Kimberly fought back the memories of her crying all night over his infidelity. This was not the place for her to feel sorry for herself. Her basic training instructor’s words came to her, “If the Army wanted you to cry, they’d issue you tears.”
“I didn’t sleep with her.”
His lies made her sick to her stomach.
“Don’t insult me by thinking I’m not smart enough to put two and two together. Just because I didn’t act a fool on you don’t mean I wasn’t aware. I knew if you cheated while away, you’d cheat at home too.” If she was next to him she would’ve had to resist choking him.
“Stop this. You need to come home so we can work this out.”
From his tone, she could tell he was talking through clinched teeth.
“The legal separation was me working it out. Sign the divorce papers, and you can do as you please with all the women you please.” She pressed the end button. Taking deep breaths Kimberly tried to calm herself. She wanted to scream. How dare he want me to give up my career and go home to his cheating behind?
“You okay?”
Carlson stood behind her.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Turning around, she avoided eye contact.
“I didn’t realize you were on the phone. I was coming over to talk to you and caught the end of the conversation.”
She sighed.
“If you want to talk about it, we can. Kang is in the computer lab. He’s the next Student Platoon Sergeant. He’ll be a while.”
Why not?
Kimberly needed someone to talk to and he’d already heard part of the conversation. She nodded and followed him back up to the third floor. Following the OCS rules, they stepped inside but didn’t close the door. Kimberly took a seat on his bed and he on the floor.
“Maybe you can help me understand. You’re a guy,” she said. “How the hell can he cheat and hinder me from following my dreams, but expect me to be there at his beck and call?” She choked back tears and slumped down on the bed.
“Because he’s a guy and he’s an idiot. How long were you married?”
His eyes were on her. She saw kindness and understanding in them.
Not feeling any judgment from him, she answered, “Five years.”
He scratched his chin. “Was he always this way? I mean, were there signs?”
She swallowed hard and thought back. “It didn’t start until I got promoted to Staff Sergeant. He was one as well but got promoted to Sergeant First Class a few months later.”
“Some men are intrigued by a woman who is independent, but they can’t handle what all it entails.”
She looked up at him. A light bulb went off in her head. Could Charles be intimidated by my progression? “So basically as long as I stayed lower enlisted, he’d be fine. It’s all about his ego.”
“I can’t say for sure, but it sounds like it.”
Chapter Six
Jonathan watched Woodson’s every move. She displayed sadness and strength. During training hours, you couldn’t tell she had any problems at home. Talking revealed her softer side. He wished he could give her a hug but refrained. The program had its rules against intimate contact, but his body ached with desire to comfort her.
She has no idea how sexy she is.
“Now that I’ve cried on your shoulder, how about you? Wife? Girlfriend?” she asked.
He took a moment before answering. “I was married a long time ago, and I currently don’t have a girlfriend.”
“What happened with you and your wife?”
“I joined the military right after high school and married my sweetheart. It wasn’t long before I was deployed. When I came home, she was pregnant. No way it could have been mine, and I’m not about to take care of a child by the man she cheated on me with.” Jonathan kept it short and sweet, leaving out the part of how she constantly cleaned out his bank account on payday while he was gone. She freaked out when he switched accounts. He continued paying the bills but no longer let her have access.
“Wow, I don’t blame you.”
“Sup, Woodson?” Kang said, walking back in the room.
“Hi. I’ll get out your hair. I need to look over some things before lights out.” Woodson stood up to leave. “Thanks for the talk.”
When Jonathan was sure she was out of hearing range, he said, “Thanks a lot. I thought you had stuff to do?”
“I did, but Staff Sergeant Isome is on duty. The student area cleared out as soon as he walked in. What’s the big deal anyway?”
“It just walked out.”
“Woodson? She’s cool, but I didn’t think you dipped in the chocolate. Now, me on the other hand, I love me some sistas.” He licked his lips and nodded his head as he spoke.
“You do know you’re Asian, right?”
“And? The sista’s love Ki Kang.” He laughed.
Jonathan shook his head. “Stop watching so many rap videos.”
“Whatever, man. I grew up in the hood. Well, at least my mom’s nail shop is.”
“Kang!” Jonathan grabbed his towel and snapped it at him.
Dodging the blow, he said, “What?”
“There’s no hope for you.”
“No, there’s no hope for you in getting with Woodson. I think Harvey is more her type.”
“Harvey is a fuck up.” Jonathan twisted his lips to the side. He wasn’t impressed.
“He’s black, though.”
“Then how come I never see them together. Matter of fact, I saw her intentionally take the long way around instead of walking in front of his desk.” He pulled out his physical fitness pants and shirt.
“The man simply hasn’t made his move yet.”
Jonathan wondered if Woodson had ever dated a white guy. Come to think of it, he never dated a black woman, not that he didn’t want to. He appreciated women of all ethnic backgrounds, but the opportunity to date a black woman one hadn’t come up. Until now. Not that you could get away with really dating anyone while in training though.
