A Soldier Comes Home

“We’ve got a full schedule today,” Chrissie said, leaning over Allison to check the appointment book. “Let’s try not to get behind.”

“Tell that to the dentist,” Rita said. “I’m always on time.” She nudged Chrissie with her elbow. “So what’s new with you and your hunky neighbor?”

Allison swiveled her chair to face them, eyes wide. “You have a hunky neighbor?” she asked. “What did I miss while I was away?”

“Nothing,” Chrissie said. “My neighbor is in the same company as Dan so he just came home. That’s all.”

“Oh my gosh.” Allison put a hand to her mouth. “Do you mean Captain Hughes?”

Chrissie nodded. “You know him?”

“Sort of. Dan and I gave him a ride home from the reunion ceremony. I thought his house looked familiar, but I was so excited about having Dan home I didn’t pay that much attention.”

“Chrissie had dinner with him,” Rita said.

“I made mac and cheese for him and his little boy.” She glanced at Allison. “His wife walked out and the little boy was crying and I helped calm him down. I haven’t heard anything from him since.”

“I figured something had happened, for him not to have anyone to meet him at the reunion ceremony,” Allison said. “Maybe you should go over and see how he’s doing. You could say you were worried about his kid.”

“No!” Chrissie protested. “Besides, technically he’s still married. And I’m not interested anyway.”

“Liar,” Rita said as she opened the door for her patient, George Freeman.

She was finishing up the X-rays of Mr. Freeman’s teeth when Chrissie poked her head around the partition. “There’s a telephone call for you.”

“Tell them I’ll call them back.”

“No, you need to come to the phone now.”

Something in Chrissie’s voice made Rita go still. Her heart pounded and she struggled to breathe, and her vision went fuzzy at the edges. Oh, dear God, no!

“Paul’s all right,” Chrissie said. She grabbed Rita’s arm. “He’s okay. He’s the one on the phone.”

She nodded and allowed Chrissie to lead her to the office. She picked up the phone and punched the line button. “Hello?”

“Rita, it’s me, Paul.”

As if she wouldn’t recognize his voice. He never called except for rare special occasions and holidays. And then she could almost feel his excitement through the phone lines. Now he sounded different. Distant. “What is it?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”

“No.” He coughed. “Jeremy’s gone. He was killed in a firefight near Kirkut.”

“Jeremy?” Rita blinked. “Your brother?” Jeremy was in the Marines. The brothers were always giving each other a hard time about which branch of the service was the best. “That’s horrible.”

“Yeah.” He coughed again. “They’re giving me leave for his funeral. Will you meet me up there?”

Up there was the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where they had both grown up. “Of course I will.”

“I should be there in a couple of days. I’ll e-mail when I know more. I gotta go now.”

“Paul, I’m so sorry,” she said. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. See you soon.”

She set the phone in the cradle and stared at the desktop, not really seeing. She thought of Jeremy the last time she’d seen him, at a dinner at his parents’ house right before he shipped out. Paul had been home, too, and thirtyfive of the young men’s relatives had crowded into their parents’ trailer home. The men had teased him about his short hair and the women had urged him to “Eat, eat.” No one wanted to see him leave, but everyone was proud of him following in the footsteps of his ancestors, who had fought in every conflict since World War I.

There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” she said automatically.

Chrissie and Allison came into the room. “Is everything all right?” Chrissie asked.

Rita nodded, then shook her head. “Paul’s brother—Jeremy—he’s dead. Killed in a firefight near Kirkut.” The name was familiar from news reports, but she had no idea where that really was. It was just another foreign-sounding name in a list of foreign-sounding names in the papers and on television.

Chrissie hugged her and Allison squeezed her hand.

“I’ll need time off to go to the funeral,” Rita said, beginning to come out of the shock a little. “They gave Paul leave to come home for it.”

“Of course,” Chrissie said. “Let us know if there’s anything else we can do.”

“Thanks, but it will all be taken care of. There are groups on the reservation that will organize the funeral. It’s a big ceremony. It goes on for days.” She was thinking out loud now, hardly aware of their presence.

“Does Paul have other brothers and sisters?” Allison asked.

“No. Only Jeremy.” She bit her lip, thinking of his mother, Donna. Jeremy was her baby. The spoiled one. She would be beside herself with grief. “I—I’d better go finish Mr. Freeman’s teeth,” she said.

Chrissie stopped her. “No. We’ll explain what happened and ask him to reschedule. He’ll understand.” She patted Rita’s shoulder. “You go home. Do what you need to do to get ready.”

“I’ll pray for you and your family,” Allison said.

Rita nodded. More of the numbness was receding, replaced by the knowledge that in a few days she’d see Paul. She felt almost guilty but not for long. She would see Paul. She would touch him, hold him, kiss him, make love to him. Yes, they would grieve. But they would also comfort each other. In the midst of such sadness was that joy.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.