Three weeks had passed by rather quickly since Evelyn had arrived at Camp Toccoa, and during that time a particularly nasty stomach bug had swept through the camp, rendering both nurses and soldiers alike sick. Evelyn had been one of only a handful of nurses who hadn't succumbed to it and therefore had been forced to work almost non-stop to cover for those who weren't able to. She had managed to see her brother only twice and both times were just a quick half an hour in the mess hall, which didn't feel like enough time at all especially as she had been feeling a little homesick. It was ironic really because she had been so excited to get away from home and learn what it was like to stand on her own two feet somewhere else, but there had been a few nights she had almost cried herself to sleep because she missed home so much.
Evelyn knew that there had been one day when her homesickness had caused her to not work at her best, but she had quickly gotten over that and instead used work as a distraction. Aside from that one little blip, she thought she had worked well over the last few weeks and really proved herself, which was why she was a little unnerved to have been summoned to Matron's office when she started her shift that morning.
Pausing outside the door, Evelyn patted her hair ensuring that it was still confined neatly in its tight bun, and smoothed out a tiny wrinkle in her otherwise pristine uniform. With a shaking hand, she knocked and accepted that there was no going back now.
"Enter," came Matron's stern voice.
Evelyn took a deep breath and reluctantly pushed the door open, wishing she was about to step through some magical land and not an office where she would potentially be told off or even worse, maybe told to leave. Oh god, what if she was being sacked? The only other time she had ever been in Matron's office was at the end of her first shift when she had been asked to give her version of events on the fight between the two nurses she had been working with, and she had hoped it would have been longer before she was invited there again.
The first thing Evelyn noticed upon entering the rather small room was that Matron was not alone at her desk. Sat beside her was an older man with greying hair and a moustache who Evelyn immediately recognised as Colonel Robert Sink. Her heart began to pound. What was he doing here? It must be something serious to warrant his appearance, and Evelyn honestly felt like she was about to pass out at any moment. Bill loved to call her out on her dramatic nature, but right now she figured even he would be about ready to lose his mind.
"Ah, Nurse Guarnere," Matron peered over her thin silver spectacles. "Won't you please take a seat?"
With her knees shaking, Evelyn all but collapsed gratefully into the vacant seat in front of her and discreetly wiped her sweating palms on her skirt. If the two superiors watching her had noticed her obvious discomfort, neither let on.
"You must of course be wondering why you were asked here today?" Matron began. "Well first of all, I would like to introduce you to Colonel Sink, whom I'm sure you will have seen around camp these last few weeks?"
Evelyn tried to smile politely as Colonel Sink nodded in her direction, but her mouth was so dry that her lips decided to stick awkwardly to her teeth. She licked at them nervously as Matron continued to talk.
"It is actually Colonel Sink who wished to speak with you today, but I felt that due to the nature of the discussion you might feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings."
Evelyn furrowed her brows in confusion as a pit of dread opened up inside her stomach. If Colonel Sink was the one who had requested to see her then she could only surmise that something really was amiss and her level of discomfort went up even more. She began wracking her brains furiously to try and think of what she had possibly done so wrong, and when she could think of nothing her thoughts turned almost immediately to her brother. Oh god, Bill had done something stupid and gotten himself kicked out of the training programme or gotten a court martial, hadn't he? That stupid mouth of his. She had told him time and time again it was going to get him into trouble. Thankfully, before her brain could begin to think up any more worse case scenarios, Colonel Sink cleared his throat.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Guarnere. I've heard a lot about you these past few weeks," Colonel Sink smiled warmly. Evelyn couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad thing. He had a sort of sweet old man way about him but there was a look in his eyes that spoke of someone who would not take anyone's bullshit. "Matron has been keeping me updated on all of the nurses here at Toccoa, and your name has come up repeatedly. It seems that especially under immense pressure, you have been proving yourself to be a very competent and valued nurse."
