Chapter 14 #2
“So, you all knew this was coming. I will now confirm the rumors. The President and the Joint Chiefs, in their infinite wisdom, have determined that I can better serve at a posting closer to the flagpole.”
First Sergeant Chandler said, “So, in other words, you got too old to stay on a team?”
Everyone, including Norton, laughed.
“No, that would be you who’s old, Top.” More laughter.
“Anyway, I have to tell you,” His face turned stern.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve alongside every single one of you. You are the very best at what you do. I will never forget you, no matter where the Army takes me.” He laid a hand on Pena’s shoulder.
Pena cleared his throat. “Come the first of June, we’ll officially do the whole dog and pony change of command with much pomp and fanfare and ribbons and flags.
Heck. We might even march in lines and whatnot.
And I’m sure there will be cake. As you probably guessed, I’ve been selected to be your new team commander.
Daddy would rather I take over his duties starting today. ”
“I’m sure he would!” Chandler yelled.
Everyone laughed.
Norton held up his hands, asking for room to speak again. “We also get to surprise your very fine First Sergeant with the news that he has been accepted into the Sergeant Major’s Academy effective August first.”
Chandler’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Obviously, there’s been a terrible mistake. But you should take advantage of it before they get to know you. Now who’s too old?”
Jerry laughed with his teammates and clapped Chandler on the shoulder. “Congratulations! Well done, Top.”
Norton continued. “We will announce the new First Sergeant when all of the paperwork gets finalized. I don’t think that announcement is going to surprise anybody.” He gave Jerry a meaningful look.
Jerry didn’t realize how much he wanted that position until now. He knew his ultimate goal, of course, but now that it might be his, he could almost taste it.
Norton held his hands out to the crowd. “Today is about food and family. We have good food and beautiful women here. Let’s just get to that before we get ahead of ourselves. I’d like to pray.”
The men wearing them took off their hats.
“God, thank you for watching over us. Thank you for memories we will cherish but can never share. Thank you for a promising future. We trust You have made plans for us and that Your plans for us are good. Be with us today. Bless these fine men and amazing women. Bless this food. Amen. Let’s eat.”
Jerry loaded his plate, missing Olive. He felt just a hint of envy when Cynthia arrived, and Major Norton laid a huge kiss on her until she laughed and pulled back.
Jerry overheard him say, “You missed my big speech.”
Cynthia, straight-faced, replied, “Oh, thank goodness.”
“It was a moment. I had a moment,” Norton protested.
The warm May sun felt good on Jerry’s skin, and increased his anticipation of the coming week. He imagined Olive by his side at events like this in the future, and it felt exactly right. He could not imagine anyone else he would rather have in his life.
He suddenly realized he had already started thinking of the two of them in the future tense. Married. Together. Committed. One, no longer two. Not “me and you” but “us.”
He even imagined his dad and her parents doting over their future children. What would they look like, those little people he and Olive would bring into the world with her spirit and his sense of duty?
That settled it in his mind and heart. He needed to plan to make that future he imagined into a present reality sooner rather than later.
Clarksville Memorial Hospital
Jerry gently revved the engine of his Indian Motorcycle before parking beside Olive’s assigned parking space, the deep rumble vibrating through his chest as he sat in the hospital employee parking lot.
The late afternoon sun cast a golden glow over the parking lot, warming the air with the promise of a perfect evening.
He’d polished the bike that morning, its teal and gold paint gleaming under the clear sky.
Strapped to the seat behind him was the spare helmet he’d brought just for her—ruby red with a subtle visor tint, the one he’d picked out thinking it would suit Olive perfectly.
He checked the time. Her shift should end any minute now.
The anticipation built in him like a quiet hum, mingling with the engine’s idle as he powered the bike down.
When he spotted Olive walking toward him, still in her scrubs with her backpack slung over one shoulder and typing into her phone, a wave of genuine elation washed over him.
Olive looked tired from the long day, but her smile lit up her face as she spotted him, and in that moment, everything else faded.
“Hey there,” she called, quickening her pace to a light jog.
The world shrank down to Olive and nothing else, as if he watched her through his optics.
In the space of a heartbeat, he saw her hurrying to greet him when he returned home from a deployment, her backpack transformed into a toddler that looked like her, and looked like him, with her smile and his eyes.
The future no longer stretched out before him.
Instead, it floated above him and surrounded him, and it no longer existed without her.
