7-14 Days

by Noah Waters

  As the door opened she found herself staring into the center of a broad chest. “I was told by the master chief to pick a second in command. Seems you were brave enough to speak up earlier and seemed to have a knack for ordering people around, so my choice is you, Cadet.” Noah could see Maxwell’s eyes searching for a name on the door. “Cadet,” he repeated, “Waters.” Without allowing her an opportunity to reply, Cadet Maxwell pulled the door shut leaving Noah standing facing the wood and new opportunities in the first hour of her new life on a military installation.

  The auditorium was busy as all the cadets had been requested to attend for a breakdown of key activities that would have to be accomplished before they would be allowed to graduate. The base commander gave a quick introduction with great pride of master chief Patrick “Pappy” Scots.

  “When you come here, he is the first person you will meet. He is the last person you will see upon your graduation. Pappy has served our country his entire life. As cadets you will know him as master chief. As graduates, you will know him as ‘Pappy.’ He will serve you well as a leader. Cadets of 2001, Reserve Class A, Welcome master chief Patrick ‘Pappy’ Scots.” A thunderous applause erupted from the auditorium filled with other members of the base.

  “Welcome to Cape May,” Pappy’s voice was filled with years of pride. “There are many things that will be asked of you as cadets. Serve your country, serve the Coast Guard, and train to be the best at what you do—leaders. A few key elements are required from you to graduate. You will have to pass a PT exam, a nautical knot test, a timed swimming course, and be able to execute with perfection a variety of parade ground performances.” Noah gently scratched her chin as she thought through the master chief’s requirements. A sigh of relief echoed through her body—nothing seemed too far-fetched for her. However, she had noticed a slight twitching in Casey Maxwell when the swim test was mentioned. Noah thought, That’s strange. None of those items should have caused him to be nervous, after all, he was a Marine. Maybe he was just antsy to start.

  Tall-cake was busy having a steady conversation with Gene who seemed to be panicky already. Gene was quick to tell Tall-cake, “I’m not much for physical stuff or knot-tying and I have no clue what parade ground functions are.” Tall-cake reassured Gene he would be fine.

  The difference between reserve and active duty status was in training time. The reserves were given numerous tasks to be completed in a 2-week time frame. The 2 weeks would fly. In the first week, all the basic requirements seemed to be grasped by everyone. Slowly, Casey and Noah began to understand each other and work well as a team.

  Everyone passed the PT exam, the nautical knot test, and parade ground functions—except Gene Weiss. Gene had slowly come to the conclusion that the military was not for him. While Tall-cake had her challenges with military orders, her overall performance was fine. She finally stopped complaining about the drab blue BDUs and Noah was thankful that Tall-cake’s exotic clothes were behind closed doors.

  The last challenge was by far the toughest test of endurance—a timed swimming course. Although the pool was indoors and the water warm, this did nothing to comfort the fears of the team. An Olympic-sized pool with repetitive lane laps along with the master chief’s eagle eye on the second hand, let the cadets know that there was no room for error.

  Noah had gotten up early for stretching all her muscle areas and performing some deep breathing exercises. The last of the cadets to test stared endlessly into the water of the vast pool. “Where is Casey?” Noah asked Tall-cake. “I would have thought he would have been the first one here.”

  Tall-cake hesitated, “I haven’t seen him at all this morning.”

  The master chief’s voice cracked the silence, “Three minutes till final test run.”

  The glass door of the pool room opened as Casey bounded in with sweat pouring from his forehead.

  “Are you OK?” Noah leaned in so that only Casey could hear.

  For the first time ever, the self-assured, strong ex-Marine replied, “No.”

  “Step to the starting line,” Pappy demanded. All the cadets began to file forward.

  Noah hung back to assure that Casey would proceed. “What’s wrong with you?” The emphasis in her voice grew stronger—something was definitely not right.

  “Assume your positions,” the master chief’s voice grew louder.

  Casey double-timed to the starting line as well as Noah. She assumed the position in the line next to Casey. Her gut told her that this would come in handy in case Casey needed help. The master chief pulled the whistle from around his neck and placed it in between his pursed lips as the second hand swept toward the 12. The shrill whistle echoed and broke all silence.

