16thJanuary, 1945
Easy Company had left the Rachamps just over one week ago. During that time, they had been in reserve, travelling from one small town to another throughout France. Their days were spent mostly sitting around, waiting for sporadic German fire or mortars, or doing small patrols of the area. The Germans were slowly being pushed further and further out of France, but there were still small units holding onto strategic towns.
Things were marginally better for Easy than they had been in Bastogne. The weather had started to brighten up. Well, brighten up was perhaps an understatement. It had stopped snowing at least, which was something. And the sun had been a frequent vision in the sky, helping to melt the snow that had fallen in the last month or so. But as the snow melted, it left behind something equally as bothersome. Mud. It was horrible. It was slippery and squelchy. They were all covered in it. Their possessions were all covered in it. They had all commented at one point or another that it was extremely fortunate that Perconte wasn't around. He wouldn't be able to cope with such a dirty ordeal.
"I would give my left arm for a big fat cheeseburger and some fries," More was saying as they all sat around inside an old cellar, taking shelter from the heavy rain outside. Evelyn was strapping up his ankle, as he had gone over on it when walking through a particularly slippery patch of mud. The ankle was a little swollen but aside from giving him an aspirin and wrapping it up tightly in a bandage, there wasn't much more she could do. She would have liked to tell him to keep off it for a few days, but of course that was going to be impossible so she didn't bother wasting her breath. "The diner near my house makes the best burgers. When I get home, I'm gonna eat there for a month."
"First thing I'm gonna eat is some of my mom's chilli," Ramirez added. "Nobody cooks food like my mom. Except maybe for my abuela, but she's so old she can barely move let alone cook now or do anything else."
"Oh stop," Evelyn groaned, setting More's foot down gently. She was literally salivating. "I've not eaten proper food in so long that my head honestly thinks it's been cut off from my body. I don't know how I'm not skin and bones already. I think I'm genuinely wasting away."
Liebgott snorted and mumbled something to himself from where he sat opposite her.
"You got something you wanna say?" she frowned at him.
"No," he shrugged, but the smirk on his face said otherwise.
"Well I think you obviously do," she wouldn't let it go. "Don't be shy, Joe. Share it with everyone won't you."
"Don't share it, whatever you do," Grant warned him.
"Shut it, Chuck," Evelyn threw him one of her famous Guarnere stares. "I'm waiting, Joe."
"Fine," Joe looked her in the eye, still smirking. "You wanna know what I said?"
"No, she doesn't really wanna know," George couldn't believe Liebgott and his big mouth.
Did he have a death wish? He tried to warn Liebgott with his eyes to sense Evelyn's tone, but the guy was oblivious, and George ended up looking like he was deranged or had some minor eye irritation.
"Yep," she folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips. "I'm dying to know. Can you not see the excitement radiating from me?"
"Alright then," Liebgott shrugged. "I said there's a fat chance of you ever wasting away."
The air grew tense and the men looked at each other with grimaces on their faces. Even Speirs and Lipton who were sitting in the furthest corner away from them, looked up waiting to hear what was going to happen next.
"Just what exactly do you mean by that comment, Liebgott?" Evelyn demanded, walking over to him. Lieb knew he was in trouble because she had called him by his last name.
"Nothing," he shook his head. "It's just that-"
"-What?" she continued. "Why is there no chance of me ever wasting away? You trying to say I'm fat?"
"No," Liebgott tutted at her dramatics. "Not fat exactly."
"Dear God," McClung muttered to himself as Grant and Jackson rolled their eyes at one another. On the other side of her, Babe moved away a little. He didn't want to be too close in case Evelyn went to punch Liebgott and caught him by accident. Genuinely though, Liebgott deserved whatever was coming to him.
"Not fat exactly?" she repeated Liebgott's words and tilted her head at him.
"No," Liebgott shook his head, seemingly oblivious to the upset he was causing. "But let's face it, you're not the skinniest of people."
"Fucking idiot," Malarkey mumbled to Babe who nodded in agreement.
Evelyn's face fell. Tears began to pool in her eyes, but she blinked them back. No way was she allowing herself to cry. Not a chance. She knew she wasn't what most people considered to be skinny but she actually rather liked her figure. She felt that she had lumps and bumps in all the right places. Funny that Liebgott hadn't complained about it before. Funny how neither he, nor any of the others, ever complained about the pin up girls in magazines whose figures weren't too dissimilar to her own. So why, in front of all these people, did he feel the need to say something now?
"Oh Ev, don't get upset," Liebgott said, realising that she actually seemed to be hurt by his comment.
"I'm not upset," she snapped, her green eyes blazing at him furiously beneath her long dark lashes. "I am, however, furious."
"Ev, I didn't mean anything bad by it," Liebgott tried to explain, reaching for her arm. She yanked it away and looked as though she was going to murder him. He looked around the guys for help but they all just shook their heads at him. He was on his own with this one. "Come on, don't you think you're being a little over sensitive?"
"I don't know, am I?" she snapped. "Overly sensitive, fat female. How the fuck do you all cope with me, I wonder?"
"Where are you going?" Liebgott asked, as she headed towards the door.
"Out. Because if I look at your face for even a second longer, I'm gonna smack it."
