a world alone [hbo war / band of brothers]

3: settling in

UPDATED: 05/22/2022. Minor edits.

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January 1946

Jack Klein was an attorney, and an amazing one at that. He was excellent at what he did, and he was well respected by his colleagues and the community.

Jack had decided that Madison should not be sitting around all day. He knew from experience that someone who had gone to war should not be able to have too much free time. They would start to think, and think, and think, and the next thing you know they're breaking. He had also said that Madison was a young adult, and she should start working like one, dressing like one, and acting like one. So, a week after his brother left, Madison had started to work for Jack Klein at his law firm.

Madison wasn't going to lie, she had not been looking forward to it. She was a new girl in a rather close knit town, and she was going to have to start working with others; others that she did not know. It had made her more than a little nervous, and as a result she did not sleep the night before her first day. When her uncle had entered her room a little after six in the morning to wake her up, he was surprised to find his niece up already, writing away.

"What are you doing?"

Madison, who was lying flat on her stomach on the bed, looked up with wide, tired eyes. Her glasses were askew, crooked on her face.

"I was replying to some letters. Why?"

Jack, unsure of what to say, shook his head. "No reason, but it's time to get up and get ready. We leave in one hour."

Madison nodded. "Will do, sir."

Jack nodded, before closing the door, leaving Madison by herself. Madison finished her letter before getting ready for the day.

Madison sighed, as she stretched, rising from her bed and turned on the bedroom light. She blinked hard as her eyes were sensitive to the bright light. She stumbled for a few minutes before finally stripping from her pajamas and putting on her outfit for the day. She put on dark navy blue colored high waist pants with a jacket to match, and white button up shirt. She would find a pair of heels to match later. She knew if she had put them on she would be stumbling. It was too early for heels.

After Madison finished, she went to the bathroom nearest to her room and started to get ready in there. She brushed her teeth with quick movements. Afterwards, she brushed out her mousy brown hair. It was still wavy enough for it to pass without doing anything drastic to it, although she pinned back some untimely strands of hair. She knew women often pinned their hair back in elaborate styles, but Madison did not want to do that. Once she was done, the hard part came: makeup.

Makeup had never been a high priority for Madison. She had never worn it before save for special occasions, and she had never worn it with her time in the airborne. There really was no reason for it, and she was fine with it. Now, she's being forced to wear it, but she did promise that she would try it out.

Applying makeup takes time, especially when you are new to the craft. While Madison was applying mascara on, she couldn't help but admire all the women who were able to apply their entire look on within seconds, like Mary Houston. (That woman could honestly do anything, truth be told.) She was also going to have to thank her aunt Sarah and cousin Amelia, who taught her a few tricks. They told her that she didn't have to apply a lot of makeup, just enough to "highlight her natural beauty", whatever that meant.

After Madison was finished in the bathroom, she went downstairs to find her uncle sitting at the kitchen table with a paper in hand and a coffee cup in the other. For a moment, her mind flashed forward to her father. She wondered what he was doing right now. Except for herself, Matthew, Sr. was an early riser too. She wondered if he missed seeing her early in the morning before he left for work.