Lee

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Five days passed and no news from Rusty. Then it was a week. Now I was at day ten and my gut was telling me something went terribly wrong. Not really knowing what to expect, each day grew worse. We’d parted so quickly, I hadn’t thought to ask him if and when he’d call. My tattered nerves couldn’t have been more frayed. The noose of panic threatened to squeeze the air from my lungs, but I drove it away and kept on going.

“I screwed up another order, Jackson.”

Her breath wheezed past her lips. “Don’t worry about it. Did you find who it belonged to?”

“Yeah, but it’s cold. Can you fix up another batch of banana pancakes and an omelet of the day?”

“On it.” She went at it and then said, “Lee, I think you need to head over to Virginia Beach and wait there for him.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“I do.” Her voice was firm. “You know that’s the first place he’s going to go. And you did say he gave you a key.”

“Yeah, but, what will I do while I’m there?”

“Explore. It’s a super cool town and you know it. You’ve been there plenty of times.”

“Sure, but … I just don’t know.”

She slid the pancake order up to me along with the omelet.

“That was fast,” I said.

“You know I have some sitting on the side.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“See, this is what I mean. Your head isn’t on straight right now. You don’t need to be here. After breakfast is over, go home, pack a bag, and leave.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“Lee, I know I’m right. How long has it been?”

“Eleven days.”

“Do it.”

After the breakfast rush ended, I drove home to pack. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be gone so it wasn’t easy deciding what to take. I threw in everything but the kitchen sink. My large bag was bursting at the seams and Glenn helped me drag it out to the car.

“How long will you be gone, Lilou?”

“I don’t know, Scutt. I have to see what’s going on with Rusty.”

“You really like that guy, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I sort of do.”

“It’s cool. He’s okay by me. I like him.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. His truck is cool, and he didn’t treat me like I was annoying.”

“No, he didn’t, did he?”

“Huh uh. I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, but it’s not like I’m going forever or anything.”

“I know, but I kinda got used to having you around.”

“True. Same here. You’re my favorite brother.”

“Lilou, I’m your only brother. Don’t act like such a loser.” Then he held out his fist for me to bump.

“To hell with that.” I pulled him in for a hug.

“Jeez. Don’t get all gooey on me. You know I hate that.” He shuddered, and I chuckled.

“Sure. It’s why I do it. Love you, dude. Tell Mom and Dad I’ll call.”

He stood there as I drove away. The car ate up the miles between Drummond and Virginia Beach and in less than an hour, I was pulling into Rusty’s parking lot.

A sense of doom settled over me as I unlocked his door. I dragged my large duffle into his apartment, and not without great difficulty either. Once I got into his bedroom, I sat on his bed and grabbed his pillow. I still smelled his scent as I pressed it to my nose.

Dear God, please let him be safe.

I hope my little prayer was not only heard but answered too. I knew there wouldn’t be any salvageable food in the refrigerator, so I emptied it out and dumped the trash in the dumpster. Then I went to the store to stock up.

The next two days I did as Jackson suggested—I explored the beachside town. On the third morning, I was sipping coffee and watching TV, when I heard a key in the lock. My excitement surged and I knocked my cup over, drenching my shirt in the process. Before I could reach the door to greet Rusty, it was opened by not Rusty, but two strangers.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Uh, I think we should be asking you that question,” one of them answered.

“I’m Lee Marston, Rusty’s girlfriend.”

They looked at each other and one said, “Now it all makes sense.”

“What makes sense?” I asked.

“Lee, can you sit down?”

“What’s wrong? Where’s Rusty? I haven’t heard from him in two weeks.”

“Please sit and we’ll explain everything.”

I dabbed at my soaked shirt and plopped back on the sofa. “Is he okay?”

“First, I’m Stephen Wilson and this is Eric Shelton. We’re in the same squadron with Garrett. I’m not sure how much you know …” his voice trailed off.

“He’s a Seal and he went out on a mission two weeks ago.”

“Right. So while we were out, things got a little messed up and Garrett got shot.”

I pushed to my feet, hands in the air. “Wait. What? He got shot? Is he okay? Where is he?” My heart was jumping out of my chest and I was pretty sure it was bouncing across the living room floor by now.

“Calm down, he’s fine.”

“Please, Lee, can you sit?” I’m not even sure which one of them spoke. All I could picture was Rusty lying somewhere bleeding out.

“Sit? How can I sit when he could be dying?” Were they crazy?

“He’s not dying. He took a hit to the chest, but his Kevlar handled that. The other one hit his thigh. It missed his artery and he’s fine. It passed through, nicked the bone though, so he’s pretty damn sore. But that’s it. He’ll make a full recovery with no after effects,” Wilson said.

My butt hit the sofa again as I processed everything. His Kevlar took the hit, but he could’ve died. Oh God! “His leg is okay though? Nothing permanent?”

“Nothing permanent. He’ll be off the active duty list until he’s fully recovered though. Maybe eight to twelve weeks.” Wilson started laughing. “You’re gonna have your hands full.”

I gave him an odd look. “Why do you say that?” And how could he even laugh at a time like this?

“Keeping that man still for the next couple of weeks … you’ll figure it out,” Shelton said.

Then I asked, “Where is he now and why didn’t he call?” Panic still edged my tone.

“Lee, he’s fine. Seriously. He’s still at Ramstein,” Shelton said.

“Oh, I know that place well.”

“How do you know Ramstein.”

“Ex-jarhead here.” Then I lifted up my leg. “IED.”

“No shit.” Shelton whistled. “Thank you for your service, ma’am.” And both of them stood and saluted me.

“Sit your asses back down. Why didn’t he call me?”

“That I can’t answer,” Wilson said. “But it may be because we don’t carry our regular cell phones with us when we go and he may not have remembered your number. But I don’t know for sure.”

That probably was it. “Can you get me in touch with him now?”

“I think so. Let me try,” Wilson said.

“Wait. Why did you come here if he’s not home?” I asked.

“Oh. He is coming home. Tomorrow. He’ll be transferred to Walter Reed and then released,” Wilson said. “We stopped by to pick up some things for him.”

“Don’t call him. I want to surprise him. What does he need? I can take it.”

“You know Walter Reed?” Shelton asked.

“I was there for months.”

“Right. Stupid question. Clothing. He’ll need something to wear. And a dock kit. Can you put that together?” Shelton wanted to know.

“I’m pretty sure I’m capable of that. What time will he be arriving?”

“Early tomorrow.” They gave me the necessary information so I could plan to go to Bethesda in the morning. It would take about four hours, so I was planning on leaving around nine. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when I arrived.