Evelyn's Tale

-Twenty One-

6th December,1944- Mourmelon-le-Grande

"Ok, what about your mom's cannolis or those little Easter cakes that they make in that bakery next to Sal's diner? You know which ones I mean right? They have that amazing frosting on them that I'm pretty sure comes straight from God's personal kitchen."

It was lunch time and Evelyn and Babe were in the mess hall. Everyone else was nowhere to be seen but Babe had just finished guard duty, and Evelyn had just finished yet another inventory of the medical stores when they both decided to grab a bite to eat. After Holland, it was still almost a novelty to be able to eat proper meals. Funny how a couple of months of poor eating made Army meals taste like they were dining at the Ritz. Well, almost.

For the past ten minutes, the two of them had been asking each other questions about things they liked or preferred. At first it had been simple things like whether they preferred red apples or green, or whether baseball or football was better. It had started out as a bit of fun to pass the time, but now the questions were getting serious. After all, Evelyn was an Italian and from Philly. Therefore, as such, cooking, especially that of mothers, was serious business indeed.

"Argh you can't ask me that," Evelyn groaned. "How can I go against something my mom makes? That would morally be wrong. I would literally be cast into the burning fires of hell I'm almost certain, and as much as I hate to be cold, I hate the heat a heck of a lot more. Plus, with my delicate complexion I would burn instantly and it wouldn't be pretty."

"So is that you saying that you prefer the little Easter cakes?" Babe surmised with a grin.

"That is me saying that if you ever tell my mom I prefer the little Easter cakes then I will hunt you down and kill you. I know where you live after all," Evelyn grinned back. "Although, my mom's cannolis are delicious, you know. When we get back to Philly you'll have to come round and she can make you some."

"Sounds good to me," Babe nodded. "I'd invite you and Bill to mine but, I won't lie to you, my Mom ain't the best cook in the world. In fact, she's pretty dire. Not that I'd ever tell her that though. She's too sensitive and would cry or something."

"I'll bet she's not all that bad," Evelyn said.

"You reckon?" Babe snorted. "Not long before I left, she decided to make pizza. It was a recipe she had gotten from one of our neighbours. My brothers and I were excited because let's face it, who can get a pizza wrong? Well apparently my mom can, that's who. I ripped off a bit of the pizza crust and I was surprised to find that both the dough and the sauce were actually rather nice. But that all changed as soon as I took a proper bite. Do you wanna know what she put in the pizza? Hidden from view, underneath the cheese, was egg mayonnaise, peas and gherkins. On a pizza."

Evelyn choked on the coffee she was drinking as she started laughing.

"Fucking eggs and gherkins on a pizza," Babe shook his head, grimacing as he remembered the foul tasting concoction.

"So, she's adventurous?" Evelyn shrugged trying to see a positive in the story. "How do you think all great chefs become great? They don't stick to recipes and what's safe. They think outside the box and try different things."

"How many great chefs do you know that make carrot, onion and chocolate soup?"

"You're having me on now," Evelyn chuckled. He wasn't having her on. "Oh my. Yeah, I never thought I'd hear myself say this about something that's got chocolate in it but that sounds revolting. We definitely need to get you round to ours when all this is over, then you'll be able to taste some real good home cooking."

"I'm warning you though, if your mom's cooking is as good as you and Bill say I might just stay forever," Babe joked.

"Don't kid about that in front of my mom because before you know it you'll be trapped in the house forever. She sees it as her civil duty to look after waifs and strays."