VE Day
Samantha brought Edith both a letter and a telegram after lunch. Soon, Edith forgot about them both.
When news of the surrender had reached them, everything had come to a screeching halt. She had expected it to be inevitable, Edith never would have thought it would be so soon. The war in Europe was over. The strange emptiness the event spurred in her left Edith confused.
Elated, Samantha raced back to their quarters. She fetched two bottles of wine she had been saving in her foot locker.
"I knew this day would come and I wanted to be prepared." She winked at her boss, opening the bottle of white, "I plan on getting drunk. You with me, Dixon?"
Edith shook her head, "I won't drink but I’ll celebrate with you."
"Sounds good to me. Just make sure I get home in one piece." Samantha took a pull straight from the bottle.
There weren't many servicemen stationed in the small village they had occupied since January. It didn't matter. Neither of the women were in any mood to share the evening with soldiers they barely knew. Samantha poured herself a tall glass while Edith got herself a fresh cup of coffee.
Holding out her cup, she nodded to Edith, "To home?"
Edith smiled, clinking her mug against Samantha's, "To home."
As promised, after only half a bottle, Samantha was sauced. She barreled on and on about what she was going to do when she returned to Kentucky. About her horse, a bay mare named Jackie, and how she would go riding every afternoon for a month. She talked about her two older brothers, Bernie and Easton. They were both doctors. One worked for the Red Cross in Italy while the other had remained in the States on a Marine base in California. The drunker she got, the thicker her southern drawl grew. Soon Edith couldn't understand her at all.
Samantha kicked off her Oxfords and pranced back over to the bottle on her desk. She peeked back at Edith sitting by the open windows. The village below was quietly celebrating.
"Yah know, Edie," Samantha slurred, "I ne'r loved that boy outta Mississippi anyhow. Nope, I am a bonafide Ice Queen now, just like you. I don't need nobody, not this gal."
Edith peered down at her cup, wincing at a pang of guilt. She felt like an older sister who had set a bad example. Samantha poured herself another glass.
"He may have kissed me like he wanted to marry me. But he was just a no good-"
"Samantha, could you bring me the bottle? I'd like to try some actually." Edith held out her cup.
Samantha gave her a goofy smile and stumbled over, "Sure thang, Miz Dixon."
The Sergeant turned her back. Edith hid the bottle behind her chair without getting any for herself. She hoped Samantha would forget about it.
The pretty brunette chuckled, "When were you kissed last?"
Edith choked sip of coffee, spitting back into her cup. She wiped her mouth, avoiding eye contact with Samantha.
"Ah! Caught yah." Samantha leaned back in her chair, "Tell me. Was it an officer? It'd have to be, your standards are too high."
With a wince, Edith remembered the strong taste of whiskey on Captain Porter's lips. She didn't have the heart to tell Samantha she was wrong about her standards.
"Was it that British fella? The one with the great teeth. He had teeth like a horse, that man did." Samantha yawned
Edith retrieved the glass from the girl's hand. "I think we've recognized the day enough, Samantha."
"Yah know, I think yer right." She wagged a finger at her, one eye drifting shut, "I think I'm going to take a nap."
Edith's eyebrows lifted in amusement, "That's a fine idea."
Soon the girl was fast asleep. Edith draped her uniform jacket over her. Meandering over to her desk, Edith noticed the discarded letter and telegram. The letter was postmarked from the States. Picking them up, she returned to her chair by the window. A light breeze stirred the loose ash blonde strands around her face as she tore open the envelope to the letter. It was from her mother.
Mary Elizabeth, the middle Dixon daughter, was expecting a baby. It would be the first grandchild for Colonel and Mrs. Dixon. The happy couple was hoping for a boy. Edith wasn't surprised. A deep longing to see her sisters and mother again hit her hard. Mary Elizabeth would be an adorable expectant mother. She hoped she would see her before the baby arrived. The child would be born sometime around Christmas. There was a chance she could make it home in time. Tapping the letter on her knee, she peered out at the darkening sky.