Evelyn glanced at Matron, as though she wasn't quite sure what she was hearing to be correct. She was more than a little shocked when the woman's lips began twitching upwards slightly. In three weeks, she had never seen the woman do anything other than frown and she was actually convinced that her face might crack with any other type of expression.
"Don't look so surprised, Miss Guarnere," Matron smirked much to Evelyn's astonishment, and she felt her own lips curve upwards into a small smile.
"Now I'm just gonna get right to the point, Miss Guarnere," Sink continued. "As you are aware, the parachute infantry is an entirely new concept in the US Military, but there is also something else that General Taylor wishes to try out under that umbrella; an experiment if you will. I have been chosen with selecting just one nurse to train as a female combat medic and join the men on the frontline. After much consideration, you are my first choice."
Evelyn's jaw dropped open completely of its own accord and for the first time in her life she was completely speechless. She almost chuckled, thinking that her family would pay good money to see her at a loss for words, but now wasn't the time for laughter.
"Now, I can understand that this is somewhat of a shock, and you are of course under no obligation to accept the offer. However, I urge you to think long and hard about this as it is an extraordinary opportunity you have been given. If you agree, you will be joining up with one of the companies and you will be expected to complete and pass all aspects of basic training along with the men, including jump training. And you will, of course, join the other medics with their medical training. Now, I will need an answer from you by tomorrow morning," Sink explained. "I appreciate that doesn't leave you much time to think, but we must be swift about this if we are to get you trained up to standard with the men."
Evelyn, who was still dumbfounded, could just about nod. There were so many thoughts whirring around her mind yet none of them were actually coherent enough to mean anything.
"Do you have any questions?" Sink asked.
"Um, just one," she finally croaked out. "Do you have any idea which company I would be joining, Sir?"
"Easy Company," he smiled broadly as though he had anticipated such a question. "Although, I expect you to be treated in the same way as any of the men, it is felt that you would be better off in the same company as your brother just in case something should happen to you either during training or out on the front line."
Evelyn's head was spinning. There was so much to think about. Her head was telling her to do one thing and her heart another. All she could think about was her family and how they would react if she agreed to this. Could she put her parents through the worry of having another child fighting in the war in some far off country? That's even if she passed her training, which wasn't going to exactly be a walk in the park, was it? But how could she even consider turning down such an opportunity? This was her chance to prove to herself that she was more than just a little girl from Philly, and to prove that women were just as capable as men. Her stomach dropped. She firmly believed women were as capable as men at anything they set their minds to, but was she the one who could really pave the way for others after her? She wasn't sure she had that much faith in herself.
"Perhaps now would be a good time to allow Nurse Guarnere to return to her duties," Matron decided, sensing Evelyn's turmoil. "She has a lot to think about and not very much time."
Colonel Sink nodded his agreement and stood up from his seat. He held out a hand which Evelyn shook, noting his firm grip. "I just have one other thing to ask of you, Ma'am. Until you have informed me of your decision, this conversation must remain private between the three of us, even from your brother. Is that understood?"
"Of course, Sir," she replied.
"Until tomorrow then."
… … …
The Following Day
"You're asking me to have a woman in my company? Sir, with all due respect, this is ludicrous…"
Evelyn was sitting in the hallway outside Colonel Sink's office trying not to cringe at the heated and very audible conversation taking place inside. Colonel Sink had been overjoyed when she had accepted his offer earlier that morning, but it seemed that her new CO, who had yet to even meet her, was not so happy. She looked at her feet, so she wouldn't have to meet the stares of the two Lieutenants sitting opposite her.
"…I fail to see how anything good can come from this, Sir. Women are not as strong as men, neither mentally nor physically, and I fear that having a woman in the company might prove to be a distraction to the men. Not to mention the fact that Easy is the only company forced to have a female in its ranks which would put them at an unfair disadvantage."
