The Army had been his life for the past twelve years, but now, it felt like a job. An obligation he needed to fill until it was time to go home again.
Grace said she'd never ask him to leave the Army, but just like the thought of being with Grace felt right, ending his military career felt right too. He wasn’t getting any younger. Besides, the last thing he wanted was to have his luck run out, like Charlotte.
Good thing I have six months to figure out what to do next.
The cool air inside the barracks was welcoming but it was tainted with the smell of Chevy's stinky boots. The stench always seemed to hang in the air, even when Chevy and his boots weren't in the barracks.
"Yo, Lancelot," Flores closed his trunk and straightened. "You just getting back too?"
"Unfortunately." Damon dropped his bag on his bunk that looked exactly like he left it two weeks ago. It felt surreal. He'd changed over the last two weeks. Drastically. But he was expected to slip back into his old life like his world hadn't been turned upside down.
"Gets harder to come back each time, doesn't it?"
"Tell me about it."
His eyes caught on Charlotte's bunk that had remained empty for the past year, since Webb got sidelined by the IED.Something had changed there. Photographs covered the front of the small closet to the right of the bed.
"Did they bring in someone to replace Charlotte?"
"Yeah, Romeo texted me about it the other day. Second Lieutenant Dax Durrant, goes by nickname Doc D."
Damon snorted as he opened his duffel bag. "Sounds like a movie star."
"Looks like one too, or so I hear." Flores shook his head in disgust. "And get this. He's a medic, which means he's got the looksandthe brains. Some guys have all the luck."
"Come on, Flowers, you're the best looking one in the unit, everybody knows that."
He was certainly the best smelling one.
"Not hardly." It was Flores' turn to snort. "You and Romeo are the ones that always turn the ladies' heads."
"You don't need to worry about turning heads, you've already turned Rachel's."
"Not anymore."
"What?" Damon dropped onto his bunk and stared at Flores two beds away. "You guys have been together for almost three years."
"She said she couldn't do another deployment, especially over the holidays."
Damon was trying not to think about being gone for the holidays.
Flores wasn't the first buddy to be dumped before deployment and probably wouldn't be the last. Some women loved dating soldiers, but when they were facing months of being alone, many of them decided they wanted a different kind of stability.
"I'm sorry, man."
"Thanks." Flores eyed him. "Guess you're the smart one for staying unattached. Can't get your heart broken if you never give it away, right?"
Damon wasn't sure how to respond to that, because he'd given his heart away to Grace. She had the power to break it if she wanted to. But he had to believe she wouldn't.
Giving a stiff nod and a tight smile, he rose and opened his closet, intent on unpacking. An avalanche of packing peanuts spilled out. Damon jumped then stepped back and swore.
"I'm going to kill Howie one of these days."
Flowers was beside him in a heartbeat. "I think he missed us. I found my footlocker full of confetti."
They discussed ways to get back at Howie as they cleaned up the mess. The last thing they needed was a surprise inspection. Howie was careful though. He always kept a lock on his closet and boot box. They did too, but Howie knew how to pick a lock. At least the prankster didn't get the satisfaction of witnessing Damon's reaction.
After they threw the last two garbage bags into the dumpster, Flores pointed at Damon's head. "You going to get a haircut before your leave runs out?"