Is there any place that feels like home to you?
Alex McKay's somewhat personal query from when they had been in Paris came back to her. Home was her mother, her father and sisters. Home had never been a place. It was people.
Edith was stung with an uncomfortable notion. It had felt like home when Alex had watched her from across the table in that French café. Home was when he had held her in his arms in that foxhole; their breathing becoming in sync. Despite the fact that they hadn’t spent much time together, he had become like home.
In her gut she knew that Alex McKay could have been her safe harbor.
Suppressing a regretful moan, Edith leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. She had a strong suspicion she would never see the man again. She had missed her chance and that was the end of it. So this was the cost of her solitude that her father had foretold. He had been right. It was an expensive one.
There was the whisper of paper to the floor. Edith looked up and noticed that the telegram had slipped from her lap. Picking it up, she saw it was from that day. After reading it, she slapped her hand on Samantha's knee. The girl jolted awake, squinting up at her boss with a groan. Edith stood.
"You're going to have to pull it together, Miss Kentucky." Edith tucked the telegram into her shirt pocket, "Seems we have a few more things to do before we can go home."
"What do you mean?" Samantha rubbed her face.
"We are going to catch a transport to Austria first thing in the morning." Edith paced towards her desk, "I'll get you some coffee. We have some packing to do tonight. We will be leaving first thing."
"Austria?"
"Zell am See."
"These names keep on getting stranger." Samantha grumbled, "Goodness, first thing in the mornin'. Why do things have to be such a rigamarole 'round here?"
"Welcome to the Army." Edith breathed, placing the letter from her mother on the desk.
There would be time enough for home later. Perhaps, God willing, she still had a chance of finding it.
#
Zell am See, Austria
May 1945
As fate would have it.
The strange statement drifted through his mind. It was one Alex had never applied to anything. Alex believed with complete conviction that God's will had prevailed in his life. Each action and reaction was mapped out by divine forces. Captain McKay was a man predestined. Nameless fate had nothing to do with it.
But the sight of the willowy blonde as she leaped from the bed of a supply truck was enough to give him pause. Edith ran the back of her hand over her forehead and perched her fists on her hips. She flashed a genuine smile to her aide, retrieving her clipboard and coffee cup from the ground.
Standing up straight, as fate would have it, she glanced across the busy road. They made eye contact. Alex shifted on his side of the street, unsure of what to do next. He had always been the one to barrel head first into battle. Be it bayonets or machine gun fire. Even as a teenager before Preacher Macon had come into his world, he never backed down from a fight.
Edith wet her lips, her brow furrowing. A shift of sand whirled like fine gold dust around her statuesque figure. Her loose white blouse puckered against her body with the bounce and pull of air.
He was immobile.
A couple supply trucks passed between them, obscuring the view. Without another thought, Alex swiveled his boots and marched into Division HQ behind him. Edith Dixon was a force to be reckoned with and one that he wasn't sure anymore if he could handle.
That was the first time he saw her in Austria. The second time was much less avoidable.
Tucking his cap under his arm, he nodded to the orderly at the desk by Colonel Dixon's office. He could only guess at the Colonel's request for his presence. There was the matter of the alcohol. It had become a growing concern among the men even after only a few days in Zell am See. Either that or the promise of more rigorous training with the looming prospect of a jump on Tokyo. Captain McKay focused on the tasks at hand. Distractions were not tolerated.
Edith McKay being one of them.
Alex winced as the Freudian slip raced through his mind. Dixon. The woman's name was Edith Dixon.
Standing from his desk, the orderly brought him to the door after giving a quick salute. “Captain McKay, sir."
"Send him in."
