I was one of five women chosen to serve our country, fighting side by side with the men, and only some of us had come home. Being surrounded by friends and enemies, having to choose who you can save, who you can love, and how to survive is something...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Later that night, I walked into the mess hall where the celebration party for our wings was held. Inside, every man who was part of the Airborne was in that room - at least every man who earned his wings and wasn't passed out drunk in the barracks.
I meandered over to the corner of the room closest to the door, in case I needed to make a quick exit. After my run-in with Sobel and Speirs, I didn't want to see either one but I was ordered to be here. I scanned the room, watching the men drink and play darts, overall having a good time. The rest of the girls showed up as dates for some of the men.
As I sat in a chair as close to the door as I could get so I could slip out if my anxiety grew to be too unbearable, a couple of beers were set in the middle of the table before me, the foam running down the sides of the glass, pooling on the wooden tabletop. I glanced up to see Webster smiling at me.
"You came!" he exclaimed, smiling even wider. He sat across from me, pushing one of the beers toward me, causing it to slosh down the side again. I returned the gesture of a smile, reaching for the glass. After the day I had, I was happy to see a friendly face. I pulled the beer close but didn't pick it up. He confessed, "I wasn't sure if you were going to come or not!"
"Neither did I," I responded truthfully, my eyebrows raising slightly.
He gulped his beer. "Why did you?"
I thought for a moment. "It felt like the right thing to do. I've made it this far with you guys..." I shrugged, playing with the handle of my glass, "I should be here celebrating next to you as well."
He grinned, raising his glass to toast. "Well, I'm glad you're here." I smiled back at him, feeling comfortable in his presence. It was nice to be around someone who wasn't expecting something from me for a change. The loud brass music began to swell and Webster eyed me. He jerked his head toward the area used as a dance floor and asked, "Care to dance?"
I blinked at him. I opened my mouth to reject the offer but I stopped to think for a moment. I could hear Darla's voice in my head urging me to go for it and have fun while I could. So, against my usual character, I nodded. "Sure."
Judging by the shocked expression on his face, he wasn't expecting me to agree to dance. When he processed what I said, the biggest smile I'd ever seen graced his lips. He stood up quickly, almost afraid I'd change my mind as he offered his hand to me. I took his hand and he led me to the dance floor.
The music was moderate in pace and the rest of the girls were already dancing with their dates. Webster pulled me closer to him as we started to sway to the music. No one asked me to dance before and I was pleasantly enjoying myself, laughing carefree. I looked over Webster's shoulder to spot Darla smiling at me in approval.
Webster and I danced to several songs before he whispered into my ear, "You seem to be enjoying yourself. I don't think I've seen you smile this much before!"