"Now Lieutenant Sobel, while I understand your reservation," came Colonel Sink's firm yet calm reply. "She understands that she is to be given no special treatment and she must pass all the physical training to the same standard as the men. I can easily have her moved into another company, but you're a damn fine leader and I thought you would want to be a part of something that could be a historical turning point in the military. Perhaps I thought wrong?"
"No, of course not, Sir," Sobel said reluctantly. "However, if I may just…"
"Well this is awkward, huh?"
Evelyn looked up as one of the Lieutenants spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence, and she almost sighed in relief. With jet black hair and a smile that could rival Cary Grant, he pulled a packet of Lucky Strikes out of his pocket and offered her one.
"No thank you," she smiled politely. "I don't smoke."
"All the more for me then," he shrugged, lighting one up before leaning forward to shake her hand. "Lieutenant Lewis Nixon. Always a pleasure to meet a pretty lady."
"Stop flirting, Nix," the other Lieutenant smirked, as he shook Evelyn's hand next. She could have sworn that she saw him blush a little as he did so. He was the polar opposite of his colleague and not just physically. With auburn hair and ice blue eyes, he was as pale as Nixon was dark, and she also sensed a more reserved nature that was nothing like his friend's clear confidence. "Lieutenant Dick Winters, Easy Company, pleased to meet you."
"Nice to meet you both," she said. "I'm Evelyn Guarnere, Easy's new combat medic. Well, unless your CO here wins his argument, that is."
"Guarnere?" Nixon raised an eyebrow quizzically. "As in-"
"-Bill Guarnere?" she finished for him. "Yeah, he's my older brother. And please, for the love of God, don't tell me I look like him."
"Alright, you don't look like him, but you've sure got his mouth," Nixon smirked while Evelyn just grinned.
"I was actually talking with your brother just before I came here," Winters said with a frown. "He's spoken of you before and I knew you were a nurse here, but he never mentioned that you were going to be joining the company."
"Oh yeah," Evelyn said casually. "Well, uh, that might be because he…um, Sink asked me not to uh-"
"-"He doesn't know, does he?" Nixon grinned. He threw his head back and laughed as though it was the funniest thing he had heard all day. Evelyn looked at him as though he had gone stark raving mad but Lieutenant Winters seemed to take it completely in his stride as though this was a common occurrence. "Oh, this is great. Dick, did you hear her? Guarnere doesn't know that his little sister has joined up. I can't wait to see his reaction when he does find out. This is brilliant. I feel like I'm gonna need popcorn for it."
"I see you know my brother well then."
"Well it wouldn't exactly be unfair to say he can be a little highly strung at times," Dick commented with a small smile.
"That's an understatement to say the least," Nixon snorted. "So, when are you planning on telling him? And can I be there, please? Perhaps with a camera too."
Evelyn had to fight the urge to stick out her tongue at Lieutenant Nixon's irritatingly gleeful face; not just because it was childish but because he was going to be her superior, so she had better show him some respect, even if he didn't really deserve it right in that moment. And also, he absolutely confirmed what she already knew, which was that her brother was going to lose his mind.
All of a sudden the door was flung open and Lieutenant Herbert Sobel burst into the hallway looking anything but happy. All three of them quickly stood to attention before him, and Evelyn literally felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest.
"So, you're Miss Guarnere, I take it?" he looked her up and down in disgust as though her very presence was offensive to him.
"Uh, yes Sir," she mumbled.
"You don't sound very sure about that," he growled, and then as though he suddenly remembered Colonel Sink watching them from his desk his demeanour changed. "Lieutenant Winters, you will take Corporal Guarnere to the supply store to fetch her uniform, and then you will both join Easy on the field for PT."
"Yes Sir," Winters nodded sharply.
"Lieutenant Nixon, you will collect Corporal Guarnere's belongings from the nurse's barracks and move them into her new barracks with the men."
