Corpsman and the Nerd (10 page)

I start work tomorrow. The
other women were so happy to see me (or another surgeon, anyway),
they cheered when I found my cot.

Which was nice. I still hate that I’m here, but I
guess I’m needed, so it’s not as hard.

I also realized I’m about
the only one here with her own computer. (Which I got cleared as
soon as I came.) Yay for Mitch and Lainy loaning me the same
computer she built for him. It’s wonderful!

So I’m at least able to
send you this. Fortunately, we’ll be able to keep in touch. I
imagine the ladies here will probably use my computer to keep in
contact with their families too.

All for now, as I need
food and sleep. I’m not even sure what day it is now. Or what
time.

I miss you
both!

KC

P.S. I typed up a section
for Ryan you can share with him. He’ll like hearing about
Kuwait
.

Max scanned the note from KC and was
relieved. He still missed her and hated the distance between them,
but at least she had arrived safely. Trying to envision where she
now lived proved difficult so he gave up on the effort.

He wanted her back home with him and
Ryan, but since that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, he
instead clicked on the button to reply to her e-mail. He could send
KC a message. Then he would go find Ryan and read him the note she
sent specifically to him. Maybe he and Ryan could learn about
Kuwait together.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject:re: I’m
Here!

Dear KC,

Glad to hear you’ve landed
and settled in safely. That’s a relief for those of us on this end.
We’re not busy here at all at the moment. Ryan’s sacked out, he had
a tough day, daycare and then this evening, trying to chase Spuds
all over the yard. (I did manage to get the lawn mowed, hopefully
for the last time this year since it’s the beginning of
October.)

They’ve had a lot of fun
exploring, but I did finally convince them to settle down for a
story. We read to the end of the third page and Ryan was asleep.
Spuds sacked out by the first page.

I ended up having to read
the rest of the book to myself. (Sponge Bob Squarepants is pretty
funny. I might have enjoyed it more than Ryan.) Ryan didn’t get his
usual nap, so I’ll just consider this his nap time. It’s not quite
six, so I figure in another fifteen minutes or less they’ll be back
up and all over the place.

Lainy wanted me to tell
you she’s nearly finished tweaking the phones and she’ll send one
to you soon. She promised to bring one to me too. Plus, the bakers
are already planning your first shipment of “goodies”; please don’t
ask me what that means, because I don’t know. That’s all they told
me. (I figure you’ll get regular shipments of cookies just like
Mitch did.)

I expect you’ll receive
packages regularly from the family too. Mitch probably already
explained all that to you? Sounded like he was thorough in
describing his experience? I didn’t like much of what I heard, but
remember, those of us here are willing to send you anything that
will help your experience over there. Just let us know what you
need, and we’ll send you the item(s).

We’re all thinking about
you here, and wish you could still be home, but are proud you’re
there. As a military woman, your contribution is vitally important,
especially that you’re a surgeon. Think you’ll be happy doing the
doctor thing? At least you know you’re being helpful. And I’m glad
you won’t have to go off base very often.

Lainy said that was the
hardest part for her. Losing contact with Mitch for three months at
a time. I’m glad we’ll be able to stay in touch. That’s a
help.

Oh, gotta go. Mr. Ryan and
Spuds are awake and it looks like it’s time to start supper. Thanks
for the recipe book you left. I found it yesterday and could have
kissed you! Thank you for that most precious gift! As you guessed,
I can get around in the kitchen but I’m not a great cook. I am
fairly good at following directions. (No comments from you, Katrina
Celeste!) Anyhow Ryan and I won’t starve!

He says he wants hot dogs.
Since that’s not in your recipe book, I figure either you don’t
cook him those, or you believe I can manage them without a recipe.
Luckily for you, the latter is true. I think we’ll have French
fries too. I’ve got lots of those. So, you see, we’re eating our
vegetables. No worries.

And since you’re all the
way across the ocean now, we men are going to eat French fries and
hot dogs. But don’t worry. Mom and Lainy both mentioned having us
over for supper soon. I suppose they’ll feed us veggies. Anyway, by
the time your eight months are up, we’ll only just have gotten
around to all the rellys houses (all the relatives have invited us)
for a meal. So we’re good.

Ryan says to tell you he
loves you. (Since he woke up, it’s taken me five minutes or more to
get these two paragraphs typed.) We’re going to make supper
together. Men stick together, you know. Oh, and the phone just
rang. Lainy’s got some trouble at a client’s, so Mitch is coming
over for hot dogs and French fries.

He says you’d probably be
happy to have this fare, and I think is feeling bad for you, since
apparently he remembers the food over there? Want me to send you
some hot dogs? Ryan might not feel like sharing
though. He’s excited about Uncle Mitch coming over for supper.
Mitch sounded pretty happy to come too. I’m sure we’ll have a great
time. Maybe catch a game.

We miss you!

Max and Ryan

Chapter 12

KC watched the message from Max
download and ached at the tightness in her chest. She wanted to be
with them so much, but they were in far different places and a few
time zones. Where she was in Kuwait was eight hours ahead of
Hershey, PA. Home seemed so far away.

But Max wanted to kiss her for the
recipe book she hid in the cabinet for him? Well, that was a new
and different thought and a relief from the waves of homesickness.
He had never said anything like that before. ‘Course, he probably
only meant he was very happy to find that book. She figured it
would be tough cooking regularly when you weren’t used to such
activity, especially for her active and picky son.

