Soldier Boy

11

Cameron's POV

"Are you ready to be back in civilization, soldier?" President Willis asked with a shiny-toothed smile.

I nodded and looked out the helicopter window. "I have a mom and sister back at home. And a wife and son. Even one on the way," I smiled.

He smiled. "Family is important," he said. "I wished I'd spent more time with my wife and daughters before my wife died and my girls went off to college and got married, had kids of their own. Now they won't even let me see the grandkids."

I frowned and twisted my wedding band on my finger. It was one thing that gave me hope to survive. That and constant prayer.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out and he shook his head.

"It's not a big deal. To me, the world should be my main concern. Not my family."

~~~

Mom and Julie ran up to me and started crying when I arrived at the airport.

"You're home!" Julie sobbed as she clung to me like I'd vanish into thin air. I kissed her head and wiped her tears.

"You should've known I was coming back. I love y'all too much to give up."

Mom laughed and held onto me, soaking my uniform with her tears. "I'm just so glad to see you home!"

I pulled away and a laugh escaped my lips. I looked around expecting Granny to run over to me and shower me with baby-powder smelling hugs. But I didn't see her anywhere. In fact, the airport was mainly empty except for a few people getting on flights and shopkeepers closing for the night.

"Where's Granny?" I asked. Mom and Julie stopped smiling and looked at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation.

"She— she passed a few months after you left. It kind of happened really quickly. She had a stroke and wasn't able to recover. I told Corporal Marston to tell the guys stationed in Iraq to tell the men that kidnapped you but I guess it never went through on your end," Mom said.

I shook my head, suddenly feeling nauseated. "I'm sorry. I should have told her goodbye when I left. I should have known that she wouldn't last long. She was getting on in age and I didn't even take the time to say goodbye to her."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Mom said, placing a hand on my face. "She knew that you loved her. She's not upset that you never said goodbye."

I nodded, even though I didn't fully believe her words. Julie smiled and said, "I'll get your suitcase. It was nice of Corporal Marston to be able to retrieve your belongings from the base you were at before the raid."

"Yeah, it was. Come on, let's go back home. We have a lot of people waiting on your return," Mom smiled and took my hand, leading me to the car like I was a little boy again.

On the ride home, Julie asked, "How come you never gave up?"

I thought about it for a moment. The torture I endured from those two Iraqi soldiers was nothing short of an absolute living Hell. I could have given up, begged them to kill me and put me out of my misery. But thinking of my love for my family and relying on prayer is what got me through it.

"I just didn't want too. I have too much to be grateful for. It wasn't worth it," I finalized. She was quiet for the rest of the ride home.

When Mom pulled into the Pompeya family driveway, I smiled at the old farmhouse still standing, along with the barn and horses grazing in the pasture.

"Y'all were able to save this place?" I asked her.

She smiled as she got my suitcase out of the trunk. She nodded. "Yeah. It was amazing, really. The whole town pitched in to help stop the foreclosure after you left. We even added on an extra room for the baby's nursery."

I laughed and hugged her. "That's awesome. I'm so glad everything went well. This house and land means a lot to us."

She smiled and we walked to the house, Julie pushing the door open to reveal a surprised Sonia. She got up from her recliner and hugged me.

"Welcome home!" She said and kissed my cheek. I smiled and looked around at the other family members. Logan ran up to me and hugged me, tears falling down his face as he clung to me for about ten minutes. Cissy just stared. Then she started sobbing.

She hugged me so tight it hurt to breathe and then kissed me like she'd never been kissed before.

"You're home," she whispered against my lips.

"I'm home," I replied and hugged her, kissing her head.

"So what's this I hear about an extra room added onto the house for the baby's nursery?" I chuckled.

Logan and Cissy led me upstairs while the Moms and Julie chatted in the living room.

Logan opened the nursery door and flipped on the light.

The walls were painted a soft blue color, and a ship mobile hung over the mahogany crib that held a knitted quilt blanket folded on the bars, stuffed animals lining the sides, and a photograph of a sonogram. A rocking chair sat in the corner beside the window, and a basket of toys sat beside it. There was a shelf full of children's books and diapers and clothes. A changing table sat on the right side of the room across from the crib.

"This place is just perfect for our baby boy," Cissy said with a smile.

I laughed and hugged her. "It really is. He's not even here yet and I can tell he's spoiled!"

Logan nodded his head. "Nana bought me the whole Lego collection still in the boxes and spent a fortune but yeah, my stuff is nothing compared to what my brother has."

We spent some more time in the nursery before everyone retreated to their bedrooms.

In the darkness of our bedroom, the only light being the moonlight streaming in from the windows, Cissy snuggled closer into my embrace. I kissed her head and held her belly so I could feel our son kick.

"We haven't talked about names yet," Cissy said.

I smiled at that and pondered for a moment.

"You remember my brother, Levi? We all used to hang out together when we were little kids."

She nodded. "Yeah. He died at a young age, right?"

"He was fourteen. But, I was thinking, why not name this baby after my brother?"

She looked at me with a smile. "I wanted to name him after my father," she yawned.

I laughed. "What about Timothy Levi?"

She thought for a moment then nodded. "I love it."

I kissed her softly and smiled into her hair, saying, "I love you."

She grinned. "I love you."