Evelyn's eyes bugged wide. Was he being serious? Surely he didn't expect her to sleep in the same room as the men, did he? Lieutenant Nixon looked equally as shocked but he had the good sense not to question Sobel's orders.
"That's not a problem, is it Corporal?" he sneered, and Evelyn realised that he wanted her to protest. Well she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. If this was her first test, she most certainly wasn't going to fail it.
"Of course not, Sir," she said without any hesitation in her voice, and straight away the thunderous look in his eyes returned. Evelyn was sure that if looks could kill she would be a dead woman right now, but she staunchly held his gaze as much as she might have wanted to look away.
"Dismissed," he finally curled his lip up in disgust.
Well, it wasn't the best of starts that was for sure, and unfortunately it was only about to get worse.
… … …
The men of Easy Company were gathered on the field in their PT gear waiting for Sobel to arrive, enjoying a brief reprieve in the sunshine before they were put through their paces for the afternoon.
"Hey, who's that with Lieutenant Winters?" George Luz took a drag of his cigarette and nudged Frank Perconte, who was standing beside him with his face turned up towards the warm sun.
"Not sure," Frank shrugged, squinting to try and get a better look. "New recruit maybe? Hey, looks kinda like a broad though, don't you think?"
Upon hearing this, more of the men turned to look as the figures came closer, speculating excitedly about who the new arrival could be. Bill and Joe Toye, who were the furthest away with their backs to everyone, weren't paying any attention to the commotion going on behind them.
"…I'm telling you, Joe, Marlene Dietrich ain't got nothing on Rita Hayworth," Bill was saying matter-of-factly, flicking his cigarette on the floor and stubbing it out with his foot. "There really isn't any competition."
"Look I'm not saying Rita isn't pretty, 'cause she sure as hell is, but there's something about Marlene that…" Joe stopped what he was saying when he caught a glimpse of Winters and his companion out of the corner of his eye. "…Uh Bill, ain't that your sister with Winters?"
Bill turned around with a smile on his face. It had been almost a week since he had last seen his sister so the opportunity even just to say a brief hello was a welcome one. But his elation soon turned to rage when he saw her.
"What the fuck is she wearing?" he growled at nobody in particular.
"PT gear," Perconte answered casually, oblivious to the scowl that Bill sent his way.
"I can see that, Frank. What I wanna know is why the fuck is she parading around like that here?"
"Who knows," Liebgott piped up from somewhere in the crowd and elbowed Skinny beside him. "But I'm sure not complaining. Have you seen those legs?"
"You wanna say that again, Liebgott?" Bill swung around with his fist clenched and got right up into Liebgott's face. Liebgott smirked after getting the reaction he had hoped for. Since their first day at Toccoa, he and Bill had taken an almost immediate dislike to each other, and Liebgott enjoyed provoking him whenever he got the chance.
"Shut it, Liebgott," Joe Toye glowered warningly before pulling Bill away. "Come on, Bill, he's just trying to wind you up. He aint worth getting in trouble over."
Bill let Joe pull him back around but not before he gave Liebgott one final glare.
Evelyn swallowed when she saw Bill's thunderous expression, and decided to stay right beside Lieutenant Winters as they approached the group. Cowardly it may have been, but even Bill couldn't kick off too badly on her with his superior there.
"Gentlemen," Winters cleared his throat to gain their attention. "I'm sure most, if not all of you, have already met Corporal Guarnere. As of today, she will be joining Easy as our newest combat medic, as decided by General Taylor and Colonel Sink. I hope you will all treat her with the respect she deserves and help her out in any way you can."
As the men began to mutter between themselves, Bill stepped forward with his jaw clenched angrily and grabbed hold of his sister by the top of her arm.
"Sergeant Guarnere," Lieutenant Winters warned. He could understand Bill's shock and distress, but Evelyn was now a member of Easy and as such Winters would ensure she was treated equally, whether her brother liked it or not.