She yanked open the cellar door and slammed it shut with a bang. None of the men moved as her angry feet stomped up the stone steps. They just looked at Liebgott in disbelief. In the corner, Speirs just lit up a cigarette and chuckled to himself.
"You're an idiot, Liebgott," Babe tutted at him, as he edged towards the door.
"And what the fuck has it got to do with you?"
"She's my best friend's sister, so a lot," Babe told him curtly. "He aint here to make sure she's ok, but I can do it for him."
Evelyn wasn't hard to find. She stood across the road in the crumbling doorway of what was once someone's house, muttering angrily to herself.
"You ok Ev?" Babe asked, as he approached her.
"Fine," she answered, but the tone of her voice said otherwise.
"Mind if I stand here with you?"
"If you really want," she shrugged.
Babe lit up a cigarette and watched her. She looked so much like her brother from the side. And when she was mad she had his exact scowl. The similarity was frightening actually.
"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're fat," he said.
"Thanks Babe," she smiled, although it barely reached her eyes.
"And you wanna know somethin' else? I don't think Liebgott thinks you're fat either," he told her. "I think in a strange way he was trying to give you a compliment but it got a bit lost. In fact, I know the guy doesn't think you're fat, and if he does, it certainly don't bother him. And you wanna know why I know that?"
"Why?"
"'Cause he looks at you like you're the prettiest broad in the room," Babe gave her a lopsided smile. "And he aint wrong."
Evelyn just looked at Babe and didn't know what to say. But Babe patted her hand reassuringly. He wasn't an idiot- unlike Liebgott. Despite what Evelyn had told him in Virton, he had been in a truck with them for hours each day for seven whole days. He had eyes and he knew there was something going on again between them. Whether it was the knowing looks, or the little touches when they thought no one was looking. They all had a bit of an idea. Not that the pair of them weren't being subtle. It was just that the way their faces lit up when they saw one another wasn't hard to miss. He would be lying if it hadn't hurt a little at first. Liebgott didn't deserve Evelyn. But the fact of the matter was that he was the one she wanted. He cared for her so much that he just wanted her to be happy. And if that meant she was happy with someone else, then what could he do about it? Part of him had thought about accidentally on purpose revealing to Liebgott about the kiss he and Evelyn had shared in Bastogne. But how could he do that to her? She finally looked happy and he didn't want to take that away from her.
"Why are you defending him? You don't even like the guy."
"No, but I do like you," Babe said honestly. "And even though things with us didn't work out, I meant what I said in Bastogne. I'm glad I've still got you as a friend. And I hope that I'll always be your friend."
"You will," Evelyn kissed his cheek. "So, you really think Liebgott didn't mean what he said?"
"Of course he didn't," Babe reiterated. "But I definitely think you should let him sweat it out a bit."
"You reckon?" she asked.
"Absolutely," Babe nodded. "Never hurts to let a guy be in the dog house for a while. Not that I just told you that, mind. I'm pretty sure I'm violating a guy code by admitting that."
"Your secret's safe," she smirked. "When we get back to Philly, I'm gonna find you the nicest girl ever you know. It's the least I can do for you."
"Nah, that's alright," he shrugged. "I reckon I can get myself one. And if all else fails, there's Marcie Zimmerman. She's gonna be looking for some mug to take on her and her kid now anyway."
"I hope you're joking," Evelyn snorted.
"Well they do say love is blind."
And didn't Babe know it. It was going to be hard, but he needed to try and move on. He and Evelyn were always going to be friends and nothing more. He saw that now. But that still didn't mean he was ready to even think about being with someone else. Maybe one day. But not now.
… … …
Evelyn avoided Liebgott all day. In fact, she tried to avoid everyone else too. She was so embarrassed about what Liebgott had said that she didn't really want to see anyone. Lipton came to find her in the early afternoon to tell her that Winters had requested to see her.
As she reached the door to Captain Winters' quarters, Evelyn could hear raised voices coming from inside. She knocked hesitantly, hoping this wasn't an inconvenient time. But Lipton had told her to go as soon as she had a moment so that was what she had done.
"Enter," Winters called out.
She pushed open the door and was almost knocked over by the tension in the small room. Nixon was red in the face while Speirs had his jaw clenched angrily. His eyes were blazing, and he made barely any effort to conceal the glare he was shooting in Nixon's direction.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," Evelyn commented. "Sergeant Lipton said you wanted to see me, Sir."
"No, not at all," Winters smiled warmly, urging her to come further into the room.
As she got closer towards them, she noticed a figure sitting quietly on a chair in the corner. The man on the chair smiled and she recognised him as Mr Van Kooijk. He was one of the key members of the Dutch resistance and had helped Easy Company when they landed in Eindhoven. She had heard a rumour that he had been helping Colonel Sink and the rest of the 506th ever since they left Holland, but she hadn't actually seen him with her own two eyes until now.
"I hope we've not pulled you away from any pressing duties?"
"Not unless you count the splinter George just got in his finger as pressing?" she grinned.
It seemed that Winters was trying to make small talk, but she just couldn't figure out why. He wore the same expression on his face that her Mom did when something was bothering her, but she was trying to pretend that everything was fine.
