A little while later, Mellish continued to set up his station. He stood outside of a small hole, while a paratrooper was working on the inside. His gaze wandered around, catching a glimpse of auburn hustling past his eyesight. He turned toward the man in the hole.
"I'll get some ammo," he told him. Mellish turned slightly and patted Upham on the shoulder. "Come on," he ordered.
The two started walking toward a small pile of ammunition.
"Hey Upham."
"Yes?" the young corporal asked excitedly while holding a cigarette.
"Listen to me, alright?"
"Yes, yes."
"You listening?"
"Yes."
"Alright," he paused to look at Upham, "We're gonna be displacing and falling back like crazy sons of bitches. You gotta be Johnny-On-The-Spot with the ammo, or we're dead."
"Right."
"You understand that?"
"I understand," he chittered.
"Yeah? You all right?" Mellish asked with slight concern.
Upham took a deep breath.
"Yeah, yes." Mellish took Upham's helmet and began filling it with ammunition. Upham continued, "Ya know, when we were shipping out of England, I was offered some cigarettes. And I was like, 'No, I don't smoke.'"
He took a puff from the cigarette that stood between his fingers.
"Quite a situation, huh?" muttered Mellish.
"Heh. It's unbelievable."
The older soldier began to lay some clips around the younger one's neck. The rounds jingled with a slightly haunting tone.
"Yup," Mellish spoke up, "Fucked up beyond all recognition."
"Yeah, right." Upham blew out some smoke. He looked at his comrade with a glint of recognition. "FUBAR."
They two began to chuckle as the joke hit its punch line. Gently, Mellish slapped the corporal's neck. Upham rubbed the same spot.
"Ouch."
Mellish sighed with realization. "Yeah, well, it's gonna be a real show."
He began to walk away. After standing for a moment, Upham began to follow. In the midst of his jumpy attitude, he managed to drop some ammunition.
"Hey, take it easy," Mellish called back.
Upham stooped down and grabbed the droppings.
"FUBAR," he muttered.
The two headed back over to the hole. In the open cafe of a, somewhat, steady building, Miller fiddle with a coffee machine. He pulled on the lever expectingly. When nothing came out, the captain tipped the metal contraption toward him while shaking it. Again, no liquid came out. He proceeded to open the top. He frowned slightly as he set the machine down. He walked away from it and toward Ryan. Ryan was sitting in a relaxed position. Miller walked past Ryan's sights and in to the road.
"Who's that singing, sir?" the young private asked.
"Edith Pioth."
"What's she so upset about?"
Miller sighed. "Her lover left her. She still sees his face everywhere she goes."
Ryan nodded. "That'll do it."
The music continued to weave itself through the air. From Ryan and Miller, to Donnie, to Horvath, Reiben, Mellish, and Upham. The three men sat upon the steps of a half blown building. Upham stood off to the side, a little more relaxed.
"'Even life itself represents you. Sometimes I dream that I'm in your arm,'" he translated.
"What was that part? She-she sang that before," Horvath interrupted.
"It's the chorus. 'And you speak softly in my ear. And you say things that make my eyes close, and I find that marvelous.'"
"Again, Upham, uh," Mellish started.
"Yes?"
"To be honest, uh, I find myself curiously aroused by you."
The four of them broke in to laughter.
"Marvelous." Upham chuckled. "Ya know, it's a real melancholy song. In the beginning when she says, 'and then one day you left me, and, uh, I've been desperate ever since. I see you in the sky. I see you all over the earth.'"
Horvath smirked. "With any more songs like this, the krauts won't have to shoot me. Make me slit my own wrists."
The others gave quiet chuckles.
"You're a strange bird, Upham," Reiben rasped, "Ya know what this song reminds me of? Reminds me of Mrs. Rachel Trubowitz and what she said to me the day I left for basic."
"What? 'Don't touch me'?" teased Mellish.
"No. Mrs. Rachel Trubowitz was our super's wife. Comes into my ma's shop to try on a few things, alright, she's easily a fourty-four double E-"
"A double E?" questioned a suspicious Mellish.
Reiben continued while using his hands, "These things are massive. And I got her convinced that she's a fourty-two D. So, she's in the dressing room trying to squeeze into this side-cut, silk ribbon, ventripal panel girdle with the shelf lift brassiere, and it's beautiful 'cause she's just pouring out of this thing."
