On the seventh of June, there was a field trip for everyone in Milleson House.  The women made up a picnic lunch and took it to the train station to support Donna as she anxiously waited for the train that was bringing her only son back home to her.  <br><br>
 

Mavis had a moment of deja vu as she saw the smoke from the locomotive on the horizon, though she couldn't hear the zinging of the tracks this time due to the large crowd on hand.   Most of the town was there, because this train would have a lot of soldiers on it.  There were no less than thirty-two men who fought in the war, and came from Hampstead, Nebraska.<br><br>


Rachel was even there, embarrassed as she was about the now noticeable swell of her belly, that had announced to the town that she had been indiscrete.  Some people thought that perhaps her rapist got much farther with her than she had admitted.  Others thought not, and that one of the married men had dallied with her, though there was no evidence of that.  While there were no known suspects, an awful lot of women kept an eye on their husbands that day, watching to see if there was anything that looked like guilty communication between the harlot and their man.  Her welcome, and the warm thoughts of most of the townspeople toward her after the attack, suffered greatly when it became known she was with child.<br><br>


But Meg and Sally had insisted that she come, and they protected her from the snorts of the women by simply proclaiming that they were jealous.  Rachel hadn't admitted anything to anyone at all, but knowing that Bobby went to her house twice a week, and knowing Bobby, they had their suspicions.<br><br>


Finally the train came into view, far down the tracks.  The five piece  band, made up of a battered tuba, a bugle, a drummer, a clarinet and a fiddle, struck up a cacophony that was energetic, if not in tune, playing "Over There" to the best of their ability.   They were playing it for the fifth time when the train groaned to a hissing halt and the doors opened.<br><br>


There was a hush of the crowd, and men, blinking in the bright sunlight, began stepping out of the coaches.
<br><br>

Bedlam ensued.<br><br>


Two hundred and thirteen mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and other relatives, as well as neighbors, roared their approval, drowning out the poor band, which finally gave up because they couldn't hear themselves playing.  There was a surge and the men were surrounded, beaten half to death by well meaning slaps on the back and hugs that crushed them.  Men were hugged and kissed by women they didn't know, or weren't related to.  All the hoarded excitement of VE day was brought back and burst from those people and saturated the soldiers.<br><br>


Donna, who had seen a man she thought might be Wally, struggled through the crowd, using her elbows like they were weapons, until she stood facing a tall, thin man, now almost twenty-two years old, who looked enough like her seventeen year old little boy that she was sure it was him, but who was a stranger as well.<br><br>


"Wally?" she said, her voice high and strained.<br><br>


"Hi Mama," he said with a toothy grin.<br><br>


Then he couldn't move because he had his mother wrapped around him like a boa constrictor.  When she was finally pried off of him there was a stain where her tears had wet his shoulder.  Then he got hugs from women he had known existed, but had never actually paid any attention to, as Meg, Prudence, Sally and Mavis all took their turns with more gentle and polite hugs, but smiles just as big as his.  Donna babbled, trying to introduce them all.  Rachel stayed back with the children, who, at the uproar, had huddled around her instinctively, looking around in wonder and not a little fear.<br><br>


Things calmed down a little bit and Wally looked around, spotting the two men he loved more than any other in the world, possibly more than even his own father's memory.  They were both standing awkwardly, talking to complete strangers nearby.  He waved at them and they shuffled toward him, nodding and thanking the people who had welcomed them, even though they'd never been in this town in their lives.<br><br>


"Ma" said Wally, as the two men arrived in the little group.  "This is Ralph Carter" he gripped the arm of the taller man, who had very dark hair and a scar across one cheek, "And this poor excuse for a human being is Jimmy Franklin."  Jimmy was shorter than both Ralph and Wally, appeared older and had blond hair.   "Ralph here saved my life when we went ashore on Omaha beach in France.  All three of us have been together ever since."<br><br>


Donna looked at Ralph, who was obviously embarrassed to be the center of attention.  She moved to him, took his face in her hands and, oblivious of the fact that he was almost the same age as her son, kissed him firmly on the lips.  When she pulled back, he had a dazed look on his face, and licked his lips.<br><br>


