American Soldier

It was under an hour before the plane left and Amy Bryant, the wife of Specialist Michael Bryant, was dreading the moment he left. For twelve months or more, her husband was going to be stationed in Baghdad, Iraq in the midst of a war. It was his first deployment to Iraq. How he ended up in a bad part of the country, she’ll never know. All she knew was that she was scared and didn’t like the prospect of him being over in such a violent area.

She wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to keep her composure. She didn’t know what exactly she was feeling. She knew she was scared. That was for sure. All the other emotions, however, she wasn’t sure about. She didn’t know what she was going to do.
She knew he was ready. That was what the few months of briefing was about. It was to prepare him for what was going to happen overseas. “If only they had a briefing for the family left behind.” she thought to herself, “That would be so useful.What to Expect While Your Loved One is Overseas it could be called. It would be useful in easing the stress.” But there wasn’t a briefing for family. No how-to guide on coping. Just the family thrown out to figure it out on their own.

She looked at her husband sitting next to her. Dressed from head to toe in his ACUs, down to his combat boots, he looked ready to defend the country. He looked serious looking straight ahead of him, as if the enemy were going to pop out behind the potted plants. However, as soon as he turned his heads and rested his evergreen eyes on her, his face softened up and she knew he wasn’t straight soldier. He was her husband, the man she loved, and the man she was going to miss like crazy.

She looked at him with a million things to say. The only thing she could really do is hug him. So that’s what she did. She hugged him tight and didn’t let go for the life of her. She felt him wrap his arms around her in a tight embrace and bury his face in her neck.

They stayed hugging for what felt like an eternity when they heard that his plane was boarding. They looked at each other and a lone tear fell down Amy’s face. Michael wiped it away with his thumb and pecked her lips. “I’ll be home before you know it,” he said, “I’ll write, call, and instant message you every chance I get, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay. Be safe. I love you,” she said.

He smiled. “I will. I love you, too,” he said. He stood up and pulled her up to her feet before pulling her into a hug once more. She hugged him back as they heard again that his plane was boarding. He stopped hugging, kisses her lips, and walks towards the boarding area. She stood there and watched her husband board the plane, not leaving the airport until she saw the plane enter the air.

It was tough for her. She eventually stopped watching the news all together because all they showed as of recent was what was going wrong overseas and it scared her to death. The only time she wasn’t scared was whenever she heard from her husband. Even if it was a simple instant message that read, ‘Hi. Just letting you know I’m safe. Love you,’ it still put her at ease. It was even better for her whenever she was able to hear his voice. No matter how long they spoke on the phone, it relieved her to hear his voice.

She kept his friends and family, as well as her friends and family, updated on how he was doing. They all wished him a safe return and a couple of his friends joked that he better come back with a battle scar, but took it back when they saw how the comment bothered her. They made him care packages, sent him letters, and sent him pictures. Whenever he was going to be on webcam a certain day, Amy would invite over whoever would come to the house so they could talk to him, too. He always looked happy to see everyone on the webcam. He couldn’t talk about everything he was doing overseas, but he was sure to talk about the good things, like helping some Iraqi kids or about base life. He wouldn’t talk about combat, especially in front of Amy.

She was lucky to have her friends with her on the nights she couldn’t sleep because of a nightmare about his platoon. She would call one of them and they would almost automatically arrive at the house with something to keep Amy’s mind off the nightmare. Sometimes it was a funny movie, or a mix of songs. Other times it would just be them staying up all hours of the night talking about the present and future or reminiscing about the past.

Between work and keeping the house tidy and clean, Amy had to think of ways to keep her mind occupied. She didn’t want to be one of those kind of people that dwelled on everything that could go wrong overseas. She read books, spent time with her friends, and even got into drawing. She would draw something and then put it with stuff she was going to send to Michael.

As the time went on, Amy heard from Michael more often, either from an instant message, e-mail, or a phone call. He was going to be getting ready to come home for his two week leave and couldn’t wait to see her. This brightened up Amy’s day. Although he wasn’t going to be home for good, she was still going to be able to hold him and see that he was there. Nothing could beat that in her eyes.

To give her something else to keep her mind busy, Amy went a bought a full blooded, black German Shepard puppy. With a dog, she was able to stay busy constantly with trying to get it housebroken and getting required shots. When Michael called and she told him about the puppy and how it didn’t have a name, he suggests Rover because of how the dog sounded like it was a ball of energy. She promised to take pictures and send them to him as soon as she could.

