The Spirit of the Corps » Band of Brothers

83: The Whole Entire World

The day the company finally returned to Mourmelon happened to be Boo's birthday. Though they didn't have anything planned, having expected to spend it out on the line, Charlie and Autumn managed to get together with George to plan a special get-together for her after dinner that evening, and Charlie couldn't have been more excited.

Autumn's role in the affair was distracting Boo and keeping her away from anything or anyone (George) who might be liable to spoil the surprise. George's role was to spread the word, something he was gifted at. Charlie's part to play was securing their venue, and considering the three of them had agreed to keep the guest list small on account of how Boo didn't like crowds, Charlie knew exactly who to ask.

"Don," she called, running to catch up with him as he walked across camp. Everyone had the day off, so she wasn't quite sure where he was heading, but as he turned and forced a smile of greeting she realised he was probably thinking about Skip and Alex. The last time they'd been in Mourmelon they'd both still been here, had slept in the bunks on either side of Don and spent every waking moment with him. Now, he probably felt their absence more starkly than he had since their deaths. He had probably been stuck inside his memories when she'd found him.

As she caught up with him, Charlie forced those thoughts from her head. If he wanted to talk to her about it, he'd talk to her about it, that much she knew to be true. Instead, she turned her mind back to the matter at hand.

"It's Boo's birthday today," she said, falling into step beside him. "And George, Autumn, and I are planning a small get together for her after dinner. The guest list would have to be limited to only the people she feels comfortable with, so you'd have to kick some people out for the evening, but I was wondering whether we might have it in the NCOs' barracks?"

Don cracked a smile at this. "Well, that would depend on who's invited."

"I'll compile a list for you," Charlie replied immediately. "But you'd have to discuss it beforehand with the other NCOs to make sure they're okay with it, and especially with those not invited to make sure they understand why and that they won't be annoyed at being kicked out. If they're not happy about it, I'll find somewhere else, just please give me some notice."

Don gave a small, quiet laugh. "I'm sure everyone will be fine with it." He shrugged. "Everyone knows Boo and how shy she is, no one's gonna wanna ruin her birthday by being offended they're not one of her closest friends."

Charlie smiled. "Well, you might be surprised. I'm not sure if Floyd's invited."

"Aren't you making the invite list?"

"Yes."

Don laughed. "Then why wouldn't Floyd be invited?"

"Well, he's not one of Boo's closest friends. He'll make it on the list if we have enough space, but otherwise he'll have to be content with spending his evening in other ways. I'm sure he'll find something to occupy himself with."

"With you at the party?" Don asked, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm not so sure. He'll be wandering around like a lost puppy."

Charlie grinned at the thought, then shook it away. "I'm sure he'll live. Anyway, will you ask everyone and get back to me as soon as possible, in case I need to find somewhere else?"

"Sure thing, Charlie," Don agreed with a nod. "You need anything else?"

"Oh, it's a surprise, so make sure everyone knows not to mention it to Boo."

"Right." Don turned to head in the direction of Easy's barracks. "What time?"

"Straight after dinner, so about 1930."