"Do you want to sit down?" Winters asked, motioning to the chair in front of them.
"No thank you, Sir. I'm fine standing up," she answered. Apart from Van Kooijk, the rest of them stood up and she didn't want to feel even smaller by sitting down.
"Alright," Winters nodded, looking towards Nixon. "There's something we would like to speak to you about, which is why we've called you here today."
Evelyn felt her stomach drop. Was she in trouble? Had they found out about her and Liebgott? Oh god, that was it wasn't it? Her palms began to sweat and her throat dried up as she tried to calm her racing thoughts.
"Captain Nixon, perhaps you would like to explain?"
"Sure," Nixon nodded, clearing his throat. "I'm sure you recognise Mr Van Kooijk here?"
Evelyn nodded, and glanced briefly once more at the tall, thin man in the corner. What did he have to do with the reason she was here?
"You're of course aware that Mr Van Kooijk is part of the Dutch resistance. And as such he has been very helpful over the past few months," Nixon continued. "One of his contacts here in France has some information that could really help us as we continue on towards Germany."
Evelyn frowned, having no idea why they were telling her all this. She was a medic. What was this to do with her?
"This contact of his has aroused some suspicion amongst the Germans in his town, therefore Mr Van Kooijk will be heading there tomorrow to collect the information and bring it back to us," Nixon said. "Which is where we need you."
"Me?"
"Mr Van Kooijk will be posing as a visitor passing through town, and he feels that his cover story will be more plausible if he has a companion. He feels that it will be even more convincing if his companion is female."
Evelyn felt like she had an idea of what Nixon was hinting at but surely she was wrong. Wasn't she?
"We want you to be that companion," Nixon looked her straight in the eye.
Evelyn was bowled over. The room was silent as the men waited for her reply. Winters was looking at her carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. Nixon was lighting up a cigarette, while Speirs looked like he wanted to say something but was holding himself back. Mr Van Kooijk was silent still, observing the situation before him. Evelyn genuinely didn't know what to say.
"Are you alright, Evelyn?" Winters eventually asked, after almost an entire minute passed. She opened her mouth to form a reply but just closed it again. What was she supposed to say? "I realise this is a lot for you to take in, and a lot for us to ask of you. But you understand that there is nobody else?"
She nodded.
"Perhaps you'd like to ask us any questions you might have?"
Questions. Yes. There were lots of them buzzing around her brain. Not that she could form any of them into actual words at the present moment.
"Evelyn?" Winters probed her.
"Sorry Sir," she looked at him. "I'm just not sure what to say. This is like nothing I've ever done before."
"I know that. But we genuinely wouldn't be asking you if we had any other choice," Winters answered, sympathetically.
He could tell just by looking at her that she was anxious, and in her shoes he would have been too. But this was too good of an opportunity to pass by. That didn't mean he was happy about her going, but what other choice did they have? Speirs had already vocalised his disgust at the idea, and Winters thought that at one point he might have had a fight on his hands between Nixon and Easy's new CO.
"How will it even work?" was all Evelyn managed to croak out.
At this point, Van Kooijk stood up and began to explain the plan in great detail. He had procured identity cards for them under the names Lucien and Elodie Pellier. If anybody asked, they were a brother and sister from Verdun whose home had been bombed, and they were passing through Mamey in order to go and stay with a distant relative in Preny. Van Kooijk could speak French and German as well as English and his native Dutch, so he would do any and all speaking required under the guise that his sister was unable to speak. The more detail he went into, the less scary the whole thing sounded. No. Who was she kidding? It was still utterly terrifying.
"And we'll be going tomorrow?" she asked.
"Yes," Nixon confirmed. "You'd be leaving tomorrow morning and be back in the evening. We've found some civilian clothes for you, and we've found a house with a little running water to try and get you cleaned up."
Evelyn swallowed. Nixon and Van Kooijk were looking at her so expectantly, while Winters and Speirs looked like they wanted her to flat out refuse.
"Alright," she said, hesitantly.
"You'll do it?" Nixon's eyes almost bugged out of his head.
"Yeah," she agreed quietly.
"Evelyn, you do know that you can refuse to do this don't you?" Winters spoke.
No, she didn't actually know that. She kind of thought it was an order and that they were just being kind by letting her think she had a choice. Now that she knew she did, was she going to change her mind? God knows she should, but for some reason she didn't want them to think bad of her.
"I'll do it," she reiterated.
… … …
Evelyn sighed. She had tried to tell herself that the reason she couldn't fall asleep was because of Spina's snoring next to her. The man sounded like a freight train. But the truth was that she couldn't turn off the whirring thoughts inside her head. Sitting up, she rubbed her face wearily. She couldn't settle. But there was someone who could help.
Tiptoeing carefully past Eugene and then Randleman, she kept on walking in the dark until she found the person she was looking for.
"George," she whispered, shaking him gently.
"Go away," George muttered, still asleep.
"George, it's me," she shook him again. "Wake up."
"Evelyn?" George croaked, cracking open a bleary eye. "What the fuck are you doing? It's the middle of the night."
"I know," she answered. "I can't sleep."
"So you thought you'd just come over here and let me be a part of your misery?"