  The sting of the water sliced the skin as Noah plunged in headfirst. Using breast strokes to increase speed as her head popped up above water, she could see the distance remaining. Her head turned left to right—left to right—as she changed from breast strokes to overhead strokes. Noah could see all her fellow cadets in their lane positions as she pounded the surface with fury.

  As clear as the sun divides the day from the night, Noah’s field of vision had the image of an empty lane where Casey should have been. Immediately, Noah stopped stroking as the second hand continued its elegant sweep across the stopwatch. Knowing that she was losing time, she held in place. A quick turn of her head allowed her to focus long enough to see that Casey had not left the platform. Without time to think, she swam back to Casey. There was no time to do anything but become an immediate leader.

  “We will do this together, stroke by stroke. I’m right here. Jump in, you damn Marine,” Noah begged.

  The fear in Casey’s eyes was enormous and he trembled with fright.

  “I won’t let you go down,” said Noah.

  It was all the ex-Marine needed. Together they began to stroke furiously to catch up. Assurance could be seen in each stroke—they worked as one. Encompassing enough speed to assume the command lead, they reached the end within seconds of each other. Casey’s belief in his leadership and friend had resulted in command and control of his fear.

  Noah grasped the end of the cold scratchy cement pool in order to pull her weary, shaking body out of the water, gasping each breath as if it were the first time her body had ever taken in air.

  “Good timing under rough conditions.” Master chief Scots reached down to hand Noah a dry towel.

  Noah’s mind was not on her timing, What the hell had just happened?

  Noah stood up to scan the room. Casey, almost completely dry, was moving in rapid time toward the atrium.

  “Hold up there, I want to talk to you.” As if Casey had gone completely deaf, he continued to dry off and opened up the glass door proceeding into the warm sunlit steamy atrium foyer. Noah followed. Once inside Noah grabbed Casey’s shoulder.

  “What happened in there, Casey?”

  “Don’t you get it?” Casey replied with great anger. “I hate the water. It’s the only thing I have ever feared—my whole Goddamn life.”

  Stunned and without thinking all Noah could ask was, “Why are you here?”

  A slight tremble rippled over Casey’s body, either from fear or the slight breeze. Noah was unsure. Casey’s muscular chest was the result of years of dedication to the Marine Corps. Yet for a few seconds his strength had been replaced with humility.

  “It’s OK,” Noah said affirmatively. “We are all afraid of something.”

  “But this is what we do,” Casey snapped. “With the Marine Corps or the Coast Guard, there is always water. All of my life I have tried to conquer this problem.”

  His eyes looked upward as if pleading for help. Exhausted, he sat on a bench underneath an evergreen tree. Noah walked slowly toward him and kneeled down at his feet.

  “You passed, it’s done, Marine, carry on! One must always overcome one’s fears and sometimes that takes help from others.”

  Casey’s eyes now focused on Noah, “You are a good friend and a good lead
er. I will never forget what you did for me today.”

  A slight smile crossed Noah’s face as she stood up with pride knowing that she and Casey had sealed a strong bond that would never be broken.

  A shrill scream of excitement entered the otherwise quiet atrium foyer. “I passed, I passed, I passed,” Tall-cake yelled as she ran in circles not noticing the current atmosphere. Noah and Casey couldn’t help but smile as the rest of the cadets filed into the atrium foyer. Shouts from the team filled the air. Even master chief Scots had a smile on his face. “Congratulations to you all. At 9 A.M. tomorrow, report to the parade grounds in full uniform for graduation services.”

  “It’s time to celebrate,” Tall-cake declared excitedly. “Come on Noah, let’s get changed for the evening activities.”

  Reaching down and grabbing a towel, Noah winked at Casey and said, “OK.” Heading toward the door, the group of cadets charged like a thunderous herd of cattle. Noah looked back over her right shoulder, “See you tonight.”

  “Absolutely,” Casey replied, burying his fear deep within.

