William grinned. He’d shared his secret with John shortly after he’d told Tom. Tom and John both assured him that it made no difference. He laced up his bootstraps and jumped from airplanes just like the rest of them and that’s all that mattered to them.

Such things were of no consequence when one had pledged to give his life for yours if the situation called for it.

“Definitely handsome,” William assessed as he stroked an imaginary beard. “There is a fine symmetry to his face, a slight divot in his chin, and his jaw looks as if it was chiseled in marble by Michelangelo himself.”

Tom rolled his eyes and walked over to the washbasin. He looked in the mirror above it. He wouldn’t scare any crows from the field any time soon, nor did he think himself to look like a matinee idol. It was difficult to consider oneself honestly. “You two are full of it, you know?” He picked up the bar of lye soap and scrubbed his hands.

Tom knew that all of this was theatrics more than anything. The circumstances of the war made this whole scenario squarely hypothetical and easy fodder for the joking that was common among the men.

John pulled his uniform out of the wardrobe and picked a piece of lint off it. “Okay. Well, that might be an exaggeration on our parts. But you’re no slouch, Tom. I think my sister would rather like that mug of yours. And I can’t think of any guy I’d rather her go out with.”

Tom felt his cheeks warm at the praise and at the very notion that John would seem so sincere with his approval. It was a welcome thought, although it would amount to nothing in the end. Tom’s plan was to stay in the military long after the war was over. He had no idea how a woman would fit into that picture.

“Well, you’ll be waiting a long time,” he told John. “She’s over three thousand miles west of here and as far as I can tell, we’re going to be old men by the time we get back home. Besides. She lives in Brooklyn and even when I return to the States, I don’t think I’ll ever get the country out of my blood.”

“Don’t be so sure. Love conquers geography.”

“Well, the current geography is enough to make this entire conversation pointless.”

He checked his watch. They needed to move faster.

They each began to get dressed. William had become adept with doing the task one-handed and would continue his role as radio support on the ground until he could get up in the air again.