17thJanuary, 1945
Evelyn yawned. Despite sleeping in the relative comfort of the church all night, it hadn't been anywhere near enough to begin combatting the tiredness she still felt after weeks of sleeping in foxholes in the freezing cold. Early that morning, when she had been fast asleep on a pew beside Talbert, Eugene had shaken her gently awake to inform her that they needed to grab any and all supplies they could because the 17thAirborne division had relieved them. Easy was moving out again. Eugene didn't know where they would be heading next let alone whether they would be able to get their hands on any more supplies, therefore it was imperative they took whatever they might need to see them through the coming days or possibly weeks. Half an hour later and they were almost done loading up the trucks.
She hadn't seen Liebgott since he had snuck out of the vestry last night, but every time he popped into her head she couldn't contain the smile that broke out across her face. Last night had been… well, she blushed just thinking about it. The strange thing was that she was embarrassed thinking about the things they'd done in the cold light of day, but last night she had felt no such shame. She had felt wanted, empowered, cared for.
The two of them hadn't really had the chance, and perhaps the inclination, to discuss what this meant for them in the future. It was a given that they both wanted to be together, but the problem still remained that they were in the middle of war torn Europe. Not to mention that they could still get kicked out of the Airborne if they were caught. Literally the only problem that had changed since the last time they had found themselves in this predicament was the fact that they didn't have Bill breathing down their necks. And obviously given the choice, she would rather have him here because it meant that he wouldn't be on his way back home to the States with a missing limb. But now that he wasn't here, she wanted to try and make the most of it. But how was that going to be possible? Maybe it would be better to just wait until they were home? Why was she even trying to make these decisions alone? Instead of just going over every and all scenario in her head, she would be better off talking to Liebgott and working this out together.
"Here's the last of what I could find," Spina loaded up another wooden crate onto the back of one of the trucks, interrupting her from her thoughts.
"That should do us for now. I'm gonna ride with first platoon. Ev, you go with second and Ralph, you take third." Eugene decided, glancing over the crates once more. He nodded, satisfied. They had a lot more than they had ever had for the duration of their time in Bastogne, but being as kind and considerate as he was, Eugene had been certain to make sure that there were still enough supplies for the medics from the 17th. "If you two need anything else, go and find it now because we'll be leaving shortly."
"I think we're all good," Spina said. "But there is just one little thing we need to discuss before we head our separate ways. Aint that right, Eugene?"
"Oh yeah," Eugene agreed. "Is there something you want to tell us Evelyn?"
"Uh no," she shook her head. The pair of them stood side by side grinning like Cheshire cats. What on earth was wrong with them?
"Oh come on, don't act coy with us," Spina smirked. "You're the talk of the company this morning."
"I am?" she frowned.
"Uh huh," Spina nodded. "And after what we've been hearing, it's no wonder you're looking so chipper today."
"What are you talking about?" she narrowed her eyes.
Inside though her stomach was churning as she had a pretty good idea as to what they were talking about. She wanted a giant hole in the ground to appear and swallow her up instantaneously. How could this be happening? Who had found out about her and Liebgott? Or was it Liebgott? No. Surely he wouldn't be so stupid. Did he want to get them both into trouble? After all the time and drama it took to get them both to this point, she didn't think he would ruin it now.
"What exactly have you been hearing? And what would it have to do with me looking so happy? And who exactly has been spreading these things around? C'mon tell me so I can ask the big mouth what the heck they're playing at."
"Jesus Christ, calm down, would you?" Spina exclaimed. "For your information, it was George."
"George?" Evelyn was livid. How did George manage to find out about last night? And why the hell was he spouting his mouth off about things that could get her, his supposed best friend, into trouble? When she found the little worm, he was in for an earful. More than an earful. He would be lucky to come away with all of his bones intact. "So when you say you've been hearin' things, then does that mean everyone knows or just a few of you?"
"Everyone of course," Spina snorted, seemingly unaware of Evelyn's annoyance. Eugene, meanwhile, was watching her closely and not saying a word. She was behaving strangely. "Word travels fast around here. You should know that."
Evelyn couldn't believe this was happening. She actually couldn't breathe. This was a disaster.