He was right. She was being selfish. For the last two nights, they had slept in foxholes along the side of the road. They were lucky today that they came across this cellar with enough space for them all to share. The guys were dry and warm, and actually getting a good night's sleep. Feeling very guilty, she got up to leave and apologised.
"Wait," George whispered, sitting up. His hair was sticking up in various places from where he had been asleep, and he reached out an arm for her. "Come here. And will you watch where you're putting your fucking feet? If you stand on Johnny's hand, nobody's getting any sleep tonight."
She grinned, looking down to see that her boot was merely centimetres from Martin's hand. Grimacing, she tiptoed carefully back towards George and sat down crossed legged in front of him. George lit a cigarette and watched her face carefully. She looked tense. More than that she looked… nervous?
"Something's up with you," George deduced. "You wanna talk about it?"
"I aint really supposed to," she admitted.
"Then why the fuck are you here?"
"To talk to someone about it," she gave him a lopsided grin.
"Let's go outside," he decided, standing up and pulling her up too. "It'll be easier to talk if we don't have to worry about anyone waking up or overhearing."
Outside, under the stars, she told George everything. In quiet, hushed tones she explained to him all about her meeting with the CO's and Van Kooijk. George listened patiently as she confessed to him about all of her fears.
"Listen to me Ev," he said once she had finally stopped speaking. "I know you're scared, and God knows I would be in your position, but I know for a fact that Winters wouldn't put you in danger if he thought it wasn't worth it. And I know he wouldn't have asked you to do it if he didn't think you were capable."
"You're right," she nodded. "I just can't help being scared, you know. I was trying to sleep. But I just kept tossing and turning and my brain wouldn't shut up."
"Bit like your mouth?" George smirked. "I'm joking. So, you were nervous and scared and of course the first person you thought to come to was me? Your best buddy."
"Of course," she beamed, leaning into his side.
In truth, the first person she had thought to go to was Liebgott. He was sleeping only a few metres away, beside Grant and Talbert. She knew that his very presence would calm her and his touch would soothe her. But then in the same breath she knew that if she told him where she was going and what exactly she was going to do, he would have gone crazy. He was so protective of her, and she didn't want him to create a scene. Which he undoubtedly would because that was his very nature. If something didn't go his way, everyone knew about it. The problem was that, while the others would worry for her as a friend, she knew that Liebgott wouldn't be able to conceal the fact that his feelings were of a much stronger nature.
"You need to get some sleep, Ev," George told her. "You need to be thinking clearly tomorrow and you can't do that if you're tired."
"You're right," she smiled. "You won't tell anyone what I've told you, will you?"
"Cross my heart," George promised.
"I love you Georgie."
"Love you too," he kissed the top of her head.
"Now let's go get some sleep, yeah?"
Back inside the relative warmth of the cellar, she thought about going back to her own pallet, but then decided against it. Gazing down at Liebgott who was fast asleep, she smiled to herself. Even in slumber his face wore a scowl. She found it ridiculously endearing though. She lay down beside him and huddled into his side. Pulling the blanket over them, she nestled closer to him, breathing in his smell and feeling warm and comforted.
"You've forgiven me then?" Liebgott mumbled groggily.
"I suppose so," she whispered.
She was still rather upset with what he had said, but after talking with Babe, she had done some thinking and decided that he really hadn't meant it the way it came out. Also, knowing that she was going on some mission tomorrow made her want to clear things up. She didn't want to leave on a bad note, even if she was only going to be gone for the day.
Liebgott turned around so that he was facing her. His eyes glinted even in the dark as they sought out her own.
"You suppose?" he raised an eyebrow, reaching for her hand under the blanket.
"Alright, I forgive you," she chuckled. "You know I can never stay mad at you for long."
"That's a lie if ever I heard one," Liebgott snorted disbelievingly. "You know I don't think you're fat right?"
"I know," she sighed.
"Look at me," he demanded. "I need you to know that I didn't mean what I said. What I was trying to get out was that I'm glad you're not super skinny. I like my women to have a bit of meat on their bones."
"I'm not a prized cow, I'm a human," she said defensively, feeling her shackles rising once more.
"Fucks sakes, I know that," Liebgott sighed, squeezing her hand tighter. "Listen, can we just drop the subject? No matter how I try to explain this to you, it's not gonna come out right. So I think it's better we just forget the whole thing."
"Agreed," she nodded. "But before you open your mouth in front of the entire company, would you just maybe think about what you're saying? I've never felt so embarrassed in my entire life."
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, lifting her hand to kiss it. "If it makes you feel any better, the guys gave me a hard time after you left."
"Yeah well you deserved it," she commented.
"I did," Liebgott agreed. "And I really am sorry. You are the most beautiful woman in the entire universe, and there isn't one single bit of you that I don't find attractive. Right from the top of your head to the tips of your little toes."
"Alright, you can stop now," Evelyn blushed, feeling embarrassed by such flattery.
"I'm never gonna stop," Liebgott smirked at her unease. He kissed her nose and then both of her cheeks and lastly her lips. "I'm gonna tell you every single day."
She leaned forwards and kissed Liebgott gently on the lips before smiling contentedly and falling into a deep sleep.
