CHAPTER 6

What was it with women and dishes? Gordo had spent nearly half a months salary, with twelve months worth of payments, and the interest to follow, on a dish washer. Now, here he was, standing right by his wife at the sink, washing and drying dishes like he always had, only to watch her put them in the dishwasher, afterwards, instead of the drying rack. Gordo also noticed that Lizzie had not bothered to remove the drying rack either, even though, the only thing that got put there, any more, were dirty dishes.

There was no point in arguing the matter with his wife. Gordo simply accepted the fact that some battles could not be won. So he did as the boss told him, and tried to get his mind off of it by watching the television and tuning out the kids. The news was on right now and it was some preacher guy, who had been all over the news lately, and he was standing on a stage with a lot of other preacher guys. They were talking about the elves and, too Gordo, that meant they were also talking about the war. That was the only reason he listened.

Suddenly the image changed to a cartoon, talking sponge, and was one of the few things that got on Gordo’s nerves. That’s when his head snapped back around to see his wife standing there, still in front of the sink, only now she had the remote in her hand. She had a determined look on her face and she said, “Gordon Simpson Lewis, how on Earth do you keep watching that same crap.”

Gordon simply shrugged and went back to his chore, “I’m just keeping up with what’s going on. You know, it might have something to do with work. You never know.”

Lizzie tossed the remote back in the living room where several of her children abandoned their toys and dove for it. She then got back to work, “I don’t see how you do it. I don’t want to hear nothing about that damn war.” Lizzie looked out the kitchen window where she saw her father-in-law doing his normal thing. He was on the patio, in his wheel chair, with a computer in his lap. He would occasionally sit it aside when one of his grandchildren wanted the space but, past that, he did not do very much. He really couldn’t, these days, since he was missing a leg. That’s when Lizzie said, “all I need to know about that war is sitting right out there.”

Gordo shrugged and defensively added, “Dad’s fine, really. Look at him.”

“I do Gordo,” Lizzie replied as she slapped a plate in the washer pretty hard, “and that’s the problem. All I can see is the both of you out there, sitting on that damn porch, in wheel chairs.” After a moment of stewing she replied, “and that’s if we’re lucky.”

“Oh come on honey,” Gordo told her, “that’s not going to happen. The chances of me actually getting over there are pretty damn slim anyway. It’s going to be long over with before I can get there.”

She slammed another plate down and then just kept right on looking out the window, stewing. When Gordo inquired she snapped at him, “you see! You sound like you actually want to go!”

Gordo reeled back in but, he did not abandon his position, “well it is kind of my job.” That did not go over so well and that was why Gordo added, “and you knew that when we got married.”

Lizzie huffed and looked at him, “there wasn’t no war going on when we got married. We didn’t have four kids when we got married. I didn’t know you planned on staying in, when we got married.”

No, they didn’t have four kids back then, it had just been one on the way. There was certainly no war going on but, there were all kinds of ways to get killed and maimed in the army and even in peace time. Gordo also remembered that Lizzie, who had lived near an army base her entire life, was thrilled to have access to the commissary after they tied the knot. She wasn’t so opposed to him staying in, back then, and she had to have realized that he had no plans to get out. He had been an Army brat before he enlisted. His father was a career man and, what else should Lizzie expect? Was she really that clueless?

Of course Gordo wasn’t going to say any of that too her. He simply handed her the last of the dishes, got a beer from the fridge, and walked out on the back patio where he sat down across from his Dad. The old man was reading his computer and not paying particular attention to anything. That did not mean he was unaware of his surroundings and Gordo had learned that as a little kid because it got him more than a few spankings.

So it was no surprise when his father spoke up in that gravely Texan accent of his, “your mother used to be like that just before a deployment.”

Gordo did not have his father’s particular twang. Most of their family still lived in Texas but, he had grown up in many places. He had spent more than his fair share of time right here in Kansas, while his dad worked at Fort Reilly, where Gordo now did. Sometimes he wondered about that, and a lot of other things. That’s why he told his Dad, “what do you mean used too? She still is. She called me a couple of days ago.”

“You chose this life,” his father replied, “it goes with it.”

“Dad,” Gordo told Ed Lewis, “don’t start with that again. I know you wanted me to be an officer but, I don’t want too.”

That caused Ed to laugh, “fewer people make Sergeant Major, than make Colonel and, colonels get paid better.”

Gordo didn’t have to say it. He really did want all those stripes, just like his old man had. Telling Ed Lewis that would have only led to another argument and, right now, Gordo needed less of those. He just sipped at his beer and changed the subject, “speaking of Sergeant Majors, I got a visit from an old buddy of yours. He came out to the range yesterday. Lenny Price?”

That got Ed to looking up from his computer, “haven’t seen that old bastard since Walter Reed. What did he want?”

“Nothing I guess,” Gordo replied with a shrug. “He was inspecting the range. You know he’s working for the Chairman at the Pentagon. He’s top kick now. He did ask about you, wanted to know how you were doing.”

Ed nodded, “yeah he followed Jim Garret right up the ladder. I always figured Lenny had it in him. Maybe I could have but, I never liked keeping my mouth shut that much. Then I had my little accident”

Gordo chuckled, “you keeping your mouth shut? Imagine that.” He also left most of everything else unsaid. His father’s injury was anything but an accident, at least by Gordon‘s estimates. Of course, the Army didn’t agree with Gordo on the matter. Ed Lewis did not even get a purple heart in exchange for his leg. Apparently, the army didn’t have any categories of battlefield wounds that covered having a sky scraper sized tree falling on your position. That was even true if it was the enemy that dropped it on you.

Gordo decided to change the subject, “I forgot to ask, how did it go at the VA?”

Ed was back to looking at his computer again. His answer came pretty quick though, “bunch of fucking drunks. Nothing new there.”

