January 28, 1946
West Warwick, Rhode Island

Saying goodbye to Bill, Babe, and Spina had hurt, but not nearly as much as the first time she'd had to do it, especially in Bill's case. It hurt less than saying hello, too. And for Alice, that meant more than she could express. All three of them assured her that whenever Bill managed to organize the reunion, they'd be there. With that knowledge, she'd set out on her five-hour car ride to Rhode Island.

By the time she approached George's town, she felt famished, but it paled in comparison to her stress. Her leg bounced up and down. The anticipation of meeting the Luz family, especially his siblings, crashed over her like a tidal wave.

If there was one thing beyond her stress that Alice noticed, it was the beauty of Rhode Island. The trees that hadn't lost their leaves glowed red and orange and amber in the sun that cut through the cloud cover. There was no snow on the ground, though Alice bet that there would be if the clouds above were any indication. Breathtaking, really.

The houses ranged in size. Alice knew that George hadn't finished high school because he had to support his large family, so it didn't surprise her when she pulled up to a moderately large house a bit of a hike from the center of the small town. She looked at it. Fading yellow siding and brown brick made her smile. It felt right.

Alice got out of the car. She smoothed down her dress in an effort to look as presentable as possible. Two cars sat out front. To her pleasant surprise, it wasn't as cold as she'd anticipated. Cold, but not freezing. That she could handle.

Even as she stepped onto the path up to their front door, she heard shrieking and laughter. Looking right, she found two girls and a boy running around. The younger girl had on slacks and a nice blouse, while the older had a blue dress. The boy looked about the same age as her, maybe twelve or thirteen. They rambled on in Portuguese. But as they found Alice standing there, smiling, they all stopped.

"Hi, I'm Alice," she started. "I'm a friend of your brother's. George."

Realization seemed to dawn on all three of them. The older girl ran to the door, not even pausing as she flew inside and started shouting. But the other two walked over to Alice.

"You're Alice?" The boy asked. "I thought you'd be taller."

She chuckled. "Let me guess. Gabriel?" When he nodded, she looked at the girl. "Then you must be Maria."

"Yes. Wow. George told us all about you," she said, beaming.

Her excitement was palpable. In the chilly air, their breath mingled in little clouds as they stood with each other. Alice felt tears stinging her eyes. "That's funny. George told me all about you two as well."

Gabriel snorted. "Probably all bad things."

"No!" Alice shook her head. "No. Just, how much he missed you."

Even as he went to respond, the front door opened again. They all turned around. Alice couldn't stop her grin when she saw George with a cigarette in his mouth. She just shook her head. But George laughed and walked over. "Jesus, thought you'd never show up."

Alice grabbed him in a hug. If hugging Bill had felt like going home, hugging George was like she'd never left it. The smell of the cigarette was familiar, just like the way he let her break the hug when she was ready. When she finally pulled away, Alice had to wipe her tears from her face.

"You know you could've come to New Jersey if you were so concerned!" she teased through the tears. "Instead you made me drive all the way out here."

"What, and have to visit Captain Nixon too? No thanks." George just chuckled again though, shaking his head. He looked her up and down. "You look nice! Trying to impress someone?"

Alice laughed. "Yeah. Your family, you smartass. If you really have told them all about me, I can only imagine the horrible image they have."

Before he could respond, though, Alice looked past him at a handful of other people in the door of his house. She noticed that Gabriel and Maria had both disappeared, inside probably, and now she saw a couple of older siblings.

When an older woman with greying hair pushed through them, Alice couldn't help but feel the nerves return. Mrs. Maria Luz. George's fantastic mother.

"Mom, this is Alice. Alice, this is the fabulous Mrs. Maria Luz," George said. "Mom has you to thank for keeping me alive, and Alice you have her to thank for my existence."

Alice couldn't help but laugh even as Mrs. Luz took her hand and gave her a big shake. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Luz."

"You as well," she replied.

Her smile was warm, and it set Alice at ease immediately. Just like George. An easy smile for everyone. As soon as Mrs. Luz had shaken her hand, she turned to George and spoke in Portuguese. He responded, and then turned back to Alice.

"She insists we go inside before you catch a cold," he explained. Then he rolled his eyes. "She worries over everything. Never mind we went to war, the cold is the real enemy."

Alice snorted a laugh. But as she followed George, silently she agreed with Mrs. Luz. Cold could be just as deadly as war. She'd learned that the hard way.

When they walked in the door, he jumped straight into more introductions. "Lisa, Jose," George said, "Alice."

Jose was tall, taller than George. It surprised her, given that if she counted right, he was only about sixteen. Lisa was closer to Alice's height, with dark hair in tight, neat curls and a gentle smile. They both said hello.

"Victoria's out with her fiance. Dorothy and Manuel have houses down the street. You already met Rita outside." He narrowed his eyes at Maria, who'd come up, eagerly awaiting more information. "Where's Santi?"

"He's with Sam and Isaac," she said.

George rolled his eyes. "Typical. I told him to be here."

"Santi said he didn't care."

