Over the next week, Easy Company's routine remained largely consistent. PT began early in the morning and lasted sometimes until late in the afternoon. They were pushed to their limits both mentally and physically. Evelyn, Eugene and Spina were often given a grateful reprieve when they were called upon to do more intensive medical training and were regularly excused from physical training for hours at a time.
It was on a cool Friday afternoon that Sobel had decided the entire company deserved a welcome break from physical activity and had planned an afternoon of lectures. He had even asked Lieutenant Winters, who had been designated mess officer for the coming fortnight, to provide a special meal for the company.
"Bill! Over here!"
Bill smiled at his sister, who was waving him over madly from where she sat squished in between Perconte and Malarkey, who shuffled down the bench as he dumped his tray on the table.
"Enjoying that, you greedy fucking gannet?" he smirked at Evelyn who grinned and nodded. Her mouth was full to bursting and she had orange sauce all around her mouth. With a glance around though, he noted that she wasn't the only one. Everyone was shovelling the food into their mouths like they'd never eaten before.
"This stuff is orange," one of the men commented with a frown. "Spaghetti ain't supposed to be orange."
"This ain't spaghetti," Perconte answered knowingly. "It's Army noodles with ketchup."
"You ain't gotta eat it," Bill commented, twirling the spaghetti around his fork.
"Gonorrhoea, as a fellow Italian, you should know that calling this stuff spaghetti is a mortal sin," Frank replied. Bill just shrugged so Frank turned his attention to Evelyn. "Ev? You're with me, right?"
Evelyn stopped chewing, briefly, and smiled sheepishly. Well, as best she could with her mouth so full that her cheeks were puffed out like a hamster. She didn't really care what it was, only that it tasted delicious. Alright, maybe delicious was maybe an understatement but it was certainly better than the gruel they usually got served.
"You don't want it? I'll eat it," Donald Hoobler turned around from behind them and reached out for Perconte's plate.
"I'm eating!" Frank exclaimed indignantly.
"Get outta here," Bill grumbled as Evelyn smacked his hand away.
"Orders changed!" Sobel burst in through the door unexpectedly. "Get up! Lectures are cancelled! Easy Company is running up Currahee! Move!"
Evelyn glanced at Bill beside her, who looked like he wasn't sure whether to spit out or quickly chew the whole piece of bread he had just shoved in his mouth. Suddenly she was rather regretting just how much food she had rammed down her throat in a short space of time. She wished she had listened to her mom now on one of the many occasions in which she had convinced her that gluttony was a terrible sin that was going to catch up with her one day. Personally, Evelyn didn't think it was that she was gluttonous by nature, it was more that she had grown up with seven older brothers and sisters, and mealtimes in their household had tended to be a free for all. If you didn't eat quickly, you didn't get fed. Simple.
"Hi-yo silver!" Sobel smirked at Lieutenant Winters, who was overseeing the mess duties. "Let's go! Let's go!"
"Bastard," Bill muttered, shaking his head as they began to file out.
Of all the runs they had done up Currahee, this was most definitely the worst. Evelyn felt like the contents of her stomach were about to come exploding out of her mouth as her boots pounded along the winding incline. So far she had witnessed it happen to at least four of the men, but remarkably she was managing to keep it in.
"You're a washout, Private Hoobler," Sobel screamed as the poor boy spewed his guts up right in front of Evelyn. She couldn't say she was surprised. Sure, she'd eaten a lot, but Donald Hoobler had been eating bits from everyone else's plates too. "You should pack up those ears and go home! Looks like Gordon's done!"
Poor Smokey, Evelyn thought. Sobel really had it in for the guy, even more than everyone else at times.
"Private Randleman, you look tired. There's an ambulance waiting for you at the bottom of the hill. It can all be over right now. No more pain, no more Currahee, no more Captain Sobel."
Sobel looked annoyed when Randleman ignored his jibes and continued to run with his head held high, so he moved onto another victim.
