Note: This story is intended to stand on its own but is based on characters and situations developed in the story "Stuck" (also posted on this site).
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In Country
Melvin pulled his pulp wood truck into the staging area and unhooked the trailer near the offload crane. The sun was just setting over the trees as he drove his cab around to the old concrete block office. He was the last one in and knew the yard boss was going to give him hell about it.
âDammit Boy!â the old redneck shouted as Melvin stepped inside the cold room. âWhere the hell have you been! Everybody else went home hours ago. I been sittinâ here thinking if I should report one of my trucks stolen! Iâve half a mind to fire your ass!â
âYea? I got half a mind to wop you up side the headâ Melvin answered as he calmly walked to the time clock.
âDonât fuck with meâ the Boss replied âTater said he passed you heading out fully loaded at 3 oâclock. Whereâd you run off to that took you all afternoon to get back in?â
âLets just say I had a run in with some grade âAâ poon tang that caused me to get delayed.â
âBullshit!â the Boss shouted âEven you aint hard up enough to stick your wick in any of that swamp woman pussy.
âNope.â Melvin smiled âA couple of college kids got stuck in the sand and they offered me a deal to help them out. The girl was hot and took it every place that I could put it.â
âBullshit!â The Boss shouted.
âNo shit!â Melvin replied âYou gonna read about this one in Penthouse. The boy just stood there and watched while I gave her the stick.â
âMelvin you are so full of shit itâs no wonder your skin is brownâ the Boss laughed âget the fuck out of here. Iâll see you in the morning.â
âOk Bossâ Melvin said as he headed for the door.
âHey! You aint getting paid for more than eight hours today!â the Boss shouted as the metal door slammed. âI aint paying for you to run around chasing pussy âless you bring some back to me!â
Melvin laughed as he climbed into the cab of his old pick up. He spun out at the gate and his tires squealed when they jumped from soft dirt to pavement. The muscular black man pushed a Charlie Pride tape into the 8 track and tapped his fingers on the outside of the window as the truck barreled into the hot summer night.
The heat and sweat took him back in his memory. The girl today reminded him of someone he had known a long time ago. As he stared out at the dark road bed his mind drifted back to a place far away. Where the nights were long, the days were longer and the heat and passion of war surrounded him...
âSergeant Melvin?â the young nurse asked.
âYea, thatâs me.â Melvin answered groggily before noticing her Lieutenantâs bars. The female officer was slim and had her strawberry blonde hair pulled back behind her head âYes Maâam, I mean.â
âIâm nurse Olsenâ she said looking at his chart âLooks like you got a lucky break todayâ
âYou call that lucky?â Melvin asked.
âWell, considering you survived with only a sprained ankle, a possible concussion and some bruises Iâd say you were lucky.â
âHowâs the LT?â
âHeâs ok tooâ she smiled âthanks to you. I think heâs putting you in for a bronze star. He says he wouldnât be alive if you hadnât pulled him out of there.â
âYea, wellâ Melvin laughed âsomebody had to pick him up or the whole damn platoon would have tripped over him.â
âThatâs not the way he tells itâ She smiled and looked back at his chart. âSo, how are you feeling?â
âMy head is splitting and my foot hurts.â He groaned âSurprised?â
âIt takes a lot to surprise me.â She said, hanging his chart on a nail stuck into a wooden tent support. âIâll be right back. Iâve got to sit with you tonight and make sure you donât go to sleep.â
âWhy canât I sleep!?â Melvin protested.
âYou might have a concussion and itâs possible if you go to sleep you wonât wake up.â She said cheerily as she walked down the long row of empty cots. âIâve got to get some things and Iâll be back. Keep your eyes open, ok?â
âYes Maâam, I guessâ Melvin complained as he watched her walk away. He hadnât seen a woman in a few weeks, hadnât seen an American woman in 6 months and hadnât seen anyone as hot as this nurse; black, white or Asian in years. She was one of those rare women who was completely symmetrical and couldnât help but be sexy.
He smiled as he noted that she even looked good in her olive green Army utilities. Her breasts were large and firm though well confined inside the uniform. Her blouse wrinkled where it was tucked in the back as if it was too large for her narrow waistline. Her hips rolled out to accentuate the succulent bottom of a young woman at her fertile prime. She made the outfit look even better by blousing her trousers into her jungle boots causing her pants to stretch tightly against her long legs and tempting ass.
Melvinâs view abruptly ended when she stepped outside and the wooden door slammed behind her. Being a southerner he felt guilty about lusting after the beautiful white woman but he figured after living for months in the field his imagination could take some liberties. With his eyes under control again Melvin noticed that, although the large Army medical tent seemed to be designed for 50 or so patients, he was the only one there. Two rows of empty green cots lined the canvas walls with a walkway down the center.
Occasional seams in the mesh allowed him a limited view of the outside world. He could see that the sun was setting and the shadows were growing longer. It struck him as odd that there was little movement between the tents. He had only heard a few helicopters go over since he had been brought in. Usually the Army hospitals were bustling with activity and noise. Melvin wondered where everyone had gone.
When the nurse returned Sgt. Melvin asked âWhere is everybody? Is this the Negro hospital and no other brothers get hurt today?â
âNoâ she answered with a laugh. âWeâre moving out. This MASH unit is being relocated further south. According to someone in Saigon were too close to the front.â
âWhat front?â Melvin asked.
âGood questionâ She said with a smile âbut the artillery has been getting closer and the brass is worried that weâll be vulnerable if there is a full scale NVA attack. Anyway, the shells freak me out so Iâm not upset about it. Weâre pulling out in a few days and everybody but a skeleton crew of nurses and a few MPs has moved already.â
âSo why am I here?â
âThatâs the bad news.â She frowned, âthe Doctor says youâll be ok before we close down and this is closer to your unit. As soon as you are able, youâre supposed to deploy back to your company. Do not pass go, do not collect $100.â
âDamn.â Melvin sighed.
âIâm sorry.â she said.
âIts okâ he mused âthe LT would probably get them all killed if I stayed away too long.â
âThere, thereâ she chided âwe Officers arenât all that bad.â
âTrueâ he said looking her in the eye âsome are beautiful nurses.â
âWell arenât we the little brownnoser,â she replied and sat down in a folding chair nearby. She had brought a stack of magazines which she laid on the canvas floor of the tent. âHereâs how this works. Iâm here from 6 to 9, thatâs 1800 to 2100, to you regular Army types. Sgt. Steinway is here from 9 to 12, Corporal Fenton is here from 12 to 3 and then Iâll be back to keep you awake between 3 and 6. Got it?â
âI got it alrightâ Melvin groaned âthe first night in months where I donât have to lay in the mud and Iâm not allowed to go to sleep.â
âLook on the bright sideâ She said tossing him a recent copy of the Ladies Home Journal âat least you can catch up on your reading.â
The next two hours went quickly and the two got along so well that the magazines lay on the ground ignored. Both told stories about home and family. She told him that she and her husband had been married after college and lived in San Francisco. She clearly missed her husband greatly and couldnât wait to get home.
âSo why are you in the Army?â Melvin finally asked.
She smiled âI joined the National Guard as a way of rebelling against my dad. He was a career Navy officer and all my life he told me I could do anything I wanted, except join the Army. I thought it would be fun to play soldier once a month, make a few bucks and get to hassle my old man.â