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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Jan 23, 2019 9:46:16 GMT -5
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Jan 25, 2019 22:07:07 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942 Entry #50 ~ eight hours of sleep last night. still tired.
It was the sliver of sunlight beneath the door of the bunker that woke him. Squinting, he threw off his rough wool blanket, the metal frame of the cot screeching beneath his shifting weight. Levy stood and stretched. He shuffled over to the basin in the corner, turning on the faucet and splashing water in his face. The cold stream made him shudder with a dark, foreboding thought that originated in his brain and caressed down his spine. Levy banished the thought in an instant, turning toward the trunk on the floor.
He pulled on the standard uniform for Allied pilots, consisting of tan pants, a white shirt, brown boots, and an olive-drab green flight jacket. The only noticeable difference between him and the other soldiers would be the blue paint stain on the side of his jacket, which he could hide well enough if he kept his arms down. Levy grabbed his crush cap from the bench along the wall before he opened the bunker door, allowing the sun to fill the room for a moment before it was once again shut out.
As was the case most days, he’d been given no intel regarding any bombers, which were much more apt to try and blitz the countryside under cover of night. Today was Wednesday, market-day in one of the towns a few miles east, closer to the coast. If he wanted something besides his K-rations, he had to go there. The plan he’d come up with was to get marshmallows. He set more fires than he could keep track of, to attract enemy eyes. Levy figured he could toast a couple marshmallows each week, maybe make lasting through this war a bit easier, since he didn’t know how long he would have to stay here.
Levy crossed the abandoned airbase, footsteps falling abruptly on the cement. He passed stacks of empty crates that looked like they would fall apart if he breathed on them. The planes lay like decrepit birds with limp wings. They were wasted shells of their former glory, and they would probably be here long after he was gone, even after the war, which felt never-ending at this point.
The sun’s gaze beat down on him, cutting straight through quintessential white clouds. If he hadn’t flown through clouds just like these, he would have thought they’d been painted in the sky. The breeze blew the clouds behind him as he made his way to the dusty road leading away from the base.
Following the road to the coast, the land gracefully sloped down as he went until the town rose into view like a collection of grave-mounds. The earth beneath his feet grew softer as he approached. The houses here were old, built on frames that projected a few feet above the ground, but it was clear they were losing their battle to the dark, wet marshland. Every once in a while, he would see a house with a dislocated stilt, causing it to tip dangerously, one corner sinking into the muck.
This morning’s high-tide had already passed by the time Levy arrived, and would not return again until dusk. Judging by the sun’s position in the sky, he knew it was only about nine o’clock when the road turned to muddy cobblestone and he was in the main street of the little town. For once, he wasn’t the only one. At the other end of the street, five jeeps were parked, and among the makeshift stalls where the locals were selling trinkets, troops meandered half-heartedly. They looked distracted, like they were waiting for their next set of directions.
Levy paused, nervous. He knew there was no way they would confront him about what had happened in June; they were infantrymen. They didn’t know anything but what they were told. A world-changing event like the Battle of Midway had only shifted the paradigm for those involved, as he had been. Foot soldiers such as these would fight on, none the wiser. Taking a deep breath in, he continued on, searching the faces for one that looked inviting.
Finally, he found someone who seemed affable enough. Levy walked over to the man, who was maybe four years younger than he, and gave a slight smile.
“Private?” Levy addressed the man, who turned to him with wide, inquiring eyes. Upon seeing Levy’s insignia on his sleeve, he saluted.
“Lieutenant. What can I do for you?” His voice was raspy and weak, as if he’d been screaming.
“What’s your division doing here?” Levy asked, trying to keep his tone light.
The man shrugged, coughed into his elbow before answering. “We’ve got a couple wounded, we’re waiting for the rear echelon of an ARC convoy. And, you know, I heard, there’s one of those clubmobiles with them. With the girls? I heard they’ve got books and records-”
Another soldier had overheard their conversation, and he stepped over beside his buddy, interrupting him, “who cares about that stuff? I heard they got cigarettes and coffee and doughnuts.”
“Really.” Levy bit his lip, thinking. “Thanks, Privates.”
The sound of a motor filled the air. The soldiers ran back over to their jeeps to unload their wounded and prepare for the Red Cross. Levy hung back as medics and nurses hustled to and fro at the crossroads. The locals ceased all activity, watching. Levy glanced around him, debating whether or not to get his marshmallows and leave, or to help.
His better half won. Levy walked over to where one of the nurses was struggling to keep her hand still as she stitched a long cut on a soldier’s side. He knelt beside her.
“I’ve got steady hands, let me help. What can I do?” She looked at him thankfully.
“Here, hold this for me.” she handed him the other end of the string to pull tight each time she made a stitch.
“Thanks,” she breathed. “I’m Reece.”
“First Lieutenant Pearson,” was his response.
“Nice to meet you.”
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Post by intentional on Jan 26, 2019 1:43:34 GMT -5
The sun had barely started to rise when Lia and her group of fellow nurses and doughnut dollies from the Red Cross were being driven into a small town in a truck along with a clubmobile to serve the soldiers doughnuts and other little goodies. This was the first time Lia was volunteering with the Red Cross, so she was a little nervous, while the other girls poked fun and joked to lighten the mood in the solemn wartime situation. They were all pretty, bright girls, most of them having done this before, and they were very helpful in giving Lia lots of tips on how to deal with the soldiers and their flirting (which was inevitable, some girls, especially Reece, said). Lia laughed along at their jokes, but once the jokes settled down and they were arriving closer to the town where the soldiers were, she grew nervous.
She hadn’t told anyone her real reason she’d volunteered for the Red Cross, and she doubted she would ever tell anyone. But once they stopped at this town, her real mission would begin. The search for her birth family. From what little information the adoption agency could provide, she had been adopted from a British-Italian family nearby this town they were entering, and she had been given up for adoption when she was two years old in the middle of Europe’s Great Depression in the 20’s. She could hardly blame her birth parents for their difficult decision — and she had been adopted by the Walsh family, who had cared and loved her immensely. She loved her parents. But she wanted to know her birth family, and the Red Cross was giving her an opportunity.
The jeep drove into town and parked alongside the five other jeeps parked at the end of the street. Lia checked her watch and straightened out her uniform. She rather liked the uniform, and the fact she didn’t have to wear a skirt was a plus. It was an ironed navy blue top and pants along with brown combat boots, a white undershirt, and a navy blue hat. The Red Cross’s logo was stitched onto her left arm near her shoulder as well as on the hat, and she kept her long bangs tied to the back of her head. She fixed the hat on her head as Reece dragged her to the soldiers. Reece was volunteering as a nurse, and Lia looked up to her friend like an older sister and a mentor figure, as the older woman helped Lia figure out what to do besides make doughnuts for the soldiers. Lia’s other passion was in nursing, and Reece was being a good friend by helping her out.
“Lia, can you get me a roll of bandages and some tape for this man?” Reece asked, as she started to stitch up a long cut on a soldier’s side.
“A cigarette and a coffee might help too, darling.” The soldier managed to give the women a pained grin as he made his request.
“Of course.” Lia gave the man a smile as she ran back to get the requested supplies, and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a cup of coffee. When she returned, she found another soldier kneeling beside Reece, helping her as she stitched up the man. She set the coffee down next to the wounded soldier’s head and lit up a cigarette for him as she handed the bandages and tape to Reece.
“Actually, Lia, do you mind finishing up the stitching? I’ve got another one to get to, and seems like he’s more serious.” Reece said. “It’s just like I’ve taught you; you’ll do fine.”
“If you’re sure.” Lia nodded.
“Before I leave, let me introduce you. This is First Lieutenant Pearson, and this is Lia. Get acquainted, you two.” Reece shot Lia a sly grin before running off to her next patient.
“I sure hope you aren’t going anywhere because I’m going to need your help with stitching him up.” Lia said, her large hazel eyes wide, but determined to help the wounded soldier. She picked up where Reece left off, her hands slightly shaking but relatively steady.
“So, you sure you aren’t wounded or anything? You look like you need a good cup of coffee.” Lia gave him a small smile to lighten the heavy mood surrounding them.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Feb 8, 2019 11:15:38 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942 ~ Starstruck by recent circumstances.
For a few moments, the street around him faded, blurring like a photograph taken too fast. The scuff of soldiers’ shoes against the pavement, the creak of the crooked buildings, the shouts from one jeep to the next, all seemed to reach his ears but dully, like they were stuffed with cotton. Levy was focused on helping the nurse, Reece, and more than anything, he was thankful for something to do. This was something he could fix. It occurred to him somewhere in the back of his mind that he could have given his first name as she had. But their protocols were likely different for a reason. He was一 or he had been一 an officer in the newly-named Air Force. She was a volunteer, of course she was more personable. Still, part of him felt bad for treating her as if she were nothing more than a civilian. She was here, wasn’t she? In the middle of the war, or as close as she could get, and doing her best, which to him looked like the only thing she was capable of. He could admire that determination, despite her unsteady fingers.
Suddenly another figure broke into his little condensed world, bringing with her the invigorating, almost-chocolate scent of coffee. There was a clarity about her, the kind one might feel when jumping into a frozen pond, before the numbness set in. Ice-cold clarity. Levy would admit, she startled him at first. He glanced up from the wound they were stitching to watch her set down a cup beside the man on the stretcher. She knelt by Reece. He watched her hands, full; one with a pack of cigarettes, the other with bandages and tape. She pulled a lighter from one of her pockets, clicking it to light a cigarette, which she gave to the soldier before she turned slightly to face Levy. Their eyes barely met, a fleeting glance, before she was looking at Reece, and he dropped his gaze again.
Reece’s words sounded strange to him. Unexpected, as hearing German spoken on this hill would be. The way Reece spoke to the other girl, Levy could assume she was still learning. So she was like a cadet, if he thought about it in military terms. Is this her first time? Despite not looking up, he felt her nod. If you’re sure, she said. She was neither afraid nor confident. Something in the middle. Reserved, perhaps. Reece gathered up her extra materials, giving them each a name as she stood and walked away. Vital information.
Levy’s hands hadn’t moved from the needle, holding it where Reece had been interrupted by the other donut dolly. Lia. She spoke to him, telling him she needed his help. That was all he wanted to hear.
“No, I’ll stay. I’m all yours.” It was an offer, and not a flirtatious one at that. An honest one, factual. Lia took the needle and resumed the stitching. Levy held his hand down around the wound to keep it closed, pulling the sutures taut each time. Bright red blood flowed now and again when her hand slipped and the medical string loosened, but the soldier on the ground was distracted, floating from his cigarette by then, and Levy would gently reposition his hand to correct her without saying anything. Blood didn’t bother him, not when it was like this. Maybe two minutes later, she started talking to him. Levy looked up with surprise, then quickly looked back down to try and cover it up.
“No.” He didn’t think he needed to say anything beyond that at first. He was in the armed forces; he valued brevity and efficiency. She’d asked a simple question, therefore he gave a simple answer. She thought he needed coffee. Did he really look that tired? There were almost always circles under his eyes these days, but that couldn’t have been what she meant. He knew she wasn’t trying to interrogate him. She was being nice. He could be nice. Yet, his next statements were disjointed and awkward, like he had to force them out.
“I’m okay.” A pause. Then, “I don’t drink coffee.” That was surely enough, wasn’t it? She smelled like the sweet warmth of doughnut glaze. Levy took a long breath in before releasing it, making a conscious effort to relax his shoulders.
“Thank you, though.” He looked at her again, just in time to see her smile slightly. His heart tripped in his chest for a second, caught off-guard. She’s just doing her job. Even so, all he could think was that there wasn’t enough kindness in this entire country to compare to what was in that smile. He couldn’t return it, however he felt he needed to tell her that he appreciated it. He had another thought, a good one, to make up for it instead.
“My一 it’s一 name, I’m一 Levy.” He sounded like an idiot. He sounded smitten, which was ridiculous. "Ever been in a war before?" He asked a stupid question, just trying to change the subject quickly.
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Post by intentional on Feb 10, 2019 15:09:20 GMT -5
Her hands slightly shook every time she poked the wounded soldier’s side and pulled the needle and string through. Blood was something she would see a lot more of, she reminded herself, as she saw blood seeping from the wound whenever her hand slipped. She took a few calming breaths and steadied herself each time she slipped, reminding herself of the (brief) training she went through and that this was what she wanted to do in the future as a nurse. She would need to get used to seeing it, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hate the sight of it. Blood had such a strong smell, that strong, metallic scent, and she couldn’t help but slightly scrunch her nose at the smell with each stitch.
She noted how much bigger his hands were than hers, and how he would gently reposition his hand to help her stitch without him saying anything. She would glance up at him from time to time and see his side profile. He was handsome, she admitted, and had a relatively cleanly shaven face for a soldier, which was a new sight. Every man she’d come across had some sort of beard, but with careful observation, she could spot some hairs on his cheeks and his chin. He looked a bit pale and he had circles under his eyes, adding to the overall tired look to his handsome face.
She looked up at him, pausing her stitching when he talked, and noted that he was a man of few words. She finally met his eyes briefly before he looked away, and she was shocked at how pale his blue eyes were. They reminded her of the color of a cloudy sky, and saw that analogy to fit this first lieutenant’s personality from what she’d seen so far. He was reserved, relatively soft spoken, and spoke few words. He looked a bit more hardened than any of the privates and foot soldiers, and that saddened her a bit to see the effects of war.
She was now putting the bandages on top of the wounded soldier’s side when the first lieutenant spoke again, stumbling his way as he introduced his first name. She smiled at his stumbling, finding it quite adorable before standing up, now done with treating the man’s wound.