“Flick out the light when you’re done.” Jonathan crawled under his covers. Thoughts of Woodson danced around his head before he drifted off into a much needed deep sleep.
His alarm went off, and moments later shouts of “Wake up!” rang down the hall. He grabbed his bathroom kit and shuffled out his room and down the hall to the male latrine. The room was packed.
“Freaking sausage fest,” one of the males coming in the door behind him said.
Jonathan couldn’t agree more. He relieved himself and took a spot in line for a sink. His five o’clock shadow was thick. Brushing his teeth could be done without the mirror, but he wasn’t in the mood to miss a spot shaving and have the cadre call him out on it.
When a sink became available, he and another male shared it, both rushing to make it to morning formation on time. He finished up and, within a few moments, stood outside with the other half-awake candidates.
“Today’s the battalion run for the senior class. We’re going to march over to the start and line up with the rest of the battalion. Remember, this counts as our four-mile run. Anyone who falls behind will be doing a retake. You don’t pass the retake, then you’ll end up at HHC,” the Student Sergeant Major said.
No one wanted to end up at the holding company. Jonathan and a few others arrived early for OCS and had to spend a few days there at HHC. The candidates there were either waiting on the next class to start or on their way home. One could end up there for a number of reasons: getting hurt, failing a graded portion of the course, security clearance problems, or conduct unbecoming of a candidate.
The bottom line was no one wanted to be there and the cadre in charge wasn’t happy to see them. After physical fitness, they did crappy details around the battalion area instead of going to class. The look on the candidates’ face resembled those of a chain gang. Jonathan often saw them mowing the lawns and landscaping the area.
“I hate these runs,” he mumbled.
“Anyone who doesn’t needs a hole in
their brain. Everyone knows if you’re not in the front companies, then you get stuck with the accordion affect. Go fast, slow down, oh crap there’s someone slowing you down so you have to sprint around to catch up. Not fun at all,” Woodson answered.
“Company!” the Student Sergeant Major said.
“Platoon!” the Student Platoon Sergeant repeated.
“Attention!” the Student Sergeant Major said.
Everyone snapped to attention, and soon they were making their way to the battalion area. Once there, the Battalion Commander gave his spiel, said some lame jokes, and had them do a few pushups to warm up. Afterwards, the run began.
Starting off was extremely slow. With five companies ahead of them, each had to get far enough down the road to make room for the other. They took off at a snail’s pace before it turned into a slow jog. Jonathan’s legs burned from taking choppy steps. Woodson ran in front of him, and he tried his best not to step on her. Daylight hadn’t arrived yet, making his task difficult.
“Carlson, call cadence!” the Student Platoon Sergeant said.
He smiled and gladly stepped out the formation and into position. “Up in the morning, before day!”
They repeated it back.
“I don’t like it no way.”
Calling running cadence allowed him to stretch out his legs. A mile passed, and he got fully into it.
Chapter Seven
Jonathan’s voice kept Kimberley in step. Her heart warmed in hearing him. It was becoming the highlight of her day and night. After their talk she began have dreams about him. She felt she could tell him anything. Kimberly wasn’t fond on opening up to anyone, let alone a white man. Her upbringing led her to believe they were from two different worlds. There was something about him. His presence called to her soul.
The girl next to her caught her attention. “Come on, Zimmerman, hang in there, girl.”
Zimmerman’s breathing became erratic, and she was fading fast.
“Don’t think about the pain. It’s all in your head. You can do this,” Kimberly kept talking, but her words were falling on deaf ears.
More candidates in the companies in front of them had fallen all the way back to their formation.
“You’re done, candidate. Stop and get on the bus,” she heard cadre from different companies shouting out and catching the ones who failed to stay with their company.
Kimberly watched as Zimmerman’s eyes strayed to the failing candidates.
“Don’t do it, girl.”
It was no use. Zimmerman slowed down.
Looking back over her shoulder, Kimberly tried one last time. “Come on, catch back up. You can do it.”
Kimberly’s foot caught against a pothole. Instant pain shot through her ankle. She faltered, trying to stay in step.
“You injured or hurt, candidate?” Staff Sergeant Isome asked. He ran alongside her.
The difference between injured and hurt in the Army was injured goes to medical to get checked out. Hurt means you’re in pain and will be okay.
“Hurt, Staff Sergeant.” She winced. With each step, she felt discomfort.
“Good, then suck it up and keep moving.” He gave her a pat on the back and ran off.
“Don’t let your dog tags dangle in the dirt,” Carlson said, calling cadence.
“Don’t let your dog tags dangle in the dirt!” she and the other shouted back.
“Pick up your dog tags and put ‘em in your shirt,” he said.
Kimberly focused on his voice instead of the stabbing sensation in her ankle. The other companies in front of her rounded the last corner to the battalion area.
A little further. She willed herself forward.
Two hundred more feet and she was back in the battalion area. When they stopped, she stood, balancing her right foot on its toes, but with only a slight bend in the knee. She faked the position of attention and was able to limp-march back to the company area and then on to chow. Instead of running back from the chow hall to Delta Company, she waited outside until other candidates came out and marched with them.