The spacious room was the best office Dixon occupied during the entire invasion. McKay noticed the grey haired man standing by the window. The Colonel turned to the door, his impressive stature revealing he was not alone. Alex stared directly into the face of the woman who had haunted him since that foxhole in Bastogne. Edith's fair skin shifted to a paler shade under his direct gaze. McKay snapped to attention. His eyes bore a hole into his superior officer's face as he saluted him. There was no avoiding her in this space.
“McKay!" Colonel Dixon boomed, oblivious to the intense discomfort between his daughter and Alex. "I know I don't need to introduce the two of you. You remember my daughter?"
Alex swallowed, dropping his hand to his side, "Of course. Lieutenant Dixon, how are you?"
"Very well." She replied.
He dared meet her eyes. Her gaze was as striking as it had been when the two of them shared a dinner table in Paris. His eyes cracked onto the floorboards. He could still feel her looking at him with abandon. It made him uncomfortable.
Colonel Dixon moved towards his desk. Edith positioned herself behind a chair, resting her hands on the back of it. He approached, keeping a good few feet between them. Alex thought he noticed her long fingers trembling. Edith cupped her hands behind her back.
"We have received word that the 101st will be sent to the Pacific though there isn't any hint of when." Dixon commented, "Though I'm sure you already guessed that news."
"Yes sir, it doesn't come as a surprise."
"There is the matter of our stationing here for the time being. Surrender is a tricky thing, as I am sure you have already found. You have enough on your hands trying to wade through this mess while preparing your men for war in Japan." The Colonel nodded towards Edith. "I am putting Edith on your staff to help with the details and paperwork. Especially about captured German equipment. You worked well together in France."
Alex tried not to grimace at the news, "Yes sir."
"Captain, would it be possible Sergeant Quincey to remain with me?" Edith addressed him, her voice sounding more breakable than he had ever heard it. "She is quite efficient, I assure you."
McKay glanced over at her. The air current from the electric desk fan stirred the loose tendrils of hair at the nape of her neck. Despite himself, a brief flash of what it had been like to hold her in the foxhole came to him. Swallowing hard, he forced his eyes to the window.
"Of course, Lieutenant Dixon."
"Very well, you are both dismissed." The Colonel pronounced with a nod.
Giving the man a curt salute, Alex made his way to the door. After opening it, he stood back and let her pass. Keeping a step behind her, they emerged into the warm spring morning. Alex positioned his hat on his head as Edith paused on the door step.
"As fate would have it," he cringed as he let the stupid phrase slip, "I was on my way towards the arm dumps at the church, airport and school. I'm sure the German Colonel in charge of the operation made sure this will be an easy task for us."
If they were going to be in each other's company, it was best to make it task oriented from the beginning. If there was one thing he knew about Edith, business always came before anything else. Perhaps there was hope for their working relationship.
"Was that a request to go with you, Captain McKay?" Edith peered up at him.
Alex hadn't realized how close she had stopped in front of him. His mouth went dry as he gazed down into her face. The forceful need to take her in his arms crashed into him like a sea break. It was almost painful. He walked forward to avoid the temptation.
"If you don't have anything else that needs immediate attention to this morning." He stated, approaching the jeep at the other side of the street.
"No, Captain." Edith jumped into the passenger side as he turned the key in the ignition.
"Good." He clipped.
Silence descended thick between them as they drove to the school. Edith jumped and looked towards the sound of a gun somewhere in a copse of trees.
"Some of the men have been hunting. A few are actually pretty good." Alex explained when she looked back at him, wide eyed at the hint of violence. "I don't think we have any rogue German infantry left in the area. They are all as exhausted as our men. Perhaps more."
She nodded in reply, pursing her lips. His gaze drew down to her bare mouth. The Ice Queen does melt and it's a sight to see. Port’s casual mentioning of kiss between himself and Edith still stung Alex. He wondered how much had actually been on her part, if she had kissed him back. Porter hadn't mentioned that detail.
Alex whipped his gaze back to the road, his grip on the wheel tightening. It didn't matter. His connection with the Dixon woman would be work driven from that moment on.
