by Dan Walsh
“Did she shut you up in the bathroom again? Poor boy.”
That was Chaz. The other voice was Alonzo, Chaz’s friend. Chaz was walking this way. Finley couldn’t stop himself. He barked louder. A few howls slipped out.
“I’m coming, Finn.”
The doorknob turned. The door opened and banged into his head.
“You need to back up, boy. Let me get the door open.”
Finley understood back up. He was just too excited. The door was squeezing him into the tub. Pulling back a few steps, his head and body broke free. He leapt onto Chaz, who’d bent down to hug him. Finley couldn’t stop jumping. He knocked Chaz over. Chaz began to laugh. There was only one thing to do. Finley licked his face.
“Okay, okay, Boy. That’s enough.”
“You’d think you been gone a month,” Alonzo said.
“I know. He’s always excited to see me, but especially when he’s been shut in the bathroom. I wish she wouldn’t do that.”
“Why does she? Isn’t he housebroke?”
“For the most part. But if he gets left too long, sometimes he slips. The other thing is the chewing. When he was younger, he destroyed some of her shoes and the corner of that stuffed chair.”
The boys walked toward the living room, Finley right by his side. Finley had to go the bathroom in the worst way, but he wanted Chaz to know how grateful he was for letting him out of that room.
“So why doesn’t she just put him in your room? Why lock him up in the bathroom?”
“She says he barks. Some of the neighbors complained. But I asked the people on either side of us. They said he barks sometimes, but not enough that it bothers them.”
“Think she’s making it up?” Alonzo sat on the sofa.
Finley followed Chaz out to the kitchen. “I don’t think so. I don’t know. She’s just not a dog person.”
“That’s gonna be a problem, Chaz. Especially after what we just did. You thought about that?”
Finley wondered what they were talking about. He looked at Chaz. He didn’t answer Alonzo, but Finley could sense him tensing up. Chaz’s heart began to beat a little faster. He opened up the fridge and pulled out a can of soda. “You want a Coke?”
“Sure. But I’m serious Chaz. That recruiter said we could be heading out to boot camp within six weeks. They don’t allow pets.”
“I know.” Chaz popped the top on the soda can. “I know.”
“What are you going to do with him? I don’t think your Mom will—”
“I’m gonna ask Celia if she’ll take him.”
“Does she even know you joined up?”
Chaz shook his head no. “I didn’t even know I was going to do it, till we walked into that recruiting place in the mall.”
“What do you mean? We been talking about it for months?”
“I know, but I should’ve waited till I thought all these details through. Now I gotta figure out how I’m going to tell Celia…and my mom.” He walked into the living room, sat in the chair next to the couch.
“And see if Celia will take Finn.”
Chaz released a sigh. Something had made him sad. Finley went to his side, sat against his leg.
“I hate to bring this up,” Alonzo said. “But I’m not so sure that’s a good plan, even if Celia says yes.”
“Why?”
“I mean…Celia’s a nice girl and nice looking but, c’mon, she’s kind of an airhead.”
“She is not.”
“She is, too. She forgets stuff all the time. I don’t think I’d feel too good about leaving Finley with her all that time. We could be gone two years.”
Chaz sighed again. Heavier this time. He scratched the top of Finley’s head. Something was bothering him. Finley thought about jumping on his lap, at least halfway, but he couldn’t wait a minute more. It was being shut up in that room for so long, then all this excitement. He was about to explode. He ran over and grabbed his leash off the hook on the wall above his water bowl.
“Think Finn’s trying to tell you something,” Alonzo said.
Chaz laughed. “You gotta go out, boy? Alright. I’ll take you out.” He pulled the leash out of Finley’s mouth. “Let’s go.”
Finley ran ahead of him to the front door, started spinning in circles.
“I’ll be right back,” he said to Alonzo.