"Was it really tight?"
"No-no, it's beautiful. And she sees me, and she can tell I got a hard on the size of the Statue of Liberty. And she says to me, 'Richard, calm down,' she says, 'Now when you're over there, if you see anything that upsets you, if you're ever scared, I want ya to close your eyes, and think of these. Understand?' So I said, 'Yes ma'am.'"
The four of them sat in silence as they listened to the record. Each one of them thought to themselves. Over by the bridge, Donnie, Montie, Jo, Jack, and Bo sat on the rail. Donnie and Jo, however, stood and laid their backs against the railing.
"Upham asked me to live with him after this," Bo spoke suddenly.
The other four turned their heads to her with looks of amazement.
"He grew balls," Jo muttered.
"You gonna?" asked the gray eyed blonde.
Bo chuckled, keeping her gaze on the town. "Ya know, I'm not sure."
"So, he likes you," the auburn pointed out.
She shook her head. "I don't think so. I think he just wants to help."
"I think you should," Donnie piped up. The violet eyed woman gave her a look to elaborate. "Both of you have known war. It'd be nice to have someone who understands what we're going through."
"Do you think the boys will be able to come home after they've done this mission?" Jack asked quietly.
Montie rubbed her back soothingly.
"I don't see why not," she encouraged. "They've done just as much as us."
"So has Toynbe, Ryan, and Henderson. Not everyone gets to go."
"Why don't we think of that when the time comes. For now, " the brunette paused, "I wanna thank you four. You're some of the bravest people I know."
Bo hopped off the railing. She smirked.
"We couldn't be brave without you, Donnie," she complimented.
"Shit, I hate to say it," Jo teased, "but without you, we wouldn't even be friends."
The brunette smirked.
"Thanks guys," she paused as she gazed at the water. "I just hope the guys make it," she muttered.
The five woman sat in contemplation.
Miller stood in the middle of the road. He shifted his gaze to his trembling hand.
"Are you all right?" asked Ryan.
He forced a smile. "Yeah. I'm just keeping the rhythm."
He began to snap his fingers.
"Is it true you were a teacher, back home?"
"Yes."
"See, that's something I could never do. No. Not after the way me and my brothers treated our teachers. No sir."
He chuckled.
"I had a thousand kids like you."
"I can't see my brother's faces," Ryan spoke suddenly, "I've been trying, but I can't see their faces at all. Has that ever happened to you?"
"You have to think of a context," he advised.
"What does that mean?"
"Well you don't just think about their faces, something specific, something you've done together." Miller shook his head. "When I think of home, I think of something specific. I think of my hammock in the back yard, my wife pruning the rose bushes with old work gloves."
"There was one night, my brothers came and woke me up in the middle of the night. They said they had a surprise for me. So they took me into the barn, and into the loft, and there was my oldest brother, Dan, with Alice Jardine."
The young private began to giggle.
"I mean picture a girl who took a nosedive from the ugly tree hitting every branch coming down. And-And Dan's got her shirt off. So he's working on this bra, trying to get it off. All of a sudden, Sean just screams out, 'Danny you're a young man! Don't do it!'"
Ryan chuckled.
"And so Alice Jardine hears this and she screams and she tries to get and run outta the barn. But she's still got this shirt over her head, she runs into the wall and knocks herself out. So now Dan's just so mad at us. He-He starts coming after us, but at the same time Alice is over there unconscious, so he's trying to wake her up. So, he grabs her by a leg, and he's dragging her, at the same time grabbing a shovel. He's going after Sean. Sean says, 'What are ya tryin to hit me for? I just did ya a favor!' And so this makes Dan more angry. So, he swings. He looses the shovel, hits a kerosene lamp. The whole barn almost explodes this thing. Ugh." He slowed his laughter in to a groan. He rubbed his head. "That was it. That was the last-Dan went to basic the next day. That was the last the four of us were together. That was two years ago," he paused, "Tell me about that wife and those rose bushes?" he asked almost pleadingly.
Miller shook his head.
"No. No, that one I save just for me."
The two sat in silence. Their heads perked up as a metal clanking began to sound. The record stopped abruptly.
There's chapter 15! I hope you enjoyed it!