Fly High and Go Far

BOB-Chapter Ten: I Need You

  The week went on, and you could tell the pressure and tension was high.  The group of officers were all experiencing some level of panic as the days started and subsequently ended, progressing the week quickly.  Friday rolled around, and they got briefed for the weekend.
  "Do not subtract from the population.  Do not add to the population.  Do not end up in jail, the hospital, or in another country.  I know Tijuana is right there.  Just don't do it.  You are to report at 0600 on Monday in the flight room on the third level.  Any and all questions and concerns will go to Captain Mitchell," Cyclone told them up front.  "The team will be picked at that time so good luck.  And we will all see you again on Monday.  And please, don't make me have to come find you if you do not show up on time."

  Sam went home that evening and packed her seabag up for the month or so, taking inventory and all that in order to make sure she had everything.  Her mother knocked on her open door and walked in, seeing her daughter pack up just like her father had done many times before.
  "Hi Mom," Sam looked over at her mother glide into her room with a somber smile.
  "I'm so proud of you," she told her daughter, bringing her in for a hug.  "Please come home safe."  Sam hugged her mother back and squeezed tightly.
  "I will, Mom.  I always do." The silence was deafening as Sam stared at her mother. She was taller than her, getting her height from her dad just like her brother's did too.
"This is the first time that I'll be alone in almost thirty years," she trailed off. Sam smiled sorrowfully and hugged her mom again.
"It'll only be a month. Then I'll be home," she reassured the older woman. Mrs. Kazansky wiped her eyes and sighed a bit before forcing a smile.
"I should call your brothers to see if they can come visit. I know how your dad's underways were. There was only one out of the several he had that got home on time. Every other got extended."
"Well, regardless, I will be home eventually. I promise, Mom. Besides, these next several weeks won't compare to the four years I was gone."
  "Are you going out tonight?" Her mom asked softly.  Sam shook her head.
  "No, Bob is taking me to the zoo tomorrow.  Did you want to go out to dinner tonight?"
  "Can we go to Eddie's?" Her mom asked.  She knew that was her parent's spot to eat at.  Sam knew it would mean a lot to her mom, so without question.
  "I'll call and see if they can get us in."

  Sam spent her night with her mom, genuinely having a good time.  She insisted on paying for her and her mother, but her mother refused, explaining that this meal was a going away present for her.
  "You know, your dad always paid for our meals here despite me telling him I would be more than happy to pay.  I guess this is kind of my way of repaying him," her mother said.  Sam pondered what she meant, and eventually came to a conclusion that since Sam was following the path of her father and was almost a spitting image of him. 
  "Well, I'm pretty sure he would've tried to pay tonight anyway," Sam laughed.  "I miss him."
  "I miss him too, Sammy.  But I'm happy he left me with you and your brothers.  I love you three more than anything in this world."
  "And we love you too, Mom.  This is something we were all expecting and also not wanting to deal with."
"When he got his diagnosis, I know we all knew that the severity it was at wasn't terrible. And the doctors even said that there was a good chance for survival. But here we are," her mother looked at the table, trying not to cry. "It's okay to not be okay, Sam. Remember that."

  Sam went to bed that night staring mindlessly at her phone now realizing that her mother wanted her home on emergency family leave, but also understood that the Navy was Sam's life.  She hadn't let herself properly heal from her dad's passing, and she knew her body would make the time to break down and force her to heal.  She typed away in her texts, sending one to Bob, knowing he would respond without question.
  "I know it's late, but I was wondering if you could stay up and talk to me?  I'm not doing so good mentally.  I think my dad's passing is finally getting to me."
  Sam stared at the text, going from sending to sent to delivered.  She waited for the read notification to pop up, but she felt like it was an eternity before the text bubble popped up.
  "I'm always here for you.  Would you rather me come over and let you talk it out?" He texted back.  Sam knew that text could only convey so much emotion.  And without a second thought, she said yes.