Dylan

 

Two weeks later

 

Eden,

Man, it’s been long than I thought it would be! Sorry I didn’t write sooner. Basic blows big time. You never get a minute to yourself. Red phase has been the worst. (That’s what they call the first part of basic. Pretty much it is a giant suck fest that means you do lots of pushups and fold your laundry over and over again until you get it right while someone yells at you.) But now we are out of red phase and into white and it’s a little bit better (but not much). Anyway, I think I’ve lost ten pounds but some of these other guys have lost a LOT of weight. All that time at the gym paid off. Mostly I’m losing weight because they only give us five minutes to eat. I can eat so fast now.

I miss home. I miss you. I wish I was in your basement watching a movie with you right now.

How is Judy? And all the ladies at the salon? Did you get your hair cut off? I need a picture of you. I hope you will send one. How is school? Allie? Did you go to Homecoming? Who did you go with?

I wish I could call. I got one and I had to let my mom know I got here okay. I gotta go. But I hope you get a chance to write back.

Dylan

 

P.S. I miss you. Did I already tell you that?

 

It’s been five days since I sent a letter to Eden. I should have sent one sooner, but I wasn’t kidding when I told her basic was kicking my butt. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open during our few minutes of free time. I wasn’t used to being woken up for guard duty. It wasn’t actual guard duty, more like cleaning duty, but I still had to get up and I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since I got here.

Add to that my internal debate about my feelings for Eden and that kiss- okay, those kisses- before I left, and basically, I’d been stalling. I wanted to beat my own ass for being such a coward. I’d started letters to her a hundred different times and then stopped, ripping the page out of my notebook and tearing it into a thousand pieces. The truth was I just didn’t know what to say.

We didn’t make any promises. In fact, we went out of our way not to make any promises that night. I still couldn’t believe my own lack of control, holding her the way I had. Kissing her the way I did. I couldn’t convince myself to regret it, either. I’d spent countless hours thinking about Eden since I’ve been here. Not just about kissing her, although that consumed most of my thoughts, but everything.

I’ve thought about Eden curled up in her favorite blanket on the sofa in her parent’s basement watching movies and munching on snacks. I’ve thought about sparring with her at the gym and how excited she was when she finally threw a good punch. I’ve thought about the glow in her eyes when she walked out of Judy’s salon with a job. I’ve thought about arguing with her about everything from video games to social injustices.

I couldn’t get the fire in her eyes out of my head. I couldn’t stop remembering those outfits she wore the first few weeks of school. I never wanted to forget how she looked that morning I woke up in my bed with a dead arm because she was sleeping on it. I always wanted to remember how warm she felt. How soft. I smiled to myself often while running for PT, thinking of the little noises she made in her sleep.

I willed myself to stop wondering what it would be like to wake up to her again.

Because the chances of that happening were slim.

“Mail!”

The sound of twenty men rousing from their bunks was almost deafening. Each man stood beside their bunk praying for their name to be called. Mail was like rainbows and chocolate and Eden’s kisses all rolled into one around here. The one bright spot in an otherwise tension filled existence.

My heart rate picked up as our drill sergeant began calling out names.

“Adams.”

“Drill Sergeant.”

Adams accepted the envelope from Drill Sergeant Capers. Capers was a young guy, probably in his thirties. He was cool, but you did not want to cross him. He’d tossed our bunks more than any of the other Drill Sergeants. His expectations were high and his punishments severe. He has single-handedly made me a stronger man than I ever thought I could be and we still had fourteen weeks left.

“Balmer.”

“Drill Sergeant.”

Balmer stepped forward to accept his mail.

“Butler.”

“Cochran.”

My name was next.

“Coulter.”

“Drill Sergeant.”

I stepped forward to accept my mail. Three envelopes. My hands trembled. I’d been getting mail from my mom for a week straight. She never missed a day, except Sunday because there was no mail on Sunday. I’d never gotten more than one envelope at once.

We all stood at attention until all the mail had been dispersed and I cursed my name for being so close to the beginning of the alphabet because now I had to wait until the last guy, Zimmerman, got his mail.

Finally, it was done. The sound of twenty guys tearing into their mail as they sat back on their bunks was loud, too. I shuffled through the envelopes. One from my mom. One from Hazel. Cute. And one from Eden.

A part of me wanted to toss the letters from my family over my shoulder and get right to the one I’d been waiting for but that wasn’t right. Instead, I opened the letter from my mom. It was filled with all the family news from the hours after her last letter. Mostly, she detailed the events of Hazel and Reed’s thirteenth birthday party. I guess Reed and his buddies spent the entire time harassing Hazel and her little girl friends. Sounded about right. I had to chuckle, though, when I go to the part where the girls got back by beating the guys at laser tag.

Hazel’s letter told the same story but with a lot more humor and I was struck with an ache in my chest at the realization of how much I missed my family. Reed had penned a brief note at the end of Hazel’s missive asking if I’d gone to the gas chamber yet. Ha. I’d have wondered the same thing. And the answer was no. Not yet. I’d have to make sure to send him a detailed account once I’d done it.  

