"Eric, it's good to see you!" Ike said.
"Likewise," Eric responded.
"So, you're joining the military as well?" Ike asked.
"No, the bus is taking me to McDonald's," Eric joked.
"You always did have a great sense of humor," Ike laughed.
"So, what'd you get drafted for?" Eric asked.
"Army," Ike responded.
"Same here. What division?" Eric asked.
"3rd Infantry," Ike told him.
Eric paused for a moment.
"Well, Ike, I guess we're in the same division. This could turn out to be a not-so-shitty year after all," Eric said, putting on a façade to cover his true sadness.
"You can't fool me. I know you'll miss Kyle," Ike said sympathetically.
"I've never gone longer that 3 days without seeing him or Russell," Eric sobbed.
"I know how you feel, Eric. I feel awful about leaving Flora at home with our daughter," Ike told him.
"Oh, that's right. She was born last month, wasn't she? What name did you two decide on?" Eric inquired.
"We were torn between Alexis and Madison, but we went with Alexis," Ike replied.
"Alexis Broflovski, huh? Has a nice ring to it," Eric said.
"Yeah, we thought it sounded cute," Ike said.
Meanwhile, Kyle was sitting on the couch crying. He couldn't believe that the love of his life was going to be gone for a year.
"Eric wouldn't want me to cry. He'd want me to stay happy," Kyle sniffled. Kyle went into Russell's room and found him crying as well.
"Hey buddy, cheer up. He'll be back!" Kyle said as happily as possible.
"He will be?" Russell sobbed.
"Yeah, it will just be a little while," Kyle told him. He would make it seem better for him, but he wouldn't lie and say that he'd be home soon.
"Hey, what do you say we go to the park?" Kyle suggested. Russell smiled and nodded his head. They got in the car and drove to the park.
There was an awkward silence between Ike and Eric for a while.
"Cute watch. Where'd you get it?" Ike asked.
"Thanks. Kyle had it custom-made for me last Christmas," Eric replied, looking at the watch. It was 2:30. He looked at the face of the watch. It had a picture of Kyle on it.
"Ike, there's one good thing about this," Eric told him.
"Oh really? What is it?" Ike wondered.
"If we're defending our country, we're defending the ones we love," Eric said.
"Technically, I was born in Canada, so it's not my country," Ike said.
"You're a citizen, though. The ones you love live here. Besides, America is a literal clusterfuck of people. There are Americans, Canadians, Brits, Africans, Australians, Chinese, Japanese, and whatever the fuck else. It's just as much your country as it is any other citizen's," Eric said.
"Thanks, Eric," Ike said.
The bus stopped and the doors open. Everyone began filing out.
"Well, here we go," Eric told him.