… … …
17thJanuary, 1945
Looking down at herself in civilian clothes for the first time in over a year, it felt alien to be wearing a skirt and not trousers. The black pumps on her feet felt so light in comparison to her jump boots. Strangely she missed her boots. Now that they were well and truly worn in, they were unbelievably comfortable. The shoes she wore were just a little too small and pinched her heels. Her hair had been washed over a sink and she had done her best to style it. The problem was that her hair was so curly, and the victory rolls that other women were so easily able to do were too hard for her. The best she could do was to clip it back at the sides and just let the rest fall down her back. It had grown a little since Liebgott had cut it and it was now half way down her back between her shoulders and her waist. The black coat given to her was thin and threadbare, but due to the gradually warming weather she barely noticed the cold. And anyway, no cold could compare to that of Bastogne.
"You scrub up well, Guarnere don't you?" Nixon smirked as he and Winters approached with Van Kooijk. "I almost didn't recognise you."
"I think I've forgot what it feels like to wear a skirt," she answered, fingering it absentmindedly. "So, is it time to go?"
"Just about," Nixon nodded, glancing quickly at his wrist watch.
"You're sure you want to do this?" Winters asked, noticing the slight tremble in her hands.
"Yes," she said, wishing she sounded more confident.
"Alright then," Winters smiled. "A jeep is going to drop you and Mr Van Kooijk about six miles from Mamey. You will then walk the rest of the way to keep up with your guise of being passers-by."
Evelyn took a shaky breath and nodded. Mr Van Kooijk even had a tattered old suitcase filled with various items of clothing. They had gone to every effort to make their story look as believable as possible. Evelyn looked down at her shoes and grimaced. Walking six miles in them was not going to be comfortable in the slightest.
… … …
"No speaking from here on out," Mr Van Kooijk told her as they climbed out of the jeep. "As we get closer to town, there will be Germans around and if one of them should hear you speaking English, we will be in a great deal of trouble."
"Ok," she answered.
His explanation made a great deal of sense, but it was going to prove tricky not to say a word for the duration of their time together. While she was a chatterbox and not speaking was hard for her anyway, it didn't help that when she was nervous she tended to talk all the more.
The walk into the town took almost two hours, and in that time they spoke not one single word to one another. A new record for her. They just walked and walked. Finally, as they approached the outskirts of the town, they were stopped by a German officer on patrol. Van Kooijk showed their identity cards and with barely more than a few passed words, they were free to carry on their way.
Mamey was like every other French town Evelyn had passed through. The streets were laden with rubble that had all been swept into piles, while buildings were either completely intact or crumbling down. People were milling about their every day business, avoiding the random German soldiers who were walking around. As they neared a small café in the centre of the town, Van Kooijk tapped Evelyn on the arm and nodded towards the building with his head. She nodded and allowed him to lead her into the café.
The first thing that she noticed was the overwhelming smell of coffee. And food. Her stomach rumbled and she grimaced when Van Kooijk chuckled. Inside the café, he sat her down at a seat while the proprietor, an older woman with greying hair, came and took their order. Evelyn had no idea what had been said until she returned a few minutes later with two steaming cups of coffee and some kind of pastry. Her stomach rumbled again and without standing on ceremony, Evelyn wolfed down the pastry as quickly as she could. She even went as far as to pick up the crumbs on the plate and devour them. On the table beside them, a young man with auburn hair smiled. He and Van Kooijk spoke for a short while- about what she didn't know- before the young man went to the lavatory at the back of the café. Ten minutes later and the café was deserted apart from themselves and the owner.
"You are going to go to the lavatory now," Van Kooijk whispered to her very quietly. "Behind the water tank, you will find an envelope. You will hide the envelope on your person and then come back and sit here. Ok?"
Evelyn nodded. Plastering what she hoped was a casual expression upon her face, she headed towards the small lavatory. The envelope was exactly where Van Kooijk had said it would be and with trembling hands, she folded it into quarters and stuffed it down her brassiere. She decided that would be the safest place to hide it. It couldn't fall out and if anyone was to search her, they were unlikely to look for it there.
Sitting back down at the table, she noticed two German soldiers sat at the table behind them. Her palms were sweating and she struggled to drink the rest of her coffee. She could feel their eyes on her and she tried her best to act naturally. They stayed in the café for another fifteen minutes or so before Van Kooijk decided that it was time for them to leave.
As they stepped out into the street, Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad to be away from the soldiers and their suspicious eyes. Ok, their eyes hadn't been suspicious at all, but she was so paranoid that she had convinced herself they were. They couldn't have been more than a few metres from the café when they heard a voice call out to them.
"Halt! Carte d'intentité?"
Calmly, Van Kooijk smiled and handed over their identity cards to the two soldiers from the café. Evelyn could feel her heart thudding in her chest and she kept blinking nervously. The soldiers were onto her, weren't they? They knew what she had been doing in the toilet, didn't they? One of the soldiers took the identity cards and studied them carefully, while the other one said something to Evelyn. When her only response was to look up at him and then to Van Kooijk, he prodded her in the shoulder and spoke again.
"She doesn't speak," Van Kooijk told him. "She was born completely deaf. She cannot hear nor say a word."