“Come on Dad,” Gordo shrugged it off, “I meant physical therapy. Lizzie told me that the nurse said you were being a pain in the ass, not that I’m surprised.”

Ed looked back up from his computer and dead in his son’s eyes, “I’m doing just fine.” What did Gordo say to that? His father sounded pissed off when he said that but, then again, he sounded that way when he said most things. If anything worried Gordon the most about his father, that was a symptom of it. Gordo suspected that the leg wasn’t even his problem. Ed took that almost with a grain of salt. The part they had cut out of him, on that surgery table, was not physical. They had taken his stripes and, for somebody like Ed Lewis, that was everything.

“Ok Dad,” was all Gordo could say. When that man did not want to talk you were not going to make him, trick him, or anything else. Gordo just slapped him on the shoulder and went inside to play with the kids.

The rest of the night went about as Gordo might have expected and, as usual, he did not want to get up at three in the morning but, he did. That was not something he disliked and not because of the early hours. When growing up as the son of a guy who had spent many years as a drill sergeant, you got used to things like that. What Gordo hated about it was the fact that he had to go to bed early whereas Lizzie had to stay up with the kids. In the morning, she was sound asleep when he took his shower and left the house. When you tossed in her work schedule, their quality time together usually was not much more than washing those dishes that did not need it. Gordo knew it was a problem but, what could he do?

The motor pool was practically empty when he arrived. As Gordo knew, most of their Bradley Fighting Vehicles were laagered up out by the edge of the range. After the unit, that was currently using them, finished with them this afternoon, they would be bringing the vehicles back in. That meant the bird baths, the giant pits with the high pressure water spray system, would be in use for most of the afternoon. All of this told Gordon, that he was going to be busy.

As it turned out, Gordo found out he was going to be busier than expected. They had not even had morning formation when some new young specialist flagged him and told him he was being summoned by the Company First Sergeant. Gordon had a feeling he knew what that was about. After he reported, he found himself standing in front of desk belonging too the company First Sergeant, Jack “Snake” Sun. Gordo remained in an ‘at ease’ position as the man slowly read over some papers on his desk. Snake did not say a word and, just left Gordo in that position. The First Sergeant did not even bother to look up and acknowledge Gordo’s presence.

Finally, still not looking up from his reading, Snake told Gordo, “you probably wondering why you here?” Then the man did look up and told his Staff Sergeant, “you can speak now, in case you were wondering.”

Gordo did just that, “I have a clue First Sergeant.”

“Ha,” Snake’s reply was most obviously not a laugh. “I bet you do. Son, you have applied for transfer to the hundred and First, how many times now?”

Gordo did not flinch, did not look away from the spot on the wall where his eyes were fixed, “counting the papers still in my car? First Sergeant?”

“Smart ass,” Snake replied. Snake them pointed at him, “you ain’t your old man, Staff Sergeant. One day, maybe you’ll get the three up and down with the star but, you missing a lot of those right now. You have to earn the right to be a smart ass. That’s what has me wondering Lewis, do you think going over to Middle Earth, playing swords and sorcery, is going to win you that?” There was silence following the question so Snake told him, “you may speak again.”

“Couldn’t hurt, First Sergeant,” replied Gordo.

“Yeah it could,” Snake told him, “a lot more than you realize. Course getting blown in half by a staff weapon ain’t as painful as getting chewed in half by me.”

“Permission to speak First Sergeant,” Gordo asked. Snake merely nodded and so Gordo stated, “I’ve been to airborne school, Top. They’re screaming for anybody who’s certified right now. Why is my request for transfer constantly being rejected.”

“First off Lewis,” Snake came back with, “you might have graduated Jump school but, that was a long time ago. You are currently not on Jump status because you haven’t re-qualified in quite some time.”

“With all do respect, Top,” Gordo added, “that’s a formality and you know it. They’re running recerts day and night right now. What’s holding me back?”

“Did you ever think that,” Snake said authoritatively, “just maybe, it’s cause I need you here? We can’t all go be guts and glory, Lewis. There’s a lot of jobs that still need doing and they are thankless but, that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be done. Besides all that, you’re not a paratrooper. You are a mechanized soldier and this country still needs that, deployed or not.”

“And I’m not even that, First Sergeant,” Gordo pointed out, “I’m just an assistant range instructor. I think I can do more than that.”

“And one day,” Snake told him, “maybe you can. What you forgot to say is, you’re a damn good assistant range instructor, and those are as hard to come by as squad leaders on a battlefield. I mean, what do you think we’re doing here Lewis? This place was built to train soldiers to fight over there. Trust me when I tell you, we can’t even begin to teach the skills all these kids need. That’s why I was put here. That’s why I still need people like you.”

Gordo then pointed out, “and I can’t have the opportunity that you had, Top?”

Snake chuckled that off as if it were stupid, “oh is that what this is all about. Daddy issues. Maybe that’s why you tried to tip toe over my goddamn head the other day.”

Now Gordon knew what the real issue was. If his first seven transfer requests hadn’t sparked any kind of response then there was no reason his last one should have. This was about, “with all due respect First Sergeant, that’s not what I did. I simply mentioned it to the Command Sergeant Major. Just something in passing, no intention of disrespecting you.”

Now Snake was really laughing and he capped it off with, “bullshit. You know Lewis, you’re going to get further with me than with Sergeant Major Price. I know your old man better than he does.”

Suddenly, Gordon saw it. He was quite huffy when he asked, “permission to ask the First Sergeant a serious question.”

Snake waived it off, “fire the fuck away Staff Sergeant.”

Gordon was quite firm when he asked, “does my transfer status have something to do with the First Sergeant, knowing my old man?”

The only answer he got from Snake was, “get the fuck out of my office Lewis. Get back to work.”