like heaven to me," Webster said from his spot in almost a dreamy state, having me grin as he took his own drag and looked up at the sky, the smoke escaping from his lips into the air and up away from him.
"There's nothing quite like it," I added, "The warm breezes from the sea and the willow trees hanging low on the hot streets. My favorite thing though, beyond everything else there, is the open fields that can melt into the ocean at the bay. Sometimes in the sunsets and sunrises, you tend to forget where the sea ends and the sky begins, or if you walk out into the grass far enough where you'll touch the water." I closed my eyes at the imagery. I saw myself as a child, red curly hair framing my pale face as my father held me in his arms, ankle deep in water and surrounded by grass. I could still feel the warm sun on my skin and also the sea breeze, how my father held me close to his chest since I was so small and he laughed with his Cajun ways. I missed him beyond words, beyond thoughts and memories. But I knew he would be proud of what I was doing right here in this moment.
"I wanna see it." I opened my eyes, looking over at Joe whom was thinking to himself with his smirk still there, but the smirk was softer. It was as if he was thinking of his own memory and it was bringing him joy.
"See what?" I asked a bit confused as to what he was trying to tell me.
"See that." He replied, having me look at him in wonder, "That place with the grass and water. That sounds…I don't know….like a good place to have a memory."
"It is," I answered, taking my last drag from my cigarette and sighed as the smoke flew out of my parted lips, "It's like a piece of Heaven was here on earth, you know?" There was a pause for a moment or two between the four of us, and it made me realize that we were all thinking about it: the one piece of heaven that was in our hearts that reminded us of home.
"Hey Marley." I opened my eyes again, having me see Joe move to sit next to me on the edge of the porch, the both of us on the same level and very close to one another: shoulder to shoulder and making me lose focus for a moment. I realized that it was the two of us now: Doc and Webster going back to their sleeping quarters. With that, it felt more intimate with just the two of us there in the England night.
"After this war's over, will you show me that place, with the grass and ocean?" He asked me in a low tone, low enough for just the both of us. It sounded so sincere and so raw from him, as if he was yearning to see that place that brought me peace and joy.
"You wanna see New Orleans?" I asked him in a surprised tone, having me see him roll his eyes and take another long drag from his cigarette.
"Oh, come on! From all the things you told me just now, it sounds like a magical place." He explained, having me laugh from next to him.
"What about your home?" I asked Joe, seeing him scoff at me and then chuckle.
"Frisco? Sure it's near the bay, but it's really nothing too special, not the way you make New Orleans sound." He explained, having me roll my eyes at him.
"And here I thought you were all about San Francisco life what with your cockiness and need to be stubborn. What a traveler." I said in a joking manner, having me feel the light mood between us, "I've never been there, read about it the papers a couple of times. It seems like a special place to me."
"Well, okay it does have its perks," Joe explained back to me as I watched him use his hands to explain it, "Trolly cars left and right, great pubs with music that's upbeat, lots of places to eat from all over the world. I miss it sometimes, seeing the Golden Gate bridge with the fog rollin' in. It's a thing of beauty, Marley, that big ol' bridge."
He paused, taking one more drag before flicking the small cigarette butt into the dirt below him before he scuffed it out with his heel, "I remember the opening of that bridge in the city, back in '37. It was all over the newspaper and was the talk on the streets: the biggest thing to hit the city since the quake. I went over the bridge in my old man's car: it felt like I was going into a brand new world." He way he spoke about it, it makes me try to picture Joe Liebgott with his mother and father going through the famous Golden Gate Bridge. A Joe Liebgott before he joined up in the army, younger and filled with life, not that he wasn't now. I could picture it: his head out the window and the brown hair flowing in the wind as he was looking up and over the huge bridge in awe.
I smiled widely at him, no longer sheepish around him and wanting to run from his beautiful grin and unique flare. He was willing to go there to see what I was seeing and to experience it, having me nod my head.
"When the war's over, you show me the Golden Gate Bridge, and I'll show you the New Orleans bay." I explained to him, seeing him smile at me: no longer the smirk but with a bigger grin than before. We were making a deal with one another, something that I could find hope in when it came to surviving the war. He must have felt the same war, holding out his hand for me to shake on it. I took it, shaking it gently and letting the feeling of our joined hands being imprinted on my brain for the reminder of that night.
"That's a promise, Marley La Noux."
Author's Note: Hello readers! I'm trying to stay close to how the show went with the story and I hope I'm doing well. Leave a review or two and let me know how I'm writing! Also, spread this story around to other readers who love Band of Brothers! Thanks for the love and leave a review!