"Thank you," said Donna with great dignity.<br><br>


Ralph swallowed visibly.  "Ma'am" he drawled with a southern accent.  "You are most certainly welcome."<br><br>


Then it was off to the picnic.  When Donna apologized for all the children being dragged along both Ralph and the soft spoken Jimmy said that it was one of the nicest things that had happened to them since they got back.<br><br>


The women of Milleson House had no designs on the soldiers.   They were there just as a show of support for the returning heroes and for Donna's sake.  They tended the children, feeding them and tried to keep them out of Donna's hair so she could talk to her son and his friends.<br><br>


The men, however, were quite interested in those women.  They had been gone for almost four years and the women they had seen, as Jimmy would later describe them, were "beaten down, starved, and would do anything in the world for a bar of chocolate."  The men had felt sorry for them, but in most cases the women didn't speak English either, and just didn't appeal to them in a blatantly sexual way.  Besides that, the unit they were in was on the move constantly as the battles progressed and Germany was penetrated.<br><br>


Now, though, on a warm June afternoon, back in America, the vibrancy of these women electrified all three lonesome soldiers.  It was easy for Donna to see as she plied them with questions.<br><br>


The first thing she learned was that after their 30 day leave, which everyone in the whole company had been compelled to take, they would ship out to the Pacific Theater of Operations.  They boasted that they would do in Japan what they had done in Germany.  Donna was shocked by the seriousness they showed when they talked about that.  During those moments they were grim men, despite their youthful appearance.<br><br>


Ralph was only a year older than Wally and from Texas.   He had been notified that his parents had died of tuberculosis while he was overseas.  His sister and her husband were holding down the fort in Brownsville and he wanted to get home for a few days before they got shipped out again if he could figure out a way to get there.<br><br>


Jimmy was twenty three and an orphan.  When Donna heard that her eyes got round and she excitedly explained about Milleson House.  She pointed out Bobby as their oldest and newest charge and described how he had showed up.   Without another word Jimmy got up and went to talk to Bobby, even before Donna could explain that Bobby couldn't talk.

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Meg and Bobby were feeding children sandwiches and cole slaw when Meg saw the shortest of the three men who had gotten off the train together walking towards her.  His eyes were on Bobby, and she wondered what was happening.  When he arrived he stood, casting his shadow on Bobby, who looked up, his head turned.
<br><br>

"Miz Pratt says you ain’t got parents," he said abruptly.  Then he smiled, his teeth white against his face.  "Me neither.  Joined the Army when I turned seventeen just to get out of the place they had me in."   He stuck out his hand.<br><br>


Bobby almost spoke.   He took in the breath, and his unused vocal chords vibrated as he tried to introduce himself.  He clamped it off in a panic, and all that came out was a guttural rasp.  His hand, which had been rising to meet Jimmy's faltered and fell back in his lap as he darted a glance at Meg to see what she would do at the sound he had made.<br><br>


Meg looked up.  "Bobby can't talk.  There's something wrong, and we don't know what it is," she said.<br><br>


Jimmy looked startled, and sat down.  "'S Okay" he said, holding out his hand again.  "We're still brothers, you 'n me, far's I'm concerned."<br><br>


Bobby grinned and shook the offered hand vigorously.<br><br>


"Bobby's doing fine," said Meg, smiling at him.  "He's even employed.  He carves wood.  He's doing very well indeed.  We try to take good care of him."  She pinked up just a little at that last statement as she thought about just HOW they took such good care of him.<br><br>


Jimmy scratched his head.  "I imagine I'd be doing just fine too if I had a bunch of beautiful women taking care of me."   He grinned to show he had no salacious thoughts.  He was pretty good at covering for the fact that his thoughts were all salacious at that point in the conversation.  Meg was a good looking woman, with fine thrusting breasts, and no ring on her hand to show she was taken.  She was, perhaps, an inch taller than Jimmy, but that didn't matter to him in the least.  "I never would have tried to run away if there had been ladies like you around," he added.<br><br>


