“You did that high school assembly recently, right? How did that go?”
“My boyfriend is a PE teacher at that school. That’s how I ended up doing that.”
“Ah, that makes sense. I was wondering what strategy they’d used to get you to volunteer for that, but that explains it.”
I scratched my neck. “Heath has a way of making me do things I want to say no to.”
“It’s called love. Get used to it.”
“Yeah, that’s gonna take me a while. It’s all very new.”
“You have time, Creek. Enjoy it. You know better than anyone else that life is not a given.”
Did I ever.
“But to answer your question, yes, I do think you stand a good chance at being approved for a recruiter job. There are no physical requirements for that other than having your own transportation, which you do, and being able to wear the uniform.”
“And I don’t need to live on post? I can stay where I am?”
“Absolutely. In fact, we have such a shortage in housing that we prefer for people to live off post.”
“Great, ’cause that would’ve been a hard no from me. I’m not moving right now. I need them.”
And they needed me, but I left that part out.
She checked some notes in front of her. “It says here you’re expected to be fully weight-bearing on your prosthesis within the next four weeks?”
I nodded. “It’s going well. I’ve been lucky that my stump has adjusted well. No infections or irritations. It just took me some time to get the mechanics of it right and force my brain to see it as an extension of me.” Then I laughed. “And the fact that my boyfriend has the same injury helps. He’s three weeks ahead of me in his recovery, and well, let’s just say I’ve always been competitive.”
She rolled her eyes. “Men…”
“Whatever works to get me through this, right? I mean, it beats the hell out of reaching for alcohol or drugs.”
Her face sobered. “It sure does. So I’ll say it again, Creek. I’m proud of you. You’ve won this battle, and it wasn’t an easy one.”
That was the understatement of the year. It had been hell, and yet, somehow, I’d managed to come out the other side. “Thank you.”
“I’ll start the process of nominating you for the job of recruiter.”
“Are you expecting a hard fight for that?”
“Not for that, but the return to active duty will be a much tougher sell, so get ready for a fight, Creek.”
“If I have you in my corner, I’m confident we’ll come out victorious.”
Her eyes grew moist. “Damn, Creek, now you’ve gone and made me cry.”
“I mean it. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Oh, stop it, or I’ll be sitting here bawling.”
I laughed.
When I walked out of her office a few minutes later, I was still smiling. It had worked. This impulsive idea that had popped into my head when I’d spotted that article on some website had totally worked.
I texted Heath first that it had gone well, not expecting an answer since he was in class. Then I called Forest. We’d talked the night before, and I’d let him know about my plans. He’d been supportive—not that I had expected anything else.
“How did it go?” he asked as soon as he picked up.
