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His face is inches frolitter of his eyes They speak in whispers

“We should catch so him up

“Just tell me, Rio”

“Tell you what?”

“Do you love him?”

She takes a long tih memories of Strand Their first aard date The plane ride they took The picnic Their first kiss And the hotel room in Tunis

What can she say? What can she say when she has slept with Strand? Can she answer anything other than, of course I love him?

In the end she says, “I’ I can do anymore” She means it to be airy and flippant, but it sounds sad

“Love isn’t a thing you do or don’t do, Rio Love is everything, and it ss you whole or it’s not love”

Is he seriously flirting with her? Here? Now? With both of the ?

She forces a sainst hi his warmth on her numb backside “And how do you know so much about love, Jack Stafford?”

He lays his free arm over her and wraps it chastely around her belly “I just do,” he whispers to the curve of her neck “I just do”

33

RIO RICHLIN—MONTE CASSINO, ITALY

The first crossing is accomplished only by a small American force, which is then stranded when the main force falls back in disorder, and is then killed or captured by the Germans