The Spirit of the Corps » Band of Brothers

16: I Guessed Ten

Charlie forced a smile she hoped no one would notice was strained. "No one's asked me," she confessed. When she locked eyes with Mabel she saw the older girl wearing a sad smile and had to look away before she started feeling too sorry for herself. "So I figure I'll just go by myself."

"No one's asked you yet," Mabs corrected her gently. "I have faith Chuck Grant'll still pull through. He seemed pretty sweet on ya before."

"Yeah, before I told him I wanted to slow things down." Charlie shook her head at her own foolishness.

"Slowing things down doesn't mean putting a stop to them altogether," Violet pointed out. "I bet he's still interested."

"You're a total catch," Mabs added encouragingly. "He'd be a damn fool not to ask ya."

"I'll threaten him for you, if you like," offered Autumn.

Charlie couldn't help but smile as she shook her head at the antics of these three girls who she'd not even known two months ago and who were now some of the most important people in her life. She'd do anything for them was reassured to know that they'd do the same for her.

"Thanks, guys." Charlie sighed. "We'll see."

"I could hook ya up with one of the guys, if you want," Mabel said. When Charlie looked over at her she was sitting up straighter, excited at the prospect. "I know just who to ask."

"No!" Charlie exclaimed. "Thank you. No thank you. That would be more embarrassing than I have the capacity to deal with right now. I'm still recovering from falling flat on my face in front of all of them the first time we met."

Violet laughed loudly at this but Mabel just rolled her eyes. "Charlie, darlin', I promise ya you're the only one who thinks that was as embarrassin' as you do."

Charlie's gaze instantly shot over to Autumn, who was snickering to herself where she stood by one of the cabinets.

"Autumn!" Mabs cried.

"It was pretty embarrassing," Autumn said.

Charlie laughed and clapped a hand over her mouth, remembering the entire affair with a mix of unbridled horror and amusement, now that she had some separation from it.

"Anyway." Charlie shook her head. "If no one asks me then I'll just go by myself. I would really rather not having to get my friend to ask someone for me. I'm not that desperate."

"Suit yourself, honey," Mabel said with a shrug. "But if you change your mind I have the perfect guy."

"Who?"

"I won't tell until you want my help."

"Boo," Charlie complained, and promptly moved on to replacing the sheets on the next bed over.

The conversation turned away from the dance after a while - indeed, there wasn't very much to talk about with Charlie, Autumn, and Violet all not having dates, and Mabel not yet having decided who she was going to pick out of her selection of hopefuls. None of them had yet decided what to wear, either, or how they'd be doing their hair, so all chatter about the dance dried up very quickly.

Eventually, Lieutenant Maddox returned from wherever it was she went when she left them to their chores and dismissed them ten minutes ahead of their normal time. While this was a small victory, they all still had to wait for the same bus they normally got, so they got back to Aldbourne at the same time they always did.

"If she really wanted to treat us she could'a let us go at lunch," Mabs complained. "It's not like we been doin' anythin' useful since then."

Charlie didn't mind so much either way. She was off for the next three days, anyway, so she was just happy to be getting a break from the monotony of mindless chores.

When the four of them got off the bus each of them thanked the bus driver as they went - an older British woman who always drove this route at this time, so they saw her every evening. It was the war, of course, which had allowed a woman to drive the bus. Would it ever not be strange to see women doing men's jobs?

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, the four nurses found, curiously, someone waiting for them.

Charlie was last off the bus, still facing behind her after saying thank you to the driver, when she heard her name.

Her head whipped around so fast she had to hold onto the stair railing to steady herself before dismounting the final step.

"Chuck," she said, equal parts excited and wary.

"Tab said you were working today so I thought I'd meet you here," he explained, wringing his hands together in front of him.

Charlie nodded, at a loss for what to reply. She glanced to her side, looking to the other girls for help, and saw them already a ways away from her by now, having set off on their way home without her.

Traitors.

"So, uh, I wanted to ask you something."

Charlie felt her stomach flip as she hoped desperately he was about to ask what she hoped he was. She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her feet without realising she was doing it. She glanced away from his piercing blue eyes only once, when she heard the bus pull away behind her.

"I wanted to ask," he went on, drawing her attention back to him, "if you already had a date to the dance on Saturday?"

Charlie smiled tight-lipped, desperately wanting to grin at him now that the conversation seemed to be heading where she wanted it to but knowing Mabs would wring her neck if she did.

"No," she replied, shaking her head slowly. "I don't."

His smile brightened up his entire face as he registered her answer. "Really? You don't?"

"No," she confirmed, smiling wider now that he was.

"Well, I'm glad," he said, his hands now stuck deep in his pockets. "I mean, shocked. But glad."

Charlie laughed a little bit. "Why's that?"

"Well," he said, seeming more at ease now, "Charlie." He paused and just looked at her for a beat, still smiling widely, before going on, "I - well, it'd just really make me happy if - well, I mean, would you like to..." He laughed at himself before sighing and starting again. "Would you go to the dance with me?"

Charlie finally allowed herself a real smile and watched as it made his brighter in turn. "Yes," she said, giggling like a schoolgirl all the while. "Yes, I would love to go to the dance with you."

So she disregarded Mabs' advice entirely. How was she supposed to say no when the first boy who asked her was as sweet as that?