Dust Devils - A Girls Und Panzer Story

Chapter 58

Sunday, August 18th 2013

The wholesome and jovial mood from the wedding the day before still delightfully lingered among Valarie and Emma. The bouquet Valarie had caught was now in a vase of water to keep them alive. The young couple were laying in bed together, hands clasped. They were both on cloud nine, savoring moments like these.

"Were you being serious about what you said yesterday?" Emma then asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" Valarie muttered, half-asleep.

"Were you serious that one day we'll be married?"

"With all my heart," Valarie affirmed, squeezing Emma's hand. "You'll be my wife, and I'll be your wife...it'll be pure heaven. One day."

"One day..." Emma echoed.

The girls snuggled close and prepared to nap the day away together when then they heard rhythmic knocking at the door. Being fairly confident on who it was, Valarie rose from the bed, leaving Emma to fall asleep, and went to answer the door. It was precisely who she thought it was.

"You're becoming a frequent visitor, aren't you?" Valarie joked.

"That I am," Madison said. Tucked in her arms were a small collection of papers that drew curiosity from Valarie. She walked in and sat herself at the kitchen table. "I hear that there was a wedding."

"Yes, yesterday. Between Mr. Redwood and the former Ms. Buchanan. I think you know them."

"I do. Shame I couldn't attend but I was waist-deep in research," Madison informed, waving the papers in her hand. "Fascinating research."

"More tanks?"

"No...Alice has really taken a liking to researching tanks so she took it upon herself to be the person responsible to look for more tanks for the team to acquire. She was the one who found that Japanese tank."

"Gotcha. So, what do you have there then?"

With a grin on her face, Madison shared what she found. "Genealogy records."

"...And those are?"

"Family history to put it simply. Specifically, yours."

"Mine?" Valarie uttered with surprise.

"Yes, yours. Paid for a premium genealogy service to get all the info. I gotta say, thank god your last name is 'Woodlin' and not something super common like 'Smith'. That make shifting through the info so much easier."

Madison passed the papers to Valarie, who gave them a quick read to get the gist of things. On one piece of paper in particular, though, she took her time as it listed out all people with the last name 'Woodlin' according to various US governmental sources. There was a smile on her face as she read the names of people that was part of her family. Madison took notice on what Valarie was reading and started to ask questions.

"So...I see that your family isn't huge."

"Nope. Fertility, as it turns out, isn't this family's strong suit. Mostly on the men's side who have these problems, like my dad. Poor guys."

"Uh huh. And, despite it all, here we are."

"Yes we are. Lighting can strike twice."

Valarie read on, and after a few moments, Madison asked something else. "So, uh, I notice that you have an aunt."

"I do. She's in Colorado with my cousin."

"I see," Madison remarked with some confusion. "Then why did your mom tell me that you don't have any aunts?"