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“Shit Genie, was he that bad?” Merriell asked, taking a long sip from his drink.
Eugene nodded, staring at the table below them.
“He’d yell at us for any infraction, didn’ matter if it was real o’ not,” he said.
Merriell’s gaze turned dark.
“Whatchu say this bastard’s name was? Softball? Sorbet? Whateva it was, fuck’em. Y’all were training to jump outta a goddamn plane and he jus’ gonna yell at y’all for havin’ a shoelace tied wrong?” Merriell started to rant, gripping the bottle in his hand.
Eugene had to fight down a smirk.
Hearing Merriell call Sobel Sorbet was certainly making his day.
“But seriously Genie? Piece of shit neva got in trouble for what he did to y’all? How many times did that skinny-ass rat man make you run Currahee or whateva?”
“Over a hundred, possibly more,” Eugene admitted.
“You shittin’ me?”
Eugene shook his head.
Merriell swore loudly, half in French, half in English.
Eugene had to fight down the laughs bubbling in his chest.
“I probably dealt with scarier crabs over there, and you tellin’ me he didn’t get in no trouble for any of this?”
Eugene bit his lips, hiding a smile, and shook his head.
Merriell got angry easily, that’s true, but they’d been friends for so long Eugene knew that sometimes it provided entertainment.
“Genie you better tell me he got demoted or whatever you army boys call it,” Merriell’s gaze was still dark.
Eugene let a small snicker escape him, but he nodded.
“Transferred right outta the battalion,” he told Merriell.
Merriell’s lips peeled back, his smile sharp and dangerous.
“Good. I’d smack that bastard to Okinawa myself,” he promised.
Eugene couldn’t hold it in anymore.
The image of Merriell, a scrawny, but skinny former Marine, fistfighting Sobel was too funny. Just the mere thought of Sobel and Merriell being in the same room, let alone within 5 feet of each other was just perfect.
He burst into laughter, his eyes watering.
Merriell chuckled.
“What’s so funny Genie?” He asked, eyes bright.
Eugene could barely make out the words, he just dissolved back into laughter.
He could see it, Merriell sneering in Sobel’s face, but then he laughed so hard his chest hurt.
Merriell, screaming at Sobel, “HI-HO SILVER BITCH!” was just too good of an image in his head.
He was still laughing, but Merriell had joined in, clearly amused by his giggling.