22nd December, 1944
The first shelling of the day came early, awakening Evelyn from a fairly fitful slumber filled with upset and uncertainty about the future and her feelings. Ironically, it seemed that Liebgott occupied her thoughts more now than he did even when they were together, if that was at all possible. If anyone could hear the inner dialogue in her head she was sure that they would be absolutely exasperated with her. She was exasperated with herself for crying out loud. As a teenager she remembered her sister, Gina, moping about constantly whenever she would break up with one of her numerous boyfriends. Gina would talk about it all hours of the day and night, and heaven forbid anyone should mention anything that brought up a painful memory of the person she was grieving for. Once, Evelyn remembered a particular occasion when Gina had broken up with some guy whose parents owned the local laundrette, and when their father had spilt something on the tablecloth Gina had sobbed for over an hour because she would never be able to use the laundrette again. Not that Evelyn ever recalled her using the laundrette in the first place. Why would she when they washed everything by hand at home? Evelyn had rolled her eyes and decided her sister was ridiculously dramatic, but now she completely understood. Here she was doing a similar thing. The only difference here was that she didn't have the luxury of avoiding the places that Liebgott was in because she was stuck in the middle of war torn Europe with him. Plus, she was having to hold it all inside and pretend that nothing was amiss unless she wanted to get herself kicked out of the airborne. That was why when the shelling had started, it had given her a welcome reprieve from her thoughts. Not that she wanted anyone to be wounded, but by treating and tending the men she was distracted for the time being.
Miraculously, the only major wounding of the morning so far was Skinny, who had taken a huge chunk of shrapnel to the leg. Eugene had taken him into Bastogne to seek further treatment, with the promise of returning with more supplies. The meagre ones that Evelyn had managed to scrounge from Dog Company were fast disappearing. Everyone else had gotten away with tiny splinters of wood that just needed tweezing out. It was actually a task that Evelyn found bizarrely relaxing. Although the men having them pulled out weren't quite as keen. Lucky for them they didn't have to tweeze their eyebrows. They really would have something to whinge about then.
"Sure you don't want a drag?" Babe held the cigarette out towards her. She and Babe had been sitting in comfortable silence for the last half an hour listening to Bill's soft snoring as he tried to catch a quick forty winks. "It'll warm you up."
"No she don't," Bill answered for her as he opened an eye. So much for being asleep. Evelyn rolled her eyes at Babe who smirked. Bill's over protectiveness was actually something of a joke between Evelyn and Babe.
"Actually Babe, go on I'll try one," Evelyn decided, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
"Try one and I'll put you over my knee just like dad would if we were back home," Bill warned.
"Dad would do no such thing," Evelyn scoffed, thinking fondly of her father who had never raised a finger to her or any of her sisters growing up. He didn't believe in hitting females, even the unruly child variety. "And neither would you. Remember that time you caught Gina sneaking out with Sarah O'Malley to go late night dancing and you said you'd tan her hide if you caught her doing it again? You caught her literally the next day and when she actually gave you permission to hit her rather than have you tell mom and dad, you couldn't bring yourself to do it. Nor did you rat her out to them."
"Yeah well I'm a hardened soldier these days," Bill snorted, knowing full well that when it came to his sisters he was as soft as a fluffy pillow, even though he liked to pretend otherwise.
Evelyn motioned for Babe to pass his cigarette over to her. He glanced warily at Bill first, unsure of what he should do.
"Oh for crying out loud," Evelyn sighed, snatching it from his hands. "You don't need to check with him every time I wanna do something. He aint my frigging keeper."
Babe blushed. He knew Evelyn was right but being on the receiving end of one of Bill's glares wasn't exactly something that made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Then again, he didn't think it would exactly be great to get on Evelyn's bad side either. She had a temper to rival that of her brother's. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Before Bill could even try and stop her, Evelyn took a long drag on the cigarette and straight away began to splutter and cough.
"Ugh that's disgusting," she grimaced, handing it back to a smirking Babe as she coughed up what she was sure was her lungs and maybe the entire lining of her throat. Did people actually really enjoy this? And they actually paid for the pleasure of it? "I'm not even joking when I say that given the choice between ever having one of those horrific things again or one of your mom's culinary catastrophes I know what I'm choosing. And yes, even if it meant I had to eat that pizza."
"That's what you get for trying to prove a point against your big brother," Bill grinned, taking great delight in Evelyn's obvious disgust at her first, and hopefully only, taste of tobacco. "And also, what's this about a pizza? I don't get it."
"First of all, shut your pie hole," Evelyn stuck her tongue out at her brother. "And secondly, the pizza doesn't concern you. It's a private joke between Babe and I."
