Good Night, Irene

Dorothy and Irene follow the troops through France. They learn that General Patton plans to push the Germans back to Belgium. One day, General Patton himself comes to their truck and orders coffee and a donut. Every night, Dorothy and Irene listen to confessions from the soldiers about their war crimes. The soldiers cry, and the women promise to never tell anyone else what they hear. Yet every night, after what they come to call “the Great Unburdening” (138), Dorothy and Irene whisper about the soldiers’ stories and carry the collective burden of these confessions wherever they go.

Irene also writes to Hans in her free time. One day, Dorothy and Irene lose their way to their next assignment. Fortunately, a Red Cross truck stops and gives them directions to the battle ahead, warning them that they will see a group of German POWs on the road. When the women pass the POWS, they stare at the captured German soldiers. One of the German soldiers sees Irene and pleads with her in German for a drink of water. Irene hesitates, but Dorothy merely raises her middle finger at the soldier in an obscene gesture and drives on. Later, Irene and Dorothy take a break for lunch, and Dorothy asks Irene if she thinks about Handyman (Hans).