  Tall-cake frantically took off her wet swimsuit while simultaneously searching for the perfect outfit to wear for the night’s celebration. This gave her the opportunity and thrill to look for something colorful to wear.

  “What are you wearing tonight?”

  When Noah didn’t reply, Tall-cake came out of the closet long enough to see why. In silence, she observed Noah packing things in 2 x 2 squares—getting everything to fit into her carefully planned out seabag. Tall-cake knew that these past 2 weeks of endurance trials were not enough to instill the military rapport that was obviously ingrained in Noah. Everything for Noah was precise; everything had to be in its place. Her shoes were shined; her buckles sparkled; her hair was neat and trim. Nothing was ever left to chance.

  Even though Noah never talked about her past, Tall-cake knew there was much more to her than anyone here knew about. Why had she become so rigid and routine? What had made these past 2 weeks so simple for her? The questions were never ending. Although Tall-cake really wanted to know the story of Noah Waters, now was not the time. She realized these questions came from the reporter in her. It would be a story she would seek out in a different time and place.

  “I suspect a pair of jeans and a light pullover sweater,” Noah finally responded. “Nothing fancy. We’re just going down to the beachfront in Cape May and I would like to take a last look at the lighthouse before I go.”

  The lighthouse on the beach was one of Noah’s favorite spots. It was always serene and in the evening time it provided an orange, golden hue that backlit the ocean blue horizon. The lighthouse in Noah’s eyes was the guardian of the seas just like the Coast Guard—to watch far and wide, providing a directional path to safety for those in need. Noah found comfort and security in her new position knowing this.

  The breeze swept across the shores with gentle ease as the cadets left the dorms in a pace filled with excitement to head for the Lobster House. Indeed, it was a time to celebrate. Newly made friends would soon depart in different directions.

  “Drinks are on me,” Casey bellowed out as he lifted up the first tall beer. Everyone proceeded to take him up on the offer. “So now what?” Casey looked at Noah.

  “It’s back home to Mississippi and my one weekend a month duty drill,” she replied.

  “That’s all you want out of this?” Casey questioned.

  “The goal here was to continue my education, Casey. I need to get my master’s degree. “One weekend a month, 2 weeks a year, and an education to boot. Not bad, I say.”

  “And you?” Noah asked.

  “Back to Ohio until something comes along that interests me more.”

  “O H I O,” Noah’s southern dialect drew out the syllables that could fill 2 minutes of time.

  “Ever been there?” Casey asked.

  “No.”

  “Ever plan to go?” he bounced back.

  “No.”

  Before Noah could say more, Tall-cake had popped up between the two, hugging them both while declaring, “There is no place like California. Why don’t you both head out West?”

  “I’m sure I would fit in there well!” Noah’s eyes rolled upward.

  Casey burst into laughter that caused his beer to spurt out his nose. “You never know, Noah, what the future may bring.”

  Casey responded in a definitive voice. With that, three beers were raised in a cheer. “A toast to whatever the future may bring.” Here . . . Here!

  Noah reached down to zip up her leather jacket as she stepped out with Casey and Tall-cake to take one last walk along the beach.

  “Beautiful evening,” Noah whispered taking in the scenery. Three strangers had now become friends. As they walked out onto the golden shoreline, their laughter and training memories could be heard as their conversations lingered on. Ever shining like a guiding star, the lighthouse lit the path for the cadets to find their way back home.

  Reveille cracked the morning skies as did Casey’s voice. The platoon cry of “Fall In” echoed across the parade field. Master chief Scots snapped his heels in time with the cadets. The cadets were welcomed and thanked by the base commander. The ceremony for reserve cadets was a simple and quick one.

  “ATTENTION!” the platoon leader cried.

  The master chief shook his cadet’s hands, “Congratulations, graduates, you represent the Coast Guard well.”

  Looking straight ahead, Noah could hear the swishing of the door that sounded so familiar. The same Greyhound bus that had brought them all here was now ready to return them to the airport where they would go their separate ways.

  “Platoon, dismissed.”

