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Newkirk and Wood had a long way ahead of them to meet the submarine. They walked along quietly, holding hands and occasionally looking at each other and smiling. Finally, Newkirk spoke.
"You know, we should play a game," he smiled.
"A game?" Wood chuckled.
"Yeah, twenty questions. We'll take turns asking each other questions to get to know each other. I'll ask you ten and you'll ask me ten. It'll be fun!"
"Alright, you go first."
"Ok, we'll start simple. What's your favorite color?"
"Blue," Wood answered. "Um, what's your favorite food?"
"Easy, strawberries. Where'd you grow up?"
"Little farm in Kansas," she smiled softly. "I miss home a lot these days."
"Yeah, me too," Newkirk glanced down at his feet in silence for a few seconds, then Wood picked up the conversation again.
"Did you have any pets growing up?"
"Uh, yeah," Newkirk laughed. "A three-legged dog we called Lucky. He was a lot of fun."
“Really? We had a one-eyed cat named Betsy on the farm.”
“No kidding?” Newkirk chuckled. “Alright, my turn, umm… what did you do before the war?”
“I had joined the military a little bit before the U.S. joined the war. My father had done some work with airplanes, and they’ve always fascinated me. I’ve always wanted to be able to work with them, so I decided to join the USAAF. I’ll ask you the same question.”
“I was in the circus for a bit, and I also did some work as a magician.”
“Really? I was wondering how you learned to crack safes and pick pockets,” Wood teased. “What else did you learn there?”
“Oh, I had a knife throwing act, also worked with a chimpanzee."
Wood looked at Newkirk in amazement and laughed softly.
"I wasn't expecting that," she smiled. "Your turn."
"Right, what is a place you would like to visit?”
“I’d have to say France. I mean I know I’ve been there before, but I’d like to see it during better times.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
Wood thought about her next question for a second, then finally asked, “What is your biggest pet peeve?”
“Oh, that’s a good one,” Newkirk answered. “Lemme think for a second… Definitely officers. Don’t get me wrong, Colonel Hogan is a great man, and I would risk my life for him, but not a lot of officers are as good as he is. They use their authority as an excuse to treat people like rubbish, you know?”
Wood nodded silently. She didn’t really know what to say since she herself was an officer. She could see the color slightly drain from Newkirk’s face as the realization dawned on him.
“I- I didn’t mean you of course love,” Newkirk started. “Oh, I am so sorry, I-”
“It’s okay,” Wood smiled. “I know what you meant. No harm done.”
Newkirk smiled back and asked his next question, “What’s your middle name?”
“Virginia.”
“Elizabeth Virginia Wood?” Newkirk smiled. “I like that. A very pretty name for a very pretty girl.”
Wood blushed and looked the other way. She knew the line was sort of cheesy and cliche, but it still made her feel good to hear Newkirk say it.
She soon composed herself and asked, “Do you have any tattoos?”
The question caught Newkirk off guard. It was a pretty taboo subject, and he was surprised she had even asked.
“Uh, yes I do,” he said, staring at the ground and playing with his cap.
Wood looked at him as if to say well, go on.
“If you want to know more, that’s going to cost you another question darling,” he teased.
“Alright, what kind of tattoos do you have and where?”
“That’s really two questions, but I’ll just count it as one,” he winked. “I have a tattoo of the Welsh flag on my upper left arm for my mother and I also have a tattoo for my sister Mavis. It’s a couple of strawberries on my upper back because my mum said it’s a relative of the Welsh word for strawberries, which is mefus.”
Wood could tell Newkirk was slightly embarrassed, but his answer made her adore him even more, if that was possible.
“I love that,” she beamed.
“You don’t have anything against tattoos?” Newkirk asked, surprised.
“No, not at all.”
“Do you have any tattoos?”
“Yes.”
“Well, tell me about them.”
“If you want to know more, that’s going to cost you another question darling,” Wood mimicked in her best British accent.
“Ha ha, very funny. Alright, what kind and where?”
“I got one when I joined the service, it’s a bald eagle across my upper back. I think I would like to get another one someday.”
“Yeah, I’ve thought about it too.”
“How do you stay sane in the middle of all of this?” Wood asked.
Newkirk let out a deep sigh. “It’s hard, it really is. I don’t know how I keep it together sometimes. I’ve started smoking a lot more since this all started. It helps calm my nerves. And you of course, you’ve helped me a lot. I like to look at the sky too whenever I get a chance. Like right now, over there you can see Orion’s Belt. There’s the three stars that form the belt, and there’s three more that form the bow. Do you see it?”
“Wow,” Wood whispered. “That’s incredible, I’ve never seen it before.”
“Really?”
“No, the only constellation I’ve ever been able to identify is the Big Dipper.”
“Well now you can add Orion’s Belt to the collection,” Newkirk chuckled. “Oh boy, I’m running out of ideas for questions. Uh… do you sing in the shower?”
Wood couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“I couldn’t think of anything else,” Newkirk said defensively. “Besides, I think it tells you a lot about a person.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Wood chuckled. “Anyways the answer is yes.”
Newkirk grinned and seemed satisfied with the answer.
“I hope that means something good,” Wood said.
“Yes, I think it does,” Newkirk winked.
“Well now I need to know if you sing in the shower!”
“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say I sing. I’ll hum or whistle a tune though.”
Wood nodded, “Fair enough.”
“What is your greatest accomplishment?”
“I would definitely have to say reaching the rank of Captain. I’ve worked so hard to make it in the military as a woman, and it just feels amazing to have made it this far despite all of the obstacles I’ve had to face.”
Newkirk beamed, “Yeah, we’re all very proud of you, you know.”
“Thank you,” Wood blushed. “Would you consider yourself a morning or night person?”
“Night person. The world is more peaceful at night. It’s quiet and I have all the time in the world to myself. There’s nobody there to judge me or tell me what to do. It’s just me and the constellations.” He smiled fondly at the vast night sky above him. “Alright, last question for me. What are your plans for after the war?”
Wood sighed, “I haven’t really thought about it. I supposed right now it’s just to make it out alive. I think I’ll ask you the same thing.”
“I don’t really know either, but I do know I want those plans to include you,” he smiled.
Wood stopped walking for a second and looked at Newkirk closely. How did I get so lucky? she thought to herself. She leaned in and kissed him right then and there.