Part II.
From Part I: I returned from Afghanistan, having been shot in the shoulder and having two surgeries to repair it. I got out of the Army to help my mother who had bladder cancer and ran into the high school girl on whom I had had a crush. I found out she was a single mother of a young daughter and tried to ask her out, only to have her accuse me of treating her like someone who I thought couldn't take care of herself and needed to be saved.
Chapter 4. My mother?
19 September 2009
The bullets were thudding and zinging around us as SFC Garcia and I made our way around to the left flank of the attackers. There must have been a large number based on the amount of fire. We continued to work our way around and the rest of the platoon continued to try to fix the enemy and withstand the RPGs, the few mortar rounds, and the rifle fire they were sending at them. The good news was that the enemy had left an open flank for us to be able to get around and into a position where they were no longer under cover. We had open shots at many of them and they had to try to maneuver back thru the rocks without taking fire from either the rest of the platoon or Sergeant Garcia and I. It was not good for them, but Sergeant Garcia and I were able to start picking them off and making them retreat. I saw one of them turn to try to shoot us as he tried to exfiltrate back thru the rocks and I lined him up in my sights. I pulled the trigger and...
I jerked awake, lightly sweating, my breathing slightly elevated. The dream was not coming as often, but it was still there. I looked at the clock; 3am. Ugh! I lay back down, but it took a while to get back to sleep.
I didn't get up until much later that morning. It was Saturday and I had stayed out late after my meeting with Lily, going to a movie and then planting my ass in a bar stool to drink and watch sports. My mother said she was going to bed when I called, so I had stayed out way too late. I must have gotten home around 2am, and then had the dream at 3. I rolled out of bed around noon and walked into the kitchen. My mother was sitting there drinking coffee.
"Well, good morning sleepyhead."
"Morning." I opened the refrigerator and took out a Diet Pepsi. Some people have to have their caffeine via coffee; I took mine from diet soda. I had never taken to the taste of coffee.
After I poured a glass I turned and sat down. My mother was staring at me with a slight grin on her face. "Lily called this morning."
I perked up a little and my head jerked up toward my mother, but I tried not to be too obvious. "Yeah?"
"She told me that she blew up at you last night and wanted to apologize so you are supposed to call her when you get up. She's already at the café and wants you to come by."
"Okay." I sat there and drank my diet soda.
My mother continued to stare.
"What?"
She grinned. "You've still got a thing for her, don't you?"
I smiled at her. Nothing ever got past my mother. "I think it's just a wish to be young and naive again. I'm trying to fulfill some wishful thinking from a crush I had as a teenager. Unfortunately, you can't go back and relive the past. I don't know if I should do anything about her or not." I was lying and she knew it.
"Yeah, right. I saw your subtle reaction when I said that she called. You were hoping that she would."
"Okay, maybe. But it's still just wishful thinking."
My mother turned serious. "She's had a rough way to go and she was always such a beautiful person. I feel sorry for her. It's tough raising a child alone. You were ten when your father left so I know the deal. She's had to raise that one alone from the beginning. Her mother helps as much as she'll let her, but she still seems to want to martyr herself."
I chuckled. "Mom, you seem to know all about this. So why don't you tell me what I should do? Should I try to rekindle some teenage crush or not? Should I even bother going out with her? What do you think?"
She looked at me very seriously and I could see the wheels turning. "Well... I know you still find her attractive. I think you should try to break thru her façade and see what happens. You should see if you can make her at least consider living again. She seems so tense and angry at the world, and you can't do that forever."
I looked at her and decided to turn the tables on her. "And what about you, Mom? Did you ever try to get your own life back after dad left?"
She looked down at her hands. "Probably not as much as I should have." She looked up at me with a piercing stare. "That's why I want her to get on with her life. I know what happens. If you focus only on your child you wake up one day when they are gone and realize you're alone... and lonely."
I had never heard her talk this frankly about her own life before and she was making me feel bad. "I'm sorry I wasn't around more."
She smiled. "Don't be sorry. Mothers have always watched their children grow up and go off on their own. We want that. We want the best for our children and I could see that the military was very good for you. You grew up to be a man that every mother would be proud of." Tears came to her eyes so I went over and stood next to her chair and hugged her, holding her to my chest.
She let me hold her for a minute and then pulled back. She wiped her eyes. "I haven't been a recluse, you know. I do have friends."
I smiled and sat back down. "Yeah, okay, but why didn't you ever take your own advice and start dating again."
She looked at me and grinned. "Who says I didn't?"
I acted shocked. "Mom? You out on a date? Will wonders never cease."
She grinned. "Well, I'm older, but not dead. And there was sex, too."
That stopped me in my tracks. I put my hands over my ears. "Okay, too much information!"
She stuck her tongue out at me. "See, even your mother can still shock you."
I stood up and grinned at her. "I'm leaving. I can't stand these open discussions about your sex life."
I walked out of the kitchen to her laughter. Turning the tables didn't work so well and she had definitely shocked me. I guess we never think about our parent's sex lives... and for good reason. Ick!
I called Lily and she tried to apologize and I tried to tell her there was no reason, but she did so anyway. She asked me to come to the café for a late lunch and I agreed. I got there just after the main lunch crowd and sat in a booth near the side windows, staring out at the remains of a corn field. The café was the last building before hitting farmland having been built in response to the hospital and medical offices that had sprung up on the outskirts of this town.
Chapter 5. Lily makes nice.
I waited and the same cute little waitress came over. This time she was wearing a nametag and it told me her name was Cindy. She gave me a glass of water and a menu. She smiled. "I'll be right back." Then she grinned and whispered. "I'll tell Lily you're here." When I frowned at her she smirked. "Be good to her."
Okay... that was different. I hadn't even done anything with her yet except piss her off at the mall and I was getting this sort of attention? I decided on what I would order and put the menu down. The waitress came over.
"What can I get you?"
"I'll have the eggs over easy, bacon, home fries, and wheat toast." They served breakfast all day and I loved breakfast; the hell with eating well when you have a hangover.
