I know he hadn’t been there when the plane had taken off. He and Amy had been seated a few rows ahead of me, Jared talking up a storm about just how weird the whole idea of flying into Baghdad was. I’d caught about five minutes of it before Jared’s voice had blended in with the drone of the engine noise and become audio wallpaper. Now Jared was over here next to me and Amy was…
…ah. So that’s why Jared was sitting over here. Amy and Alex were sitting together in the first row, a seat separating the two of them. I couldn’t catch what they were saying, not at the distance I was at. But their body language told me that, whatever it was, it couldn’t be that bad. Not that they were all buddy buddy or anything…but they were looking each other in the eye, not taking defensive postures. Jared’s leg bouncing up and down so hard it was almost vibrating was keeping me from catching any more than that.
“Bored! Bored, bored, bored…”
I smiled in Jared’s direction. I know some folks find him a bit of a handful but I like Jared. He’s a good person, got a huge heart. Just needs to get his head together. I’ve told him a few times that I’m available if he ever needs any help. I hope he knows that I mean that.
“I know you brought an iPod with you,” I answer. “Try listening to some music. That always helps me pass the time.”
“Tried that. Turns out, iPod earbuds? Not so great with the whole keeping out the noise of a military plane engine.”
“Who’da thunk it?” I say. “If you want, I know I’ve got a pair of Beats in here that you can borrow.”
“Seriously? You spent three hundred bucks on a pair of cans? And you brought them with you?”
“You nuts? I spent one fifty for the smaller ones. The bigger ones were just too damn bulky.”
Jared just shakes his head at me in…well, in amazement, I guess. “Must be nice to be able to blow one fifty on headphones.”
“They’re good, man. Get a ton of use out of ‘em.”
I put my book to the side on the floor and open up my duffel bag. I root around inside for a few minutes, looking for the headphones and for my laptop. There’s something on there I’ve been meaning to show Jared for a few weeks now. I find the headphones and hand them to Jared over my shoulder.
“Thanks.”
It takes me a few more seconds to pull out my laptop. I flick on the power switch almost as soon as I pull it out of the duffel bag. Soon as I’m facing Jared again, I can see he’s got something on his mind. He’s looking straight ahead at Amy and Alex, still talking away about…something. There’s a ton of things running across his face…most of them not good.
“I wouldn’t worry. I don’t think anybody wants this plane going down in the middle of Iraq.”
Jared turns to me again and…I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look this dead serious in ever. “You have to tell me. How the fuck do you do it, man?”
“How do I do what?” I ask as the computer finishes booting up.
“I know you’re the pure at heart, super boy scout and all…but I don’t understand how you can be around Alex without wanting to snap her neck. I mean, she’s been fucking with you for over a decade if I hear correctly.”
“You do.”
“And you can actually be around her. While this geek loser can’t look at her for more than a few seconds without wanting to kill her.”
“Hey,” I bark, causing Jared to turn back to me. “It’s not easy. I am so far from perfect it’s a joke. It’s a struggle and a half most days. I just take my wins where I can get them. Like the fact that I have yet to throw Terrence Kingsley out the cargo bay doors.”
Jared laughs at this, relaxing just a little bit. I’ll take it.
“And as for geek loser…well, take a look at this.” I’ve started up Windows Media Player, a short bit of film that I’ve been watching a lot lately already cued up. It’s a familiar piece of footage, one that you’d recognize immediately if you’d seen the film it’s from. Doesn’t take Jared more than two seconds.
“Dude, this is Back To The Future.”
“Keep watching,” I tell him, waiting for him to notice what’s different about this particular footage. It’s an early scene from the film, the one where Marty first sees Doc Brown demonstrate the time machine in the shopping mall parking lot (and when Doc is later killed by the Libyans). As expected, there’s Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and…
“That’s not Michael J. Fox.”
“Nope,” I answer, pleased that he noticed so quickly. “It’s Eric Stoltz.”
“The hell?”
“Michael was the first choice for Marty but, when they wanted to start filming, Michael wasn’t available. So, somewhat against their better judgment, they cast Eric Stoltz as Marty. This is some of the original footage.”
“How much of this is there?”