"Since when do you two share jokes without me?" Bill frowned.
"All the time," Evelyn commented flippantly, rifling around in her satchel. "You just never hear them 'cause they're always about you."
"Oh is that right?" Bill raised an eyebrow at Babe. "Is there something going on here you wanna tell me about Heffron?"
"Shut up Bill," Evelyn snorted at the look on Babe's face as she continued to rifle through her satchel until she found just the thing she needed. As if there wasn't enough blood in these woods already, Mother Nature decided that there needed to be more. It was a shame Mother Nature hadn't decided to send some Kotex too. At the moment, the use of half a bandage would have to suffice. "Right, I need to go pee. I'll be back in a minute."
Bill waited for her to climb out of the foxhole and disappear from sight before he looked at Babe. "So, you and my sister?"
"What about us?" Babe asked innocently. Well, he hoped it was innocently. From the way Bill was looking at him, he had a sneaking suspicion as to what it was Bill was hinting at but he decided to play dumb.
"Don't give me that," Bill raised an eyebrow at him. "I ain't stupid you know. You like her don't you?"
"Course I do," Babe said. "Same as I like everyone else in the company."
"It ain't the same and you know it," Bill eyed him. "I seen the little look you gave her when you were talking about your little private jokes. You're sweet on her."
"I aint," Babe shook his head, but even as he denied it a blush crept up his cheeks and neck.
"Relax," Bill patted him on the shoulder. "It's fine if you do like her. You're a good guy and I'd much rather her go with you than that other waste of space."
Babe didn't know what to say. Part of him still wanted to deny what Bill had quite clearly worked out, but the other part of him was elated to have his buddy's seal of approval. Not that it meant he was going to do anything about it. Not when it was ridiculously obvious just how upset Evelyn still was about the entire Liebgott situation. He could see it in her face every time he looked at her. That usual sparkle in her eyes was a little lacklustre. If Bill has noticed though, he never let on. But if Babe knew when he had only known Evelyn for a few months, then the person who had been around for the entirety of her life must have noticed.
He really liked Evelyn. She was sweet and kind and ridiculously pretty. Despite the lack of clean clothes and make up, she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. But he wasn't ready to admit that to anyone, least of all his closest friend who just happened to be the very scary big brother of the girl he had a thing for. He knew Bill didn't believe his fervent denial, but that didn't mean he still wouldn't continue with it.
"I honestly don't know what you're talkin' about."
"Don't worry, no one ever does," Evelyn startled them by jumping back down into the foxhole between them. "Bill's always talking crap. I find the best thing to do is just go along with whatever he's saying and nod. Actually then again, I did that once and ended up doing latrine duty for him back in Toccoa because I wasn't actually listening properly."
"Ha, I'd forgotten about that," Bill chuckled, lighting up a cigarette. "They were good times back in Toccoa. Even if we did have that schmuck for a CO."
"You mean Sobel?" Babe clarified. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about that guy, and none of it was very nice."
"That guy is the devil incarnate," Evelyn frowned.
"That he is," Bill agreed. "Tell Babe about that time he made you repeat one of the Friday night marches because of something Christenson did."
"Urgh that was the worst," Evelyn groaned at the memory. "So what happened was…"
… … …
"Have you seen the actual state of my trousers?" Perconte marched over unhappily to the foxhole where Evelyn was still sitting huddled up in between Bill and Babe a short time later. A rose between two thorns she had teased. However Bill was adamant that she was the thorn in his side and not the other way around.
Glancing up, Evelyn took in the dark crimson patches on the short trouser legs in front of her and forced back a grin. Anyone who knew Frank Perconte understood that he was a man who valued cleanliness above all things. It was almost an obsession with him. His teeth were sparkling white and he hated to ever get the slightest mark on his uniform. Evelyn remembered once back in Toccoa when George had hidden Perconte's toothbrush for an entire day and it was as though someone had stolen a priceless jewel from him. He had turned the entire barracks upside down and interrogated everyone on the whereabouts of his most prized possession.
"What am I meant to be looking at?" Bill frowned, turning slightly and winking at his sister. "I don't see anything."
"What do you mean you don't see anything? Are you blind?" Frank exclaimed, pointing to the deep crimson patch that covered both thighs and knees.
"Oh yeah, now you've pointed it out I don't know how I coulda missed it," Bill's eyes twinkled mischievously. "So how'd that happen then?"
"Fucking Skinny," Frank huffed. "When I was helping Doc get him into the jeep."
"How inconsiderate," Evelyn commented drolly. "I mean what kind of a guy doesn't give a shit about the state of his buddy's uniform when he's in pain and bleeding? How selfish."