"Corporal Guarnere, what are you still doing here?" he tried. Evelyn kept her eyes focused on the back of Hoobler's head in front of her. She was determined not to listen to whatever insults Sobel was going to throw her way. "Have you not had enough of trying to play soldier now? Wouldn't you rather let the men do the fighting and you can go home and do what every other girl your age should be doing? Do you think the men really want you here? Do you think they really accept you? They just feel sorry for you. What do you say, Guarnere? Quit now, and no one will think any less of you."
Evelyn clenched her jaw. He was not going to do this to her. But even as she thought the words, she could feel tears of frustration stinging the back of her eyes. Was he true in what he said? Did the guys only pretend to accept her out of pity? Deep down in the back of her mind she knew that he was trying to get to her, but goddamn him, her fatigue was making her over emotional.
"We pull upon the risers, we fall upon the grass. We never land upon our feet, we always hit our ass," George began to sing loudly and Evelyn smiled wanly. She knew that was his way of telling her not to listen to Sobel. She glanced over towards him and he winked.
"Hidee tidee, Christ Almighty, who the hell are we?" she joined in along with everyone else, smirking as she ran past Sobel, who had stopped running and pierced her with a venomous stare. "Zim zam, goddamn we're airborne infantry."
....
That evening
Considering how dire most of them had felt after their ill-fated run, that didn't stop the guys from intending to thoroughly enjoy every moment of the very rare weekend passes that they all managed to earn. Evelyn lay on her cot, pretending to read some book that David Webster had lent her a few days ago, while the men preened themselves for their grand night out at a local bar. Watching them all out of the corner of her eyes (and smelling them), she was pretty certain that between the lot of them they had managed to use up every ounce of brylcreem and cologne on the entire base.
"You sure you ain't gonna come?" Bill stopped by her, combing his hair for the fourth time in as many minutes.
"Yeah," she nodded and tried to smile. She had told them all she wasn't feeling too great and luckily, they had all bought her lame excuse. Truthfully, Evelyn wasn't exactly sure what was the matter with her other than that she suddenly craved the need to have some alone time. Alright, well she did have a small idea of what might be the matter. She couldn't get Sobel's words from this afternoon out of her head. They were going around and around like that annoying tune that played on the merry go round she went on once as a kid. When they had first completed the run, she hadn't actually been too bothered but then as the rest of the afternoon had gone on, paranoia had taken over and she just couldn't shake the feeling that he might actually be right.
"You do look kinda pale, I guess," Bill decided, narrowing his eyes at her.
Gee, way to make a girl feel better, dumbass, Evelyn resisted the urge to scowl at him.
"You get any worse, you make sure you get yourself over to that medical station yeah? I could take you over there now before we go if you want?"
"Bill," she did scowl now as she threw down the book beside her. "I am a nurse for crying out loud, I don't need you babying me, alright? I think I know when I'm ill enough to need to go for help."
"Alright," Bill held up his hands. "I was just saying-"
"-Yeah well, I don't need you to!" she shouted suddenly waving her arms about angrily, and the cheerful hum of the men chattering stopped abruptly. "I don't need any of you to!"
"Where the hell are you going?" Bill asked as Evelyn jumped up from her cot and marched angrily towards the door.
"To the bathroom," she growled. "Is that ok? Can I go by myself or do you need to come with me?"
Without waiting for an answer, she stormed angrily out of the door, slamming it shut behind her. Nobody moved as they listened to her furious footsteps stomp down the patio steps and onto the gravelled path.
"What the hell was that all about?" Malarkey was the first to break the silence.
"Probably her female time or something?" Skip suggested with a shrug.
"Nah, that was last week," George commented casually as he was bent over on his cot tying up the laces on his boots.
"And you know that how exactly, George?" Skip questioned with a confused frown.
"I have four sisters," George answered with a knowing smirk, and apparently that answer was perfectly acceptable to everyone.
"Well if it ain't that, then what is it?" Liebgott wondered aloud, hoping he sounded a lot more casual about the matter than he felt. Since that morning on the porch, he had avoided Evelyn as much as he could without it looking obvious to anyone.