“Levy. I like that name.” She smiled back at him. “And no. This is my first, and hopefully last, war.” She answered before grabbing his bloodied hand with hers. She hoped he didn’t mind physical contact, and was rather surprised at herself for being so forward with someone she’d just met, especially another man. But something about him, maybe the look in his eyes or the way he carried himself around her, made her trust him instantly. She trusted her gut with almost everything, and her gut was telling her that he was one of the good guys.
“Let’s go wash our hands and get you some sugar. You look like you need a break.” She said, dragging him behind her to the clubmobile to wash their hands and to get the first lieutenant some doughnuts.
She passed by a couple of her fellow doughnut dollies on the way to the bus and they all had a sly grin on their faces to see her holding hands with a soldier, and Lia shook off their looks with a wave of her hand and a playful eye-roll. As they approached the vehicle, they could hear music coming from the phonographs and saw soldiers lounging about the back of the truck (the designated lounging area) with their sweets and cigarettes.
“Come in. We can wash our hands in here and I’ll go get you some food.” Lia said, showing him the way. But as soon as she entered the prepping area, giggles surrounded her as some of the girls stopped their doughnut making process to poke fun at Lia.
“So, you’ve already found a soldier?” One girl asked.
“He’s handsome, Lia. You picked a good one so fast!”
“What’s his name?”
“His name is Levy Pearson. First lieutenant. And he helped me stitch up another wounded soldier so I’m being nice and getting him some doughnuts.” Lia finally answered their questions as she washed her hands.
“A first lieutenant? You snagged a big one!” The girls giggled and Lia couldn’t help but smile with them as she grabbed a couple doughnuts, a pack of cigarettes and a small packet of cocoa they kept for those soldiers that didn’t drink coffee.
She finished prepping her things and headed out towards the lounge, ignoring the giggles of the girls behind her before finding Levy. She set the goods in front of him and set the mug of hot cocoa down, and sat across from him.
“Thanks for helping me back there. You’ve got pretty steady hands.” Lia said with a soft smile.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Feb 12, 2019 0:56:29 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942
He was humbled. She likes my name? It was an uncommon phrase for anyone to say under normal circumstances, but she seemed like an uncommon person. Levy opened his mouth, about to tell her that he liked her name too, if for no other reason than to be polite and return the compliment, but he missed his chance. She stood, leaving him staring at her boots for a minute before he turned to the man on the ground and squeezed his shoulder to tell him get well, good luck, they were leaving. The man gave a half-hearted thumb’s up in response, the end of his cigarette glowing as he sucked in the soothing smoke, expression blank.
Lia answered his question as he shifted to get to his feet, about to say something resembling agreement, when he felt another hand grab hold of his. The first instinctive thought he had was an old, lingering one that defied the rational part of his brain that told him he was on solid ground: they’re going to drown me. A split second of panic followed as he tried to twitch free, unsuccessfully, glancing first from the soldier to the donut dolly to find the culprit. It was just Lia. If she recognized his attempt to escape for what it was, she didn’t let it show. She also didn’t let go. Rather, she helped him stand, ignoring the stupid, wide-eyed look he was giving her. She seemed pretty no-nonsense, which was something he should have been more often than he actually was. His commanding officer had said it himself.
“That’s what you need, son. A break from the fighting, don’t you think that would be good? No-nonsense, though. It’s not a vacation, just another assignment.” “By myself?” “Well, yes. For safety.”
Lia started to pull him beside her down the line of jeeps, and he thought perhaps they were going to help someone else, but her next words proved otherwise. A break? That was the last thing he wanted, and while he had come to the town for sugar, he hadn’t thought it would be doughnut-shaped. But he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t say no to those angel eyes. They were the color of feathers on a dove’s belly. Levy was preoccupied with wandering thoughts, distracted by the softness of her touch, to notice anyone else looking at them, until she waved at a couple of other girls. Levy risked looking up to see why, though he soon wished he hadn’t. They were all giving a look of general mischief that confused and worried him slightly. He blushed, embarrassed at being given any sort of attention and not knowing what they meant by it. More than anything, he was afraid someone would recognize him, despite the fact that it was impossible for anyone to know him or why he was here. Yet the paranoia remained. He watched Lia walk, following the imprints she left in patches of mud.
As they approached the clubmobile at the back of the envoy, a song he recognized could be heard coming from the open windows. ‘American patrol’ by Glenn Miller. One of the more famous marches of the era. As they walked up the steps into the open area at the back of the truck, they were enveloped by the cigarette smoke hanging throughout the room. It was a semi-crowded space, and as soon as she released her grip on him, his stomach dropped, and he forgot how hungry he was. He was alone again, and although Lia was no less a stranger to him than these soldiers were, he was uncomfortable without her there to guide him. She vanished through a curtained-covered doorway to the right, and he was left there to take in his surroundings. A bookshelf in the far left corner by the phonograph, and a small table and chairs set-up across from that, against the windows. A loveseat beside the door to what he assumed was a kitchenette where they made all the treats. That’s where Lia had gone. He wasn’t welcome there.
A vaguely familiar husky voice greeted, “Lieutenant!” The private with the sore throat appeared from the haze, a record in his grasp. He had an absent-minded, almost obligatory smile on his face until he looked down and saw the blood on Levy’s hands.
“I was helping a nurse,” Levy explained, and the man nodded once.
“There’s a bathroom through there,” he said, gesturing to a white door beside the bookshelf.
“Thanks,” Levy muttered, making his way to the door as the man returned to the record player. The bathroom was very small, with not even enough dimensions for him to stretch his arms out fully. He washed his hands with hot, then cold, water. Levy raised his eyes from the blood in the sink to the clouded mirror. There were stains along the edges, which didn’t make him look any younger. He just looked tired, like he couldn’t keep his eyes open. No wonder Lia kept hinting at him needing some caffeine.
Levy adjusted his hat before he walked back out. The private had taken a seat at the table to smoke a cigarette and stare out the window, but he turned and beckoned Levy to join him.
“That donut dolly, you help her?” He asked when Levy was sitting across from him.
“Yes?” Levy frowned slightly, questioning, but the private simply nodded again. The sound of girls giggling seemingly prompted the man to stand and walk outside, and as Levy watched, trying to figure out why he was leaving, he saw Lia. He noticed she had brought a pack of cigarettes. He elected to ignore them for the time being, eyeing the two doughnuts and cup of cocoa instead. He could always take the cigarettes back to his base and save them for later, although it occurred to him that may not have been her purpose for giving them to him. She was making small talk, he realized. She smiled at him again, though he’d done nothing to deserve it this time. He was skeptical, wondering for a moment what her wish here was. Not everyone wants something. He had to tell himself to listen more carefully to be certain, but as a result, he didn’t know what to say. I almost didn’t. help I almost got my marshmallows and left. I almost wrenched my hand from yours and ran. What would she have thought of him if he had done that?
“Oh. You’re welcome.” He hesitated to take anything. It was a shame he didn’t already have the marshmallows for cocoa; it would have been perfect that way. So he didn’t touch the cup, instead, taking the napkin from under the doughnuts and ripping it in half, pushing one of the doughnuts towards her and keeping one for himself.
“And thank you, for this. But I don’t need two.”
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Post by intentional on Feb 12, 2019 19:29:04 GMT -5
Lia had noticed a resistance when she pulled on his hand to take him to the clubmobile. But she didn’t let go. Instead, she’d pulled with a bit more force, clutching his hands like they were her lifesavers and softly dragged him behind her towards the large bus. He seemed quite surprised she was holding his hand, and she did her best to hide her smile at his wide-eyed look. In that moment, he reminded her of a frightened deer at how large his blue eyes were.
She glanced up every now and then from the back, peeking through the narrow space between the curtains to see Levy talking to another soldier. Glenn Miller’s song was booming throughout the bus so she couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but it seemed more like a pleasant icebreaker than a deep conversation. The other soldier left as the girls continued to giggle behind Lia, and the dolly finally left the kitchens with the food in her hands, setting them in front of him. She didn’t know if he smoked or not, but then again, what soldier didn’t?
She sat directly across from him, and watched as his unsure self eyed the cigarettes first, then moved onto the doughnuts and cocoa. She smiled to herself, amused at herself to think that Levy was a non-smoker (every soldier smoked — this was hard fact) before he slid one of the doughnuts towards her.
“Thanks.” She said, but not touching the doughnut. She’d tasted enough doughnuts to last her three lifetimes. Because she was new, she was the guinea pig to see if the other girls’ doughnuts had come out okay, and now the smell of the sweet dough made her slightly sick. But she hid that fact pretty well, and she didn’t want to make Levy feel bad, so she tore off a tiny piece, breaking the circle, and popped it in her mouth, not really chewing it and swallowing it immediately.
“So… How long have you and the convoy been in town for? The town seems pretty quiet and small.” Lia asked, trying to strike up a conversation with the soldier.
It was a fairly innocent question, she supposed. She didn’t want anyone to know the real reason she signed up for the Red Cross. And what’s the harm in asking a soldier about the area? They had been in this little town longer than the ARC, considering the girls had just arrived early this morning, and she needed to know everything there was to know about this town. She would start by asking a couple soldiers about the area, and then start asking around the locals about a family that had given up a daughter to America. Considering the small population of the town, someone had to know something.
And she was not going back empty handed.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Feb 22, 2019 7:55:46 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942
It did not escape his notice that she barely touched her doughnut. He didn’t think anything of it, though, trying to shove his doughnut in his mouth as fast as he could without looking uncivilized, which was easier said than done. Upon hearing her question, it didn’t occur to him to lie.
“I don’t know, I think they’ve only been here a few days.” Then he wondered if he should have, and he tried to correct his mistake. “I mean ‘we’. We’ve been here a few… days.”
He couldn’t help the seeping doubt that persisted about her intentions. Why would she ask that? Was it just small-talk that she didn’t really care about, or something more? He was almost disappointed to think it was all radio-chatter; he wanted her to care, despite himself. But she sounded almost guilty about asking such a simple question. So she does want something after all. Levy looked down at his lap, wiping the glaze from his fingers on his pants. But is that such a bad thing? Maybe he could help her.
She didn’t say anything at first, apparently thinking about what he had said, and he wondered if she wasn’t satisfied for some reason. Had she expected him to say something else? Or had she noticed how he’d rephrased it? Either way, she was quiet for some time, and Levy did his best to avoid looking at her. His stomach growled, as if collaborating with his brain in some scheme to commit a crime.
“Are you gonna eat that?” He’d blurted the words before he could stop himself, but they at least kept him from confronting her about her silence.
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Post by intentional on Feb 25, 2019 0:54:42 GMT -5
Lia smiled to herself as she saw him scarfing down the donut she’d given him and felt a little spark of joy. It was always satisfying to see soldiers, who’d seen the worst of humanity around them for so long during this war, see so happy with such innocent, trivial things like a warm, glazed donut. It reminded her that this was another reason she signed up for the RC, and not just the search for her real family (although that was the bigger reason why). It solidified her resolve to become the best nurse she could be once she got her family history all sorted out.
Her ears perked up at his answer to her question. She noticed that he’d used the pronoun “they” instead of “we” when referring to the soldiers. That set off a reaction in her head, trying to figure out why he corrected himself. Perhaps he was a spy for the Germans? Or was he a soldier sent on a secret mission? Her interest in Levy Pearson deepened, and she decided at that moment to figure out more about him. If he was indeed a German spy, then she would have to discreetly report him and gather proof of his allegiance. If he was sent on a secret mission, maybe they could help each other out.
But she needed to dig a little deeper.
Her brows relaxed from their furrowed position as she was in deep thought when he asked about her donut. She heard his stomach growl and smirked, before sliding the donut to him to answer his question.
“Sorry we don’t have proper food. All we have in the kitchen are donut-making tools… and I’m sure you’re tired of eating M.R.E.s.” Lia said with a grin.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Mar 1, 2019 20:50:23 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942
Any embarrassment he should have felt was swept away when she smiled. He was sure he was making a fool of himself, yet it was almost as if she didn’t mind. The only place he knew he could find such unconditional sympathy was at home. That’s her job, isn’t it? To feel like home? Yet she was more than that, giving him more of her time than he ever thought anyone would after what had happened. He didn’t want to call it devotion, but it was the only word that fit.
Lia slid the doughnut back towards him. He relaxed his straight-backed posture slightly, making a point of eating more slowly this time and listening to her speak.
Levy shook his head, “that’s okay… I’m only a little tired of them.” He smiled at her for the first time, but it was a sad, weak attempt; his mouth stayed shut tight and barely moved. The corners of his eyes wrinkled a bit. His skin felt tight, like he had a sunburn, and his smile faded before it had a chance to fully manifest. He looked down at the table. Then came a lull, and Levy glanced up at her. He didn’t know what he expected to see that was different from anything he’d already seen. She looked kind and patient, but maybe a little more careful now. Had that always been there, and he’d simply missed it? Or had something changed in her mind?
He was nearly blindsided by a fierce desire to earn her trust, if it was in fact her perception of him that she was reassessing. But how to make this young woman his friend? The longer the silence lasted, the more he came to realize it wasn’t empty or uncomfortable the way most conversations became. It felt more like a quiet understanding between them. Levy tried to busy himself with looking around. At the same time, he knew he wanted to say something. If this was all he would see of her, he would make the most of it. At least, it would be some kind of hopeful, friendly memory to take back to base with him. Better than just marshmallows.
At that thought, he had what he considered to be a great idea. He could get those marshmallows to go with the hot chocolate. Would that impress Lia? It was a trivial thought, and the answer was: probably not. It didn’t occur to him that there were probably marshmallows in the kitchen. But it was something to do, and though he wouldn’t admit it, it was just another way to keep her nearby for the time being; he didn’t want her to think he was boring and leave. Before he could ask her, however, there was a loud crash from outside, interrupting the music momentarily. It made him flinch. He shut his eyes for a few moments, until someone shouted from outside, something about being ‘all good’. The hesitant figures around them resumed their leisure upon hearing this, and Levy breathed a sigh of relief.
