The Soldier Next Door

When you are in the Marines, everything comes to you as a surprise. You never know what your next move is going to be. What are you going to do and where are you going to be. I guess, in a way, it is true that being in the Marines and even the Military prepares you for everything.

I am a man that is all up for surprises. There are those that are welcomed, and then there are those that you just wish never happened. The question is, what kind of surprise has your old platoon leader brought to your door.

I quickly rush into my clothes before Ana, and I walk to the lounge. I swear that I still smell of sex, but that is the least of my worries now.

As I enter the lounge, Evans gets off his chair from where he is sitting across from my father. If he fucking salutes me, then I am punching him straight in the face but thank the pope, he only shakes my hand.

“Good to see you again, Hunter.”

“Evans, it is a surprise to see you here.”

In the Marines, as with the Military, we use last names when addressing each other. Mainly to avoid confusion. A platoon or squad may have several people with the same first name, but it is less likely that they will have the same last name, although it is possible.

“What do I owe the visit to?”

“Can we take a walk?”

“Sure, not a problem.”

I turn to Ana, who is standing next to me with her jaw dropped to the floor. Ray has always been popular with the ladies. I mean, look at the damn man. I think it is the silver fox look that does the deed, women like falling for that kind of shit.

“Boo, you can close your mouth now. I thank I can see the drool dripping from your mouth.”

“That is gross, soldier, and nothing is dripping from my mouth. Do they make all the Marines so damn hot?”

“Only me, boo.”

“Hahaha, keep on telling yourself that; you might just believe it.”

“I am going to remember that remark when you want some of this again.”

“Soldier, I have you tightly twisted around my finger. I am getting it whether you want to or not.”

“Oh, is that so. You pretty confident for a lady that was like putty in my hands not even ten minutes ago.”

“You can’t go around and advertise shit like that.”

“Fuck, if you don’t stop me, then I am going to swap stories with old Matty just now.”

“You would not dare, soldier.”

“Just watch me, boo.”

I cup her chin in my hand as I give her a wicked grin and place a soft kiss on her sweet lips.

“I will see you just now. Are you going to stay here with my mom?”

“Yes, soldier, I will be here waiting for you.”

Evans leads me out of the front door, where we make our way to the paved driveway that leads to the road. There are a few minutes of uncomfortable silence before he finally speaks.

“So, how are you doing?”

“You mean the leg doing?”

“If you want to say it that blatant, then yes. How are you holding up?”

“Some days are better than others. It is something that you will never get used to. I don’t even think that if I were born this way, it would be something I can live with.”

“And the pain? Does it still hurt?”

“It is always going to hurt whether it is phantom or real pain; it is going to stay there.”

“Are you not angry? Don’t you regret joining the Marines?”

“No. I am angry that Johnny had to die. If I had a second chance, then I’d choose the Marines again.”

“That is one day in my entire Marine Corps life that I would want to do again. I would have never sent you boys on that suicide mission.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. You did not know that the militia group moved over in there that night.”

“I should have sent another squad in with you. I knew that we had not cleared that town completely.”

“Evans, do not blame yourself. We all know what we are in for when we sign up. Nothing you did differently would have changed the situation.”

“It’s hard sleeping at night when you know you lost one soldier and had one injured as badly as you. You boys were my responsibility, and I failed you. You have no idea how goddamn sorry I am.”

“You can be glad that I can’t balance myself perfectly on this, buddy; otherwise, I would have kicked your ass just now. Stop this bullshit of blaming yourself.”

“Still as hard-ass as ever.”

“Tell me why you are here? I somehow doubt you came here for a pity party.”

I watch Ray as he is clearly trying to find the right way to say what he is about to say, “I want you to redeploy.”

“You want me what?”

“I want you to deploy with the old platoon when we go out again.”

“Have you forgotten about that tiny little detail of not having half a leg?”

“You will be part of the battle staff operations.”

“But how is it even possible?”

You will have to go through the Physical Evaluation Board, which can determine if you are still fit to serve. Then the Continuation on Active Duty program to prove you are still physically able to serve.”

“But I need to start training then. How long do I have? I mean, if I decide to do it. Fuck I did not know there is even a slight possibility for me ever to deploy again.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“We deploy in a month again. I really want you back. You are one of my best. You will be a valuable asset to battle operations.”

“Fuck Ray, I swear I could almost kiss your ass right now. The Marines is my life; this is why I joined, to deploy, to be out there. I would go through any damn program you throw at me if it means I can do it again.”

“So, does that mean you are in?”

Am I in? Of course, I am; there is no reason why I should not be. But is this something I need to discuss with my family? With Ana? I am a Marine; I will always be a Marine. If I can get the dream back that I lost, why would I not be in?

“You can count me in. Where do we start?”

“We need to get you fit. It is going to be hard, but I know you will persevere.”

“You know I am good for it. I have never been one to back down from a challenge. Give me a purpose, and I will make it work.”

“I will set everything up. Tell all the powers that need to know. The boys are going to be fucking stoked that you are back.”

I absolutely love the sound of those words… You are back… I have not been so excited since I can nearly remember for the past few months. Well, apart from the first time I laid eyes on Ana. That miracle that I have been wanting since this whole ordeal happened has finally come to me.

“I guess that you are not going to discuss this one with the folks?”

“No, not now. And definitely not with Ana. You remember Jenkins over in Lopez’s platoon?”

“The poor bastard that got himself blown to pieces?”

“Yup, that one, well, that is her husband.”

“Fuck, that has got to hurt, I mean, he went home in a body bag with what was leftover, and that was not much.”

“She does not know that I know, so keep it on the low key.”

“Mmm, you seem to be hiding a lot of secrets from this girl. Do you ever intend on telling her?”

“I say why open a box that is better left sealed.”

I know that I must be the world’s most awful person, but I can just not find it in my heart to tell her that I know who her husband is. I did try earlier, and we all know how that one turned out to be. I know it is not for me to decide what is good for her or not, but I feel that the less she hurts, the better off she will be. Certain kinds of pains just never heal; losing a loved one that is a million miles away is just one of those pains you don’t need to feel.

“I better be going; my misses have been clinging to me like shit. I think my phone has vibrated six times by now.”

“They do kind of love their messages, don’t they?”

When we get back to the house, Ray says his goodbyes and leaves. He does not say a word to anyone, which fuels their curiosity even more than before. They are all eagerly waiting to hear what happened as I take my seat next to Ana.

“So what did that hot platoon leader of yours want, soldier?”

Now, what do I say?

All I know is that I didn’t join the Marines to sit around and have a comfortable lifestyle. I joined the Marines because I knew it would be hard work, and it is, but when you’re done, you can look back and say, “Wow, look at everything I did.”