"So how does it feel?" Spina asked. "I can't believe we had to hear it second hand. When I heard, I asked Gene if he knew, but it was even news to him. So much for being your friends. The best thing ever happens to you and you don't come rushing to find us and tell us all about it."
"Well, I can't say I feel exactly comfortable discussing it," she scratched her head awkwardly. "Not with you or anyone else really. It doesn't matter how friendly we are with one another."
"Aw Ev, come on. You don't gotta be all shy about it. We're real happy for you. Now if you could just talk to Speirs about getting me one of those promotions, then we can all go back to being the same rank again. I aint sure how I feel about both of you getting to lord it over me now. It was bad enough when Eugene was the only Sergeant, but now I gotta answer to you as well."
"Oh you're talking about my promotion?" Realisation suddenly dawned, and Evelyn breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Of course," Ralph shook his head at her and grinned. "What else did you think we were talking about?"
"Oh, nothing," she shrugged. "I, uh… You know what? It's early. I'm not really properly awake yet. I, uh, you guys know what I'm like for getting confused about stuff."
"Yeah we do," Spina chuckled, squeezing her good shoulder. "Anyway, congratulations. You really deserve it Ev."
Evelyn put a hand to her chest to feel her heart racing ten to the dozen as Ralph walked away jauntily. Thank goodness he didn't notice anything unusual about her behaviour. Eugene on the other hand didn't look so convinced.
"Can I help you with something?" she asked him.
"No," he shook his head but continued to look at her strangely.
"Then would you quit looking at me like that?" she raised an eyebrow. "I could take a picture and give it to you if you want? It would last longer."
"You want to give it a rest with the attitude, maybe?" Eugene told her. "There's something different about you this morning."
"No there isn't," she scoffed, but she could already feel herself flushing under his intense gaze.
"Evelyn Guarnere, you might be able to lie to Ralph, but you can't lie to me. I know you far too well."
She didn't say anything. Instead, she just folded her arms across her chest and tried to look nonchalant.
"I'm going to ask you one simple question and all you need to do is give me one simple answer. Alright?"
She nodded reluctantly.
"After I left last night, did something happen between you and Liebgott?"
"No," she answered quickly, but the squeak in her voice made a mockery of her denial.
"And that's why you got all worked up when Ralph said you were the talk of the company this morning?" Eugene presumed.
"Fine," she sighed. "We kissed, alright?"
"You kissed?" Eugene repeated. "Just kissed?"
"Yep," she answered, looking just behind his head, unable to look him in the eye. Were they really discussing this? She failed to see how it was any of Eugene's business.
"You're a liar."
"Excuse me?" she exclaimed indignantly.
"You heard me," Eugene answered. "You're a liar. And do you want to know how I know you're lying? Because you have a massive rip right there in your jacket that definitely wasn't there yesterday. And all I'm saying is that it looks like someone's just tried to yank your jacket right open."
"What? It does?" she yelped, pulling at her uniform trying to find this mysterious tear.
"No you haven't really," Eugene smirked. "But I'm right, aren't I?"
"Maybe," she muttered grudgingly.
"I knew it," Eugene grinned triumphantly. "So, what happened? Aside from Liebgott tearing at your clothes."
"Why am I gonna tell you?" she glared. "I didn't think you'd wanna know all the details. You're not George."
"I didn't ask for all of the details per se. I just wanted a rough outline," he told her. "We're friends, and I just want you to be able to talk about it with someone. And you know I'm never gonna tell anyone."
"How do I know you aint gonna write it in a letter to Vera or something? And then what if that letter gets censored and someone finds out?"
"Well, I would of course change the names. Liebgott could be Larry and you could be called Eileen."
"Eileen? Could you not think of a better name for me?"
"Like what? Edith?"
"No not that either," she grimaced. "My mom has a friend from church called Edith and she spits when she talks, so definitely not that name. I don't know, maybe Elizabeth or something really exciting like Marlene?"
"Marlene?" Eugene's eyes twinkled. "I don't really think you could pass off a name like Marlene."
"Really? Why not? In fact, why are we even discussing this?" Evelyn questioned herself as much as him. "The point is that I'd just rather you didn't discuss it with anyone if it's all the same to you."
"Well it's not like I've got anything to actually discuss with anyone, have I? Because you still haven't told me what happened."
