Only a Paper Moon [ Band of Brothers ] 3

Chapter Fourteen

February 2nd, 1946
Nixon, New Jersey

The sight of the Nixon estate rising up in front of her halfway between Nixon and Princeton, New Jersey, filled Alice with relief. There'd been some rain on the three-hour drive from Rhode Island, and she'd never quite gotten used to driving in freezing rain. It still bothered her, reminded her of Bastogne in a weird, roundabout way. But pulling into their driveway eased all her stress.

It was Saturday. Nix and Dick were probably out causing trouble. Or, more accurate, Nix was probably out causing trouble and dragging Dick along with him. If not, they were inside. Alice smiled as she turned the key and slammed her door closed behind her. Just as she reached the front porch, a bit of rain started behind her.

The door swung open with ease. But Alice stopped in her tracks as she stepped in. She heard a bark. And then she heard the scratching of nails on the wood floor. And then, to her joy, she saw a bouncy, black dog hurry down the hall. Alice nearly shrieked. 

"Hello! How are you?" Alice fell to her knees on the oriental rug by the door as the dog crashed into her. "Oh my goodness, hello!" She shied away as it tried to lick her face, and she laughed. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Then she paused, squishing its face a little. "You have to be nice to Spot if you're staying. Can you do that?"

"Arietta gets a kiss before me?"

Alice looked up. Nix stood next to Dick at the other end of the hall. Both of them were shaking their heads. "Listen, if you were as cute as this darling dog, you'd get a kiss too."

"You mean I'm not?"

"You're definitely a dog. But you're not this cute," she bit back, smirking. "Has he been terrible company while I was gone, Dick?"

"Infuriating, really," he agreed.

"I expected as much." She tried to stand, but Arietta pushed at her again, and she stumbled back onto the ground. "Oh hello. Yes I still see you."

"You can see why she didn't quite meet the requirements to be a guide dog," Nix crouched down and scratched her behind the ears. "My mom said we could take her."

"Doris Nixon just never ceases to impress me, honestly," Alice told him. "How is your mom so great and yet your father is so terrible?"

"Beats me," Nix muttered. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "They get along, by the way. Aria and Spot."

"Good." With a grin, she gave him the kiss he wanted. "There. Feel better?"

"Dick, she loves me. I swear," he said, turning back.

Dick let out a small scoff and shook his head. "Her mistake."

"That's true," Nix agreed.

"So. We have a dog now. And a new housemate," She grinned a Dick. "What else did you mess up while I was gone?" Then she laughed. "And where is Spot?"

"He's on the sofa," Dick told her. "Hogging the blankets."

Alice chuckled. Sounded about right. Spot knew his spot, that was for sure. To her relief, Arietta seemed to tire of being rambunctious and moved over to an open bit of the wood floor to lie down. She looked around. "Blanche?"

"Had to go back to San Fran," Nix told her. "Mom needed help with some Guide Dogs for the Blind administration stuff. So, it's just the three of us until this guy gets his apartment in a few days."

Dick grimaced. "Sorry to crash in your house."

"Please. It means Nix has someone to bother other than me," she teased. "I've got to freshen up. But first I want to see my kitty."