Christmas Outing by A. E. Wasp

Author:A. E. Wasp
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A. E. Wasp

Five

blue christmas

Troy

Looking his family in the eye was a little awkward the next day.

They pulled into the driveway after trip number five to the grocery store to get one last ingredient his mother had forgotten about or ran out of or just decided she needed this very minute. Judging from the crowds at the store, she wasn’t the only cook with this issue.

Of course, it took longer than it should have to shop because it seemed everyone had to greet Troy and welcome him back. Some people hadn’t known he was back from Afghanistan at all; he’d been and gone so quickly. After the fourth recitation of the Abridged History of Troy, he wished he had a card printed up. His parents must be falling down on their jobs. Usually, everyone in town, it seemed, knew all the details of his life.

He assured several mutual friends he would be at the Catholic Church for mass this year.

Dmitri hung back, good buddy distance away, as one person after another greeted Troy.

“So good to see you, man,” Leroy, an old friend from high school said in front of the frozen vegetable case. The bag of spinach he held smacked against Troy’s back with each manly back thump. “We really need to catch up. Can you come over for dinner next week? Suzanne would love to see you.”

“Oh, I can’t. I have to get back to Colorado. Work, you know.”

Leroy nodded. “Yeah. I know. But promise you’ll come back for longer next time. Okay? We have to hang out.”

“I promise.”

“Are you on Facebook?”

“Yeah. Kind of.”

“Okay, look me up. At least I can make you look at pictures of my kids.” Leroy grabbed his arm again. “So good to see you, man. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t be.”

Dmitri waited until Leroy was out of earshot. “Do you know everybody in town?”

“I was born and raised here, the youngest of four. It’s not a big town.”

Dmitri trailed behind Troy as they headed to the checkout. “It must be really lonely for you in Red Deer.”

Troy stopped short, and Dmitri bumped into him. Was it? He should be lonely, he guessed. He’d been surrounded by people his whole life, and then in the army, no one was ever alone. Ever.

“Troy?”

He turned to look at Dmitri, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not. Not lonely at all. I love it. I love just hanging out with you and with our weird little group of friends. I love the mountains and the rivers. I love it all.”

And I love you; he wanted to say. He should be able to say it, say it out loud. Again, he was struck by how unfair it was. If Dmitri had been a girl, and some nosey neighbor heard Troy say I love you to her, there would be oohs and awws and how sweet. If he said it here, now, he was afraid all he would get was a punch in the face. Or, remembering Leo, worse.

“Good.” Dmitri’s smiled let Troy know he’d heard the unsaid words.

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