A Starling's Awakening

Dinner

Margaret invited Bret and I to join her and her husband for dinner on Saturday evening.

Margaret opened the door.

"Hello, Elise. This must be your husband?"

"This is Bret." She offered her hand, so he shook it.

"Howdy, ma'am. Thank you for being a friend to my wife."

"Won't you both please come in?"

We entered their home and Bret recognized the colonel. He snapped to attention and saluted.

"Colonel LeMars, Sir!" The colonel stood, and returned Bret's salute.

"At ease, private. Welcome to our home." I needed to sit down, so we sat in their living room.

Margaret said, "Michael, Elise is the former starling I told you about."

"Is she now?" He turned to me. "My wife tells me you are a sweet young lady."

"I try to be. I want to remain worthy of my husband's love."

Margaret stated, "You just continue being who you are. If your husband is the guy you say he is, you will never have to earn his love." The conversation over dinner was pleasant. I learned a lot about army life I hadn't known before.

Since Bret was in the National Guard, not regular Army, and since he was specializing in heavy equipment operation, there was a very slim chance he would ever be deployed overseas. Even though he was being trained by the Army Corps of Engineers, he wasn't technically one of them. They are the ones deployed overseas, along with the Navy SeaBees.

The colonel asked, "Private Whitaker, was heavy equipment operation your first choice?"

"No, Sir. I really wanted to be a mechanic."

"My men have reported that you are at the top of your class. They say you pick up the skills as fast as anyone they've seen. And some have been instructors for over a decade."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Son, I want to offer you something. A deal. It will require you to complete your training here. And you must finish at the top of your class."

"What if I do? What is this deal?"

"The Trickle Creek Community College is in your hometown, is it not?"

"Yes, Sir."

"We have a program for our best and brightest to advance their civilian careers. It's administered through Trickle Creek Community College, along with Halston Brothers Excavation. I've only ever recommended one other person for it. That was eleven years ago. Trickle Creek has an excellent diesel mechanics course, and they have classes for those who want to specialize in off-road equipment. I want to recommend you for that program."

Bret was floored. I was sitting against him and had my arm around him. I felt his breathing pause. He finally took in a deep breath.

"Thank you, Sir. I would like that very much."