"Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
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Hints of Christmas began appearing around Aldbourne in small breaths of tinsel and quick gasps of holly. Shops and houses alike began decorating prematurely, perhaps because as of late there had been very little to be joyful or excited about. Juliette relished in the small notions of celebration that showed up everywhere she least expected to find them; she had always loved Christmas, and though her Christmases hadn't been the same since she left home, and indeed she hadn't been able to celebrate one in three years, she couldn't bring herself to resent a holiday which had brought her so much joy as a child.
After she had recovered from her injuries she was sent back out into the field again repeatedly. As Christmas approached and thus so did the new year the Allies were anxious to enter 1944 with the upper hand, though with the way things were going it didn't seem likely that they were going to get it.
The team of spies worked tirelessly to gull the Germans into beginning preparations for an invasion of Calais, and were rather pleased to see that their work, in this respect at least, was not in vain; reinforcements were slowly being fed into the vicinity. Even though the invasion would not be until the spring, this was a welcome exhibit that their fake intel was being believed and trusted.
Juliette tucked her hands into her coat pockets and ducked her head against the wind, making her way leisurely through Aldbourne. She was on grocery duty this time, and it was the first time she'd been allowed to do it since her injury (not that she was complaining - she hated grocery duty). The supermarket was across the village so she relished in the biting cold air and midday sunshine as she made her way there.
"Hey, look who it is!"
Juliette grinned to herself at what was so obviously the voice of Skip Muck and turned to find him wandering over to her, accompanied (as always) by Don Malarkey and Alex Penkala; those three were scarcely ever apart for more than three minutes.
"Gentlemen," she greeted them with a smile as they neared her.
Penkala chuckled. "Hey, y'hear that, boys? We're gentlemen."
"Where ya been, Penny? Haven't seen you in years!" Don asked her. He crossed his arms over his chest to preserve warmth against the chill of the winter air.
Skip nodded. "Last we heard you were so sick you couldn't come out with us, but that was a while back."
"You feeling better?" Don then asked, almost as an after-thought. She laughed. It was hard to get a word in edgewise with these three.
"I'm feeling much better, thank you, Don."
"Say, are you and the boys comin' out tonight?" Penkala inquired. Jules shook her head.
"I daresay if Henry knows about it then he'll be coming but I'm not sure whether I'll be permitted, if I'm honest. I'll have to ask the doctor."
"Ah, come on," Don protested. "What better cure for sickness is there than alcohol?"
Juliette laughed. "You just want a rematch to preserve some of the dignity you lost in the boat race, no?"
Skip and Penkala laughed uproariously at their friend's expense whilst Don shook his head with a rueful smile. "Well, if you're offering..."
Juliette grinned. "Same time and place as before?" When they all three nodded she sighed. "I'll see what I can do. The boys'll likely go but I have to get special permission first."
"Yeah, yeah," Skip brushed her away. "We'll see you tonight."
Juliette giggled at their antics. "Maybe."
"Definitely!" Penkala protested. She laughed once more.
"I said maybe, now leave me alone before I change my mind!"
It was on her way back out of the supermarket that she ran into Floyd Talbert, who was flanked by Shifty Powers and Skinny Sisk, both of whom Juliette had met for the first time back at the pub. Both Shifty and Skinny were sweet boys, though where Shifty was all sunshine and impeccable manners, Skinny was the type of charming that came accompanied by mischief. And Floyd, of course, was an insatiable flirt. It was him who noticed her first.
"Hey! Penny!" He waved her over to them and she approached with a smile and a wave.
"Boys," she greeted them, smiling in the face of their three beams back at her.
"Are you feelin' better, miss?" Shifty asked. Juliette giggled quietly; Shifty was insistent on politeness and chivalry, and even though she'd insisted that he just call her by her (fake) name, he seemed to only feel comfortable using honorifics.
"I'm feeling a lot better, thank you, Shifty. How have you boys been?"
"A lot better for seein' you, that's for sure," Floyd replied with a wink. She laughed; he was just the same as always.
"Always the charmer," she commented.
He grinned. "You know me."
"Are you coming to the pub tonight?" Skinny changed the subject. She laughed lightly.
"Don, Skip, and Alex just asked me the same. I'm sure the others'll come but I'll have to check in with my doctor first," she explained, to which they nodded.
"If he says no just let me know, I'll sneak ya out," Floyd told her with a conspiratorial nod. Jules giggled, shaking her head at him.
"Okay, Floyd, I'll be sure to do that."
The boys allowed her to continue on her way shortly after and Juliette found herself wandering the streets of Aldbourne once more after she had put away all of the groceries, this time in pursuit of one dark-haired, Southern medic. Their paths seemed to cross frequently purely by coincidence but when she was actively seeking him out he was nowhere to be found.
After having checked the medical tent she usually found him in and still coming up empty, Jules resolved to merely wander around the village in the hopes that he would show up at some point. She was looking up at the sky wondering whether rain was due, before deciding that it likely was considering it was both Winter and England, and England loved to do nothing more than rain, when a tap on her shoulder had her whirling around with fright.
"God!" she exclaimed upon seeing George grinning at her. She pressed a hand to her heart in the hopes of slowing its thumping before she exhaled loudly. "Christ alive, George, don't do that!"
"Nice to see you too." He smirked. "What ya lookin' at?"
