Pitschen ma en gamba - Small, but powerful [A Band of Brothers Story]

Chance to rest

A/N: Shout-out to paradise1963! You're amazing :)

It was D-Day plus 17 or 18 and they finally got the chance to rest. They had taken the village the day before and Battalion, in its never-ending benevolence, had allowed them a small break. Ella was grateful that they didn't move out until late in the afternoon. It had become a habit for the men to be sitting in small clusters, talking, smoking, eating or sleeping.

Surprisingly, Vest started handing out mail.

"Sergeant Sawyer, J.V.!", he called.

The girl raised her hand. "Here!" She was laying on her back, head pillowed on her musette bag. Sleep was starting to reach out to her, but she would never pass up an opportunity to read a letter from her mother.

"There ya go, Shorty." With his mail-call duties, Vest had quickly gotten to know those who regularly got letters from home.

"Still with the initials, huh?", Skinny teased her. "And you really won't tell us?"

She shot him a dry look, amusement curling the corners of her lips. "Where would the fun in that be?", she teased. "Besides, I know that betting pool still exists."

They chuckled.

"What's your mom writing?", Toye asked, leaning over from where he was sitting.

"Give me a minute to read, would ya? I haven't even opened the envelope", Ella laughed. She didn't know why, but many of the men in Easy Company were always eager to know what Isabel had written to her daughter. Some had been really excited when they'd heard Ella's mother had met somebody and had wanted to know everything about the man.

One of Isabel's letters had thus been filled with almost nothing but information about James:

You wanted to know more about James. There is so much I could tell you about him. I feel like I am 16 again, Ella, I feel like when I met your father. He is 38 like me and he is a teacher in Ohio. When we met, he was visiting an old family friend. None other than Dr Miller! The world is a small place, wouldn't you agree? He is taking some leave to finish his novel. We have been going out for a month now and I cannot say how happy I am!

The men had taken great delight in debating whether or not he was a good fit for Ella's mother, which left the girl feeling rather confused and slightly embarrassed. After all, they were discussing her mother's love life!

"C'mon, Shorty, don't leave us hanging here", Guarnere whined.

"Have some patience, Gonorrhoea", she grinned, eyes never leaving the letter.

My charina Ella,

Cordialas gratulaziuns per l'anniversari, mia figlia! My dear Ella, you have achieved so much in your life already. I am so proud of you. And I am sure both Nico and your Papa are, too.

I know this letter won't reach you for a while, still, I hope you and your friends are alright. The news of the invasion has reached us this morning. You can imagine how worried I am. If you need to talk about some of the things you'll certainly experience over there, know that I am always here for you.

James and I have been talking about our future together. I love him very much and we are happy, charina. We are considering marriage, but we both agreed that you should have a say in this, too. You know Papa has told me a long time ago that I should move on with my life. For years, I couldn't. Part of my heart will always belong to Thomas.