Frays pressed a hand over her mouth and fought back tears “Tomorrow’s the Fourth of July.”
Rodriguez sat up, crossed the cubicle and sat down next to her friend. Frays sat up as well her hands folded in her lap. “I w-was looking forward to…to marching in the Independence Day parade with my Dad. We were gonna meet up at the VFW hall in our uniforms. Me and him and his friends. The old guys from World War Two and Korea…”
She grinned and wiped at her cheeks again. “After the parade was done there was a cookout at the VFW. Me and Carl would go screw around on the midway wasting our money on those stupid carnival games.” Rodriguez put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and rubbed the taut muscle. “After it got dark there’d be fireworks in the park.”
“Sounds like it was fun.” Rodriguez said quietly. The only fireworks in her neighborhood growing up had been when some of the local gangbangers shot each other up. She sighed heavily and took her hand back.
“I miss Mom and Dad so…so much, Frannie.” Frays said quietly. Tears leaked out of her eyes again and she wiped them away. “I was terrible to them. Mom wanted everything to be like it was but it wasn’t and…Dad… I know he loved me and didn’t mean what he said...h-he was just scared for me ‘cause I’m his little girl.”
Rodriguez frowned and wondered if she should go find Lacey. The two of them were…close…but on the other hand it was kinda late. Of course she could stay with the kids while Lacey and Frays were talking or whatever. And she had to admit that Lacey was just one of those guys that was good to talk to. “Do you want me to see if Lacey’s around?” Rodriguez asked and started to act like she was going to get up.
Frays frowned and shook her head after a few seconds. “No…no…” she said quietly. The woman shrugged. “I…how do I put this…I don’t trust myself around him. I like him and everything and he’s a great guy but…I…I dunno…ya know?”
Rodriguez chuckled. “Strangely enough I think I do.” she said and sat down on Carl’s bunk. She lay down and shifted around into a more comfortable position. Rodriguez’s mind drifted as she started to doze off. While she had been deployed in Afghanistan she had…slept around…a lot. More out of a need to get her mind off the death and boredom than any real need to have a relationship or anything. Hell, she could not even remember a couple of their names. PFC Jason Hendricks had been in the truck with her when the driver rolled over an IED…
She wiped at a tear of her own. He had been a good guy, one of the few men she had been with on deployment that did not treat her like a total whore. The last time she had seen him was on the Medivac chopper that would take them to Bagram Airfield. They had her flying high on morphine and strapped to a stretcher so fucking lit up that she was barely aware that there was a tube down her throat to help her breathe… Hendricks had been next to her and she reached out to try and take his hand but she could not find it… That sick moment when she realized that she could not find his hand because his whole arm was not there… Panic not for herself but for her friend next to her… A shadowy form doing something to the IV in her arm and then everything went all wobbly and dark…
********
It was hot. Senior Airman Amy Frays could not for the life of her understand why on God’s green and verdant Earth why people came to this part of the world and decided to hang around for a couple dozen millennia. It was always just so friggin’ hot and dry and sandy never mind the giant scary looking camel spiders that always seemed to have a talent for turning up exactly where you did not want them to be: sleeping bag, boots, helmet…
She leaned against the concrete shelter about a dozen meters from the connex she shared with Airman Sally Watkins the tiny bit of shade put out by the structure making it slightly less
Rodriguez sat up, crossed the cubicle and sat down next to her friend. Frays sat up as well her hands folded in her lap. “I w-was looking forward to…to marching in the Independence Day parade with my Dad. We were gonna meet up at the VFW hall in our uniforms. Me and him and his friends. The old guys from World War Two and Korea…”
She grinned and wiped at her cheeks again. “After the parade was done there was a cookout at the VFW. Me and Carl would go screw around on the midway wasting our money on those stupid carnival games.” Rodriguez put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and rubbed the taut muscle. “After it got dark there’d be fireworks in the park.”
“Sounds like it was fun.” Rodriguez said quietly. The only fireworks in her neighborhood growing up had been when some of the local gangbangers shot each other up. She sighed heavily and took her hand back.
“I miss Mom and Dad so…so much, Frannie.” Frays said quietly. Tears leaked out of her eyes again and she wiped them away. “I was terrible to them. Mom wanted everything to be like it was but it wasn’t and…Dad… I know he loved me and didn’t mean what he said...h-he was just scared for me ‘cause I’m his little girl.”
Rodriguez frowned and wondered if she should go find Lacey. The two of them were…close…but on the other hand it was kinda late. Of course she could stay with the kids while Lacey and Frays were talking or whatever. And she had to admit that Lacey was just one of those guys that was good to talk to. “Do you want me to see if Lacey’s around?” Rodriguez asked and started to act like she was going to get up.
Frays frowned and shook her head after a few seconds. “No…no…” she said quietly. The woman shrugged. “I…how do I put this…I don’t trust myself around him. I like him and everything and he’s a great guy but…I…I dunno…ya know?”
Rodriguez chuckled. “Strangely enough I think I do.” she said and sat down on Carl’s bunk. She lay down and shifted around into a more comfortable position. Rodriguez’s mind drifted as she started to doze off. While she had been deployed in Afghanistan she had…slept around…a lot. More out of a need to get her mind off the death and boredom than any real need to have a relationship or anything. Hell, she could not even remember a couple of their names. PFC Jason Hendricks had been in the truck with her when the driver rolled over an IED…
She wiped at a tear of her own. He had been a good guy, one of the few men she had been with on deployment that did not treat her like a total whore. The last time she had seen him was on the Medivac chopper that would take them to Bagram Airfield. They had her flying high on morphine and strapped to a stretcher so fucking lit up that she was barely aware that there was a tube down her throat to help her breathe… Hendricks had been next to her and she reached out to try and take his hand but she could not find it… That sick moment when she realized that she could not find his hand because his whole arm was not there… Panic not for herself but for her friend next to her… A shadowy form doing something to the IV in her arm and then everything went all wobbly and dark…
********
It was hot. Senior Airman Amy Frays could not for the life of her understand why on God’s green and verdant Earth why people came to this part of the world and decided to hang around for a couple dozen millennia. It was always just so friggin’ hot and dry and sandy never mind the giant scary looking camel spiders that always seemed to have a talent for turning up exactly where you did not want them to be: sleeping bag, boots, helmet…
She leaned against the concrete shelter about a dozen meters from the connex she shared with Airman Sally Watkins the tiny bit of shade put out by the structure making it slightly less
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