"You might not think it's a big deal, Ev," Frank frowned at her, pointlessly rubbing at the stain with a dirty rag. "But some of us actually take pride in the way we look unlike certain people I could mention."
"I take great pride in the way I look, I'll have you know, Frank Perconte," Evelyn opened her mouth indignantly.
"Sure you do," Frank snorted.
"What are you trying to insinuate?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing," Frank shrugged casually. "Just don't take a long look in a mirror any time soon will you?"
Evelyn glared at him, but he did actually have a point. She didn't need a mirror to know how bad she looked. Barely a week out in the wilds of the Bois Jacques forest and already she looked like she had been living there for months. Her hands and uniform were covered with blood; her hair was caked with dirt and debris and hadn't been brushed since leaving Mourmelon. She probably looked like some kind of crazy forest hag.
"Bite me," she huffed in reply.
"Urgh no thanks," Frank grimaced. "Who knows what I'd catch from you. Anyway, I'll see you guys later. I'm off to try and get these pants clean."
"I hope it takes you all day," Evelyn muttered to herself as Frank skipped away jauntily.
"Hey, do you know who I seen when I went up to the third battalion with Spina?" Babe announced as Perconte disappeared through the ever present fog. "Anthony Lopez. You know the guy who busts tables at Marley's diner?"
"Which one is he?" Bill frowned his eyes and tried to remember the numerous bus boys that worked in the diner right around the corner from his work. "The tall lanky one who looks like he needs a good wash? Or the one with the missing tooth?"
"Neither," Babe shook his head. "He's the dark haired one who's always flirting with the girls. Thinks he's Clarke Gable or something."
As Bill scratched his head thoughtfully, trying to wrack his brain, Evelyn suddenly let out a gasp.
"I know who you mean!" she exclaimed excitedly, turning to Bill and tapping him repeatedly on the forearm. "You know who he is, Bill. He's that one who asked Clara out on a date a few months before we signed up and she went out with him a couple of times. Then, after asking her to properly court him, she caught him the very next day sucking Lilian Meyer's face off in the alleyway behind the diner, and admitted that he was actually married."
"Oh yeah," Bill nodded, finally recollecting the man. How could he have forgotten him? He was an absolute weasel of a human being. "The only reason I didn't punch the guy in the face was 'cause Mom and Clara begged me not to. He's a real schmuck."
"I don't disagree with you there," Babe answered, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "Between you and me, he may or may not have mentioned that the only reason he signed up was to get away from a certain situation back home."
"And what situation would that be then?" Bill asked, intrigued. Evie rolled her eyes. The guys were such gossips it was untrue, she thought to herself as she scooted closer to Babe so that she could listen better. It was completely acceptable for her to gossip. She was a woman; it was basically a requirement.
"Well, apparently he's the one who got our Evie's not so best friend, Marcie Zimmerman, up the duff," Babe grinned. "And that ain't all. Do either of you know Erica Matthews? She used to work in the town hall and then she got married to Bobby Wright even though everyone knows she's not really a one man kinda woman? God knows how she managed to trick poor Bobby into marrying her when she's been with more guys then I've had hot meals and she aint exactly ever been shy about it."
Bill nodded but Evelyn didn't have a clue. Then again, Bill and Babe were a few years older than her so it was only to be expected that she didn't always know the same people as they did. And south Philly was a big place.
"Yeah get to the point Babe, we aint got all day," Bill muttered impatiently.
"Well we do actually," Evelyn commented under her breath.
"Alright so, Bobby got shipped out to the pacific early last year yet mysteriously a few months ago, Erica winds up pregnant. And I'll give you two guesses who the father is?"
"Well not Bobby that's for sure," Evelyn snorted.
"Talk about stating the obvious," Bill tutted at her and rolled his eyes. "So lusty Lopez has decided he'd rather face the Germans than his indiscretions eh? Can't say I blame the fella but maybe he needs to learn to keep it in his pants if he don't wanna deal with any nasty surprises."
"You're one to talk," Evelyn raised an eyebrow at him.
"And just what do you mean by that?" Bill frowned at her.
"You know what I mean," she raised an eyebrow at him. "All I'm gonna say is that I bet pissing needles is a breeze compared to having two kids to two different Moms."
"Did you tell her?" Bill glared at Babe, furious that his little sister knew of his embarrassing ailment.
"No," Babe denied vehemently.
"That fucking Cajun," Bill muttered, shaking his head in realisation. "I thought I could trust Doc not to say anything. Guess I was fucking wrong about that."
"In Eugene's defence, he only told me in a purely medical capacity," Evelyn said. "I mean, it's our job to know about any and all ailments that might affect you guys, no matter how big or small. So, really he was just making sure I was up to speed with everything."
