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“And I’m supposed to tell them that I have a drinking problem,” he said. “I don’t know how I feel about that, though. Won’t I be discharged dishonorably?”
“That is a risk, yes,” I said. “But what other choice do we have?”
Joshua stared out the window of the car, a faraway look in his eyes. I wished that I could have known what he was thinking.
After a few minutes, we were ready to head inside the base. I wasn’t going to waste any time. As soon as I dropped my belongings down on my bunk, I went to find a superior officer so that I could tell them the news.
“Come on in,” said Major Jones as I knocked on the door to his office. He was a stern man, known for his calculating mind. However, I had never experienced unkindness from him, and he was one of the few officers that took me seriously. “How can I help you, Nadia?”
I took a deep breath and began. “I need to talk to you about something,” I explained, trying my best to sound sad. “I just found out that I’m pregnant. I thought that I should tell you because I’m due to be deployed to Yemen soon.”
Looking up from some paperwork that he had been reading, Jones stared at me, his eyes landing on my stomach. He slid the paperwork aside and pushed his thick bifocals up on his face.
“Well, in that case, you won’t be deployed,” he explained. “Pending a doctor’s visit, of course. We can get that done today. I’ll let the other officers know, too. If your pregnancy is confirmed by a doctor, you will be reassigned to this base. It will be lighter duty.” He gave me a rare smile. “It’ll probably bore you to death, child.”
I nodded. “Thank you, sir. I want you to know that this was unexpected. I never dreamt of being a mother when I enlisted.”
Major Jones nodded. “That may be true, private, but I’m sure you will be a good one. Head over to the medical building. I’ll start the paperwork for your transfer now.”
I had to hide my excitement and simply thanked him and left his office.
The doctor’s appointment was quick and easy. Once everything was confirmed, I headed to the food court. When it was time for lunch, I found Joshua and sat next to him.
“I’ve been reassigned to the base,” I said, keeping my voice down to a whisper.
Joshua sighed with relief. “Good,” he said and started in on his lunch.
I watched him waiting for him to tell me how his part of the plan had gone. “Well?” I asked eagerly.
“Well, what?” he said, playing dumb.
“Well, what happened with you?” I asked, my voice a harsh whisper. “What happened when you told the superior officers about your drinking problem?”
Josh stopped eating, wiped his mouth, and looked over at me. “I didn’t,” he said.
I paused, trying to process what he had said. I figured that maybe he had been too busy to say anything yet.
“Well, you can always tell them after lunch,” I said.
“I can’t do it,” Joshua said, dropping his head. “But now that I know that you will be staying here in the states, I know that I can deal with my final tour. All I wanted was to know that you would be safe. I’m sorry, Nadia.”
We finished eating in silence. I could almost hear the sound of my heart breaking as I absentmindedly shoveled food into my mouth. I wasn’t really hungry, but I knew that I needed to eat something, if not for me, but for the life growing inside of me. Thinking about the baby made me even sadder.
After lunch, I turned to him, saying the words that I had been dreading ever since I found out about the baby.
“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” I said. “I’ve already been reassigned, so there’s no need for me to stay in the barracks. I’ll be heading over to base housing shortly.”
“Okay,” he said, jamming his hands into his pockets and staring at the floor. I could tell that he was sad, too.
“I love you, Josh,” I admitted. “And I’m going to wait for you no matter what.”
Josh took a step back and shook his head. “No, don’t wait for me,” he argued.
It was my turn to shake my head. “I have no intention of listening to your wishes right now,” I said. “I’m going to wait for you, and that’s that.”
Josh just looked at me, sadness etched on his face. He walked away, leaving me standing there watching his back as he made his way back to the barracks.
The next day, he was gone.Chapter Ten - NadiaLiving alone on the base got kind of lonely, but I was so busy working that I hardly had time to think about it. I made sure to keep myself occupied because I didn’t want to keep obsessing about how much I missed Joshua. I was happy that I was still part of the equation with the military, but also very happy that I wasn’t on deployment. But, every day, my mind diverted to Joshua and the baby growing inside of me.
