by AJ Alexander
“Damn, Big Bro, you look like death,” she says with a smile.
I chuckle. “Thanks, Baby Sis, you try being awake for almost thirty-six hours and tell me how gorgeous you would look and feel.”
“Aww, poor baby. Other than not getting any sleep, how are things going? Everyone doing good?” Emma asks, the concern is etched all over her face.
“We are all good. Everyone is still in one piece.”
“You better be keeping Charlie in one piece, I am not incubating his spawn for him to get out of diaper changing duty by getting shot again.” I hear Avery shout in the background. That girl is a piece of work. Hard-On has his work cut out for him with both those ladies being pregnant at the same time. I just hope I am far away when they go into labor.
“I’ll make sure he gets home this time, don’t either of you worry.” I still can’t help but feel responsible for what happened to Hard-On. Every time one of my men gets hurt, I know I could have done something differently or been a better leader to ensure they were safe. It’s my responsibility to bring them all home in one piece.
“Now don’t go making promises you can’t keep, LT. Just keep your head down and come home safe.” Amber ducks onto the screen and gives me a reassuring smile.
“I’ll bring everyone home, Amber, even if it’s the last thing I do,” I say with conviction.
“Don’t say things like that, Justin,” Emma shouts at the screen.
“Calm down, Baby Sis. It’s all good, we will all be home soon and in one piece. Now, when are you going to write me a letter?” I ask with a smug grin. I know this will get her on a tangent and her mind off something happening to me over here.
“I told you no one writes letters anymore! You need to learn to check your email more often,” she huffs, crossing her arms across her stomach. “Did you ever submit an application to one of those pen pal programs I have been sending you?”
“As a matter of fact, I did.” I lean back in my chair and cross my arms.
“You did!” she screeches so loudly Hard–On and Cowboy come running.
“Where is the fire? We heard a siren,” Cowboy says as he glances around panicked, ready to spring into action.
I let out a full belly laugh, unable to control myself to answer, I just point at the computer screen. Emma’s cheeks are bright red, obviously embarrassed. “Justin just told me he got a letter from a pen pal. I was excited,” she grumbles.
“Oh, did he,” Hard-On says as he walks over closer to the screen, clapping me on the shoulder. He continues, “You would have thought he had just seen a pussy for the first time.”
“Don’t talk like that to my sister, you asshole!” I shout, pushing him into the nearby bunk.
“Really!? Tell me everything! What was her name? Where is she from? How old is she?” Emma begins firing off question after question, all of which I have no intention of answering.
“Emma, I need to get going. I have no intention of telling you anything. She just wrote me to say thank you for my service. I probably won’t hear from her again. I wrote her back to say thank you for the letter, and that was it.” Just saying the words causes a small pain to shoot through my chest.
“So, it is a lady, huh?” Emma responds with a smile.
Before I am able to say goodbye, a small hand pops up into view and begins to wave. “Who dis?” the voice asks.
“Hey sweetie, this is my big brother Justin. Do you want to say hi?” Emma is looking down. Soon, what looks like a small set of pointy black ears and a blonde set of curls comes into view.
“No, that Ba’man.” I can’t help but chuckle in response.
“Oh, sweetheart, I know you love Batman, but that isn’t him. This is my big brother.”
“No, that Ba’man.”
“Justin.”
“Ba’man.”
Emma sighs. “Okay, if you want to call him Ba’man you can. Is that alright with you, Justin?”
I can’t help but smile at my new name. “Of course, you can call me Batman. It would be my honor.” I give the camera a small bow, pearls of laughter come from the little girl just out of view.
“You Ba’man, I be Wobin,” she says before turning and running out of view.
Emma just shakes her head before letting out a sigh. “Isn’t she just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”
“Since I didn’t see much, I can’t answer that,” I chuckle.
“Don’t be a smart-ass, Big Brother, but you should meet her mother. She is gorgeous and…”
I cut her off before she can finish. “Emma, we both know I have no idea how to date let alone have the time to. Don’t try to set me up. I appreciate the thought,” I say with a smile. How pathetic I must be when my own sister is trying to set me up.
“I just want you to be happy.”
“I am happy, Emma.”
Emma shakes her head. “Justin, no you are not. I have known you my whole life. I know when you are faking.” She has a serious expression on her face.
I shake my head in response. “Whether I am faking or not, there is nothing I can do about it now. Just please give it a rest, okay?”
“Alright, for now, but when you get home, all bets are off.”
“Fair enough. I really have to go now, bye Baby Sis.” I give the camera a wave.
“Bye Ba’man,” Emma says with a small wave and a giggle. I do nothing but shake my head and shut my laptop.
Turning toward Hard-On and Cowboy. “You have ten seconds to run. Ten, Nine, Eight, …” I don’t get to seven before they both take off running.
BECCA
That was one of the hardest shifts I have had in a while, but I am excited to get to know my new friends. Olivia has been talking nonstop about her new friends Emerson and Ryan in her class, and about Ms. Emma. I think that Mrs. Gonzales having to leave and take care of her son, although horrible, was a good thing for the two of us. Olivia is getting to be with children her age, and I am finally making some friends.
