Through Thick and Thin (Anthony Rizzo)

See You Around

Anthony

"Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous" I whisper to myself over and over again as I stand outside of Jazmyn's door. I had a little "Welcome to Chicago" basket in my hands as I work up the courage to talk to her. Just to knock on her door at this point.

We've texted every so often for the last few days and I learned she just moved to Chicago for the first time. She was in a situation a lot like me coming into this city during the pandemic, only she hasn't been here before and she doesn't even get to see the best parts of this city before being locked away like some Disney Princess. So I wanted her to make her feel welcomed considering her first time here she's stuck inside.

After suppressing nervous throw up I knock on the door and she answers. She had her long blonde hair back tight and a tight white shirt on. The little pink shorts she was wearing not leaving a lot to the imagination. I swallow hard as I look her over. She was super fit and honestly it was kind of intimidating.

"Hey" I start as my voice cracks making me cringe. She giggles a little as she waits for me to continue. "I'm sorry, I don't know why that happened" I admit.

"You don't have to apologize" she assures me. "We're both human here, no harm done."

"I just wanted to bring you this welcome basket filled with some Chicago things since you can't go out and see it yet. There's a little snow globe with the Willis tower and a cloud gate statue. Some popcorn from Garrett's and a gift card to Portillos... which is closed now so I guess that's not really useful" I ramble on.

"Anthony" she says softly as she rests her hand on my hand. Her touch was so soft it made me feel both safe and crazy at the same time. "This is really sweet, I love it, thank you" she smiles.

"You're very welcome" I smile back.

"Why don't you come on in. I'm pretty much done moving in so it isn't too messy" she insists.

She takes the basket and I follow her into her apartment. We get inside and my eyes go big when I see what she had done to the place. Her apartment was identical to mine in set up but not in achievements hanging on the wall. "You were in the army" I ask when I see all her medals and honorable things hanging up on the wall. All the badges from one of her uniforms in shadow boxes with a American flag folded up and stuck to the wall. There wasn't a lot of space left after all of her achievements were up.

"I served in the Army from the time I was 18 right up until now. So about 13 years of service with a few little breaks sprinkled in" she explains.

"That actually makes a lot of sense, you're totally ripped" I admit. I quickly cover my mouth when I realize that's something I really should have said in that moment.

"You've been checking me out" she teases.

"I mean-" I stutter.

"I'm messing with you Anthony. I spent well over a decade surrounded by dudes. Nothing much phases me anymore" she admits.

"So what did you do in the army" I wonder.

"A little bit of everything. I did special ops and was a sniper and did programming of war tactics, the front line stuff and the behind the scenes things too. Things I'm not even allowed to talk about" she explains.

"That's really awesome. Thank you for serving our country. I don't doubt you made us proud every day" I insist.

I walk up to a American flag folded respectfully in its own shadow box on the wall and stop in front of it. She sets her welcome basket down and joins me in my gazing.

"I was a little girl not too long ago, standing up in school with my hand over my heart saying "for one nation under god indivisible for liberty and justice for all". All I wanted was liberty and justice for all.

But no one tells you the cost of liberty, what you have to do in order to serve justice, or how "for all" doesn't truly mean for all. I've killed more than I would like to admit, I've learned secrets I can't unlearn. It's kinda crazy how the exact thing you're trying to fight is exactly what you turn out to be" she says softly.

I feel my shoulders fall as the hurt in her voice becomes unavoidable. I could feel the betrayal and the pain she felt. The conflict between the innocence of that little girl who wanted to help her country and the woman she is now after she did.

So I try to get her mind off of it and still get to know about her. "So what brings you to Chicago" I wonder.

"Opportunities" she admits. "There's a lot of different veteran programs here. I might be out on the fighting and tactics but I still want to do good, serve this nation right" she explains.

"That's good to hear" I admit. "So you'll be around for a while" I wonder.

"I'm was in the army, I don't know how long I'll be anywhere" she admits.

"Is this a place you would want to stay" I ask carefully.

"I served many years in my battalion with a guy from the south side of Chicago. He said it was so bad at one point he felt like fighting over seas was a better idea than trying to fight here. But he loved his city anyway, couldn't wait to come back. He told me stories of the sports teams and the history and all the things to do and I kinda fell in love with the idea of staying here. When I decided I was done with being on the front lines and forcing the fate of innocent people to happen a certain way I wanted something new. Something fresh and fun.

Of course I come during a time I can't go anywhere" she laughs as she shakes her head.

"Well when this is over and if you're still around I would love to show you the city. Maybe even get you out to Wrigley field" I suggest.

"I would really like that" she smiles. "Are you this nice to all your neighbors" she wonders.

"Honestly" I start, "I never even seen my old neighbors."

"Well I'm pretty lucky then" she smirks.

After she shows me around the rest of her penthouse we sit on her couch. She pulls out the gold fish and we snack on them for a little. We get to know each other better and I couldn't help but be more and more intrigued by her path and how she ended up here.

"You had how many siblings" I choke out as I nearly get a goldfish stuck in my throat.

"Five older brothers" she laughs. "And I was the only girl."

"No wonder you went into the army. You were built for it" I laugh.

"I guess I was" she shrugs. "I've been fighting all my life. I fought my brothers, I fought all the kids who tried to pick on me. I watched my dad fight cancer" she says.

"That's a lot of fighting" I admit.

"It is. And it's exhausting. You can't always win either and I know that, but it doesn't make it any easier when you lose" she admits.

"Did your dad win" I wonder.

"The first time yes. But the second time he lost his battle. Not before letting all of us know we were the only reason he fought so hard in the first place. But that's when I decided I wanted to stay over seas and fight for the ones who couldn't. I just didn't know when to stop fighting" she shrugs.

"Well maybe you can stick around here for a while longer than you originally planned. There's a lot of really cool places you can go and things you can do and you can be whatever you want" I assure her.

"I'll think about it" she smirks.

It gets late and I knew I should probably go. She didn't move out here by herself just for someone to bother her all the time. So she walks me to the door but stops me before I leave. "Hey Anthony" she starts, "thank you again for the welcome basket. And for hanging out with me. I was really nervous about being stuck here with no one to talk to. I'm really happy you stopped by" she admits.

"Don't tell me that, then you'll never get rid of me" I tease.

"I'll see you around Anthony" she smiles.

"I'll see you around" I smile back.