by Kris Jacen
“You go take care of that and I’ll call the guys. We’ll all be there, barring any orders to be elsewhere. I don’t think Spook has anything coming up and Mike just got back. Call one of us when you know or if you need any of us in Tennessee.”
“Thanks, Mooney. Gotta go.”
Mooney hit the button on the phone to disconnect the call and just sat there.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Mooney.” Carter didn’t know what else to say so he sat there quietly.
Mooney let out a sigh then said, “Kevin’s father-in-law was an old Cavalry officer. He was so hard on Kevin when he asked Brittany to marry him. Enlisted soldier wanting to marry an officer’s daughter? Never mind that Kevin had been married twice before. Colonel O’Connor was in when officers and enlisted didn’t socialize. Kevin pulled out all the stops at the wedding. Britt always wanted a big military wedding and Kevin gave her everything she wanted. I was the lucky one of the heptad, Kevin only needed five to stand with him and since I had been deployed? I got to sit that one out but I was there with my Stetson and spurs just like the others and Kevin. Kevin, to this day, thinks we helped sway the colonel to liking him. He did it all on his own but we definitely made an impression at the wedding.” Mooney turned slightly and picked up a picture from the credenza behind him, handing it to Carter.
It was a picture of one first sergeant with three master sergeants on either side standing close together, one leg turned out to show their spurs and looking down so all you could see was their Stetson with cords, leading down to the gold stripe running the length of pant leg to their spurs.
“That was taken at their wedding. Kevin came up with this processional for the guys to appear in the church then walk down the aisle before Brittany’s dad escorted her to the front.” Mooney shook his head before continuing, “I better start making some calls, starting with Debs before she kills me. Sorry to cut our time short.”
“One day, I want what you all have,” Carter said as he handed the picture back and slapped a hand over his mouth. He couldn’t believe he’d just said it out loud. Completely not the time.
“What?” Mooney had a puzzled look on his face. “You want a wife to want to kill you? Did you already have a wife?”
“I’m so sorry, Mooney. I was referring to friends close enough you know they’re there for you no matter what or when. Maybe a partner? Husband?”
“We’ve always been there for each other. Well, it started with…Lord, Mackey and me in basic? Then Kevin? It’s been so long and been all of us for all the ‘big’ things it’s hard to remember how we came together.”
“Actually, I’m more likely to have a partner like Sergeant Major Mac or Top Glenn. When Jill left me, I did some searching and really thinking about myself and realized while I loved her in some ways she just didn’t do it for me. What I’ve got with Siah? Maybe? Could be?”
“Ah, well, you’re in an Army that is tolerant of that more now than before. Will it be easy for you? Sometimes yes, some no. This is definitely something to talk about more but…”
“I know, you’ve got some important calls to make. Say hi to Sergeant Major Mac for me,” Carter said as he stood up to leave.
“Let’s plan a time to sit down and brainstorm where you want to go from here. Use some of that military knowledge you’ve got outside the box. MDMP does wonders for a lot of people. Most just don’t think to use it ‘formally’ when not on a mission.”
“Roger, Sergeant Major. I’ll think about that and I’ll send you a text to see when you’re available?”
“That’ll work.” Mooney picked up his desk phone and started dialing as Carter walked out of his office. Oh yeah, he wanted what the heptad had.
§ § § §
Siah got home that day and threw himself on the couch. Oh. My. God. How did these military spouses do it all? He was single, no children, no spouse and they exhausted him just listening to him. Siah always thought he had pretty good stamina controlling a room of twenty sixth graders but… oh was he wrong. These spouses put him to shame. They were attending this training in addition to everything else.
He’d been listening today to them during one of the breaks. There was one husband in the group and the rest were wives. They’d been talking about preparing for the next deployment for one of the battalions. It amazed him how much prep the spouses had to do. Okay, he guessed if he really put some thought into it before he could have come up with most of what they had to handle but… phone calls at all hours from spouses that couldn’t figure out the easiest shit? Really? And seriously, did one of the women say she got a call once because the wife didn’t have access to the checkbook because her husband took it with him? What was he going to do? Write a check to the Taliban?
