Chapter 257: Interlude
Thursday, January 26th Evening
The winter night came quick out on the Central European Plains. Again, they found themselves out on patrol and in night laager. After loading up and refueling, the crews would rotate off their vehicles to eat.
The graying red sky cast a pall over them, giving the area an eerie feel. The crew of D13, aka Damageplan, had become used to this routine and found on turret alert was Tarheel leaning against the copula. He looked over to the loader's hatch to see Palmer standing there.
"What are you thinking about, Tarheel?" Palmer asked.
"I'm thinking about home," Tarheel said.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Palmer asked.
"Maybe if I dwell," Tarheel said.
Palmer nodded, "So, what are you thinking about?" he asked.
"It's basketball season back home," Tarheel said.
"Yeah, I think I remember," Palmer said.
"After work, head home, get the family, and head to the high school to watch the game," Tarheel said.
"Those are always fun nights, especially after a win," Palmer said.
Tarheel chuckled, "Oh, yeah, so many of those," he said.
"Seriously, Tarheel, why are you here?" Palmer asked.
"Because my friends and neighbors called me to serve my country, just like you," Tarheel said.
"That's not what I mean," Palmer said, "You volunteered, but you shouldn't be here."
"Don't worry about it; all that a matter is I'm here," Tarheel said.
"Yeah, that's what they all say," Palmer said.
"Yeah, I see," Tarheel said.
"What's the worst thing about being here?" Palmer said.
"The worst thing about being here is I miss my family," Tarheel said.
Palmer nodded, "I get that," he said, "What keeps you going?"
Tarheel sighed, "There's the beach I take my family. It's on the river bank; it's nice and private. During the summer, the kids are playing in the water, and my wife is watching them; her skin has this sun-kissed look. It's one of those times…she looked just so beautiful. That's what keeps me going, just waiting to get back to them," he said.
Palmer nodded, "Me, it's just the home-cooked food," he said.
"I hear that," Letty said as she climbed up onto the tank's turret. In her free hand was a plate of food.
"What's the fare tonight?" Palmer asked.
"The usual stuff," Letty said and took a seat on the bustle of the turret.
"Oh joy," Palmer said as he climbed out of the turret and headed for the food.
Letty poked at her food. "What were you and Palmer talking about?" she asked.
"Home," Tarheel said and sighed.
"I miss home," Letty said.
"I think we all do," Tarheel said.
"So, what memories were you sharing?" Letty asked.
"Just what had been helping us get through the deployment," Tarheel said.
"Oh," Letty said, "Mine is this thought of taking my deployment pay and getting a pair of boots."
"Okay," Tarheel said, "Why are you here?"
"I use to work on tanks with my uncle and my cousins. Needed money for college, so I joined up," Letty said.
"That's interesting," Tarheel said.
"You're here, and people wonder why," Letty said.
"Not that big of a mystery," Tarheel said.
"Who knows your story?" Letty asked.
"Sergeant Garrison," Tarheel said.
"Ugh! Why are you so secretive?" Letty asked.
"Most people would look at me differently," Tarheel said.
"Why?" Letty asked.
"'Cause my life is unbelievable," Tarheel said.
"That I find hard to believe," Letty said.
"It's the truth," Tarheel said.
Letty sighed, "What keeps you going here?" she asked.
"Just getting home," Tarheel said.
"There was this time I was helping y uncle do this restoration, and my aunt cooked out," Letty said, "That's what get me through this deployment."
Tarheel laughed, "Seeing my wife at the beach with our kids, that's what gets me through," he said.
"We'll get through this," Letty said and poked at her food.
"That we will," Tarheel said.
"You always look to the bright side?" Letty asked.
"Always look on the bright side of life," Tarheel sung, slightly off-key.
Letty laughed and poked at her food.
Sergeant Garrison climbed up on the turret carrying his plate of hot food. He took a seat next to Letty on the bustle. He looked at Tarheel.
"Mail arrived, Tarheel," Garrison said.
"Thanks," Tarheel said as he climbed out of the copula.
"Hurry up before the food gets cold," Garrison said.
"On it," Tarheel said and slid down the tank.
"He's a mystery," Letty said.
"Not really, he's just private, for a good reason," Garrison said.
"What reason is that?" Letty asked.
"It protects his life," Garrison said.
"I don't get it," Letty said.
"If we don't know, it protects us as well as him," Garrison said.
Tarheel and Palmer returned to the tank. They climbed up and joined the other two on top of the turret. Palmer slid into the loader's hatch and pulled on his CVC.
"Anything good?" Garrison asked.
"A letter from home," Tarheel said and dug into his food.
"How do you eat that without complaining?" Letty asked.
"Use to eat a lot more, and worse, for the calories, I scaled back after college," Tarheel said.
"Okay?" Letty asked, confused.
"Don't worry about it," Tarheel said, finished his meal, and climbed down in the turret to read his mail privately.
