Baghdad Blues by Paul Kendel

Author:Paul Kendel
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781636241739
Publisher: Casemate
Published: 2022-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Man’s Best Friend

Passing the tents on his way to the internet trailer, Sergeant K stopped to say hello to Gunslinger. As the only female in A-Co she couldn’t co-exist with 20 other dudes in a tent, so a small trailer had been procured. He knocked on the door. “Come in.” He opened the door and stepped inside expecting to find her alone with a smile on her face. Instead, he found her in bed with Private Stoner with a smile on his face. Stoner was playing a video game.

“Hey, Sergeant,” Stoner said with a goofy look while Gunslinger smiled sheepishly. He couldn’t think of a thing to say, so he turned and walked out. Heading to the MWR he was speechless. At least they looked happy. One had to find companionship in a combat zone when and where they could. In Iraq, each day, hour, and minute, was precious. He’d been going to the combat stress facility for six months now, bitching about his ex-wife and other issues. He needed to stop blaming her for all his problems and failures—he’d accomplished most of those by himself. He’d planned to get his PhD. and teach at a distinguished college if possible but that didn’t happen. Instead, he got married. He made his choices—no one forced them upon him—and he got two great kids out of the deal. As Tennyson wrote, it was better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all. His ex might be inconsiderate and forgetful, but she wasn’t bitter or angry. She’d moved on and he hadn’t. He had a lot to look forward to if he just took the time to realize it, but he had to make it out of Iraq first.

At the internet trailer he ordered some books from Amazon. This usually cheered him up and helped make him not look so pathetic when everyone else got mail. He bought two—Bram Stoker’s Dracula and another Richard Sharpe novel by Bernard Cornwell. After placing his order, he checked his email: “Important message concerning your student loans.” They’d been deferred for this deployment. What could they want? he wondered. Clicking on it he discovered that his ex-wife had failed to submit the paperwork confirming his military status as she’d promised. This meant that his student loan repayments were officially in arrears. Jesus. It’s my own fault. I never should have trusted her to take care of it anyway.

He left the trailer agitated and cranky and tried to call her on his cell phone. He knew he shouldn’t in his current state of mind, but he couldn’t help himself. Standing on top of a cement bunker he hoped for a decent reception. He moved back and forth from one end to the other. Nothing. He gave the phone one more chance. To his surprise, it worked. When his ex-wife answered she seemed in a good mood. Unfortunately, his boys were at a friend’s house.

“The boys are getting so big, Tom, I can’t believe it.

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