Siah needed to figure out dinner. Was Carter coming over tonight? He couldn’t remember what day it was. Carter had class two nights a week these days. Grabbing his cell, he pulled up the calendar app to look. Yup, Carter was in class tonight so he was on his own. Just as he was about to throw his phone down, it rang. Glancing at the caller ID, Siah answered with “Hey, Debbie.”
“Siah, I’ve got a favor to ask,” Debbie said and then sniffed? Did Siah hear her right? Was Debbie crying?
“Of course, are you okay? You don’t sound okay.” He hadn’t known her long but she’d always struck him as a strong woman. She would have to be with her boys and her husband’s profession.
“Yeah, just got off the phone with Jeanine and… Christ, it’s been a bad day.”
Now Siah was a bit concerned. “Are the boys and Mooney okay?” He couldn’t think of anything else that would affect Debbie like this.
“Luny and the boys are fine. He called me a little bit ago. Britt’s dad passed away unexpectedly.” Another sniff across the line.
“Oh no. Is Brittany okay? What about little Tristan and Julia?” He’d only spent one afternoon with them all but they’d made a big impression on him.
“I guess? Luny said Kevin and Britt got the kids to Tennessee fast. I don’t know if they’ve told Tristan Papa’s gone. He idolized his papa. Kevin said he didn’t know if he needed any of us there. Britt and her mom are apparently out of it. Luny said Kevin thought I’d smack the sister if I was there.”
“That doesn’t sound good. You heading out there?” Siah didn’t think having a cat fight was going to be a good thing for Kevin to have to deal with. Sounded like his hands were full already. “Who’s got the kids?”
“Kevin’s doing it all by himself right now. That’s what Jeanine and I were talking about. Since Luny’s here, I can head over. I guess Haley got sick when they got home so Jeanine’s tied up. Holly and Mike are figuring out things so she can meet me there.”
“So what do you need from me? You said you needed a favor?” He guessed he could help Mooney? The boys and him definitely got along. He could figure out something to do with them. Maybe a museum or two? He hadn’t been to the Air and Space Museum yet. Oooh or the International Spy Museum.
“I do. Britt’s dad is going to be buried at Arlington. He asked that the heptad be his pall bearers so we’re all going to have our hands full with all the little ones. But I don’t want Cam and Cal to be alone. Yeah, we’ll all be there but I just—” Debbie cut herself off.
“You’d like me to attend the funeral and be there for the boys?” He’d never been to a military funeral but he’d been with the boys at Arlington and saw how it could affect military children. “Did the boys know Britt’s dad?”
“Oh yeah, they loved Papa Andy. We’ll have to tell them tonight. This sucks.” Debbie blew out a hard breath. “Okay, first, I’m off to Tennessee in the morning. Not sure when then funeral is going to be but do you think you’d mind? The boys love you and well, it would be a chance for you to see a military funeral to add to what you’re learning this summer,” Debbie paused then said, “That sounded really bad. I’ve completely lost my mind.”
“Don’t stress. I understand what you’re trying to say. With the excep
tion of the trainings that you were able to get me into, I’ve got nothing scheduled for the summer so whenever, I can be there. So cross it off your list, because if I learned anything from the military spouses today it was that you all live by your lists.” Siah was trying to inject some lightness to the conversation. He just hoped it didn’t offend Debbie. And when he heard her chuckling, he knew he hadn’t.
“We do love our lists and when Luny’s gone? I’ve got lists for my lists. It’s second nature for me to take care of everything but having a list makes it easier for me. Lord help that man if he throws away a list. Off I go, need to get to crossing more off my list. I’ll shoot you a text or give you a call.”
Guess he had some research to do. He needed to know what was going to happen at the funeral. Siah reached for his laptop. Google to the rescue.
