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...
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Eventually, we were ordered into Germany. We met little resistance on our journey to get to this point which left the men convinced the Germans gave up and fled the other way, leaving their country to us. The natives who stayed in their villages and towns were not pleased to see us, oftentimes giving the cold shoulder and some sneers but they didn't do anything to make us feel like they should be considered a threat.
Despite their frigid nature towards us, it did nothing to dissuade the men from fraternizing with the local women, most of whom were not interested in their advances, regardless of the men's offerings. We stayed in Sturzelberg - a comfortable homely place - and no one wanted to leave.
I walked down the cobblestone lane, taking in the bright sunny day, soaking in as much of the warm sun that I could. I missed the feeling of the sun after what felt like a lifetime of being stuck in the snow and cold. I relished every moment of this wonderful weather. Each morning as I walked down the lane, the locals grew accustomed to seeing me, nodding and smiling at me as I walked by. I returned the gesture like they were my neighbors, plus it felt like the right thing to do to keep some semblance of normalcy and humanity in this world.
As I walked, I heard footsteps jogging up behind me causing me to glance over my shoulder when I heard my name being called out. I spotted Floyd Talbert nearing and I stopped so he could catch up to me. "Floyd. What can I do for you?" I asked after he reached me. I turned and we continued to walk down the path together.
He caught his breath before asking, "Have you seen Webster lately?"
I shook my head. "Not since Haguenau. Why do you ask?"
"He's been acting strange. I thought maybe you'd know what's bothering him," he replied.
I sighed, admitting, "I think he's mad at me."
Talbert looked taken back by my comment. "Why would he be mad at you?" he asked, face contorted with confusion, "You're his best friend."
I blew a short laugh as I thought back to our last conversation. "Somehow I doubt that."
I remembered the fights we had in Haguenau and how angry he was when he saw Speirs talking to me on the steps of my housing. Even after I tried to apologize to him, it seemed as though he hated me, so I withdrew. Thinking about how others thought we were close friends, made me wish it were true - it may have been true during training but now after everything that's happened since...I wasn't so sure.
"Do you think you could try to talk to him anyway?" he asked. "He's moping about and it's starting to annoy some of the other men."
I nodded, inhaling deeply. I wasn't sure how or when but I agreed to talk to Webster. If anything, I could tell him he was starting to cause problems within the ranks. I just hoped it wouldn't turn out to be another heated battle between the two of us where it would lead him to cast me out of his life forever. Until we talked, I'd never know how he'd behave. "I'll try but no promises," I told him.