“Do you wanna go for a walk?” He asked, meeting her gaze with wide eyes that seemed a tad bit worried, despite the mischief he had planned. She hadn’t really even nodded before, without waiting for her answer, and in similar fashion as she had earlier, he reached out an open hand for her to take, pulling her to her feet. This time, with him in the lead, they got off the bus. He paused to glance around, curious about the noise from earlier, but there was no obvious evidence in the area of any commotion. So Levy turned and they made their way around the back of the vehicle, walking out of sight of the majority of the crowd of soldiers and nurses.
He knew the backstreets here well enough, and it showed, as he weaved between buildings through what couldn’t exactly be called alleyways, but were really just smaller paths through the marshland. His grip was tighter this time, more self-assured, as he led her the long way back to the main street. By this time, it seemed most of the vendors had packed up for lunchtime, and the soldiers were remaining close to the convoy. They slipped easily across the street to a candy-shop.
The bell above the door made no jingle, only a dull thud as the wooden frame of the door collided with its metal skirt. All the same, the man behind the counter looked up from his newspaper, an eyebrow raised in half-interest.
“Hi Nico,” Levy greeted somewhat shyly, suddenly dropping Lia’s hand and pulling his cap off his head. The man, Nico, replied by straightening his paper with a rustle, grunting a ‘hello’ back to them.
“I been meaning to get some marshmallows. Saved up enough to get some to toast. Help me find them?” Levy said, turning to Lia this time, motioning for her to follow him. There were standing bookcases lined through the room and along the walls, serving as shelves for assorted sweets, and like a snake, Levy decided to begin their search along the perimeter of the store before making their way to the middle shelves.
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Post by intentional on Mar 3, 2019 17:05:57 GMT -5
Lia watched as the soft-spoken soldier finally relaxed his posture (albeit it wasn’t much — his back was still very straight) and eat her donut. It seemed as though he felt comfortable with her, and she was secretly happy about the fact. She was happy, not because that only meant she could dig deeper about him, but the fact that she had the ability to make these soldiers feel at home in this war-torn environment they were both at. It meant that she was doing her job, no matter if it was just a means for her to get the information she needed.
She stared at Levy’s face as he smiled back at her weakly. It seemed his handsome face wasn’t that used to smiling (then again, what soldier would smile in their situation?) and it lasted too briefly, in her opinion. He had a nice smile, and she liked the way the wrinkles formed in the corners of his pale blue eyes. As his smile disappeared, Lia’s hazel eyes looked around the lounge area. Besides the two of them, there were barely anyone else hanging around, enjoying the sounds of Glenn Miller’s music. The sky was still a little bit cloudy, probably from the bombs and the smoke and dust, and she missed the bright blue sky from home. Her eyes flickered back to Levy, when there was a loud crash outside, interrupting the music momentarily. Someone probably knocked over something, she mused, before looking at Levy, who had his blue eyes shut pretty tightly for just a temporary noise. He opened his eyes a couple moments later, breathing a sigh of relief, which Lia noticed.
It wasn’t that uncommon to come across soldiers with symptoms of combat stress reaction, or shell shock, as it was known during the first world war. It seemed that being around death and bombs being hurled over one’s head did significant damage to a soldier’s mental status. She tucked this fact away in her head as Levy spoke first, asking her to go for a walk. Before she could answer, his larger hands took hers, leading her out of the bus. Her hand wrapped around his more tightly as he took her out of sight from the other soldiers and ARC members as they took a backstreet. She felt his grip tighten over hers and she could feel her cheeks blushing at the prolonged contact with a soldier she’d just met. But oddly enough, she trusted him (even though he could be a German spy— she’d have to dig around), but for now, he gave her a sense of comfort, and she trusted her gut.
They slipped across the street and into a candy shop, and Levy greeted the man behind the counter named Nico. So he knew this man. It wasn’t that strange, she mused, that Levy would know the storekeeper’s name, for the convoy had been stationed here at least a couple of days before then. She shook the thoughts away as she listened to Levy’s request to help find marshmallows to toast. She nodded, and followed behind him towards the standing bookcases. She didn’t even realize that they weren’t holding hands anymore, now that they were inside the store, and her left hand felt the loss of warmth.
She looked around the perimeter before focusing her attention to the middle shelves, and saw the marshmallow packages squished between some hard crackers and jars of jam. She reached for them, as they were way above her head, to no avail.
“Levy, I found them.” Lia alerted. “Up there.” She pointed straight above. As he reached for the marshmallows, she realized how tall the man actually was, and she craned her neck up to look at his face when he retrieved the sweets.
“Won’t they be expensive? I’m surprised this store has so much candy. Sugar is heavily rationed back home.” Lia voiced her thoughts as she followed behind him.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Mar 13, 2019 1:32:28 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942
Levy stuffed his hands in the pockets of his flight jacket, perusing the shelves along the wall. Jars of gumballs and sticks of honey were only the tip of the iceberg, he knew, having been in here before just to admire the bright colors of the packaging on some of the sugary drinks. He didn’t notice when Lia turned toward the shelves in the middle, too busy looking for the soft shape of marshmallows among stacks of biscuits. A moment later, he heard her say his name. He liked the way she said it. She didn’t say it too fast and she didn’t let the syllables mix together like most people did, so that the ‘e’ sounded like an ‘i’; she pronounced each letter as it was meant to be, clearly.
There were the marshmallows, in a little powdery-looking plastic bag, about a foot above his head, which explained why she couldn’t reach it.
“Yeah, but I asked last time I came in to see how much stuff was. And don’t tell him I said this, but I think Nico has a secret vault of never-ending candy.”
They approached the counter and Nico stood up to open the register. He’d apparently overheard their conversation despite the efforts they’d taken to keep their voices down. “I have just enough for registered citizens, you two.”
“And then some for soldiers and nurses?” Levy asked as he pulled a wad of bills from his waistband and handed them over. Nico raised an eyebrow at the comment.
“Aren’t you smart. Yes, and then some for you visitors from out-of-town. But that’s neither here nor there. I believe you Americans take my meaning.” Of course they did. Zip it. He wasn’t doing any more harm than a black market would be by selling extra rations. This was one instance when Levy thought it was okay not to be completely honest in his reports. After all, it was easier to omit the whole truth than to outright lie. It didn’t feel good, but he was benefiting from this too. Strange, how his moral compass had shifted since he’d come to England. It was a remote town, anyway, not many buyers. They were in the middle of a war, and he’d convinced himself that this made it okay, he could let it slide. Nico was a nice man. All of these were good excuses that served his purpose for the time being.
Nico placed the banknotes into the register and gave the marshmallows back to Levy, who put them in his pocket. “Good day,” Nico bid them before they left the store. Without saying anything, they both seemed to know they were walking directly back to the line of trucks, down the main street.
“Thanks.” Levy said, glancing down at Lia as she walked beside him. “For coming with me.” Why he kept adding on sentences, he had no idea. “I’m normally by myself.” With that, he was quiet again, a painful shyness at his throat that felt like something squeezing the life from within him.
They were headed back to the lounge of the clubmobile. Levy wasn’t sure who had made the decision to do that. Before they had even reached the vehicle, they were intercepted by Reece.
“Lia! I’ve been looking for you.” As if she hadn’t seen him, she looked at Levy with a degree of surprise that was overshadowed by another emotion. She was pleased to see him. “Oh. First Lieutenant Pearson. I take it you stayed to help our newest recruit?” Levy nodded, staring at the ground where they’d stopped.
“Well, I appreciate it, really. Listen, Lia, we’ve seen to everyone wounded in this group, but I came to tell you that we’re staying here a bit longer. This is the last town for quite a ways I believe, and there’s word of another group behind us that’ll be coming in the next few days before this group leaves.” She looked intently at Levy again. “Isn’t that good news? You get to spend more time together!” She did nothing to hide how ecstatic she was, her voice was so high, it made him wince. Her words were harmless, like a papercut, yet they hurt him nonetheless, because he couldn’t tell if she was disguising an accusation.
Levy didn’t respond, afraid one misstep would expose him. She’s right. You’re a horrible person. Reece smiled, linking her arm with Lia’s. They continued walking back to the convoy. Wait. She didn’tー wouldn’tー say anything like that. Reece didn’t let the silence go for too long.
“So, are you in charge of this platoon? I haven’t seen anyone else with your rank or higher here.” He looked up, panic-stricken. He wasn’t prepared for questions that were this in-depth. Why did she want to know? Levy’s thoughts were jumbled, to say the least, and he had to come up with something that would make sense and make her shut up.
“No, I’m. I’mーI’m not. Someone else is… Higher rank.” He assumed this was true enough, though he also hadn’t seen anyone who looked like they were leading these troops.
“Wait, what’s that?” Reece stopped short, nearly tripping Lia when she reached across her to grab Levy’s shoulder. He jerked away to shrug her off, and it was almost violent, despite his trying to be gentle, but she was making him anxious. He was starting to not trust her, or not trust her digging into him like this. She was talking about his insignia, and now he was on a slippery slope with no rope to hold on to.
“What do you mean? Iー it’sー”
“You’re not with the army?” Reece sounded confused, more curious than anything. Damn her for knowing the difference. The poor girl probably just wanted to get to know him, or maybe this was her way of getting him to talk to Lia about more personal things. He wasn’t interested, if this meant she’d been eavesdropping on them before now. Levy shot a pleading look at Lia. Pleading not for help, but for forgiveness. This is what I get for lying. He’d dug himself into this mess, now the truth was the only way out. Part of the truth will be enough. He would shoot himself in the hand before he told anyone, especially Lia, the real reason he was here. He could never describe how much shame he carried in his heart, like a well with an endless supply of guilt and sorrow and every ugly emotion that humans could have. It was all he could do to cover it up and pretend it wasn’t there.
“No, I’m a pilot. In the Air Force.”
“What are you doing here, then?”
“I’m stationed at a base here, not that you need to know anything about the military’s movements.” Levy could feel his hands shaking. He shoved them in his pockets so they couldn’t see. Reece eventually nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry, sir.” If she thought he was hiding something more, she didn’t say so. She faced Lia again. “I completely forgot to see what you’re supposed to be doing, but I’m on the dough-prep team for the rest of the day, so I’ve got to get back. I’ll see you later.” She walked swiftly back to the clubmobile, where Levy noticed there was no more music. Despite the tension in his muscles, the air felt sleepy, as if everyone had settled in for an afternoon nap.
Levy couldn’t look at Lia, scared of what he’d see there. He’d just been so defensiveー it was almost meanー to one of her friends. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I have a lot of stress.” He wished he had that hot chocolate and cigarettes then, but there was no going back. He spoke a little louder, “Can you tell her I’m sorry?”
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Post by intentional on Mar 13, 2019 4:10:32 GMT -5
Lia watched… she stared, admittedly, as Levy reached his long arms over her head to grab the plastic bag of marshmallows. She caught herself staring a bit longer than normal at his hands and the pisiform bone that poked out from underneath the sleeves of his jacket ever so slightly as he reached. She hurriedly looked away and willed herself to focus her attention on his words as he whispered about Nico’s possible secret vault of candy. Lia giggled slightly as Nico chastised them to be quiet, as if they were children again. She studied his hands (again), as Levy pulled out the banknotes to pay for the sweets, and she noticed that he had a fairly thick bad of bills before he ticket it away quickly.
How did a soldier who was just stationed at this little town have so much money? Even if he was a First Lieutenant, she was pretty certain that not all of the higher ranking officials didn’t carry wads of bills stuffed in their waistbands to spend on candy. At that moment, she couldn’t seem to recall how high a First Lieutenant was in the Army, but she did know that he had the highest rank from the soldiers she’d met today.
She followed Levy out the store and walked alongside him with her hands behind her back. She’d been fairly quiet once they’d found the marshmallows and left the store, in thought about how much money Levy had been carrying as well as his relatively high rank. Her thoughts were interrupted when Levy spoke, and the pregnant pauses between his sentences just made her smile, as she could tell he was trying to express his gratitude as best as his shy self could.
“Of course. Thanks for inviting me to come with you.” Lia smiled in response. “It was nice to see the array of sweets. I don’t think I’ve touched sweets in awhile since the war started.”
The two of them slowly found their footsteps heading back towards the clubmobile as Lia could hear the faint sounds of music floating into her ears. She was slightly disappointed her time with the soldier would end soon, as she assumed that the ARC would be moving out to tend to other troops, and that would’ve meant that she didn’t accomplish what she’d come all this way to do. But she couldn’t say she regretted spending her free time with Levy, because he’d turned out to be quite a sweet soldier, and one of the nicer ones she’d met so far. But when Reece came up to inform the two of them that they would stay here a couple more days to take care of another group coming in later, her heart soared with joy that she’d have more time to spend with him. She could almost excuse Reece’s fishing around as to why her and Levy were spending so much time together when clearly there were other soldiers around to talk to.
“Oh, stop it. Levy’s just being nice.” Lia rolled her eyes as she playfully swatted Reece’s arm, playing off the older girl’s accusations. Reece then asked about Levy’s rank, and Lia’s mood suddenly dropped as the soldier started to stammer, as if he was caught red-handed. That rang some bells in Lia’s head as Reece questioned his insignia on Levy’s jacket. When Reece revealed that the insignia was not that of the Army, but rather the Air Force, Lia’s eyes widened in surprise. All she could do was stare at the symbol and think to herself how idiotic could she have been to miss the wings that decorated the star, and how she didn’t even think to question anything, really, he told her. The rest of the soldiers in the town were infantrymen, foot soldiers. And Levy was not. He was a pilot, and he definitely didn’t belong with the troops. Then what was he doing here?