Meg responded the way any other woman would have responded in that situation.  She was pleased.   But, like any other woman, she didn't want to APPEAR pleased.  Not blatantly anyway.<br><br>


"Why mister ... why I don't even know your name!" she said, with a little giggle.<br><br>


"Jimmy Franklin, ma'am, at your service," he said, extending his hand to her too.  He looked over at Bobby.  "You ain't claimed her yet have you?" he joked.  "Wouldn't want to horn in on a brother."<br><br>


Bobby blinked.  While he was adept at some adult actions, at least in the bedroom and with tools in his hands, he had no social basis on which to draw in this situation.   Had he had time to think about things, he might have figured it out, but Meg's outburst shattered his concentration.<br><br>


"Why Mister Franklin, you are embarrassing me!   I don't believe I've met such a forward man in my entire life!"  Her response was based on mixed emotions.  Her first thought was to protect Bobby.  She was quite sure that no one outside Milleson House would understand or appreciate her relationship with him.  By now she knew she was pregnant as well ... had lost the flat plane that used to be her abdomen in fact.  When she was dressed that slight bulge wasn't noticeable yet, and she'd let out her dresses to camouflage that rounded belly, trying to delay the inevitable scorn that would be sent her way as soon as the townspeople knew her condition.  At the same time she was flattered at attention from a grown man, and she wasn't prepared to deal with that eventuality.  She hadn't spent much time thinking about normal relationships, because they had seemed so far away.  She can't be blamed for the fact that the men, like Jimmy, who would normally have pursued her, were all off at war.  What complicated things was her urge to dismiss him forthwith, avoiding the inevitable disgust he'd reveal when he found out she was with child ... while at the same time craving his attention.<br><br>


Jimmy looked back at her with a very frank ... and very adult appraisal.   "Ma'am, it would hurt me to my very bones to cause you pain.  I shall withdraw if that would ease your concern."<br><br>


His sudden change to dignified ... and surprisingly educated speech, threw Meg another curve ball.  It so startled her that, instead of accepting his offer to withdraw, she blurted: "You needn't withdraw, sir ... merely behave."   It came out as a mild admonishment, rather than the dismissal she knew was for the best.<br><br>


Jimmy, unable to behave on the instant, grinned and said "I'll behave if it will let me stay near to you, that's for sure."  Then he blinked.  "I don't imagine it would be too forward to ask your name ... would it?"<br><br>


Now Meg blushed again.   "I'm sorry.  Where are my manners?  Meg.  Meg Johnson.  Happy to meet you mister Franklin," she said.<br><br>


"I'd be tickled if you'd just call me Jimmy," he said.  Then, throwing her yet another loop, he turned back to Bobby.  "So, iff'n you can't talk, how the heck do you get by?"<br><br>


Bobby whipped out a sheet of paper from his pocket, along with his pencil stub, and scribbled quickly.   Meg heard squabbling and saw that Patrick and Jerry were arguing over the last sandwich.  She went to resolve the matter.  When she looked back, Jimmy and Bobby had their heads together, and Bobby was writing more.


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When Donna saw where Jimmy had gone, even though she couldn't hear the conversation, she saw him stick out his hand and eventually get it shaken.  She turned back to her son and his remaining friend.
<br><br>

"Well, with Meg right there I doubt we'll be seeing much of him for a while," she said, half joking.<br><br>


Wally laughed.  "I remember her, but not like that."<br><br>


Donna turned to Ralph.  "And what about you?   A handsome man like yourself must have a girl somewhere, right?"<br><br>


Ralph looked morose.  "There was a girl back home, but she got married while I was gone."  His eyes drifted to Prudence, who was playing catch with Terrence.   
<br><br>

Donna saw where he was looking and her lips thinned.  "I don't think she's the one for you," she said.  "Her husband was over there with you boys and he dumped her for some French tart.  He even sent her divorce papers.  I don't imagine she's got much patience with soldiers right now."<br><br>


