In The Company Of Monsters

Devildogs Import/Export

Mitch Puller sat behind his desk, flipping through a sheaf of papers. The shipping reports kept track of all cargo coming into, and going out of, Devildogs Imports/Exports. 

Pushing 60, he’d rather be handing this shit over to someone else to deal with. He’d done his bit in Vietnam, with two Purple Hearts and a permanent limp to show for it. In any fair world, he’d be retired by now, a beer in one hand and a fishing rod (or hot redhead) in the other. But this wasn’t that world.

He had escaped the jungle, and made it back to the States with 96% of his body intact. Things should have been easier then. And they were, for a while. He hooked up with a really cute girl, Suzanne. Looked like a goddamned shampoo model. Sometimes he’d just stare at her, a dumb grin on his face, until she’d tell him, “Mitch, quit. You’re doing it again.”

They had a lot of sex, of course. Sometimes, it was even like they do it in the movies. On the kitchen table, against the wall, all that shit. But they had some great talks too. Those dinners that seem to fly by, but when you look up, the wait staff is pissed that you’re keeping them there past closing.

Everything was great, until it wasn’t. One day, they just ran out of things to say. After that, it wasn’t long before they ran out of places to fuck. And, that was that. Good memories, though.

He started spending more time with his old Lieutenant, Peter Mathers, and his wife June. He knew they felt a little sorry for him, but it was worth it, having friendly faces around. After Suzanne left, his small apartment could feel damn empty.

Peter had made Captain before coming home, and he and June fit the officer lifestyle well. Bridge night was Wednesdays. Beer for the men, Grasshoppers for the wives. Peter taught War History classes while June spent her time organizing fund raisers for a never ending list of worthwhile charities.

They had a daughter, Lily, who just made things better. Mitch got invited to a lot of barbecues at the Mathers house, which he appreciated. He and the Captain had been through a lot together. It felt good to know their friendship had outlasted all the crap they’d been through.  Shortly after Lily took her first steps, Mitch was named Lily’s godfather. As the years stacked up, friendship evolved into family.

Things starting going to hell in November of ’86. Peter and June were driving back from the Marine Corps Ball when a drunk driver jumped his lane, and plowed his pickup into them. They’d been killed instantly. Thankfully, two year old Lily hadn’t been in the car with them. 

Mitch was still in shock when he got a call from a lawyer. In his will, Peter had requested Mitch be given sole custody of Lily, in case his wife was also deceased. At first, Mitch panicked. He knew exactly nothing about children. But he had the trust of his Captain and that meant a lot. 

There was a little money to help him and Lily get started, but not much. There was crying and a lot of stress, but slowly they found their way together. Lily grew into a sassy teenager, complete with questionable taste in both music and boys.

Then a week after her 16th birthday, Lily lost her sight.

It was rare for someone her age, but hypermature cataracts slowly made Lily blind. Her eyes turned a milky white that disturbed most everyone, so she took to wearing special contacts or dark glasses. Surprisingly, Lily seemed to adapt quickly to her new reality. Much more so than Mitch did. For months, he swung from sorrow to impotent rage. Through it all, Lily comforted him, until he finally felt guilty at her needing to. After that, his Marine Corps spirit returned and he began planning for their future.

A friend was selling an import/export business down at the port. It seemed like something they could do together. And if it did ok, it’d be something he could leave to Lily. Together, they signed the papers, and then sat on the building’s roof, drinking cheap champagne all night and watching the ships come and go.