Finally, I got to Eden’s letter. I was nervous. My breathing was erratic, and my hands sweated. How had I been reduced to this? Suddenly, I was desperate for some privacy. Glancing around the barracks, all I wanted was some space. The only place to find that around here- the latrine. Leaving the other two letters on my bed, I made my way to the bathroom. Thank goodness for stalls, right?

I sat down on the toilet seat (fully clothed) and stared at the writing on the outside of the envelope savoring the look of it and the feel of the paper in my hand. Carefully, I tore the end of the envelope on the short side and shook out the folded paper. Taking the time to save the envelope, I tucked it into the pocket on the leg of my pants. Army uniforms didn’t lack for storage.

She’d written my name on the outside of the folded letter. I didn’t rush the experience, instead, I slowly unfolded the letter feeling a rush of pleasure when a three by five sized photograph fell onto my lap.

Wow.

I set the letter on my knees and picked up the photo. It was Ed. No, Eden. Like I’d never seen her. Her hair was so short she looked like a little dark-haired Tinker Bell. I think that’s even what she called it when I asked her how she was going to cut it- a pixie cut. That was exactly what she reminded me of, a cute little pixie. The dark locks spiked softly framing her beautiful face perfectly. The cut suited her perfectly. Sassy. Sweet. Sexy.

The picture looked like a selfie she’d taken with her phone. It probably was. Her eyes smiled shyly and for all her sass, she looked vulnerable and it made me sad. I knew a little about girls and if there was one thing I’d learned- girls stressed. If I’d been obsessing about our midnight, backyard makeout, I could only imagine what Ed was thinking and feeling.

Which brought me back to her letter. After a last look at her picture and noticing the pendant I’d given her for her birthday hanging in the hollow of her throat, I carefully tucking her photo into my breast pocket, I picked up the letter again and unfolded it.

 

Dylan,

I’m sorry basic is so awful. Do you wish you hadn’t done it? I bet not. You’re strong enough to handle it. I bet you’re super ripped right now! Eating in five minutes? That should be easy for you. You forget I’ve seen you and Josh down a couple of pizzas in less time than that. I’m not sure how I’d take someone yelling at me all the time. I’d probably get mad and yell back and get myself sent home.

 

I had to snort at that. She was so right. Eden did not like being told what to do. Shaking my head with a smile, I continued reading.

 

Judy and the girls are amazing! I love working with them. I’m learning how to do nails now from the nail tech. She teaches me between customers and lets me watch her all the time if I’m not busy. I even come in when I’m not working to watch them all work. (what a nerd, right?) I’m pretty sure I’ll go to cosmetology school when I graduate. I can’t imagine wanting to do anything else.

Allie is still Allie. In love with Connor and not doing anything about it. Whatever. We went to the movies last weekend and she let me drag her to the mall. I’ve been trying to get her to wear more girlie clothes. She hates it.

What are you talking about? Homecoming? I am so done with dances and games and all that stuff. High school is overrated. I’ll wait till I graduate. Or maybe I’ll become a nun. A really stylish nun. OK, I’m not going to be a nun, but I’m still not interested in all that.

I can’t believe how busy you probably are. I haven’t talked to your mom much, but she’s talked to my mom about some of the stuff you guys have to do there. Have you had to do the gas chamber yet? That sounds so awful!

 

What was the obsession with that? I guess I’d be sending details to Reed and Eden.

 

You wrote to me, Dill. I’m still in shock. I had to go to the drug store to print out a picture of my hair. Nobody prints pictures anymore, do they? I don’t. So, feel special because I wouldn’t have done that for just anyone. (Except maybe my grandma because she hates technology.)

I know you’re busy so if you can’t write back I understand, but I’ll send you more letters if you want.

XOXO, Eden

 

I responded right away.

 

Ed,

I can’t tell you how happy I was to get your letter. And your picture. I love your hair. It looks hot. Sorry you had to go to so much trouble to print it. I can’t wait for basic to be over. I’ll never take my phone for granted again. I’ve never written anything by hand! It makes my fingers cramp up. Yeah, that’s how strong I am now. Taken down by a simple letter. My mom chewed me out because I’ve only responded once to her letters, but I have to save my strength.

What’s this about Homecoming and games and dances? You can’t let he-who-shall-not-be-named ruin high school. Dances and games are what it’s all about. Having fun. It will break my heart to know you are sitting at home every Friday night and not living it up. So, get out there. Forget about him.

I’m so glad things are working out at the salon. Nails. Sounds...great? Ha. I don’t know much about nails. But I’m sure you’re rocking it. Cosmetology, huh? Sounds exactly like what you should do. Don’t worry too much about Allie. Someone will love her just the way she is. If some guy can’t love her for her, he doesn’t deserve her.

Nothing yet on the gas chamber but apparently everyone is anxious for me to go through it. Jerks! Like things aren’t bad enough around here. On a high note, I got the highest score on our last PT test. (that’s physical training BTW, pushups, sit-ups, and running) That means I am PT Stud. Yeah, you read that right. I’m a stud. You can bow down to me next time you see me.

I gotta get to bed. Guard duty will be here before I know it. Thanks again for writing. It made my day.             

Dylan

P.S. Please write to me. If you want.