He retorted harshly at Reece’s probing questions, and for once, Lia was glad that the woman was there to help Lia see through the disguise that Levy was throwing up at her. He was disguising himself as one of the foot soldiers when in actuality, he was a First Lieutenant in the Air Force. What was he doing in this small town that wasn’t even nearby London, where the action was happening? If he was a pilot, where was his plane? What else was he hiding?
Questions swarmed Lia’s head, and she didn’t even look up from his jacket to recognize the pleading look that Levy threw at her. She only snapped out of her thoughts when Reece abruptly walked away from the two of them, and suddenly Lia felt stuck. She didn’t know what to do. Her hazel eyes finally peeled themselves away from his jacket to stare at his eyes that weren’t meeting hers. His voice was reduced to a whisper when he apologized to her, and she found herself crossing her arms across her chest and staring at Levy like she was about to scold him.
“I’m not going to confront you right now, because I don’t think you’d appreciate having your secret blurted out for everyone to hear. We both obviously need to clear our thoughts, and we’ll talk once the day’s over. Meet me outside Nico’s shop at 2200.” Lia finally spoke, very curtly. Although her words may have been short and to the point, she stared at Levy with a softer look than her tone conveyed, and headed back in the culubmobile’s direction, but not before looking back at the tall soldier she left behind. She hoped that he would trust her enough to share with her the reasons why he lied to her, and trusted her enough to come meet her outside the same shop.
Although she’d told him that they needed the separation to clear their thoughts, her head was swimming with endless questions as she spent the rest of the day prepping the medical tents for the next wave of soldiers that would be coming in a couple of days. She was separated from Reece, who was on the dough-prep team in the clubmobile, but that didn’t stop the other ARC members chiming in every now and then about the handsome soldier that she was seen with earlier that day. When it finally hit 1900, the girls went to dinner and hit the hay, as each girl individually prepared themselves for a good night’s rest to check up on the soldiers the next morning.
“Reece.” Lia finally caught up with her friend as all the girls consolidated into the inn as their jobs were done for the day. The girl was quiet as Lia approached her, but didn’t cut her off as she conveyed Levy’s apology to her.
“Immediately after you left, Levy apologized to the both of us. He said he’s been stressed out.” Lia said.
“I’m sure all of the soldiers are stressed.” Reece said, before letting out a soft sigh. “I am sorry, too, for just grabbing his arm like that and just shouting at him that he wasn’t in the Army. But I do have to ask, what’s an Air Force pilot doing here, by himself anyways?”
“I was wondering that too.” Lia nodded. “I’ll try and ask him tomorrow.” She lied, unsure of how Reece would think if she told her that she was actually planning to meet him that night.
“You’d better. What if he turns out to be a spy or something?” Reece’s eyes widened. “Be careful, Lia. I don’t want to see you getting hurt, or in trouble because of him.”
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Later that evening, Lia was changed into her pink nightgown dress, much like all the other girls as they got ready for bed at the inns they were staying, and she draped herself with her uniform jacket as the candles were blown out for bed. She checked her wrist watch by the dim candlelight by her shared bed with Reece, and made sure the woman was fast asleep before sneaking out to meet Levy. She was sure to be an odd sight to any of the townspeople that were still awake, as her still-wet hair from her shower clung to her neck and fabric as she pulled her jacket tighter to her body as her feet, clad in the same combat boots she’d worn earlier in the day, took her to Nico’s shop. She hoped that he would meet her there after she left him before he could say anything back to her.
She shouldn’t be one to judge, since she was here for other reasons herself, but in her eyes, her situation and his was not the same. His secret felt more serious than hers — he was pretending to be part of the infantry when he was, in actuality, a pilot. A pilot with no plane served no purpose for the Air Force, and yet, why was he here? Why wasn’t he in the sky, shooting down Axis planes? Was he a spy? A soldier gone rogue, trying to blend in? She needed... no, she wanted to know more. Truth be told, Levy interested her very much. He was hiding something from her, from everyone, it seemed, but he made her feel safe and comfortable. Her gut feeling was telling her that he wasn’t a bad person, and she trusted her gut. She wanted to trust the gut feeling she felt whenever she was with Levy. But she had to make sure.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Mar 15, 2019 10:05:46 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942 Entry #50 Continued ~ met an enchanting girl today. starting to wish I hadn’t.
When he glanced at her, hoping for a reprieve from the burning sensation he felt on his neck, he was given a wake-up call. He’d been hoping that she would reassure him, that she would say he was right and that Reece had overstepped her boundaries. But he saw much less than any of that. Lia’s face was down-turned in a frown. She was disappointed. She ought to be. That was infantile behavior for a soldier.
The first thing he noticed about her voice was how calm it was, still, despite how she must have been feeling. After realizing that she wasn’t going to coddle him, he had been ready to take a verbal beating, fully expecting to hear the most heartbreaking words: that what he’d done was inexcusable. In his mind, it didn’t matter that she would be referring to what had just happened. To him, she could have been talking about the Battle of Midway and he would have broken down right there in the middle of the street.
All in his head. It’s all in your head. She didn’t scold him, didn’t tell him to go away and leave her alone. He was overreacting again, paranoid and anticipating the worst outcome as he’d been conditioned to do. But he had misjudged her somehow. That was his own fault. She was so kind, much kinder to him than he deserved. She was giving him a second chance. His hope surged for a brief moment, only to be put in check when he realized what that meant. She still wanted to talk to him about his place here. She wanted to know the truth, but Levy was afraid that if he told her, she would wish he hadn’t.
He could feel her eyes on him, expecting him to look her in the eyes. He just couldn’t gather the strength to do it. She would see right through him immediately, and he would admit to every bad thing he’d done. It was irrational, but he’d started down the path toward thinking that if he met her gaze, she would look away and they would part as nothing more than two breezes passing by.
He heard her walking away, and waited until he could no longer hear her before he looked up to watch her disappear behind a building on her way to the back of the convoy. Levy knew it was time to retreat to his bunker. Walking back down the road, his sadness was slowly replaced with anger and denial. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Had he really? His heart knew he had been too harsh, and unfair, and he’d only done this to himself. So he could be mad at no one but himself for getting involved instead of getting those marshmallows and going back to base. His months here had only been a secret because he’d kept to himself until recently, and he didn’t as of yet have some way of diverting his attention away from the towns and the people in them. All he could think was how difficult it was to replace what he craved above all else, which was interaction, communion.
What am I going to do? Levy dragged his feet, trying to walk to the airbase as slow as possible. The tide wouldn’t rise for another few hours, and would be gone again by 2200. The way he saw it, he had two options. He could just not meet her. He hadn’t said aloud that he would for sure before she walked away. She would never find him. He could wait until the Red Cross and all the cavalcades had left and one day, he would return to town, and Lia would not be there. It didn’t take him another thought beyond this to even consider hiding as an option. Hiding was what he did every day for a living, and it was more tiring than anything he’d ever experienced. Besides, he knew he would regret not talking to her again if he woke up one day and she was gone.
I only have one option, then. Unfortunately, his option felt like a maze. The goal was clear, he had to make up for his lies, but he didn’t know how to get there. His “secret” was barely real at that point, since she knew now that he was a pilot, not a sapper or infantryman, and he had never claimed to be one. But he had lied, perhaps inadvertently. He had always been closed off to the world, even before he enlisted, but for no other reason than it was his nature. Now he had something to protect. His memory, his shortcomings. He had never told a white lie this big, and to a complete stranger. You’re being selfish.
Would it be best to let her go on believing that one lie was all it was? He decided yes, if it meant she would stop pressing him for more answers. He could restore this layer and add another, like an onion, to keep himself from being any more disgraced than he already was. He could do it easily enough. At the end of the day, he had lied, but for all she knew, he actually hadn’t. If he could spin his story around to make her adjust her perception while still preserving the truth, everything would be better. And if he couldn’t complete this one little task, then he probably should have stayed at the base and suffered alone. At least he would have been alone with a clear conscience.
He spent the rest of the day checking the torches around the airfield, changing the positions of the decoy planes and spreading out the rubbish on the pavement. He jogged around like this for hours, setting up traps and sandbags, taking breaks only to get water. In reality, he trying to keep himself from thinking about what he would tell Lia, until the sun began to sink, and he went inside the bunker room, where his watch told him it was only 2000. He resolved to sit on the bench and write in his notebook everything he wanted to say to Lia. He was going to stay true to most of what he’d told her earlier, that he was at a base nearby, and so was his plane. He was just grounded temporarily, he’d come from London where the fight was. I’m just waiting to be relieved, I’m awaiting orders to rejoin the fight. I don’t know why someone has to be out here in the countryside, I’m just doing what I was told. I go where they tell me to go. “I’m sorry for lying, I didn’t mean to. I thought you might want to talk to me if I seemed like I was part of the ground troops.” I panicked. I am not supposed to discuss my assignment with anyone.
Somehow everything he came up with was still built on half-truths, but it all fit with the rest of his story so he would stick to it. Why couldn’t he stop lying to her? He wasn’t doing it to deceive her, or maybe he was, but his instinct for self preservation was strong, as strong as his desire to have her trust him. He still thought he could have both. Hopefully she would understand. He wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings, rather the opposite: he was trying to save them. He would spare her the gorey minutiae. The young woman didn’t want to know the truth of why he was here. She didn’t want to hear about how he’d been told he couldn’t fly anymore because of one cowardly decision in a moment of weakness.
He was afraid now, too, because if more people knew about his mistake, it meant he would be guilty everywhere he went. In the military, it was one thing. He was demoted and distrusted, and he was fine with that. But if people at home knew, they wouldn’t look at him the same. He wanted the whole thing to be forgotten here, across the sea, and if this nurse was the only person standing in the way of his family’s ignorance, then he would ensure that she wouldn’t know enough to tell another soul.
Of course, beneath the secrecy and uncertainty, there were other emotions, pure as the melting wax of a candle. Lia had been sweet and gracious, and he didn’t think there was anything he could do to repay her kindness. Tell her the truth, the whole of it, the still, small voice of conscience told him, covering a distance that the human voice could never reach, from mind to soul, in the span of two seconds.
Levy stopped his drawing and looked at his watch, knowing he was about to ignore what he knew was the right thing to do. He wasn’t brave enough to face Lia and spill his guts. He didn’t know her, didn’t know how she would react. Does it matter? No. Once outside, he set the smaller torches alight, planning to do the rest later if there were indeed any German planes in the sky tonight.
It was extremely dark in rural England, and an autumn breeze traveled over the hill to walk with him all the way back to the town. His heart was fluttering pathetically in his chest and his stomach was in knots the entire time until he stepped onto the cobblestone and he saw her. Lia was where she said she would be, patiently waiting for him to arrive, just outside the grasp of the lone streetlight. Her hair was wet and shone as a black pearl might. God, she’s beautifulー No. Focus. She had been right, of course, when she’d said they both needed time apart to sort their thoughts and put them in order. He was still nervous, but not as much in her presence as he had been on the path here. She was about as refreshing as the spring sun after a winter of clouds, and she gave him a sense of peace, to believe that even if things got bad, he would be okay.
“Hi,” he said quietly, stopping a few feet away from her. He made a concerted effort to meet her gaze this time. He wanted to smile, if only to see one on her face in return, but his eyes were wide and scared, his brow furrowed in sadness. More than anything, he wanted to blurt out everything he'd come up with, but knew he had to wait for her to ask her questions for this to work.
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Post by intentional on Mar 16, 2019 1:04:18 GMT -5
Lia’s hands were busy, as she tried to keep her thoughts in line as to what questions she would ask him. It wouldn’t do to just blurt a million questions at somebody— she’d have to follow a logical order. But admittedly, she was nervous. She’d only met Levy today, and already, she was quite smitten. So it was just logical that she’d be nervous to confront the man in the lies he’d told her because she cared. It annoyed her how much she cared what he thought about her, and how he was feeling above her own feelings. Cursed her compassionate heart— she was thinking of a million ways to phrase her questions so they could still come our of their conversation as friends. She thought of him as a friend, not a friend like Reece, but a different kind of friend. Someone she could share deeper thoughts with. And it saddened and frustrated her to not be able to share her own motivations of joining the ARC and requesting this part of Europe because she was just being hypocritical. How different was she from him when she was lying to him about her own truthful reason for being at this town? Would he look at her differently as she did him? How was she any different from him? Should she just leave?
In her frustration and nervousness, her wet hair was braided in a Finnish plait, letting the hair drape over her left shoulder. She’d pulled some of her hairs out, and was toying with them when she pulled on the hairs too hard that it ripped. She let her hands fall to her sides as she watched her warm breath slightly fog up the crisp night air, looking up at the dimly lit lamppost. What if he never came? What if she would never see him again? What would she do then? What was she supposed to do with her million unanswered questions and the guilt…! Oh, the guilt she would feel if she was just to leave him behind when he looked so… torn when she’d left him standing in the middle of the street. Her conscience would be the death of her. She’d never be able to forget those sad blue eyes.
She looked away from the lamppost and stared as far as she could see to the end of the cobblestoned street when she saw him. He was dressed in the same uniform he’d been in earlier, and she could see the insignia of the American Air Force on his left shoulder, along with the single silver bar, indicating his first lieutenant status. Even from the distance, all she could notice were his bright blue eyes, staring widely back at her as he approached closer to her. His presence in front of her woke her up instantly, like how a mint would refresh all your senses. She felt her back straighten as she tilted her head to be able to continue to stare into those blue eyes of his, ones she’d never forget.
He spoke first, breaking the soft silence, and she realized that all of the questions she’d managed to think of were rapidly being forgotten from her head. It was just so nice to see him again, and although he looked nervous and scared, his presence alone brought her a sense of comfort. She fought back the urge to close the distance between them to be able to stand close to him to feel his warmth.