Finley’s eyes focused on the crack of the door. He heard the familiar clicking as Chaz fastened the leash to his collar. The door opened. Finley pushed through and stepped out onto the balcony. Finally, fresh air. He loved being outside. Especially with Chaz. Chaz always paid attention to Finley, and he always felt secure whenever Chaz was around.
Chaz loved him. Chaz was everything.
4
About an hour later, Chaz and Alonzo were playing Xbox in Chaz’s room. Finley tried napping on the edge of the bed. Every few minutes, one of the boys yelled out something and woke him up. The look on their faces said they were in no real danger, but his instincts wouldn’t let him ignore their cries.
Just then, a new sound. Finley lifted his head. The front door was being unlocked. He looked at the boys. They couldn’t hear it over the explosions in their game. He jumped down to investigate. Bracing himself in the hall at the edge of the living room, he released his best angry bark as the door opened. He was about to charge it when he recognized the mother.
That would’ve been a big mistake. He ran up to greet her, tried to suppress the urge to bark.
“How did you get out of the bathroom?” she said, as she walked through the doorway. She set some packages down on the coffee table. An explosion came down the hall, followed by Alonzo yelling out something. She stood with her hands on her hips, staring down the hallway. “That’s how.”
The front door was still open. Finley took a step in that direction, but stopped. An open door always felt like an invitation, but he knew she hadn’t left it open for him.
“Chaz!” The mother yelled. She walked down the hallway and yelled again, “Chaz, I need your help with the groceries!”
Finley followed but kept his distance. The noise in Chaz’s room stopped. His bedroom door opened the rest of the way. “Mom, you’re home.”
“I am, and the trunk’s full of groceries. I carried what I could up the stairs, but my back is killing me. Can you get the rest?”
“Sure. Alonzo, give me a hand.”
Finley stepped out of the way as the mother walked back into the living room. She brought her packages into the kitchen. The boys hurried out the front door. Their apartment was on the second floor. Finley followed them as far as the outdoor balcony. He wasn’t allowed any farther. They carried the groceries from the car in one trip. Finley ran down the corridor and met them as they came up the stairs.
Alonzo stopped halfway to the front door. “After we put these down, I’m gonna go.”
“Why? We’re not done with our game. You’ve gotta gimme a chance to even things up.” Finley sat beside Chaz.
“Because your mom’s home, and you need to have a talk with her. And I don’t want to be here for that.”
“I’ll talk with her during dinner.”
“You really wanna do that? You know what’ll happen. The longer you wait, the more nervous you’ll get. You’ll say something wrong when she gets upset and make it worse. Besides, no way you were gonna catch up with me.”
“You think she’s gonna get upset?”
“Of course she is. This isn’t gonna be a nice surprise.”
Finley heard Chaz sigh again. He didn’t know what they were talking about. Whatever it was, Chaz was no longer happy. He nudged his hand with his head. Chaz patted him a few times. The three of them walked back toward the front door in silence. The boys brought the rest of the shopping bags into the kitchen and set them on the counters. Finley watched from the dining area.
“Well, I gotta be going,” Alonzo announced.
“You don’t want to stay for dinner?” the mother asked. “I didn’t mean to chase y
ou out.”
“No, that’s okay. It’s not you.” He started walking through the dining area into the living room. “There’s just some things I’ve gotta do. I’ll see you later, Chaz.”
“Yeah, see you later.”
“Thanks for helping with the bags,” the mother said.
“No problem.”
Finley followed Alonzo to the door then turned back toward the kitchen after he closed the door. Chaz sat at the dining room table, so Finley laid beside him on the carpet.
“Before you start fixing dinner, Ma, can we talk?”
“Can’t we talk while I’m fixing dinner? I’m kind of hungry, aren’t you?”
“Actually, I’m not.”
The mother put something into the pantry, then closed the bi-fold door. “What, have you and Alonzo been snacking back there while you played your game?”
“No, not this time. I’m just not hungry.”
“Not hungry?” She walked over to him, put her palm gently on his forehead. “You don’t feel hot.”
