Short Story Sundays: "A Military Triangle"

It's Sunday y'all!!!

I'm really proud of today's post as I'm trying a new tense of writing (You'll see what I mean when you start reading) and I like the effect of doing so, plus I just love the story itself because the POV charrie today is one of my favorites.

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So yeah, as usual, comments/feedback will be really appreciated and without further ado, I give you:

A Military Triangle

"Aaron. I have to leave the Air Force for a while."

"Why, Cassie-love? What's wrong?"

I smiled a bit at my husband and placed one hand on my stomach.

"Because we're going to be parents."

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh... Cassie, this is amazing! I'm going to be a dad! I'm going to be a DAD!!!"

I smile at the memory and shut the photo album, returning it to the shelf where it belongs and fingering the dog tags around my neck.

Someone wraps their arms around my shoulders in a hug and rests their chin on my right shoulder.

I reach up and rest my hand on top of their strong, scarred hands and smile.

"Hey hon. You ready for church?" asks my husband, his voice both rich and gentle.

"Mmm." I turn a little and kiss his cheek. "You better let go or I won't be."

He laughs and lets go.

I turn and smile at him; his gentle expression, his light brown hair, the hint of sadness in his dark eyes.

I'm glad you made it home.

Footsteps pound on the stairs and I turn to the living room door just as a dark-haired blur comes galloping in.

"Mom! Dad! Come on, you said we could leave early so I could show Timmy my baseball cards before church!"

I laugh and Aaron sweeps our son up in a hug and spins him around.

"Hey Jack, my boy," he says, laughing and setting Jack down, tousling his hair. "I was just asking your mom if she was ready to go."

Jack turns to me and grabs my hand, tugging me towards the front door. "Come on!”

I laugh and look at Aaron, but he just shakes his head, smiling. "He is your son. I'll bet he'll speed just like you when he starts driving, too."

"Aaron Donovan, I do not speed!" I protest as I grab the keys to his truck from their hook by the door and toss them to him.

"Says the woman who sees the interstate as a runway!" he teases, catching the keys as Jack bounces over to the backseat.

I playfully roll my eyes at him and get in the passenger seat while he starts the engine.

As soon as we pull into the church parking lot and Aaron shuts off the engine, Jack is out his door and running across the grass towards his best friend, Timmy.

"Now that," I say, nodding towards the two boys who are already sitting on the church steps, surrounded by baseball cards, "Is your son."

Aaron laughs and gently bumps his shoulder against mine as we walk past the boys and inside the church.

Pastor Brown turns from his and smiles at us as we enter. "Aaron, Cassie. It's so good to see you two again. Have you been doing well? And where's Jack?"

I smile back and interlace my fingers with Aaron's as he answers for both of us. "We have been well, thank you pastor. Jack is outside talking baseball cards."

Pastor Brown smiles wider and as he turns away to greet another person, Aaron gently leads me to our pew.

When the service is over, we head home, Jack prattling a mile-a-minute about baseball cards and Aaron humming softly along to the country radio station.

~*~

I'm chopping onions for dinner and Jack is upstairs playing with his legos when Aaron calls me from the living room where he's watching the 10:00 news.

"Hey, Cassie. Come look at this."

His tone is quiet and strained, so I set down the knife on the cutting board and walk in.

The screen is showing what is going on in the Middle East, where we both have been deployed. The bombs exploding, the burning wreckage, and the men running and firing... sometimes falling and lying still.

I reach past him, take the remote and turn the TV off, then set the remote down and gently place my hand on Aaron's shoulder.

"Cassie... those are men I knew out there," he says, reaching up and placing his hand over mine. "Fighting without me."

I shut my eyes and sigh, trying to ignore the images of burning aircraft falling from the sky and the scent of smoke that are burned into my mind.

"You've done your duty, Aaron," I answer at last, opening my eyes and leaning down to kiss his cheek. "Many MIAs don't come back."

He smiles a little at me now. "I was engaged to you, Cassie. I had to make it back."

"And I'm so glad you did," I answer.

"Do you need help with dinner?" he asks, standing up and following me as I walk back into the kitchen.

"No, I'm almost done. You go watch the evening ballgame or play with your son," I answer, laughing and gently shoving him out of the kitchen again.