But now she could picture the two of
them and Mitch making hotdogs, and probably burning them. Smiling,
she thought of the three males together and wondered if they had
fun. Of course by now, supper was only a dim memory. Did they watch
a game? She thought they had probably instead been coerced by Ryan
into playing with him. Thinking of her son surrounded by men gave
her a little jolt of happiness. Living with her hadn’t provided him
with any male interaction. The male companionship was good for
him.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject:
Supper?

Dear Max,

I’m wondering how your
supper went? Please tell me you baked the fries, rather than deep
fried them... Even if you deep fried them, please just lie and tell
me you went with the healthier option.


When I return home and
you’ve all gained weight, I’ll know why. Although I imagine Ryan
will keep you busy, so I’m not too worried. Still, healthy is
good.

I should be asleep now,
but my body isn’t used to this time zone yet, so I’m not very
sleepy. (I ate, and then started visiting and must have gotten a
second wind!) I’m trying to type quietly because the rest of my
“room” mates are asleep. I’ve had a quick tour of the “building”
I’ll be working in. Looks fairly good for not being
permanent.

The women here are friendly
and have been welcoming. I’m pretty certain it’s not only because
of my laptop.

(I
think
they like me too.) I’ve received many smiles already, and am
grateful for the warm welcome.

I haven’t encountered any
negativity yet, which I believe is mostly because they’re grateful
for the extra hands. I don’t think it’ll be all that hard to adapt.
The heat is the worst, but it’s cooler at night. Which is a relief.
Sometimes too much of one – the sharp contrast is hard on
mammals.

They’ve warned me about
the sandstorms, as Mitch did, so I’m not looking forward to them.
Well, I’m finally yawning. Time for bed. None of the ladies here
snore, thank goodness!

Missing you,

Please tell Ryan how much
I love him,

KC

P.S. I’ve included a few
more Kuwait facts for Ryan. He’ll get a kick out of some of
them!

*****

The morning after their hotdog fest
Max ran a hand through his hair as he contemplated yet another way
of waking Ryan. So far the little guy had resisted every attempt he
made. Max couldn’t be angry with him, since he wasn’t feeling wide
awake himself.

They had a late night, watching
videos, granted, they’d been geared toward Ryan’s age group, but
Mitch hadn’t seemed to mind. He did complain as he went out the
door about how Lainy would kill him for getting in so late, but Max
had felt compelled to point out that she wouldn’t be arriving home
much earlier. That appeased his newest brother-in-law.

Now, wanting to appease the tired boy
curled up under the covers, Max tried to figure out another, more
effective method of luring him out of bed. When nothing
miraculously came to mind, Max shook his head and gently hauled
Ryan up and out of the snug covers. One advantage he had over KC
was brute strength, and since nothing else had worked, might as
well use one’s advantages.

Ryan grumbled as the colder air hit
his sleep warmed body, and he blinked sleepily, his blue eyes not
focusing. “Max? What you doing?”

“
We have to eat breakfast
and then put on clothes and go to the office.”

“
Oh,” Ryan mumbled and
yawned before placing his head trustingly on Max’s shoulder. Max
swallowed as an unknown emotion, the one only parents know and
understand, unfurled somewhere near his heart but nearly blocked
his airways. He hugged Ryan, whose arms tightened around his
neck.

“
Don’t want to get up,” Ryan
explained through another mumble, sounding grumpy again.

Max laughed. He couldn’t help it. “No,
buddy, I didn’t want to get out of bed, either, but I’m pretty sure
there’s some cereal downstairs. I am hungry, so I know you must
be.”

“
Can we have hot dogs?” Ryan
finally sounded interested in something.

“
Didn’t you have enough hot
dogs last night?” Max blinked incredulously.

“
You and Uncle Mitch ate ‘em
all,” he accused and loosened his grasp to stare at Max.

“
We did not. I think we left
three in the packet.”

“
Want hot dogs.”

“
Let’s try cereal first, and
then if we’re still hungry, maybe we can make them.” Max
compromised. That was a parenting tip he picked up from the myriad
of siblings and cousins who were parents.

Compromise at all costs.
“
Kids don’t have long attention spans, so
act like you’re willing, and they’ll forget
.” Maybe KC had actually taught him that one. Either her or
his sister, Laurie.

Good advice, since Ryan, after Max set
him down, followed trustingly down the stairs. Spuds, once he
realized there might be food involved, jumped from the bed to
scamper around them.

Ryan opened the back door and let the
dog outside. Max trailed to the cupboard and took down bowls and
cereal. He had Ryan up and eating in minutes and hoped his luck
would hold. Now so long as they could both dress in something other
than pajamas and find their way to the office, life would be
good.

*****

Max dropped into his chair at the
office, grateful he arrived on time, and thankful Ryan had settled
in fairly well to the new routine. Going from being with his mom to
Max almost instantly had to be jarring. But the little guy didn’t
seem to mind too much. He just tucked in and did what Max asked
him, eventually. Besides KC warned him repeatedly how hard Ryan was
to wake.

“
Hey, Max, how’s your
morning going?” Jean peered around the door frame.

“
Fine.” Max was relieved
that was true.
Please don’t ask me how
much I miss KC.

“
You and Ryan settling
in?”

“
Yeah. We’re doing great.
Probably better than KC.”

“
Right. Is she there
yet?”

“
Yes. She must have arrived
sometime yesterday. She couldn’t have been in Norfolk
long.”

“
I’m glad she arrived
safely.”

“
Me too,” Max said
emphatically.

Jean waved as she turned to speak to
someone who asked a question and he booted up his computer. And
knew satisfaction when a new e-mail from KC downloaded. He wasn’t
surprised she couldn’t sleep her first night there. It would be
difficult.