Nick Vaughn and Caroline Woods were high school sweethearts and had been dating since the 9th grade. Two weeks after their high school graduation, Nick enlisted in the Army and was sent off to war in Afghanistan.
After being gone for a year, he was...
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I stared at the fireplace. Along the mantle sits two flower vases, a picture of Nick and me, and a picture of my parents. All of those seem normal, but to the far left, sits his honorary flag. It sits in the same spot that our wedding picture was supposed to be in...
"Ma'am?" I jump at the sudden noise and turn around to see the General. "I'm sorry if I scared you, the door was open..." He adds, standing tall beside the door frame.
"Oh, I must have forgotten to shut it..."
He nods. "I just wanted to inform you that I will be heading to the airport as my flight will be taking off soon. It's time for me to go back now that the funeral is over."
"Of course." I pause and stand. "General, I would like to thank you for all you've done. It wasn't expected but greatly appreciated."
"No, problem, Ms. Woods. Nick was a hero and he will always be remembered. Now, as part of the military's duty to a fallen soldier's family, one of us must stay behind for a few months until we feel our duty is complete. Lieutenant Logan Cook has volunteered for this position. You of course have the final say, but I thought he would be best as you know him on a personal level."
At first, I thought that was kind of weird. Since when does a soldier stay behind to take care of someone's family? "That's fine, General." He smiles as Logan walks in.
He turns to him. "Lieutenant, you know the rules."
"Yes, sir."
He turns back to me. "Ms. Woods, if at any time you have any questions or wish to speak with me, you have my number. I always return phone calls. Have a nice day, ma'am." He adds and exits the house.
Once he's gone, I look to Logan. "What rules?"
"Just army stuff... Procedures and what not."
"For what?"
He sighs. "This position is honorary and you must meet certain criteria before they consider you then you have a set of rules to follow, which is what he was referring to."
"So what do you do, exactly?" I ask, unsure of what the 'position' really was.
"The job description is relatively long but I'll make it brief. I'll be a grief counselor, an errand runner, sometimes a cop, and most importantly a friend."
"A cop?" Was I in danger or something?
"You'd be surprised what I've run into."
"Really? So, what's the rules? If I don't know them, how am I supposed to know if you break them?" I ask, smiling.
"You have point... I can't stay overnight. I have to be out of here by eleven and I can't be here any sooner than six AM unless you call me and it's an emergency such as a breakdown, burglary, and all that good stuff. I cannot physically harm anyone unless we are threatened, then I have permission to use necessary force."