"Like shit he was," Bill narrowed his eyes at her. "Well now that you know, I may as well ask your advice on the matter. Doc said he ain't got no penicillin for me and I'm guessing that means you don't either?"
"Sorry," she answered sincerely. While a small part of her thought it served Bill right to be suffering some ill effects from his escapades when he was spoken for, he was still her brother and she wanted to help him if she could. But penicillin was a luxury reserved only for those who were in danger of becoming severely ill from their infections. Eventually Bill would get better and until then he would just have to deal with the pain. "But just drink as much water as you can. I know it hurts, but the more you flush out your system- literally- the better it will be and the quicker the infection will go."
"Yeah that's pretty much what Doc said," Bill grumbled. "It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard though. Fancy making someone need to piss more when it's the pissing that hurts."
"The dumbest thing is someone thinking that they can sleep around with whoever they want and not worry about catching something," Evelyn smirked, rifling around in her satchel and grinning when she pulled out a small box and tossed it over onto her brother's lap. "Just in case you haven't learnt your lesson yet, you can at least save yourself another bout of the clap."
"I do not need to take any prophylactic kits from my baby sister," Bill scowled, slipping the box into his own bag nonetheless. "And like I've told you on more than one occasion, what I do in my own private time ain't none of your business."
"Or who you do," Babe sniggered, receiving a snort of laughter from Evelyn.
"I would keep your mouth shut if I were you Heffron otherwise I might accidentally let slip about your little crush," Bill warned.
"What crush is this?" Evelyn demanded to know, her eyes wide in exclamation as she rapidly turned her attention to Babe. "Are you keeping secrets from me, Edward Heffron?"
"It's nothing," Babe blushed, wishing the ground would swallow him up. Or at least swallow Bill up and then he wouldn't have to worry about the blabbermouth saying anything else around Evelyn.
"Tell me," Ev insisted.
"It's just some girl from back home that Babe's sweet on but he hasn't told her yet," Bill answered for him.
Babe didn't know whether to be grateful or not, considering Bill was the one who had brought it up.
"Who is she?" Evelyn clapped excitedly. "You gotta tell me. I need to know everything. What's her name? What does she look like? Where does she live? How did you meet her?"
"Jesus Christ Ev, do you wanna know anything else?" Bill exclaimed. "What she ate for dinner last week, or where she gets her hair cut?"
"Hush it you," Evelyn waved him off impatiently. "These are all important details that I gotta know. I need to make sure this girl, whoever she is, is good enough for you."
"Sorry to interrupt the lovely little mothers meeting you guys are having in here," George appeared in front of them. "But Father O'Malley is about to start morning mass and unless you heathens wanna miss it, then you better get moving."
"This conversation isn't finished, Heffron."
… … …
"That's it guys. Nothing more to worry about. We all gonna die now, we gonna die in a state of grace. Ain't that right, Babe?" Skip grinned cheerfully, pulling Evelyn to her feet.
A truck bearing Eugene pulled up, screeching to a halt in the snow. Eugene didn't look particularly happy. Then again, Eugene kind of just did have that sort of look on his face permanently. He always looked to be scowling, especially when he was in deep concentration, but usually he was actually in a perfectly fine mood.
"How's Skinny?" Ev and Spina asked at exactly the same time.
"He'll live," Eugene said.
"You sure about that? Because your miserable face says otherwise," Evelyn teased.
"Sorry," Eugene sighed, taking his helmet off and running his hand through his hair in a completely uncharacteristic manner. "What's going on here?"
Evelyn narrowed her eyes. She didn't buy his excuse in the slightest. There was something he wasn't saying but she just couldn't figure out what it was. She would try to talk to him alone at some point and see what was going on. He was probably just tired. After all, he was working himself to the bone, taking it upon himself to do the most out of the three of them. He was barely sleeping for more than an hour or two each night and he had dark bags under his eyes.
"Battalion wants a reconnaissance patrol," Spina answered.
"I'll go," Eugene decided, even though Evelyn and Spina had tossed a coin and chosen Spina. Still, Spina wasn't going to refuse, and as head medic, Eugene saw it as his duty to go on the possibly dangerous patrol. He all but shoved the box of supplies he had brought with him from Bastogne in Spina's hand and flung a pair of boots around his neck. "Take these. Give the boots to Joe Toye. Tell him they're a nine."
Spina scurried off leaving Evelyn alone, watching Eugene's silhouette disappear into the fog. She pondered whether or not to follow him, but before she could make a decision, Lieutenant Dike's monotone voice called out to her.
"Ah Miss Guarnere, hold up a minute. I'd like a quick word with you."