  The cadets hugged, laughed, and cried knowing they would probably never see each other again.

  Some family members scampered around the parade grounds, but not Casey’s or Noah’s. Noah walked over with sadness on her face to say her good-bye. “It’s been fun,” she told Casey. “I wish you the best.”

  “You too.”

  As they stood only a few feet apart, the bond between Casey and Noah would not be broken by separation or distance. A brotherhood and trust had been established.

  “Take care.” A slight tear ran down Noah’s face. Reaching down, she grabbed her seabag with a mustered strength, slung it over her shoulder, and proceeded with haste to the bus. With a quick turn, she saw the master chief.

  “You are a good leader and will make a great Coast Guard petty officer,” he said.

  “Good luck with the next class,” she replied. “Don’t be too hard on them and by that I mean limit it to a half dozen beers.” Pappy simply smiled and gave a quick wink. Noah would never forget Pappy or Casey or Tall-cake.

  She stepped up on the bottom step hurriedly as the wind was growing colder now and the orange leaves were definitely starting to pile up.

  “Looks like we might have a storm coming our way,” the bus driver said.

  “We can handle it,” Noah replied confidently.

  “Let’s hope so,” and the bus driver grinned and closed the door.

  Chapter III

  THE SEABAG SWUNG OFF OF NOAH’S SHOULDER AND ONTO THE BACK OF her jeep. There was no doubt in her mind that she was no longer in the beautiful Cape May area; the stark green of the pine trees was everywhere. While the skies were a bright blue, the air was thick and hot. Fall was nowhere to be felt.

  It must be 90 degrees here still, Noah thought to herself. What a difference location makes. Fumbling through her pant’s pockets, desperately searching for her jeep keys, she watched as the plane departed. She was home.

  Noah’s home was Biloxi, Mississippi. The once beautiful Gulf Coast was now sprinkled with casinos and neon signs. She had nothing good to say about the coast’s new guests. They had increased the county sheriff’s workload tremendously. She was part of a team called the Golden Boys within the Sheriff’s Department. They were known throughout the county as being the best deputy sheriffs within the sta
te. Police cadets from all over tried out each year to be a Golden Boy member. Few made the cut.

  Thank God my jeep has no top, Noah thought as she squirmed out of her leather jacket. Hearing the jingle of metal, she pulled the keys from the front pocket. She couldn’t wait to get back to her small apartment. Her landlord had been taking care of Lord Cannon-dale.

  Lord Cannon-dale had been with Noah for a very long time. Cannon as he was called was a golden-white Shih Tzu, of high pedigree and a loving heart.

  The jeep hesitated as Noah turned the key, “Come on,” she coaxed. “Any day now in this heat would be nice.” As the jeep started, she relaxed only momentarily before she fidgeted with the radio just in time to catch “Boardwalk.”

  “Yes!” beach music. Now she truly felt at home.

  The drive down Interstate 10 was beautiful and quiet with nothing to distract Noah except her beach tunes. Turning onto Highway 90, known to the locals as “The Strip,” Noah could see the casino lights coming into view. Before the casinos came, there may have been one or two used car lots around town. Now there were 30 or more. The locals were trading in car titles for quick cash and a shot at pulling lady luck’s right arm. Noah sighed with disgust.

  As she pulled into a 7-Eleven to find something to quench her thirst, she spotted several homeless people hunkered down between the ice machines—sleeping. Reaching into her pant’s pocket she pulled out change for each person that held out his cup.

  “God bless,” she said as she shook their trembling hands. After she searched the shelves, Noah asked the cashier how things had been.

  “Crime’s up, homelessness is up, poverty level is up,” quipped the cashier.

  “Yes, I remember the casinos promoting those issues while seeking votes,” Noah stated sarcastically.

  Hearing the fizz of the Coca-Cola bottle top being removed sounded like home as she slowly stepped out of the 7-Eleven store’s doors. The beach was in her direct view—26 miles of gold sand along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The sight was gorgeous and although Noah reluctantly had come to accept the casinos, there was no doubt that they lit up the night skyline. This reminded her about the inevitability of change.