The German nodded his understanding, yet he continued to stare at Evelyn making her feel uncomfortable. She looked down at the ground, avoiding his gaze.
"You're a long way from home, Monsieur Pellier,"the taller of the two commented.
"Indeed we are," Van Kooijk nodded. "Our home was destroyed and our parents were killed. We have an aunt who lives in Prény so we are heading there to live with her for a few months. My sister needs someone to look after her when I am not around, so my aunt has agreed for us to stay with her. Cigarette?" he held out his carton of cigarettes as the soldiers continued to study the identity cards.
The soldiers smiled gratefully and took one each before handing the cards back to Van Kooijk.
"We won't keep you any longer. You may carry on."
Van Kooijk tapped her on the arm and motioned for them to walk as he slipped their identity cards into his coat pocket. Evelyn was so relieved that she could have cried right there and then. She was so elated that she wasn't concentrating on what she was doing and tripped right over a plank of wood on the floor.
"Ow, fucking son of a bitch!" she yelled, as a rusty nail sticking out of the wood sliced right through her knee.
She gasped as she realised what she had done and stared at Van Kooijk in blind panic.
"Run!" Van Kooijk yelled as the Germans shouted and began chasing them.
They ran as fast as they could. Where they were running to they didn't know. All Evelyn knew was that she couldn't get caught. Running in these stupid shoes was so difficult and they made a sort of clip clopping sound as she ran. She may as well just be telling the Germans where she was going. A bullet whizzed right past her ear, so close that she felt the heat from it.
"We need to split up," Van Kooijk puffed as they struggled to keep ahead of the Germans. "I'll try and distract them while you head back out of town. Do whatever you can to get back to your company. The maps you carry on you have very valuable information. Go now, hurry."
… … …
Evelyn had no idea where she was. After she and Van Kooijk had split up, she had somehow managed to avoid her pursuers and made it to the outskirts of town. It was starting to go dark and she had no notion of where she was going. When the heavens opened, she was relieved to find a small outhouse to take shelter in. The temperature had dropped, and her teeth were chattering as she felt the cold and wet through her thin clothes. She would say one thing for her OD's; not only were they comfortable but they were thick as well. She was so tired that she could feel her eyelids starting to droop but she forced herself to stay awake. She needed to get back to Easy somehow.
She must have been in the outhouse for about an hour when she heard two male voices outside. She didn't think the voices were speaking in German, they sounded more like French. But what did she know? It wasn't like she could speak either language. She was really beginning to regret that in the last two years, all she had managed to get from Eugene and Liebgott were swear words. They weren't very much help now, were they?
When the door creaked open and the voices came clearer, she held her breath. She was hidden right in the corner, behind what looked to be some sort of lawn mower. The outhouse was dark and she prayed that she couldn't be seen. The voices came closer, and Evelyn almost had a heart attack when a pair of muddy shoes stopped right beside her. Please don't find me. Please don't find me.She said to herself over and over again. The shoes walked away and the voices moved towards the door once more. She sighed to herself in relief.
"Achoo!"
She slammed hand over her mouth but it was too late. The lawnmower was flung away hastily and a hand reached down and grabbed her. Yanking her up roughly, fingers dug into her arm as the two men began talking to her hurriedly and angrily.
Evelyn frowned. She had no idea what they were saying. But she didn't want to open her mouth and say something in English in case that got her into more trouble. The man holding onto her was becoming very angry. He was right in her face and when he shouted, spit landed on her cheek. She wiped it away and swallowed nervously. Another man burst through the barn door, and she recognised him as Mr Van Kooijk's contact from this afternoon; the young man with the red hair. He seemed to remember her too because he said something to the man who had hold of her arm and he let go abruptly.
"What are you doing here?" the man asked her in heavily accented English. "And where is your friend?"
Evelyn didn't say anything. How did she know she could trust him? Van Kooijk did, but how did she know she could? The man must have sensed her unease because he smiled warmly.
"Please don't be afraid. We won't hurt you," he promised.
Deciding that she didn't really have much choice, Evelyn explained what had happened with the German soldiers and how she had ended up here.
"I don't know where Van Kooijk went," she said truthfully. "I don't even know if he's alive. And I have no idea how to get back to my company."
"My name is Jacques," he smiled. "The French resistance is strong within this area especially now that the Germans are losing ground day by day. We will be more than happy to help you get back to your company."
Jacques explained that he couldn't bring Evelyn into their home as there was still a good chance that the Germans would try and look for her there. However, he brought her a blanket and some bread and cheese to eat. He offered her wine but she politely refused it for water instead. Her track record with alcohol really wasn't very good and she definitely didn't think she needed to get drunk right now.
"I'm very interested to know how a woman ended up in the airborne," Jacques enquired as they ate. Evelyn smirked.