"Man must be off his feed to abandon a woman like that," said Ralph, half under his breath.  Like other men, he let his eyes drift across Sally, but not light on her.<br><br>


Donna nodded.  She wanted to talk to Wally some more, so she tossed off something to get off the subject.  "Well, I'm sure there will be a dance in honor of your return.  You could ask her to it, but don't be surprised if she throws something at you."  Then she turned back to her son and began peppering him with questions about where he'd been, and what he'd seen, and how he was and so on. <br><br>

 
Unnoticed by either his best friend, or his best friend's mother, Ralph stood up to take a walk.  His walk took him vaguely in the direction of one Mrs. Prudence Watson, soon to be divorced.

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The object of Ralph's interest missed a wild throw of the balled up sock that the children often played catch with.  It had been made heavier by rolling three more socks up inside and then folding the outside sock down, twisting it and folding it over the lump again.  What resulted was between the size of a hardball and softball, and if it hit you it didn't hurt.   She twisted, reaching as the "ball" sailed over her head and to the left, and saw the sock caught by one of the soldiers who was with Donna's son.  She saw it was the tall one, with the scar on his cheek.  He held the sock out to her.<br><br>


"Thank you," she said, somewhat stiffly.   What she saw most was his uniform ... the same uniform her husband had been wearing when he left her.

"Ma'am?" came the man's deep voice ... much deeper than George's voice.  She looked up again.  "I just wanted to say how sorry I am about how things turned out for you."<br><br>


"What?" asked Prudence, astonished.<br><br>


"Wally's mom explained what happened with your husband and all, and I just wanted you to know that not all of us behaved like that over there."<br><br>


Prudence was horrified that this strange man knew about her ... situation.  The first thing she thought of was the fistfuls of hair she was going to pull out of Donna's head the first chance she got.  She was so mad she sputtered, unable to say anything.<br><br>


Ralph held up his hands.  "Now don't get all riled up, Ma'am.  I'll leave you in peace.  I just wanted you to know that hard as things was over there, a man would have to be plumb loco to abandon a woman like you.  That's all.  I just wanted to say that."<br><br>


Ralph Carter was not a sophisticated man.  He was from a culture where a man said what he meant, and meant what he said.  Most times, whatever it was that was said wasn't held against a man either, as far as that went, whether people agreed with him or not.  He, too, had left home when he was young, being eighteen on the seventh of December, 1941, and since then his world had been that of men.  He didn't put on airs, and what he had done to save Wally's life he would have done for any other man.  He didn't know how to talk to a woman, especially a woman as beautiful as he thought Prudence Watson was.  So, having said his piece, he turned around and walked back towards his friend.<br><br>


Prudence sat, dumbstruck.  The man had paid her a compliment, strange as it might have been.  And then he had just walked away from her.  As mad as she was at Donna, something in her wished that the man had stayed a little longer.  Then she decided that she would just have yelled at him, and something in her was glad he HADN'T stayed, and that she HADN'T had the opportunity to heap all her scorn on him.<br><br>


"PRU!"<br><br>


Her concentration was fragmented by Terrence's insistent call for her to throw him the sock again.  <br><br>


This time she was the one who threw wildly.

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Wally answered all his mother's questions as his eyes roved over the scene, drinking in the normality of it.  Battle had been terrifying, and he had almost broken under the strain, like many other men.  Seeing his friends die had hardened him in some ways, and had made him reflect often on the meaning of life.  As his mother peppered him with questions, his eyes lit on the blond woman who was reading a book to a group of smaller children.  She sat awkwardly, her legs folded under her and to one side.   She was obviously pregnant and, like many pregnant women, she was beautiful in a way that tugged at a man's heart.  <br><br>