"Alex."
The sound of his name from her made him roughly turn a corner. She reached out and braced herself on the dash.
"Alex, I feel the need to apologize for what happened back in December. And I wanted to thank you. I would probably be dead if you hadn't been there." Edith measured out her words, "I wanted to tell you that you were right. It was stupid of me to act as I did. I never should have reacted so… swiftly-"
"Lieutenant, please. You have nothing to explain." He interrupted as they curved into the school yard. He turned off the engine and got out of the vehicle, "We have a job to do now. One that I am sure you are more than capable of handling. If you will follow me."
He didn't look back as he strode towards the school where a guard was posted. Edith was silent until they entered the gymnasium.
"Major, when you told them to surrender their weapons…how did you say it?" She leaned over and picked up an antique hunting knife from a nearby pile of bayonets.
McKay shook his head, crossing his arms over his broad chest. He couldn't help chuckling.
"I told the man to surrender all the weapons."
Edith took her place beside him with an acknowledging hum in her throat. "Well, their efficiency is impressive."
Apart from their combat weapons, the Germans had collected every conceivable blade and gun they could find. From hunting rifles to antique pieces from the last century. Alex half expected to discover kitchen knives somewhere in the mess. Studying the scene in awe, Edith suppressed a laugh next to him.
"What on earth-" She gave up and laughed out loud, "Where do we even begin?"
Despite himself, Alex broke into a smile and ran a hand over his face with a groan.
"I'm not even sure. I don't even want to think about the other two weapon dumps." He retrieved the keys to the various dumps from his pocket, "I trust you to take care of it to the best of your ability."
He reached over and grasped her hand. Placing the key ring in her open palm, he met her eyes. Her expression was searching and eager, eyes wide and mouth loose. He wondered if it was his imagination or had her breathing picked up? He knew that his did as he cradled her fingers.
"Edith-"
"What bomb went off in here?" Porter's voice boomed across the room.
Alex whipped his hand away, leaving Edith's suspended. As Porter rounded a corner coming upon them, she let her hand drop. Nodding to Alex, Porter strode towards them with a secretive smirk as he studied Edith.
"Fancy meeting you two here. Lieutenant Dixon, good to see you."
His brazen stare trailed over Edith as though he owned her. Alex tried not to bristle at the observation as he looked back at a nearby pile of arms.
"How are you, Captain?" She asked without inflection.
Porter sighed, "Do me a favor, Edith and just call me Port, will yah?"
Edith arched an eyebrow and tucked the keys in her pocket. "Captain McKay, if there is nothing else, I should be getting back to town to fetch Sergeant Quincey. We have a lot of work to do from the looks of it."
Alex cleared his throat, "You can take the jeep. You'll need it. I'll catch a ride with Port. The keys are on the dash."
"Thank you. Good day, gentlemen."
She marched towards the entrance. Porter crossed him arms over his chest and surveyed the room.
"So her daddy trusts her with the wolves again, huh?" Port pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
"Seems so."
"She looked well. But that's not surprising."
Alex rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight, "We should be getting back as well."
"Whatever you say, Captain." Porter lit the cigarette and let a tendril of smoke curl around his nose, "Whatever you say."
Alex started towards the door and paused, kicking a knife into one of the jagged piles, “Port. Around Colonel Dixon’s daughter, if you could not be so-“
“Not Be so what? Not be myself?” Port snickered as he came up alongside Alex. He clapped him on the shoulder with a laugh, “You’re just jealous, aren’t you?”
Alex fought the impulse to shake him off. Port could really push his buttons sometimes. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he shook his head and stared at the concrete floor.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I am, Port. Jealous. You read me like a book.” Alex replied, trying to sound sarcastic. “Now can’t you see I have more important things to do then chat with you?”
Port started towards the door. “If you were a betting man, I would wager that Edith Dixon will be mine before summer is out.”
“If I were a betting man, I wouldn’t trust your odds.”
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