Author's Note:
There's some quotes and dialogue from Malarkey's Easy Company Soldier in this chapter. Enjoy, and thank you for taking the time to read! I always appreciate it!
Carentan, France
June 8 – 16th 1944
Marie watched the fields pass by as the truck drove them all to their next destination. She felt herself being eerily calm as she gazed upon the endless orchards that passed by. Every once in awhile the remains of artillery and a dead animal would be splattered across the green, making Marie realize that they were all in the middle of a war again. There was a nice summer breeze that day; the smell of grass would make Marie feel nostalgic about back home. She could picture her father mowing the lawn. Sometimes the breeze carried the pungent odor of death along with it, too, making Marie cover her nose in disgust from time to time.
"France is beauty and the beast." Malarkey said to her, acknowledging the same sights she was observing. She gave him a small smile, letting him know that she was listening. "Other than all the death, this place really reminds me of Willamette Valley. I used to watch sports there in the fields all the time while hitchhiked from Astoria to Eugene." Malarkey smiled fondly to himself as the memories played in his head.
"Feeling homesick?" Marie asked him softly.
"Nah – it's just… in the States, just as we were all coming of age and getting comfortable with school, girlfriends, jobs, along came a war." He sighed. "In France, just when we were all getting comfortable with war, along comes reminders of home." He gestured to the fields.
"You're bumming me out, Malark." Toye interjected, half asleep.
"Did More tell you what we found?" Malarkey said, suddenly going off topic.
"What?" Marie questioned.
"Back in Normandy. We came across some bags in some liberated French village. We were mostly looking for candy bars, but inside we found some pink baby bootees." Malarkey explained.
"So?" Toye shrugged.
"So, Alton is married. His wife just gave birth to their first child when we first arrived in England." Malarkey added. "He started cryin' when he saw the bootees."
"Damn… I had no idea." Toye muttered.
Marie didn't say a word; she knew the point Malarkey was trying to get across. Things were hitting too close to home lately, and everyone was having a hard time adjusting as time went on. The story was a humbling reminder what was waiting back home for them. Marie tried to think of something other than the chance that More could die and never meet his newborn. She shuddered at the thought then went to focus her attention back on the field. Dead livestock came into view, slaughtered by bullets. The torn up flesh smelled rancid as rotting meat filled the air. Marie covered her nose with her BDU collar; her BDU was still caked with dried mud from the jump into Normandy two days before. Covering her nose was of some relief; she much more preferred the smell of mud to the smell of rotting flesh.
"I think we're all feeling a little homesick…" Malarkey sighed deeply.
"What do you miss most about home?" Toye asked him, trying to lighten the mood.
"Uh, I dunno. I guess I miss the food. I miss Bernice, basketball, singing with my fraternity choir, my family, obviously. Ya know, stuff like that." Malarkey replied.
Toye nodded at his answers. He looked over at Marie, whom was still staring off at the scenery. "Hey, Hun."
"Hmm?"
"What do you miss most about home?"
Marie thought about her life before the war. It was hard to think back before Toccoa. It's like the life before she enlisted was starting to fade away; simply slipping between her fingertips. Easy Company was the only thing that mattered to her now.
"Well?" Toye said, raising his eyebrows at her prolonged pause.
"I miss listening to my sister sing in the church choir. I miss playing baseball with my brother. I miss my dad's cooking, and my bed." She yawned. "I miss a good night's sleep. And being able to read books regularly."
"Hmm, interesting." Toye said, looking a little puzzled by her answers.
"What?"
"It's just… I thought you'd miss dresses, makeup, cooking and stuff like that. Like bein' a girl." Toye explained.
Being a girl. Marie was never a "girly-girl" growing up. She never really had the opportunity to learn how to be like other girls. She was always so caught up with her schooling, and helping her father care for the family. Marie wasn't very domestic, either. She was terrible at cooking, no matter how many times she tried.
"I never really got into any of that stuff, and I'm a horrible cook." Marie laughed, remembering all the meals she'd try to make in the past.
"You never mentioned your mom." Malarkey pointed out.
Marie felt herself stiffen at the mention of her mother. She didn't answer; instead she looked back out at the orchards, trying to imply that she didn't want to talk about her mother.
"Marie?" Malarkey queried, leaning over to his side so he could look at her face. She ignored his stare, focusing only on the land. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired." She replied curtly, still not looking at him. 'Just tired', the perfect excuse getting out of anything. Lord knows that she had to use that line to get out of conversations like this more times than she could count.
More dead livestock passed by the truck, making the beautiful scenery become tarnished once again. The smell and scenery was like some terrible form of irony or a forewarning to what was approaching.
Carentan was a small town of only four thousand people. A few of the companies, including Easy, were waiting around for orders outside of the town. Marie, Malarkey, Luz, Perconte, and a few other guys were all sitting under a monument. Marie lied down next to Malarkey on the steps of the monument, staring up at the blue sky as time ticked on. No one knew what was happening yet, they weren't sure if they were passing the small town, or taking the main road to Cherbourg.
Malarkey and Toye were cautious of Marie's mood after her refusal to speak of her mother on the way. She remained mostly quiet, and so did they. She didn't mind the silence; she found it more comforting in times like these.
Malarkey pulled the cigarette from his mouth, wanting to break the silence. "Want a smoke, Hun?" He asked her.
"No thanks." She replied.
