Chapter 26 Chapter Twenty-Five

When they got back to the house, Flick set drinks for the group.Officers did not usually make cocoa for their own men, but in Flicker's view this simply meant that few in the army understood the art of leadership. Paul stood in the kitchen watching her wait for the pot of water to boil, and she felt his loving gaze.She knew what he was going to say, and she was ready to reply.It's easy to fall in love with Paul, but she won't betray her husband, who is risking his life fighting in Nazi-occupied France. However, he asked a question that surprised her: "What are you going to do after the war?"

"I look forward to a boring life," she said. He smiled and said, "You've had enough exciting days." "It's too much." Then she thought for a while, "I still want to be a teacher and share my love of French culture with young people. Teach them to understand French literature and painting, or something less highbrow, such as cooking and fashion." "So you're going to be a teacher?" "Finish my Ph. D., get a job at a university, and demean those narrow-minded, aging male professors. Maybe write a guide to France, or even a cookbook."

"Sounds pretty docile, now that you've gone through this kind of life." "But this is very important. Young people who know more about foreigners are less likely to be as stupid as us, killing each other in the neighborhood." "I don't know if that's the right thing to say." "What about you? What are your plans after the war?" "Oh, my plan is much simpler. I'm going to marry you and take you to Paris for your honeymoon. Then we'll live in peace and have a few children." She stared at him. "Don't you think it requires my permission?" she said angrily.

He suddenly became serious and said, "I haven't thought about anything but this for a few days." "I already have a husband." "But you don't love him." "You have no right to say such things!" "I know, but I have to say it." "Why do I always think you are very smooth?" "Usually yes. The water is boiling." She removed the kettle from the hob and poured boiling water into a china pot of cocoa powder. "Put a few glasses on the tray," she ordered Paul. "A little chore so you won't be thinking about having a family all day."

He did. "You can't put me off by being bossy," he said. "That's what I'm eating." She added milk and sugar to the cocoa and poured it into the cup he had set. "In that case, take the plate to the living room." "Here we go, boss." Entering the living room, they saw "Jelly" and Greta arguing, standing face to face in the middle of the room, and the others were watching, amused and a little surprised. "Jelly" said: "You don't use it!" "I put my feet up there," Greta replied. "There aren't enough chairs here." Jelly was clutching a bulging cushion that Flick guessed she had snatched from Greta.

Flick said, "Ladies, please stop!" They ignored her.Greta said, "Just say something, sweetheart." "I don't have to ask permission from a foreigner in my own country." "I'm not a foreigner, you fat bitch." "Oh!" The humiliation enraged "Jelly", and she reached out to grab Greta's hair.Greta's dark wig was pulled in her hands. The short black hair that clings to the scalp is exposed, and suddenly Greta looks unequivocally a man.Percy and Paul knew the secret, and Ruby was already suspicious, but Maud and Diana were taken aback.Diana said, "My God!" and Maud cried out in terror.

"Jelly" was the first to recover. "You pervert!" she said triumphantly. "My God, this is a foreign pervert!" Greta cried. "You bloody Nazi!" she sobbed. "I bet she's a spy!" said Jelly. Flick said, "Shut up, 'Jelly.' She's not a spy. I know she's a man." "you know!" "Paul knows it. Percy knows it too." Jelly looked at Percy, who nodded gravely. Greta turns to go, but Flick grabs her arm. "Don't go," she said, "sit down, please." Greta sat down. "'Jelly,' give me that damn wig."

"Jelly" gave it to Flick. Flick stands in front of Greta and helps her put the wig on.Ruby quickly understood what Flick was going to do, and took a mirror from the mantelpiece, and held it up in front of Greta, who adjusted her wig, looked at the mirror, and wiped away her tears with her handkerchief. "Listen now," Flick began. "Greta is the mechanic, and we can't do the job without a mechanic. An all-female team has a much better chance of surviving in enemy territory. Come on, we're going to need Greta pretending to be a woman. So, get used to it."

"Jelly" snorted contemptuously. "There's one more thing I need to explain," Flick said, staring at Jelly. "As you may have noticed, Denise is gone. She was given a little test tonight and she failed. She left the group. Unfortunately, the last two days she learned some secrets that would not allow her to return to her old job. So she went to a remote base in England where she might stay until the war It's over, don't leave." "Jelly" said, "You can't do that!" "Of course I can, you idiot," Flick said impatiently. "It's war now, don't you remember? I did it to Denise, and I'll do it to anyone else if they get fired from the group."