Unknown to his mother, Wally was not a virgin.  While he had been in temporary billets, waiting for his troopship, certain that he was going off to die, he had taken a walk in the biggest city he'd ever seen in his life.  He'd been approached by a whore, offering him something he'd never had before.  She too had been pregnant, though not so much as the woman he was looking at now.  His first impulse had been to scorn the whore, but as he looked through the dirt on her unwashed face, he saw a girl, about his own age, down on her luck.  He had wanted to just give her some money, but she insisted that the man watching them would beat her if she didn't perform for her "fee", and he had allowed her to take him to a dingy room, where she initiated him into the ways of being a man.  He couldn't look at her as anything other than the poor girl she was as, bit by bit he pulled her story from her.  Then she had sat atop him, riding him to a release that he could still remember if he closed his eyes, and it was quiet.  He could still see the swell of the child some other man had put into her, that soft white curve of her belly, riding right on top of what felt so amazing to him.<br><br>


Now, as he stared at the blond woman, her image was superimposed on the thin face, with the dank, oily hair, of the girl who had taken his virginity.  He flushed and felt guilty.<br><br>


Donna saw consternation in her son's face and looked to see what was troubling him.   He was looking at Rachel.  She frowned.<br><br>


"She's the school teacher.  A man tried to rape her.   She's not married.  Things are ... difficult for her now," she said.<br><br>


Wally looked at his mother.  "Tried ... to rape her?" he asked.<br><br>


Donna signed.  "Bobby, the boy your friend Jimmy is talking to, stopped it.  Or at least we thought he stopped it.  He hit the rapist on the head and killed him.  She's always claimed that the man didn't finish the rape.  Events suggest otherwise, though," she finished.  Donna, like many others in Milleson House, was fairly sure that Bobby had something to do with that swollen belly, but she wasn't going to pursue that.  Especially not, considering what role Bobby played in her own life.<br><br>


"She's beautiful," said Wally.<br><br>


"She's a sweet girl," said his mother.<br><br>


"Really?" asked Wally.<br><br>


"She's a sweet ... pregnant girl," cautioned his mother.<br><br>


"I can see that mother," said the young man.<br><br>


"There are a lot of sweet un-pregnant girls out there to dear," said Donna.<br><br>

"True," said her son, who was suddenly much more independent than his mother remembered ... or appreciated right now.  "But I bet there aren't a whole lot of them un-pregnant who are that good looking."<br><br>


"Wally," asked Donna, curious now, "Why would you even be interested in a woman who is already pregnant with another man's child?"<br><br>


Wally blinked, like he hadn't been actually paying attention to their conversation.<br><br>


"I don't know," he said truthfully.  "I guess it just doesn't matter if she's not married and interested in me.  I just like the way she is sitting there with the kids.  She looks like a mother and I think mothers are kind of sexy."<br><br>


Donna arched an eyebrow.  "Really?" she asked.<br><br>


Wally looked at his mother calmly.  "Look at you.  You're a mother and you're sexy."<br><br>


"Wally!" said Donna, blushing.  "That's a completely inappropriate thing to say to your mother!"
<br><br>

"Hey, the truth is the truth," he said, looking back at Rachel.  "I think I'm going to go introduce myself."<br><br>


Donna stared at him, unbelieving as he rose and sauntered toward the group of children, being read to by their teacher.

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Rachel saw the soldier coming, but didn't pay much attention to him.  She was concentrating on trying to read like Meg read, using different voices, and inflection that made the story come alive.  The children ignored the soldier too, their full attention on the story.<br><br>


"... and they lived happily ever after," pronounced Rachel at the end.  The children called for more stories, but Rachel told them to run and play in the warm air.  "You'll get all fat like me if you sit around all the time," she said.  She put the book down on the blanket and leaned back to stretch her back, putting her legs out in front of her.   It was then that she realized the soldier was still standing a few feet away.  He had obviously been listening to her read.<br><br>


"You're a fine story teller Ma'am," he said.<br><br>


"Thank you," she said, aware of her bulging belly. "You should hear Meg read to them though.  She's fabulous."<br><br>


"I haven't heard that story since I was their age," said Wally.  "Who would have thought that a grown man would enjoy listening to a children's tale?  I'm Wally," he said.  "Mind if I sit down?"<br><br>


