Hidden Letters by Audrey Ravine

Author:Audrey Ravine [Ravine, Audrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-11T16:00:00+00:00

Afghanistan

July 30, 2010

Seven Years Later

“Knock, knock?” Rodgers says walking into my four by four room—if what I sleep in constitutes a room.

“Rodgers, you know if you walk in without me saying so, your knocking is pointless, right?”

“Fuck, what bug crawled up your ass, man. I just wanted to see if you wanted to work out.”

We’ve been deployed for close to seven months, meaning Eric and I are in the best shapes of our lives. When we’re not on duty we’re in the gym. What the fuck else are we going to do in this desert? I was surprised when we got deployed together when he had been at Arizona for so long and I was in Hawaii for a good two years. It was nice when they transferred me to Arizona five years ago.

Granted over the last two years I’ve been living more of a nomad life than anything else. About a year after he and Biz tied the knot he started taking advantage of the months it takes between post deployment and pre-deployment. Me on the other hand, I’ve been part of a rapid deployment situation. Every time I’m supposed to head home for post-deployment, I find another team headed out to the sandpit and hitch a ride with them.

“Nothing,” I bark at what has become my best friend.

“Dude, what’s up?”

“You know it’s been seven years since we graduated SOL and went to Surf City?”

“Since we, yeah, I guess it has been a long time.” Eric moves closer to me while I sit on my bunk. “Why are you being nostalgic all of a sudden?”

Turning to pick up the stack of papers beside me, I drop them to the floor between my feet. Sadie’s picture fluttering to land on top of the pile. It’s been seven years and this day haunts me still, leaving a chill deep in my bones.

“Her? I thought you broke up with her after graduation. Why do you still have her picture?”

“I did break up with her. Her being Sadie,” I say, unable to take my eyes off her joy filled golden ones staring back at me from the glossy photo.

“Then what’s this about? I want to go workout.”

“Then go workout, man. I didn’t ask you to come in here. I’m morning here. Same as I do every year on this day.”

“Alright. Lay it on me. We’re going to talk about this once then never again. Why do you still have Sadie’s photo if you broke up with her seven years ago?” Rodgers sits down on the bed beside me. Leaning forward I rest my elbows on my knees, shaking my head.

“She was a dancer. Like a legit dancer, even got a scholarship to college for it. She was amazing—gliding across the stage like she was meant to do nothing else. That’s why I broke up with her.” I’d been to see her dance a few years ago. Hid in the back for her senior performance and snuck out the back during the standing ovation.

“That beach condo we rented was the trip I’ll always remember.

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