Evelyn stopped and tried to hold the scowl threatening to spread across the entirety of her face. Dike still had an immense dislike for her, and his latest way of making that known was to refuse to call her by rank. Every time she heard the word 'Miss' leave his mouth she wanted to growl with annoyance. Or slap him in the face.
"Can I help you Lieutenant?" she asked in her sweetest voice, hoping it masked any animosity she felt.
"Yes actually," Dike answered, coming to a stop in front of her. His eyes raked over her with disdain. "I want to know why it is that every time I catch sight of you it's sitting in a foxhole, either sleeping or talking?"
"Excuse me?" Evelyn was gobsmacked. How would you even know where I am or what I'm doing when you spend the majority of your time making phone calls and trips to Battalion HQ?
"You might have gotten away with it under previous Lieutenants but a pretty face won't sway me from the fact that you are quite clearly not doing your job."
"I disagree, Sir," Evelyn answered through gritted teeth trying to remain as calm as she could. Last thing she needed to do was blow up on the guy. He might be an idiot but he was still her CO.
"Oh really?" Dike raised an eyebrow. "Would you care to enlighten me as to why you think that?"
"Uh…" Evelyn scratched her head and thought how to approach this. It was pretty damn obvious to everyone else in the company that the times she wasn't running around checking on the men and tending wounds were few and far between. But how to explain that to a man who was barely ever there to witness any of it?
"Well, I'm waiting," Dike tapped his boot on the ground impatiently; his arms folded across his chest.
He reminded Evelyn of a small child who was about to have a tantrum if he didn't get the answer he wanted. From what little she had heard about Lieutenant Dike from the other men, it seemed that he came from substantial wealth and had never suffered any form of hardship to get what or where he wanted in life. No wonder he felt that being out here in the middle of the Bois Jacques was beneath him. That's the way he treated it anyway. It was very difficult to understand. Strangely, she would have understood it a whole lot more if the reason he was always stayed away from them was because he was frightened of being right on the front lines and craved the safety of Battalion HQ, but the fact was that the only reason he didn't stick around was that being with the men was something he didn't want to have to deal with. His sights were firmly focused on moving higher up. Ironically though he couldn't see that he was cutting his nose off to spite his face. The experience and respect of his men (and woman) were the things that would help make him a better leader. But he didn't really care about that. Why would he when he had good men like Lipton and Compton to do all the thinking for him? No, it was just as obvious now as it had been from day one. Lieutenant Norman Dike was only interested in moving up the ranks and nothing further.
"See? You can't even give me an answer, can you? I've let you get away with it for far too long and even overlooked that little stunt back in Mourmelon when you feigned an injury to garner the sympathy of all the men. But I can't let it continue any longer, Miss Guarnere. I'm going to have to say something to Colonel Sink. Captain Winters might even turn a blind eye to you but I refuse to let you make a mockery of this company any longer."
Me make a mockery of this company? Evelyn felt her neck and face begin to turn red with rage at Dike's words. She was about to open her mouth to berate him and to hell with the consequences when a calm voice suddenly spoke.
"Lieutenant Dike, might I borrow Corporal Guarnere from you? I have need of her for something."
Evelyn's tense body relaxed somewhat at the sound of Lipton's calming voice. He seemed to have that effect on everybody. He was a little like Eugene in that respect. He was calm but firm when needed. He knew just how to put someone in their place while building them up at the same time. He was a huge asset to Easy, and he didn't even know it.
Dike looked like he was about to decline Lipton's polite request but then he seemed to think better of it.
"Of course," Dike nodded. "I need to make a phone call anyway. Miss Guarnere, you and I will finish this discussion at a later time."
Dike didn't even wait for her reply before he disappeared through the thicket of trees.
"What do you need me for, Lip?" Evelyn asked, turning to face him with a smile on her face. Was it wrong that a little bit of her hoped Dike got lost in the woods and was never seen again? She was sure if she asked any of the others they would say that they wished for the same thing on a daily basis too.
"Uh nothing," Lipton smirked. "I just thought I would save you from Lieutenant Dike."
"Well aren't you a knight in shining armour?" Evelyn gave him a lopsided grin. "Sir Carwood Lipton doth save the damsel in distress from the monstrous fire breathing dragon."
"Somehow I don't see you as much of a damsel in distress," Carwood snorted. "And fire breathing dragon might be a rather extreme description of Lieutenant Dike."
"You think?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow and then shrugged. "Hmm, maybe you're right. Sobel was the fire breathing dragon, so maybe Dike can be the grumpy old troll?"
"I'm not getting involved," Lipton held his hands up, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "But I will say one thing, Ev. Don't take anything Lieutenant Dike says personally. He's probably just being tough on you because he believes in you. And it must be hard on him trying to lead a group of soldiers who have been together since day one, do you not think? He's probably tough because he's trying to prove himself."
