...
Having received a great deal of ammo on June the 3rd, the men knew D-Day was getting close. It was an odd mix of nerves, excitement, anticipation, and adrenaline around the marshalling area. Nora tried to keep herself busy, hoping to calm those feelings down. Helping Winters kept Nora the most distracted from dooming thoughts about combat. Another perk of being an Officer in the army was taking advantage of the Officers Club on base. Nora decided to use that as another way of distracting herself. She wasn't surprised to find Nixon there, but he was very surprised to spot Nora walking into the club that early evening on June 3rd…
"Kid, come here!" Nixon called the girl over with a smile. "You want a drink? They got stuff stronger than beer here". He added, "Best not let Dick know you're drinking anything stronger than beer…".
With a soft snort, Nora pulled out a chair and sat across from Nixon. She said, "I don't mind the beer. We drink a lot of beer back home".
"Fair enough. At least they sell cold, bottled beers here". Nixon got up from his seat. "It's on me, kid. I'll be right back".
"Thank you, Lewis". Nora noticed it was rather busy inside the club. Usually, women would be inside the clubs but the gates into the airfield were locked, no one was allowed in and, no one was allowed out. It was frightening, to know how final D-Day was now…
"So…". Nixon was back at the table with their cold beers. He sat down and asked, "What the hell are you doing here, kid?" Nixon pushed a bottle toward the girl.
Nora decided to be honest. "Distracting myself".
Nixon huffed out a laugh and nodded. "Good call". He held up his beer. "To distracting ourselves".
Nora gently tapped her bottle against Nixon's and took a drink, sealing their toast. Setting the cold beer down after taking a sip, Nora stared up at the Lieutenant. She asked, "Are you excited about the jump?"
Nixon snorted. "I don't think excited is the correct word, kid…but yeah, I'm eager to get it over with". He asked, "What about you?"
Nora gave a slight shrug. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner the war will end". The end of the war seemed far away. It felt like things were finally getting started. Nora knew they had a long road ahead of them. Invading Normandy wasn't going to stop the enemy, they wouldn't give up so easily…
"I meant to ask…". Nixon lowered his voice and leaned toward Nora. "Why didn't you give the men any of your survival tips during that lecture?"
Nora's eyebrows twitched together. That was months ago now. Nora could hardly remember that specific lecture. She replied, "I'm not sure".
"Is it hard to talk about?" Nixon pressed quietly.
Nora thought back to Mr Barnes sharing some of his own experiences during the Great War, and how difficult it must have been for him to share anything. Nora could sympathise with the older man because she found her own experiences hard to talk about. With Nixon awaiting an answer, Nora eventually gave him one. "Yeah, it is". Came her soft reply. Thinking about her own experiences, Nora wondered if it would have been useful for the men to hear. She wondered if they would have learned something of use. Drawing out a quiet sigh, Nora picked up her beer and said, "I could have shared more…to help".
"Right". Nixon watched the girl take a sip of her beer. He said, "But it's not too late. Once we're out there, who knows what we'll need…we might need some of your…". A soft and amused smile reached his lips. "Extreme survival tips".
Nora went quiet for a moment, thinking back to how she survived some of the darkest and most traumatic events of her life. Most of it was luck – being at the right place, at the right time. Some of it was being brutal and having to make tough choices. But a lot of the time, it was all down to her mind. Nora's finger rubbed against her forehead. She said, "The squidgy thing behind your skull. That's what'll keep you alive".
"Your brain?" Nixon seemed amused by Nora's choice of words when describing the brain. He snorted out a faint laugh and soon saw the reason behind her comment. "Yeah, you're right". Nixon said, "What about a higher power? You didn't pray or anything?"
Nora said softly, "That can help for some, yeah. Just talking and…voicing problems".
"I'm pretty sure folk just pray to stay alive". Nixon cast her a smirk. He said, "That's what I'd do anyway…if I was ever in a tight spot".
Nora could remember many people praying to live and promising to do good in return. Even in those desperate times, Nora thought about praying to whichever God might have been listening. She agreed with Nixon's comment. "Yeah, they did". Nora took another sip of beer.
Nixon sighed and leaned back against his chair. Huffing out a faint laugh, a tiny smile tugged on his lips. "You still won't open up, huh?"
She asked, "That was an invitation to open up?"
"It was, yeah". Nixon smirked. "Clearly, it wasn't a very good invitation".