He had known the girl for a couple of months and he refused to continue acting like a lovesick puppy around her. Luckily, she had been so busy with her medical duties that it hadn't been exactly difficult. Whether or not she had noticed his strange behaviour, she hadn't let on and had continued to treat him in the same way she did everyone else. Which was another reason that he was trying to rid himself of these strange feelings, because it wasn't as if she actually spoke to him more than any of the others. If anything, she spent most of her time with either her brother, Doc Roe or George Luz. He wasn't jealous, of course. In fact, it made his life much easier because then he didn't have to pretend to put a front on every time she spoke to him, especially if any of the others were around.
"Why would you care?" Bill glowered at him.
"You're right," Joe sneered, lighting up a cigarette and heading towards the door. "I don't care." Liar. "You guys ready? We're wasting precious drinking time standing around here like a bunch of old women."
The men looked to Bill, unsure of what they should do. They wanted to make sure that Evelyn was alright but she had seemed pretty pissed off. Perhaps it would be best if they just left her alone for the time being.
"You lot go on ahead," Bill sighed. "I'll catch up with yas once I've made sure that little madam of a sister of mine is ok."
"You sure, Bill?" Joe Toye said as they began to file out the door.
"Yeah," Bill waved him off. "Just get me a cold one in ready for when I get there, yeah? I'm probably gonna need it," he laughed shortly.
"Sure thing," Joe clapped him on the back.
When Evelyn returned to the barracks a short time later, the anger inside her seemed to have abated and instead she just looked dejected. Her eyes were rimmed with red and her nose running.
"Have you been crying?" he asked her, as she sat down on her cot with a sigh.
"No," she snapped. "They were mowing the grass on the PT field and it set off my allergies."
"Oh right. Hey, do you smell that?" he asked, as he began to sniff exaggeratedly.
"Uh, no," Evelyn frowned. "I don't smell anything."
"You sure? 'Cause it's coming from you," he said.
Evelyn looked down at herself. There wasn't one ounce of dirt on her anywhere, and she had showered only a little while ago.
"Oh wait a minute, I know what it is," Bill exclaimed proudly. "It's the smell of bullshit. Now, you wanna tell me what the hell is wrong with you?"
"Fuck you," she threw herself back onto her cot and flung her pillow over her face.
Bill smirked and sauntered over towards her cot. He ripped the pillow from her face, grinning when she glowered at him. "Who knew that such a pretty young woman could have such a filthy mouth? Must be spending too much time with us guys."
"Yeah well you won't have to deal with it for much longer," she spat.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I'm quitting, Bill," she whispered as a tear slipped down her cheek.
"Come again?"
"I said I'm quitting. I shouldn't be here, and I see that now."
"I heard what you said," he said, sitting down beside her. The cot creaked indignantly under both their weights. "What's brought all this on? Has someone upset you?" Bill gasped as a sudden realisation hit him. "This is about what Sobel said this afternoon, isn't it?"
Evelyn just looked at him, her bottom lip wobbling. She wasn't expecting what happened next. Bill burst out laughing.
"Well I'm certainly glad you find it funny," she glared at him.
"I'm not laughing at what he said, you idiot," Bill chuckled. "I'm laughing 'cause you were stupid enough to listen to it."
When he put his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap and into a big bear hug, she didn't try to resist. Instead she nestled into his chest, just like she used to when they were kids. He could feel her shoulders shaking as she cried, and he just stroked her back soothingly. Shaking his head ruefully, he resisted the urge to laugh again but knowing that would only upset her more. Evelyn had always been ridiculously sensitive and if he was being honest with himself, he was more than a little surprised that it had taken her this long to crumble at Sobel's harsh words over the last six weeks or so.
"I've ruined your shirt," she mumbled when she finally looked up, sniffling with tears staining her cheeks.
"That's disgusting," Bill looked down at the huge wet patch on his shirt and grimaced. He wiped at the tears on her face with the back of his hand and smiled. "You feeling better though?"
"I'm still leaving if that's what you mean?" she answered quietly.