I pull my car up in front of what I believe is Katie’s house and turn off the ignition. No sense in trying to look nice. Both Katie and Emma have seen how haggard I look when I get off work, so there is no need to try and impress them. Emma told me that Avery and Amber were both about eight months pregnant, so I doubt they are walking around looking like supermodels right now either.
Shutting the car door, I head to the entrance and give it a knock. I don’t have to wait long before Katie answers with Ryan attached to her leg. Coming up to about Katie’s hip, Ryan has brown hair and blue eyes, he is a nice mix of Katie and what I assume is his father. Katie told me he is named after her first husband, who died in combat. He also happened to be her current husbands’ best friend. Talk about some Jerry Springer stories!
“Come on in! Olivia is in the room playing with Emerson,” Katie says with a smile.
“Thanks so much for keeping her, I really appreciate it.”
“It was no problem at all. She was a joy to have, plus she helped keep these two occupied for most of the day. She can come over anytime.” I follow Katie down the hall to a spacious living room.
Emma is sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and two other women are cuddled up next to each other on the other end. Those two look like they could be twins, what is going on with the gene pool here, all these gorgeous people are going to give me a complex.
“Becca! How was your day? Hope that you didn’t work too hard,” Emma says as she heads toward the bar. She hands me a glass of wine and continues, “Those two bitches over there are Avery and Amber. No, they aren’t related. Yes, we realize they look exactly alike. You will get used to it,” Emma says with a smile.
I take a big gulp of my wine. “Nice to meet you both.”
“We fuck. Each other, regularly,” the one on the left says. I think it’s Avery if she introduced them in the order they are sitting.
“Really bitch, you have to lead with that?” Amber says, I think. Telling these two apart is going to
be a full-time job.
“It’s easier to get this shit out of the way now. If she can’t handle it, then she can get to stepping now. No matter how cute her kid is.”
Someone places a hand on my shoulder, and I jump. I turn to see Katie smiling at me. She leans down to whisper in my ear, “You can’t tell them apart, can you?”
I take a gulp of my wine and shake my head ‘no.’
“Avery is the one on the left. She is much louder and outspoken than Amber. Amber is the peacemaker in their relationship. Before you ask, there is a third, Charlie. He is my husbands’ best friend. He is also the father of both their babies.
“Shit! You bitches live in a Jerry Springer episode,” I say before my filter can engage.
“Emma, I don’t know where you found her, but she is staying. Even if we have to tie her up,” Avery says.
After spending a few hours with the girls, I’m finally able to escape with Olivia and head home. Thank the Lord tomorrow is my day off. Hopefully, Olivia will sleep in because I’m exhausted. I pull into my driveway and chuckle just thinking about my new adopted family. Family is the only way I can describe them. Emma instantly decided that I was going to be her best friend, and Katie just took it all in stride, like it was an everyday occurrence. Then Avery and Amber, those two women are a force to be reckoned with. Thankfully, my lack of filter is endearing to them, which makes me a keeper.
No questions about my past or where Livie’s father is, just acceptance. The one thing I have been craving since leaving Texas. As I unbuckle Livie from her car seat, she asks, “Momma, can I have a Wobin costume?”
I lift her from her seat and close the door. “Baby, but you love Batman.” I can’t pretend, her love of Batman does make my nerdy heart happy. “Why do you want to be Robin?”
She grabs my hand as we begin to walk into our building. “Cause Ba’man is on the puter. I can’t be Ba’man. I be Wobin now.”
I pull us both to the stop as the confusion sets in. Olivia has always watched Batman cartoons on the television and never had an issue dressing up regularly. I wonder what has changed. “Okay, sweetheart, we can go and get you a Robin costume tomorrow, okay?”
“YEA! ‘Mma can take picture for Ba’man,” she cheers before she continues into the building.
What do Emma and Batman have to do with each other? No longer pretending to understand the inner workings of my three-year-old’s mind, I follow her inside. I will have to give Emma a call in the morning.
After talking to Emma this morning, I now understand that “Batman” is her brother. Apparently, they were Skyping yesterday while she was watching Olivia. I was shocked to discover that Livie gave someone she barely knows such a special nickname, but at least she is engaging with people outside of me and the girls.
I have always worried about Olivia having a stable male role model in her life. My dad was there for us when I was home, and they come to visit when they can, but there hasn’t been someone there for her all the time. Now that the girls are around, maybe I can have the chance to have a life of my own. I shake my head to clear my thoughts, I need to focus on Olivia right now. Maybe when Olivia is older, I can think about finding someone again, but my ability to love was lost when Trent died. However, having someone to at least spend time with is always a plus.
Checking in on Livie, I find her sitting on the floor playing with her Batman action figures and watching Sophia the First on TV. I take the time to run out and grab the mail, trying to pretend I’m not waiting for a return letter from Lieutenant McMillion. I quickly run down the stairs, open the mailbox, and make it back to my apartment before I’m even missed.