"Everyone's always interested," she grinned. "It all began when I was doing my nursing training back home, and I was stationed at the same camp where my brother was training to be a paratrooper…"
She told Jacques everything. All about Toccoa, Fort Benning, Aldbourne and eventually D-Day. As he listened to her talk about the things they had seen, he was impressed. Women had been fighting and spying with the resistance since the very day that Germany invaded his beloved country. These women did it because they refused to live under German rule. Yet this young American had chosen to leave her own country and put herself in danger and prove herself equal amongst the men in her company. She didn't talk about all of the great things she had done or the lives she had saved. Almost every sentence out of her mouth had included praise for her comrades. She obviously cared a great deal for them, and Jacques thought that they must have admired her greatly. She seemed so terrified when he had seen her in the café this afternoon and again when they had found her in this outhouse. But that couldn't have been further from the truth. She was remarkable.
… … …
18th January, 1945
"Has anyone seen Captain Winters?" Van Kooijk ran through the group of men cleaning their weapons. He clutched at his arm. He had lost a fair amount of blood, and he could feel his legs starting to give way beneath him. The sun was rising. He had walked all night to get here. "It's imperative I see him quickly."
"You're wounded," a young dark haired medic approached him, eyeing his blood stained coat. "Come with me and we'll get you fixed up."
"No," Van Kooijk shook his head. "I need to see Captain Winters."
"And you can," the medic smiled patiently. "But we need to get a look at you first. You're bleeding an awful lot."
"Where's Sergeant Guarnere?"
Van Kooijk looked up at a very angry looking Lieutenant.
Speirs was famous throughout the entire 506th and the Dutch man had heard many rumours about the CO who had supposedly shot twenty German POWs on D-Day, as well as one of his own men for being drunk on duty. He had also witnessed the man's ferocity first hand only the day before during the meeting with Captains Winters and Nixon.
At the mention of Evelyn's name, Eugene's interest was immediately piqued. Many of the others had heard her name being mentioned and had stopped what they were doing to listen. None of them had seen hide nor hair of her since the night before last, but when they had questioned her whereabouts they were told that she was helping Able Company as their medic had been wounded. From the sounds of it, that seemed to be a load of rubbish.
"Where is she?" Speirs asked again.
"I don't know," Van Kooijk answered.
"You don't know?" Speirs clenched his jaw. "What do you mean you don't know?"
"Our cover was blown and we got separated," Van Kooijk stuttered, as Speirs towered over him. "Two Germans started shooting at us. She ran one way and I the other. I hid for a while and tried my best to look for her once the coast was clear but it was too dangerous. I made my way back here in the hopes that she had done the same."
"You just left her?" Speirs growled, grabbing Van Kooijk by the collar. "What if she's lying wounded or dead somewhere? You were supposed to be fucking looking after her."
"Lieutenant Speirs, let go of Mr Van Kooijk immediately," Winters ordered, as he and Nixon approached. They had heard the commotion from their makeshift headquarters and came rushing out to investigate.
"Lipton, get together a small group of men. We're going to find her," Speirs ordered, letting go of Van Kooijk and glowering angrily at him.
"Nobody's doing anything without my say so," Winters countered. Speirs' eyes were blazing furiously but he remained silent. "Doc, take Van Kooijk to get cleaned up and I'll speak with him in due course. Speirs, Nixon, come with me now."
As their COs left, the men were murmuring furiously amongst themselves. They were all worried about Evelyn. They didn't know the full details but what little they had heard was enough to have them all concerned.
"What the fuck is going on?" Heffron's face was strained with worry.
"I have an idea," George mumbled.
"What?" Babe frowned at him.
"She came to me the night before last and told me that she and that Dutch guy, Van Kooijk, were going on some kind of mission," George said. "They were meeting some guy from the French resistance who had information that could help us and the rest of the 506th. Nixon and Winters decided that Evelyn had to go to help Van Kooijk's story seem more believable. She was nervous and I think she just needed to tell someone about it."
"Why the fuck didn't you tell any of us this yesterday?" Liebgott squared up to him.
He didn't want to admit that half the reason he was so angry was because Evelyn had chosen to tell George about it instead of him. It wasn't George's fault, but it was easier to take it out on him than deal with his feelings.
"Because she asked me not to," George became flustered under Liebgott's intense scowl. "And because she would get in trouble if the brass knew she told anyone."
"Lieb, come on," Tab grabbed him by the shoulder. "It's not George's fault."
"I know," Liebgott sighed, glancing apologetically at George. "It's just the thought that something might have-" his voice cracked and he couldn't continue. Talbert patted his back.
"I know," Talbert said. "We all know. But she's gonna be alright. She's tough. She's Wild Bill's sister for crying out loud."
"I'm going to find her," Liebgott growled, flinging his rifle over his shoulder.
"You don't even know where she is," Babe told him. "How do you propose to find her if you don't even know where she was when that Dutch guy last saw her."
"Well I can't fucking sit here and wait for Winters to decide to help her," he snapped.
Babe felt bad for the guy. He understood all too well the things that Liebgott was feeling because he was feeling them too.
"I'm going too," Malarkey decided.
"And me," Grant piped up.
Before long, nearly every man in the company offered to join the search party. As they gathered their belongings, Captain Winters stepped outside onto the muddy path. He had spoken with Van Kooijk and he was trying to remain hopeful that Evelyn was going to be alright. Faith was all he had to go on and he refused to believe that something had happened to her. Not least because the guilt that he had sent her on this mission was already consuming him. If she had been wounded or worse, he might as well have just done it to her himself. Looking around at the men who were showing the worry and distress they felt for their missing comrade- no, friend- made him feel all the worse.