"All right," he answers, laughing himself and walking back into the living room.

As I set the last plate on the table and go to fetch Jack from his room, the sound of the National Anthem comes from the TV.

I stop and walk into the living room, joining Aaron as he stands up and comes to attention until the song is over.

He smiles a bit at me as we both drop from attention and I return the smile.

Once a soldier, always a soldier.

"Supper's ready, if you want to head on into the dining room while I get Jack," I say and he nods.

"Daddy, can you tell me about when you were in the war?" asks Jack innocently as he picks up his fork and stabs it into his meatloaf after we pray.

Aaron's fork clinks against his plate and I flinch, glancing up and meeting his gaze.

I see the pain flash through his eyes and I reach across the table to take his free hand.

He squeezes it tight as he reaches up and takes his dog tags in his other hand, his way of comforting himself.

"Well son. War isn't a pretty thing. Your mother and I, we.... we've seen things we wish we could forget."

Jack looks at me, his eyes wide. "You too?"

I shake my head. "I was a pilot. What your dad has seen and been is far worse than what I have, though I've seen more than my share of the war."

Losing interest in me, Jack turns back to Aaron, who sighs and looks him in the eyes.

"Jack, what I'm about to tell you, I don't want you to forget. Okay?"

Jack nods slowly and without looking at me, Aaron begins.

I close my eyes, knowing his story by heart, for when the flashbacks get too heavy for him to bear alone, it's me and God he spills his heart out to.

"I was given what was supposed to be an easy mission. Just delivering an important message and item to the neighboring Army unit for my commanding officer.

Well, it turned out when me and my best friend got there that that unit was gone. Completely destroyed by enemy shellfire.

I turned away from him for a moment to check our back and fire upon an enemy soldier with my M-16 and when I looked back... he was dead.

Our orders stood that we were to come back when we delivered the message or if we couldn't get through, so I turned back.

Well, it turned out there was no "back" for me to return to. My unit had had to pull out without me under heavy fire... and so I was captured. Shuffled around for a few years under less-than-pleasant conditions... then finally rescued and brought home to recover.

When I got home, I was met at the airport by the same Air Force beauty whose picture I'd kept with me that whole time and her brother. Married her, finished my term and finally came home for good a little after Jack was born."

"Cassie?"

I jump and open my eyes as Aaron gently squeezes my hand, then feel my cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.

"What did you say?" I ask and he laughs quietly.

"I asked if you wanted me to go get ice cream for dessert or not."

I glance at Jack and he give me puppy eyes. "Please, please, please, Mom?"

"Oh, all right," I answer, laughing. "But Jack, you've got to help me by clearing the table."

"Fiiine," Jack whines, getting up and gathering plates.

Aaron smiles at me as we both get up and he heads into the hall.

I kiss his cheek as he shrugs on his favorite jacket, then hand him his car keys.

"I love you, Cassie-girl," he says, returning my kiss before heading out the door. "Be right back."

I head into the kitchen and start loading the dishwasher.

When twenty minutes pass and Aaron isn't home yet, I chalk it up to evening traffic... until my phone rings, that is.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Hi. I'm calling for a Mrs. Donovan?" asks an unfamiliar female voice.

"This is she," I answer, reaching up to grasp my dog tags as a cold chill runs down my spine. "Who is this?"

"Mrs. Donovan, this is EMT Rachel Hayes... Your husband's been in a car accident."

~*~

"Mom, can I have your car keys? I promised Tim we'd go watch a movie tonight."

I turn and look up into his pale blue eyes, smiling as I reach to tousle his hair and he lightly swats my hand away, smiling back at me.

"You've got to stop growing so fast, Jack!" I say, smiling as I rest my hand on his shoulder.

He laughs a little, quietly though, not loud like he did when he was little.

"I'll be 17 in four months, Mom. You'll still sign the paper and let me join early, won't you?" he asks as I reach into my jacket pocket for my keys.

I bite my lip and study him for a moment, this young man who I've raised and who has been my lighthouse in my storms.

His expression tells me how much my answer will mean to him and I look away, seeing his dad again.

"We'll see," I answer, handing him the keys to my red Bel Air.

"Thanks Mom!" he says, taking the keys and bolting out the door.

