The door sung open as if it had a will of it's own, the hinges were so well oiled. His brown eyes scanned the interior of the diner with what may have seemed to be an uninterested glance, but quickly became recognizable as a last effort to maintain professionalism as he took in the wonderful sights and sounds of something resembling civilian life. Unfortunately, all the uniforms filling up the seats took away from the effect to some extent, but it wasn't by any means a show stopper.

Truth be told, he felt rather foolish for coming in here. Yes, he'd had a sandwich and coke here just the other day, but it was what he wanted to order that was embarrassing him so much. After all, what self respecting infantryman would buy himself a milk shake? The funny thing was, though, that he'd been training so long and hard for the past few months that he'd worked up a serious craving for the cool sweetness such a beverage offered.

Moving over to the counter, he took a seat in one of the handy-dandy swivel stools and waited for the waitress to notice him. Oh, hello sir! What'll you be wanting? she called, having been around soldiers long enough to recognize his butter bars. "Uh, chocolate milk shake, please ma'am," he replied quietly, hoping no one nearby would recognize him. At last the glass was set before him. It's rich, chocolate contents perfected with swirls of whipped cream and a gleaming cherry on top. After one sip he was transported to heaven, at least in his mind.

He set the glass down with a contented sigh, and noticed a young boy sitting nearby and eyeing him with a curious expression. No doubt he was wondering why James was delving into a milk shake instead of a beer. For crying out loud, everyone knew that beer was a necessity for infantrymen, and so he’d gotten plenty of it. The boy didn’t know that though, so James gave him a crooked smile and lifted his glass in a toast before swallowing down more of its contents.