Nora admitted, "I don't know what you want me to say, Lewis".
"Listen, if I had already been out there…". Nixon leaned forward again. "Out in combat and saw everything you saw. I'd 'wanna warn my buddies about what they're 'gonna walk into".
"It's not the same". Nora said to him quietly. "It'll never be the same".
"It doesn't matter". He stressed. "You know the enemy more than we do. You lived with them, kid". Nixon grabbed his bottle of beer and took a sip. He said, "I'll bet you know what their favourite colour is and everything". Nixon was joking, of course.
Nora snorted out a faint laugh and shook her head. After a moment to think, she decided to tell Nixon at least one bit of information. "There's quite a lot of people around Europe who believe in what Hitler has promised them. It's not just the German Nazis…there's Nazis everywhere".
Nixon gave a nod. "I know…there's a lot of traitors in Holland".
Nora said, "The Nazis give a good price for hunting their most wanted". Her voice lowered when telling Nixon, "Usually, they will have a list of names. And they'll draw a line over every name they capture or kill. If your name is on that list, your country suddenly feels very small".
Nixon came to his own conclusion about Nora and decided to announce it to her. "You're on one of those lists".
"What makes you think I am?" She asked.
"How else would you know about it?"
Nora gave a small shrug. "Everybody knows about the lists, Lewis. They're plastered around the city".
"Oh…". Nixon sighed. "Back at square one with you, huh?"
Nora didn't make a comment and took a drink of her beer instead. The bottle was nearly empty, she hadn't been sitting with Nixon for long. There was a lot Nora wanted to get off her chest but getting it out in the open was proving difficult for her. It took Nora a while to admit her brother was dead. She never mentioned how he died. Nora never mentioned Boris died right in front of her eyes, in the most brutal way possible…
"Want another beer? I'm buying". Nixon offered.
"No – no, thanks". Nora declined politely and stood up.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, thanks". Nora gave a nod toward her empty bottle of beer. "And thanks for the beer, Lewis".
"Anytime, kid. See you around".
"So long, Lewis".
Just as Nora left the Officers' club, Lieutenant Welsh entered to save Nixon from drinking alone. With both hands inside her jacket pockets, Nora followed the dirt path toward the tents. Above her, the sky grew gloomy when grey clouds began covering the setting sun…
"Nora!"
Looking over her shoulder, Nora spotted Buck approaching. Coming to a halt, she waited until the Lieutenant had caught up with her. "Hey, Lieutenant Compton".
"It's Buck". He kindly corrected her with a smile. Buck gave a nod toward the Officers club and asked, "Were you in there with Nixon?"
"Yeah". Nora replied. "I only had one beer".
"Can I walk you back?" Buck asked. "There's a lot of fellas I don't know around here…".
Nora appreciated the offer and nodded. "Thanks, Buck".
"No problem, Nora". Buck cast her a kind smile. He always had a kind smile for Nora and the men. "Did you enjoy supper? Cause I sure did". Buck chuckled. "They're feeding us like Kings".
"They are, yeah". Nora agreed with a tiny smile. "Rumour has it, we're having steak tomorrow evening".
"The fellas will love that". Buck grinned. "It's been so long since we've had decent grub. I ain't a fan of the British cuisine".
Nora nodded and said, "You're not alone, Buck…I don't mind it, however. I will eat anything".
"Oh, so…you're a foodie, huh?" Buck gave her side a gentle nudge. "That's cool. I was a pretty fussy eater as a kid, you know. But my mom straightened me out pretty quick. If I didn't eat at supper, I went to bed hungry".
Nora's lips faintly twitched when she remembered her own mother. Nora never went to bed hungry. If she didn't like supper, her mama would ensure she ate something before going to sleep. She said to Buck, "That would break the habit, Buck".
"It sure did, champ". Buck said with another smile. He asked, "Where's the boss?"
Buck was referring to Winters. "In the tent". She replied.
"You and Dick are pretty close, huh?"
Nora shrugged faintly. "I guess, yeah". She said softly. "I am his shadow…".
"You know, the fellas think you're pretty mysterious". Buck mentioned lightly. "You don't say much about anything…do you tell Dick anything?"
"He knows my brother is dead". Nora said, "And so does Hoobs…and Bob…". She admitted, "It was by accident Bob found out. He was standing right there, and…".
"I'm sorry, Nora". Buck cut her off with a frown. "About your brother".