"I just wanna talk to her away from everyone else, Sir," Bill reassured him as he dragged Evelyn gently away from the group.
"This had better be a fucking joke," he said through gritted teeth, and it was plain to see by everyone watching from the sidelines that he was trying his absolute best to keep his temper in check.
"First of all, get your hands off me," Evelyn ripped her arm out of his grasp angrily and rubbed the spot where he had grabbed her, even though he hadn't even left the tiniest of marks. "And second of all, who the hell are you talking to? I'm your sister, not a piece of shit on your shoe."
"I'll talk to you however I damn well please," Bill spat. "You're my sister, my little sister, and how the fuck else do you expect me to react when you turn up dressed like a trollop and Winters announces that you've joined the fuckin' company as a medic."
"A trollop? I'm wearing the exact same as you, asshole," Evelyn's green eyes blazed angrily. Despite their unease at watching the two siblings argue, the onlookers still found it somewhat humorous to see Evelyn squaring up to her brother even though she barely reached the base of his throat.
"I knew this would be good," Nixon muttered as he appeared beside Winters with an amused grin on his face.
"I should stop it now before they come to blows," Winters decided. "Or before Sobel sees."
"Dick, leave them to it," Nixon put a hand on his friend's arm. "As angry as Guarnere looks, the male Guarnere that is, we both know he's not the type that would ever dream of hitting a woman. And anyway, if he did, I reckon his sister would put up a pretty good fight."
Dick gave a short laugh and shook his head ruefully, deciding to keep his distance but if the situation got any worse he really was going to have to intervene.
"That's different," Bill argued. "It ain't right for a girl to be flaunting herself around in front of a load of guys in a tiny pair of shorts."
"Well is it my fault that the army don't design a uniform more suitable for women to do PT in?" she exclaimed. "I can't exactly run around in my nurse's uniform, can I? A skirt ain't very practical, dumbass."
"You wanna know why the army don't make uniforms for women? 'Cause women ain't supposed to be in the army, that's why. I honestly can't believe that Sink would go for an idea like this, and what's worse is that you actually accepted," Bill was shouting now. "Are you fucking crazy? You'll never make it through training, and even if you do, how the hell do you think you're gonna fight in a fucking war?"
"I ain't gonna fight," she shouted back, her Philadelphia accent becoming stronger the more enraged she became. "I'm gonna be a combat medic, you idiot."
"And what do you think a combat medic does? Skip around in a field of frigging daisies? No, they go to fucking war and try not to get killed while putting themselves in danger to help everyone else. They don't even get a weapon for Christ's sake," Bill threw his hands up in despair. "You ain't doing it. You really think Mom and Dad will let you? Go to Sink right now and tell him you made a mistake and that you ain't doing it."
"No."
"You what?"
"Are you deaf as well as stupid?" Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest. "I said no. N-O. No. Remember what you said to me the day I arrived here? Huh? 'Cause I sure do. You said that it didn't matter whether I was the baby of our family or not, I was an adult and I could do what I wanted, and no one could stop me. Did you, or did you not say that to me?"
"Yes," he sighed reluctantly, clenching his jaw tightly and Evelyn smiled triumphantly.
"As much as you might not like this, Bill, it's not a decision I've made lightly. I'm doing it, and nothing you or anyone else says will change my mind," she said, taking hold of his hand. It wasn't that she was unsympathetic to his feelings. On the contrary, she understood them completely. She already had one brother fighting abroad, and when Bill had left for training she had dreaded the day when he would be sent to fight too. But this was her decision and nobody else's. "Look, I know this was a shock to you, and perhaps I could have found a better way to spring it on you but in truth I was scared to tell you. In fact, I was more scared to tell you then I am mom and dad; although only a little more mind you. But you're my brother, and I was kinda hoping you were gonna stick by me with this and maybe help me out. Sobel already made it clear he was disgusted with the idea of me being here within the first few seconds of meeting me, and I bet he won't be the last."
