behind us.”
Senior Drill Sergeant Adams stepped up next to the CO. “Company! Aaaattesion!!!”
“DISSSSSSSSSSSSSSMISSSSSSSSSSSSSED!”
There were hugs and handshakes everywhere. Andy, Scott and the guys were jumping all over each other like it was Game 7 of the World Series. For a moment or two, anyway.
“Well,” Andy said. “Sorry, but I gotta go!”
Andy, Terry, Derric and about a third of D-5-2 went barreling off between the buildings to greet their families, as Scott and the others walked back to the barracks.
Scott was standing in front of his locker, still trying to figure out how to pack his winter coat, when the back door of the barracks opened. “Mitch!” Andy called from the back of the building.
Scott peered back through the rows of bunks. “Yeah?”
“C’mon out and meet my family,” Andy said. “Please?”
“Sure, OK.”
Scott walked back to where Andy was holding the door open and stepped out on the back dock. Andy’s parents, Dale and Cheryl, looked very tan and very Californian, in shorts and polo shirts. With them was a tall, leggy blonde with wavy shoulder-length hair and John Denver glasses. They were parked out at the curb, about 25 feet away.
“Mollie?” Scott asked Andy. “She’s gorgeous, buddy.”
“Oh yeah,” he said. “She is. But, that girl over there is too.”
Andy was looking back over Scott’s shoulder and smiling. “Turn around, dumbshit.”
As Scott turned around, he noticed a brand new powder blue Firebird and a gaggle of people standing near it. Terry and his family, Carl and his wife, Derric and his mom and grandma, were all standing and talking to someone. The whole gang turned to face him, smiling. The Firebird had Colorado plates. Carl stepped back.
She hadn’t cut her hair; it was nearly to the middle of her back now. She had on purple shorts and a white sleeveless shirt and sandals, with her sunglasses sitting on top of her head. She walked out of the group with a shy smile. And Scott saw those eyes. He stood there, transfixed for a moment. “Happy graduation, buddy,” Andy said.
“Did you do this?” Scott turned to look at him in astonishment.
“Shut up and get over there.”
Scott walked down the concrete steps and went across the gravel toward her. He stepped cautiously about halfway before she ran to him and jumped into his arms, hers around his neck, suspended off the ground. They held on to each other so tight they’d become one person. “If I’m dreaming this, I’m going to be really pissed,” he said in her ear.
“You’re not,” she said, pulling back and looking into his eyes. “It’s me. I love you.”
Scott and Roni kissed, hard and as passionately as two people in love who hadn’t seen each other in five months could kiss. Like it was the first time.
He set her down, and took both of her hands. “Not to sound like I’m complaining, but what are you doing here?”
She put her left hand to his face. “You sounded so sad when you told me about Memorial Day. I can’t stand you being sad, Footer.”
It was a wild story. She wrote to Andy that night to ask about graduation. He wrote back and in the meantime, told the rest of the guys. She was talking to Andy on the phone Sunday when Scott was calling, only to reach the busy signal. Right after she hung up from talking to Scott, she jumped in the car.
“You drove all the way here alone?” he asked in astonishment.
“Yeah. I drove to Oakley on Sunday night, then stopped in Manhattan on Monday. That’s a nice town,” she said. “Then I drove in here yesterday and stayed at the Quality Inn. Andy’s family is staying there, too. Mollie is really a sweetie. We went swimming and hung out last night.”
Everyone who had family coming could have an overnight pass if they wanted one, but Scott hadn’t put in for one. “I love that you’re here, but I don’t have a pass,” he said.
He heard someone walk up behind him.
“You have a pass, trainee.”
He
Senior Drill Sergeant Adams stepped up next to the CO. “Company! Aaaattesion!!!”
“DISSSSSSSSSSSSSSMISSSSSSSSSSSSSED!”
There were hugs and handshakes everywhere. Andy, Scott and the guys were jumping all over each other like it was Game 7 of the World Series. For a moment or two, anyway.
“Well,” Andy said. “Sorry, but I gotta go!”
Andy, Terry, Derric and about a third of D-5-2 went barreling off between the buildings to greet their families, as Scott and the others walked back to the barracks.
Scott was standing in front of his locker, still trying to figure out how to pack his winter coat, when the back door of the barracks opened. “Mitch!” Andy called from the back of the building.
Scott peered back through the rows of bunks. “Yeah?”
“C’mon out and meet my family,” Andy said. “Please?”
“Sure, OK.”
Scott walked back to where Andy was holding the door open and stepped out on the back dock. Andy’s parents, Dale and Cheryl, looked very tan and very Californian, in shorts and polo shirts. With them was a tall, leggy blonde with wavy shoulder-length hair and John Denver glasses. They were parked out at the curb, about 25 feet away.
“Mollie?” Scott asked Andy. “She’s gorgeous, buddy.”
“Oh yeah,” he said. “She is. But, that girl over there is too.”
Andy was looking back over Scott’s shoulder and smiling. “Turn around, dumbshit.”
As Scott turned around, he noticed a brand new powder blue Firebird and a gaggle of people standing near it. Terry and his family, Carl and his wife, Derric and his mom and grandma, were all standing and talking to someone. The whole gang turned to face him, smiling. The Firebird had Colorado plates. Carl stepped back.
She hadn’t cut her hair; it was nearly to the middle of her back now. She had on purple shorts and a white sleeveless shirt and sandals, with her sunglasses sitting on top of her head. She walked out of the group with a shy smile. And Scott saw those eyes. He stood there, transfixed for a moment. “Happy graduation, buddy,” Andy said.
“Did you do this?” Scott turned to look at him in astonishment.
“Shut up and get over there.”
Scott walked down the concrete steps and went across the gravel toward her. He stepped cautiously about halfway before she ran to him and jumped into his arms, hers around his neck, suspended off the ground. They held on to each other so tight they’d become one person. “If I’m dreaming this, I’m going to be really pissed,” he said in her ear.
“You’re not,” she said, pulling back and looking into his eyes. “It’s me. I love you.”
Scott and Roni kissed, hard and as passionately as two people in love who hadn’t seen each other in five months could kiss. Like it was the first time.
He set her down, and took both of her hands. “Not to sound like I’m complaining, but what are you doing here?”
She put her left hand to his face. “You sounded so sad when you told me about Memorial Day. I can’t stand you being sad, Footer.”
It was a wild story. She wrote to Andy that night to ask about graduation. He wrote back and in the meantime, told the rest of the guys. She was talking to Andy on the phone Sunday when Scott was calling, only to reach the busy signal. Right after she hung up from talking to Scott, she jumped in the car.
“You drove all the way here alone?” he asked in astonishment.
“Yeah. I drove to Oakley on Sunday night, then stopped in Manhattan on Monday. That’s a nice town,” she said. “Then I drove in here yesterday and stayed at the Quality Inn. Andy’s family is staying there, too. Mollie is really a sweetie. We went swimming and hung out last night.”
Everyone who had family coming could have an overnight pass if they wanted one, but Scott hadn’t put in for one. “I love that you’re here, but I don’t have a pass,” he said.
He heard someone walk up behind him.
“You have a pass, trainee.”
He
Similar Books