“I’m not sick. I’m just not hungry. Could you sit down?”
She did. “Is something wrong? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Not exactly. It’s just something’s come up. Something we need to talk about.”
“Okay…what is it?”
Finley could sense it now; both of them were tense. It made him feel uneasy. He sat up, leaned against Chaz’s leg, wanting to comfort him.
There was a long pause.
“Chaz? What is it, son?”
“I joined the Marines today.”
“What? You did what?”
“Joined the Marines. Alonzo and I both did, along with a few other friends. We signed up down at the recruiting office in the mall.”
“Why? Why now? Why didn’t you ask me first? Something this important, we should’ve—”
“You know I’ve been talking about it, right? For quite a while now.”
“I’ve heard you talk about it, but I didn’t know you were serious.” She leaned back in her chair.
“Of course I was serious. I told you I wanted to join up as soon as I graduated high school. That was over a month ago.”
Another long pause.
“Mom, c’mon. This is a good thing.”
“How is this a good thing?”
The mother was clearly upset.
“I’ll be serving my country. Doing my duty. You’ve heard me and the guys talking about this. These jihadists have to be stopped. If we don’t stop them over there, they’ll be coming over here. We’ll have another 9-11 all over again.”
“What about your duty to me? To our family?”
“Aww, Mom. Don’t be that way.”
Finley moved away from the table, so he could see both of them. The mother leaned forward again, resting her elbows on the table. “What other way can I be? You just told me you’re going to leave me. For how long?”
“I don’t know, two years I think.”
“Two years?”
“It’ll go by fast, you’ll see.”
She started to rub her forehead. “I’ll be here all alone.”
“No, you won’t. Finley will still be here. He’ll keep you company, right boy? And Maria doesn’t live that far away.”
Finley didn’t know what Chaz was saying, but he recognized Maria. Maria was Chaz’s sister. She didn’t live here anymore.
“Maria lives on the other side of the state. And he won’t keep me company,” she said, looking at Finley. “He’ll be nothing but trouble. Think of all the things you do for him now. Who’s going to do all that if you leave? Me? He’s a big dog, Chaz. The few times I walked him he almost yanked my shoulder out of its socket.”
Finley hated the way the mother looked at him just now. He lowered his shoulders, then lowered to the ground completely. Had he done something wrong?
“When you begged me to let you have a dog, I said you could have a small one. Look what you came back from the Humane Society with? He’s part golden retriever and part…some other big dog.”
“He wasn’t big when I brought him back. He was just a puppy.”
“But you could tell he was going to be big. His paws were humongous.”
“I didn’t know,” Chaz said. “But you’re not gonna have to look after Finley all by yourself. I’m going to ask Celia to help out.”
“Celia,” the mother said. “She’s a nice girl, but after you’re gone, do you really see her coming over here every day to take care of Finley? How long do you think that will last?”
“Maybe she can take him off your hands completely till I get back. Watch him at her place.”
“Chaz…how do you think her parents will feel about that?”
“I don’t know, Mom. Why are you being so negative about this? Guys my age have been signing up for the military for ages. It’s just something I’ve gotta do.”
There was another long pause.
Finley looked up at the mother’s face, mostly at her eyes. He saw something besides anger there. She was sad. Deeply sad. He felt drawn to her. He had to find a way to help her if he could. He walked over and gently nudged her leg with his nose. She didn’t respond.
“It’s not Finley,” she finally said. “It’s not even having to take care of him by myself. It’s you. You going away. Far away. Not across town for a few days. Not even across the state like your sister. But on the other side of the world, to an evil place…where people hate you and will try to kill you.”
Chaz reached his hand across the table and held hers. “Mom, I’m going to be fine. The war’s winding down. You can see it on the news. Hardly anyone gets killed anymore.”
“But some of them do. Chaz, I don’t know what I’d do if…” She stopped talking. Tears fell from her eyes.