“Hi.” She breathed out, her voice slightly shaking. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to come. I was hoping you would.” Lia spoke, her hazel eyes looking up at him. Her fingers played with the end of her braid, twirling it around her index finger as she was nervously trying to phrase the right words in her head.
“So you’re not part of this regiment. You’re not even a ground trooper— you’re a pilot. What’s a pilot doing out here in some town in the middle of nowhere of England? Where’s your plane? Is that why you’re coming from the direction of the hills? Why did you lie and introduce yourself as part of the regiment?” She asked. She felt a little bit breathless at the end of her questions, as she placed a hand on her chest, and finally looked up to meet his eyes once she was done.
She felt anxious as she awaited his reply. Either he would tell her the truth, or he would lie to her to feed her the answers he thought she’d want to hear. Because they’d only known each other for that day, she really couldn’t tell if he was lying. But she would trust her gut and watch his facial expressions as closely as possible to see if he was lying to her or not. She wanted to find out the reason he was lying, more than being annoyed at the fact that he lied to her in the first place. She also had herself to blame, she supposed, as she should’ve recognized the insignia when they first met, but she’d been busy trying to stitch up a patient. All she could do was wait with bated breath to see how Levy would answer her questions.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Mar 20, 2019 12:59:39 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942
He glanced up at the low yellow light, wondering if this interrogation would be easier if he pretended he was standing on a porch in the middle of summer, saying goodnight to a girl that actually liked him. Just pretend you’re back in the states. Any hope of successfully dissociating himself was shattered with his when he heard what she said. I wasn’t sure you were going to come. For half a beat, he hadn’t been sure either. Had it been any other girl, like Reece, or one of the nurses whose names he didn’t know, Levy knew he would still put himself through this, but it wouldn’t be because he really wanted to mend the spider-web silk thread of a connection that they had. It wasn’t much yet, but it meant so much to him that he didn’t want to see it torn. A waste of time for anyone else, but not for Levy, not for Lia. He figured it was worse for her because she didn’t know anything at all, couldn’t make a prediction about him except that he was probably a coward, and she was probably right. He couldn’t explain why, but this hurt his feelings, regardless of how she’d meant it. I probably deserved that.
She was toying with her braid and her voice wasn’t as steady as he’d come to expect from her. Was it possible? Was she just as nervous about confronting him as he was about feeding her more lies? She’s probably just cold.
Levy was more focused on analyzing her tone than her words. He knew what she was going to say for the most part, but he didn’t know how he would hear it. He was confused at how curious she was. He didn’t detect any malice and was stunned when she looked up at him once she stopped talking. He blinked, holding his breath and feeling very much like a cornered animal. He had to look away for a moment, swallowing any apologies and steeling himself to look at her again.
Shifting his weight, Levy sighed. “I told you, I’m stationed at a base a few miles away, and yes, it’s in the hills.” He started massaging the tendons on his knuckles. For a moment, he contemplated adding another lie, saying that he wasn’t alone at the base, but that would just lead her to more questions, as he’d already told her he was alone. “My plane was shot down outside London, and they sent me here, for what I think is a temporary assignment that I’m not supposed to talk about. I don’t know why, I mean, they could’ve just gotten me another plane and put me back in the fight, but they didn’t, so I’m here now.”
Despite the cool, gentle air of autumn, he was starting to sweat. He had butterflies in his stomach. He’d come so close to actually telling her the truth; he had been vague, but he hadn’t lied about anything except London. That’s mangeable, he thought, I can manage one lie. It was better than what he’d come up with before, which was mostly all made-up and would have demanded his undivided attention, something that would have been tough to give to anything else in his brain when he wanted to give it to Lia.
“I’m sorry I lied before, I─ it just slipped out. I didn’t mean to. I just… I’m stuck here, waiting to be relieved, and I thought─” Here he paused, licked his lips, and looked down at the street between them. His hesitation betrayed his embarrassment. “I thought you’d rather talk to me if you thought I was a soldier who was, you know. Fighting. Not a pilot who’s been… grounded. It’s not quite as grand.” Levy smiled awkwardly, searching for a response that said she had accepted his apology.
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Post by intentional on Mar 25, 2019 20:09:15 GMT -5
Lia’s fingers could feel her raging heartbeat as the sound of it thumped loudly in her ears, awaiting a response from Levy. Her heart felt like it was drumming a million miles a minute and she wondered if her questions had been too personal, too nosy, too much for this stranded soldier. What if she pushed him away with her questions? How could she live with the fact that she’d pushed this lovely man away and face the fact that she hadn’t been truthful to him herself? That guilt alone would definitely put a damper on her goal to find her biological family. But she wasn’t ready to tell anyone of her own reasons why she was here, and her hands began to sweat at that realization.
He looked away from her for a brief moment before he responded, and Lia found herself holding her breath. Was he going to walk away? Was he going to tell her more lies? What would he say? Would he say anything at all?
Her hands had rolled themselves into fists as she listened to his answers, and she could feel her nails dig themselves deeper into her palms (enough to make her bite her lip in discomfort at the mild pain) when he mentioned his plane being shot down. He definitely would’ve had other pilots flying nearby… was he the only survivor out of them? Sadness swept over her face briefly as she looked up to meet his eyes when he mentioned that being a grounded pilot wasn’t as grand as a foot soldier.
She found herself reaching for the lower hem of his jacket, gripping the area near the zipper line and pulling it towards her gently, wanting him to be as close to her as possible. She looked back up from the hem of his jacket, meeting his blue eyes with a small furrow between her brows.
“I don’t care about that. I want you to be yourself around me. I know we haven't known each other long... but I'd rather prefer you be you.” She said. “ I've liked talking to you and getting to know you so far. And I would’ve talked to you, even if you weren’t a foot soldier or a pilot.” She said with a small smile and a slight blush on her cheeks when she realized she'd said she liked him, the furrow between her brows disappearing. “You don’t have to hide things from me. I can keep a secret.”
As soon as she said that, her brain registered her own words, and she loosened the grip on his jacket until her hands fell back next to her sides. Her fingers started to play with the hem of her own jacket before meeting his eyes again. Her brain was screaming at her for being so selfish and hypocritical, and even partly cruel as the words escaped her lips. But she couldn’t help it. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with him. It was selfish, but she couldn’t just leave him like this.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” Lia asked, looking up from beneath her lashes with a small smile as her hands found themselves behind her back, nervously intertwined with each other, awaiting his response.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Mar 29, 2019 12:35:43 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942 ~ my thoughts are confusing to me, as if I don’t control them.
It was quiet for a time after he spoke. In that quiet, he found his gaze drifting from her face to the cobblestone behind her, then down to their shoes. Had he been truthful enough for her? He couldn’t have been any more honest without telling the whole story. When Levy looked at her again, he didn’t miss the sad frown on her face. She pities you.
He hated the idea, hated it because it seemed to be exactly how she felt at the moment. He would have preferred that she cast him aside and act completely indifferent toward him. Pity was one thing he didn’t want. He was almost afraid, perhaps subconsciously, that he would become complacent if he accepted pity without thinking. He knew she didn’t mean any disrespect, no one really did when offering pity, but Levy bit back another sigh to avoid expressing his discomfort. He didn’t want to interrupt the silence before she did. Instead of speaking, however, he felt a tug at his midsection, and his heart dropped, terror flashing in his eyes before he realized it was just Lia. Levy looked down at her hands with mild surprise. He couldn’t explain the sudden feeling of weightlessness, as if he had no worries on his shoulders. She pulled him closer to her, and what could he do but let her?
Her eyebrows were scrunched together a little, and at first he misinterpreted this as unease, but she held on to his jacket with determination, a shimmer in her eyes that told him he wouldn’t have gotten away if he’d tried. Besides, he didn’t want to risk running if it meant she wouldn’t forgive him.
He wanted her to notice when he wasn’t around. It was irrational, but if he could get someone like her to see him as a person, he would be okay with going through the rest of the war by himself. Lia would know he existed even if no one else did. She wouldn’t know anything about him except for his name and maybe she would tell her kids about him one day. Not much of a legacy. But it was all he wanted, for someone to acknowledge him while he was still alive, and maybe to mention him once in a while down the road, if he did somehow manage to get himself killed here. Too bad about that Pearson kid, he was a nice boy, his neighbors back home would say something along those lines. But what would Lia say, if she did remember him? He was weak. I gave him doughnuts, pitied him, left him behind for the blinding sun on the horizon.
“I don’t care about that.” Levy stared at her in disbelief. Her words were like ice on a bruise. He found it hard to believe that she would have talked to him no matter who he was, but he had no doubt in his mind. She wasn’t a liar. She was just that… ‘good’ didn’t do enough to describe her, but it was all he could come up with.
Lia smiled and Levy almost smiled back. Whatever she said then was real to him. He didn’t have to hide from her. Thank God. “Okay. Thank you.” His words were a breathless whisper. He glanced down again when she let go of him. He looked at her with concern, questioning whether something was wrong, perhaps she’d changed her mind and didn’t like talking to him at all. She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled again to reassure him. She wanted to see him again. Against his better judgement, he wanted the same.
“Yeah, I can… stop by again tomo-” He was suddenly distracted by the quick taps of someone’s shoes walking on the cobblestone, coming toward them from behind Lia. Levy stepped forward so he was beside her, his body angled defensively in front of her. Beneath the light, it was difficult to see very far down the street, and Levy had to squint to see who it was. As they came closer, he realized it was one of the soldiers, nearly tripping with how fast he was going, barely picking up his feet when he stepped.
“Good evening sir, I thought I recognized you from earlier.” The man’s words were meant to be well-received, but he sounded like he was on the verge of panic, and as such, did not salute or introduce himself.
“Are you a nurse?” He was addressing Lia now. “A couple of guys have been looking for one of you, no one was at the ARC vehicle, so they went to the inns and I’ve been looking in the streets just in case you were somewhere else.” He barely paused to take a breath. “Something’s wrong with Colby, we don’t know what. He just started choking and blood came up and he was shivering and sweating and so someone rolled him on his side ‘cause he kept going unconscious and then waking up and asking for water, we didn’t give him any, and we’ve been trying to find a nurse.”
“Was he one of the ones who was treated this morning?” Levy asked, to which the man nodded.
“He was, and he was fine until just ten minutes ago. He’s in the medical tent. Please, will you help?” He turned around to lead them back when they nodded in return; of course they would help.
They were not the first ones to arrive at the scene. Some of the other soldiers had obviously found the ARC members and brought four of them back. Levy didn’t see Reece among them as they surrounded the cot. Colby was coughing, a wet sound, thick with blood and gasping for air in between. They had propped his legs up with pillows and lain a blanket over. His shirt was open and there were bruises wrapped around his body at the level of his xiphoid process. One of them was inspecting the stitches over his ribs. Another girl was dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth and talking to him to keep him calm.
“Lia!” One of the young women called to her, waved her over. Levy followed, unsure of what else to do and not keen to leave her side.
“He’s bleeding internally. We’ve tried everything, but without knowing where it’s coming from, I don’t know what else to do.”
“I’m going to get some more water,” the soldier that had brought them here interjected, and the nurse nodded her thanks before he ran off.
“Lia, I need you to get my bag from the clubmobile, there’s bleeding inhibitor medicine in there. Maybe it’ll buy us time until we can find a surgeon. Does anyone know if there’s a doctor nearby?”
Levy bit his lip, thinking. “I can go around and ask the locals?”
“Okay, good. Take some of this crowd with you, get them out of my way.” The nurse turned back to her patient, and Levy glanced at Lia, a silent agreement between them. They would meet back here. Levy grabbed a couple of the soldiers who were watching, pulling them out of the tent and telling them what their job was, before he went back to wake Nico.
It didn’t take long for the man to come to the door with Levy pounding on it. “Jesus, boy, what are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?” He was in his pajamas and tying a robe around his middle, frowning at Levy.
“We need a doctor. Or a surgeon. Someone who knows how to stop internal bleeding.”
“You don’t already have someone like that?” Levy shook his head, “no, not in this group.” Nico sighed, but his face became less wrinkled in understanding.
“There is a physician here, Dr. Joseph, and his assistant. I’ll take you to his home.”
“Thank you,” Levy said, and with that, Nico put his boots on and led him to a house that was only in slightly better condition than the rest, probably recently renovated to counteract the suction of the marsh beneath its fragile foundation. Nico knocked on the door and a man, younger than Levy had been expecting, answered.
“Luca,” Nico greeted, “Is Joe here?” The young man shook his head. “He’s a town over ‘til tomorrow.”
“This young man has a friend who needs some attention. Internal bleeding, you said?”
Levy nodded, and Luca mirrored him. “Let me get my things.”
On the way back, Levy noticed the doctor’s assistant was walking with a limp, but it didn’t slow him down much. They re-entered the tent to find Colby unconscious this time. Most of the soldiers had been sent to wait outside. Levy immediately began to look for Lia among the Red Cross members, and Luca approached Colby with what Levy assumed was a surgical kit.
“We found the doctor’s assistant here,” Levy informed them, and they rearranged themselves into a medical team with machine-like precision, ready to assist Luca however they could.
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Post by intentional on Apr 2, 2019 0:22:01 GMT -5
She nervously awaited his response, and when he finally replied, it felt like a tremendous weight was lifted off of her heart. She let out a soft sigh of relief, and her hands that had coiled themselves together became undone. She realized how sweaty her hands were and rubbed them against the fabric of her jacket as she listened to Levy’s response of seeing her tomorrow when suddenly he stepped forward towards her. Lia’s face immediately flushed at the sudden closeness and her arms reached up to wrap them around him when she realized that there was someone else in the distance, and that was who Levy was shielding her from. She quickly dropped her arms and peered at the man in the distance from behind Levy’s taller form when the man approached them, his face full of panic.
