[for Gene]

[yo_babe]

It's one of them things he just knows by instinct, but he just doesn't wanna talk about it 'cause he doesn't know what really happened. Julian's dead, and Babe knows he coulda stayed and stopped it. He doesn't know how he knows that, but he already feels like he's abandoned the poor kid by coming here. He wants to ask all the time, but he holds

Comments

[le_traiteur]

The polite thing to do is ask permission before I sit down, but it would feel false, so I don't. Just plop myself down into the sand beside Heffron, look at him a few seconds, then look out at the water. I still haven't been swimming yet. Should probably do that.

"You okay?" I ask without takin' my gaze off the horizon. It's easy enough to tell he's got somethin' on his mind, and I can't help but think about Bastogne and frozen Belgian chocolate. The bright blue of Renee's scarf against Heffron's hand.

[yo_babe]

He hears Gene before he sees him out of the corner of his eye. That's a loaded question, but Babe's already decided he's alright. So he shrugs up one shoulder and gives a little nod to the side, raising his brows in an 'eh' kind of gesture.

"Can't complain," he answers, plain and simple. He turns his gaze to Gene. "What about you?" he asks, but he's not askin' just to ask in return. "You okay?"

[le_traiteur]

"I'm fine," is what I say, and while it's the standard reply, I realize as I'm sayin' it that it's true. Just now, things aren't too bad. Feels like we're in a lull, and maybe I better appreciate it while I got it.

"Seems like you're settlin' in okay," I add, 'cause I figure if there's anythin' to complain about, Heffron won't have any kinda problem with sayin' so.

[yo_babe]

"Settlin' in okay," he echoes like he's testing the words to see if they ring true. He sucks idly on the inside of his cheek and shifts down to his elbows. So far as he can guess, that's about as close to it as Gene's gonna get.

"Let me ask ya somethin'," he starts in typical fashion. "When'd you come here? 'Cause last I seen, you were jumpin' out of the foxhole I was sharin' with that kid." And he hasn't even wanted to ask about what happened after that. It's not that he's been scared to, he's just been refusing to believe that Bastogne won't reappear in front of him at any given moment.