Chapter 11: La puis d'amour.
Author's note: This was such a long chapter that I decided to split it into two parts. "Buttered buns" will be in chapter 12.
27 May 1944, Saturday.
This was the fifth straight day of bombing runs inside Northern France and Western Germany. There may be no such thing as a routine when it comes to war, but we were falling into a pattern of sorts.
With the help of the memory spell, Amanda managed to read and memorize all the appropriate manuals and code books needed to run the communications station. The fact that I wouldn't leave her alone with Lee until she did may have been a motivating factor in her decision to achieve those goals so quickly.
Amanda's romance with Lee also brought some other positive changes. She was better focused with radio communications and no longer felt compelled to tease Lieutenant Fisher. She was also calmer and more serious with me.
Agatha noticed the same thing during one of her daily visits to see how we were doing. She gave Amanda another bottle of contraception potion to replace her dwindling supply.
"I'm going to have to start charging you guys so I can replenish my supplies. Between Amanda and Penny, I have to make two batches a week," she complained.
"How are things working out between you and your new flat mate?" Amanda asked.
"Oh my god, that witch is insatiable! She comes back late from work after milking Captain Keith dry and then wants to hit the pub to pick up men there. The first couple days weren't bad because the guys would treat us to free meals and drinks, but last night when they realized Penny would do them for free, the food and drinks stopped and they started hitting on me because I was with her," Agatha complained.
"That's awful! What are you going to do?" I asked.
"Maybe I'll slip some sleeping potion into her soup tonight," she replied.
"Are you serious?"
"No. I'm going to try to work out some sort of a schedule with her. Maybe I can teach her the dart scam. But all her sexual activities remind me how lonely I've been since I've cooled things off with Nigel," she lamented.
Agatha wasn't the only one having to work around amorous roommates.
With Lee and Amanda spending evenings together in the communications tent, I needed to find someplace else to go for a few hours. So, I joined the men of the 5-1-2 Squadron for supper and then spent the rest of the evening with them around their campfire. One evening, even Major Locke joined us. The men would share their stories of home and the girls waiting for them. At first, some of the guys were resentful of Lee for not joining us. But soon they discovered it was easier to open up to me and share their stories and their feelings because he wasn't there.
The guys would ask me my opinion about what girls like or don't like in a relationship. I heard them brag about their sexual triumphs and mourn the loss of the girlfriend who broke it off or who were unfaithful. Often, they would read their letters from home and ask my advice on how to respond to their girlfriends waiting for them.
I answered their questions as best I could, explaining the importance of listening to their girlfriends' needs and aspirations. But I also explained that every woman is different and unique, and confessed I had made my own mistakes when it came to affairs of the heart.
I was thinking about John and my day at Ayresdon manor when I said that. I kept thinking about that afternoon with John and wondering if I should have pursued my passion with him when were alone together in the woods by the gazebo. I was convinced that because of my hesitancy, I had lost my chance, and by now he most likely had moved on and found someone else.
More than once I thought about taking one of these pilots aside and losing myself in lustful passion in an effort to get John out of my head. But my past experiences suggested that the opposite would happen, and I would feel guilty on top of my regret; not to mention the additional complications that go along with having a distraction lover. Besides, I was developing a sisterly fondness for these boys. Fucking them would feel like fucking my brother and I had no intention of reliving that memory, as pleasant as it seemed at the time.
With D-Day quickly approaching, there were no days off. Saturdays and Sundays were just another two working days. No one at the airfield knew when D-Day would be, but we were all sure it would be within the next couple of weeks.
So, there we were on a late Saturday afternoon finishing our logs and reports. All the planes had returned, and the pilots were in their debriefing meeting when a familiar voice was heard outside the tent.
"Hello, may I come in?" the male voice with a distinct British accent asked.
"John? Is it really you? Come on in!" I said, excitedly.
He looked as dashing as ever. He was dressed in his RAF Air Chief Marshall uniform, royal blue with a light blue shirt and navy-blue tie. His face lit up when he saw me. I wanted to jump into his arms, but with Amanda, Lieutenant Fisher, and the switchboard corporal in the tent, I needed to control myself a bit longer.
"Good afternoon, Your Lordship," Amanda, the lieutenant, and the corporal chorused.
"Please forgive me for addressing you by your first name, Your Lordship. I meant no disrespect," I said as formally as I could.
"No apologies are necessary. I am flattered by the familiar, Morina," he replied.
"Is there something I can help Your Lordship with? If this is official business, I can do it right away. Otherwise, we should be finished here in another 5 or 10 minutes," I announced.
"It's not official. I'm here on a personal matter and I can wait outside until you are finished," he explained, and he stepped outside.
I quickly completed my work, and I stepped out of the tent to meet him.
"I should like to offer you an alternative to supper in the mess tent, if you're interested," John suggested.
"Anything would be better than flavorless K-rations. What did you have in mind?" I asked.
"A private picnic outside the airfield. I've already cleared it with Colonel Drummond. Come with me," he said.
"Just a minute, I need to let Amanda know I'll be gone for a while."
Back inside the tent, I told Amanda I'd be gone for the evening.