Checking to make sure Olivia is still alright, I head to the kitchen and begin going through the mail. Bills, bills, bills, and more bills. I’m beginning to lose hope that anything is coming today, then I notice a small envelope addressed with his block lettering. Ripping it open, I start to read.
Becca,
Thank you for writing to me, it was an unexpected bright spot in my day. It may seem strange, but something as small as a letter from home is a big deal around here.
I’m not sure they told you about me besides my mailing address, but feel free to ask any questions. I hope that we can get to know each other while I’m here, it will give me something to concentrate on that doesn’t include the military.
Keeping the morale of my men up gets increasingly difficult the longer we are here. I find that with them having wives and children at home is making it increasingly harder to lead them. As if we have nothing in common anymore.
I’m a Navy SEAL and stationed in San Diego. I’m currently in charge of a team of four other SEALs. I’ve been in the Navy for almost 15 years. Most of what I do, I can’t talk about, but if you have questions, I’ll answer what I can.
My job in the Navy is usually satisfying. It keeps me busy, keeps my mind sharp because it’s rare for a mission to go as planned. I know that I’m making a difference. To help keep innocent people safe from people and organizations hell bent on pain and destruction. I’m proud to make the sacrifices in order to make the world a better, safer place.
Enough about me, I want to know more about you and your little girl. What do you do for fun? What is your favorite food? What are your favorite movies, music, books, everything? Honestly, anything you are willing to share. I am in short supply of friends that aren’t in the military.
Sorry about my crappy handwriting, writing in all caps is a habit from being in the Navy for so long. If we handwrite anything, it has to be printed in all caps. Always.
Please call me Justin, my rank isn’t necessary.
I can’t wait to hear from you,
Justin
I don’t try to suppress the smile the comes across my face. It seems that Lieutenant McMillion, I mean Justin, may just be a Christmas Miracle. I am not too sure what is going to come of us writing back and forth, but I do know that we are both in need of a friend.
6
JUSTIN
Mail call has suddenly become my favorite day of the week. I finally have something to look forward to, other than the day we finally get to head home. The guys give me a tough time about how excited I am for mail call every week, but I don’t give a shit. Having a letter from home is something to be cherished. Speaking of, it’s time to get my butt in gear and head over to the mess hall.
“Here comes LT, just like a kid on Christmas.” Cowboy’s draw catches my attention as I enter the chow hall.
My good mood immediately evaporates. “Can the shit, Cowboy. I’m just making sure your asses aren’t causing any more trouble than usual.”
“You say that almost every week, and every week you leave here with a shit-eating grin on your face,” Hard-On pipes in from his seat next to Cowboy.
I’ve been with these two the longest so they can tell my mood swings better than most. I should just confide in them, tell them about my letters with Becca. But that feels like I am ruining what we have. The guys ribbing me is one thing, but once the lewd comments begin about Becca, all bets will be off.
“Has the mail come yet?” I ask, taking a seat on the other side of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb.
“Yup, come and gone,” Cowboy says with a sinister smile on his face. Whatever he is up to can’t be good, but I’m not going to play into it. At least not right now, he will turn over whatever he has eventually. If it was Brass or Hard-On, it would be another story.
“Alright, I’m headed to the gym. Keep your asses out of trouble for a little while please.” I get up from my seat and head out of the mess hall.
I feel like ripping the skin off my arms, wondering whether Cowboy has something for me from Becca or not. Just as I’m finished changing into workout gear, Cowboy saunters into the bunk room.
“You may have left this behind when you left.” He holds out a small envelope for me.
“You’re an ass, you know that?”
“No, I saved your ass from having to fight Hard-On for i
t. You can thank me later.” Cowboy and I share a look before he turns to head back out. He’s right, but I’ll never admit it. I can’t wait any longer to find out what Becca has to say this time.
Justin,
I hope you’re doing okay, thank you for your letter. It made me smile. I am not used to having someone, other than my three-year-old, to talk to. I just started her at a day care center this week, so hopefully she can make some friends, heck maybe I may make some too. Gosh, that is so pathetic when you write it down, no friends.
Being a CNA means the hours are long, and Olivia spends more time away from me than I would like, but that’s what it takes right now. I focus on her and getting her as much time with her as I can. My number one priority is making sure she is happy and taken care of. She’s the light of my life. I don’t know what I was doing before her. She’s such a sassy little thing but so funny and so sweet.
I’m sure you don’t want to hear about my kid while you’re off saving the world. There’s not a lot to know. I grew up in Texas, so I like country music, BBQ, and a cold beer on the beach with a bonfire. I like dogs, trucks, and flip-flops. I’ve always wanted to be an illustrator for graphic novels, to be the one that brings the words to life. I was even going to school for drawing and design when I got pregnant. I got to meet Stan Lee once! It was amazing! He’s the most brilliant man I’ve ever met and super down to earth.
How about you? Where are you from? Why did you join the Navy? What made you want to be a SEAL?
I’m enjoying this experience with a pen pal more than I thought I would.
Talk to you soon,
Becca
