Chapter 350: Letters Home
Thursday, February 2nd, Early Morning (Central European Time)
Another day ended with the platoon getting their tanks back into shape and recovering from the border clash. Keith returned to his room, and his roommate saw Keith take to his desk. The roommate decided to give him a wide breadth and left their room.
Pulling out the sheet of paper on which he had been working, he laid it before him. Taking up the pen once again, he looked down at the near blank sheet of paper. Those same three words haunted him; Dear Mrs. Garrison. There were several black dimples near those words.
After another minute or several of staring at the page, he tapped his pen on the notebook. Finally, Keith looked at the page and mentally said fuck it.
Dear Mrs. Garrison:
I am writing as not only was I Jermaine's tank crewmate, but also as his friend. By the time you get this letter, you would've been informed of Jermaine's untimely passing. As a member of his tank crew, I was there. What we were doing, I can't say, but I was there.
No, I didn't see what happened since my position was inside the turret. What I do know about that night is Jermaine did his duty right to the end.
I know that is not much of a comfort. Jermaine has been a friend not only to me but also to my family for years. As you know, he stood godfather for my son. As I am writing, it's been a few days since Jermaine died, and I still find it hard to believe what happened. Over the close to ten years I've known him, Jermaine has been a source of comfort and strength for me. Countless times Jermaine has helped me when I felt like it couldn't get worse.
It is said that the measure of a man is by how many lives he touches. As you tally that number up, count me among that number.
Keith J. Scott
Keith sighed and folded up the single sheet of paper. He found an envelope and put the Garrison's home address on the envelope; Keith slipped the letter into the envelope and set it down on the desk surface.
He sighed and reached over to his MP3 Player and scrolled through the songs on it. After a minute, Keith looked away. A story came back to him; of course, it was doubtful of how truthful it was like most stories.
Kelly told him that about eleven years ago, Bobbi-Lee got letters from Johnny Mason when he was deployed. They came pretty regularly, then one day, they stopped. The next thing she knew, there was a notification telling her Johnny Mason had been killed. Kelly told Keith that Bobbi-Lee kept that last letter and grimily wrote on the envelope His Last Letter Home. There was also a date on the envelope.
Shaking his head, he pulled out another envelope and wrote a Washington, DC address on it. He pulled over his notepad and pressed his pen against the paper. He sighed, then started to write.
Dear Izzy,
When you get this letter, you would've already found out what happened. I know how you know, and you probably know more than I do. All I know is just what I can see through the sight picture of my gun sight. This is not entirely true, as I do hear some bits and pieces and what the loader could tell me.
Enough with me venting; I am fine and unhurt. I'm shaken, that I won't deny, but physically I'm unhurt.
In truth, I miss you and the kids. Every night I take a moment to look at Sirius and send a message to you. I know I'm being weird. It's just having the crew next to me at night is not the same as having you next to me.
The kids have to be getting big, and I'm missing it all. I hope Nomi is doing well and not letting anything get to her. As for Ellis, he's got to be getting big. There are times I just want to hug them. I miss them both so much it hurts.
It's getting late here. I'll close this here, and just know that I love and miss you.
Yours, until the end,
Keith.
Keith folded up the letter and put it in the envelope. He sealed it and stared at the two envelopes as they sat on the cheap raw plywood desktop. This place, these rooms, were millions of miles away from his life. Part of him wanted this; that's why he stayed a ranker instead of becoming an officer and gentleman.
Leaning back in the cheap chair, he looked up over the wood walls. His eyes slowly lowered to the series of photos he stuck on the wall. One of them was the new one The First Sergeant gave him. He closed his eyes and started to regulate his breathing. Finally, he opened them up and looked at the picture of him and Izzy from the Outer Banks.
Finally, Keith sat his eyes upon the new picture. Keith and Izzy were leaning into each other; Keith's arm draped over Izzy's shoulder. Jermaine sat to one side, engaged, smiling, but alone. It was his date that took the picture. For as long as Keith could remember, Jermaine rarely had the same girlfriend for more than fourteen months.
Keith hummed a bit, then stood up. He went to his stuff and rifled through it. Finally, he found what he was looking for, a simple item, a small plushy of a Disney character Ellis gave him. Keith put it on the desk, and he sat back down.
Finally, he reached over and pulled out a third envelope. He wrote the address for RBR and made it attention to Haley James-Scott. Keith put the envelope to the side, picked up his pen, and again put pen to paper.
Dear Aunt Haley,
I know with my service overseas, we've had to put a lot of things off, which have not been good. I know as a family, and as ownership, we have to have a meeting to settle the last of the outstanding issues, which I can only assume, have gotten worse since I've been gone.
AS we've discussed in the past that my name has been floated around. They want the last name, but we know you have the same last name. In my opinion it has and is your time.
I've been gone over a year by the time I get back. I would have to get back into the flow, catch up and learn about the acts again. It is better for as little as possible in the short term, but I would be willing to learn to move up in the future.
The summary, I won't stand in your way.
Always, your beloved nephew.
Keith
Keith folded up the third letter and placed it in the envelope addressed to RBR. He sat there for a few minutes but finally decided he needs to mail these letters. Keith stood up and got ready to leave.
Keith left his barracks with his rifle and the three letters. He slowly made his way across the base to the mail point and dropped off the three letters.
Once he mailed the letters, he headed back towards the barracks. About halfway back across, he decided to head to the mess hall for a cup of coffee. He didn't want to shut himself off in the barracks.
He located himself at a table and drank his coffee slowly. Keith watched the comings and goings of the other members of the unit. Finally, Keith noticed Lieutenant Weller enter the room and head over to him.
Keith started to get up, but Lieutenant Weller signaled him to keep his seat.
"Hello, Sir," Keith said.
"Sergeant Scott," Weller said, "How are you doing?"
"I'm going well, Sir," Keith said.
"Are you comfortable gunning and commanding your tank, Sergeant?" Weller asked.
"Yes, Sir, I've done it when Sergeant Garrison was on R&R, and we've been out to the range to practice," Keith said.
"Good, because I was asked if I wanted to take someone for your tank, Sergeant," Weller said.
"It would be good to have a full crew, Sir, but I'm good, and the crew is good going down one man if we have to, Sir," Keith said.
"Good, because we're heading back out on patrol," Lieutenant Weller said.
"Yes, Sir," Keith said, and not sure if it was a good idea.
