“You’ll be alright. It’s nothing more than a bunch of vets talking. Stop eating all that pound cake before my baby comes out with lemon on the brain,” he said with a smirk.
We hadn’t confirmed that I was pregnant, but he was convinced that I was. I didn’t know either way. “Whatever, Vic. It’s the lemon pound cake that’s keeping me here.”
The facilitator cleared his throat. Based on what Vic told me before we got here, he was a former Navy SEAL. “We have a few new faces, so I’ll quickly go over the rules. Keep it confidential and respectful. Share if you want to. Pass if you want to. I’m just happy that you’re here,” he said.
I half listened as we went around in a circle and everyone said whatever they wanted to say. I zoned back in when we got to Vic.
“I’m Victor. Army. Retired.” That was all that he said. I expected him to say more, but he didn’t.
Some of the others talked about their deployments, medals, wars, and stuff like that. Not Vic. It was all simple for him. I loved how humble he was.
The heat of everyone’s eyes on me made me feel uncomfortable.Oh, it’s my turn.I would take his lead. “Winters. Army. Medically retired.”
When Vic said it, it sounded different. It sounded honorable, but when I said it, it sounded small. I didn’t like that.
“It’s nice to meet you, Winters,” the facilitator said with a small smile. “What brings you here tonight?”
Now, he didn’t ask anyone else why they were here. He gets to me and he has questions.I peeked at Vic, who didn’t try to look at me. Oh, I had something for his ass later. I knew him well enough to know that he would be hands off to let me control the situation. My man was not overbearing.
“I’ve been having a little bit of a sleeping problem.” I kept it short and sweet. They didn’t need a bunch of details. I was sure they knew what that meant.
A woman in a camo hat across from me shook her head. “Those night sweats are a bitch. I own more sheets than I own panties.”
I chuckled unintentionally. “I can relate to that. Your mattress cover cost almost as much as the mattress.”
Everyone tittered. “Having dreams?” a guy with a prosthetic from his knee down asked from the other side of Vic.
“Um, you can say that, I guess.” I glanced at Vic who finally looked at me. He nodded like he knew my silent question to give me his silent permission. “Um, a little while back, something happened that kind of put me in the mindset of a mission, and it triggered a lot of stuff.”
The facilitator nodded. “Vic, is this the same thing that you told us about that started you coming back?” After he confirmed that it was, the facilitator nodded again. “I can only imagine what was going through your mind when that happened.”
“Yes, it’s different when you’re over there and have to protect your squad from hostiles. You don’t come home and think you’llhave to do it. Then for it to be unruly kids,” another one of the vets, who identified themselves as a Marine said.
I nodded. “Yeah, it is. Vic suggested—well, more like tricked, but that’s another topic—that I come.”
More titters. “Dawson, you shouldn’t trick your lady,” the facilitator said with a chuckle. “Winters, regardless of how you got here, we’re happy that you’re here. Let’s move on.”
He moved on to the next person. Vic leaned over toward me. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?”
No, it wasn’t. The conversations varied from fireworks during the holidays, scanning rooftops, spouses and romantic partners that didn’t understand how their actions could trigger, and an assortment of other things. I just listened during most of the topics. I did chime in during the scan conversation. Before the farm thing, I scanned less than I did before I got toPlasters. I was back to it again.
By the end of the meeting, I felt better about my attendance. It wasn’t to say that I would be back, but I wasn’t completely opposed to it now.
A Little Time Later
The Joy of Staying Late. . .
I was pissed. I felt like my body gave up on me when I woke up this morning. That didn’t matter to me because work had to be done.
I got up, took my shower, got myself together, then went downstairs. Vic enjoyed his cup of coffee like he always did. I couldn’t even run with him this morning. I slept through the alarm, and he let me. This man watched me eat breakfast, hadnormal conversation with me, then had the audacity to ask me where I thought I was going when it was time to leave.
This man that I loved told me that I couldn’t go to work because I was sick.The nerve of him.When I bucked against his little directive, he called Mama Vicky to come sit with me.
She was over here in less than ten minutes with Pop Carl. I felt a little better, but I understood why he didn’t want me in the butcher shop. I offered to help on the farm, and that got a hell no.
“Lil girl, if you don’t fix your face. That boy ’bout to be home. I ain’t never seen a girl so bratty about her lil man,” Mama Vicky said. She rolled her eyes while she cut vegetables at the kitchen island.
My mouth dropped. “Mama! You think I’m bratty?”
