Dannys two weeks home on leave came and went quickly. Afterwards, it started a month's long venture for me. Calling whomever I could, to find a place to rest my head. I spent a month living in a Super Motel 8, inside the city of Columbus, Ohio. I found a home temporarily with a young woman I knew from Hillsboro's local church, Mica. I slept on her couch for several weeks before moving on to another hotel just outside of the training base, Fort Leonardwood in Missouri. It was just me, and my loyal black lab Mercedes, now.
"Danny, I'm so sick I can't move from the bed. I have an incredibly high fever. I don't know what to do" I said to Danny on the phone, laying there feeling as though I could die.
"Okay sweetheart, let me talk to my command and see if they will let me leave base for a couple hours to bring you some medicine." He said, sounding worried.
A couple of hours later Danny came into the room with the spare hotel key I had given him. "Hey, I got you some medicine, here" he said opening the package and giving me a tablespoon of syrup.
"Thank you" I managed to let out. I was incredibly weak by now. There were rumors on the base of some of the Marines and civilians in the area coming down with meningitis, and I could tell Danny was very worried for me. He didn't have a choice in the matter though, he had to head back to base.
This sparked a 3-day period of suffering for me. I do not know what I came down with at this time, but it was the sickest I ever remember being in my life. I laid there, burning hot. Not able to get up to use the restroom, or even let my dog, Mercedes outside for her walk. Mercedes didn't leave my side though. She laid in bed sleeping next to me, hour after hour, night after night, never whining at the door. Just an occasional concerned lick to my cheek, as if she too, were worried for me.
Eventually I recovered and the long-awaited call from Danny rang on the hotel phone, "Hey Phoenix! I got good news. I passed my training and I've found a nice home in Jacksonville, NC. That's where they are going to station me for the remainder of my enlistment."
"Oh, Thank God" I said. I held out hope that my nightmare was ending. Traveling from place to place, not having a stable and secure home to call my own. I was longing for this phase of my life to be over with.
A few weeks later we settled into our new home. "Here it is Phoenix, I hope you like it" he asked me.
"I do like it, I'm so happy to be here with you." I said back to him.
Unfortunately, this just wasn't going to work out the way I had hoped. We were in a home outside of the city limits. The only thing next to us was a single gas station. I had no driver's license, no family to give me a hand, and no friends that cared nearby. Danny would be gone anywhere from two to six weeks at a time on training missions. Leaving me there with limited cash to fend for myself. I spent my time on the laptop playing card games, and I once again found myself starving. I lived on MRE's and the occasional gas station burrito.
"I can't do this anymore Danny. I am lonely. I am hungry. I am wasting away in this lonely life weeks on end with no one here for me." I complained.
"I'm doing the best I can. I don't know what else it is that you want from me" he replied.
"Well, you're getting deployed soon. Let me sign up to go to school? I can move into the dorm while you're away" I suggested.
Danny looked at me and said, "I think that is a great idea. Get the paperwork started and we will try and get you to school. Maybe then you will have people around you and something to focus on."
So, I called the school of my choice, The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham North Carolina. They invited me over for a tour of the school, to take some exams, and file official paperwork. Danny's military status also afforded me some financial benefits that would enable me to pay for some of my education.
YOU ARE READING
Phoenix Rises
Non-FictionMy Life story. How it all began, and how I learned to rise from the ashes.
