Chapter 15
Ansley thought she would never finish filling out paperwork. Everyone wanted information, and they all wanted multiple sheets of information.
At one point, she wanted to tell people she would stay in just so she could stop filling stuff out. The days were long, especially when Link was held up in meetings and wasn’t able to text except for a few lines telling her he hoped she had a good day.
On Friday, she heard from Luis. He was coming to see her on Sunday afternoon.
He planned on bringing bread and dessert.
He'd asked Mindy and Jason to come as well. She was glad to see her old friends. It had been a while since they’d gotten together.
Thinking back about their adventures made her smile.
People grew apart as they grew older, it was just how life worked, but she was glad they were coming together before she took off.
She was about to head to bed when she got a text. For a moment, she thought of leaving it until morning, but pulled her phone from the charger and saw it was from Link.
Sorry for being so late. We're headed overseas for a week or so.
My personal phone will be left here. I'll contact you when I get home.
I may text on a burner account if I get stuck.
William, my previous roommate, has a key, so if I get stuck out of town longer than a few weeks, you can get into the place by contacting William.
I've sent an email with his contact information and info about the house.
Enjoy your last few weeks as an active Marine, and I can't wait to see you.
She read over the text a second time and then typed out a reply.
Be careful. Whether I hear from you or not, I'll drive out a few days after I'm discharged. I'm looking forward to seeing you, too.
He hearted her message and she knew he was probably rushing out the door and onto a transport. She'd done a short stint doing translation work for Recon and ended up watching them go from joking around to being on a transport in minutes, headed out for a mission.
She never went into battle with them, but she was around them enough to appreciate how hard they worked. Link’s group was probably a lot like Recon, maybe more intense.
The next day, she turned on the news stations, trying to figure out where Link could have gone, but of course, they didn't have any real information. After an hour, she flipped off her TV and got ready for her friends to show up.
Hanging out with Luis, Jason, and Mindy was nice. Jason was still a Marine, but thinking about leaving. Mindy had gotten out a year ago, and of course, Luis was done.
“So what are you looking forward to the most?” Mindy asked from the kitchen as Ansley came in from the grill.
She’d decided to grill burgers and hot dogs. It was easy to cook outside and wouldn’t heat up the inside of the house too much.
“Learning to sleep late and doing what I want when I want to.”
Mindy laughed. "You know what, that's harder than you think it will be. Especially doing what you want to do. You've spent years doing what someone else told you to do, and now you have no one telling you what to do."
“Yeah,” Luis agreed. “I didn’t adjust easily.”
“I’m not looking forward to the adjustment period. I want to leave, but I know I’ll miss some stuff.”
Jason shook his head. “That’s why I’m not sure if I want to leave or not.”
“You can stay in,” Mindy said.
“Yeah, but if I sign up, it will be years before I can get out. I’m not sure I’ll last years.”
Mindy nodded. "Once I decided I wanted out, it was hard to finish off the end until I got out. Honestly, the day I left base for the last time, it felt a little like escaping."
Luis shrugged. “I’m not happy about what happened to me, but I’m glad that leaving was fast. I didn’t have to stick around and think about going, I was just gone.”
Jason set his beer on the table. “Yeah, what happened sucks. I don’t want to be injured, but I don’t want to have to sit around thinking about leaving for a long time.”
Ansley shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m out in a few weeks.”
“What are you doing after?” Jason asked.
“I’m headed to North Carolina.”
“Yeah, she met a hot Army guy, and she’s hooking up with him,” Luis said.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not hooking up with him.”
“You’re going out there to stay with him. He’s taking you to his beach condo for a week.”
She waved off Luis’s words. “I don’t know what I’m doing with him. But I’m not hooking up. I mean, maybe we’ll sleep together, I don’t know.”
"How did you meet that hot Army guy?" Jason asked.
Ansley shrugged. “On my last deployment.”
"Really, how's that?" Mindy asked.
Ansley chuckled. “You know I can’t tell you the specifics.”
“So something bad happened,” Jason mused as he scratched his chin. “I was thinking about trying for Recon.”
“That is some tough shit,” Mindy said.
Luis nodded. “I heard it was nearly impossible to get into.”
“I did some translating work for Recon. They were badasses.” Everyone stared at her with open mouths like she’d said something crazy. “What?”
“You worked with Recon and never told us?” Jason said.
Ansley shrugged. "I didn't work with them, not really.
I was in the room when they were watching videos or having meetings.
I don't even remember what they were doing at the time.
I just made sure all the translations were right.
It wasn't a lot of work, but I worked with them for a few months.
Then one time, they had to go in and needed a woman translator.
I never saw action with them, but they took me around to different houses and I talked to the women. "
“Wow,” Jason said. “Anything at all you can tell me, I’d appreciate it.”
She chuckled. "Whatever workouts you're doing, it's not enough. They are crazy strong, and it's more than just physical strength. They need mental strength, too."
Jason blew out a breath. “I should up my workout regimen then.”
“Yes. Work out more, and know that whatever you do, they are going to test your mind. They will make everything difficult just so it’s difficult.”
Jason shook his head. “I want to try, but I’m not sure I’m up to the task.”
“If you don’t make it, you’re still a badass,” Mindy said.
Jason chuckled. “Thanks. I try.”
They chatted about their times in the Marines together and Luis's life now. His dog was incredibly well behaved. He didn’t once try to eat from their plates.
And though they had burgers and hot dogs in the kitchen, he didn’t even look that way.
He was totally focused on Luis and making sure he was okay.
Her friends took off close to seven that evening, and Ansley wished they could have stayed later.
She missed Link, though she hadn't known him for long.
He'd already become a part of her life, and now that he was away on a mission, she wished she could talk to him and tell him about her time with her friends.
Soon enough, she would be in North Carolina, meeting his friends and learning about his life.
It was scary to think about leaving the Marines, but she knew Link would help her adjust. The last four years had been tough.
She wanted something different now, something she could only achieve if she followed her own desires.