“A decent amount, Eric was Marty for about five weeks. They realized they’d miscast the part, fired Eric and Michael was now available. The rest was history.”
That’s how I ended up spending the rest of the flight, talking film trivia with Jared Sykes. I won’t lie, it’s probably one of the better flights I’ve ever had.
The first thing that hit me when I got to Iraq was the heat. You can’t miss it, it hits you smack in the face the minute you step onto the ground. It’s a nasty, oppressive heat that feels like you’re walking through fire.
The second thing that hit me when I got to Iraq was Colonel Derek Larue. Not, as he’d hinted in the telegram he’d sent, with his fists. Instead, it was with a bear hug that was pretty damn close to a tackle.
“Betty, you motherfucker! How the fuck are you, man?”
I smiled at Derek. “Fuck you too, Lash. And I’m doing okay. Things have been kinda tough lately but me, Lani, Zach…we’re surviving.”
Me, Matt, Andy…we all used to joke about how Lash was a seriously movie star looking motherfucker. Like, could make Tom Cruise look fucking homely level good looking. All the time. We never understood how he managed to do it, either. Lacrosse team, boxing light-heavy…not to mention the girls. The Point didn’t have as many female cadets when we were back there as they do now…and Lash seemed determined to work his way through all of them. God, he was such a pussyhound.
Not that any of us were really innocents back then. Lani already knows most of the stories…and the ones she doesn’t know? I haven’t even told my folks those.
We walked together, Lash and I, down the line of jeeps that formed our convoy taking us back to the camp. Lash stopped in front of the lead jeep, gesturing for me to stash my duffel bag in the back. I gave a little whistle, trying to get a bit of a rise out of Lash.
“Riding lead, huh? Who’d you fuck to score this, man?”
Lash just smiled right back at me. “Perk of the job. Comes with being CO, brother.”
That told me. “No shit? Guess we do have a lot to catch up on.”
“That we do, man, that we do. Hop in, we’ve got a bit of a ride back to camp.”
The transport had landed fairly early in the morning. With the show scheduled for early that evening, there was a bit of time to kill. The escort lead us to our quarters where most folks either unpacked or decided to grab some sleep. I saw a few other people head down to the mess to grab something to eat (hopefully something better than K-Rations or MREs). Lash, however, was determined to give me the grand tour and spent his morning showing me around the camp, taking pride at introducing me as his old bud. I got my rank back for the day as well, Lash introducing me as Captain to everyone we met.
We were scheduled to do a meet and greet a little later in the day but Lash wanted to make sure that the folks who wouldn’t be able to make it would get a little one on one time with us. So he had me grab Amy, Jared and BVB and took us down to the infirmary. We spent an hour or so there talking to everyone in their sickbeds, doing our best to try and raise spirits. I was greeted like an old friend, everyone treating me like a visiting officer. The boys took Amy to their hearts almost immediately, letting them know how cool they found her and how much they dug her. I know I caught one or two flirting with her a bit.
The show was…well, I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. The actual results were a bit mixed for me. Amy got screwed over by Lane which infuriated me. Thanatos made me work harder than I have for a long time…and I owe him my thanks for that. The DMH trying to strip Alex naked…seriously, there are just no damn words for that. And as for Kannon winning the battle royal and becoming Adrienne St. Germaine’s chosen one…no good can come of that.
But the men and women in the audience loved it, all of it. They cheered, they booed, and they ate it up with a spoon. For a few hours, we gave them a chance to escape, something else to think about other than how they’re putting their lives on the line for us every day. We entertained them and hopefully made their day a little brighter.
And at the end of the day, that’s all you can really ask for.
Now it’s off to Italy. Lash and I exchanged numbers, promised to keep in touch more often, send our kids presents on their birthdays. I signed a ton of autographs and shook what felt like a million hands. Who knows, in some other universe somewhere, maybe I’m one of those folks in the audience, glad that the folks from SCCW came and put on a show for us.
Now it’s back to the airfield for a flight out to Venice. Another stop on the road, another battlefront. Back to the grind of rental cars and taxis and airport lounges and eating when I can and cold coffee.
But you know what? As hard as this life can be some times, as much as I miss my wife and son when I’m away…I wouldn’t change a minute of it.