How was your day?
The Marquis have any surprises?
She remembered his physical therapist’s nickname, his buddies, his exercises.
Graduated from shorties.
He looked at his wall calendar, the purple felicidades his mother had scrawled across June 26 emphasizing her pride.
Grace
WHAT?? Isn’t that super-fast?
Easier for me because I have one knee. Wish I had a picture.
He had a dozen earlier shots on this phone, but no way would he send her a photo of himself on the six-inch-tall legs double amps started learning on. They put his head between belly-buttons and breast level. Maybe some chicks digged that, but he doubted Grace had that fetish.
Nurses gave me my first boot ceremony.
Grace
What’s that?
They hide an open beer in an old boot.
If I make it around the exercise track and retrieve it (harder to bend & straighten w/out spilling than you think!) and carry it out then it’s mine.
Tomorrow I move to 10-inchers.
Cue jokes among the guys.
Grace
Seriously cool. Did you celebrate?
Took my mamá to dinner.
Most restaurants near the Medical Center were amp-friendly, and his mother appreciated the break from the family suite’s kitchen.
Prepping for your cruise?
Grace
Eleven days and counting.
Ironic that Grace also deployed weeks at a time, multiple times a year, researching for NOAA Marine Fisheries Service.
Which shift did you draw?
Grace
Midnight to noon.
I’ll sleep 1 to 9 pm or so.
Night ops equals crummy coffee.
Knowing that she was awake too, even if she was busy, might lighten the dark at 3:00 a.m.