The unnamed soldier addressed her about a different soldier named Colby. From the short list of symptoms that he was describing, at first glance, it seemed like he was suffering from some sort of internal bleeding. All nervousness from her and Levy’s discussion was gone and her face was serious as she and Levy followed the soldier to the medical tent.
There were four other ARC members in the tent along with some other soldiers. She heard Colby first before she could see him, as she squeezed herself past the worried soldiers to look at the wounded man. Her eyes scanned the soldier quickly, noting the dark bruises around his xiphoid process. Her ears perked up at someone shouting her name, and the girl briefly explained the situation.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Lia said, facing the direction of the clubmobile. But before she left, she glanced back at Levy and gave him a small nod. They would meet back in the tent. They both had their jobs to do to save this man.
Lia ran as fast as she could to the clubmobile and found the bag with the bleeding inhibitor medicine. She also grabbed extra clean towels and dashed back to the tent where she found the older nurse. The two worked together to administer the medicine and Lia started to softly palpate the bruised area on his chest. The other nurse was focused on the airway, making sure that Colby was still breathing when she looked up to someone entering the tent. Levy and a stranger entered, and Levy informed that he’d brought the doctor’s assistant. Better than no doctor.
He wordlessly opened up his surgical kit and put on a pair of sterile gloves. He also palpated the area before pulling out an iodine swab from his kit. As he rubbed the iodine across the bruised chest, he looked up at the nurses surrounding him.
“You, maintain his airway. Make sure he’s still breathing.”
“You, start an IV and hang the blood bags I’ve brought. Once I cut into him, he’s going to start losing more blood.” He ordered another nurse.
“And you two will be assisting me. Put on a pair of gloves and do exactly as I tell you.” He said, staring at Lia and Reece. The two girls nodded and put on their gloves as he cut into the man’s chest.
The three worked tirelessly through the night to get Colby’s internal bleeding under control. There was blood everywhere, and the towels and gauze were all soaked through by the time Luca had located the source of the bleeding and was stitching it up. Lia’s hands were soaked with blood by the time they were finished, and she watched with amazement as the doctor’s assistant finished stitching Colby back up and dressed the wound with an antiseptic and wrapped it with a clean bandage.
“He needs to be monitored for several days. Make sure that wound stays clean and give him this when he wakes up for the next three days.” He said, handing the nurses a packet of sulfadiazine.
“Thank you.” Lia came up to him when the other nurses were getting everything cleaned up.
“It’s my job.” He shrugged. “The real doctor will be back tomorrow, and we’ll be back to check on him.”
“Thanks anyways. He probably would’ve died without you.” She said. “My name is Lia, by the way.” She gave him a smile.
“Luca.” The man curtly responded. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow with Dr. Joseph.” He said before leaving.
Lia was surprised at how curt and almost cold the doctor-in-training was as he introduced himself and left so quickly. Was it something she did during the surgery? Or something she said with her body language? At the moment, though, she couldn’t be bothered. Now the adrenaline was starting to wear off from the pressure of trying to keep Colby alive, and Lia sank to the floor, sitting on the steps that led to a shop not too far from the medical tent. The tension left her body as she rubbed her tired eyes. What a night. She was glad that her talk with Levy had gone well so she didn’t have that nagging in the corner of her head while she was helping Luca with Colby’s surgery.
Speaking of Levy, she hadn’t seen him at all since before the commotion in the medical tent. She wondered if he’d already went back to his base in the hills.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Apr 5, 2019 10:12:52 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 6th, 1942
He had to admire the way the personnel in that tent had been trained. They had the capacity to save someone’s life, they knew how to undo the damage that people did to each other in these wars, and they didn’t shy away from something that seemed insurmountable to him. They didn’t judge, they helped. He wished he were able to help, if just a little more. Maybe if he had the quiet courage of these nurses, he might not have been the only one on the plane that survived.
Luca gave quick orders, and as soon as benzylpenicillin was administered and the scalpel touched Colby’s skin, Levy figured it was time for him to leave. He didn’t go far at first, hovering by the entrance to the tent and watching the other soldiers who were awake, pacing nearby. Nico had already left, presumably before the doctor’s assistant had even reached the tent. An hour passed and a handful of the soldiers returned to bed. Two hours passed, and Levy had to dismiss the persistent ones with a gentle shake of the head when they asked about their friend for the tenth time
“He’ll be fine by morning, you’ll see. They won’t let you in to visit him until then, anyway. Get some rest.”
The night grew quiet after they left, an alone kind of quiet that hugged him and displaced all the organs in his chest with emptiness. At 0200 hours, his feet started to ache. He’d been standing almost all day, and now a majority of the night, and Levy started wandering, trying to regain feeling in his legs. The crickets he uncovered as he walked were not amused, chirruping at him until he turned around and could no longer hear them as he returned to the medical tent where he resolved to wait.
He ended up sitting on the ground outside despite the dampness, but he didn’t sleep, too afraid that he would awake to water around his waist, or not wake at all, somehow carried to the open marshes by the morning tide and drowned. So there he sat, listening to the occasional voice of Luca inside, asking for a tool or more gauze. Levy watched the starry sky for passing shadows of planes, but there were none. All was well, they were safe tonight. Eventually, the lowest part of his spine started to go numb, and he stood to walk around again. It was getting lighter, ever so softly, when he came back to find the nurses in the tent were doing the last of the clean-up. Colby was asleep. Luca was gone, and so was Lia.
Levy frowned, confused, wondering where she could have gone in the short time since he’d left. He didn’t have to wonder long, as he circled the tent, he found her sitting on someone’s front stoop. She looked exhausted, but not unhappy. Levy went over and sat beside her.
“Hey-” He said, his voice stopping abruptly, making it clear that he had more to say, but he didn’t continue immediately. It was not because he was afraid of fumbling his words, but because he was testing the quiet that came with her presence. He preferred it to being alone, which made him want to scream the way a muzzle made a dog want to bark. This quiet was full of potential; he could say whatever he wanted without fear of punishment. Well, almost.
“You looked great in there, for a cadet. I, er- I mean- ehm- not just you, of course, all of you, doctor’s assistant and nurses and… everyone. I mean- I just- you did a good thing. I would be too afraid of doing something like that.” Levy glanced at her shyly and smiled, the corners of his mouth turning up a tiny bit. He rubbed his palms on his knees, now at a loss for words, knowing there wasn’t much more for them to talk about tonight. His watch said it was four in the morning.
“I guess I should head back, huh?” He didn’t want to leave like this, or leave at all, really. But he had to remind himself that they were still unfamiliar with each other. It had been but one day since they’d met; It felt like he’d known her his whole life. Don’t get ahead of yourself. She’s only here temporarily. He would have to learn to say goodbye eventually.
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Post by intentional on Apr 6, 2019 16:16:07 GMT -5
As she sat on the steps, she thought back to her hectic day. First, she’d spent the day taking care of the injured troops with Reece until she’d met him. Levy. Who knew that this man, whom she’d just met, would have such an effect on her? It had only been 24 hours since she and Levy met and her mind was already consumed with thoughts of him. They’d went shopping for his marshmallows together, met the storekeeper Nico, helped Colby out of a sticky situation, and finally, met Luca, the local doctor-in-training. She let out a soft sigh and saw her breath materialize into a visible fog and looked up at the starry night sky, wrapping her arms around herself realizing how cold the temperature had gotten. Would she see him tomorrow? Levy was about to respond to her request to meet up tomorrow before he was cut off by the whole Colby situation. She decided she would walk around a bit to find Levy when she spotted him coming in her direction. He sat beside her, and as he complimented her, she could feel herself snuggling closer to him, as he made her feel warm, both body and soul.
She smiled at his stumbling of compliments and beamed brighter, making her dimples more prominent, as she saw him smile fully for the first time since they’d met. Until now, all the smiles he’d given seemed only half-there, like he was feeling guilty (now she knew why). She stared at him, committing his smile to her memory as she leaned her head softly against his shoulder.
“Thanks. Truthfully, I was terrified while I was in the tent. Even though Luca was telling me what to do, it felt like Colby could die any moment. But I don’t think being scared is a bad thing — it’s a very natural response to an unfamiliar situation.” She said with a soft smile before lifting her head to meet his eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” She asked, mentally scolding herself at how needy she sounded, but she did want to see him tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that as well.
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After Lia watched Levy disappear to his bunker in the hills, she went inside the room she shared with Reece. Luckily, the girl was asleep due to the exhaustion of the night’s stressful events, and Lia was free from her friend’s interrogation, and she managed to snuggle next to her under the covers for a few hours of sleep until she could see Levy again.
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The next day, Lia was woken up by Reece, who was all ready to go and tackle the day. The girl sleepily woke up before getting ready, and tied her hair into a ponytail, letting long strands fall out and frame her face.
Before she could meet up with Levy, she would have to do some work around here. She rotated out with the nurses that took care of Colby throughout the night and received his status info. He still hadn’t woken up from last night’s emergency surgery, and she, Reece and another nurse would be responsible for his care until Dr. Joseph and Luca would visit.
Lia was busy with cleaning the incision site, making sure it didn’t get infected while Reece and the other nurse were monitoring his blood pressure, breathing, temperature and pulse.
“So.” Reece gave her a look as Lia was redressing the soldier’s wound. “What happened with him? Did he tell you why he was here?”
“He’s not a spy, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Lia spoke softly, her eyes focused on Colby’s incision. “He’s here on a temporary assignment after his plane was shot down. The assignment’s top secret, obviously — he wouldn’t tell me what it was, and no, I’m not going to pry on what it is.”
“Of course a spy would lie to you and tell you he’s not a spy. Do you have proof?” Reece asked.
“If he was a spy, I’m sure he would’ve called for planes to drop bombs over us, Reece. I’m positive he’s not a spy.” She firmly defended him and gave her a look, signaling the end of this conversation.
After a period of silence as they worked on Colby, Reece spoke again, switching topics this time.
“When’s the doctor and his assistant supposed to get here?” Reece asked.
“Luca didn’t say. I’m sure he’ll be here once the doctor comes back into town.” Lia answered. “Or I could ask Levy where he brought Luca from.”
“Levy?” Reece asked.
“First Lieutenant Pearson. Levy’s his first name.” She clarified.
Reece didn’t seem too pleased at Lia calling Levy by his first name and how defensive she was over the man, but let out a soft sigh.
“Well, go look for him. I’d hate to think that doctor in training forgot about Colby here.” Reece said, dismissing her.
Lia didn’t ask twice to leave the mildly uncomfortable situation and washed up her hands before leaving the medical tent, switching places with another donut dolly that was due to take over. She didn’t know where Levy was, and walked towards the place where she’d last seen him disappear towards the hills.
On the way, she ran into a couple of townspeople who gave her a friendly smile, and her brain lit up as she remembered the real reason she was here in England. To find her real family. So she mustered up the courage and asked a couple of the passerby townspeople about a family called the Ossani’s. To her disappointment, the townspeople just shook their heads and gave a small sympathetic smile before going on their way. After asking another man that she ran into on her way, she leaned against a lamppost, disappointed in her findings. Maybe she had the wrong name? But she had double checked. Triple checked. She pulled out a copy she’d made of her adoption records and read the names of her birth parents for the millionth time. Leo and Emma Ossani. Born in Dover, England. She was in the right town. But where were her birth parents?
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Apr 7, 2019 14:40:29 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 7th, 1942
“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He thought that nothing could ruin this night, or this morning, whichever it was. Nothing could replaced the feeling of Lia’s head on his shoulder, as if they were best friends, unconditionally. He was honored by the fact that she felt so comfortable around him, he was almost proud. Her words made it seem like she knew exactly what he was thinking, that being scared was a bad thing, and nothing she could say would make him think otherwise. He had made a mistake when he was scared and it cost six lies. Nothing can overshadow this, he thought, clinging to the happiness, and he left the town under that illusion, he walked by himself all the way back to base, still believing this was true as he fell asleep. Naturally, the four hours of sleep that he did have would shatter the illusion as if it were nothing more than an icicle. Any traces of happiness left from yesterday snapped like fraying rope.
He didn’t always have dreams that were plagued with the darkness of the ocean, but Levy woke up with a sore jaw from clenching his teeth, a cold sweat on his skin. For a few minutes, quietly though no one would hear him, he had to fight the urge to cry. He rubbed his eyes each time a tear spilled over until his skin was red and stinging, a painful reminder that he was still alive. When the choking sensation of fingers on his throat finally faded, Levy got up and showered fast as he could. Outside the bunker room, he found a gray sky drizzling sleepy rain on the grooved cement of the airfield. Any flames still burning last night had gone out by now.
Hoping Lia was still asleep after such a long night, he went back to the drawing in his notebook, which was shaping itself into a feminine face with each pencil stroke and he wasn’t sure why he kept at it. It was just another thing he was pretending was real; he didn’t have a picture of her, the way that other soldiers carried pictures of their lovers or fiancées. A drawing would be good enough to remember her face by, once she left. She might even give him a mailing address to write to after it was over, if he ever had the nerve to ask. But he wouldn’t bother her with that today. Or any day. She would say no. It would be a waste of time and leave a scar. Levy turned the page and drew an iris flower, daydreaming about the smile on Lia’s face that would appear if he could bring her a real flower on the day she left, to thank her for everything she’d done for him by making him feel better, however temporary. Again, it wouldn’t happen that way. There were no flowers in bloom in the middle of autumn on the English hillside. That would be too much to ask for. He would simply have to steel himself for a disappointing departure.
