All Things Nice » Band of Brothers

74: Eve

For one of the first times since being in Belgium - actually, for one of the first times ever - Posey woke up after Bill. She eased into consciousness slowly, her dreams fading and becoming more distant by the second until the memory of them was fast and fleeting, a tad too far away to grasp. She opened bleary eyes into the light of early sunrise.

The sun was painting the world a colour between orange and crimson, its boldness fading into a bright yellow the further into the sky it reached before giving way to the dark blue of night. Some of the stars were just barely visible where they lingered at the very top of the sky. The vibrancy of the heavens painted the white of the snow a myriad of colours, the snowflakes dancing in the light. The sight took Posey's breath away as she gazed at it, sitting up straighter to get a better view.

Bill didn't say anything for a while. She only realised he was awake when he shifted just slightly beside her. Her eyes glanced over and stilled when she saw him already watching her, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks at being caught in her childlike wonder.

"Good morning," she whispered. It was the kind of morning that called for a whisper.

"Mornin'," he replied, still watching her.

Posey smiled and turned to face him. "It's Christmas Eve."

"I know."

"Happy Christmas Eve." Her voice was filled with the hope for a Christmas that would be kind and Bill must have heard it, for he smiled back.

"Merry Christmas Eve," he answered.

She furrowed her eyebrows at the inflection of his voice. "Why'd you say 'merry' like that?"

Bill laughed under his breath. There was something fascinated in his eyes as he watched her, as though he'd never be able to figure her out entirely. "You said 'happy Christmas'. We don't say that in the States. We say 'merry Christmas'."

"Oh!" Posey giggled quietly, nodding. "I knew that. We say both in England."

"'Happy Christmas' sounds weird."

"It doesn't," she protested, pushing his shoulder playfully. "I think it's nice. See, 'merry' is great but it kind of implies some sort of liveliness or energy, as though you have to be really doing things all day. 'Happy' lets you just feel the magic of Christmas without having to do anything, really. I think that's more in the spirit of the holiday, because you can spend it the same as you spend any other day but there's something about it that makes you want to think about your life and be grateful for it. Just 'happy', without any conditions."

"You got all that goin' on inside your head?" Bill questioned, laughing and poking her helmet.

Posey grinned. "All the time. It's a bit exhausting."

"Yeah, I bet."

"I hope it's quiet today," she said quietly, suddenly pensive. "Did you ever heard about that truce on Christmas Day in the First War? When the Entente soldiers and the Alliance soldiers played football on no man's land?"

"Yeah, I think I heard about it once."

Posey nodded. "My dad told me about it. He was one of them, one of the Entente soldiers. Back in 1914 they had that truce for Christmas, first year of the war, but then it got darker after that. They couldn't do it the rest of the war. My dad said the First War changed warfare from gentlemanly to completely savage, that war would never be the same. I guess he was right, because I don't reckon the krauts are gonna be coming over here asking for a game of football any time soon."

Bill snorted a laugh. "Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath."

"I don't know that I'd want them to. I want a quiet Christmas but I don't know I could look any of them in the eye and pretend I don't hate them for what their country has done to me. I know they didn't fly the planes that bombed London but I can't separate them from it. I don't even want to. I hate them more than I've ever hated anyone in my life."