played at some of the dances at the Fourth of July Wild Horse Stampede, the oldest rodeo in Colorado.
“Great,” he said. He loved playing the rodeo. “Have him do the 12-string, too. Hey. You’re the best, you know that?”
“I will, and actually, I do,” she said. “And I really love you, you know that?”
“Actually, I do,” he said. “And I really love you too. You know that?”
“Yes,” Roni said softly. “Bye, baby.”
“Bye, baby,” Scott said, and they hung up. Then he had a thought.
“Why couldn’t Amy take Mark my guitar?” he wondered. Then it passed.
****
CHAPTER 8
Wednesday morning dawned bright and sunny. The Missouri weather had been perfect all week and was supposed to stay that way. It was the last full day of basic training and for the most part, it was to be a pretty easy one.
After breakfast, the men of D-5-2 had departure paperwork to fill out. Half of the guys, including Andy and Terry and anyone going to Fort Benning for Infantry, had a week of leave coming before they left for AIT. The rest would be leaving in busses going in all directions. The guys of D-5-2 going to San Antonio wouldn’t be leaving until 1630 hours and would drive straight through to Fort Sam Houston.
Wednesday was also the day the families came in. Probably a third of the guys of Second Platoon had family coming for graduation. Scott really hadn’t given it much thought; to him it was the end of basic training, but for a lot of guys, this was a key moment in life.
Andy’s parents, and even Mollie, were coming. Terry’s family and his wife, Mary, were on their way, as were Derric’s mom and grandmother. Scott sighed at the thought; those guys were all so excited. He wished he was.
“Second Platoon!” bellowed Drill Sergeant Sprouil. “We will be marching to the parade field here in a few minutes for graduation practice. At 1145 we will go directly to lunch. From 1300 to 1500 you will be packing and cleaning my motherfucking barracks. At 1500, those of you who have family here will be able to meet with them and all of you will then be free until Thursday morning.”
“Oh YEAH!” Andy said, as quietly as possible.
“Getting laid tonight, there bud?” Scott whispered.
“Oh God, I hope so, Mitch,” Andy answered. “Going to be a fiiiiiine day for a lot of people.”
The platoon turned right face and marched off to practice.
“Goddamn it, what time is it?” Terry asked no one in particular as he scrubbed at the barracks floor.
“Five minutes later than the last time you asked,” Scott answered. “Get a fucking watch, will ya?”
Scott was washing windows and becoming increasingly tired of Mark and Andy. He was happy for them, but also looking forward to them taking off in an hour or so with their families. He could only take other people’s happiness for so long.
But for Scott, the day was victory enough. His locker was nearly empty; other than his graduation khakis, a set of fatigues for breakfast and his shower supplies, pretty much everything was packed. His civvies were on top and he was still trying to figure out how to pack the winter coat he had with him when he arrived in March.
He had survived. When Scott arrived nine weeks earlier, he was hopeless and depressed. But a beautiful girl had saved him – again – and even if he couldn’t see her for another six weeks, he had survived. And he loved that beautiful girl so much.
“C’mon, Mitch,” Andy was shouting as he ran by, “it’s time.”
All of D-5-2 fell out onto the company street. The company commander, Captain Lewis, was out front.
“Men of D-5-2!” he shouted. “I thank you for your efforts for the past two months. You have reached the end of this journey. You are dismissed to either your families or for your own time. Breakfast is at 0600 tomorrow and we line up for graduation at 0900. And those of you with family should know that many of them are parked out on the street
“Great,” he said. He loved playing the rodeo. “Have him do the 12-string, too. Hey. You’re the best, you know that?”
“I will, and actually, I do,” she said. “And I really love you, you know that?”
“Actually, I do,” he said. “And I really love you too. You know that?”
“Yes,” Roni said softly. “Bye, baby.”
“Bye, baby,” Scott said, and they hung up. Then he had a thought.
“Why couldn’t Amy take Mark my guitar?” he wondered. Then it passed.
****
CHAPTER 8
Wednesday morning dawned bright and sunny. The Missouri weather had been perfect all week and was supposed to stay that way. It was the last full day of basic training and for the most part, it was to be a pretty easy one.
After breakfast, the men of D-5-2 had departure paperwork to fill out. Half of the guys, including Andy and Terry and anyone going to Fort Benning for Infantry, had a week of leave coming before they left for AIT. The rest would be leaving in busses going in all directions. The guys of D-5-2 going to San Antonio wouldn’t be leaving until 1630 hours and would drive straight through to Fort Sam Houston.
Wednesday was also the day the families came in. Probably a third of the guys of Second Platoon had family coming for graduation. Scott really hadn’t given it much thought; to him it was the end of basic training, but for a lot of guys, this was a key moment in life.
Andy’s parents, and even Mollie, were coming. Terry’s family and his wife, Mary, were on their way, as were Derric’s mom and grandmother. Scott sighed at the thought; those guys were all so excited. He wished he was.
“Second Platoon!” bellowed Drill Sergeant Sprouil. “We will be marching to the parade field here in a few minutes for graduation practice. At 1145 we will go directly to lunch. From 1300 to 1500 you will be packing and cleaning my motherfucking barracks. At 1500, those of you who have family here will be able to meet with them and all of you will then be free until Thursday morning.”
“Oh YEAH!” Andy said, as quietly as possible.
“Getting laid tonight, there bud?” Scott whispered.
“Oh God, I hope so, Mitch,” Andy answered. “Going to be a fiiiiiine day for a lot of people.”
The platoon turned right face and marched off to practice.
“Goddamn it, what time is it?” Terry asked no one in particular as he scrubbed at the barracks floor.
“Five minutes later than the last time you asked,” Scott answered. “Get a fucking watch, will ya?”
Scott was washing windows and becoming increasingly tired of Mark and Andy. He was happy for them, but also looking forward to them taking off in an hour or so with their families. He could only take other people’s happiness for so long.
But for Scott, the day was victory enough. His locker was nearly empty; other than his graduation khakis, a set of fatigues for breakfast and his shower supplies, pretty much everything was packed. His civvies were on top and he was still trying to figure out how to pack the winter coat he had with him when he arrived in March.
He had survived. When Scott arrived nine weeks earlier, he was hopeless and depressed. But a beautiful girl had saved him – again – and even if he couldn’t see her for another six weeks, he had survived. And he loved that beautiful girl so much.
“C’mon, Mitch,” Andy was shouting as he ran by, “it’s time.”
All of D-5-2 fell out onto the company street. The company commander, Captain Lewis, was out front.
“Men of D-5-2!” he shouted. “I thank you for your efforts for the past two months. You have reached the end of this journey. You are dismissed to either your families or for your own time. Breakfast is at 0600 tomorrow and we line up for graduation at 0900. And those of you with family should know that many of them are parked out on the street
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