"I didn't join the army at all!" Jelly protested. "Wrong, you joined. You've got an officer's commission, just yesterday after tea. You all. You're going to get an officer's salary, even though you haven't got it yet. That means you're bound by military discipline. That's You all know that very well." "Are we prisoners then?" Diana said. "You're in the army," Flick said. "It's much the same. Finish your drink and go to sleep." Everyone left the room one by one until Diana was the only one left.Flick was waiting for this opportunity.She was shocked to see two women kissing passionately.She recalled that when she was in middle school, some girls developed feelings for each other, exchanging love letters in private, walking hand in hand, and sometimes even kissing.But as far as she knew the relationship would not go any further.Then again, she and Diana practiced French kissing with each other so they would know what to do when they had boyfriends.Now, Flick felt, those kisses meant more to Diana than she did.But she never knew a grown woman could desire another woman.In theory, she knew there were women like her brothers Mark and Greta, but she couldn't picture them touching each other in the garden shed.

Does it matter?It doesn't matter in normal life.Mark and his comrades were happy, or at least they were happy when no one was bothering them.But will Diana and Maude's relationship affect the whole operation?not necessarily.After all, Flick's own husband also worked for the Resistance.Admittedly, the two situations are not the same.A fledgling love affair is full of passion and can lead to distraction. Flick could find a way to separate the two lovers - but doing so would make Diana even more recalcitrant.Besides, this love affair can easily become a source of inspiration.Flick had always wanted these women to work together, and this might work.So she decided to stop when enough is enough and go with the flow.But Diana had something to say. "It's not what you see it is, it's not," said Diana flatly. "My God, you'll have to take my word for it. It's just a stupid thing, a joke—" "Would you like some more cocoa?" said Flick. "I think there's some left in the jug." Diana looked at her in bewilderment, and after a while said, "How did you mention Coco?" "I just wanted to calm you down and let you know that just because you kissed Maud, the world didn't end. You kissed me, remember?" "I know you're going to bring it up, but it's childish stuff, not like Maude, it's not just kisses." Diana sat down, her proud face puckered up, and began to cry , "You know more than that, you can see, my God, what did I do. What on earth do you think?" Flick chose her words carefully: "I think you two are very sweet." "Sweet?" Diana couldn't believe it, "Don't you feel sick?" "Of course not. Maud is a pretty girl, and it seems you have fallen in love with her." "That's actually it." "Then stop being ashamed." "How can you not be ashamed? I'm gay!" "I don't see it that way if I were you. You just have to be careful not to offend the kind of narrow-minded people like 'Jelly', but that's nothing to be ashamed of." "Will I always be like this?" Flick thought about it.The answer may be yes, but to put it bluntly, it seems too cruel. "The thing is," she said, "I think some people, like Maud, just like to be loved so they can be happy, whether it's a man or a woman." Debauchery, but Flick suppressed the thought. "Others are more difficult to change," she continued. "You have to be more open-minded." "I don't think Maude and I can participate in the mission now." "It's absolutely nothing." "You still let us go?" "I still need you guys. Besides, I don't think it makes a difference." Diana took out a handkerchief and blew her nose.Flick stood up and walked over to the window, giving her time to recover her composure.A minute later, Diana's voice was much calmer. "You are really magnanimous." There was still a bit of her original conceit in the words. "Go to bed," said Flick. Diana rose obediently. "If it were me..." "how?" "I'm going to sleep with Maud." Diana was shocked. Flick shrugged. "This may be your last chance," she said. "Thank you," Diana whispered, taking a step closer to Flickr, throwing her arms around her as if to hug her, but then stopped. "You wouldn't want me to kiss you," she said. "Don't be a fool," Flick said, hugging her. "Good night," Diana said, and left the room. Flick turned and looked into the garden.The moon is three-quarters the size and will become full in a few days.A breeze stirred the young leaves of the forest, and the weather was about to change.She hopes there will be no storms in the English Channel.Britain's erratic climate can ruin plans of attack.There must be a lot of people praying for good weather, she thought. She has to go to bed and sleep for a while.She left the room and went upstairs, thinking about what she had said to Diana. "If it were me, I would go to sleep with Maude. This may be your last chance." She hesitated for a while in front of Paul's door.Diana's situation was different - Diana was single.Koflick is a married man. But this may be her last chance. She knocked on the door and walked in.