Project Whores

Chapter 6

Denial. Two days passed and Kyle did not see or hear from Joice. He didn’t see her at the DFAC and he even went by her office a few times looking for her, although he did not go inside. On day three, she texted him to let him know she had found her phone. He checked himself for being so relieved to hear from her, then went outside and called her.

“Hi,” she said, softly, when she answered.  He imagined her squinting.

“I see you found your phone,” Kyle said, cheesing.

“I went to the Green Bean last night and that soldier gave it to me. He said I left it on the table, so he took it in hopes that he would see me again and could return it to me. I thought that was so nice of him.”

Kyle agreed and said, “So, how is going to the Green Bean helping you with staying awake?”

“Well, it’s not really. I fell asleep at the table twice last night,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“At the Green Bean?” Kyle asked, incredulously, picturing her face down on one of the small tables with all those people staring at her.

“Yes,” she answered, calmly, “I don’t think anyone really noticed because I was reading and since I can’t see, I always have my head bowed low. In the unlikely event anyone was actually looking at me, they probably thought I was reading or praying, but I was knocked out. I don’t think I’ll be doing that anymore. That poor little guy woke me up and walked me home.”

Kyle shook his head in disbelief. Who could fall asleep in the Green Bean? “Well, will I see you tonight?” he asked, more excitement in his voice than he intended.

“Yes,” she said, “same time as last time.”  

Kyle contemplated his upcoming tryst with Joice for the rest of the morning. Too easy, he thought and smiled to himself. Feigning interest in her and her daily activities seems to do the trick with her. Obviously, not calling did not have the effect on her it should have. Maybe it didn’t have the effect on me it should have… No problem, I can do this; I just have to switch tactics. He self-confessed to being a syllable short of his A game with this one. She threw him off with her honesty and total lack of pretentiousness. While she was definitely someone he wanted to keep on his radar, she also had a way about her that made him think she might want exclusivity, and Kyle simply was not having any of that.

While he ruminated, Task walked in his office and said, “Hey man, I have the vehicle, you wanna go to the east side for lunch? They’re having gumbo.”

The east side was the other side of the base and newer employees lived over there, or, if you worked on the east side then it was likely you lived there also. Many people resided in open bay tents on the east side. It was less developed and less desirable than the west side for a long time, but that was changing. It was quickly becoming the place to be, since the living quarters being built there were more modern than the ones on the coveted west side. The DFAC on the east side was known for its delicious gumbo, but you had to get there early, because they frequently ran out before lunch was over. During the ride, they talked about the fact that Kyle had been slacking as far as working out was concerned.

“I know man, but I’m back and I guess I’ll just have to show you who I am when we go to the clamshell tent tonight,” Kyle said, arrogantly.

“Please,” Task replied, “don’t embarrass yourself.”

They both laughed, but Kyle promised he would get back into his routine. Even though there was a new gym in a hard structure with state of the art equipment, Kyle and Task still liked to go to the clamshell which was a tent, turned into a gym, and whose shape would remind one of, well, a clam’s shell. When they got to the DFAC, the line was long, but it was moving quickly.

While they were eating, Raquel and her friend Dani came to their table to say hello. Dani was a pretty blonde from the Balkans and Raquel’s best friend. Damn! Even on the east side I can’t get away from her, Kyle thought.

“Hey Raquel, what are you doing over here?” Task said, seeing Kyle had no intention of speaking to her.

“Hi Task, how are you?” Raquel said, talking to Task, but eyeballing Kyle. Task nodded and looked at Kyle, but his head was down. “I’m covering down for someone who’s on R&R. He’s due back in a couple of days,” Raquel replied, in answer to Task’s question. Just then Kyle’s phone vibrated. He was getting irritated and pushed the button to reject Joice’s call.

“Where’s your patient, Kyle?” Raquel asked, and laughed. He looked at her, but said nothing. “You better keep your eye on her because she can barely make it to the DFAC and back without spilling something or tripping.”

“Oh yeah, remember the other day when she came to do that audit and she knocked over all those boxes? ‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’” Dani said, her thick accent adding to her comical description of that day’s events. She squinted over imaginary glasses and mocked Joice, much to Raquel’s amusement. Kyle felt his temper rising and wondered why.

“Who are they talking about?” Task asked when the two women walked away.

“Joice Battle,” Kyle said, evenly.

“Rejoice?” Task said, raising his eyebrows.

“Do you know her?” Kyle asked.

“Rejoice and I go way back and I’m glad I didn’t know who they were talking about, because I would have unleashed on both of them,” Task said, seriously.

Should I or should I not? Kyle thought. “How do you know her?” he asked, unable to resist.

“We worked together in Iraq and on an O&G in the States. I know her and Dante very well. They even took a few trips with Selena and me. Of course, we were still together then. But Rejoice is one of the sweetest women I know. She is real and what I love most about her is she will tell you the truth no matter what. She’s a little goofy I admit, but definitely good people.”

Kyle felt his stomach flip-flop, but he had to know. “Who is Dante?” he asked, trying to sound matter of fact.

“Dante Specter is her significant other. They’ve been together for a while but they’re not married, yet,” Task answered, starting to wonder what was up with the 20 questions.

“Wait a minute,” Kyle said. “Do you mean Dante Specter as in the Dante Specter who used to be the country manager in Iraq?”

“One and the same,” Task replied. “He’s some bigwig in Kuwait now.”

While driving back to work, Task said, “Kyle, were they implying that you have something going with Rejoice?”

Kyle was thoughtful for a moment and said, “I only recently met her. We left the DFAC at the same time the other day; she was spilling her coffee and I helped her out and walked her to the office. Apparently, Raquel saw us and she’s making a big deal out of it.”

Task was quiet, and Kyle had a feeling he thought there was more to the story, but was thankful he was letting it go for now.

When Kyle got back to his office he had a text from Joice: I just called to say hello, was her message. She was too dense to realize he’d rejected her call.

I don’t need you calling me to say hello. His mood had turned foul. Between dealing with Raquel’s childishness and finding out Joice had a boyfriend who just happened to be Dante Specter… His return text was short and to the point: I’m busy. A few minutes later his phone vibrated again.

I apologize but there was no need to be discourteous, she wrote back. Kyle shook his head and stuck his phone back in his pocket. “Discourteous,” he mumbled under his breath as he walked to his office.