During my fourth year in the Army, I got promoted to 2nd lieutenant. My first assignment was a deployment to Afghanistan.
I thought it was ridiculous that I got that assignment because supposedly we were already gone from there. Kristina was upset about it, too.
Most of the deployment went off without a hitch. In fact, it was boring. Mostly desk work and some manual labor (I didn't see why I couldn't do the same thing at Camp Williams, but I didn't want to frustrate myself by thinking about it too much). Kristina was happy to see me during my leave halfway through.
During the last month, I was ordered to lead a supply convoy through Kabul. I wasn't scared because there hadn't been reports of casualties there in years. Turns out my convoy had the dubious honor of being the first in that many years.
A rocket propelled grenade hit the first jeep which I was in. The driver was killed. I was hit with shrapnel in my left shoulder and thigh; the two soldiers in the back were unscathed.
I didn't feel my injuries at first. I was too adrenalized and pissed off. I thought to myself, "Really? I'm in this stupid country that I shouldn't even be in; I'm almost done with this deployment, and these thugs couldn't respect a simple SUPPLY CONVOY! I want to go home and see my wife, goddammit."
Enraged, I hopped out of the busted humvee, yelling like a psycho gone berserk. I took cover behind the front driver's side, whipped out my .45 and shot at anything that moved. I don't know if I hit anybody, because they were far away, and because the Humvee behind us was laying waste to the bastards with the .50 caliber machine gun.
After a few seconds, I felt a sudden tug on my right shoulder and I hear, "Get in the Humvee, Lieutenant! Now! We're outta here!" I hobbled to the back of the second Humvee, practically thrown in there by the Sergeant. As we flew out of there, my injuries finally started hurting. It was a miserable combination of needles and burns that I felt. I couldn't focus on being glad to be alive. All I could think of was the pain. The medic bandaged the wounds, stopped the bleeding, and gave me some Morphine. I passed out.
Next thing I knew, I was in a hospital. It didn't look familiar. "Morning, Lieutenant. You're in Rammstein hospital." "In Germany?" I asked in a daze. "Yes. And my name is Captain McNamee. I'll take care of you." That's Lucy Bednarz's husband. Later, Lucy (also an Army nurse) came in, commended me for my bravery, and says it's bittersweet to reunite with a friend after all these years in this way.
I got another surprise: the Army paid for my wife Kristina to fly to Germany and visit me. What a joyful reunion. I hadn't seen her beautiful face in too long. It made my heart feel good. "I lost weight, honey!" I laughed that that's the first thing she reports to me. "I went with Suzanne to do Zumba at the gym and I've been sticking to my gluten free diet. I wanted to look good for you when you came home."
"Honey, you didn't have to do that. You were always beautiful. But I'm proud of you for exercising and eating healthy."
"I know, now I'm hot and I can finally fit in my old clothes." We both chuckled.
"Kristina!" I laughed, embarrassed, "I don't care what size you are."
"I do." She smiles.
She caressed my arm, "Why did they do this to you? I wish I could talk to those bad guys and punch them in the face." We laughed again.
"They're probably dead, honey."
"I know, I just wish I could tell them, 'You know what? My husband is coming home soon and he's just delivering supplies. He's not here to kill anyone. Just leave him alone.'"
"You're so sweet."
"And why did the Army even make you go in the first place? You're not supposed to be fighting on the front lines."
"Believe me, honey, I've asked myself that a million times. But I guess since other guys are dying it's not fair to keep the rest of us out of harm's way."
"I know. Do you have to do this every time?"
"Probably not, especially with these injuries."
"Ok. Just please think about getting out, alright? I enjoyed it while it lasted. It's time for you to be a daddy."
My jaw dropped, "You're pregnant?"
"Yes. I wanted to surprise you. Did you like the surprise?"
"Yes!"
*This post is a work of fiction and is dedicated to the brave men and women in the armed forces.