"You always see the good in everyone don't you, Lip?" Evelyn reached up and patted his cheek affectionately, smiling when his face turned a subtle shade of red that had nothing to do with the cold. "I think you're completely wrong but the sentiment is sweet nonetheless. If you really don't need me for anything then I'm gonna go and find Eugene. His face when he returned from Bastogne looked as though he had been stung by a wasp, so I just wanna make sure he's ok."
"Sure thing," Lipton nodded. "Oh and Evelyn? It might be a good idea to stay out of Lieutenant Dike's way for a while."
"But I thought you said he was just being tough on me because he thought a lot of me?" Evelyn smirked. "If anything I should seek him out so that he can finally give me some of the praise that he's itchin' to dish out."
"You're too much like your brother," Lipton chortled, shaking his head.
"Except I'm better," she grinned, catching sight of Eugene heading towards his foxhole. "Catch ya later, Lip."
It took her all of five seconds to reach Eugene, who barely even reacted when she poked him in the arm.
"Why ain't you on the patrol?" she frowned.
"Johnny thought it was better that I stay behind," he shrugged, looking down to the ground.
"And you're upset about that, why exactly?"
"I'm not really upset about that in all honesty," he answered quietly.
"But you are upset about something? Are you gonna tell me what it is or do I have to beat it out of you?" she teased, jumping in front of him and pretending to throw a couple of punches at his face. Eugene just sighed and stepped around her to carry on walking. "Eugene Roe, will you just tell me what's wrong please?"
She pulled on his sleeve and he stopped reluctantly, turning to look at her. He looked like he had the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. He rubbed his face wearily and sat down on a fallen tree.
"I'm just tired," he murmured. "Tired of all of this. The cold, the snow, the dying, the blood. It's everywhere. Do you know when I went to Bastogne I found out that there is no way to get the wounded out of there. The church has become a hospital. There's no morphine, only alcohol for pain, and they're using bed sheets to make bandages from. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. The smell of blood and rotting flesh was overwhelming. It hit me like a tornado the second I got in there. Men were moaning and crying for their mothers, while the few doctors and nurses were stretched thin trying to help them all the best they could."
Sitting down beside him, Evelyn rubbed his back soothingly. Eugene wasn't one to open up about things usually. Even with her. He tended to keep things held in, but Evelyn sensed that just now he needed to open the floodgates and let everything out.
"I met a nurse there. Renee's her name," he spoke again. "I don't know what it was but there was just something about her that got to me. I barely spoke more than a few words to her, but I can't stop thinking about her."
"You do remember you're a married man, right?" Evelyn was a little shocked to hear Eugene speak about a woman who wasn't his wife with such emotion. This wasn't the Eugene she knew.
"Of course," Eugene answered quickly. "I took my vows before God and I meant every word of them. I think it's the fact that she reminds me so much of Vera that has made me feel like this. I don't understand it myself so I can't even begin to explain it to you, Evelyn, but I need to know more about her. I feel as though I need to save her from the horrors of this war and I don't know why. But don't doubt my feelings for Vera. She's my wife and I love her more than I love breathing. I pray to God every day that he will allow me to return home to her safe and whole so that we can begin our life together. She is everything to me and more."
Evelyn was taken aback by Eugene's impassioned speech. It was obvious that he was torn up about his feelings towards this mysterious nurse, but in the same breath it was obvious that there was nothing romantic in it. Truthfully, she felt a little ashamed for even thinking that Eugene would have been capable of having feelings for another woman other than Vera. But she had seen enough of war already to know that it changed people, especially those it was least expected of.
"Why don't you get some sleep, huh?" Evelyn suggested. "You look worn out, Gene and you aint gonna do anyone any favours if you're not rested."
"No, I should go and check on the men," Eugene shook his head.
"The men are fine," Evelyn told him sternly. "They don't need you fussing over them like an old nursemaid. They'd much rather see my beautiful face over your ugly mug anyway."
"I guess," Eugene gave a small smile, followed by a huge yawn. "Wake me up in an hour though, ok?"
"Of course," Evelyn lied, as they stood up. There was no way that was happening. He needed at least two or three hours sleep if not more, and she was adamant he was going to get it.
It turned out that God had a different plan.
… … …
Night fell and the air grew colder. Who knew such a thing was even possible, given how cold the days were. The mood was sombre and the usual murmured chit chat of the men in their foxholes was almost non-existent. After the events of the afternoon, no one felt much like talking. The reconnaissance patrol hadn't gone to plan and in a saddening turn of events, they had lost John Julian.
