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“Good luck and Godspeed,” Captain Wells said.
I raised my beer to him, but what I really wanted to do was whack him over the head with the bottle.
I watched him walk away before I turned back to Paxton. His face showed the kind of shock I knew I was feeling, and in an instant, Paxton started laughing. He threw his head back and gripped tightly to his beer, making sure it didn’t spill anywhere while his shoulders shook.
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His laughter pulled a chuckle from my throat that soon grew into a billowing roar.
“Holy hell, that man’s full of hot air,” Paxton said.
“He’s a fucking character,” I said.
“Shit, that man has no clue, does he? It’s like he didn’t even come up in the same Navy as us!”
“I’m pretty sure the Navy from 1940 and the Navy now are two different things.”
We laughed until our stomachs hurt before we could finish our drinks. We sat down on some chairs in the corner while people I’d grown to love ate food and came to offer me their congratulations. Soon, the raucous partying died down, and all that was left was the whispering of people in the corners.
“So, where you goin’ from here?” Paxton asked.
“Got a cabin in Tennessee I’m heading to,” I said.
“No shit?” he asked. “Since when?”
“I bought it a few years back with some of my deployment money. Got it paid off and waiting for me for whenever I made this decision.”
“Fuck. I should’ve taken financial advice from you.”
“You’re doin’ just fine for yourself,” I said. “You know that.”
“Well, it could be better. I could stop taking those trips to Vegas.”
“No, you couldn’t,” I said, grinning.
“You’re right. I couldn’t. I love the women out there way too much. Seriously man, is there a more perfect kind of woman?” he asked.
“Probably not,” I said.
“Well, on that note, what are you gonna do once you get to that cabin. Just… hide out?”
“I don’t really know. I just know that, right now, I need some fucking silence.”
A boom sounded off in the distance from the training grounds of our base, and I groaned.
“Shit, I know what you mean,” Paxton said. “Quiet sounds nice.”
“Then you can come visit me anytime,” I said.
A silence fell over us while the two of us started to reflect. Images flashed in my mind. Images of screaming bodies and soldiers with severed limbs. Sounds of people begging for help and reaching out for me - only to be left to die.
I could never reach my hand out far enough.
“Canter, I want to thank—”
“Don’t you dare,” I said darkly.
Paxton’s eyes panned over to me while I pointed my empty beer bottle at him.
