“He’s a good dog. If I end up living alone, I need to get one so I have someone to talk to.”
Luis laughed. “Yeah, there is that. If I didn’t have him, I’d just be walking around the house talking to myself.”
“How are you with crowds?”
Luis shook his head. “Not good.”
“Come over for lunch next Sunday. If I’d known you were coming over, I would have made some food.”
“You don’t have to.”
"I'd like to spend time with you before I leave, and I want to cook a meal for you."
“Okay, lunch next weekend. I’ll bring pie and bread.”
“Sounds good.”
She gave Luis a fist bump, knowing he didn't like hugs now. Before her last mission, she hadn't really understood why Luis needed so many restrictions on his life, but now she understood. Living through the hell she'd been through had changed her.
She was in the kitchen when her phone rang. She pulled it out, seeing Link was calling. She answered, excitement filling her.
“Hey, is your friend still there?” Link asked.
“No. Luis took off about five minutes ago.”
“That dog was cute.”
“Yeah, though the dog is a service dog. Alerts on people suffering from PTSD and depression.”
“Oh, so the dog licking your face was him noticing you were having a hard time and trying to make you feel better?”
“Yeah. I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought I was doing okay. Like getting over stuff, but I’ve been fooling myself. I’m not getting over what happened.”
“It takes time.”
She blew out a breath, wishing she could just get over it, but she couldn't. She had to work through the fear, the shame, all the weird emotions, and the trauma she'd gone through. When her friends had bad experiences, she cut them some slack, but she wasn’t cutting herself any.
“How do you know Luis?”
"He was a part of my unit a few years back. I didn't go on the particular mission. Bombs started going off, and he ended up being tossed around by an explosion. He hit his head pretty hard, rang his bell. It wasn't great for him. He had a difficult time adjusting. Ended up taking medical retirement and is on disability."
“That sucks.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to be trapped in my mind, unable to live.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to work on it. You’re already thinking about how to help yourself,” Link said.
She let go of a heavy sigh, wondering how she should move forward. "I am. When I come out there, I think it will be better because I'll be doing something different almost every day. I mean, I know there is some repetitiveness in everyday life, but I like the idea of spending time with you and seeing new things.
Link wasglad he’d called her. They were talking about real PTSD they had to deal with as people in the military. He knew plenty of guys who saw such heavy action they couldn’t get past it.
“I’m glad Luis and his dog stopped by your place.”
“Yeah, it was good to see him. You know, I probably haven’t done enough for him.”