"What did that schmuck say to you?" Bill frowned immediately, turning back into the over protective brother that Evelyn loved so much.
"Oh, nothing too much, it was more the way he looked at me, and that he gave Sink a pretty good argument about why I would be a liability to the company. Plus I do think he was kinda hoping I was gonna kick off when he told Lieutenant Nixon to move all of my things into the barracks with you guys." She rolled her eyes when saw Bill's own eyes flare up again. "Don't start again, I mean it," she warned him. "I can't do anything about it, and neither can you. I don't exactly relish the thought of sharing a room with a bunch of smelly guys who I don't know, but I refuse to give Sobel the satisfaction of me saying so to his face."
"Well I ain't happy about it, but if it wipes that smug look off Sobel's face for even just a minute then I'll deal with it, I guess," Bill declared. "But there'll have to be some rules, because I ain't having any of these animals seeing my baby sister with no clothes on. We'll sort out some kinda area for you to change in or something, I guess."
"So, does this mean you're not gonna shout at me any more?" she grinned. "And you'll stick up for me with mom and dad?"
Bill laughed and slung his arm around her shoulder.
"I never said anything about helping you with mom and dad, you're definitely on your own with that, kiddo," he chuckled. "But so long as you behave yourself, then I guess I ain't gonna shout no more. I still ain't happy and I think you're the craziest girl I've ever met, but I'll help you in any way I can."
"Stop right now the pair of you or I'm gonna cry," George Luz sniffed exaggeratedly, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes.
"Shut it, Luz," Bill said, his eyes twinkling.
With his arm still around her shoulder, Bill pulled Evelyn towards the rest of the company who were all grinning widely.
"Listen up you hooligans," he announced. "Any of you idiots mess about with her or give her any kind of grief, there'll be trouble. Got that?"
"Loud and clear. We all remember what happened to poor Malarkey at dinner the other week," Skip Muck joked, making Malarkey blush a fierce red.
Everyone laughed and just like that the argument was forgotten. However, before the men could properly welcome Evelyn into the company, Sobel came running onto the field with a smug expression on his face.
"Easy Company is running up Currahee," he announced with a smirk.
As everyone groaned quietly, Evelyn looked at Bill with a horrified look. She knew at some point she was going to have to run up that godforsaken mountain, but she had not thought it would be so soon.
"Regretting your decision yet?" Bill grinned bumping her shoulder playfully.
"You wish," she stuck her tongue out. "Genuinely though, if I don't make it up there, tell Gina she can have my red dress that I wore for cousin Cecy's wedding."
"Such a drama queen," he chortled. "Come on, before Sobel busts our asses for being behind everyone else."
… … …
"Where do we run?"
"Currahee!"
"What's Currahee mean?"
"We stand alone!"
"How far up? How far down?"
"Three miles up, three miles down!"
"What company is this?"
"Easy Company!"
"What do we do?"
"Stand alone!"
What the hell am I doing here? Evelyn thought to herself as she panted and tried her best to keep up with everyone else. Even though she knew Bill could run a heck of a lot faster than she could, he stuck to her like glue and had managed to nestle her into the middle of the group, where she felt a little safer from Sobel's ever watchful eyes. Only a little safer, mind. The man was terrifying and Evelyn dreaded the day Bill wasn't around to protect her from him.
"Do not help that man! Do not help that man!" Sobel screamed as Skip Muck tripped and hurt his ankle. Ignoring his CO, Malarkey grabbed hold of his elbow anyway to steady him.
"You have thirteen minutes to get to the top of this mountain if you want to serve in the paratroopers. Hi-yo silver!"
"Jerk," Evelyn muttered to herself as Sobel ran past shouting like a crazed man. God, she hated him so much already.
"You got that right," Bill laughed. "You doing alright?"