"Oh for crying out loud, if I tell you, will you leave me alone?"
"Promise," Eugene crossed his heart.
Evelyn narrowed her eyes at him. Why was Eugene being so…cheery? The more time he spent with various men in this company, the more their demeanours were rubbing off on him. She couldn't decide if she preferred this Eugene Roe or the more serious one that she had come to know and love so well over the years.
"Ok," she huffed, her face turning red at the thought of last night with Liebgott. "After you left, we, uh, sorted things out. We decided that life's too short and we're gonna give things another go. But obviously no one can ever find out otherwise we're both gonna get in a severe amount of trouble."
"And?"
"And, uh… oh for god's sake, Gene, don't make me say it out loud," she put her head in her hands.
"Alright, well did what I think happened happen?" he tried to word it as best he could.
"Yeah," she nodded, and then looked up quickly. "Hang on. What do you think happened? I might be saying yes to something here when you're actually meaning something different to what I think you're meaning."
"Good point," Eugene conceded. "Ok, well… how can I put this… did you and Liebgott?... did, um… Oh gosh, I can't even say it myself."
"Well if you can't say it, then there's no way I can say it," she said. "And I mean, you're married for goodness sake. You're allowed to do it- I mean, talk about it."
"Aha, so it is what I think it is," Eugene deduced.
"You think I'm a terrible person, don't you?"
"What would make me think that?" Eugene frowned.
"Because I aint married, and I… well, you know what, and in a church nonetheless," she sputtered, going red in the face.
"Ok, so maybe I wouldn't have had the guts to do anything in a church, but I certainly don't think bad of you because you weren't married," Eugene smiled. "Heck, Vera and I weren't married the first time we… you know."
"You weren't?" Evelyn was shocked. She didn't know why but it just seemed so out of character for Eugene. She always thought of him as someone who always did everything the way it was meant to be done. "I gotta say I'm flabbergasted by that statement, Eugene Roe."
"Why?" Eugene furrowed his brow. "I might not be like the other guys in a lot of ways, but the fact remains that I am still a guy. Or has that escaped your notice?"
"Shut up," she nudged him. "So, uh, I trust we can keep this between ourselves?"
"Absolutely," he promised. "But tell me one thing? How are you planning to sit in that truck with Liebgott and the rest of second platoon all day without blushing?"
"Easily," she answered. "I'm just gonna avoid looking at him."
… … …
It turned out that Liebgott wasn't easy to avoid. He would have been had he not decided to take the seat directly beside her. She found herself doing everything she could not to let her arm brush against his because the tiniest feel of him made her tremble. She could tell by the smirk on his face that he was enjoying her embarrassment because he kept making excuses to talk to her. Or when the truck would lurch over a bump, instead of holding onto the bar above his head, he would let himself fall right into her and then apologise with a wide grin.
"Hey Ev, why's Liebgott wearing your coat?" Grant asked from the seat opposite her.
"How do you know it's Liebgott's coat?" she asked defensively.
"Well, I didn't," Chuck answered nervously. "I just took a guess that because he gave you his coat in Bastogne, and you're now not wearing said coat yet Liebgott procured one from somewhere, that it might be the same coat."
"Oh right. Yeah, well I didn't want it anymore, so I gave it back to him."
And that was the truth. She didn't want the coat. Well, no it was a partial lie because she was freezing and she did really want the coat. But the problem was that after the things they had done on that coat, she was convinced that somehow the guys might smell it. Kind of like how sharks can smell blood in the ocean from miles away. In a panic, she had hastily flung the coat back at Liebgott the night before, telling him that under no circumstances did she ever want to wear it again. He could take control of it from now on. Liebgott had smirked and kissed her nose and told her she was the sweetest thing ever. Although he hadn't been happy about her relinquishing the warmth of the coat, he decided that if she was adamant then he would rather keep hold of it then let someone else get hold of it. If nothing else, it smelt like her. And eventually, she would want it back, he was sure of it.
"You didn't want it?" Chuck frowned at her. "What the hell's wrong with you woman?"
"I'm just a little warm, alright?" she lied.
"Warm?" McClung doubted. "Ev, I know we've had a brief glimpse of sunshine today, but I'd hardly say it's warm out here."