You still have time. Levy shut his notebook and stepped through the door again. The rain had stopped for the most part, reduced to a gentle drop or two every other minute, so he headed in the direction of the town, walking quickly. Thunder rumbled with a low, distant sound, and part of him wondered if it was really just thunder he heard, and not explosions. Shadows drifted over him and he glanced upward with a spike of fear, only to see it was a large bird of prey, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He kept walking until he could see the outskirts of Dover, and his shoulders tensed again as soon as he recognized Lia. What was she doing so far from the clubmobile and the group of jeeps? It looked as if she had been coming his direction before she’d paused at a lamppost, its light turned off in the daylight. She had a piece of paper in her hands.
Oh my god. The paper could have been a million different things: a prescription, a grocery list, a letter to her family, but his first thought was she knows. Somehow she had the files, she had the death certificates that he’d filled out for his men. Killed in action. Levy was at a crossroads again. She hadn’t seen him yet, he could turn and run. Yet it was such an open road, nowhere to take cover, the only buildings were closer to her than they were to him. So he sucked in a lungful of air and approached her. Something prompted him to greet her with his attempt at the local British accent. Perhaps he wanted to distract her, or distract himself and make him believe he was fine.
“Good morning, cadet!” He said in a poorly falsified accent, then he became serious. “What’s wrong, what are you doing out here? Is Colby okay? I told his friends that he would be okay.” Why he included the last sentence, why he told her that, he didn’t know. It probably made him look weak. He couldn’t keep that promise. They had all known it. “That was… dumb of me, wasn’t it? Silly.”
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Post by intentional on Apr 8, 2019 2:07:00 GMT -5
Her hazel eyes scanned the paper for the millionth time and let out a soft sigh when she suddenly heard a strange British accent directed her way. She jumped at the sudden sound and looked up to recognize that it was Levy. She hurriedly folded the paper and tucked it away in the folds of her clothes on her chest as her heart continued to pound inside her ribcage. Had he seen what was on the paper? Did he know the real reason why she was here?
Levy greeted her with a series of questions with the ever-present serious look on his handsome face, and for a moment, she thought she was a goner. Exposed as a liar to the man she’d confronted for lying to her last night. What a hypocrite. She was such a hypocrite. The guilt bubbled inside her, threatening to spill over, when he mentioned Colby, the wounded soldier from last night. Then she remembered Reece and their talk this morning and how Lia had escaped her friend to go search for the doctor.
“Good morning, Levy. He’s stable.” Lia reassured Levy with a small smile, shaking her head at the statement of his stupidity. “You’re not dumb. It just means that you were confident in us to help Colby. Thanks for trusting in us.” She bit her lip as her words escaped her mouth, wanting to punch herself for her hypocritical words. Her hands snaked themselves behind her and atop of her lower back, a habit she’d developed when she was nervous.
“Anyways, I was waiting for you. You’re the only one who knows where the doctor and his assistant lives. Reece wanted me to get them just in case they forgot about Colby. He’s due for a proper checkup after that surgery last night.” Lia said.
She unclasped her hands from behind her back, trying to calm herself down. Her hands adjusted the long hairs that framed her face and tightened her ponytail before standing up a bit straighter.
“Now let’s go find the doctors. We’re lucky to have a pair in town… they could also look at the other injured soldiers along with Colby.” She said, as they started to walk in the doctors’ direction. And after a moment’s pause as they walked, she turned towards him, a cheeky grin on her face. “What was that awful British accent that you did this morning?” She asked with a light chuckle.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Apr 12, 2019 18:09:45 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 7th, 1942
Levy didn’t miss how hastily she put away the paper. She doesn’t know. Relief washed over him, cleansing as the rain that dripped from the sky. She didn’t have anything about him in her hands. She hadn’t come looking for him to confront him again, or to call him out for lying about London. What then? Lia had jumped at the sound of his voice, looking at him with the unmistakable impassivity of someone hiding something. Guilt, maybe? He couldn’t imagine that she had anything to be guilty about, but his curiosity was piqued. What was on that paper that she didn’t want him to see?
Leave it alone. She had the right to keep her privacy. They hardly knew each other, and despite what she’d said last night about not having to hide from her, apparently she hadn’t also meant the same for herself. If he’d said something then, if he’d told her she could trust him too, would this interaction have gone differently? He couldn’t have returned the words, regardless. She couldn’t trust him, ultimately. He could keep secrets too. It was all too clear to him now that whatever had started between them, there was no stopping for honesty at this point. Levy shivered, bringing his mind back to the present. Her words were reassuring, and she bit her lip in a way that was infuriatingly cute. Subconsciously, he mirrored her, biting his lip. “I was waiting for you.” He dropped his gaze, unsure how to respond and trying to quell the butterflies in his stomach.
“Oh, Nico was the one who showed me where they live. It’s this way.” Levy fell into step beside her as they headed down a street to the right. He was expecting the usual contented quiet to keep them company, but she surprised him when she turned towards him with a lovely smile, big as the moon. Her laughter was soft and sweet, lilting up and down like a harp. Her words didn’t register at first, caught up as he was in just listening to the notes of her voice.
“Wait, ‘awful’? I thought it was pretty good.” Levy said lightheartedly, conveying a smile with his voice but not on his face. Despite the cold, wet atmosphere around them, his cheeks were pink. I wanted to hear you laugh. He was blushing. “I’ve been trying to convince the locals that I’m one of them. I don’t know if it’s working.” He let out a little huff of a laugh as they turned onto the street.
“So, where are you from, Lia?” He asked as they approached the doctor’s house. From here, they could see the curtains were drawn back, so they knew someone was home. Hopefully it was Dr. Joseph, back from his other visit. Levy got the impression that Luca wouldn’t want to be bothered again unless his mentor, an actual physician, was there to assist. Levy glanced sideways at Lia, quietly admiring her eyes and the kindness he knew was always there.
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Post by intentional on Apr 20, 2019 23:19:44 GMT -5
Lia followed Levy as he led the way to Luca’s place. Her eyes scanned the street and its many signs, trying to find anything that read “Ossani”. Nico was the one who’d led Levy to the doctor… maybe he’d know something about her birth family. Maybe they didn’t live in this town anymore; after all, they had given her up when she was two years old, which was more than 20 years ago. Then was there no hope to finding them?
She shook that last thought out of her head as she stared back at Levy, who was answering her lighthearted questions. She noted his cheeks were pink, maybe due to the cold (or was he blushing?) and she smiled at his jokes.
“I don’t think they’d be too impressed with the accent.” Lia grinned as they turned onto the street. “I’m from a town called Plymouth in Massachusetts. It’s a coastal town, not too far from Boston. How about you?”
They were slowly approaching the doctor’s house, and she saw that the curtains were drawn back, meaning someone was home. Lia hoped that both doctors were present to go see Colby. If the doctors were present at the tent, then maybe she would have more time to maybe ask other townspeople or even ask Nico. But should she ask Levy for his help? What should she say? Should she even ask him for help? What would he think of her if she told him the real reason why she joined the ARC and came all the way to England to help fight in the war? This was all for her personal benefit. She wasn’t noble like him, fighting on behalf of the country, fighting against fascism and the Nazis. Maybe she shouldn’t ask such personal questions to Levy if he was just going to leave. But she wanted to. She really wanted to. She wanted to know more, wanted to know everything about Levy.
As they stood in front of the doctors’ house, Lia stared at Levy for a nervous second before knocking on the door. She stepped back, standing next to Levy as she could hear shuffling behind the door.
-
Luca had just been tidying up all the supplies he and Dr. Joseph would need to go visit the soldiers when there was a sharp knocking at the door. The doctor was changing and washing up after he’d just come back into town just two hours prior.
He limped to the door only to be greeted by relatively familiar faces; one was the soldier that had found him last night and the other was one of the nurses that had assisted him with the emergency surgery. Lia, was her name.
-
“We were just on our way, but you two can come in. Dr. Joseph is just cleaning up from his trip.” Luca said, inviting the two in. The man limped back inside and Lia entered the home first, scanning her surroundings. It was very clean, as was expected, and she noted that Luca had a limp, something she hadn’t noticed last night.
“I’ll just let him know that you are here. We can head back together.” Luca said, before limping away to one of the other rooms. Once she knew the man was out of earshot, she turned to Levy.
“Did you notice he has a slight limp?” She asked, looking up at Levy's face.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on Apr 27, 2019 23:00:10 GMT -5
L.D.P. September 7th, 1942
Their steps fell in quiet clicks on the cobblestone. They were asynchronous, so each time his shoe made a tap, hers would echo as if from corpses underground. He was quickly swept away by the notion that there could be many bodies hidden in the marshes around town. It seemed all too easy to stray from the street and end up sinking. Just one step was all it would take, one mistimed step at dawn or dusk when the tide rose above the town’s framework. How many mothers had turned their backs long enough to lose their child to the marsh? How many overconfident men tried to test their strength, thinking they could swim well enough to save themselves from the marsh?
While Lia’s eyes wandered from one sign to another, looking anywhere but at him, Levy fought back the images in his head. His brow scrunched together and his nose wrinkled and he pressed the back of his fingers against his forehead as if to banish a headache. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. There aren’t any bodies down there. Her words brought him back momentarily. She was grinning. Plymouth, Massachusetts. Not far from Boston.
“You live near a beach then, kind of like here?” Levy had never been close enough to the beach to touch the English sand. It was only a few miles from Dover, and he could see it if he walked in the opposite direction from the base and stopped on one of the climbing hills, but he would never walk to it willingly. There was enough water here below sea level, in this little puddle of a town.
“Well, my family lived in Tennessee ‘til I was about twelve, so half my life, I guess. But I’m from Beckley now. It’s in West Virginia.”
He would have loved to talk more, to hear about her life before the war, how happy she must have been. Did she have siblings? Did she like to go to the park and press flowers into her favorite books, skip rocks on the pond? Alas, everything he wanted to know, he would have to be patient for. They had landed on the doctor’s front stoop again. Lia knocked on the door before stepping back and standing beside him, waiting for the door to swing open.
And swing open it did. Luca spoke briskly, welcoming them in but in a way that portrayed an impatience. He already seemed to know why they were here. Levy hung back, letting her walk through the door first. They entered a neat mudroom, and Luca went to get the doctor, leaning on a cane that he hadn’t been using yesterday. Levy watched the man, trying to decide what had caused the limp in his leg. Lia distracted him, her eyes wide with questioning. Levy shrugged.
“Yes, I was wondering about that.”
-
Dover’s physician was in the back of the house, pulling on a pair of clean trousers. He tossed his blood-stained clothes in the basket to wash later, having just returned from a neighboring town where he’d assisted with a midwife’s delivery. Joe was pulling a shirt from the dresser when a figure in the corner of his eye made him turn. Luca was looking at him expectantly. The young man wasted no time, informing him that there were people waiting for them.
“It’s the soldier and the American Red Cross nurse I told you about, from the battalion on Main,” he said, sounding a bit miffed about it, but Joe nodded, used to his protege’s somber demeanor. He had taken care of the boy when he returned, wounded from the fight, alone after his family had perished in a house-fire. He understood better than most the reason for Luca’s sorry attitude and tough exterior.
“They’ve got perfect timing, for Americans. I’ll be right there, mind grabbing my bag off the bed for me, son?” As Luca did that, organizing the tools of the trade and putting them in the duffel bag, Joe unfolded the shirt he was holding and put it on, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows. He went into the bathroom, washing his hands as he did meticulously, many times a day. He could hear Luca’s cane retreating from the bedroom, presumably going back to the front door with the doctor’s bag. With a muffled yawn, Joe dried his hands on a towel and followed, passing the conjoined dining room and living room, the fireplace mantel tastefully decorated with little carved bears and pictures from some of his patients, most of them children. Joe himself didn’t have any, didn’t have a wife either, but he preferred to live the bachelor’s life. His patients were his family, and now with Luca as a constant presence, he was rarely disappointed with the cards he’d been dealt.
-
Luca wasn’t even gone for a minute, giving them no time to gossip about him. Probably that’s for the best. Though he didn’t want to be, Levy was curious. Had he been a soldier in the war, too? Or was the limp just something he was born with? Regardless, now wasn’t the time to talk about it, not in the man’s home, anyway. If either of them really cared to discuss it further, they would have to wait until a better time. He was carrying a navy bag with a white medical cross stitched into the side, but he set it down as he stopped in front of them.
“Dr. Joseph is almost ready.” The doctor’s apprentice looked about as tired as Levy felt, and he offered a small, admittedly awkward smile of gratitude to the man, who couldn’t have been more than thirty. Joe appeared momentarily, joining them in the mudroom. Levy wasn’t sure what he expected the doctor to look like. Thin and scholarly, maybe? Wide-set and wise? Dr. Joseph was somehow the opposite of anything he could have imagined. The man towered over even Levy and he seemed very strong. His dark hair was salt-and-peppery along the edges and showed his age, but the smile he greeted them with was free of inhibitions and seemed genuine.
“Good morning! I hear you two played a big part in the saving of a young man’s life. I appreciate all your help in my absence, and I’m sure Luca does too.” Was it his imagination, or did Luca actually scowl in resentment at that assumption? Just a trick of the light. The day itself was dimly lit, after all, what with the rain clouds and shadows of rain on the windows distorting everything on the other side of the glass. Dr. Joseph’s brown eyes continued to smile at them as his countenance became more attentive to their reactions. He was pleased to meet two complete strangers, as if he thrived on new challenges, and that was likely what drove him to become a doctor in the first place. The man was an open book, but in a good way, and Levy was mildly surprised by this.
“What are your names?” Joe asked them, and Levy’s breath hitched in his throat before he could answer. He wasn’t going to lie, he was intimidated, and his instinct was split in two, divided between the biggest parts of his personality. His military training drilled into his mind, telling him to stand his ground, straighten his posture and lift his chin in deference to a superior, but his nature was to make himself smaller, submissive, less of a man. Not that you are a man at all. You’re a coward. I bet the doctor has never been scared and done something as bad as you did. As he tried to shove down his intrusive thoughts, Lia introduced herself first, sparing him from stumbling over his words and making a fool of himself. Joe repeated her name as she had said it and shaking her hand, “Lia,” to ensure he wouldn’t forget it. He never forgot a name. Faces, however, were a bit more challenging for his factual mind.
