“It’s serious?”
“I hope so,” Rusty said.
“I guess that leaves me as the last single man from our old unit,” Grant said. “We were ride or die.”
“You think you know where you’re going, but life makes other plans for you,” Rusty said. He folded his hands together. “Speaking of plans.”
“Don’t tell me.”
“The doc wants me to break it to you gently.”
“I’m going back to my unit no matter what,” Grant said. “These wounds will heal.”
“You’re the worst kind of stubborn.”
“There’s a good kind?”
“Yeah,” Rusty said. “The kind that doesn’t tempt death twice.”
“This was just a fluke.”
“Surviving an RPG wasn’t a fluke,” Rusty said. “Most men don’t walk away from that. Their names end up on memorial walls in city parks, not white boards with smiley faces doodled underneath it to measure your pain.”
“So you’re saying I will walk again. That’s all I needed to hear.”
Rusty sat back in his chair. “Eventually. But your injuries involve more than broken bones and burns. When you fell to the ground your left knee shattered and tendons have been badly damaged. They’ve repaired it the best they could, but even with physical therapy you might end up with a permanent limp. You have to consider- “
“Don’t say it,” Grant said, closing his eyes. “The army is all I have.”
“It’s not all you have,” Rusty said. “You have a place on my team.”
“I’m not a people’s person. I work well with soldiers not civilians. If you had me on your team, you’d get a bad Yelp review.”
“I think you’d be great with our clients,” Rusty said. “They just want you to show them confidence. And you’d give them that. I know your work ethic. Your skillset. And you’re not nearly as rough as you think you are. In fact, I think you’re a bit of a teddy bear underneath all that bravado.”
“Are you trying to ruin my image?” Grant said. “I’m a vicious beast.” Grant shook his head against the pillow; he couldn’t even keep up a joke in the face of losing his life’s career. “I’m going back,” he said. “The army is my life. It’s my history. It’s my family’s legacy. There is no other place for me.”
Rusty gently patted Grant’s cast. “You have time to think about it. I, unfortunately, do not have time. I didn’t think you’d wake up anytime soon, so I booked a flight to New York tomorrow morning.”
“How long have you been here?” Grant asked.
“It’s been a week since I got the call. They airlifted you from home base in Afghanistan to Germany. Didn’t expect you to keep me as your emergency contact. They thought I was your brother. I told them we’re brothers in arms. ”
“Ride or die,” Grant said. “I just spared her a lot of anxiety by choosing to be single.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Someone I left behind a long time ago. You know, she was the last thing I saw before I blacked out. Funny how that works.”
“I’m going to level with you, man; ‘Ride or die’ gets pretty lonely, especially when you realize the right woman is out there. Whoever this woman is that flashed before your eyes, she must be special.”
“Not anymore. I haven’t seen her in over ten years. She’s probably married with kids.”
“In that case, we’re gonna have to set you up with one of Kaylin’s bridesmaids.”
“You’re getting married?”
Rusty turned red again. “Not just yet. But we will. Kaylin would prefer not to get married with face masks on; she wears them enough at work.”