"Well I ain't dead," she wheezed, feeling her legs grow heavier as the incline got steeper. There was no way she was going to make it to the top and back, she was almost sure of it. Her chest felt like it was about to burst and she had a horrible metallic taste in her mouth. Sweat was literally pouring off her and she knew that she was about as red as a tomato. She could feel her pace slowing down as she struggled to keep up, but then suddenly felt a nudge behind her. Turning around, she gave Bull Randleman a grateful smile. You can do this, Ev, she repeated over and over in her head like a mantra.
"We are coming on twenty three minutes," she could hear Sobel shouting as she neared the top. "That may be good enough for the rest of the 506, but that is not good enough for Easy Company."
Evelyn smiled victoriously as she tapped the plate at the top of the mountain and could finally begin her descent. Sobel, holding his stopwatch, glared murderously at her but she couldn't care less because she was so elated with her achievement.
"I wouldn't be smiling at that poor performance Corporal," he commented as she ran past him.
But Evelyn just shrugged to herself. She was just so happy to be running downhill at last, and the three miles down didn't feel half as difficult as the previous three up had. She was beyond overjoyed when they finally reached the bottom and could stretch her cramping legs.
"Thank God that's over," she sighed to herself as she hunched bent over to try and catch her breath.
"Yeah for today," a voice said, and she looked up to see Liebgott watching her with a grin.
"Hey," Evelyn smiled, standing up right. She suddenly found herself wishing that she didn't look as though she had just been dragged through a hedge backwards. "How's the hand?"
"Much better now," Liebgott waved it around to prove his point. "So, you're our new combat medic, huh?"
"Very observant, aren't you?" Evelyn teased as she tried discreetly to fix the bits of flyaway hair that had come out of her bun during the run. Before either of them could say anything else, Bill, who was stealing a cigarette from Malarkey, called her over.
"Best go see what he wants before he gets his knickers in a twist," she huffed. "I've already dealt with one kick off from him today."
"Yeah, we all heard," Liebgott laughed, lighting up a cigarette. He offered her one but she scrunched up her nose. "You know those things are bad for you right?"
"What and joining up to jump out of a perfectly good airplane isn't?"
"Good point," she chuckled before running over to join her brother.
"What did he want?" Bill asked her, eyeing Liebgott warily. "Was he being a jerk?"
"What? No," Evelyn frowned. "He came by the medical station a few weeks ago with a bruised hand, so I was just asking how it was. That's actually my job, you know."
"Hmm," Bill narrowed his eyes at Liebgott, who had his back to them and was laughing raucously at something with Skinny and Talbert.
"Bill, what's the problem?"
"Nothing, just he can be a bit of an asshole and I don't really want you talking to him," Bill decided.
"Well considering we're gonna be in the same company, I think that might be a little difficult. Besides, I like him."
"Excuse me?" Bill raised an eyebrow. "Is there something' going' on that I should know about?"
"I said I liked him, I didn't say I was gonna marry him," Evelyn sighed exasperatedly. "Bill, this is gonna be exhausting for both of us if you keep on like this every time I talk to someone you don't like. What's your problem with him anyway?"
"What isn't?" George chortled, ignoring Bill's narrowed eyes.
"He's just an asshole," Bill shrugged.
"You think any guy that talks to me is an asshole. Anyway, it doesn't matter who I talk to, you'll always be my favourite if that's what you're worried about," she grinned and kissed him loudly on the cheek.
"Get off me," Bill scowled, wiping at his cheek. "You stink."
"Yeah well you don't smell so great yourself, you know."
"Pack it in you two," Joe Toye joked as he approached them. "Let's go and eat."
"You might have to carry me, my legs won't make it," Evelyn groaned.
"I heard the mess was serving dessert today," Bill winked at the men around him. Evelyn had a terrible sweet tooth; had done since they were children.
"Race you there!" she squealed, leaving Bill shaking his head. Perhaps having her around wasn't going to be so bad after all.