"Evie," he sighed in exasperation, cupping her cheek. "I know I ain't one for being all soppy, so make the most of this moment 'cause there'll probably never be another. As much as it pains me to say it, I think you made the best decision when you agreed to Sink's crazy idea. You've worked so hard and you've passed every test Sobel's given us-"
"-Only just," she muttered.
"So the fuck what? Plenty of the guys have only just scraped by too," he exclaimed. "Fact is, you've still done it. And you know what? I'm so damn proud of you for getting this far, and you're an asset to this company. I ain't just saying 'cause you're my sister, I'm saying it 'cause it's true. The guys adore you and Easy wouldn't be the same without you now."
"Yeah but if I wasn't your sister, would they all feel the same way? Do they only put up with me or pretend to like me because I'm your sister?"
"Of course not," Bill shook his head. "You know, I actually think they might like you more than they like me."
"Well I am the better one out of the two of us," she smiled reluctantly.
"There's that smile," he grinned. "That's the smile that cheers every single one of us up when we're having a shitty day or Sobel's busted our asses. You're like our little ray of sunshine."
"But Bill, that's the problem. I don't want everyone to like me because of my smile or something equally as stupid as that. I just want them to like and respect me in the same way they would any other member of this company."
"And they do, Evie," Bill stressed. "If you quit now then Sobel has won. After all these weeks you've spent proving that son of a bitch wrong, you really wanna quit and prove he was right to doubt you the whole time?"
Evelyn sighed and put her head in her hands, but Bill pulled them down and grasped them gently.
"You can hide all you want, but that's only cos you know I'm right," he smirked. "Listen, I think you're over tired and not thinkin' about things clearly. If you really ain't gonna come out tonight, then get yourself some sleep and tomorrow you'll realise what an idiot you're being."
"I'm not five, Bill," Evelyn pouted. "I don't think putting me down for a nap is gonna help."
"Meh, it's worth a try," he winked. "Being serious though, don't make any rash decisions right now. Just think on it for a few days, yeah? For me?"
"I guess," she nodded reluctantly as Bill got up and pulled on his hat. "You won't tell the others, will you?"
"They'll wanna know, Evie," her brother answered.
"I know," she said. "And that's the problem. If they know, they'll all start pestering me to stay and right now, I think I just need to make the decision by myself without pressure from anyone else."
"I understand that," he concurred. "But I ain't pressuring you to stay, you know that right? I just don't want you to do something you'll regret later."
"I know that Bill," she smiled warmly. "But the rest of them will team up and they're a pretty tough bunch to dissuade when they stick together."
"That they are," Bill chuckled, heading towards the door. "But they're also the best bunch of guys you could ever meet. But just don't tell 'em I said that."
"Even Liebgott?" she joked, and Bill just narrowed his eyes.
"You know how I feel about that schmuck," he scowled.
"You know why you don't like him, don't you? It's because he's too much like you. Stubborn and argumentative."
"I aint argumentative," he started and then stopped when he saw his sister's triumphant smile. "Shut yer face and go to sleep, would ya?" he narrowed his eyes playfully. "Want me to tuck you in and read you a story?"
"Fuck off," she laughed and then suddenly called out for him just before he could walk out of the door. "I love you."
"Love you too, kiddo," he smiled. "Night."
... ... ...
After tossing and turning for hours, with thoughts buzzing around her head, Evelyn was finally fast asleep when she heard the unmistakable voice of George Luz singing out on the porch. It was pitch dark outside and she surmised it must have been some time after midnight.
"When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar, then you know that Tennessee is not very far..."
"George, shut up," Malarkey hissed.
"...Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep it rollin'..."
"Skip, help me get him inside before he wakes the whole camp up."
Rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand, Evelyn pulled back her covers and rolled out of bed. Her bare feet padded across the wooden floor towards the door. Yanking it open, she found George lying on the floor with his eyes closed, and Skip and Malarkey stood over him trying to lift him up by the arms.
"...Woo, woo, Chattanooga there you are..."
"George Luz, what on earth do you think you're doing?" Evelyn stood over with him with her hands on her hips and her eyebrow raised.