Jerry swung his leg over the bike to stand, pulling her into a quick, warm hug to delay her attempt at a quick kiss of greeting. “Hey yourself. Good shift?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” she said, her eyes sparkling as she glanced at the motorcycle. “This is a surprise.”
He grinned, handing her the spare helmet. “Thought you might like to ride. I promised months ago, and it seems like we never got around to it. It’s such an amazing and perfect day—blue skies, no wind. Figured we could take the scenic route.”
Olive’s laugh sounded light and delighted, falling on his ear like subtle windchimes. “You know me too well. Lead the way, soldier.”
Before she could don the helmet, he placed his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes.
“What?” she queried. “What is it? Is something on my face?”
Jerry let his eyes do the talking and saw the moment when Olive realized this was the perfect time to shut up.
He pulled her slowly closer, leaning down, moving his lips closer to his future.
When he captured her mouth with his, it was not a friendly kiss.
This kiss communicated his need, his want, his desire for their future together.
For forever. She moaned slightly in the middle of it and carefully wrapped her arms around him, one hand still clutching the bulky helmet.
As they kissed, Jerry felt like he suddenly understood everything: the heart, the soul, the reasons that Olive and his life had become inextricably entangled since the second they met all those years back.
The world turned beneath their feet, and they stood still, in the perfect stillness of this moment that was now, and shared their hopes and dreams to the exclusion of every other sense.
This is what he wanted more than anything.
This is what had been missing from his life all his life, and he was on the edge of making himself whole.
He broke the kiss and straightened, his eyes still staring into hers. Olive’s eyes stared back, a look of confusion and wonder and hope and desire all blended into one. “Wow,” she breathed.
He shrugged. “Missed you today.”
They mounted the bike, Olive settling in behind him, her arms wrapping around his waist with a comfortable ease that made his pulse quicken just a little.
Jerry started the bike and kicked off, guiding them smoothly out of the lot and onto the road before making his way to the backroads of Clarksville that skirted the edge of town.
The wind rushed past, carrying the scent of well-maintained farm fields, and he felt the world open up around them.
As the miles slipped by, Jerry’s mind drifted to the changes on the horizon. The team’s transition weighed on him—not with dread, but with a growing sense of rightness.
For years, he’d served as the primary sniper, the one perched in silence, waiting for the perfect shot. His role demanded precision, patience, and a steel nerve he’d honed through countless missions.
Now, stepping into the 18Z slot as the new First Sergeant felt like the natural next chapter.
A tremendous relief settled over him at the thought of handing off the sniper duties to someone else—maybe someone new to the unit or one of the up-and-coming X-rays after they got through training.
He would mentor whoever took the mantle he passed.
He was ready to lead from the front and serve and shape the team in broader ways.
He thought of Captain Pena, the man who’d be his commander come June.
Pena’s steady presence, his sharp tactical mind—Jerry respected him deeply, the kind of respect forged in shared trials.
Looking forward to being his “top” sergeant filled Jerry with a quiet excitement.
Together, they’d keep the unit strong, adaptable, unbreakable.
Though his goal for years, he realized that serving in that role was also an honor—an honor he hadn’t fully anticipated, but one that fit.
Olive’s arms held him securely, her warmth pressing against his back in a way that made everything else seem secondary.
It was amazing—simple and profound—how right it felt, how right she felt, her trust in him as they leaned into the curves together.
She wasn’t just along for the ride; she made herself part of it, part of him, in a way that brought contentment to his soul.
She partnered with him. The rhythm of the road, the hum of the engine, her gentle hold—it all wove into a moment of pure peace.
Spotting a wide shoulder ahead, Jerry signaled and eased the bike to a stop, the gravel crunching softly beneath the tires. He killed the engine, the sudden quiet amplifying the birdsong in the nearby trees.
“Ready to take the reins?” he asked, turning to her with a smile.
Olive’s eyes widened in surprise, then delight. “Really?”
“You know how, right?”
“I do. But do you trust me with your baby?”
“Absolutely,” he said, dismounting and helping her slide forward. “You’ve got this.”
As she took the handlebars, Jerry carefully settled in behind her, his arms encircling her waist now.
The reversal felt playful, intimate in the sweetest way.
After restarting the engine, she revved the engine tentatively, then with growing confidence, and they pulled back onto the road.
Jerry rested his chin lightly on her shoulder as she walked through the gears and tested the brakes.
Slowly at first, getting the feel of the bike with Jerry behind her.
Soon, he watched the landscape blur by, his heart full.
This was the kind of day, the kind of life, he wanted to build—with her, always with her.