"I appreciate that you want to find Sergeant Guarnere, but I can't have all of my men wandering through the French countryside," Winters spoke to them. "We know roughly where she should be, therefore Lieutenant Speirs will take ten men with him to find her. Have you chosen your men, Lieutenant?"
"Yes Sir," Speirs nodded sharply. "Lipton, Randleman, Grant, Malarkey, Heffron, Luz, Martin, Talbert, McClung and Christenson. We're moving out in five minutes."
As the men Speirs had chosen readied themselves to leave, Winters shook Speirs hand.
"Bring her back, Lieutenant."
"You have my word," Speirs promised.
Liebgott was livid. There was no way he was staying behind. He waited for Winters to leave before approaching Speirs.
"Sir, I want to go with you," he said firmly.
"No," Speirs answered without even thinking about it.
"I have to go," Liebgott persisted.
"And I said no," Speirs reiterated. He looked at Liebgott and internally his stance began to waver. He wasn't stupid. While a relationship between two members of his company should be reported, he chose to turn a blind eye. The two of them were trying their hardest to keep things a secret and despite the fact that they were failing and were the talk of almost all of the men, he liked Evelyn Guarnere a great deal. She was an asset to Easy. And so long as she and Liebgott kept their little love affair as quiet as possible, he would continue to pretend to be ignorant to it. "Liebgott, I understand why you want to come, but I don't think it's the best idea. I'm not being cruel but I can't risk bringing someone whose emotions will get the better of them and potentially jeopardise things."
"Every single one of those guys will let their emotions get the better of them when it comes to finding her," Liebgott argued.
"My answer's still no."
"Please," Liebgott whispered. "I will literally get down on my knees and beg if I have to."
Speirs saw the desperation in the man's face and could no longer stand firm.
"Don't make me regret this, Liebgott."
… … …
"Here is where I must leave you, I'm afraid."
It was almost lunchtime. After what had seemed like the longest night in history, it seemed that the Germans had given up looking for her, and in the early hours of morning Jacques had decided that it was time for them to leave. They had walked for hours, through back roads, through small woods, through half deserted fields. It hadn't stopped raining during the entire time and Evelyn was soaked to the bone. Once or twice, they had been forced to hide in a ditch or take cover behind some trees as German trucks rolled by. But for the most part, they had been able to walk undisturbed.
"It is going to take you at least another two hours to get to where you need to be," Jacques explained. "You have the map I gave you?"
She nodded and unfolded the little piece of paper. Jacques traced the line he had drawn with his finger.
"Remember to keep to the western roads. They are quieter and there are more places to hide should you need to," he reminded her. She smiled gratefully, folding the mop and putting it back into her pocket. He shook her hand. "Good luck."
"Thank you for all your help," she said sincerely. "Truly, I can't thank you enough."
"No thanks are necessary," Jacques smiled. "We are all in this together, and with any luck soon this war can be at an end."
With one final look at one another, they headed in their separate directions.
Maybe an hour passed and the rain was still pouring. Evelyn was walking through a small patch of forest when she heard talking in the distance. The voices weren't loud, but there sounded to be at least a small group's worth. Taking shelter behind a thicket of trees, Evelyn hid and listened as the voices came closer. She smiled when she realised that she recognised them. She jumped up from behind the trees and stepped out into the clearing where eleven very familiar faces stared back at her with varying expressions of awe and surprise.
"Looking for me?" she grinned.
George was the first one to hug her, and before she knew it she found herself being passed from one man to the other. They were all so relieved and so happy to see her. She must have looked to be in an absolute state. Her hair was soaking wet, her clothes were muddy and one of her stockings was torn and covered in blood from where she had landed on the nail. But they didn't care. Even Lieutenant Speirs couldn't hide his elation. Not that he hugged her. He just grinned and if she didn't know any better, he looked to be almost choked up.
It was only after she had embraced everyone that she noticed Liebgott standing quietly, staring at her as though he couldn't quite believe she was real. She kicked off her shoes and ran bare feet across the mossy floor and jumped into his arms. He was almost knocked over by the impact but kept his balance by the skin of his teeth. As the men hooted and cheered, he squeezed her tight. She was alive and real in his arms. And he was never letting her out of his sight ever again.
"Joe, I can't breathe," she gasped, pulling away from him.
He set her down onto her feet and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Don't ever fucking frighten me like that again," he said, taking in every minute detail of her face.
"I promise," she smiled.
"Lies," George commented. "This girl couldn't keep herself out of trouble if she tried."
"I resent that George," Evelyn scowled.
"He's got a point though, Ev," Malarkey grinned.
She stuck her tongue out at them all and started walking.
"Are we going or what?"
"What about your shoes?" Liebgott frowned.
"Huh," she scoffed. "I refuse to wear those things ever again. Look at the blisters on my toes. Nope. I'd rather walk barefoot. Unless some kind young man wants to give me a piggyback."
Evelyn fluttered her eyelashes at Liebgott who scoffed and shook his head.
"No fucking way," he shook his head. "I'm not carrying you for the next two hours."
He of course carried her for the next two hours. And he didn't complain. Not even once.
