The Soldier of Stars [1] - Band of Brothers

17 | the unlikely friendship of joe liebgott

" Sometimes the best friendships are formed by the most unlikely pair."

- Kenneth G. Ortiz

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Weekends usually ended, just as quickly as they started, with the company training relentlessly with Sobel, with the women were beginning to figure out why they all hated Sobel so much. He wasn't good at directions, or anything that had to do with directions in general, and including that, he couldn't lead a platoon anywhere without getting lost. 

Tipper was the one with the map, and Hazel managed to hear that Tipper would even tell Sobel he was wrong and Sobel would still ignore him. Hazel, Chuck and Joe continued their jokes on night hikes and hoped that Sobel wouldn't hear them as they did so, but it passed the long endless hours of walking. Christmas however was bliss. 

The company got Christmas Day off, and were served turkey, beautiful, delicious and luscious turkey. Hazel had never tasted something as good as the turkey she got to eat that night. She sat across from Catherine who was going through turkey like it was going out of style as she slowly drank more and more beer that was on the table laughing with Bill and Joe Toye like monkeys. Hazel quietly ate beside Joe Liebgott, who always seemed to be beside her when Shifty, George or Lizzie wasn't. But Hazel had grown use to his constant presence by her side. They talked about the stars a lot, and even if Joe didn't say he stargazed, they sometimes escaped the bars of Swindon, Birmingham or London and looked at the stars and just talked about their families, and for Hazel it didn't reveal too much of her past, which she hoped to conceal for a long time.

" Hey," Joe said nudging her shoulder, " you ok, Tiny?" Tiny, the nickname given by George, who sat on her other side, laughing at something Skip said and impersonating Sobel again. She was in fact a very Tiny person.

" Yeah, just," Hazel let out a sigh and looked around, " homesick." Joe frowned at her.

" Well I'm sorry about that, wish I could do something about it." Joe said as he sipped his drink.

" It's fine," Hazel said with a nod and a forced smile. Joe quirked a small smile. He gently wrapped an arm over her shoulders and squeezed it gently. She looked at Joe and smiled softly at him, his arm around her shoulders was comforting in its own way. Grace and Henry had gifts for Hazel, and there was a little stocking filled with chocolates and candies as well as a hand-sewn pair of gloves and a scarf and Hazel thought they were adorable. Hazel was grateful that Grace and Henry were playing parent figures, as a symbol for Hazel as they were here. It was comfort on another level. That night, before bed, when the candle light was slowly dying down and the snow fell heavier outside, Hazel wrote a letter to her mother in her notebook; the first in a while.

Mom,

I'm writing from a home in the little town of Aldbourne, England. There's a candle burning nearby, the light just barely out, and the little wisps of smoke are slowly rising to the ceiling. It's dark in the room I'm in; but it is 12 am so it makes sense. It's Christmas Eve and I want nothing more than to be home with you, but I want you to know I'm happy and safe and warm. The men and women of Easy Company have welcomed me with open arms and have embraced me as a little sister over the past year and a half. I'm in my old PT gear, with a blanket wrapped around me. You can see the stars brightly from where I am, from the window I look out of all the time. They're truly beautiful in the countryside.