Page 49 of When Our Stars Aligned

“It was a setup.” I hear Aly give a small gasp. “Before we knew it, we were ambushed. They knew if we heard women and children needed our help, we would come to the rescue. We were like fucking fish in a barrel. The first IED threw us from our vehicle. I remember seeing a flash and I blacked out. I came to for only a minute. There was a body on top of mine that shielded me from the brunt of everything.”

I point to my arm. “This was the only body part of mine that was fully exposed. All these marks are from the shrapnel. I have a few on my side, but they aren’t as deep. You have to look really close to see any scarring from them. I woke up the next day in the hospital with a bad concussion and my arm bandaged. The doctors told me I had nerve damage and that I would never regain full use of my arm.”

“I ne-never noticed,” Aly stammers a bit. “I mean, at least when you swim, it doesn’t look like there’s anything wrong.”

“I had some surgeries and did some rehab. It took a while and the VA tells me I only have about seventy percent mobility, but I’d say it’s more like ninety percent.”

“Does it hurt?”

“I feel pain every day, but I push through it. It’s not a debilitating pain, more of a nuisance now. Considering what could’ve happened to me, I don’t complain.”

“Was Travis with you?”

“Remember when I said a body had fallen on top of me and blocked me from the brunt of everything?”

Aly’s eyes turn into saucers. I watch her as she puts two and two together.

“I don’t know what would’ve happened to me had it not been for Travis. Not that he covered me on purpose. That’s just how we landed from the blast. He swears he was knocked unconscious too, but I have a feeling he saw more than me.”

“That’s…wow…” Aly shakes her head back and forth. “How did you handle that emotionally?”

“I dealt with survivor’s guilt big time. We lost two members of our squadron, but knowing that I was spared because of Travis? That was hard.” Every time I look at Travis, I’m reminded of what could’ve happened to me and I think about Taylor and Goodwin more than I’d like to admit. They were both married with small children. Sometimes I wonder why I was spared andthey weren’t. After all, I had no one back home depending on me.

“Do you think what happened brought you two closer, or does seeing one another bring the memory back and make it more difficult?”

“Maybe a little bit of both,” I answer honestly. “In a way, Travis represents the good and bad times. We have a bond. Our whole squadron was a brotherhood. To completely walk away from them and the military would’ve felt like I lost a part of me.” Joining the Navy certainly wasn’t in my plans when I was a teenager, but it did help shape me into who I am. I learned a lot about construction, which I use on a daily basis, and I did enjoy the camaraderie.

“It’s hard to explain…” I trail off. Maybe one day, I will be able to put my feelings into words. Then I’ll tell her. I don’t know what surprises me more—that I’m talking about my feelings or that I’m considering talking to Aly about this again in the future.

“And now you’re best friends and business partners.”

“Yup.” I smile. “Travis had a lot more recovery to do. I visited him every chance I had. He went through a deep depression for a while, but there’s a reason we both survived. I don’t know what it is, but it kept us both going.”

“Thank you for telling me your story.”

“Thank you for listening.” I can’t believe how much I’ve opened up to Aly…and I like it. We sit in comfortable silence as the sun begins to drop lower in the sky. I’ve seen some beautiful sunsets in my life, but nothing compares to the sunsets on the Pacific Coast. And the sweet girl sitting next to me? It just adds to the majesty of it all. Aly starts to shiver as the wind picks up. “Come on,” I tell her. “Let’s get back in the truck and get you warmed up. I think I have an extra hoodie in there.”

I reach out my hand to help Aly off the large flat rock and lead her back towards my truck.

“I know I said it before, but thank you for taking me here.”

“The pleasure was all mine.” I grab my navy and gold hoodie and place it over her head. She pushes her arms through the sleeves but has to roll them up a bit as the size of my clothing swallows her body. I can barely see the hem of her dress and she now looks like she has nothing on but my hoodie.

“This is cozy,” she says happily while shoving her hands in the front pocket. She jumps up into the passenger side of my truck while I slide into the driver’s side. I pray I can keep my eyes on the road for the rest of the drive home.

***

“Parker! What the hell are you doing up there?” Travis yells up to me. I’m on the roof of our latest project house. There was a nasty windstorm last night and it looks like we lost a couple of shingles. I came up to inspect the damage. I know I should’ve waited for him to get here to spot me, but it was an impulse thing. I needed something to do to distract myself from Aly.

Yesterday was incredible. I’ve never opened myself up to anyone like that and it felt surprisingly good. I briefly considered telling her about Maranda and why I joined the military. I still feel rage within me just thinking about it. To find out everything I did was all for nothing, that Maranda had been cheating on me with her brother’s best friend is a story I’m not eager to tell. I hate thinking about it. I don’t regret the military, the guys I met. After all, I grew up there. But I hated that I couldn’t follow my dream.

I wonder what Aly would think if I did tell her the rest of my story. Would she be turned off by the fact that I’m divorced?I shake my head. I can’t even believe I’m thinking these things. I don’t even know if Aly is interested in me. Maybe she’s just nice to everyone and I’m seeing it in bigger doses because of ourcurrent living situation. Then again, I caught a glimpse of her headed to the bathroom last night and she was still wearing my hoodie.

Taking a deep breath, I look up towards the heavens as if all my questions will be revealed in the clouds. A dark spot appears in the sky, growing larger as it gets closer. I watch the black and white blur become clearer and then hear a honk. A large Canadian goose lands on the roof right in front of my ladder.

“Dude! Do you even hear me?” Travis yells to me again.

“Yeah, I hear you, but now I have company.” I let out a groan. I like most wildlife, but these geese can be downright bastards. I take a cautionary step towards the goose. His beady little eyes are fixed on me.

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