The Magical Stranger by Stephen Rodrick

Author:Stephen Rodrick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

Tupper’s phone kept ringing that afternoon while he was meeting with one of his chiefs. He finally picked up. It was CAG asking him to stop by his office as soon as possible. Tupper headed down a few minutes later. CAG offered no small talk. He told him he wasn’t going to get one of the top two fit reps among the squadron skippers. Tupper just nodded, expressing no emotion. Finally, he asked a question.

“If there’s an area I haven’t seen or an area I should have focused on, can you let me know what that is?”

CAG nodded. He quickly ticked off the cruise lowlights: Seaman Headden’s accident, the Midway Island fiasco, and Crapper’s botched accident report.

Tupper didn’t respond. There wasn’t anything to say. CAG told Tupper to call Beth and let him know in the next forty-eight hours his preference for his next duty station.

Tupper knew this was a farce. He was destined for Navy middle management, which meant more sea duty. He would retire with full benefits and there was even a chance he could still make captain if he stuck it out for another five years. But he’d never run his own ship or command sailors again. He had gone from Top Gun to Willy Loman in five minutes. Two hours later, he still couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

“I thought I was going down for I don’t know what. It was literally like a drive-by shooting.” He referenced the ill-fated Black Raven flight over Midway. “I can’t believe Hot Carl and some below-average electronic countermeasures officers are going to sink my career.”

I could see he regretted trashing his guys the moment after he said it. But he was crushed. He had already called Beth. She was pissed about the timing. Couldn’t they have waited a week? Couldn’t they let him enjoy his fly-in and his homecoming? But they both knew the Navy didn’t work that way. Timing, feelings, and emotions were civilian luxuries. All he could do now was catch his breath.

“I think CAG underestimated how far we’ve come,” he said quietly. His eyes were glassy. “I’m completely unprepared to deal with this.”

I asked him who he thought was going to get the top slot between the COs. He let himself slip back into bitterness.

“It’s going to be Mongo Koss, the Hornet guy next door. Everyone always knew he was the golden child. He’s a great guy, but he’s got the newest jets on the flight deck.”

A thousand thoughts were rushing through Tupper’s head. Should he apply for an IA slot in Afghanistan or Iraq? Maybe he could do that for a year; that would bring him right up to twenty. That would allow the girls to stay in the same schools. Or maybe a ground job in Pax River? But that place had so many bad memories from back when the girls were small and Beth was sick. Should he tell Vinnie? Or maybe that just made him a lame duck.

I tried to make him feel better.

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