Chapter Eight.
Jesse & Lyrical – Boot Camp.
Dear Lyrical,
I’m glad to hear you’ve settled into the apartment. I know my sweetness can take care of herself, but don’t be afraid to ask the neighbors for help.
Boot camp is more tiring than I expected. I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted in all my life. I spend most of my limited downtime sleeping. It seems to be the way for most of us.
Except for Jamie. He’s thriving, of course. He’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him, and he’s right where he belongs.
But… he’s still Jamie. The other recruits started calling him Chaos because he’s always doing something he’s not supposed to be. He’s done more planks and ten-mile runs with a hundred-pound pack than our entire platoon combined, and we just got here.
The drill instructors (or DIs) punish him for the most ridiculous things.
This morning it was because his perfectly made bed had a wrinkle in the pillowcase on the underside.
It’s like they’re looking for stuff to nab him on.
Punishments aside, I see how they watch him, though.
They may act like he’s a tool (and he is), but they already know he’s something special.
Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s the first of us to complete training and enter the thick of things.
I hope the job search is going well.
All my love,
Jesse
Dear Jesse,
My first letter! I must admit that I was getting a little worried when it had been seven days, and I hadn’t heard from you.
Ava, the woman who lives across the hall from me, saw me at the mailbox several days ago with a disappointed look on my face.
She assured me that the DIs keep you extremely busy—so busy that you often are asleep before your head hits the pillow at night—and that letters might be rare until you get into the swing of things.
(Her husband works on the base in the motor pool. He’s a mechanic.)
The job search went so great that I already have a job. I applied for a clerk position at the public library, which is just six blocks from the apartment, and I started on Monday.
This grandmotherly woman, Violet, is truly my favorite part. She’s eighty-three years old and works the counter for three hours, three days a week. Whenever she makes a mistake, she slaps the counter and says, “Oh, sugar!” instead of “Oh, shit!” Makes me giggle every time.
All the women are very kind, and they invited me to their Saturday morning breakfast ritual, so I think I might take them up on that. Making friends is tough for me, so I’m trying to do something new. If I hate it, I just won’t go anymore.
Work hard, but be safe. And you tell Jamie not to pull you into any stunts!
I miss you.
Lots of love,
Lyrical.
Dear Sweetness,
Your first week on the new job at the library sounds like it was good.
I can’t wait to hear more about those crazy ladies.
Especially that older woman, Ruthie! I shared her swearing habit with the guys and now instead of saying “shit” they all say “sugar.” It started as a joke, but now they can’t stop.
Good job emasculating a bunch of tough-guy wannabe-Marines.
Jamie just dropped into his bunk and passed out, but before he collapsed, he said to say hello.
He got back from scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush.
Ha ha, just kidding, although I’m pretty sure he was cleaning bathrooms. Apparently, the sergeant didn’t like his time on the obstacle course this morning.
He tied the camp record instead of breaking it.
(The whole platoon is eating it up, though, that we’ve got the best guy in camp.)
We had a unique training exercise the other day. I can’t tell you specifics, but the best I can describe it was like a Marine escape room. Jamie got himself “eliminated” early. We got stuck on something, so he decided to do something crazy to see if it would work.
While we finished up the room, he did another 10/100 as I call it. Ten miles, one hundred pounds of pack on his back. You should see how fit he’s getting from all of these extra runs. But he’s always smiling when he gets back. I think he enjoys making the DIs work so hard.
Only a month and a half until graduation. Can’t wait to see your smiling face! I miss you too.
All my love,
Jesse.
Dear Jesse,
So sorry I damaged your super-soldier marines. Swearing is a bad habit anyway. Tell them that girls don’t like it, and if they want to be officers, or at least gentlemen, they should get out of the habit anyway.
I’ve been exhausted too. The library just got word that we’re moving to a new building next month. We’ve already started packing up nonessential items to transfer to the new building. It’s very physical work, which is fine, but my muscles ache when I get home.
The new building is only two blocks further away, but it’s three times the size, and it will have extra space for community events. We’re even getting computers for the patrons to use, so my boss is expecting lots of people coming in to use them.
I’ve been thinking about Dad a lot lately. It made me a bit melancholy, as well as left me feeling lonely. I wasn’t going to tell you, but Ava said I should be honest with you. Hiding things might only make it worse.
I wish we were able to talk on the phone or see each other, even if just for a few minutes, but I understand why we can’t. No outside distractions to keep you from becoming all you can be! Or is that the army?
