The days turned to weeks and the weeks to months. One night, after a long day at work,
She remembered waking the following morning and it seemed all a bad dream but reality quickly hit. The bad part of the dream was that it was actually real. Can it get any worse?
Fortunately, work was a routine she could easily manage. She found herself regularly looking at Jack's patient information on the computer when no one was looking. Still, she made it through the day with no tears and, in her mind at least, that was a major accomplishment.
Charlotte also remembered trying to decide whether or not she would cross off each day on the calendar until Jack would return. She did put a little dot on the days. She may still put a big "X" through the days. Maybe when the day gets closer.
She decided send him a letter or email every day. She knew his world was changing like hers but in ways she was certain she may never fully understand. While he would see war, she would be reminded of him by the many places they had been together. She would see them every day and her heart would be broken. He would have no reminders of home except his memories and whatever he brought with him. She wanted to give him snippets of home as often as possible.
Jack's days were filled with training, patrols, boredom and terror. His skills were continually being honed. However, while becoming an efficient killer, he was being taught how to "win the hearts and minds" of the people. While this seemed odd at first, Jack quickly realized it was better to have allies in a foreign land than to have everyone your enemy. He already knew that the enemy there wore no uniform. The enemy looked just like the civilians. The training that hit home the most was told by his commanding officer who did a tour in
His CO told the story of an old woman stole a small box of ammunition. There she was, hunched with osteoporosis and walking away with that box. Occasionally, she looked back at them with a toothless grin. The CO told his troops huddled around him that they believed she thought she had a box of food. Since many people in the area were hungry it was common for locals to steal. Now they were faced with a dilemma. Due to the distance she was away from them, it wouldn't be long before she would be out of sight. What if she actually was working with the Taliban and they got a hold of the ammo? The CO was responsible for it and the lives of the people it would be used against. Do they shoot her? She's an old woman. How would he feel if someone shot his grandma? People began yelling at her to stop. She continued walking.
The CO screamed for a magazine with tracer rounds. He began to shoot tracer bullets close to the old woman in the hopes she would drop box. Zing! Zing! Each round cracked by her getting closer and closer. Finally the old woman got the message and dropped the box. She turned and shook a fist and them and screamed something. Then she walked off.
Finally, the CO said that each of them may be faced with choices they don't want to make. A local may start walking toward them and they may have a bomb under their clothing. You want locals to keep their distance whenever possible. It is necessary for them to stop and show what is under their clothes. If they don't you may have to shoot them. You may be sorry if you shoot someone. You may be sorrier if you don't.
Jack longed to hold Charlotte. He wanted to feel her, touch her, smell her. He strained to recall each time he had heard her laugh. She had a contagious giggle. He also missed his family. How he wished he could convey to all of them how much he loved them.
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