“There’s a cute little business district to the north of here,” she said. “I walk over that way sometimes when I can’t sleep. Nice quiet streets, no traffic. That’s where I’ll be, okay?” As she passed him on the stairs, she reached out and squeezed his arm. “Have a nice run.”
She set out at a brisk pace, and when he finally caught up, he muttered, “You lied to me. I think you’re a secret exerciser.”
“Ha, no.” She crinkled her nose at him. “I like to walk, and my job means I’m always on my feet and moving, so—”
He nodded before jogging off into the distance. Lani crossed her fingers and prayed, her breath escaping in a muffled groan of relief when he soon circled back around and fell into step beside her.
He didn’t say anything, but he also didn’t seem ready to bolt, so she took a chance. “Tell me about escorting him home.”
After a few beats of silence, Geo let out a grunt. “What’s there to tell? Bosch and I rode all the way from Bagram with him in a C-17.” His tone was carefully noncommittal, but Lani detected a thread of something else there...
Before she could probe any more, he went on, “There was this one fucking airman, though, who couldn’t even look at me. When he brought me the transfer paperwork, he practically shoved it in my face and ran back down the ramp.”
Geo’s jaw rippled, and suddenly, as if a lid had been lifted on a violently boiling kettle, the words spewed out. “I wanted to grab that little pissant and shake him. I wanted to scream that that metal box didn’t contain just anyone, it contained a man who’d loved his country and his family. It contained a decorated SEAL who’d saved countless lives. A husband, a father, a friend, not just—”
When he broke off, she finished softly, “You wanted him to know that Cade was more than the way he died.”
“Yes.” That one word burst out of him. “He was, Lani. He was so much more than that.”
“Then tell me. Tell me about him.”
Taking his arm, she listened as Geo told her about a guy who guzzled Rip Its and red licorice like they were going out of style, who could quote the movie Tombstone from the opening credits to the very last line, and who’d once—accidentally, famously—taken a huge swig of someone else’s dip spit when reaching for what he thought was a bottle of water.
She gagged. “Ewww, gross.”
Barking out a laugh, Geo said, “Damn, that was funny as hell. We were all like, ‘Noooo! Don’t spit it back out in here!’”
“Ugh.” She shuddered. “Poor Cade.”
“Some of the guys tried calling him Spittoon.” Geo shook his head, still chuckling. “He never protested it, just refused to answer to it.”
He fell silent, and desperate to keep the momentum going, Lani threaded their fingers together and dragged him toward a nearby convenience store.
“Ooh, that gives me an idea. C’mon.”
Inside the store, she picked out a couple of energy drinks and some Twizzlers, paid for them quickly, and headed for home. Once there, Geo stood by, clearly mystified, as she dug through her Blu-Ray collection, at last emerging triumphant holding a copy of Tombstone.
“I hereby declare this the First Annual Cade Barlow Memorial Movie Night,” she announced, pointing at the couch. “Have a seat.”
He did, staring in bemusement as she popped the tab on one of the drinks and set it at the end of the coffee table. She handed Geo the other can before opening the bag of Twizzlers and dividing them up three ways.
As the opening credits of the movie rolled, she could see him glancing at the solitary can and licorice, over to her, and back to the TV screen. Her heart thudding, praying once again she was doing the right thing, she said, “Put your feet up and relax. Let’s watch his favorite movie with him.”
After a long, silent moment, Geo at last raised his can toward the other one in a toast, took a swig, then put it down carefully. Turning to Lani, he wrapped her up in his arms.
“Thank you,” he whispered into her hair. “I love this.”
“Mmm.” She nestled against his chest, her whole body going limp in relief. “Every year on my birthday, Tyler would take me to a movie and buy me some Milk Duds and a Dr. Pepper. He’d have Raisinets.” She shuddered. “Yuck. I hate Raisinets, but now on my birthday I go to a movie and buy them anyway. It makes me feel close to him again.”
Sighing, he settled back into the couch, still holding her. “This is perfect—Rip Its, Twizzlers and Tombstone. I can almost picture him slouched over there, quoting his favorite lines.”
“What about Renae? Were you close to her, too?”
Geo stiffened, but he didn’t let her go. “Their door was always open, if any of us needed a couch to crash on, or someone to talk to. She never made us feel unwelcome, as if we were intruding, although a lot of times we were. Most times.” He swallowed hard, his voice roughening. “I abandoned her, Lani. I couldn’t even go to his funeral.”
Lani’s heart ached, but she didn’t say anything, just rubbed her palm in soothing circles over his chest.
“I never called her or went to see her. It’s been a whole fucking year, and I...”
When he trailed off, she sat up and looked at him. “What about now? It’s not too late.”
He blinked. “What?”
“In a lot of ways, the second year is the hardest, simply because you’re past all those ‘firsts’—first birthday, first anniversary, first holidays. There are no more milestones, and now you’ve just gotta slog through life. She’ll need friends more than ever. It’s not too late.”
“But—but what do I—”
“Just show up, maybe take care of something she hasn’t had the time or ability to. Trim the hedges, clean out the gutters, take a load of stuff to the dump.” Lani patted his chest. “You don’t have to say anything profound, or think you’re going to ‘fix’ what she’s going through, because you can’t. Just be there, Geo. Just show up. It’s not too late.”
Shaking his head, he mumbled, “You make it sound so simple...”
“Sometimes the simplest things mean the most.” She paused. “You’re worried that she’s angry at you for not going to the funeral.”
When he nodded, she said, “To be honest, she probably didn’t even notice, as focused as she was on getting herself and her kids through it. But if you really want to show up and make a difference, now is a great time. It’s not too late, I promise you.”
Geo’s arms tightened around her as he mulled that over. “Is this the kind of stuff you talk about in your group?”