Travelin' Soldier

It was two days past Jason Reynolds birthday – his eighteenth birthday. The birthday that finally made him old enough to sign up for the United States Army. The date had been marked in bright red marker on his calendar since January 25th, at 2034 hours. The time he had found out that his father had been killed by a land mine in the country of Korea.

Jason bounced his leg with a sigh as he sat on the bench where the bus would be picking him up. He took a shaky breath, nerves setting in. He knew that this is what he wanted to do. He had known it for two years now, but that didn’t settle the fear of the fact that he was putting his life at risk. Nothing was going to calm that raging ocean inside him.

His Army greens rustled as he grabbed his duffle, slinging it over his shoulder with a sigh. He was trying to remind himself why he had shown up early…four hours early. Honestly, he couldn’t seem to find the reason. The nerves made his stomach churn in an awful way.

He made his way over to the small café that was two blocks down the road. He walked, his shoulder burning by the time that he arrived. He slid into a booth, relieved to get the weight off his shoulder. Basic was going to kick his butt, he was sure of it.

 He opened the menu that lay on the table, scanning it. It was breakfast time, and eggs were sounding quite good to the man. He folded the menu back up, setting it in between the napkin holder and the salt and pepper shakers. He waited for someone to come take his order, tapping his fingers lightly against the table as his leg started to bounce again. His nerves just wouldn’t seem to fade away.

He looked around the café, taking in the local pictures on the wall. He’d been in this café before, but not often. He lived a town over and didn’t come over here often. He didn’t have the time. In the corner was one of those old time juke boxes, which made Jason smile. It wasn’t often that those were seen now days, only in the small towns like this. He got up as he waited for a waitress, and went over, feeding the machine a dollar, punching in a few songs that he liked.

He smiled as he headed back toward the booth he’d been sitting in. He paused when he saw a girl walk over. He took her in, the chestnut hair, half tied back with a white bow, the medium length shorts and modest short sleeve shirt. She was beautiful, in a way that kept her body modest. Her dark brown eyes were accented with a hint of eyeliner, just enough to draw attention to them, but not enough to make her look like a raccoon. He had to force himself to pay attention once she started talking.

“What can I get you?” she asked. He could hear the southern drawl in her voice. It was familiar and comforting. He knew once he went off to basic he wouldn’t be around people that had that little piece of his home.

“Coke, no ice, please. And whatever you recommend as an entrée.” He said after a moment’s pause, nodding, glancing down, his stomach fluttering a little bit. She worked here. She knew the food better than he did. She’d offer him a small smile and nod, writing it down. He noticed her fingernails were painted a light red, and she’d let them grow out a little bit.

“I’ll have that out to you in just a minute.” She promised with a smile, turning to head off. He watched her go, kind of sad to watch her walk away. She had a pretty smile, and he had this strange desire to talk to her. That smile had calmed him, which honestly surprised Jason. That wasn’t something that happened often… he was quite a nervous person when it came to the rest of humanity. His nerves about the Army, though, didn’t seem to be fading any.

He looked up at her as she came back over to him, setting his drink on a napkin. “Your name’s Elizabeth?” he asked softly, seeing it on her nametag. He knew it was a stupid question, but he honestly just wanted an excuse to talk to her. She smiled sheepishly at that, shrugging.

“It is, but everyone calls me Bethany.” She admitted softly. “What’s your name?” he found it strange that she was asking him that. It wasn’t often that waitresses asked their customers that.

“Jason. Jason Reynolds.” He admitted, offering her a tiny smile. She had a sweet voice, he had to admit. It reminded him of his mother and her kitchen songs. She had a set list of songs she would sing while she was cooking, and he could still hear her “Amazing Grace” ringing in his ears.

 “Jason?” came the woman’s voice, surprising him. He blinked, looking up at her.

 “I’m sorry… I zoned out there for a moment. What did you say?” At that, she laughed.

 “I asked if you were heading off to Basic Training.” She said.

 “Yeah…how did you know that?” he asked, not exactly putting everything together, forgetting that he was in his uniform.

 “Well, my brother joined last year, so I know this is the time of the year that they come and pick people up to go down to Training. And you’re wearing Army Greens.” She admitted with a gentle smile.

 “Oh…” Duh… he thought, feeling stupid now. He had forgotten about his uniform. “Your brother is in the Army?” he asked, watching as her head tilted as she listened.

 “Yeah. He enlisted two years ago. I don’t know what base he’s at now, but you might have him as a drill sergeant.” She promised him.

 “Hey…would you mind sitting down for a while and talking to me?” he asked, offering her a small smile. He liked talking to Bethany and it helped to sooth his nerves. Maybe she could help calm him of his fears about Basic. He loved the smile he got in return to her question.

 “I’m off in an hour, and I know where can go.” She soothed, nodding. “Now let me go get your food before my other customers eat me.” She laughed, turning and walking away to go get his food. He’d thank her when she returned with it, eating rather quickly. He’d watch her with the other customers as he waited for that hour to end so they could go somewhere and just talk for a while.

 It was the first time he’d been excited about talking to a girl.