"What can I say?" she shrugged, pulling at the collar of her uniform uncomfortably. "Maybe I'm coming down with something?"
"Come to think of it, your cheeks do look a little red," Babe peered at her, concerned. He reached over and put a hand to her forehead. "Hmm you don't feel hot though."
"What are you? A human thermometer?" Evelyn batted his hand away. "Would everyone just leave me the fuck alone? Jeez. If it's ok with the rest of you nursemaids, I'm gonna take a nap."
"Good idea," Babe nodded. "Maybe you'll feel better after some sleep."
"And maybe she'll be less cranky," McClung whispered to Grant and Jackson, who giggled like school children.
"I heard that," she raised her eyebrows at them.
A moving truck wasn't the most comfortable of places to sleep, but soon the slow jerking and rolling motion sent her to sleep. When she woke up an hour or two later, she found her head resting about Liebgott's shoulder with his arm around her, and his coat was draped over her like a blanket. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and yawned. Opposite her, Grant, McClung and Jackson were sound asleep, as were Babe and Liebgott. Malarkey, who was sitting behind the driver's seat, on her other side, was staring out at the scenery around them. Despite the snow and the occasional bombed out building, Belgium really was a beautiful country. Carefully untangling herself from Liebgott's arm, she draped the coat back over him and half over Babe as well. In his sleep, Babe murmured something and his head lolled onto Liebgott's shoulder. Stifling a chuckle, Evelyn scooted up a little closer to Malarkey and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Penny for them?"
"Huh?"
"For your thoughts. You're in a world of your own," she smiled. "That cigarette's about to burn right down to your fingers."
"Oh," Malarkey looked down at his hand and saw that she was right. Taking one last quick drag, he flicked the cigarette onto the floor outside the truck. "Sorry, I was just… I was just thinking about stuff."
"Muck and Penkala kinda stuff?" she probed.
"Yeah," he sighed. "And about Buck too. I can't decide what's worse. Never seeing him again like Muck and Penkala or not knowing how to fix him. He's Buck on the outside, but inside he's like a ghost of himself. How do the doctors even go about fixing something that they can't physically see? You know, when someone has a broken arm or they've been shot in the leg, the doctors know what they're dealing with. But this? I don't know what they can do. When I was a kid, one of my neighbours was married to a man who fought in the Great War. He was never right afterwards apparently. He reminded me of Buck, and do you know what they did to him in the end? Stuck him in a nuthouse. It wasn't until I got here and saw just what war can do to a man that I realised they were wrong to do such a thing. What if Buck never gets better and they do that to him? Buck Compton doesn't belong in a nuthouse. He's not crazy. He's just seen too much."
Evelyn thought back about the conversation she'd had with Bill and Babe about Buck and crazy Joe McCloskey when they were in a foxhole in Bastogne. She wished that there were better provisions for men who had lost a little or a lot of their minds due to war. It didn't seem fair that men who had given their lives or physical parts of themselves were treated as heroes, while those who suffered emotionally were either called cowards or locked out of sight from the rest of the world.
"He'll get through this, Malarkey," she squeezed his arm reassuringly. She hoped she sounded convincing enough. "He just needs time, and our love and support."
"I hope you're right, Ev," he said, looking downcast once more. That expression seemed to be one of permanence on Malarkey these days. She wished she could do or say anything to hear him laugh or even see him smile.
"Wanna hear a joke?"
"A joke?" he frowned. "What kind of joke? If you're going to try and tell me one of George's crappy jokes, please don't. They're dire."
"You gotta admit they do make you chuckle a little though," she nudged him.
"True," he shrugged. "Fine, give it your best."
"Ok so there's a rich boy and a dead beat. The rich boy says to the dead beat'I'd give a thousand dollars to anyone who would do my worrying for me'. The broke guy replies 'You're on! Where's the thousand?'. The rich guy answers 'That's your first worry'."
"That's it?" Malarkey raised an eyebrow. "That's the best you've got?"
"Well I thought it was funny," she pouted, crossing her arms and leaning back against the side of the truck.
"It was awful," Malarkey snorted. "I think we should leave the jokes to George from now on. His are much better."