"Oh, it's…". Nora gave her head a faint shake. "It's fine". She said, "Some days are better than others, I suppose. I have no regrets about my relationship with Boris, we didn't fight – never. And he still means the world to me". Nora said, "I only regret that he's dead. I wish that didn't happen. I wish that every day".
Buck went quiet for a moment. And then said, "I know that feeling well, Nora".
Looking up at him, Nora frowned softly. "I'm sorry, Buck".
"I keep myself distracted". He said, "Have done since I was seventeen".
They had both stopped walking somewhere during the conversation. Nora could feel the setting sun touch the back of her neck, as it peaked out from behind the clouds. She thought about the sunflowers in Mr Barnes's garden and imagined them soaking up what little sunlight they could find. "We all need light to live, don't we? Even if it's just a little bit of light, it's always enough. It can't be dark forever".
When a small smile met Buck's lips, he placed his hand on Nora's shoulder. "Come on, let's get you back to Winters before he starts to worry".
…
Walking among the large gathering of men, Winters carried a leg bag in his right hand. The leg bag was a new invention from the Brits, it was used to store away extra gear – the leg bag was attached to one's leg, an extra sixty pounds of weight. After a two-hour nap, Winters awoke to start getting his men and himself ready for their jump planned that evening. This was it. This was D-Day. Their first jump into combat…
Winters found Nora sat with Sargeant Lipton. The pair seemed to be in good spirits, both had small smiles tugging on their lips and they kept their voices calm and quiet. Winters had done many rounds on the men, mostly checking their gear and well-being.
"Lieutenant Winters". Lipton greeted him with a smile.
Nora rose to her feet and stared up at Winters. "Hey, sir…we were just going over the checklist".
"Good". Winters approved. When he began to sit down on the ground, Nora followed him. "How are you both feeling?"
"Ready, sir". Lipton replied. "We're ready for this".
"I don't doubt that for a moment, Lip". Winters clapped the Sergeant's shoulder. Some men looked more nervous than others. But to prepare for combat physically was one thing – that was something Winters could help with. However, preparing mentally for combat…Winters could only do so much to help. Winters let go of Lipton's shoulder. "I 'gotta check up on the others. You two stay out of trouble, alright?"
"Yes, sir". Nora said with a tiny smile. When Winters walked away, Nora looked over her checklist once again. She had bumped into Lipton half an hour ago when he asked about signing her G.I. life insurance. With no family to leave money to, Nora wrote out Winters's address…
"Are you sure you don't want this leg bag, Nora?" Lipton asked her again, thinking Nora might have changed her mind.
But Nora hadn't changed her mind about the leg bag. "I couldn't handle the extra weight, Lip. You keep it".
Lipton looked uncertain at the leg bag. They hadn't made any training jumps with it, and he wasn't sure if it would even work. "Well…as long as you're sure, bud". Setting the bag down, Lipton began shoving gear into it…
Nora stopped checking her list once she had finished. Leaning back against her heels, she took in her surroundings and watched the men ready themselves for combat. Some men had relatives and friends already in combat, fighting in the Pacific front, Italy, or another country. Nora began to wonder if they had experienced loss from combat yet. Picking up her rifle, she made sure her weapon was clean, before packing it away in its case. Not that Nora would be using her rifle anyway. Colonel Sink made it perfectly clear that Nora would be hanging back from combat. She could only use her rifle in an emergency situation or if ordered to…
"Easy Company!" Lieutenant Meehan suddenly called out loudly. "Gather around!"
Getting up, Nora followed Lipton and the rest of Easy Company toward Meehan, who was standing on the back of a jeep. A cool breeze followed after the Company; Nora could feel the breath of wind tickle the back of her neck. There was a sense of urgency on Meehan's face as if what he was about to share was very important.
"The Channel coast is socked with fog and wind…". Meehan informed his Company. "No jump tonight!"
Nora's eyebrow raised slightly in surprise. She wasn't expecting that news. Now, they were on a twenty-four-hour stand-down, where they couldn't leave the marshalling area for anything. It appeared the brass had high hopes the weather would clear up the next day. But having spent the entire day preparing for a jump, both physically and mentally, the men weren't exactly relieved by the news. In fact, some even sounded irritated because they'd have to repeat the entire process again.
"Son of a bitch…". Guarnere muttered under his breath.
It was going to be another long and tense night…