Page 32 of Forever Flustered

This was just a meet-and-greet, Eli insisted stubbornly, trying not to put too much into this whole thing, because none of this was truly possible. You couldn’t get along with someone so easily, and his parents were proof of that. They argued all the time. Heck, he and Bode argued for years because they were both struggling to find their own way and floundering. It wasn’t until he felt like he was trapped, caged in, stuck in a cell of his own making – that he finally stopped fighting against all the rest of it.

The things he wanted? They were all put on hold…

Childhood dreams? He was living the dream – just not the one he imagined…

Friendship? There wasn’t really time for any of that, if you were focused on building or maintaining your career…

Companionship? He didn’t need it, because he was surrounded by people on base and he could hear his father speaking in the back of his mind.

Boy, your stupid sentimental feelings make you weak!

“No,” he gritted out under his breath, almost pained at the memory that suddenly assaulted him – and how hard he wanted to run in the other direction of those thoughts. “She said we’d figure this out…” And he would have to, because he already messed up - royally.

His rucksack was packed – and sitting on his bunk… in Ghazni.

Eli had been so excited, so ready to leave, so panicked that Bradford would appear in his office with some ‘emergency’ and abruptly decide to cancel his leave – that he left the base early, racing toward the airport. Thank goodness that he was the paranoid type. He had his passport, his military ID, and his wallet on him… and everything else would be neatly waiting for his return to Afghanistan.

Dipping his head slightly to exit the plane, Eli slowly made his way up the walkway, fighting an extreme case of nerves. What if this was a mistake? No problem, he would go to Bode’s. What if they hit it off? What then? What if they were only friends and the spark wasn’t there? What if he imagined it? What if he just wasn’t enough?

Eli came to a stop on the walkway, not far from the airport door that would lead into the gate area. There was still the walk down to baggage claim, and he was already freaking out – internally. Anyone looking at him would see a cool, calm Air Force officer in uniform waiting patiently to the side for everyone else to disembark first – a modicum of dignity and politeness befitting his rank. In uniform, you were told to behave a certain way, and he followed those rules to a ‘T’ because it kept him out of trouble… but on the inside?

He was panicking.

Clearing his throat at the curious looks, Eli gave a slight nod and stepped back into a gap within the line of people, quickly making their way toward baggage claim where their loved ones and friends would be waiting. He was keenly aware that it wasn’t the same situation for him, but that niggling bit of hope seemed to spring eternal within him. There were several gift shops along the way, making him realize that he hadn’t thought to bring her a present – nor did he have a change of clothing for the entire trip.

Stepping inside one, he bought a gray T-shirt that said ‘Texas’ on the front and saw the cluster of bouquets wrapped in colored cellophane bags beside the register. Were flowers too much? Should he get her a stuffed animal? Was this being stupid or overdoing things? Maybe he should get her a T-shirt too… wait, she was from Texas. Why would she need a souvenir shirt from here?

“You ready, buddy?” the clerk asked him, interrupting the waterfall of self-doubt and depreciation flooding his mind. “You want something else, too?”

“Sure,” he replied immediately, hoping that it was the right thing to get Maureen a surprise, a little something romantic. Maybe she only wanted to be friends - and didn’t want romance from him?

“What else?” the clerk barked out - and obviously short-tempered. “There are other people behind you, my guy. What else do you want besides the shirt? You want a chocolate bar? A soda? Hurry it up, buddy.”

“Yes,” Eli replied, so taken aback and flustered by this guy’s aggressive attitude while he was in the middle of his inner monologue of doubt and denial. “Yes to everything,” he added, reaching blindly beside him for a couple of wrapped candy bars, grabbed a drink from the small refrigerator that lined the front of the checkout counter, and then pointed to the flowers. “One of those too.”

“My mannnn,” the guy chuckled and gave him a wink before holding up a hand toward him – which Eli gingerly and awkwardly shook out of politeness. “You got a little something sweet waiting for ya’ huh? Flowers do it every time. My wife says that if I’m wanting something, I’ve gotta warm the oven… if you get my drift. That uniform - boy, that would do it for her. She’d be fanning herself if’n she was here to see that get-up.”

“Thanks,” Eli said awkwardly, feeling disgusted by the change in the man’s attitude and his unwanted assessment. Paying quickly, he grabbed the bag and selected a bright bouquet of wildflowers for Maureen – only to feel a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw a woman standing there, balancing a baby on her hip.

“If you’re meeting your girl – take the one with the rose,” she offered with a smile that made him realize that she was trying to help him out of kindness. Grateful, he put the initial one back and selected the one with a large pink rose that was opening in the center, surrounded by daisies and a variety of other little flowers. He held it up as if to say, ‘This one?’ and she nodded. “Roses are for romance and smell better.”

“Thank you.”

“You bet – and good luck,” she offered, moving forward to ring up her items.

Eli quickly departed the small store that was getting more crowded now. He assumed another plane had landed since his arrival and wondered how crowded the baggage claim area would be – or how hard it would be to find Maureen, his ride. As he began the walk again toward baggage claim, his mind started to wander once more, thinking and wondering how this meeting would go… and saw her.

Maureen was standing there, almost toward the front of the baggage claim area, furthest away from the exit, and smiling as she held… a melon. She was standing there, holding a cantaloupe in her hands – a cantaloupe that had a smiley face drawn on the front. He looked at it, then at her, and pointed as he kept walking closer.

“Should I be insulted?”

“No,” she chuckled mischievously. “I selected the smallest melon I could find.”

“Gee. Thanks.”

“Oh, you are sooo welcome,” she beamed – and then leaned toward the side to chuck the melon into a trash can nearby, surprising him once more.

“What’d you do that for?” he asked bluntly. “I just got here, and you’re throwing me away. I have feelings, you know, and the implication is that I’m nothing but garbage or a joke to you… Well, that was a waste of a perfectly good melon.”