Any Other Way

CHAPTER ONE

Charlotte wishes she couldn't remember as much as she did of D-Day. She talked to Nellie about it, once, only a few days after it happened. 

Nellie had said, "I remember being terrified, sitting in that plane. And then I hardly remember anything else until I ran into Easy Company but you weren't there. No one knew where you were, everyone was panicking a little bit, I felt like I couldn't breathe. And then, what, 20 hours later? You stumbled up like nothing happened and you ran up to me and hugged me all tight and then suddenly I could breathe again."

Charlotte had laughed and shrugged off Nellie's asking if she remembered much of it.

She remembered every second as if each minute was an hour and each second was a full minute.

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In 1942, shortly following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, allowing women to serve as members of the U.S. military.

For some women, like her mother, this was the "downfall of American society as we know it," but to others, like Charlotte Baker, this was a moment of opportunity.

Like any other stereotypical eldest daughter, Charlotte spent the whole of her life pandering to her mother's desires; attending extra lessons upon school lessons, horseback riding, languages that "inspired worldliness" such as French and German (though the French lessons were hardly necessary since all four children had learned French from their father, they continued), literature, dancing, manners, etc. And then, when Charlotte, having learned all she could from the boarding school she attended, wanted to go to college, her mother was shocked–as if it was not her own insistence on lessons that fueled Charlotte's love for learning.

But Charlotte's father loved his children and let them do mostly whatever they wanted, so Charlotte went to college.

The last time Charlotte had seen her mother, it had ended in a screaming match over her enlisting. Charlotte had insisted that it was her civic duty—her older brother, Thomas, had enlisted in the Navy and their mother had been thrilled.

The sky is a sickly sort of gray color, cloud-filled and miserable like it's going to rain soon. Not abnormal for a day in late May, but not fortunate weather either.

Charlotte, standing in front of the building she was given the address to with a small bag of her most necessary belongings, thinks that it's a little funny: the sky mourning the change in her life as much as her mother did.

When she approaches the room pointed out to her by a very kind and smiley secretary, she knocks, waiting for an "Enter." before opening the door.

There is a man sitting behind a desk who looks up at her, "You must be Charlotte Baker?"

If there was ever a man whose every movement screamed "military" it would be this man. He doesn't seem unfriendly, per se, but it's similar to when you see a ballerina walking down the street. They hold themselves with grace and move as if they are constantly dancing. This man breathes and moves as if he is constantly commanding.

She nods. "That is me, sir."

"I am your commander, Colonel Robert Sink." He extended his right hand to her. "It's fantastic to meet you."

"I could say the exact same about you, sir." She says, shaking his hand.

"Here, sit. We're waiting for one other young lady to join us before we begin discussions about your placement. While we're waiting, would you like anything to drink?"

"I am alright, sir, thank you."

In a moment of fantastic timing, the door opens. In the doorway stands a blonde girl, sheepishly. She holds in her hand a letter, presumably similar to the one Charlotte was sent, and a bag of her things.