"Again," George replied, "Typical."

Alice didn't mind though. So many names that she'd heard for years now had more than black and white photos to identify from. They had living, breathing faces and rich voices. Overwhelming, but not unpleasant. So many names though. Suddenly the sense of missing something overwhelmed her. Maybe because she saw Bernadette in the mannerisms of the girls, and Robert and Marc in the mannerisms of the boys. Her mother she saw in Mrs. Luz, and when Mr. Luz said hello, her father.

After half an hour of being grilled with questions related to her and George's relationship as best friends and not, in fact, lovers by the younger group of kids, the topic shifted to the war. Maria and Rita grew tired of listening to more war stories and ran off. But Jose, and Santi who came in with a practiced air of no interest, both settled down with the adults to hear about Alice's role in the military.

They found it particularly funny that George was the first Toccoa man she ever met, on a train down to Georgia. Alice fondly recalled letters from Maria offering her a look at family life that she no longer had.

"My family passed away during the war," she tried to explain. Her chest hurt as she thought about it, about the knowledge that while she'd been in Bastogne, her sister had been dying in an extermination camp. "I have some friends in Paris, though. And I live in New Jersey."

"Did your brothers fight in the war?" Lisa asked.

"My brother, Marc, he was killed in January of 1941." She could feel her resolve to speak fading quickly. "Robert and I fought the Nazis in the Alps, part of the French Resistance there. Then I came to America, and he was caught by the Gestapo."

"George said you had a sister, too?"

George rolled his eyes. "Lisa, stop asking questions."

But Alice just offered him a small smile and a shrug. "It's okay. She and my parents were killed later. I'd rather not speak about that."

The room went quiet. Alice could hear her breathing faltering, and the ticking of a clock nearby. In the end, it was Santi who was their saving grace as the fourteen-year-old boy insisted he needed food and that in no uncertain terms, he needed it right then.

"I'm going to grab a smoke, if that's alright?" Alice asked. No one said no, so she hurried out the front door and walked a bit away from the house, hugging her coat close. She wrestled out her lighter and popped a cigarette in her mouth.

"How was Welsh's wedding?" It didn't surprise her one bit that George had followed her out. But it didn't surprise her when he handed her a small sandwich. "Figured you'd be hungry." He broke into a grin and started impersonating her. "I need a damn sandwich. Where's Nix when I need some good food, not just good whiskey-"

"Stop!" Alice laughed and swatted him. "You're terrible. Don't make fun of my fiance."

George snorted and shook his head. "I was making fun of you not him, but okay."

They stood smoking for a minute. The quiet of Rhode Island, outside the Luz household, felt strangely pleasant. Philadelphia had been full of noise and constant movement. Rhode Island felt peaceful. Alice turned to George. "How did you get so good at voices? Use it to make trouble in class?"

George chuckled. He gestured back towards the house. "It's good for bedtime stories."

"Oh that is fucking adorable," Alice said.

"Jesus Christ. Don't make fun of me now."

"Me?" At the roll of his eyes, Alice broke down laughing. She just nodded. "Okay, okay. Fine. Because your family is being nice and letting me stay, I'll be nice to you."

"Louis I think this is the beginning of-"

"No! George!"

"-a beautiful friendship."

Alice groaned but she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She should've expected nothing less. Casablanca seemed to have become their secret language. All the way back to Mourmelon-le-Grand. Alice smiled.

"How long are you staying?"

Alice shrugged. "Nix is getting Dick set up at the business these first few days. That's why I figured I'd drive around and visit. Let them have a few days together and then head back."

"Well, my house is your house. Though the family may get a bit much," he added. "There's a motel in town, if you'd rather stay there."

"They certainly are rowdy," Alice said, chuckling. "Maria's adorable, as you always promised."

"Oh, and you haven't even met the older ones. Victoria's a handful. Dorothy's a little better. I'd guess Manuel, Lisa's twin, will be over tomorrow. He's quieter than me."

"That's not hard."

"I'm shocked, shocked you find me loud."

"Stop. George I swear-"

"You couldn't get me to stop for the past three and a half years. Think I'll stop now?" He dropped his cigarette to the grass and stomped it out. Then he looked her over more seriously. "It's not been easy here, and I'm sure it hasn't been easy for you. I'm not stupid, I'm a smartass, remember?"

Alice couldn't help but smile. "I know."

"So I'm gonna have a bit a fun while you're here," he added, smirking. "Come on. It's getting a bit late. Dinner's soon, if Santiago hasn't totally ruined the meal plan."

"He is quite a character," Alice agreed. "I think he may be my favorite."

George groaned. "Jesus Christ, please for all that is holy do not tell him that. Trust me. It'll go straight to his already massive head."

With a laugh, she also put out her cigarette and turned to follow him in. Between George and the smoke, she'd calmed down, and felt a bit better prepared to face the eager siblings and parents inside. She just hoped they could accept nonanswers from her, if she needed to give them such. But Alice knew George would help. Besides, she wasn't about to pass up a home-cooked meal.