Levy’s muscles ended up jerking his upper body into something of a mix between the two opposing thoughts, though his nature inherently showed dominance over his actions. He stood up a little taller as he’d been instructed to do, but he tucked his chin in and lowered his gaze in respect. He didn’t see the smirk on Dr. Joseph’s face. Shy boy, he thought, reaching out to shake Levy’s hand.
“First Lieutenant Pearson, sir.” Joe laughed at this, and the sudden loudness of his laugh made Levy flinch. He looked up at Joe, afraid he’d said something wrong.
“I’m no officer, son. No need to use that ‘sir’ title-nonsense. Call me Joe. Now, what’s your first name?”
“Oh. Levy.”
“Pleasure to meet you both.”
Joe turned toward Luca, bending to pick up his bag of medical supplies. “Now then, shall we check on this soldier friend of yours? Sounds like he had a busy day.” They nodded, and the four of them left the house, coming back onto the street and beginning the short walk to where the jeeps and medical tents stood. Joe set the pace to what he knew Luca was comfortable with, knowing the young man wouldn’t complain even if they went any faster.
“Tell me, Lia, what made you want to join the war effort in such a capacity as a nurse? Very admirable,” Joe said, making small talk as they walked.
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Post by intentional on Apr 29, 2019 19:30:08 GMT -5
Lia slightly frowned at seeing Luca’s limp before the man appeared to them again, this time with the doctor himself behind him. He was not as old as she’d imagined him to be, and he was very tall, taller than both Levy and Luca. He almost reminded her of her father, and she felt a surge of emotions as she thought back on her parents and how worried they must be for their daughter to be helping in a war in a foreign country. She missed them terribly and made a small note in her head to write them a letter, updating them on her situation.
She smiled at the doctor’s greeting and she found herself looking at the doctor’s assistant once more. He almost seemed as if he was scowling at the good doctor’s words, as if he didn’t believe in them. For a brief moment, their eyes met, her hazel ones meeting his green ones. She stared back, mesmerized by how dark they were before he broke their eye contact first, looking back at the doctor. She looked to the doctor as well, introducing herself and watched Levy introduce himself as well.
The four of them left the house, following Dr. Joseph’s lead in a comfortable pace, which Lia realized a few minutes in, was for Luca’s sake. She couldn’t help but be drawn to the man walking with the cane, his leather medical bag slung over his left shoulder, watching his left arm muscles move every time he used his cane. Her attention snapped back to reality as Dr. Joseph asked her a question, making conversation as they walked back to the medical tents.
“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse when I was little. I figured I could and should help out in the war effort in something I was passionate about rather than working in a factory.” Lia said, giving the older man a small smile. She couldn’t help but be stung at his last words of admiration as her hands clasped each other behind her back, signaling her nervousness. She felt like an imposter, fooling everyone with her sweet story as she hid behind her lies to try and lessen her guilt as to her stronger motivation of joining the war. They may even be killed or died due to illness. What had made her think that her family was still alive and healthy and was waiting for her to find them? If they were dead, had she really come here for nothing?
No, not nothing. She thought, shaking her head from the dark thoughts. She found herself staring at Levy. And just staring at the tall soldier made a difference. If she hadn’t come, she wouldn’t have met Levy. And that was one thing that she did not regret doing. She hadn’t really realized how dependent she was on him for her internal emotional doubts and how he always seemed to lift her up in her moments of self-doubt and self-hatred. She felt her nervousness ebb away slowly and she walked closer in step with Levy, her shoulder slightly touching his arm as they walked.
-
When the ARC nurse, Lia, smiled, it looked vaguely familiar to Luca. It was something he’d seen before, but he just couldn’t place where. And when their eyes met back inside their home, it seemed he was almost there as to remember where he’d seen her before, but the feeling escaped him too quickly. Her hazel eyes, which were more of a warm shade of brown than green, reminded him of home and a sense of comfort and safety, and he had been the one to break their eye contact first, as it pained him to look at them and be reminded of what he was before he was injured.
It seemed that Dr. Joseph was somewhat interested in Lia, and as the doctor asked her a question, Luca took the moment to study her answers and her body language, trying to deduce why she felt so familiar to him. He saw how her hands shifted behind her as she answered the doctor’s question and how she walked closer next to the tall soldier beside her. Were they dating? He wouldn’t be surprised if they were. Why was he so interested in her? She was none of his business. She was just another ARC nurse that happened to help him last night. That’s all. In fact, he should ignore the gnawing feeling in his gut to figure more about her and just focus on saving lives. That’s what they were here to do. To save lives.
He hastened his pace as much as he could, irritated at his own curiosity about the girl, as he limped towards the medical tents. They were getting close, as he could see the tents more clearly, and his brain shifted into doctor-mode, ready to tackle the day’s challenges.
“Hurry it up, you three. We don’t have all day to look over the patients.” Luca called, Turing his head to look behind him at the three who were lagging behind.
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Post by 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝 on May 2, 2019 23:44:38 GMT -5
Levy felt her eyes on him. He looked down at her as they walked, smiling, trying to show how much he agreed with Dr. Joe without saying so out loud. It was admirable what she was doing here. What he was doing here, on the other hand, was precisely unadmirable. He didn’t deserve her friendship, yet she gave it so willingly. Just the fact that she seemed to like him (despite not knowing anything about him or what he’d done) was admirable. He noticed how she seemed more reserved than usual, looking embarrassed at the doctor’s compliment. She had to know it was true, though. Didn’t she know how many people would shy away from this situation had they been in her place? Her shoulder brushed against his as she wavered, walking closer to him. He tried to stop smiling altogether but to no avail. He was quickly getting used to her mannerisms. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this. It meant he was paying attention, and despite himself, caring. She was prone to more physical contact than he was used to, but it was slightly more tolerable now than it had been yesterday. It didn’t feel quite normal yet. ‘Yet?’ There’s no ‘yet’. It will never feel normal.
“Very admirable,” Joe repeated, and then he looked at Levy. “And you, young man. What brings you to England, Levy?” Levy gulped, a pain in his throat as if he’d just swallowed a sharp rock. “Besides the war, you mean?”
Joe’s laugh filled the morning air, delighted by what he thought was an attempt at humor, though that hadn’t been Levy’s goal.
“Yes, of course! What I meant was: drafted or enlisted? Not that it matters, you’re here regardless, obviously you don’t run from difficult or tough times, but you can often measure the true caliber of a man by the things he does willingly.”
Every word from the doctor’s mouth, for all his good nature, had turned to poison. Each one was like a punch to the stomach. It was a simple question. “Answer me, soldier. Did you leave your men to die?” He couldn’t answer. “Did you do everything you could have? Did you go through the protocol correctly?” “I-I think so- I don’t know. I don’t know.” He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, but by some miracle, kept his composure. The smile had faded, but that was nothing new from him.
“Enlisted, sir. I mean- Joe. I enlisted out of college.”
“Good for you. I’m sure your parents are very proud, of both of you. Us citizens are proud too, to have people like you around. You make a big difference, though I know it may seem small at times. So thank you, again.”
At Luca’s interruption, Joe scoffed and waved his hand at him as he limped impatiently past them. “Who says we don’t have all day? It’s early. As far as I’m concerned, these soldiers deserve our full attention, and unless someone else comes along with some major problem, I intend to give it to them, even if it takes all day. Have patience, son. A slow job is better than no job, but I’d say this is a change of pace for both of us.”
The doctor turned back to the two of them as his assistant pushed his way through the tent door. “Don’t mind Luca, he’s been through the wringer these past few years.” Levy frowned when he heard this, thinking there could be any number of reasons. Dr. Joe didn’t elaborate on what he meant, excusing himself from the conversation, saying something about how he should keep an eye on his assistant.
That left Lia and Levy walking the rest of the way by themselves. Granted, it wasn’t far, and he dreaded what it might mean for them once they reached the tents as well. Did she have to go back to work, helping the doctors care for Colby and the rest? That was her world. He would probably get in the way if he tried to help in there. This brought up another question, one he was afraid to ask. How long did she want him to stay? Did she expect him to tag along with her all day? He would have been more than happy to, but wouldn’t that break the illusion that he had some secret assignment he was meant to be working on? It’s not a vacation. He had never doubted that statement until now. She made this hell of a life he was leading a bit easier on his soul, not to mention the eyes.
He realized the silence between them was uncomfortable, for the first time, and he wasn’t sure what to say to get their usual silence back. A sense of loss came over him, an inexplicable sadness he wished he could swat away like a mosquito, but it settled under his skin, the feeling that he’d messed up somehow and lost something important.
So nothing was said and they caught up to Joe and Luca a minute later. Inside the tent, they had already gathered around Colby with Reece and another nurse. Now that it was light inside, and the atmosphere calmer than it had been last night, Levy could actually see the five other people that lay in cots throughout the area. Two other women were meandering among them, monitoring vital signs, and Levy watched them as they occasionally glanced over at the lot of them.
Dr. Joe was commenting about something to Luca, the look on his face full of approval. They straightened from examining the job his assistant had done, pulling off their gloves, and Joe placed a hand on Luca’s shoulder, a proud smile on his face.
“He’ll be just fine, back to full health in a few weeks. A job well done, my boy. And to you nurses, thank you for your support of my young assistant. Don’t let this man get up from the bed for another three days. Luca will be back to check on him some time before you all leave. He can make the decision as to whether or not our patient here should return to the battlefield. When are you leaving?”
Reece looked up to answer from her clipboard where she’d been taking the doctor’s notes as well as the most recent counts of blood pressure and whatever else they’d checked.
“The soldiers aren’t leaving ‘til the week is out, but we- that is, the ARC convoy- is staying beyond that to take care of another group coming in on Friday, I think.”
“Wonderful. Is there anyone else here you’d like us to have a look at, while we’re here?”
Reece nodded and set the clipboard down. “Two others, Doctor Joseph. They’re over this way.”
“Alright. Lia, do you mind helping Luca with one of them? Levy, you can come with me.”
“Me? I don’t have any medical training.”
Reece added abruptly, "That didn't stop you from helping me before. Come on, it's simple."
Joe nodded, a slight smile on his face. “Can you find a pulse?”
“I-y-yeah.”
“Good, well that’s all you’ll do, then. We’re just making sure they’re alive, right? No surgery like last night, I presume.”
Reece smiled reassuringly and nodded. “No surgeries, just a look-over.” Levy sighed. “Okay. Just… show me what to do.”
With that, Luca took Lia and another of the nurses to one of the patients on the far right wall of the tent, and Joe went with Levy and Reece toward the back. As Dr. Joe looked at the soldier’s chart, deciphering medical codes that looked like gibberish to Levy, Reece showed him where to check for a pulse on the soldier’s wrist.
“Oh, by the way, Lia told me that you apologized for yesterday,” she said as he counted the pulses against his fingertips. His own heart started thudding. He’d completely forgotten about what had led to the confrontation yesterday.
“Oh. Good. I mean… I meant it. I’m sorry for reacting the way I did, I just… you caught me off-guard.”
She nodded, unbothered. “It’s okay. I probably could have been a little more sensitive. I’m not going to ask you the same questions that Lia did because she already told me what you said, and I trust her.”
He lost his count when he heard this, looking at her. Is she implying that she doesn’t trust me? The woman didn’t look up from what she was doing, but her silence was telling. She wanted to see how he would react to this discrete inquest. When he said nothing for a time, Reece looked him in the eye. She doesn’t know. Her gaze was intense, searching his for hints of deception amidst the blue. She didn’t believe that what he’d told Lia was true. She was right, but she didn’t know it. She didn’t know that he lied to protect Lia. Liar. You lied to protect yourself and you know it.
“I’m onto you, Pearson,” she said, breaking the tense silence between them and hitting him lightly on the shoulder, the way she would if she were talking with a buddy. Her voice was upbeat and joking. Had she seen right through him? It certainly felt that way. He was worried, but pretending everything was okay was becoming second nature to him now.
“Yeah, I know.” Levy glanced over as Joe approached. “I’ll win you over one of these days, though!” He said, forcing a light tone, his voice cracking slightly. Reece rolled her eyes and grinned, and Joe smiled as he stood next to Levy.
“Still beating?” He asked, and Levy nodded. “I think heart rate was 80 beats per minute.”
“We’ll end up checking it again soon, so no worries if you’re wrong. I’ll write it in with a question mark.” Reece teased him, and Levy grimaced, hoping to pass it off as a smile. Joe laughed, clapping Levy on the back. Levy’s heart skipped a beat and it took all his willpower to keep from flinching this time.
The sound of a guitar outside caught their attention before anyone could say anything else.
“What’s that?” Reece wondered aloud, setting down her supplies. Joe shrugged. “Someone playing guitar, probably one of your guys. Trying to lighten the mood, as one might do in wartime. I’m going to check on the other two,” he said, referring to Luca and Lia.
“Let’s go see what they’re playing outside!” Reece said, grabbing Levy’s sleeve and pulling him after her. Confusion clouded his brain as he tried to figure out her angle. He was almost positive she was just pretending to be nice to him now. It was clear she didn’t like him very much. So then why pretend? It was probably for Lia’s sake. As soon as they had left Lia’s sight, Reece let go of him, and her expression shadowed.
They’d certainly found the source of the music. One of the soldiers was near the line of vehicles, playing a guitar he’d likely borrowed from someone in town. A few others were using buckets for makeshift drums.
“Should we get closer?” Reece asked, her voice flat. Levy shook his head. “We should wait for Lia.” Reece narrowed her eyes at him, but Levy ignored her, focusing on the music coming through the rainy air.
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