"But you just told me a moment ago that his jokes were dire!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah well that's only because I didn't realise that yours were even worse."
"You're a cruel man, Donald Malarkey."
"Aw, you know I don't mean it," he put an arm around her and pulled her into his side, before quickly shoving her away. "Best not do that in case Liebgott wakes up and smacks me in the face."
"What's you hugging me got to do with Liebgott?" she frowned.
"Oh, don't give me that crap," Malarkey eyed her with a smirk. "You two have been sitting in this truck all morning being ridiculously nice to each other. A stark contrast to the last time I saw the pair of you together back in Bastogne. So what's changed?"
"A few things," she answered, skirting around the subject somewhat. Given that Malarkey didn't know the full entirety of what had happened back in Mourmelon, she couldn't really explain to him properly her reasons for giving things with Liebgott another chance. "The main thing was that the time we spent in Bastogne taught me we can lose the people we care about within the blink of an eye. What's the point of me and Liebgott arguing over something that happened over a month ago? Life's too short."
"True," Malarkey nodded. "For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing. And besides, you two are destined to be together as more than friends."
"Who said anything about more than friends?"
"Evelyn, I see it in the way you two look at each other when you think nobody's watching," Malarkey grinned. "I've seen it ever since that first day in Toccoa when you strolled up to the training field in your little shorts. You two are made for each other. And I know you're gonna give me a load of spiel about how you can't be together during this war or you'll get in trouble, but who needs to know? None of us would ever tell the brass, and as long as you keep it low key they shouldn't ever find out. Think about it, yeah? Skip and Faye thought they were going to have the rest of their lives together. Heaven forbid something happened to you or Liebgott, how would the other feel about not giving things a chance?"
Evelyn just smiled and kissed Malarkey's bearded cheek. When did Donald Malarkey get so wise?
… … …
Easy Company stopped in Virton early in the afternoon. They had only travelled a distance of around seventy kilometres, but because of the icy conditions on the roads and the sporadic German gunfire they faced, the trucks were only able to drive at a walking pace. Also, they'd had to stop fairly frequently for one reason or another. None of them asked why. None of them particularly cared. They were just happy to be sitting and relaxing for the most part. The people of Virton, while not as friendly as the Dutch, were nonetheless more than happy to provide places for their allies to lay their heads for the night.
Evelyn, Ralph and Eugene found themselves staying in a little three bedroomed house belonging to a sweet old couple. Having Eugene, a native French speaker, was quite handy because he was able to explain to the couple that they needed a space to tend to any wounds. Once they had gotten over their initial shock of seeing a female in a filthy, bloody uniform, they offered up their kitchen as a makeshift aid station. Any and all minor wounds were adequately tended to within a couple of hours, leaving plenty of time for everyone to get some well deserved rest. The old couple they were staying with had created something of a small feast from their limited food supplies, and Eugene could barely conceal his disgust as he watched Evelyn and Spina inhale almost everything they could get their hands on. They were so hungry that they weren't even ashamed about their lack of manners, and if their gracious hosts thought bad of them, they didn't let on. Or perhaps they did? It wasn't like Evelyn and Spina could understand what they were saying anyway.
When night arrived, the couple excused themselves to go to bed. Eugene was tired and wanted to write to Vera, and Spina decided to get an early night too. He looked and sounded as though he was on the verge of coming down with a nasty cold, so a good sleep would probably be rather beneficial to him. When the two of them retired to their shared room for the night, Evelyn just didn't feel as though she could sleep, so instead she offered to clean up the kitchen. Apparently, the old lady had refused at first telling Eugene that Evelyn looked dead on her feet and should rest herself. Evelyn made a joke to Eugene that the woman probably just didn't want her bloodied and dirty hands washing the patterned china, but judging by the droll look on Eugene's face he wasn't keen to translate that comment. Eventually though the woman relented and Evelyn was left alone.
