Strawberry Red

Chapter 14 Ruby

«Buck, you- you're alive," whispered Ruby. She had been in the hospital for hours without being able to check if he came back. And now he was standing in front of her. He had a couple of bruises on his face but apart from that he was fine. "Where's Bucky? Did he make it?"

"It's Bucky. Of course, he made it back." Buck put his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, you're totally right." Ruby laughed awkwardly. "How are you?"

"A little shaken up. But apart from that, fine," answered Buck. He looked around the hospital to see multiple airmen laying in hospital beds. Buck knew some of them. "I was about to head to the club. Do you want to come with me?"

"Absolutely, I'll just get my jacket quickly," said Ruby and went to grab it. Buck was waiting outside for her. He was looking at the night sky when she came back to him.

"The stars are really bright tonight," commented Buck.

"I suppose they are," agreed Ruby. "We don't have to go to the club if you don't want to."

"I think Bucky would be disappointed if we weren't around. And someone's got to prevent him from singing." Buck held out his hand. "Shall we go, milady?"

"We shall." Ruby took Buck's hand and together they walked to the club. When they reached it, they already could hear loud music playing over laughter. Ruby inhaled deeply before they entered. She was praying that everything would go smooth for once.

"You made it!", cheered Bucky and put an arm around Buck's shoulder. "And you brought Ruby."

"Have you kept yourself out of trouble?", asked Ruby. She knew how Bucky could get when he was drinking. She had to patch him up multiple times.

"Always." Bucky led the two over to the band. Not many people were dancing on the dance floor. They mainly hung out around the bar and the back of the club. Ruby sat down next to Buck and leaned back. Just then the band changed the song to Bucky's favourite: Blue Sky. She glanced over to him and saw him grooving to the music.

"Do you know what this is missing?" asked Bucky.

"Nothing," answered Buck drily.

"Vocals."

"No, it's not, Bucky," said Ruby.

"I'm going to sing," decided Bucky and tried to stand up but Buck pushed him back into his seat. Bucky shot him an annoyed look before he quietly shouted: "Jack, should I sing?"

"No," answered Jack and rolled his eyes. Bucky still didn't accept this as an answer and turned his head to the left and asked another airman for his opinion.

"Should I sing?" asked Bucky the airman.

"No," responded he.

"You're right, you're right." Bucky started to tap his hands on his leg to the beat of the music. Then he stood up and skipped happily over to the microphone. "It's my song, Buck."

"How about we let him have this moment?" suggested Ruby and looked at Buck. He was shaking his head at his friend's behaviour.

"I guess so," said Buck in defeat.

"Never saw the sun shining so bright, never saw things going to right," began Bucky to sing. The conductor turned around confused but continued to lead the band.

"Dance with me," requested Ruby and stood up. She stretched out her hand for Buck to take.

"What?" questioned he confused.

"Come on, dance with me." She gazed at him, full of anticipation. Buck couldn't resist her gaze, so he took her and lead her to the dance floor. Ruby was smiling widely at him. She definitely was enjoying the moment with Buck. It was a moment which nobody could take away from them. They danced to the fast-paced song in quick steps. And Bucky continued to sing. Eventually, other couples were joining Ruby and Buck on the dance floor. When the song came to an end, the dance floor was crowded by dancing couples.

"Thank you," said Ruby.

"You're welcome." Buck smiled at her. Sadly, Buck was called over to the telephone moments later. Bucky also joined in the call and left Ruby on the dance floor. She decided to stand at the back and watched couples dancing to the now slow song.

"Nurse Ruby, can I have a few minutes?", asked Colonel Harding. He was standing next to her holding a drink.

"Of course, what can I do for you, Sir?", responded Ruby.

"There's a special mission tomorrow for which I need a couple of nurses. You were highly recommended by Dr. Houston," explained Colonel Harding and nipped on his drink.

"What kind of mission?," questioned Ruby confused and raised an eyebrow.

"The target is Regensburg. We've never attempted to fly that deep into Germany territory. The plan is to cross through Germany and head down to Africa where they spend the night before they fly back. The base in Africa hasn't got enough nurses for the number of airmen we're sending. That's where you come into play. We're sending a plane with five nurses. The route is around Germany, it should be safe."

"I'll do it," answered Ruby without missing a beat.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow during briefing," said Colonel Harding. "And can you do me a favour?"

"Whatever you need, Sir." Ruby nodded and waited for him to continue.

"You and Buck need to figure out your feelings. It's painful to watch you two tip-toeing around each other." With that Colonel Harding left Ruby standing there, blushing.

Ruby was talking with Helen and Tatty when they announced that a bike race was being held in the mess hall. Everyone rushed over to watch the spectacle. Some even started to bet on who would win the race.

"Rank has its privileges, boys," announced Buck and took his starting position at the front.

"I see money changing hands. I hope that's on me," shouted Bucky and laughed.

"Here's the deal, boys. You got one lap in the officer's mess and two laps in the enlistee's mess. When you hear the starter pistol, go!", screamed someone over the loud noise. "Are you ready?"

Everyone cheered, shouted and screamed when the pistol went off. The men immediately started cycling as if their life depended on it. Round after round the cheering grew lounder until Buck and Bucky drove into each other and everyone behind them started falling too. From where Ruby was standing it looked like the men were fighting to get up again.

The moment was short cut when the sirens began to sound. Everyone was ushered to the safety of the shelters. Utter chaos erupted on base. Ruby held on Helen's hand tightly, trying not the get lost on the way to the shelters. She tried her best to keep her breathing calm and her heart rate down. When she still lived in Germany, she'd spent every night sleeping in shelters. She spent hours and hours on end in those damned shelters while hearing the world exploding around her.

"I'm going to head over to Buck, okay?" asked Ruby when she spotted Buck standing next to Bucky. Most people on base didn't go into the shelters, they just stood near enough in case the bombing came closer. But right now, it didn't look like the Germans would attempt to bomb the base. Their target was a city on the northern side of the base.

"Alright, we'll be over here if you need us," answered Helen. Ruby nodded and walked over to Buck and Bucky.

"Says the gambler" heard Ruby Buck saying.

"If I'm going to bet on anything, I'm betting on us, Buck." Bucky turned his head to his best friend.

"You sound like my dad, John," answered Buck and paused for a moment. He had noticed Ruby standing next to him, seeking his calming presence. "My father liked to drink and when he drank, he gambled. Can't tell you the amount of nights I spent sleeping on benches and pony tracks. Didn't matter if it was a ball game, horse, dog, game of cards. He'd bet. He'd usually lose. But he kept doing it. He'd always tell me when his luck was down. 'Gale, this time I can feel it.' He was always looking for the short cut."

"Buck," said Bucky. Buck turned to look at him. "Buck. That's why you don't like sports."

Silence fell over them as they watched the bombs drop and lighting up the city. It looked almost pretty from afar, like fireworks. But Ruby knew it felt like hell on earth being stuck between bombs.

"That RAF prick was right, these daytime missions are suicide," said Buck after a while. "But we lead our boys through it."