"Sorry, about that. They sent us out on convoy to deliver supplies almost as soon as we hit the ground, and I didn't have any service the whole time."
"I'm just glad to know you're safe." Grace studied the dim lighting of his background. "What time is it there?"
"Twenty-one hundred."
"In English?" Grace laughed as she did the math in her head.
"Sorry. It's nine o'clock. Which means it's...eleven a.m. there?"
"Yes."
"I thought about waiting until you got off work to call, but that would be early morning for me, and I wouldn't be able to talk for very long before PT."
"I'll speak to your Uncle James and make sure he doesn't mind me talking to you while I'm at work. I might have to hang up abruptly if I get an order for imaging."
Dr. Young wasn't the only doctor she'd need to clear it with, but hopefully he'd help sway the other doctors to let her take Damon's calls at work.
"It's kind of late for you, but I usually take my lunch break around noon. It's slow then, because all the providers are eating lunch too."
"That's ten p.m. here. I can't think of anything I'd rather do right before I go to bed." He gave her a cheesy grin, and she reciprocated. He leaned his head to the side and rested it against the wall. "It's so good to see your beautiful face and hear your voice. I've missed you so much."
"I miss you too." Tears stung the back of her eyes.
Damon needed a supportive girlfriend, not someone who got emotional every time she talked to him. That would only make it harder for him to do his job.
She changed the subject. "Where are you sitting?"
"On the stairs outside the barracks." He pointed behind him. "Six of us share this upper pod. The rest of our unit is in the downstairs pod."
"Who are your roommates?"
"King, Durrant, McDonald, Flores and Romeo."
"That's good. At least you won't have to worry about Howie's practical jokes and Chevy's stinky feet."
"Not bunking with Howie will not keep him from playing practical jokes on us. But yes, I'm glad I'm not rooming with him and Chevy's stinky feet." He went on to explain the building he'd be sleeping in. "Each container is very basic; a single large room with six beds, two windows and two small AC units. I'll show you the inside in a minute." He stood and rotated his camera. "The latrines and showers are over there.”
He wandered away from his building and pointed down the road. "I can't give you an actual tour of the base for security reasons, but when I’m not out on assignment, I’ll spent most of my time in those buildings down there.”
“Doing what?”
“Logistics. Helping organize the movement of troops, equipment, and supplies in and out of this area. We also spend a lot of time doing training exercises and routine patrols.”
He decided to leave out that their training prepared them for rapid deployment, insertion and extraction of soldiers, reconnaissance, as well as ambush and seizure situations. And then there were the frequent drills for in-coming fire. Those always sent the heart racing.
He rotated in the opposite direction. "Way down there is Social Row. We spend a lot of down time there. That’s where the mess hall and a few other eating establishments—including Burger King—are located."
"Burger King?"
"Yeah, a greasy burger is nice once in a while, but just like in the states, it gets old pretty fast." He continued his rudimentary tour, pointing in the direction of the airstrip, the PT area, and the gun range, then he eventually ended up back on the stairs.
"I thought you were going to show me where you sleep," Grace reminded.
"I will in a bit." He shook his head. "I don't want to share you yet."
"What?" Grace felt her brows rise.
"The guys figured out I have a girlfriend. If I walk in there with you on the phone, they're going to want to introduce themselves and will no doubt tell you every embarrassing moment of my life."