Rather than sit around the apartment and think about it, I went to the food pantry and offered to volunteer a few hours on the weekend.
While it makes me think of home, and I was sad that first night after I left, it felt good to give back to something that helped my family when we needed it.
Hopefully, that icky feeling goes away with time.
Tell Jesse to stop getting you into trouble! You don’t need to be scrubbing toilets when you have things to learn.
Miss you.
Lots of love,
Lyrical.
Dear Sweetness,
Sorry it’s been a few extra days since I normally reply. Got myself into a little trouble, and it’s meant by the time I get back to my rack, if I don’t go to sleep immediately, I’ll still be awake when it’s time to get up.
Don’t worry about me getting into trouble. I just let Jamie lead me into something, and while it was successful during the exercise, we got extra physical training time for it. (However, our solution to the problem was pretty ingenious, if I do say so myself.)
Glad to hear work is going well. Tell Ruthie we’re trying out some new swear words she might like. The DI called us a bunch of pussies the other day for it, but I saw the one working hard not to laugh when Jamie yelled “Farfignewton” when he fell off the rope bridge. (He’s okay. Didn’t get hurt.)
Aced my military laws assessment from last week.
Not only that, but I finished in the top five for marksmanship and physical training.
Jamie, of course, was number one in those two—and just about every other category—but, surprise, surprise, the bottom of the laws assessment.
Passed it, but he got the lowest score. Tests never were his thing.
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been feeling lonely, but I’m glad you told me. Don’t ever keep secrets from me, sweetness. It means the world to me when you share the bad and the good.
Just a few more weeks until graduation, and then I’ll be able to see you more often.
Missing you tons.
All my love,
Jesse.
Dear Jesse,
I sent a picture Ava took of me. Hopefully, it makes you miss me less.
The dress is new. I bought a second-hand sewing machine and a few patterns to make some things for the apartment.
It’s kept me busy at night and from watching too much television.
I found the dress pattern, also, and thought I’d give it a try. It turned out pretty well, I think.
Now it’s your turn to have damaged people. Violet has gotten very attached to Jamie’s new swear word. It might be more effective if she didn’t giggle like a loon after she uses it.
The move to the library is finished. We were closed for two days to get all the essentials in place, and it was all hands on deck. I think I’ll be dreaming about unpacking boxes for the next month.
The new space is lovely. It’s like the “new car smell” between the carpeting and the paint. The patrons are really loving it. Seeing all their smiles every day makes me very happy.
That laptop you bought me last year has really helped me out at work.
We have six brand new computers that were donated, and people are coming in nonstop to use them for all kinds of things—typing papers for classes, job hunting, emailing family.
Most of them have no clue how to use them, and it’s a full time job helping them out.
The boss found out I knew my way around a computer and gave me the job of helping people out, and I love it! I even got a raise. It’s not much, but every little bit helps. I’ve been making sure that the few extra dollars go into an “emergency stash” in the apartment.
It’s almost time for graduation! Are you excited? I know I am. I’ve missed you so much. Having you here, even for the short time before Infantry School, will be nice.
I’m very proud of you for doing so well on your tests. Tell Jamie, if he’d stop getting into trouble with the DIs, he’d have more time to study. (Not that he’ll listen.)
Counting the days to graduation!
Miss you lots, but not for long,
Lyrical.
Dear Sweetness,
Thank you for the picture. You did a great job with the dress. Will you wear it for graduation for me? All the guys said I’ve got the prettiest girl around, and I couldn’t agree more!
Yes, I’m thrilled graduation is getting closer. Suddenly the past thirteen weeks feel like they just started instead of feeling like they took forever to get here.
Did you get the schedule and all the information? Hope you can get off for the entire weekend, but know it’s okay if you can’t. You’re pretty new on the job, and Jamie and I understand if you can’t get the time off for everything. They did give you off for the ceremony, right?
I’m taking my own advice. I need to share the bad as well as the good with you.
Jamie sent an invitation to our parents to come to graduation.
We talked about it quite a bit, and while I wasn’t thrilled about it, I wasn’t stopping him from doing it either.
He keeps hoping they’ll come to their senses, so he extended the olive branch.
Don’t worry about it too much. I doubt they will come, but I guess at least we can say we tried. Just didn’t want you to be sideswiped if a miracle happened and they actually showed up.
Hope to see you next Thursday for Family Day.
All my love,
Jesse.