There was a small cheer behind that caused Tariq and I to start laughing. He rested his forehead on my shoulder and laughed while I was trying to wipe tears of joy and laughter from my eyes. It was, as Gianni said later, a total movie moment.
"So, Tariq, this the gal you were talking about?" A tall young man came strolling in our direction.
"Yeah." He shook hands with the guy. "Ciara, this is Dim."
"Nice to meet you. But, why are you called 'Dim'?" I asked as I shook his hand.
He sighed. "I graduated from Cornell, but still joined the Army. They thought I had to be stupid to that, so hence the nickname 'Dim'." He had a pleasant smile.
"Where's Vanessa?" Tariq asked.
"Probably out whoring around would be my guess." Dim sighed.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize on my behalf."
"Yo, Tariq!" Another one of Tariq's squad mates came over to meet him. He looked at me. "You must be CiCi."
"I am and you are?"
"Angel."
"Of course. Tariq spoke frequently of you that I began to wonder if he loved you." I teased.
Angel put his arm around Tariq's shoulders. "I was his first love, you know." Angel laughed.
"Nah, man. You got that wrong. I was." Another guy came over. "I was the first to show you love man."
Tariq laughed. "Yeah, Smoke. You definitely were the first to show me love. 'Hey, Ahab. Ahab the Arab!'" This apparently was some sort of inside joke that I didn't know.
"Yeah, but after my moms's stroke and all that other shit went down, you showed what a man was about." He shook my hand. "Sorry, I'm Maurice Williams."
"Ciara Byrne." I shook his hand. "So, you're the infamous Smoke."
"Yeah. What he say about me?" Smoke huffed his chest out in jest.
"Oh, just that you were a loose cannon that he wanted on his side, at all costs." I smiled.
"I got Tariq's back. After he got mine, despite my initial treatment to him." Smoke gave Tariq a quick 'man' hug and went to greet his family.
"It was so nice to finally meet all of you." Tariq and I walked off. "So, where's your Sergeant and Captain?"
"Captain Baron is somewhere in there, but you won't get to meet Scream. He was with a different unit to start off with and he was extended 90 more days to take care of us. He then decided that he needed to stay with us the rest of our tour."
"Long TOD."
Tariq sighed. "Yeah, it was. He spent two full years in the Sandbox. He could have gone home after his 90 days, but he decided it was in OUR best interest if he stay. He was right. We all came to love and respect that man. Don't know what we would have done without him."
"Gotten your asses killed." Tariq jumped at the sound of a gruff voice beside him in the shadows. The guy stepped out and I was awed by him. He was this most amazing looking specimen of man, only overshadowed by Tariq.
"What are you doing here, Sergeant?" Tariq shook the guy's hand.
"Came to make sure you all got home okay." He extended his hand to me. "Staff Sergeant Chris Silas. You must be Ciara."
"It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise." He looked back to the tarmac where the families were still greeting their loved ones. "I never claimed to care about your personal lives, but it's nice to know you all have family to come home to." There was a distant sadness in Chris's eyes that made me hurt for him.
"You going to go say something to the others, Sarge?" Tariq asked quietly.
"Not really. You're the only one I wanted to say something to." He shook Tariq's hand again and disappeared as quickly as he seemingly appeared.
I looked Tariq deep in the eye. "Why was he only concerned about you? Why wouldn't he be of the others?"
He stared in the direction his Sergeant walked off in. "He was concerned for the others."
"So why only welcome you home?"
He looked at me. "If I tell you, you can not tell anyone."
I smiled. "Was he your lover?" I teased.
"No. I told you that was Angel." He teased back.
"So? One for now and one for later!" I sang in jest.
"You got me." His eyes danced in the moonlight.
"Okay, serious." I wrapped my arms around his waist.
"I became his most valuable Soldier."
"Does that come with an award? Like MVP, only it's MVS?" I giggled.
He pulled away. "I'm serious, Joey."
"I'm sorry, Dawson. I was just..."
"I know. But, because I had knowledge of the culture and spoke the language, Baron and Scream relied heavily on me. When I was shot, I was out of commission for about three days and they were pulling out what little hair they have until I was able to walk without bleeding everywhere."
"So, they're afraid of being called out for playing faves?"
"Pretty much." Tariq faced me. "It's not just that. I was the only one Sergeant Silas opened up to about anything. I was the one he trusted with shit like that."
"But he said he didn't care about your personal life."
Tariq smiled. "Yeah. It was this little game. He said something like that to Dim one time and it was every time Scream and I would talk, we'd end up saying 'I would like to say I care about your personal life, but I was taught to never lie.' and that would indicate end of conversation. It meant the person talking had opened up as far as he was willing to at that point."
"So what all did you talk to him about?"
He grabbed my hand. "More later. Right now, I've only got one thing on my mind." He bent down and began to kiss me.
I'd been kissed before, but as his tongue danced with mine, I felt like I was going to lose my balance. I pulled in tighter to him, to steady myself, and he followed my lead, holding me closer to him. I felt scared that he would feel my heart beating as though it would beat out of my chest, but I could feel his pounding. For the first time in my 26 years, I felt safe. I felt as though a nuclear bomb could go off right next to us and only Tariq and I would remain. I remembered the one scene from NEVER BEEN KISSED and felt as though everything else around me grew hazy and it was just Tariq and me in focus.
