The Army Stole My Brother

My dad walked out first, he was holding my mom’s hand. Then my brothers walked out. They were messing around with each other; Dakota had Nevada in a headlock. I was the last one out of the movie theater after watching Act of Valor on a Sunday afternoon. I ran to catch up with the boys, I grabbed Dakota by the arm and held on tight. He looked down at me and before he could ask me why I was cutting off the circulation to his hand I said, “Dakota, I’m not strong enough for you to do what we just watched.”