"Searching for a will to live," she told him with a grin. He just laughed. "Do you happen to have seen Gene?" she then inquired. By this point she had thoroughly exhausted all of her options and decided that it was rather unlikely she would catch him by coincidence now.
"Gene who?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes.
"Roe! Isn't he your medic?"
"Oh! The doc! Yeah, I've seen him. Why?"
Juliette laughed and shook her head. "No, I mean do you know where he is?"
George's eyebrows shot skyward. "Depends. Why are you askin'?"
She shut her eyes and exhaled loudly, pursing her lips as she looked back at him. "If you try to insinuate that I fancy him, George, I swear to God."
George laughed. "Alright, alright, don't kill me. I saw him go that way." And he thrust a thumb over his shoulder in the direction from which she had come.
Jules wondered briefly whether he might be in the field they had first met in, for indeed they had had some conversations there since, and resolved to check there next. She wondered why she hadn't thought to look there in the first place.
"Brilliant! Thank you!" Just as she set off he grabbed her wrist gently and she spun back to face him expectantly.
"We're going to the pub tonight. So are you. No excuses. You're supposed to be helping me 'woo' that sweet, sweet barmaid." He put air-quotations on the word 'woo', which made Juliette roll her eyes, but she smiled nonetheless.
"Yes, I've been told much the same by a fair few of your friends. I'll give you a maybe and be on my way, okay?"
George stroked his chin as he pretended to contemplate her offer. "No, see, I ain't sure a maybe's gonna cut it."
"No?" she humoured him, crossing her arms.
"No. See, I tried your 'being myself' method but I think I'm gonna need some coaching. So you're coming, alright?"
Juliette sighed. "Alright. Fine. I'm coming." George cheered and she rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, George."
"Bye!" he called after her. She smiled to herself as she walked away.
The walk to the field she had first met Gene in was rather short; the field was tucked out of the way on what Juliette had deemed the Americans' side of town, so it was only about a five minute walk before she came upon it. She discovered Gene sitting cross-legged in the grass staring down at something in his lap, and when she came closer she realised it was a letter. All of a sudden she felt bad for seeking him out, chastising herself as clearly if she'd been unable to find him elsewhere it was because he was actively seeking privacy. But it was too late to turn back and pretend as though nothing had ever happened for Gene had already seen her.
He glanced up at her, obviously having noticed movement in his peripheral vision, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Juliette took this as a good sign and moved closer, coming to sit beside him once she was sure he didn't mind her presence.
She sat in silence for a little while, waiting quietly whilst Gene finished reading his letter and content to merely absorb the feeling of the warm sunshine on her skin battling with the chill in the breeze. There was something lyrical about the sound of the wind in the trees and the swaying of the grass, which had been left to grow long in the winter months, and she felt very at peace as she sat there just listening and watching.
Gene cleared his throat once he had finished reading and folded the letter back up again. Jules looked to him. "Letter from home?"
"Yeah. From my ma."
Juliette smiled. "How is she doing?"
"She's doin' okay. Says she can't wait for me to come home. Talked mostly about my sisters and how they're doin'."
Jules nodded, watching him carefully for a moment before looking ahead once more, not wanting to make him feel as though he was being interrogated. "They must miss you very much."
Gene didn't say anything, but she could feel his eyes on her as she looked towards the trees. She hoped he was smiling that small, warm smile of his that was so rare and thus so special. When she risked a glance at him she found that he was, and this, in turn, made her smile wider.
"How are your wounds doin'?" he asked suddenly, as though only just remembering that he had ever had to bandage her up. Jules smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah, they're great. Really pretty." He rolled his eyes at this. "But I've been told by three separate lots of people in the past hour that I'm to go to the pub tonight. I said I'd probably better get my doctor's approval first. So, what do you think?"
Gene shook his head with a smile. "If you're careful and don't throw yourself around the place then you'll be fine." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Even if I said no, would you have gone anyway?"
Jules smiled. "I may have already told George that I'd come, but I didn't want to show up and find you there and have to bear the brunt of your fiery gaze." This earned a chuckle out of him, which she smiled triumphantly at. "Will you be there?"
The medic met her gaze almost warily, and analysed her expression for a moment before looking away again and nodding. "Sure. For a little while, maybe."
"That's a yes?"
Gene chuckled to himself. "Yeah, it's a yes."
"Yes!" she cheered. He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling more brightly now, and in earnest. Juliette noticed and knocked her shoulder against his gently. "You have a nice smile."
A wave of red flooded his face almost immediately which made Jules giggle, though she looked away from him to allow him to get himself together in peace. She contented herself with the expanse of green in front of her instead. She heard Gene utter a quiet, bashful, "Thanks," and smiled, glancing at him once more before getting to her feet.
"Well, I should probably be getting back. I'm sorry for interrupting your letter-reading," she offered with a small smile. Gene got to his feet as well, though Jules had a feeling he had no intention of leaving the field for a little while. He sent her that same small smile once more.
"'S'alright. I, uh, I think I kinda needed the company."
Juliette smiled, feeling as though he had just revealed something very personal about himself to her. She gave his bicep a small squeeze before bidding him goodbye and leaving the field directly. She then began heading in the direction of the house, which had, somehow and entirely accidentally, become something of a home.