I sigh and watch him pull out of the driveway, speeding away towards his buddy's house, then turn and head to the living room.

Two sets of dog tags jingle around my neck now and a flag, folded in the military triangle and framed, rests on the shelf beneath the TV.

Aaron's flag.

~*~

"I'm gonna miss you, Mom," says Jack as he sets his bags down and hugs me tight.

"I'm going to miss you more," I answer, blinking back tears as his Sargent shouts for him to come on and board the waiting ship. "You better write back to me."

My boy smiles and then turns and runs to join his fellows, waving at me until he disappears into the crowd of other soldiers crowded at the ship's railing.

I keep waving anyways until his ship is out of sight, then turn and walk back to where he had parked the old orange truck that I'd given him when he enlisted.

"Take care of this thing for me, okay?" he says as he hands me the keys. "It's the best 18th birthday present you could have given me."

I climb in and start the engine, then drive home, letting my tears fall freely.

Oh Aaron... if only you could see our son now. How proud you'd be.

Every day I check the mailbox for his letters and soon, his first one comes.

Dear Mom.

I’m writing this quick before they blow Reveille. The weather is hot and dry here and I miss your cooking. I've made some new friends among the more experienced soldiers and they're helping me out a lot.

I hope you're doing okay without me. Tim's looking over my shoulder and says I'm a sissy for saying that, but he's joking.

Missing you,

Pfc. Jack Donovan, U.S. Army.

I smile, hug the letter and tuck it into a drawer beside my bed before sitting down to write back.

His letters always have some funny tidbit in them, no matter how dark the rest of his thoughts are.

When the letter from the other soldier comes though, telling me that my boy had been captured rescuing him, I fall to my knees and cry.

God, please let my son be alive.

"Ms. Donovan, how are you doing?" asks Pastor Brown when he comes over to me after church.

I shake my head and sigh. "I don't know, Pastor. I'm praying Jack's alive and I still write, though everything tells me he's not there to receive my letters."

"You're a strong woman, Ms. Donovan. I'm praying for you and that boy."

I force a small smile. "Thank you Pastor. I need it."

This time, I turn away first and hurry out the door, taking the keys to Jack's truck from my pocket and getting in.

The engine roars and I roll down the windows and steer the truck onto the long dirt roads winding out into the countryside behind the church.

Aaron's dog tags swing where I've hung them on the rearview mirror as I speed up and turn on the country music station as a few unbidden tears fall from my eyes.

God, why is this all happening to me?

Pulling the truck into a an empty field, I turn the wheel and press the gas pedal, letting the truck drift and spin, drowning the view in dust and leaving deep ruts in the earth.

I drive like this until the needle on the gas gauge starts falling over empty, then I pull out of the field and head home, stopping only twice.

Once for gas and once to visit Aaron's grave.

I straighten the little flag, then step away from the grave and salute.

I miss you so much, love. It's just not the same without you.

I turn back to Jack's truck and get in, slamming my fist on the steering wheel and letting out my cries of pain.

I can't take this anymore.

Unlocking the front door when I get back home, I drop the truck keys on their hook and head into the kitchen.

I grab a leftover ham sandwich from the fridge and head into the kitchen, flopping down in Aaron's old spot on the couch and switching on the TV.

The war news brings back the same old memories and I shut off the set and close my eyes. The helicopter flames brightly in the night and I am shaking in fear as several soldiers pull me and three others away from the wreckage.

Smoke burns in my nose and is in my lungs and I cough violently, causing pain to sear through me from the third-degree burns on my arms and legs.

"You're going to be okay now, Lieutenant Bonnevelle," soothes someone as they lift me onto a stretcher. "Just hang in there."

The crash and the war don't just scar me externally... they scar my mind, too. For months, even after I receive my promotion to Captain, the sight of a flame sets me on edge and thunder makes me want to scream.

A car door slams outside and I look up, then get to my feet and go to look out the front door.

I gasp, then fall to my knees as a young man in the uniform of an Army Captain gets out of the passenger seat and then drops his bag to the ground and runs over to me.

He crouches down and wraps his arms around me tightly and I grab his hands, holding tight and letting my tears fall freely as he murmurs the words I've been longing to hear since the day he left.

"It's okay Mom. I'm home now. I'm home."