Bitter Pill to Swallow

Chapter 5

It had been five days since they'd set sail for England, and safe to say tensions were starting to fray. Valerie was lucky to be bunking with Welsh, but even they'd had a few disagreements.

"If you don't quit your snoring I'm gonna strap you to the bow to scare off the sharks," he'd sworn one early morning, tying his shirt buttons roughly.

"My snoring?" Valerie replied incredulously. "I'm surprised you can hear me snoring over the droning of your own."

She was playing a game of fish with Luz when the fight of the day broke out. She'd been laughing at his master plan to snag an English dame when they'd overheard Bill Guarnere talking shit. Valerie looked up in alarm when she noticed Liebgott jumping down from his bunk and getting up in Guarnere's face. She sighed and jumped down herself, intending to step in between them and prevent any fists from flying.

"Hey, hey!" She shouted, pulling Liebgott back behind her. "Break it up you two, and watch your damn mouth, Gonorrhoea. Quit talking shit about Jews, you know where we're going and who we're fighting, so why don't you show some goddamn respect. "She put a hand on Liebgott's shoulder to steer him back towards his bunk. "Don't listen to him, Lieb, he's just being an idiot."

As they moved away they heard Guarnere grumbling something about 'goddamn woman must be on the rag," and Valerie saw red. She dropped her hand from Liebgott's shoulder and marched back towards Guarnere.

"You wanna say that again to my face, Guarnere?" snapped Valerie. "Who do you think you are saying things like that about a ranking officer?"

Malarkey was desperately trying to pull Guarnere away, warning him to cut it out before he got himself in more trouble. A hush settled in the immediate area surrounding them, everyone afraid to intervene but too nosy to look away.

"I said what I said," Guarnere snarled, pulling his arm out of Malarkey's and clenching his jaw. Valerie narrowed her eyes at him and glared coldly.

"I'm gonna give you one more chance to take that back, Guarnere," Valerie warned, crossing her arms. She felt Liebgott step up beside her protectively, and even though she didn't need it she was eternally grateful for him in that moment. He had her back, and he wanted her to know it.

"I ain't taking nothing back, I said what I said,'' he insisted, ignoring Malarkey's continued pleas for him to back down.

Valerie narrowed her eyes at Guarnere, her fingers clenching against her crossed arms and her face reddening. Beside her, Liebgott was clenching his fists so hard she was sure they'd split open at the knuckles.

"You really don't know when to shut your damn mouth, do you?" Snapped Liebgott, stepping forward and raising his fist for another go at Guarnere. But Valerie threw her arm across his chest and stopped him, shaking her head and silently trying to tell him that she could deal with this herself. He huffed but stepped back beside her, continuing to glare harshly at Guarnere.

"Well, you know what, Gonorrhoea," Valerie hissed coldly, stepping up to him. "Next time why don't you say that to my fists, huh? Because you are sorely mistaken if you don't think I could punch you so hard you'd be seeing Lady Liberty dancing the jive."

Guarnere was about to respond when they were interrupted by a stern voice.

"What's going on here?" Asked Lieutenant Winters, who'd appeared behind Valerie without her noticing. She took a few deep breaths before turning on her toes to face him.

"Nothin' for you to worry about, Lieutenant Winters," she replied. He glanced between her and Guarnere sceptically, his eyebrows furrowing as he assessed the situation.