Prologue #2
By the time she was able to leave the trailer to go back to Drake’s, it was later than she’d planned. Her heart dropped as she approached his home. No one was outside anymore…the party was obviously over. Alaska knocked on the door and held her breath.
Drake’s mother answered. “Hey, honey. Did you forget something?”
“No, I went home to grab the present I got for Drake, but my mom needed me for a bit. Is he here?”
“I’m so sorry, he’s not. He and his friends went out one last time before he leaves in the morning.”
Alaska did her best to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. She’d missed him. He was leaving way early tomorrow, and she wouldn’t see him before he left.
“Oh, honey…I’m sure he won’t be out too late,” Drake’s mom said, obviously seeing Alaska’s distress.
But she knew otherwise. She’d heard his buddies saying they weren’t letting him go home until right before he had to leave…their way of “toughening him up.” Their words, not hers.
“It’s okay,” she said with a small shrug.
“Do you want me to give him that for you?” his mom asked, gesturing to the gift.
Looking down at the messily wrapped present, Alaska suddenly felt ridiculous.
She’d seen some of the other presents he’d gotten…
expensive things. Clothes, electronics, money.
She hadn’t had any extra cash to get him a gift, hence the homemade offering.
She was well aware that it looked awful.
The thought of giving it to Drake now made her cringe.
She shook her head and said, “No. It’s not a big deal. If you can please tell him that I wish him the best?” she asked. The words were as lame as her gift. There was so much she wanted to tell Drake, but not through his mom.
“I will. I’m sure he’ll want to keep in touch.”
Alaska smiled and nodded once more. Drake promised to send her his address once he got to boot camp, but she had a feeling he was going to be way too busy to write letters.
He’d been her best friend for years, even if he didn’t realize it…and losing him felt as if she was losing a vital part of herself. She knew this day would come. When he’d walk away without looking back.
He was destined for greatness, and she was destined for…
Alaska didn’t know what. Mediocracy? She had okay grades, completely average looks, and was hopeless when it came to athletics.
She had no idea what she wanted to do when she graduated.
She’d probably stay here and take care of her mom.
Maybe take some classes at the community college.
Get a boring desk job with a cubicle and slowly fade into the woodwork.
She backed away from Drake’s mom, giving her one last wave as she headed back to her own trailer.
On the way, she stopped at the trash can at the end of Drake’s driveway, waiting to be picked up in the morning.
Glancing back to ensure his mom was no longer in the doorway, Alaska opened the bin and threw the ridiculous present inside, the one she’d worked on for weeks, before trudging back to her own trailer.
As she lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, she whispered, “Good luck, Drake. But you don’t need it. You’re gonna be one of the best SEALs the Navy ever had. I know it.”
15 Years Ago
Drake wasn’t the kind of man who spent a lot of time thinking about his past. He had good memories from high school, but he was a completely different man than he’d been at eighteen.
He’d seen and done a lot since then. Making it through the training to become a SEAL, living through harrowing missions, losing teammates.
But tonight, after attending the funeral of yet another friend who’d lost his life too soon, he was feeling nostalgic. The SEAL who’d been killed while on a mission had a family. A wife who was devastated and a little girl who was too young to have any real memories of her father.
It was that little girl, who’d sat on a chair way too big for her at the graveside service, swinging her legs and paying no attention to what was going on in front of her, who now had Drake remembering a childhood friend from the trailer park he’d grown up in.
He had a regular reminder of Alaska Stein…
but he hadn’t thought of her so deeply in years.
Tonight, he couldn’t seem to get her off his mind.
Guilt and sorrow for a lost friendship inexplicably consumed him. He’d promised to write, but after arriving at boot camp, he’d been too busy making it from day to day to take the time. He’d been young, excited about life, figured he’d have time to connect with her later.
It wasn’t until he’d finally become a SEAL, had been awarded his Budweiser pin, that he’d sat down and written her a letter. But it was returned to sender unopened.
When that letter had come back, he’d felt a sense of loss that he couldn’t begin to explain. It was silly. He could’ve probably found her on social media, but that felt too…impersonal. He didn’t like the idea of being one of hundreds of pseudo “friends” online.
Life stayed busy…meetings, missions, training. But every now and then, like tonight, his old friend returned to the forefront of his mind, making Drake wonder where she was, what she was doing. Was she married? Did she have children?
Did she ever think about her old childhood friend?
Maybe he’d ask his mom if she knew anything about Alaska, how to get in touch.
His mother had always liked her, and unlike Drake, she was constantly on social media.
If anyone could find his one-time friend, it would be his mom.
He regretted losing touch with Alaska and hoped she was doing all right.
Sighing, Drake did his best to drag himself out of the doldrums. The Navy, and the world, had lost a good man today. He needed to get his head out of the past and concentrate on the future. Needed to train harder, to make sure he and the men on his own team didn’t end up like his friend.
“Wherever you are, Alaska…I hope you’re happy,” Drake whispered before opening the folder on the table in front of him. He needed to study the intel on his upcoming mission…not think about what he’d lost.