I was a little scared and Tariq felt it. "Cold?" he asked as he felt me shiver.
"Nervous."
He rested his forehead on mine. "Why?"
I looked up to him and lost myself in his eyes. "I'm given the chance to be so much more to my best friend and what if I can't live up to it?"
Tariq smiled. "You're doing just fine." And with that, he kissed me again.
The flight back to Detroit from California was too short for my liking, but being home in Detroit meant more alone time with Tariq. We had joked about becoming members of the 'Mile-High Club', but with our families on the plane, we decided it wouldn't be a good idea.
"Besides," Tariq said, "Our first time shouldn't be trying to fit in a small bathroom." I couldn't have agreed more.
It just seemed we had just taken off from LA when we landed in Detroit. Outside of the security gates to greet us was the rest of our family and friends. WELCOME HOME signs and balloons were held high. Cheers echoed loudly in the airport as James, Lisa, Tariq and I walked out.
Tariq and James accepted hugs, kisses and flowers from the friends that couldn't make it to California. Even complete strangers welcomed them back, thanking them for their service. It was the first time I'd ever seen James cry.
Tariq was moved by one little boy. The little boy came up to Tariq. "Are you a Soldier?"
Tariq knelt down to the little boy's level. "Yes, sir. I am."
"Do you kill people?"
The mother was apparently aghast at her young son's boldness, but Tariq smiled at her. "Only if I have to. I kill the bad people who want to kill you and your mommy and all the other people in America."
"Are you brave?"
Tariq chuckled softly. "Not really. It takes more bravery to talk to someone than it does to hurt them."
"Did you see my daddy?"
Tariq looked at the young boy. "I saw a lot of daddies over there."
"Did you help the children over there?"
"Certainly."
"How?"
"We gave them candy, built them schools and playgrounds. We gave them books to read and teddy bears to sleep with. Mostly, we gave them freedom."
"When I grow up, I want to be a Soldier like you." The little boy suddenly threw his arms around Tariq's neck, giving him a hug. Tariq hugged the small boy.
The mother wiped a tear from her eye. "Come on, Tommy." She looked at Tariq. "I'm sorry. His dad was KIA in Iraq and..."
"It's okay." Tariq stood up, wiping a stray tear. "It's little kids like your son that remind me of why I put the uniform on every day."
The lady gave Tariq a hug. "I can not tell you how much it means to us that there are men out there like you and my husband, fighting for the rights of others."
"It's okay. I'm proud to do so."
I was amazed at Tariq. He had always been shy with strangers, even after joining. This war changed him. He seemed more confident and able to talk to strangers with ease and without suspicion. After the lady and her son walked off, I gave him a hug. "Amazing."
"What?" He kissed my forehead.
"You." I smiled.
"What about me?" He playfully smiled back.
"Not being suspicious of a stranger." We began to walk. "What happened in Iraq to change all that?"
"Being the interpreter." He squeezed me.
I woke up to get a drink and found Tariq standing in front of the window, staring outside. I crept up to him. "You okay?"
He jumped, knocking over and breaking a vase. "Don't EVER sneak up on me!" he yelled.
I stepped back. "I'm sorry. I..."
"Nah, I'm sorry. It's just that..." He sighed. "I really shouldn't have yelled, but you can't sneak up on me. It scares me."
I sat on the couch. "What's changed?"
He sat next to me. "I was in a war."
"Talk to me." I rested my head on his shoulder.
"If you could understand." He gently stood up. "How about a ride?"
"Ride?"
"Yeah. My motorcycle's in the garage and I'm sure it still works. I don't feel like riding alone. What do you say?"
"It's 2 in the morning."
Tariq shrugged. "So?"
"Isn't it a little late for a ride?" I stood up.
"CiCi, I can't stay cooped up here like this." He got up and put his jacket on. "Either come with me or don't. I'm..."
"Give me a couple minutes." I didn't understand his need to go out motorcycling riding at two in the morning, but I didn't want him to go alone either. We headed out on his bike and drove where it led. There were times that I felt Tariq was going too fast or weaving too much, but I had ridden with him enough times to know that he was a safe driver. We ended up in Hudson, a small town about an hour outside of Detroit. He found the only place in all of Hudson open 24 hours and we had breakfast. I was hoping he'd open up a bit, but he didn't speak of what he saw in Iraq.
"What do you say we head up to Chicago?" He smiled.
"That's a six hour drive."
"So?"
"You didn't get much sleep last night. Would you be up for it?" I sipped my coffee.
"Yeah." He allowed the waitress to fill his cup up. "We'll go and spend a couple days there."
"A couple days? I've got work tomorrow."
"I forgot." He looked down.
"Tell you what." I put my mug down. I have two days off starting Sunday. If you still feel like going to Chicago then, we'll go. I promise." I smiled and put my hand in his.
He looked at me and smiled back. "I'm going to hold you to your promise."