Rachel wasn't exactly afraid of strangers.  She knew that when that man had attacked her, it was an aberration.  Still, she was startled, and a little nervous.   Why would this man want to talk to her?  No one else in town did, with the exception of the women at Milleson House.<br><br>


"It's a free country," she said.   It suddenly occurred to her how banal that sounded.  "Of course, we have you to thank for that," she added, feeling foolish.<br><br>


Wally settled in beside her on the blanket.  "Somebody had to do it," he said casually.  "So you're the teacher.  I went to school here, and the teacher didn't look anything like you."<br><br>


Rachel looked at the young man strangely.  If she didn't know better she'd have thought he was flirting with her.  Maybe he was making fun of her.  She knew men had the capacity to be unbelievably cruel.  She didn't want to think that Donna's son was that way, but she decided to find out.<br><br>


"I'm sure your teacher was married and probably not ... with child," she said evenly.<br><br>


Wally looked up at the clouds.  "True, but I was thinking more of how gray her hair was, and how bony she was, and how she frowned all the time.  She was pretty free with that ruler of hers too.  I imagine I'd be a lot smarter today if she'd have been a beautiful young woman such as yourself."  He pointed at a grouping of clouds, changing the subject suddenly.  "Hey, there's one that looks like a Sherman tank!"<br><br>


Rachel didn't know what to think.  The young man had paid her an obvious compliment, almost a forward one.  It was as if he were blind to the evidence that she was a slut.  Rachel was not unhappy that she carried Bobby's baby in her womb.  What he had done for her deserved recognition of the highest order, and as far as she was concerned, having his child was that kind of highest recognition.  What she was unhappy about was the way she was treated.  She couldn't tell people why she'd done what she'd done.  If she did that they'd treat Bobby the same way, maybe even worse.  As a result, they all just assumed she was a slut.  But this man didn't seem to see the negative.<br><br>


"Thank you," she said belatedly.  Then "I'm not sure I know what a Patton tank looks like."<br><br>


So Wally pointed out the cloud mass he was referring to, and then to another that looked like a dog.  That caused Rachel to want to talk about Bobby's carvings of dogs.  On impulse she called to Bobby, who was not far away, being ridden like a horse by Patrick, next to one of the other soldiers, who was providing the same service to June Bug.  there was a line of children chasing both "horses", waiting for their turn to ride.  Bobby trundled over towards her, crawling quickly and jostling Patrick, who screamed and yelled like a cowboy.<br><br>


"Bobby, do you have one of your carvings with you today?" asked Rachel.<br><br>


Bobby reared, trying to buck off Patrick, who clung to his throat and laughed.  Reaching into his pocket Bobby took out a small carving he had been working on with his knife.  He still liked to whittle and carve that way, though he spent most of his free time working on larger projects.  He handed it to Rachel, who handed it to Wally.<br><br>


It was a cat, curled up and sleeping, its tail wrapped around it.  It was almost finished.  It was made out of cherry wood, and was so finely carved you felt like you could see the individual hairs on its back.<br><br>


"Wow!" said Wally with appreciation.   He looked at Rachel, who was still looking at Bobby.  He saw love in her face for the boy.  His mother had said this boy saved her from the rape, or that people had thought he had saved her.  "Is this for sale?" he asked, looking up at Bobby.<br><br>


Bobby shook his head.  Carvings like this were being saved to be given away as gifts.  He wanted to make sure he had enough for all the women in the house, and Rachel, before he gave one to anybody.<br><br>


"It should be," suggested Wally, handing it back to Bobby.  "It's the kind of thing that would make a perfect gift for somebody like this pretty lady here."<br><br>


Rachel suddenly realized she'd never introduced herself.  She bit her lip, though, ambivalent about encouraging this strange young man. <br><br>


"Thank you Bobby," she said.  He turned, and was set upon by Jenny who, at ten years of age, had long enough legs that they dragged the ground when she mounted her steed.  She didn't care, though, and slapped his butt with her hand, yelling "giddy up horsy".  Bobby bucked a little and then plodded off as she slapped at his butt again, yelling for him to go faster.<br><br>