Johnny Martin had bitterly explained that Julian had taken a bullet to the throat and the rest of them had been forced to watch him as he lay dying in the snow. Babe had tried everything to get to him but the German machine gun fire was just too heavy. They'd had to pull back, leaving Julian to take his last breaths alone. Leaving his lifeblood seeping out, staining the virgin white snow he lay on. They had all taken it hard. Especially Babe. He had refused to talk to anyone all afternoon, not even Evelyn or Bill. He just sat, staring into space, his mind replaying the scene over and over again.
It was late when Evelyn paused at the edge of the foxhole, where Babe, Eugene and Spina had been for some time. She knew she shouldn't have left it so long to come and see Babe, but the truth was that she didn't know what to say to him. Babe and Julian were close, and she knew that Babe had promised to send Julian's things back to his mother should something happen to him. Given the fact that they had still been unable to retrieve Julian's body, it was understandable that Babe might feel guilty about breaking his promise. But in truth there was nothing else he could have done, at least not without winding up dead himself.
"Hey guys," Ev smiled, jumping down into the hole which reeked of grief and turmoil.
Babe didn't so much as acknowledge her, and she cast Eugene and Spina a concerned look. Eugene sighed loudly and shook his head, silently telling her that Babe wasn't doing well. Not that she really needed him to tell her that. Huddled up into Spina, he looked so vulnerable and small and she wished she knew how to take his pain away.
"Shift it, Gene," Evelyn wedged her way in between Eugene and Babe, ignoring Eugene's grunt of pain as she accidentally elbowed him in the stomach in her bid to get comfortable. "How you doing, Babe?"
Nothing. Babe's eyes were blank as they stared straight ahead as though in a trance. Evelyn felt as though a piece of her heart was breaking for him. It was difficult to explain the raw emotion coming from within him. It would break the strongest of people. Wherever Julian was now, Evelyn was sure that he didn't blame Babe and the others for leaving him in the woods. He would have forgiven them wholeheartedly. The problem now was that Babe needed to forgive himself.
"You don't have to talk if you don't wanna, but just know that I'm here for you. We all are." she said quietly as tears filled her eyes. She nestled into Babe, using his shoulder to rest her head on. His breathing was steady but every so often he would shudder as though he was trying his best not to cry. The four of them sat in that foxhole, the only sound was that of their synchronised breaths in the still of the night. As the time passed slowly, Evelyn felt her eyelids begin to grow heavy as exhaustion took over. The others had fallen asleep long ago, and although she knew that she should go and check on the men, her limbs felt like lead and the foxhole was so warm and cosy that she just couldn't force herself to move.
"Ev?" Babe suddenly whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being such a good friend," Babe answered, taking her hand and squeezing it tight. "You'll stay with me, won't you?"
"Of course, Babe," she promised, squeezing his hand in return. "I'm not going anywhere."
Shifting around so that Babe's arm was around her shoulders and one of her arms was around his middle, she pulled one of the blankets over them and sighed happily.
"You comfy, Babe?" she asked a few minutes later. The sound of gentle snoring in her ear made her smile as she whispered to herself, "Goodnight, Babe."
Once he was sure that Evelyn was asleep, Babe glanced down at her face. It was dark in the foxhole but he could still make out the shape of her perfect face. The loss of Julian had hurt him like nothing ever had before. He felt numb inside. But having Evelyn in his arms was one thing that he knew would make him feel better, even if only for an hour or two. Before he knew it, his eyes closed and he was overcome by a dreamless sleep.
… … …
"Wakey wakey sleepy heads!"
Evelyn groaned in protest as the blanket roof that had helped keep out the cold all night was yanked off the foxhole and the annoyingly chirpy face of George Luz was grinning down at her.
"Well aren't we a ray of sunshine this morning?" George smirked as she scowled furiously at him.
"Fuck off," she yawned, rubbing her eyes. Eugene, Babe and Spina seemed to be taking their morning wake up call a lot better than her and were already half way out of the foxhole.
"Aw you don't mean that cherub," George leaned down and patted her head condescendingly. "You're just feeling sour because you had to spend the night with these three boys when you could have been with a real man."
"If I could have found any around here then I would have," Evelyn teased as George puffed out his chest and winked at her.
"Cruel, cruel woman," George stuck out his bottom lip and pouted.
"Love you really, Georgie Porgie," Evelyn grinned, climbing out of the hole and flinging her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight.
"Love you too, Evelina Peccorina," George kissed her on the cheek, making her giggle as he rubbed his bristly cheek chin against her face. "How's Heffron doing?"
