Page 39 of A Soldier's Return

He shifted. “How did you know he was lobbying hard for that?”

She shrugged. “Lucky guess. I know how proud he is of you and how thrilled he is to have you back. It makes sense that he would want to make it permanent. He said your term of service is done but you’re considering signing up for another few years.”

He sipped at his beer, his gaze focused on the band setting up.

“Do you love the military that much?” She had to ask.

“It’s not that I love it, necessarily. But I know I’m making a difference. I feel a certain...responsibility to continue doing what I’m doing.”

“You could make a difference here, too.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“Why isn’t it?”

He was quiet, sipping at his beer again. “It’s complicated.”

“Doesn’t seem like it to me.”

“I’m good at what I do. I don’t say that to be cocky, but there’s something very fulfilling in knowing I’m helping people who have very few options available to them.”

“I can see that.”

“To be honest, I’m also not sure I’m ready to settle in one place. The idea of seeing the same patients day after day for the rest of my life seems so...final.”

To her, that sounded like a dream come true. She yearned for roots. She had gone to nursing school before she and Cody were married and had barely earned her license before he decided it was time to move to Hawaii, where she had to retake her license requirements. They had lived in a half-dozen places during the five years they were married and she had to become relicensed three times.

She had loved staying in one place and having the chance to get to know their patients a little better.

She supposed everybody had different needs.

Before he could respond, Stew Peters, who ran the bar, went to the microphone. “Hey, everybody. Thanks for coming out. As you all know, it’s locals’ night tonight. Performing for the first time here at The Haystacks, give it up for Puddle of Love.”

She and Eli clapped with enthusiasm as Tiffany took to the stage, looking far different from the young woman Melissa had seen the day before, leaving the office in blue scrubs and a ponytail. Oddly, she also didn’t resemble the leather-clad, big-haired rocker Melissa had seen fronting the band the last time she had seen them, at a little dive in Manzanita before Christmas.

This time she was dressed in a simple flowered dress, with her multicolored hair pulled back in a modest headband. Except for the multiple piercings and the vivid hair, she looked like a coed who had stopped into the bar between classes.

She took the microphone and the band behind her started up. As Melissa looked closer, she noticed several significant changes. The drummer was the same, but the guy on lead guitar and the girl playing bass were new to the band.

Tiffany’s look and the band personnel weren’t the only changes. She could tell after the first few bars. Puddle of Love had mellowed their sound significantly, cutting down on the screaming, angry lyrics and allowing Tiffany’s strong contralto voice to come through.

By the time her friend finished the first song, Melissa was clapping along with the rest of the tavern crowd.

“I feel like I missed something here,” he leaned in to say when there was a break in the music. “Were you deliberately trying to give me low expectations? They sound great to me.”

“This isn’t the same Puddle of Love I’ve heard before, trust me. This is Puddle of Love 2.0.”

“I like it.”

“So do I.”

They both settled in to enjoy the music, mostly covers of rock ballads that somehow sounded evocative and unique with Tiffany’s voice. When the set finished, the medical assistant walked through the crowd, greeting people she must have known, until she came to their table.

She looked impossibly young. “You guys came. Wow! I never thought you would.”

“I’m glad I got to hear you before I leave town,” Eli said. “That was terrific. You’ve got a gift.”

The nurse’s aide looked at Melissa.

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