Finley leaned against her, wishing there was some way he could ease her pain. He watched Chaz get up, walk across the room to grab a box of tissues. As he walked back, he pulled a few out and handed them to the mother. Then he reached down and gave her a hug.
They didn’t talk for a little while. Finley wished he knew what they had said. Whatever it was, it left him feeling sad and confused.
5
Chris
Helmand Province, Afghanistan
(near Marjah)
Officially, he was known as US Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Christopher Seger, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regiment Combat Team 6.
Friends called him Chris. They called his job, route clearance. It’s what he did on pretty much every mission. Chris was a minesweeper.
The Taliban liked to hide IED’s along roadways throughout Afghanistan, see if they could blow up any military vehicles driving by. These roadside IED’s were big and generally built to pack a wallop. Since the war started, they accounted for over three thousand military deaths and had seriously wounded thirty-three thousand more. The military had formed special patrol units and manufactured special equipment for snooping these things out and disarming them.
Out here in the rural areas like Marjah, the IED’s were much smaller. They buried them in the hard-packed dirt paths that ran through the poppy fields. They functioned more like the old-fashioned mines used during World War 2. Their aim wasn’t to blow up a military vehicle but a single soldier on foot patrol.
The guys feared these mines more than a sniper’s bullet. Almost everyone knew someone who’d become a victim. Some of the guys had made their friends promise to shoot them if they ever stepped on one. They’d rather be dead than go home with no legs.
Chris hated hearing them talk like this.
Because of this constant danger, whenever a patrol was sent out on foot, guys like Chris would lead the way, waving a handheld metal detector back and forth as they walked. Though more expensive and sophisticated, these detectors looked pretty much like the devices you’d see middle-aged men fiddling with on weekends, hunting along beaches or through the woods for old coins and buried treasure.
Treasure hunters got all
excited when their detectors sounded off. Usually meant they’d found something valuable. Historical trinkets or antique coins. What Chris longed for on patrol was silence. It was a good day if the detectors didn’t make a peep.
He hoped today was a good day. Yesterday wasn’t.
Thinking about what happened ruined his sleep last night. Even now, as he sat leaning against a dirt wall waiting to be sent out again, he was thinking about it. The problem wasn’t something his detector had found. They’d started taking sniper fire barely a fourth of the way through a poppy field.
Everyone hit the deck. Chris remembered thinking how odd it was to be laying there in a beautiful field of pink and white flowers, as bullets ripped through the sky inches above them. Like fighting a battle in the Land of Oz.
Some of the guys returned fire, giving the rest a chance to crawl back through the flowers to a dried out drainage ditch thirty yards away. Just as Chris made it over a dirt pile and dropped into the ditch, a trio of bullets smacked into the ground behind him. Right where he had been. If he’d crawled a few seconds slower through that field, he’d be a dead man.
It didn’t feel like Oz after that.
The battle raged on for another twenty minutes. Finally, the lieutenant spotted little gray puffs of smoke through his binoculars, coming from just above a wall across the field a few hundred yards away. The mortar unit was able to suppress the fire long enough for two Apache helicopters to appear. Everyone cheered as their rockets made quick work of the insurgents.
After they had flown off, the battle was over.
That’s when they’d discovered two of the guys providing covering fire had been hit. One was KIA, the other seriously wounded. He was airlifted out. Chris knew both guys, though not well. It was painful to think about losing them. They had sacrificed everything for the unit without a moment’s hesitation. It unsettled him even more thinking how close he’d come to being casualty number three.
“Better get on your feet, Chris. Sarge said to come get you. We’re moving out.”
Chris looked up at Kyle. Kyle and he did everything together. Kyle’s the one who helped Chris get over being dumped by his girlfriend last month. “She ain’t worth it, man,” he’d said. “The kind of woman who was worth it would wait.” Chris didn’t know why, but those words somehow broke him free of her spell. He reached up his hand.