Stevens gave her a look of concern when she walked in the room, but Craig spoke up. “You okay? What happened?”
“Twisted my ankle on a pothole.” She limped to the chair next to her hutch and sat down.
“Are you going to medical?”
“Hell no. You’ve seen what happened to folks who go to medical. They’re put with the gimps and singled out by the cadre until they break. No thank you.” Kimberly pulled out a t-shirt and underwear from the hutch drawers. “I’ll just pull the bootstraps tight and pray it doesn’t swell. I can ice it tonight.”
“If you say so, G.I. Jane.” Craig gathered her stuff for the shower and headed out.
Kimberly soon followed, limping down the hall. She managed to make it down to the showers and back. She popped an 800 milligram of Motrin and swallowed it with water from her Camel Pak before pulling on her boots. The pain brought a tear to her eye. She wiped it away and tied the right boot as tight as she could.
The boot formed a small brace around her ankle. Kimberly stood to test it out. It hurt but not as excruciating as before. She finished buttoning her ACU top and headed down to their next formation for class.
Marching to the school house was eased by focusing on Carlson’s voice again. Inside, she took her seat and propped her foot on the base of the chair in front of her. The rest of the day, she didn’t step out in the hall for break until she couldn’t hold her bladder any longer. She moved slow but tried her best not to limp and draw attention to herself. Her plan worked. No one noticed her. She made it back to her seat and finished out the class.
The Company Commander wanted to speak to them when they made it back. Instead of going to dinner chow, they formed a gaggle around the base of the stairs. “This weekend, the base celebrates Memorial weekend. In most cases, we don’t let candidates off post during their first phase. However, I’m feeling generous. We only lost two people out of our company on the run. You have a pass but must return each night by 2100 hours for a formation. Anyone late or missing will find themselves in HHC.”
Having a pass sounded like music to everyone’s ears. At dismissal, they all dispersed. Kimberly caught a cab off post to a hotel. A hot bath called her name. She didn’t care if she had to put the uniform back on. She’d lie around in her t-shirt and shorts until then.
Kimberly pried the boot of her right foot and removed her sock. Her ankle was black and blue. She finished undressing and sank into the tub. The water enveloped her as she leaned back and relaxed. After a while, she decided to wash up and get out before she turned to a prune.
“Argh!” Sizzling pain shot up her leg when she stepped out the tub. Taking off the boot and getting in hot water had caused her ankle to swell.
She dried off, then put on her t-shirt and shorts. Limping from the pain, she grabbed the ice bucket and headed out the room.
“Woodson? What the heck are you doing?” Carlson called from behind her.
“Getting some ice.” She kept moving down the hall.
“Stop.” He came behind her and grabbed her by the waist. “Put your arm around me. I’m taking you back to your room. I’ll get your ice.”
He smelled of the same bath scent as she did, orange-tangerine.
“I can do it myself.” She pulled away.
“No one is saying you can’t, but I’m here so let me do it.”
Risk more pain or give in. She relaxed and let him help her back to the room. He led her to the couch and propped her foot up on two pillows before leaving. Carlson came back with the ice and went into the bathroom. He walked out with the ice tied up in a plastic bag and wrapped in a towel.
“If you had your way, the knot on your foot would be the size of a golf ball. No way was I going to watch you struggle down the hall.” He placed the ice on her ankle and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch.
“Thanks.” She managed a smile. “What are you doing here?”
“The same as you, I’m trying to relax.”
“Don’t tell me you took a bubble bath too?”
“What’s wrong with a man taking a bubble bath?” He smiled at her.
She allowed herself to get a really good look at him. Yes, she had noticed how handsome he was but sitting facing him allowed her to see all his features. His teeth were perfect—no doubt from braces. The green eyes she thought he had now looked greyish-blue. He seemed relaxed, unlike when they sat and spoke in the barracks.
“Nothing’s wrong with it,” she replied.
“Good, but I took a long shower.” He flashed a quick grin, picked up the remote to the T.V., and turned it on.
Her cell phone rang. Normally, she would have excused herself to another room to answer but she was in no position to today. “Can you hand it to me?”
He picked the phone off the end table and passed it to her.
“Hello,” she answered.
“I thought you couldn’t talk during the day? I planned on leaving a message,” Charles said.
Taking a deep breath, she held it before letting it out and responding, “They gave us a small break. What do you want?”
“I’ve been doing some thinking. I’d like to do some counseling. I talked to the pastor, and he thinks it’s the right thing to do.”
“You talked to the pastor? When’s the last time you went to church?”
“This past weekend. It doesn’t matter. The point is, if we’re going to work it out, you need to come home so we can face this head on.”
Come home? He lost his damn mind.
“I’m not coming home. I’m where I need to be. There’s nothing to work out. I’m done.”
“A wife is supposed to be by her husband’s side—”
Kimberly disconnected the call and tossed the phone away from her. It rang again. She ignored it, letting the voice mail pick up.
Carlson was staring at her.
Soldiers in Heat: Training Session Page 3