Washing the dishes from dinner was actually rather therapeutic. It was normal. It was the kind of thing she would be doing after dinner if she was back home. Home. It didn't matter how long she had been away, the longing for the familiar smells and sights of him just didn't abate. Sure, it got easier to hide but the homesickness was always there somewhere. Evelyn wondered what exactly her family would be doing right now? It was around nine at night in France so it would be mid afternoon back home. Her Mom would be cleaning, or perhaps having a gossip at the kitchen table with Mrs Gomez next door before starting to cook dinner. Thinking about her Mom, her stomach lurched. How was her Mom dealing with Bill being wounded? Did she even know? It was unlikely that Bill would be back in the States quite yet, but she was almost certain that her parents must have at least received a telegram to say he was wounded. Her mother would no doubt be fraught with worry if she had gotten such a letter. Then again, she would also probably be relieved to know that her child was coming home alive, even if not in one piece. Evelyn was so lost in her thoughts that she barely heard the footsteps behind her until a pair of hands suddenly covered her eyes, startling her somewhat.
"Guess who?"
Evelyn put her soapy hands over the ones in front of her eyes and grinned.
"Hey Georgie."
"Georgie?" Liebgott spun her around and frowned indignantly. "You thought I was George? How fucking rude! My hands are like twice as big as that little imp's."
"Calm down, I was just teasing you," Evelyn told him. "You're so easy to wind up."
"You're gonna pay for that," he smirked, edging closer to her.
Evelyn backed away until her back met with the sink. She was trapped. She knew it. Liebgott knew it. She struggled to catch her breath as he leant in towards her, an almost menacing smile on his face. The closer he came, the faster her heart began to beat. His lips were mere centimetres from her own. His warm breath was on her. She swallowed and looked nervously into his eyes. But just as she thought he was about to kiss her, he grinned devilishly and without warning began tickling her ribs. She squealed and thrashed and squirmed as his fingers dug into her sides relentlessly. She was pounding his back with her fists, but he didn't even react to it. She even tried flicking water at him from the sink. He just kept tickling until she thought she was going to pass out. When he began to scrape his stubbled cheek along her neck, she decided she couldn't take it anymore.
"Stop," she begged, in between gasps of air.
"What was that?" Liebgott pretended not to hear her as he continued his assault.
"Stop," she gasped, unable to stop the chuckles that escaped from her mouth.
"You want me to stop? But you sound like you're having so much fun," he frowned, biting back another grin.
"Please."
"Please what?"
"Stop…. Tickling… please," she managed to get the words out.
Liebgott finally stopped and her knees felt like they were about to give out underneath her.
"That was mean," she said once she could almost breathe again.
"I'm sorry," Liebgott answered, looking far from sorry. His dark eyes twinkled mischievously as he watched her try to compose herself. "Would a kiss from the most handsome man on the planet help make it up to you?"
"What? Cary Grant's here?" she asked innocently, pretending to peer around the room.
"Think you're funny, don't you?" Liebgott pouted.
"What can I say? It's a gift," she grinned and blew him a kiss.
"Hardly what I'd call it," he snorted, pulling her by the waist until her body was flush against his. Lowering his head, he cupped her face and kissed her softly. "I missed you today."
"You've literally been sitting right beside me all day," Evelyn frowned.
"I know that," he rolled his eyes and tutted. "I just meant that I missed not being able to do this. After last night, I don't ever want to go an hour, let alone a day, without being to kiss you and hold you."
"You know, I kind of wanted to talk to you about that," she began.
"About last night? You don't regret it do you? Oh god, you do. See, this is why I knew we should have waited," Liebgott ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Why do I always fuck everything up? I just got you back and now I've ruined things already."
"Whoa drama-rama, calm the heck down," she told him, shaking her head. "You wanna let me finish what I was actually gonna say or do you just wanna carry on making up this little scenario in your head?"
"Sorry," he let out a breath. "I just… Ev, you mean the world to me, and I don't wanna ruin this."
"I know," she smiled, cupping his cheek. He turned his head slightly and kissed her palm, making her stomach flutter. "All I wanted to talk about was how we go forward from here. I don't want us to waste any more time pretending we don't care about each other. I think we can safely establish that's a load of nonsense. But the fact still remains that we can't go parading around as a couple in front of everyone. I mean when I spoke to Malarkey today he did say that none of the guys would say anything, which I knew anyway. But if Sink or Winters or someone got wind, we'd be in deep trouble."
"When you spoke to Malarkey today? As in, you told him about us?"
"Well yeah. No. I mean, he kinda guessed and you know I aint very good at lying anyway," she stammered.