The day Michael came home for his two week leave, Amy woke up early so she could get the house as clean as possible. She wanted it to look as if he was stepping into a magazine. She washed, dusted, vacuumed, and swept every surface possible, as well as finished up what laundry needed to be done.

By the time Amy was supposed to leave, the house was spotless. She left the house and drove to the airport, arriving with time to spare. She sat down in the terminal and pulled out the book she had started. “Might as well read to pass time,” she thought to herself, “I’m super early as it is.” She sat and read her novel until she finished.

When she finished, she looked up and noticed that the terminal was practically empty. “Where’s Michael? Isn’t he supposed to be here by now?” she wondered.

She stood up and was about to start looking around when she heard a door open. She looked around for the source of the sound when someone covered her eyes and whispers, “Miss me?”

The owner of the hands pulled away from her eyes. She turned around and, standing in his ACUs, was Michael. She smiled a mile-wide smile before jumping on him and hugging him dearly. He chuckled and hugged her back. They stood hugging in the terminal for some time before she stopped hugging him, helped him grab his things, and led him to the car.

The two weeks he was home, Amy made sure everyone got to see Michael during the day. They hung out with her friends, his friends, her family, and his family. They were all happy to see him well and told him that they couldn’t wait until he was home for good. He nodded in agreement and told them that he felt the exact same way.

Nighttime, however, was reserved for the two of them. They lounged around at home for the most part. The fifth night, Michael took Amy on a date to a romantic restaurant for dinner. They ate and acted the way they did when they first started dating.

After his two week leave, it was time for Michael to go back. Amy, along with her best friend and his older brother, drove Michael to the airport. They arrived just in time for him to have to board the plane. He hugged everyone and gave Amy a passionate kiss before walking away to board the plane. They stood and watched as he walked away. Michael stopped in his tracks, turned around to face everyone, and gave them one last wave goodbye before boarding the plane.

Time went on and things went back to their regular routine. Amy was working one day when a coworker rushed over to her and dragged her to the break room. Everyone she worked with was standing there, watching the news on the TV. Amy didn’t know what was going on until she started watching as well. The news was reporting of a suicide bomber in Baghdad, followed by open-fire attacks on the US troops stationed there. There was reports of several fatalities and many injured, both US and civilian. Amy just started at the TV, biting her cheek and trying not to freak out. “Michael’s fine,” she thought to herself, “He has to be. He just has to be.”

The next several days were nonstop worrying. She hadn’t heard from Michael since a couple days after he returned to base and she was worried sick. She was stressed out. She had dark circles under her eyes. She couldn’t sleep at night because she had too much on her mind and was waiting for a phone call from her husband. She kept looking out of the window to make sure there weren’t any soldiers in their Class As at her front door to deliver the news she didn’t want to hear.

On the sixth night since the day in the break room, Amy was about to pass out from exhaustion when her phone rang. The sound of the ring tone bolted Amy away. She rushed to her phone and answered it, exclaiming, “Michael!”

“Hey, baby,” the tired voice of her husband, “How’s my girl?”

She sighed. “Worried sick. I saw what happened on the news. Are you okay?” she asked.

“They’re sending me home,” he replied before coughing, “I got hit a couple times from the open fire that happened. I lost one of my buddies because of that suicide bomber. They‘re giving me a Purple Heart because of the injuries.”

“Oh my gosh,” she said, “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you when I get home. I’m so sorry for worrying you this long. I was in surgery. They have me in a hospital in Germany. Great people here. I’m glad I decided to take German in high school,” he replied before chuckling a little bit to himself.

She smiled a little to herself to see that he was still himself. “Okay, honey. When are they sending you home?”

“Soon,” he replied, “But listen, I’ll let you go. I forgot I’m seven hours ahead of you. Get some rest, okay? I’m fine.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later, okay? I love you.”

“I love you, too Amy. Goodnight. Pleasant dreams.”

She smiled to herself. “Same to you, Michael.” She hung up the phone. Now wide awake, she called everyone she knew and told them what had just happened. Some of them weren’t happy being woken up, but forgot about that annoyance after hearing what Amy had to say. By the time she was done calling people, it was five o’clock in the morning. She laid down, glad that it was her day off, as was asleep within seconds. The worry was gone.