Chapter 11
The weekend was over way too soon. Tucker wasn’t very familiar with Chicago, and neither was she, so after several times getting lost or waiting for a Taxi or Uber, they decided to just stay inside their room, ordering room service. Time was so precious, she didn’t want to waste a minute of it.
Their parting and the long flight home were tearful. The heaviness in her heart reminded her that the love she felt for Tucker was real. This trip had cemented it. He’d even had that long discussion about all the terrible things that could happen, how dangerous it was being a SEAL.
He used the situation with Dorie and Brawley to demonstrate how she needed to stay plugged into the community. Alone and on their own, the wives never did well. The guys had it drummed into them, he said. But the ladies had to embrace that so everyone could be protected. He explained how people would be helping Dorie with meals. Someone would come and do housework or shopping for her. She didn’t have to, and shouldn’t have to feel alone.
So Brandy returned to San Diego with a new determination. She wanted to learn everything she could about being a wife of a SEAL. She called Christy Lansdowne and over the next week, got invited to a couple home parties and get-togethers. She found the women, as a whole, to be very resilient. They were used to juggling households without any help from their husbands, who were always gone. And when the men were home, they were allowed time to unplug and get back into the rhythm of life in California. Babies were born. Kids had lessons and recitals. Grandparents passed away. And yes, sometimes Team Guys didn’t come home.
“When I was considering marrying Tyler, one of the wives told me I’d never feel as loved as I would married to him. She was completely right.”
Others gave her pieces of advice. Everyone admired her for going into the job of marrying an elite warrior with her eyes wide open, and for doing her research up front. To be prepared. It still wasn’t a guarantee, just like every brave or strong man didn’t pass all the challenges of the BUD/S or SEAL Qualification Training. But it didn’t take anything away from their bravery or honor.
Brandy’s dad, Steven Cook, was back to full speed. He was already selling the squash, lettuce and peas he was raising in his new garden. He was growing cabbage and broccoli, as well as carrots and beets. His patrons delighted in occasionally being able to go out back and pick their own produce, and they paid well for the opportunity.
She took Dorie to her first doctor’s visit and they both got to hear the baby’s heartbeat. With Brandy’s encouragement, Dorie went back to work and found it helped her get her mind off the thoughts of having to raise a child without a father. Both of them knew Brawley would be found eventually. They talked about being able to accept whatever the eventual outcome was. Brandy even got offered her old job back, which she promptly turned down and felt great about it.
It had now been ten days since Brawley went missing. There still was no ransom demand so the search team Kyle left in place in Mexico was convinced he’d just abandoned his post, voluntarily. He explained to Dorie that the team wanted to find him quickly, before the slow wheels of the Navy started in motion, stripping Brawley of his Trident and sending him home with a dishonorable discharge. Kyle explained that it still might happen that way. But he was confident Brawley was alive. His wallet had been found, emptied of cash. A convenience store clerk had seen him come in from the beach and ask for water. The clerk said he looked homeless.
“I guess there are a lot of homeless vets out there,” Dorie said. “I had no idea.”
“Well, that gives us hope, then, if he was seen.”
“At this point, I just want him safe. We’ll sort everything else out later, if we can.”
Brandy was proud of her best friend. She wasn’t sure she could endure the same.
And then one day, the team found Brawley sleeping under a cardboard box at the shore. His skin was covered in insect bites, he had a distinctive red beard and his hair was full of twigs and debris. His bare feet were cut and beginning to show signs of serious infection. He’d also lost a lot of weight, using a rope to hold his pants up. The guys who found him said he didn’t recognize them at first, but as he ingested some decent food, things began to come back to him.
Kyle flew down when he got the call. Brawley was escorted home, along with the rest of the guys who had not given up on him. What his life was going to look like was still unknown.
But Brawley was alive!
Tucker was pleased when Brandy gave him the news.
“So what happened to him?” he asked.
“No one knows yet. We’ve been doing some reading. There are a lot of homeless vets who just disappear—walk away from families and houses. All sorts of mental issues made worse by some of the conditions—well, you know quite a bit about that.”
“Indeed I do. We’re all so young when we start out. It’s hard on a guy, and he probably had some things he was covering up, too. He didn’t want to get tossed from the Teams.”
“And have to answer to his former SEAL father.”
“Yup. Something like that. Wow. So glad he’s safe, for now. Going to be a long road getting him all the way back.”
“Dorie’s looking for a place for him. Just started therapy at the VA hospital,” she answered. “She sees him tomorrow for the first time.”
“He’s lucky. Life on the streets, even the beach, is very dangerous.”
“Well, he’s even luckier than that, Tucker. Dorie’s pregnant.”
Tucker chuckled. “Well, if anything can make a man jump to attention, that’ll do it. Good for them. I’m pulling for them.”
“Me too.
They made plans for another weekend when he finished his Corps School. But the Indoc, which sometimes was postponed by as much as a month or more, depending on the SEAL Team cycles, was all set to start the following week. If Brawley wanted to wait for the next class, he could do so, but it would postpone his eventual graduation. He explained that guys who got injured during training sometimes sat out a rotation and joined up with the next class. Tucker wasn’t injured, and didn’t want to wait.
Brandy’s father continued to have cartons of goods raided, but began viewing it as an involuntary contribution to the local population.
“The way I see it, if someone’s that hungry, I say give it to them. No one should starve here. I’ve got plenty,” he said.
“But you’ll report it, right?” Brandy asked him.
“Oh yes. Riverton and I are now old friends. He logs everything in quite dutifully. He said if I was willing to spend the time to call him, he could do me the favor by keeping track.”
“And that sheet could mean a deduction on your taxes too, dad.”
“I never thought about that. You’re right.”
She went home each night after work, walked around the cottage, touching things that Tucker loved, even slept on his side of the bed just to be a little closer to his familiar scent. She opened his drawers and smelled his tee shirts, even organized his socks. He’d be annoyed with that, she thought, but she didn’t care. His absence left a huge hole in her world that daily phone calls could not patch up.
In just two more weeks he’d be home. He’d be here, preparing to do one of the hardest things he’d ever done in his life. Brandy was going to help him do it.