"Not too great," Evelyn sighed, as they watched Babe heading reluctantly towards the food line with Eugene and Spina. His shoulders were slumped and his head down. "I just don't even know what to say or do to help make him feel better. I know he feels like he's broken his promise to Julian by not being able to get his stuff back to send home, but there was physically nothing he could do in that situation. He tried his best and if he'd have tried any harder, he'd be dead too."
"He'll be ok, Ev," George promised, feeling just as bad for Babe as she did.
They had all themselves been in the same position too many times to count, and before this war was over they would no doubt experience it many more times. Heffron just needed time to cope with his feelings, and before long he would have to put those feelings aside before they became a danger to him. Everyone knew that those kinds of feelings could stop you doing your job to the best of your ability, which not only was a risk to yourself but also to those around you. It was a tough pill to swallow but a necessary one.
"Come on, let's go and get you fed. The Germans can probably hear your stomach rumbling on the other side of Foy."
… … …
The next day
The mood was tense and anxious. They were coming. The rumble of tanks could be heard in the distance. Evelyn took a deep breath and peeked into her satchel once more. The surprise supply drop the day before had enabled her to stuff her satchel full of all kinds, and from what she had been told by Buck, they were going to need everything they could get their hands on. Crouched down beside Malarkey and Skip, who were loading their mortar unit, she looked ahead for any sign of Bill but she couldn't see him anywhere.
"He's over on that side through those trees," Malarkey murmured quietly into her ear, turning her head to the right.
"Thanks Malark," she smiled, her eyes finally settling on her brother's hunched form as he waited in position.
"Don't mention it," Malarkey smiled back. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could get the words out, the earth began to shake familiarly as the ever nearing Germans opened fire and all hell broke loose.
The screams for a medic were hard to hear over the sounds of artillery and mortars exploding all around them. Evelyn saw Smokey take a hit and even though no one had shouted for a medic, she ran in that direction nonetheless. Nearby she could hear Lipton yelling for them to pull back but all she could focus on was dodging explosions and bullets and to get to Smokey. She ran fast, her heart pumping with adrenaline and her breaths coming out fast and short. Not much further. Just a few more yards. Suddenly she found herself flying through the air in slow motion as the ground right in front of her was blown to pieces. The impact sent her flying backwards into a tree before she landed in a pile sprawled on the ground.
All Evelyn was aware of was muffled shouts as her ears rang from the noise of the explosion when Liebgott's concerned face appeared in front of her own.
"Ev, are you ok?"
Evelyn blinked. Once. Twice. She squinted. She could see Liebgott's mouth moving urgently, furiously. She knew he was shouting something to her but in her muddled haze, she just couldn't bring herself enough into the real world to hear what it was. Spina appeared and when she tried to sit up he shook his head and held her down. Pain. She was distinctly aware of pain radiating from her somewhere.
Suddenly the fog cleared and all she could hear was the panicked voices of the few men around her and the sounds of mortar shells and machine guns in the near and far distance. Spina was ripping open her top and pouring sulfa all over her shoulder and down her arm. She growled and gritted teeth as the pain intensified until she thought she might pass out.
"It's alright," Spina soothed. "You're fine. You're doing great, Ev. We're gonna get you out of here as quick as we can."
As he pulled a bandage tight around the wound she yelled loudly, not caring how much noise she made. The pain was excruciating. Just when she thought she couldn't take much more, Spina stabbed a syrette into her other arm and she felt the morphine begin to work its magic almost instantaneously. It's funny because she had always told herself that if she ever got injured, especially out here where supplies were hard to come by, she would refuse any morphine instead wanting to save it for the next person, but when it came to it she hadn't even tried to stop Spina and she wasn't sorry either.
"You ok, Ev?"
Liebgott was still on his knees beside her. His face was pale and fraught with worry. She didn't care that she was supposed to be mad at him. She didn't care that he had hurt her.
"Don't leave me," she whimpered.
"I won't," Lieb smiled down at her and kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'm right here."
"My head hurts," she murmured, grasping his hand tightly. "I think I hit it."
Rolling her over gently onto her side, Liebgott panicked when he saw the dark blood oozing from her temple and down her face and neck. It was then that he saw her eyelids begin to flutter as she struggled to keep them open.
"Evie, wake up," he patted her on the cheek, trying to keep her awake. "Spina you better get a look at this. Ev, come on. Stay awake. Spina I can't keep her awake. What do I do?"
"Shit," Spina hissed. Through her hair it was hard to see where she was bleeding from. "Try not to panic, Liebgott. Head wounds always bleed more than other wounds. Just keep talking to her."
"Evelyn, open your eyes for me," Liebgott begged. He couldn't breathe. He was filled with a fear that he had never known before. "Come on, baby. Stay with me."
The last thing Evelyn remembered seeing was Liebgott's face before everything went black.
