Four months Till Return
Training is hard. I've never experienced the pain or humiliation until boot camp. Today, I was beaten and then put on a leash to walk around camp. Nasty names were said , "you son of a bitch", "you filthy mutt". That's the thing about the Marines, they break you down piece by piece. These people were my friends, how could they hurt me? I lost a fight , that's why. I don't deserve praise. God, thank goodness Rach isn't here, my baby would be embarrassed to see me give up like this. I love getting her letters.
Dear Mikey,
I miss you like crazy. I'm so proud of you. It turns out I'm pregnant and he's a little boy. When you get home, he and I will be waiting for you at the gate!
Love, Rachel
PS So proud of my marine
When I read things like this, it makes me believe I can hold on 4 more months.
2 months Till Return
Today we moved our ship to the outside of the coast of part of the Middle East. The war is picking up and I feel as if we are next. There were 6 units lost two days ago , they were supposed to be a peace enforcement. Everyday I'm thankful it's not me. It's selfish to say I'm glad those people died and not me, but I am. I hate war. I just want Rach.
Three Days Later
We are being attacked . Three bombs have hit the lower quarters. I have escaped to the top just before my own watery death. These people are vicious and are programmed to kill. I watched them brutally rip apart Dan from squad 11, he was already dead but they wanted to bathe in his blood. That's the thing about these people, they kill for sheer fun. The battle is picking up, our ship is going to loose this, I can feel it. Rach, if you ever read this, I love you and our sweet baby boy. He's going to be beautiful and you're going to be a great mother. Rach, don't you ever fo-
Hospitalized
I can't move or see. I can hear the steady beat of the machines singing. There are tubes up my nose, down my throat, to my urinary tack and in my arm. My body does a self evaluation and determines many things are not right. Little notifications go off in my head: your foot hurts, where's your left arm, you have 6 broken ribs, and other things. Soon, I hear something familiar, a feminine voice.
"What do you mean Sir? ", she asks. I've heard this voice before but where? Someone touches my hand, my only hand now, and it's soft and warm. It caresses my tattered hand while the supposed other figure in the room paces, his shoes click was he walks.
"Ma'am, you're husband is in too critical of a condition to be treated", he says with a sigh. Before he finishes his sentence, the lady drops. Violent sobs erupt from her very depths which shake the room.
"Ma'am", he tries again, "I've done all I can. I cannot give him the blood amount he's long lost or give back his arm. I cannot repair his heart or his lower body to a point where he could walk again. " This just causes the lady to cough and sob harder. I then sense that she has gotten up because I feel a dead weight sitting on my bed.
" Can he hear me?" , she chokes.
"Yes Ma'am", he says softly. Her hand finds mine again.
"May I have tonight with him?" , she asks ever so gently. I assume he nods and then leaves the room because the door clicks shut. The lady sighs and her hand moves to my swollen forehead, lightly grazing me.
"Oh baby, what have they done to you?" She carefully changes position to lay her head on my chest. I feel water seep through my article of clothing. Her body shutters against mine and she lightly groans.
"What am I gonna do? They took you away, every bit of you. Why?" She utters another sob and curls closer to me. Who is she? Whoever is with her is lucky. Her head shifts and her hair brushes my cheek. My goodness, it's so soft.
"Our son will never have a father/son day or go fishing with his dad or to go play ball with. He will never know fatherly love." Who is this woman?
"God, Mikey you probably think I've gone crazy." No, you're not, keep talking. She curls tighter to me and her scent somehow makes it up to my nose, it's like fresh roses. Another scent then enters my nasal cavity, the scent I remember from long ago, alcohol. I hear her pour a tall glass of what I determine is wine.
"I wanted to drink to celebrate when you came home but not like this Mikey.", she mumbles. I hear her gulp down the glass and she moaned in grief. Her soft, delicate hand reaches my cheek again and she whispers to me, " I'm so proud of you. Mikey, you're so brave. I love you, don't you ever forget that. My brave Marine, I'm so proud to be called Mrs. Rachel Stevens" The hum of machines fill the void of silence. I then feel what I make out to be lips press against my cheek, forehead, and then my bruised lips. They're so warm and the warmth travels through my body, even my nerveless legs feel it. Whoever this lady is, she deserves the best.
Rachel, since I have learned her name, has not left my side for a couple of hours now. She's told me everything about her crazy life and even how she has fallen in love with a Marine, his name is Mikey. I can still only hear her, I bet I look like a messed up doll who's polished with my own sweat and ointment. She doesn't care. She continues to tell me every inch of her life, she broke her arm at age 14 because she fell off her bike and her favorite color is blue, that's Mikey's favorite too. She tells me about her abusive mother and how her brother died at 17 due to a car crash. She went to college at Harvard and she majored in business. She's with child , man that Mikey guy is lucky, and she loves her man. I just don't understand why she's spending so much time with me. Rachel's voice is lovely, I don't even have to look at her to know she looks just as lovely. I wish I could tell her.
"You know, I've never told you my new joke I heard. God , you'd love it", she giggles a bit, she's tipsy. "What do you call a fish with no i's?" ,she pauses like she wants me to say "what", " A fsh" Rachel Stevens snorts because she is laughing so hard.
"Come on Mikey, it's funny" , she tugs my arm but then sobers up when she remembers, " it's real funny Mikey." She settles back on the bed and I can hear her heart in her voice, " Mikey , you can't leave me, I", it cracks, " I love you, my strong Marine"
And with that, I couldn't hear Mrs. Rachel Stevens anymore.