§ § § §
Man, he hoped Siah didn’t care it was late, Carter thought as he walked up to Siah’s front door. After the day he’d had, he just wanted to hold Siah for a little while and forget. Hearing the letter from Kevin’s father-in-law and seeing Mooney’s reaction, kicked something inside of Carter. He stopped in front of the door and knocked.
It took a minute or so but then there was Siah holding the door open and blinking. Shit, I woke him. “I’m sorry, I’ll leave. I didn’t mean to—” Siah reach out and pulled Carter to him, giving him a kiss to shut him up.
Could’ve been a minute, or a day later, when Siah pulled back. Carter wasn’t sure because he’d lost all his brain cells in that kiss. “Ummmm, hi?”
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight, but I’m glad you came over. Come on in.” Siah turned and walked into the condo leaving the door wide open. Carter followed him, stopping to close and lock the door. It wasn’t much but it would give them a chance if someone tried to break in.
“Today was… yeah, I just needed to see you for a few,” Carter said as he settled on the couch and pulled Siah so his back was snuggled up against Carter’s chest.
“I agree. Today was… yeah. Did you talk to Mooney today?” Siah asked as he ran his fingers up and down Carter’s forearm.
“I did. How did you know?” He glanced over and saw Siah’s laptop on the coffee table, screen saver going. He must have interrupted him reading something.
“I didn’t. I talked with Debbie today. Did Mooney tell you the news?”
“About Britt’s father? I was actually with Mooney when Kevin called him. Mooney put the call on speaker not realizing what Kevin was calling about. Did Debbie tell you about the letter?”
“Letter? Debbie didn’t say anything about a letter. She wanted to know if I’d be at the funeral for the boys.”
“I’m sure you said of course. I can’t see you ever not helping out a child. I guess Britt’s dad left letters for his wife, his daughters and for Kevin. Kevin read his letter to us. Shit, all soldiers know the possibility of dying is there when we deploy but he was retired, wasn’t that old and was having fun spoiling his grandchildren. He asked if the heptad would be his pall bearers wearing Stetsons and spurs for an old Cav soldier. And—” Carter had to stop talking, get his emotions under control.
“Don’t worry, I understand. I haven’t lost anyone close to me but I completely get being pissed when a soldier makes it through combat and then dies. I really believe we’re letting down our veterans.”
“What do you mean?” Carter was a bit lost by Siah’s train of thought. And here he was thinking he finally had a handle on how the man’s brain jumped from subject to subject.
“During a break today, a pamphlet caught my eye. It was about the suicide rate for veterans. Losing just one after they’ve made it home is appalling but the numbers apparently dropped from twenty-two to twenty which people are crowing about. That’s fucking wrong. More needs to be done.”
“I love how you get so passionate about things. And you’re right, there is so much looked over when soldiers come back. Forget the fucking briefings we sit through, what a waste of time. So many just have enough and get out and then have issues.” Carter just sat there holding Siah for a minute before asking, “Any chance we can change the subject to something lighter or maybe just turn on some music and relax?”
“How about we bring something up on Netflix? Something mindless?”
“I love the idea.”
“Let’s get comfortable and tune out.” Carter shifted up and kicked off his sneakers. He was already in cargo shorts and a T-shirt so he was set. Siah walked into the kitchen and was back in a minute with bottles of water which he placed on the coffee table. He grabbed the remote and cuddled back into Carter.
“Best way to end the day,” Siah murmured.
“The best,” Carter couldn’t agree more.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning, Carter woke with a start. Shit, he was late. He grabbed for his phone, going to text Wells and let him know he was on his way. He looked at the time and blinked. It was only 5:47? What? He wasn’t late?
Carter looked around and realized he was still at Siah’s and in Siah’s bed. But last he knew they were on the couch, watching Mysteries at the Museum and Siah was talking about wanting to visit the museum. How did he get to the bed? And when did he take off his T-shirt?