"Did you tell him everything?" Liebgott wondered aloud. "Did you tell him about last night?"
"No!" she exclaimed. "Of course I didn't. The only person who knows about that is Gene, and that's only because he's my best friend."
"I thought George was your best friend too? That mean he knows as well?"
"No," she tutted. "Of course not. I love George but I know for a fact if I told him, it would be round the whole of Easy before I could say Currahee."
"True," Liebgott chortled. "So, uh, what did you tell Doc then? It's weird because I just don't imagine him being someone you could talk about stuff like that with."
"Well it's not like I told him every intimate detail. I just kinda told him without telling him, if you get me?"
"And I bet your face turned that cute shade of red that it's turning right now," Liebgott grinned.
Evelyn just pulled a face. She hated that she blushed so much. She felt like a child, but she just couldn't control it.
"Anyway, I'm glad you told someone about us 'cause it makes me feel a lot better about telling Skinny this morning."
"You told Skinny?" Evelyn exclaimed. "What? How could you do that?"
"What?" Liebgott frowned, biting down hard on the side of his cheek so he didn't laugh at her dismay. "So it's ok for you to tell Doc and Malarkey, but I can't tell anyone?"
"No," she shook her head, her voice becoming shrill.
"Ev, what was I supposed to do?" Lieb shrugged. "He's one of my best friends. Anyway, he had kind of already guessed that something was going on because of the coat."
"What about the coat?" she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Well, after we, you know," he wriggled his eyebrows and Evelyn sighed and tapped her foot impatiently. "I went back into the church wearing the coat and when I sat next to Skinny he started looking at me strange. Then he started sniffing me. At first I thought maybe he was impersonating a dog or something, because well, Skinny is just a bit odd and also he really misses his dog back home. So I just sat there for a minute letting him sniff. I mean, the first rule of being around a canine is to let it smell you so that it can become acquainted with your scent."
"What?" Evelyn looked at him like he was stark raving mad. "What on earth are you going on about?"
"Well if you'll stop being so impatient, I'll continue with my story," he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Anyway, so eventually Skinny ceases the sniffing and calmly says to me 'you and Ev just did it'. Now of course, I denied it for a minute but then he hit me with a cold hard fact that I unfortunately couldn't deny. He smelt what we did all over the coat."
"I knew it," she gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "I knew that thing was gonna rat us out. Oh my god, if Skinny smelled it then who else is gonna smell it? You sat beside Babe all day. What if he smelled it too? Then again, he's got a bit of a blocked nose so we might be alright, but what if Shifty stands near you? He's a hunter, he'll definitely smell it. Oh god, McClung. He was in the truck with us all day. The man's an Indian for crying out loud. Maybe we were lucky and the wind was blowing in the wrong direction for him to smell it, but tomorrow what if we're not so lucky? Take that thing off now. I don't care if it's cold. Take it off immediately."
Listening to her panicked rant, Liebgott couldn't hold back his amusement any longer. As she began undoing the coat buttons, he snorted.
"And you say I'm easy to wind up," he smirked. Evelyn stopped what she was doing and glared up at him. She hit him on the arm and pouted. Turning around, she began scrubbing at one of the dishes in the sink furiously.
"Aw baby, don't be mad," Liebgott grinned behind her.
"Don't baby me," she snapped. "That really wasn't funny. You almost gave me a real life heart attack."
"How did you not guess I was just joking with you?" Liebgott asked, sliding his arms around her waist and resting his chin on top of her shoulder.
"I'm not talking to you," she continued to try and ignore him, but it was proving difficult. Especially when he started peppering her neck and then her ear lobe with little kisses.
"That plate must be really dirty, huh?" he murmured, biting gently on her ear lobe, making her shiver as she continued to scrub.
"I'm trying to be mad with you," she admonished him. "And you're not playing fair."
"Who said anything about playing fair?" he smirked, turning her around. Bending down to her, he kissed her and pulled her closer. She tried to resist for a moment, but the truth was that the second he touched her she was weak against him.
"I'm still mad at you," she muttered against his lips.
"Mm-hmm," he nodded, kissing her again.
"Evelyn, are you in here?"