"Evelyynnnnnnn," he smiled, opening his eyes, which were squinting as though he couldn't quite see clearly. "You're like an angel standing over me like that with your hair all around your face, you know that?"
"You can go to heaven and meet a real angel in a minute if you don't shut the hell up," she commented. "It's the middle of the night, and I was asleep."
"Sshhh sorry," he whispered loudly to Malarkey and Skip, leaning up and putting a hand over Malarkey's mouth. "Be quiet, Evie's asleep."
Evelyn rolled her eyes in both exasperation and amusement, as Malarkey and Skip managed to hoist him up in between the two of them.
"Let's get you into bed, Georgie," Evelyn chuckled, holding the door open for them.
"Do you hear that boys?" George slurred, tripping over his feet and almost falling but for his friends holding him up. "Evelyn wants to get me into bed. I always knew you had the hots for me Ev."
"Yeah you keep telling yourself that, George," Malarkey snorted as they all but dropped George onto his cot.
"Here, help me get his uniform off," Evelyn said, yanking off his boots.
"No way," Skip shook his head, sitting on his own cot and lighting up a cigarette. "You're on your own with that."
"For goodness sake," Evelyn sighed, glaring playfully at Skip. Turning her attention back to George she began unbuttoning his jacket but before she could slip it off, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly.
"George, I can't breathe," she gasped, scrunching up her nose as the pungent smell of beer invaded her nostrils.
"Evie, Evie, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" George sang, rocking her from side to side.
"I think the name you're looking for is Mary actually," Malarkey chortled, watching Evelyn struggle to untangle herself from George's grasp.
"Malarkey, shut up and come help me."
"Nah it's ok," Don smirked.
Narrowing her eyes and giving Malarkey the middle finger, she finally managed to escape from George's almost octopus-like vice and pull his jacket off and then his shirt, followed lastly by trousers.
"Don't think this means anything, George," she laughed trying to cover up her embarrassment. Thankfully it was dark and the other two couldn't see the faint blush on her cheeks. Tugging the blanket out from underneath George, she draped it gently over him and smiled. He was already half asleep. "Good night, George," she whispered, bending down to softly kiss his cheek.
"Night Mom," he muttered, making them all laugh.
"You gonna kiss me goodnight too, Ev?" Malarkey joked.
"You wish," she snorted, climbing back into her own cot. "Good night, you two."
"Night Ev," they replied in unison.
... ... ...
The next morning, Evelyn was up bright and breezy, shaking her head at the sight of the guys all in various states of undress and sprawled out all over their cots. She got dressed quickly behind the curtain that her brother had put up in the corner of the room for her and headed out towards the mess hall.
Passing by the mail office on her way, she was more than a little anxious to find a letter waiting for her with a Philadelphia postmark on it and a curly scrawl reminiscent of that of her mother's. Quickly stuffing it in her pocket, she carried on her way. The mess hall was fairly empty, not surprising for a Saturday morning. Everyone was either hungover or enjoying a well deserved lie-in. After collecting a bowl of porridge and some toast, Evelyn sat down close to the door and pulled the letter out of her pocket. But for some reason, she found herself unable to open it. Before she knew it, she had eaten her meal and drank two cups of coffee, yet the envelope still remained unopened on the table in front of her.
"Are you gonna stare at that until it opens itself?"
She looked up and met Eugene's kind eyes and smiled as he sat down opposite her.
"That from your folks?" Eugene asked stirring sugar into his coffee before taking a small sip.
"I think so," she nodded.
"You gonna read it then?
Evelyn shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to open it and read about how disappointed they were in her. She was already confused enough about staying in the training programme without the added upset from her parents. Not she blamed them, of course.
"Bill spoke to me last night," Eugene said tentatively, his eyes regarding her carefully.
"I knew he wouldn't keep his mouth shut," Evelyn rolled her eyes. "So let me guess, he asked you to try and convince me to stay?"
"He did," Eugene nodded. "But I told him no. It's not for me, or anyone else, to convince you to do anything."
