29: Power Outage: Jo and Brick
Brick had always known he was going to be a soldier. His father was one, as was his grandfather and great-great grandfather. Combat was in his blood and he couldn't escape it, even if he wanted to. Until he met Jo, he hadn't.
His father died overseas when Brick was five. Since then, he was raised by his mother and grandfather. They taught him all he knew about how to survive in the world. You had to be tough, fit, and emotionless. Emotionless was hard, seeing as Brick had always been a child who liked to smile and laugh. He would cry if he was hurt and yell if he was angry. Grandpa didn't approve, but his mother was silent about it, giving her permission. Brick went through boy scouts, cadets, all the levels until he was ready for military service. It would have been easy to pretend that his choice couldn't end in death. He'd only see the thrills, the glory, the adventure. Yet now, at twenty-three and days away from ringing in the New Year, Brick was terrified.
He had so much left in life what he wanted to do, but might not be able to if something happened during his tour. Brick wanted to get down on one knee and make Jo his wife. He wanted to be a father, a grandfather; he wanted to buy a cottage by a lake and retire out to the country where he could go fishing and on hikes. By going away, he risked losing so much.
Yet there were people who needed him overseas. There were people dying and he had to do his part. If he was lucky, maybe his tour would end and he wouldn't be approved for another one, but he had to go over once. He had to see what his brothers were doing over there, fighting for America, for democracy, for freedom. He couldn't just stand by and watch.
Jo though, what about her? She needed him too. She might not say it, but he knew. She was a tough girl with knives in her belly and a voice that could summon Satan in the right mood. He loved her though, every part of her, and if he left her for good, if he died, what would she do? Brick refused to be the one to break her heart, but he might not have a say in it if someone had a gun to his head.
He risked that happening every day though. The world was a crazy place and you could die at any time. Jo knew that, he knew that, then why were they both afraid of him leaving? Because the risk was heightened. He was walking into a trap, or so she thought. He had spent the last few weeks being with her as much as he could, but once January 3 came around, he would be gone. All that time they spent curled up in bed, all the memories they made cooking breakfast or going for a morning run would be over. He'd had to live without her and her without him. He didn't like the thought of that, not one bit.
Brick rolled out of bed to find the alarm clock blinked 88:88. That wasn't a good sign. He sat up and felt an awful chill in the room. No lights were on, neither was the heat. Brick cursed and fumbled for his cell phone. Well, at least that worked. He called the power company to find out they were working on solving the issue as soon as possible. Well that was great. He looked at Jo who was still sleeping and sighed. He gave her his share of the blankets and pulled on a thick pair of sweats and a sweater. He didn't feel like a shower, so a run was the next best thing. As he tied up his running shoes, he felt Jo's head against his back.
"What're you doing?" she muttered.
"Power's out. Gonna go for a run to warm up. Wanna come?"
Jo chuckled as she shook her head. "Shower sounds more appealing." She left that hanging in the air, crawled out of bed, and headed down the hall to the bathroom.
Brick watched her go, not making a move to finish tying his shoes. 'Right. I forgot about that.' He heard the water start to run and tossed his sweater off and kicked off his sweaters, hopping to the bathroom.
If the power wasn't on after, maybe then they could jog. For now though, Jo's idea was way better.
