The Spirit of the Corps » Band of Brothers

43: So, So Sweetly

The sound of chatter and laughter told Charlie before she ever saw anyone that everyone at the pub that night was sitting outside. She wasn't surprised - it was much too hot to go inside, and it was still so bright outside it would have seemed silly to go in - but she smiled at the idea all the same.

Mabs, Autumn, and Boo hadn't needed much convincing when Charlie had told them earlier that James had asked her to go to the pub and she'd asked them to go with her. Boo had already been planning on going with George, anyway, and Mabs and Autumn were always in favour of an evening of revelry. The only difficult part of the whole affair was getting all of them to stop teasing Charlie about her budding crush on James, which unfortunately they'd all had front row seats to witnessing earlier that day.

After getting their drinks at the bar, the four of them made their way out to the beer garden and claimed a picnic bench for themselves in anticipation of it getting even busier as the night wore on. There was a good number of people gathering outside already, but with how hot the barracks were sure to be at the moment Charlie was willing to bet that there'd be a lot more in no time.

The sky was a bright blue above them, with only a couple of white clouds making their way leisurely across it. The sun was still high and bright as it beat relentlessly down upon them, though there was a breeze now which made the heat significantly less oppressive. As Charlie sipped at her drink she took a look around at who had already congregated in the pub garden and greeted those she recognised. Her usual crowd wasn't here yet, but Bill Guarnere, Joe Toye, Johnny Martin, Bull Randleman, and Duckie Wells were all sitting at a table by the door, and they all called a variation of 'hello' over when she waved.

Mostly the other benches were filled with replacements and men Charlie only knew in passing but, true to prediction, it didn't take long for more to arrive.

Men arrived mainly in groups of four or five, all of them loud and rowdy as they piled into the pub and emerged into the garden with pints of beer and raucous laughter. And when George arrived with Floyd, Joe Liebgott, Chuck, and Shifty - not his usual group, but Charlie supposed he was a friend to everyone - he led them all right over to the nurses' table.

"Good evening, ladies," George greeted, sliding into the space on the bench beside Boo. "And a particularly good evening to my favourite lady." Boo blushed furiously as George kissed her cheek, but she also grinned widely, clearly pleased with the affection.

As George shifted around on the bench, he slipped his arm around Boo's waist and scooted in closer to allow Chuck to squeeze in beside him. Joe, on the other hand, immediately skirted around the table to slip in next to Autumn, while Floyd all but threw himself into the space next to Charlie.

Shifty, bless him, took a seat at the bench next to them and faced their table from there (only after asking the people already seated there if it was alright, of course).

"Hi, Freckles," Floyd greeted as he shifted in place beside Charlie and set his glass down beside hers. "Long time no see."

"Floyd," she replied by way of greeting, elbowing him in the ribs to get him to move along a little. "How was your date on Saturday?"

Across the table, Chuck snickered. "Yeah, Tab, how was your date on Saturday?"

After levelling Chuck with a warning glare, Floyd turned back to Charlie. "It was great, Freckles, thanks for asking."

Charlie quirked a brow. "Why do I get the feeling you're being evasive?"

"Yeah, Tab, why does she get the feeling -"

"Shut up, Chuck," Floyd cut him off.

Understanding that she wasn't going to get any answers out of Floyd, Charlie turned to Chuck with eyebrows raised in question. While Floyd sighed and checked to see who was listening in - no one was, for George was engrossed in conversation with Boo while Mabs chatted with Shifty and Autumn with Joe - Chuck laughed and leaned in closer over the table, prompting Charlie to do the same.