She and Liebgott sprung apart quickly as the door opened and in walked Babe.
"Oh, I didn't realise you were in here," Babe eyed Liebgott, as Evelyn hastily wiped her wet hands on her uniform.
"Yeah, I came to see Doc but he's already gone to bed. Luckily Ev was still up," Liebgott answered, eyeing Babe back. "I was just about to leave anyway. We're done now right, Ev?"
"Yep, we are. So, uh, if the rash doesn't clear up in the next day or two then we'll see about getting you some penicillin," she smiled, trying to ignore the obvious testosterone overload in the room.
"Rash?" Liebgott scowled.
"Don't worry. Babe won't say anything, will you Babe?"
"Not a word," Babe smirked, walking over to the kitchen table and taking a seat.
"Babe, I'll just see Liebgott out then I'll be right with you?" Evelyn asked.
"Sure," Babe muttered.
"Fucking rash?" Liebgott muttered to her quietly, as he stepped out into the cold.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, grimacing. "I didn't know what else to say."
"Good job you're pretty, otherwise I wouldn't forgive you for that comment," Liebgott pretended to frown at her.
"I swear I'll make it up to you," she promised.
"You better had," he winked. "See you later, beautiful."
Evelyn beamed as she shut the door. She was almost sure she could still hear Liebgott hovering around outside, but she just ignored him and focused on Babe.
"What can I do for you Babe?" she asked.
"What's going on with you and Liebgott?"
"Going on?" she frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"I just thought you looked a little cosy in here, that's all," Babe shrugged.
"Well perhaps you need to get your eyes tested?" Evelyn joked.
"Sorry," Babe rubbed his face wearily. "I'm just… Well, you two seemed to be getting on rather well today and then I see you both together just now alone. I guess I just got concerned that there was something more going on again. I just don't want him to hurt you again. I know when we were back in Bastogne you told me that you still had feelings for the guy, but after what happened to Bill, you're kinda in a vulnerable place and I don't want him taking advantage of that."
"Babe, I appreciate your concern, I really do," she smiled, sitting opposite him and patting his hand. "I'm so thankful to have such a good friend in you. And I know for a fact that if Bill was here, he would be telling you how grateful he is too. Now, can we drop the whole Liebgott discussion, and will you tell me why you're here?"
Evelyn made a mental note to be careful with her affections towards Liebgott around Babe. After their discussion in Bastogne, they had gone back to behaving as though their kiss had never happened. She knew that Babe cared for her as a friend, but until she could be sure that his feelings went no further, she didn't want to give him a reason to get upset.
"Sure," Babe smiled. "I just came by to see how you really are. We aint spoken much since Bill, and I wanted to check in with you. How are you doing?"
"I'm alright," she smiled. The wobble in her mouth gave her away. "Alright, I'm not really fine but I gotta get on with it. If Bill was here he'd be busting my ass for moping around."
"But Bill aint here, so you can mope if you want," Babe said.
"I know that," she agreed. "But you know what, Babe? I don't want to. I just gotta remind myself to be thankful that he's still alive. He could have ended up like Henry, and then I would spend the rest of my life grieving for two brothers."
"How do you always manage to stay so strong?"
"Trust me, I don't," she snorted. "God, if you had been there when I found out about Henry, you would understand what I mean."
"I'm glad I wasn't here," Babe answered truthfully. "From what I heard, you were like a woman possessed. Is it true that Joe Toye had to physically restrain you?"
"Yep," she nodded, feeling embarrassed as she remembered that day.
"And you smacked Bill in the face?"
"Guilty again," she gave him a lopsided grin. "Not one of my finest moments."
"Oh I dunno," Babe chortled. "Pretty damn funny. Anything that involves getting one up on Wild Bill is funny in my opinion."
"I guess," she smirked. "You think that's funny, you should hear about the time I once glued his hand to the back door because I caught him trying to steal my pocket money."
As Evelyn struggled to keep her composure while regaling Babe with the story, the sound of their merriment had caught the attention of Eugene and Spina, who came down to see what all the commotion was about. As one story turned into another and then another, it was safe to say that nobody got a lot of sleep that night. Yet despite that, they felt a degree of joy that they hadn't in a long time. And it was definitely worth the small price of being tired.
