Page 30 of Be With Me
“Some of the best around. Let’s go.” Brian didn’t wait for an answer, just walked up the aisle.
“Staff Sergeant Luna? Can I talk to you?” Cassidy’s voice sounded hesitant. Christ, he thought he’d broken the soldier of that. Guess there was more work to do.
Mooney turned to Brian and Mike. “Meet you outside? Give me a minute?” They both nodded and walked off. “What’s up, Cassidy?”
“Um, could you go with me to the courthouse tomorrow?” Cassidy kept shifting from foot to foot and looking everywhere except at Mooney.
“The courthouse? Cassidy, what aren’t you telling me?” Mooney asked gently. Something wasn’t right.
Cassidy took a deep breath and exhaled hard before answering. “My girlfriend from back home got here last night and we’re going to get married tomorrow. I need a witness.”
“You’re getting married tomorrow?” Mooney could tell that there was more to the story here. “Why?”
“She’s… well… um, I guess…” Cassidy was back to stuttering. Mooney knew he’d taught Cassidy how to form a sentence. He let Cassidy stand there for a minute before he prompted him.
“She’s what? A giraffe?” Some humor couldn’t hurt, right?
“Pregnant.”
Mooney blew out a breath. Shit. He pulled Cassidy to the side and lowered his voice. “Are you sure it’s yours?”
“It’s not an it. It’s a baby!” Cassidy shot back.
“Calm down,” Mooney shot back which had Cassidy’s eyes going wide. “I’m not trying to upset you but if she just got here and you’ve not been home, it’s a legitimate question.”
“I’m sorry, sergeant. Yeah, the baby is mine. She says she’s about two months and I went home about then and—” Mooney held up a hand and cut him off.
“Enough. I don’t need to know the details.” He ran through the steps that Cassidy would need to go through in the next few days in his mind. “Okay, yes, I’ll go with you tomorrow and we’ll set up a checklist of what you need to do before we leave. Need to make sure that your new bride isn’t struggling while you’re not here.”
“Thanks, sergeant. I just—” Cassidy stopped and looked down. “I’m only twenty. How am I going to be a dad?”
Mooney reached over and squeezed Cassidy’s shoulder. “Let’s take it one day at a time. Get…” Mooney paused, realizing he didn’t even know the bride-to-be’s name. “What’s your fiancée’s name?”
“Maggie.”
“Okay, right now, go get some lunch and get back here on time. We’ll talk after the afternoon briefings about everything. I’ll see if my wife can come tomorrow too?” Mooney tried to pull Debbie’s schedule up in his mind but he was a bit distracted. “I think she’s got tomorrow off.”
Cassidy’s head dropped to his chest for a minute and when he looked back up, Mooney would swear that there were tears in his eyes.
“Off you go. See you in…” Mooney looked at his watch. “Forty-five minutes.” He watched Cassidy run off and shook his head. “Wow, would’ve pegged him for a virgin.”
