Women of War - A Band of Brothers Story

Turning

We've reached the second to last chapter of this book! I'm not quite sure what to think of this one, I didn't realise how long it was until I copied it into the editor here and I had some trouble getting the mood right on a few scenes... let me know what you think. And bonus points to those who can guess where the title comes from! :)

The next chapter is going to be an epilogue that's going to show what the women get up to over the course of their lives (inspired by the voice-over during the baseball scene in canon), so this is really the last "story" chapter.

As always, thank you so much for reading and for your lovely comments, it's such a joy to read your thoughts and reactions. I hope you enjoy this chapter and stay tuned for the finale!

***

24 June 1946

Mia had never been close with her oldest brother, Jonas. The age gap of 8 years between them was widened by their vastly differing natures. He had inherited the Italian temper from their father's side of the family and where he was energetic, bossy and opinionated, Mia was shy around strangers and reserved around friends.

Even as children, Jonas thought his youngest sister was boring, timid and odd whereas Mia saw her eldest brother as a high-handed bigmouth who put too much stock in his own opinions. Little had changed in that regard during the five years where Mia and Sebastian remained in Germany with their mother after the three older Arricante siblings had already moved to the US with their father. The rift was all the more apparent once the family was reunited; a confident 22-year-old comfortably settled in his new home and life contrasting starkly against a guarded 14-year-old who was still adjusting to a different culture after fleeing from an oppressive totalitarian regime.

During the war, Jonas hadn't sent her a single letter. He had disapproved of her decision to join up and had not been quiet about it. The last words he had spoken to her before she'd left for basic training had been "Even if you make it through training, they'll never accept you. They'll think you're a spy or a traitor or both."

Mia hadn't said anything in return.

A month after Mia had returned home, they had seen each other again for the first time at Letizia's wedding. For the sake of their sister, they had kept their distance as best possible and hadn't talked to each other much beyond stilted pleasantries. Jonas had made some comments to others here and there, but never purposefully in Mia's earshot and when she'd happened to overhear him, she had bitten her tongue and walked away, determined not to ruin the mood on her sister's special day.

7 months later, the same unspoken agreement existed between them when the entire family came together to celebrate the 30th wedding anniversary of Giuliano Arricante and Marion Arricante née Ritter as well as the first birthday of Katharina's second child, Lisa. There wasn't as much space to avoid each other as there had been at Letizia's wedding, though, and it was for two weeks instead of just one day. The 3-bedroom house had already been small for their family of seven, but with 11 adults, 1 teenager, 1 child, 1 toddler and 1 infant, it was well and truly cramped.

Although she was used to tight quarters and a lack of privacy, Mia was glad that she, Sebastian and their two cousins had relocated to sleep in the attic. It was draughty and dark, but through the attic window, they could get onto the roof and enjoy the peace. They sat out there almost every night, sometimes talking, sometimes quiet, the adults smoking.

Three nights after the anniversary party, they played cards while rain drummed against the roof right over their heads. In the dim light of the single lightbulb in the attic, Sebastian studied his sister where she sat cross-legged on his right. "Mia?"