"Nice kid," said Wally, on a hunch.<br><br>


"He's wonderful," said Rachel with more feeling than she realized.<br><br>


Wally could understand how being saved from rape would endear a woman to a boy ... no, man, like that.  Bobby appeared to be of an age where he was eligible for service.<br><br>


"My mom said he can't talk," said Wally.<br><br>


"Yes" said Rachel, still watching Bobby frolic with the children.  "It's very sad.  He's very smart.  He can read as well as I can almost."<br><br>


"How would you know?" asked Wally.<br><br>


She said "I spend a lot of extra time with him, and he writes me notes."   She turned back to Wally, feeling like she was being interrogated.  "He's not eligible for service."<br><br>


"Oh, I know," said Wally, looking back up at the sky.  "My mom told me what happened.  I'm sorry you had to go through that."<br><br>


"You don't even know me," said Rachel.  "Why would you care?"<br><br>


"Oh, I don't know.  Maybe you look like somebody I'd like to get to know.  Then would it be all right if I cared?"<br><br>


Rachel was embarrassed.  This man had been nothing but civil to her, and she was treating him badly.<br><br>


"It's just that most people don't ... approve ... they don't want to get to know me," she said.<br><br>


"I'm not like most people," he said, looking over at her.  "Would it be all right if I called on you?"<br><br>


Rachel felt flustered.  This was so outside her expectations she was at a loss.  The girl in her said "Yes, that would be all right."  Then she added.  "I don't imagine your mother would be impressed, though."<br><br>


"My mother is a nice woman, almost as beautiful as you are," he said.  "I'm going to spend some time with her too."   He grinned.   "But I can't hope for holding her hand, or maybe stealing a kiss from her.  People would REALLY be in an uproar if I did that.  Being seen with you won't be nearly so controversial."<br><br>


Rachel felt a flush of warmth in her chest.  "You, mister Pratt, are a very forward man."<br><br>


Wally smiled, and looked at her pregnant abdomen.  "I think we have more in common than you might realize," he said.   "I'm not concerned with your past, other than to wish that it had been happier.  And I'm not concerned about what people think who haven't been where I've been, or seen what I've seen.  I'd just like to spend some time with you and see how things go.  Maybe I'll get that kiss, and maybe not.  But spending time with you will be fun even if all I get is a slap in the face."<br><br>


It was the kind of speech a woman in Rachel's situation would dream to hear, and her heart fluttered in her chest.  Wally gave her a relaxed salute and got up.  <br><br>


"Now I'd better go spend some time with that other beautiful woman I mentioned, or I might not get any supper.  He grinned and trod off towards Donna, who had joined Mavis in cleaning up the ruin left by hungry, but distracted children.

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The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly, and the men helped herd the children back to Milleson House.  Wally spent most of his time with his mother.  Both Jimmy and Ralph had been lassoed into being horses, and had become favorites of the children.  Still, Jimmy seemed to be near Meg frequently, and Ralph spent plenty of time in the vicinity of Prudence.   When it was time to go the knees of their uniform pants were stained green.  Mavis ordered them to bring the pants to her and she would clean them.<br><br>


"Least I can do for you," she said firmly.<br><br>

"Sure thing ma'am" said Jimmy, looking at Meg.  "I'd like to see this orphanage of yours anyhow.  From what I've seen it can't be anything like the ones I was ever in."<br><br>


Mavis snorted.  "You might see the orphanage," she commented, "but I doubt that's what you'll be looking at."<br><br>


Both Meg and Jimmy flushed.  But both smiled too.<br><br>


"I'll ride herd on him ma'am," drawled Ralph.<br><br>


Mavis arched her eyebrow at him.  "If you can tear yourself away from other interests," she said, glancing at Prudence.  Prudence was suddenly very busy looking elsewhere.  Ralph just smiled.<br><br>


On the way back to the orphanage, the children traded off riding on the shoulders of Bobby and the three soldiers, who were already loaded down with their kits.  <br><br>


None of them complained.