If he didn’t move it, he really was going to be late. He leaned over and gave Siah a gentle kiss then slid off the bed. There on the chest was his shirt, his shoes must still be in the living room. He’d find a piece of paper and leave a note on his laptop.
“Umm, Carter?”
“Yeah, I’ve got to run so I’m not late for work. I wanted to talk to you about something. Dinner tonight?” Carter was in a real hurry but watching Siah wake was a sight he needed to enjoy.
“Sure. Wait! Talk about something? That’s never good. You’ve got to—” A quick kiss stopped the rambling.
“Oh I like that better than you telling me to breathe. Now…”
“I wanted to see what you thought about having a cookout of our own. Maybe with some of the guys from my unit? Maybe some friends of yours?”
“We could have it maybe next weekend?” Siah seemed to like Carter’s idea.
“Nothing big, just try out our hosting skills?”
Siah was wide awake now. “Let’s plan for next weekend and—” He stopped talking and looked around. “Damn, okay, they know what they’re doing. There shouldn’t have been a doubt in my mind.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I noticed about the spouses yesterday, they all had lists and talked about putting things on their lists. I teased Debbie about it too. But they’re completely right. Lists are mandatory.”
“Didn’t you have lists when you were in grad school?”
“Nope, I had a calendar with assignments but not lists.” Siah was sitting up with the blankets pooled at his waist. It was a distracting look for Carter.
“Okay, before I completely lose track of what I need to do today. Like, oh I don’t know, go to work, I’m going to leave. Next weekend sounds good. We’ll talk more tonight?”
“Get before I pull you back here with me. I don’t have a training today.” Siah leaned back and winked at Carter.
With a chuckle, Carter turned and walked out. Dang, it was going to be a long day.
§ § § §
Siah was rearranging the table again. It was just the third time he’d moved things around. He might be a tad nervous. Some of his friends from the academy and Carter’s guys from the unit were coming over for the cookout they’d talked about. It had taken an extra week to schedule it when everyone could make it but today was the day. They’d decided on Siah’s condo since he had a bit more room and the little back deck.
Jack, Bree and Barbie — Siah couldn’t wait for one of the guys to make fun of her name — were coming along with Wells, Randolph, Tank and Buster, who was bringing the woman he was dating. Siah had put together a chopped salad with everything in separate containers so people could make their own and a potato salad.
Carter had come up with a barbeque sauce for the chicken and then there were burgers. Carter had also made this amazing antipasto platter. Bree and Barbie were bringing dessert. Drinks were in the cooler on the deck. Siah kept thinking they’d forgotten something but he couldn’t figure out what. Ah well, if something was missing? Who would know.
As he was standing there staring at the table, Carter came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him, kissing the side of Siah’s neck.
“It’ll be fine. The guys aren’t pigs, at least from what I’ve seen. The weather’s holding with the sun out.”
“I know. We’ll have a good time.” Siah just leaned back into Carter and tried some of his meditation breathing. Whether it was Carter’s presence or the breathing, Siah wasn’t sure but his nerves settled. Then the doorbell rang and he jumped.
Carter chuckled at him as he pulled away and headed for the door. “I’ll get it. Don’t touch the table.”
§ § § §
The group from the academy were at the door, all holding dishes. One of the women spoke up, “Hi you must be Carter. I’m Bree. I’d shake but…” She motioned with the bowl she was holding. Carter stepped back holding the door open.
“I am. Come on in. Siah’s in the kitchen.”
“And he’s nervous, isn’t he?” the male of the group asked. “I’m Jack, nice to meet you.”
“How’d you guess?” Carter held out his hand to Jack. “I think he’s rearranged the table a few times.”
“Barbie,” the remaining female of the group said as she scooted by Carter. “The energy he has on the mat might have given us a clue.”
Before Carter could close the door, Randolph, Wells and Tank were walking up the path. “Come on in, guys.”
“Nice place,” Wells said as he got closer. Looked like he had a twelve-pack of Coke with him.