"You don't smoke or drink, how are you able to stand all this?" Perconte asked her in a tone of disbelief.
"I don't know." Marie said with a shrug. "I just think things out instead of trying to forget them." It was a lie; she disliked cigarettes and alcohol for deeper reasons than she could tell them.
"That must be frustrating." Perconte answered, arching a brow at her.
"You have no idea." Marie chuckled. She closed her eyes, letting herself bask in the sunlight. She felt like she could drift off asleep again, but a voice shook her out of it.
"Hey, fellas!"
Marie's eyes flew open, she recognized that voice. She turned her head to see Talbert leading some men over to where they were resting. There was someone else Marie could almost make out; she shielded her eyes from the sun.
It was Emilia. Emilia's face was streaked with paint from the jump and some dirt from their journey. She looked strangely beautiful with the marks on her face. The darkness on her face made her dark eyes seem bolder, also complimenting her skin. Some of the men from other companies whom had never seen Emilia stared at her, admiring her beauty, mostly in awe, followed by a few catcalls. Emilia strode past them, proud and confident, holding her head high. Talbert walked beside her, waving over to Easy Company.
"Emilia!" Marie shouted happily, bouncing onto her feet and taking off in their direction. She hugged Emilia, laughing with relief that her friend was alive. It had been three days since she'd seen her last, and the entire time she feared she was dead.
"Damn, girl! You almost knocked me over!" Emilia laughed, pulling Marie back and clutching onto her shoulders. "Calm down!" She eyed her overly excited friend, quizzically.
"I thought you were dead! You didn't show up at Le Grand Chemin, I was worried."
"Worry-wart." Emilia teased. "We were misdropped and had to make our way back here. It just took a long time."
"Yeah, most of us were scattered to hell and back like sticks in the wind. We honestly wouldn't have made it here without Em." Talbert told Marie. He stared fondly over at Emilia.
"Well look who decided to show up. Floyd!" Luz called, making his way over to the group. Luz and Talbert both shook hands, giving each other a pat on the back.
"Thought we'd never find you guys. Well, until we ran into Emilia." Talbert said.
"Hey, Tab." Liebgott called, unfolding a Nazi flag to show him. "Get a load of this, real nice huh?" He showed everyone his newest souvenir, proudly.
The men continued to catch up. Marie and Emilia made their way back to the monument. Emilia stopped walking for a minute, and tugged on Marie's sleeve.
"See the guy laying down?" Emilia whispered. Marie looked over toward Malarkey and Perconte, a blond haired soldier was lying beside them, his eyes shut in the sunlight. "He's an odd one."
"What's his name?" Marie asked, mildly curious.
"Albert Blithe. He just stares out into nothing from time to time. He's really quiet, teary eyed, and jumpy. A bad combination." Emilia explained, a hint of reprimand in her voice.
"Oh, come on." Marie dismissed. He was just one soldier, why was she so keen on his faults?
"I'm serious. He travelled with us the entire time. We found him hiding in his foxhole, not even trying to find his way around." Emilia shook her head. "I remember him from Toccoa, he's always been… off. But in combat he seems even worse."
Marie rolled her eyes at her friend, thinking that she was being overly critical. She went over and returned to her seat next to Malarkey. Emilia did the same, greeting Perconte and Malarkey, and eyeing Blithe with uncertainty.
"Got any souvenirs, Em?" Perconte asked.
"No, sorry Frank." She answered. He showed her all the watches he'd collected. Blithe looked disturbed by the fact that Perconte was taking the watches from dead soldiers.
Malarkey took a drag of his cigarette, not listening to the conversation. Marie laid herself back down on the steps.
"Still no Skip." He mumbled.
"He'll turn up." Marie tried to reassure him, but her voice didn't sound confident.
"Meehan's still missing." Malarkey added. They both laid there in silence, until their break time was interrupted.
"Let's go! 1st platoon! Easy's moving out, on your feet!" Welsh shouted. Everyone stood up to listen and gathered around Welsh for the briefing. "Listen up, it'll be dark soon. I want light and noise discipline for now on. No drinking, no smoking, and no playing grab fanny with the man in front of ya, Luz." He said, staring over at Luz.
The men sniggered. Marie and Emilia cracked a smile, glancing over at each other.
"So where we headed, Lieutenant, huh?" Someone asked from amongst the company.
"We're taking Carentan. It's the only place where armor from Omaha and Utah beach can link up and head inland. Until we take Carentan they're stuck on the sand. General Taylor is sending the whole division."
They already started to prepare to move out, separating into their platoons. Marie didn't want to leave Emilia after finally being reunited with her, but she made her way back to 2nd platoon.
"Remember boys, give me three days and three nights of hard fightin', and you will be relieved." Luz said in his best General Taylor impersonation.
"1st Platoon, you fall in behind Fox Company, you people from 2nd platoon, follow us." Welsh finished. Everyone started to leave.
Fox Company, maybe Diana will be there. Marie thought, trying to hang onto the little hope that she could still be alive. It was still somewhat possible, not everyone was located yet.
"Another thing to remember boys, flies spread disease, so keep yours closed." Luz piped up again in General Taylor's voice.
On the move again, they made their way over to the road that would lead them into Carentan. Marie remembered the scenery and smells of their trip here, making her stomach stir. She felt anxious and uneasy, like she did before Brécourt Manor. She swallowed the feelings down, attempting to keep them at bay, as they approached their next objective.