Page 7 of Wannabe in Wyoming
There was no room in his brain for thoughts of her when he was on duty. He needed to focus on his job—fucking up could cost lives. If there was something between him and Willow, then he’d figure out his feelings for her when he got back to the States.
He finished his workout, left the gym, and headed to the showers. After spending a few minutes under a tepid spray of water with some soap, he only felt a bit cleaner than before because, let’s face it, no one was ever reallycleanwhen they lived in a sandy desert.
It was another long day in the books, and one less he had to spend there. Returning to his quarters, he unlocked the door to the room he shared with Zach Ramsey and set his weapon down with a heavy sigh. His boots immediately followed.
He stretched out on his narrow bed and grabbed his note pad and pen. Writing back to Willow would take his mind off this place for a while. When he’d first joined the Army fourteen years ago, he’d been full of hope, wanting to make a difference in the world. He knew that’d been a pipe dream now. Sure, his presence in Iraq made a difference to a degree, but he was tired. He was counting the days until this final deployment was over and he could start over again as a civilian in the States.
* * *
July 12
Dear Wannabe,
Today was a long day, but now I’m sitting in my rack, trying to ignore the usual sounds of the base and, instead, pretending I can hear those crickets and frogs you mentioned. Over here it’s engines, shouting, and explosions. You speak of the peace you feel in Wyoming, and I’m not ashamed to say, I crave it for myself.
This is my last deployment. Once it’s over (in sixty-eight more days, but who’s counting?), I’ll be done. I didn’t re-up. Then it’ll be a few more months before I process-out. After that, I’ll be a free man. Like you, I want to start over somewhere new, but I’m not sure where or what I want to do. I can operate weapons that I’m sure you’ve only ever seen on TV, but my skills as a civilian are limited. I guess I’ll just have to find my way, same as you are. If you can, I can, right? That’s what I’m going to go with anyway.
I really appreciate the offer of a care package. While the Army provides the basics, there are a lot of things we need that we can’t get here. Beef jerky would be amazing. Not only is it a perfect snack, but I can trade it if I need to. Same with chew and smokes. Coffee is another commodity in high demand—that, however, I wouldn’t be trading. LOL. Sunflower seeds and similar snacks are good. I can carry them with me, and they don’t spoil or take up too much space.
Anything you can send would be appreciated. Keep a tally, and I’ll pay you back when I’m back in the States.
You asked about the food here—no, it’s not MREs, but honestly, it’s not much better than them. For dinner tonight, I’ll probably have a choice of meatloaf with cheese sauce and corn, or spaghetti and chicken gravy. The foreign cooks the army hires have no damn clue what sides go with which dishes. I’m still trying to decide which is the lesser of two evils.
I’m happy to hear your chickens have settled in and you’re getting your first eggs. How’s the house coming along? Did you get a garden planted? I’d give anything to have some cherry tomatoes fresh off the vine right about now.
That story about your father was surprising. I can’t imagine what it felt like to get a call that you’d inherited a ranch from someone you never knew, especially your biological father. I’m glad some of the people there aren’t holding his surly disposition against you. Just from your letters, I can tell you’re nothing like him. I hope you find answers to some of the questions I know you have about him in the boxes you still have to go through. If you want to talk about your findings, I can be your sounding board.
Sorry this letter is a little shorter than the last one. I won’t go into detail, but today was a hard one. I keep re-reading your letters, and they remind me of what’s waiting for me when I get home. Not to imply that it’s you, but the freedom and simple day-to-day s life you’re enjoying. It’s keeping me focused on staying safe and getting home in one piece.
I hope you don’t think this too forward of me, but I’m including a picture of myself. Just thought you might want to put a face to your Pen Pal Extraordinaire.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Pen Pal Extraordinaire
P.S. - Tell Fred hello and give him some celery tops from me. I bet he’d like those too.
P.S.S. - I know you asked some questions that I didn’t answer this time. I will when I write again. Didn’t want you to think I didn’t want to answer them.
P.S.S.S. - Hope you had a blast at the parade and bbq and took lots of pictures!
Chapter Seven
July 27
Dear PP Extraordinaire,
I hope this care package gets to you okay. I included everything you wrote about in your last letter, plus I added a few things that Cody Moore suggested. He’s a nice, seventeen-year-old kid who works in the grocery store here and loves my sleeve. His cousin is in the Marines and is deployed right now too. Cody gave me a list of things his mother and aunt send over every month.
Sorry to hear you were having a bad day the last time you wrote. I guess you tend to have a lot of them where you are. I hope you’ve had some better days since then, and I don’t blame you for wanting this to be your last deployment.
I picked up a 35mm camera I’ve always wanted and a printer on my latest trip to Walmart and printed out some photos of the parade and bbq to enclose in the package. I also added some pictures of my property, the house, the chickens, Fred, and the amazing sunset we had the other night. I might have gotten a little snapshot crazy. I even put in a photo of me, since you sent me one of you. I shouldn’t tell you this, but I took about two dozen selfies before I found one that I liked enough to send. As you can see, I still have some pink hair, but it’s growing out. I can’t remember the last time it was down to my shoulders. There’s also closeup pictures of my sleeve and the tattoos that covers my right shoulder.
Speaking of the parade/bbq, I had a great time. It definitely had that small-town feel to it that I’ve seen in the movies. (I hate to admit I’m a sucker for the Hallmark channel.) The marchers included the bands from two high schools in the county, the volunteer fire department and ambulance corps, a search & rescue unit, a bunch of horses, some bagpipers, Little League baseball players, 4H Club and the Boy and Girl Scouts. I sent you pictures of a lot of the different groups. I thought of you when the veterans from the local American Legion marched by.
At the bbq, there was a band playing in the gazebo in the town square. There were food contests for the best chili, pulled pork, homemade pies, hot wings, jams, and more. I was almost completely stuffed before the pigs cooked on spits were ready to be served. That was a little gross to see for the first time, but it was the best damn ham I’ve ever had in my life, after I got up the nerve to try it.