"But you think I'm an idiot if I leave, right?"
"Your words not mine," Eugene smirked.
"Argh, this is so hard," she groaned, putting her head in her hands. "What should I do, Eugene? Tell me."
"I'm not telling you anything," Eugene laughed, his narrow eyes crinkling in the corners. "But I will say that we all want you here and you're an important part of this company."
"Thanks Gene," she smiled, taking his hand gently. "You know what? I'm gonna go for a walk and try to come to a decision sooner rather than later."
"Sure thing," Eugene nodded, squeezing her hand comfortingly. "Just make sure that whatever you decide is what you want to do and not what you think you should do based on the opinion of one man whose entire focus is to bring everyone else down. Oh and Ev, read that letter. It might not be as bad as you think."
"See ya later, Gene."
....
Dearest Evelyn,
My precious baby girl. Your father and I were rather upset and shocked upon reading the contents of your last letter, as I'm sure you would expect. Well I was more upset than your father.
I do not pretend to understand why you felt that you wanted to accept an opportunity such as this, but as your father has reminded me every day since you left for Toccoa, you are a grown woman now (not the little girl who still climbed into our bed to sleep until she was eleven) and it is not for us to make your decisions any longer.
I can't lie and say that I wish you hadn't turned this opportunity down, but you haven't and therefore I must accept that. It eases me somewhat at least to know that you are with your brother, but the idea of my little girl being surrounded by only men does still fill me with trepidation. It is a mother's right to worry about her children when they're not with her, even if they are only a few states away.
I hope they are treating you well and I hope that you are not finding it too difficult? Your father made me promise that I wouldn't try and dissuade you from this, and I won't. However, I will tell you that if at any point it becomes too much for you and you want to leave, we will never think any less of you. But equally, we are very proud of you for doing something which no other woman has done before.
We love you so much. Take care and please write to us as much as you can.
Yours Mom
P.S. Don't forget to eat plenty; you need your strength if you are to keep up with all of those men. Oh, and tell your brother that if anything happens to you during your training, I will hold him responsible.
"That from mom and dad?"
It was mid afternoon and Evelyn had found a quiet spot under the huge willow tree overlooking the PT field. She hadn't even heard Bill approach, looking a little worse for wear.
"Yeah."
"Well you're smilin' so it mustn't be that bad," he commented, sitting down beside her and lighting up a cigarette. She handed him the letter and closed her eyes as the still warm autumn sunshine beat down upon her face.
"She took that better than I expected," Bill finally said once he had finished reading.
"I know," Evelyn smirked, folding the letter and tucking it away safely into her pocket. "I didn't even see one tear stain on the page. She's getting better."
"Nah, she's trying lull you into a false sense of security until she can get you home and then she'll lock you in a cupboard or something to stop you leaving the safety of her bosom ever again."
"I wouldn't even put it past her," Evelyn laughed. "Speaking of going home," she turned to face Bill properly and cleared her throat. "I don't think I'm gonna be going home for a while."
"You staying then?" Bill tried not to smile. "I mean, I knew you would of course."
"Yeah, sure you did," she rolled her eyes and bumped into him playfully.
"What changed your mind?"
"Nothing really," she shrugged. "Other than the fact that you wouldn't be able to cope without me."
"You think rather highly of yourself, don't you?" Bill raised an eyebrow and eyed her haughtily before breaking out into a smile. "I'm glad you're staying. Although, if I ever hear about you undressing George Luz or anyone else again, I'll send you home myself. Got that? Malarkey took great delight in revealing that this morning. Only thing that made it better was the distraught look on George's face that he didn't remember."
"I'll bet," Evelyn laughed, standing up and patting the dust from her trousers. "Say, you wanna go into town? It seems a shame to waste the first weekend pass I've ever managed to keep from Sobel. I'll even let you buy me lunch."
"Lucky me," Bill muttered standing up. "Come on then. Hey, and if you're good, I might even buy you an ice cream."
"I knew there was a reason I loved you," she said, holding his arm. As Bill led her across the field, she smiled to herself. She had definitely made the right decision.