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26
BEAU
Two weeks later, just as she’d promised, Lyndi and her sister had gone to pick up Pops so he could be at my graduation from drill instructor school. Having him in the audience of that auditorium while I was given my olive-green campaign cover—worn only by drill instructors—was one of the greatest privileges of my life.
I waved at him as I jogged off the stage, winking at Lyndi as I passed her on the way to resume my seat with my fellow graduates. It was so good to see him. And not just see him but know he was doing better. Now that his cancer was in remission, I loved being able to tell him I told him so… if only to hear him laugh. And loved that I could.
After the rest of the graduates received their campaign covers, it was time for us to raise our right hands and recite the Drill Instructor’s Creed.
I proudly stood with my class and did so, repeating each line at the top of my still-shredded voice, meaning every word. This whole drill instructor thing may have started as a way to keep me in South Carolina, but over the last eleven weeks, it’d become so much more. After surviving what was probably the hardest training I’d ever endured as a Marine, I was ready to put it all to good use. I was ready to do my part to shape the future of the Corps.
“These recruits are entrusted to my care,” we shouted in unison. “I will train them to the best of my ability. I will develop them into smartly disciplined, physically fit, basically trained Marines, thoroughly indoctrinated in love of Corps and country. I will demand of them, and demonstrate by my own example, the highest standards of personal conduct, morality, and professional skill.”
When we were finished, we remained standing and sang the “Marines’ Hymn,” as we did at the closing of pretty much every training course I’d taken in my career. It was a powerful thing, singing along to an anthem every Marine knew by heart and probably would until his or her dying day. And today,man, more than ever, I felt like we’d earned the right to sing it.
When it was all over and we were released, I made my way through the crowd to Lyndi and my old man. Zac, Layla, and Grayson—who I’d already started thinking of as the family I never dreamed I’d get—were right there with them.
“Hey, guys,” I said as I greeted them, pulling my pops in for the first hug. “It’s good to see you, thanks for coming.”
“This one’s hard to say no to,” he said, jerking a thumb at Lyndi with a quick grin. “Not that I wanted to.”
“Who would?” I replied, gathering her into my arms for a hug and a brief kiss.
I moved on to hug the others, accepting their congratulations and thanking them for coming, complete with ruffling Grayson’s shaggy hair. “How was that, bud? Were you bored?”
“Sorta,” he replied with a shrug. “It took forever to get through the rest of the guys after you got your hat.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, them’s the breaks with having a last name that starts with D.”
“Mine’s in the middle,” he replied, then looked up at the gorgeous woman whose hand I held. “Aunt Lyndi, yours is closer to the end.”
“Yeah, she’ll be stuck with mine soon enough, though,” I said to Gray, but I shot her a smirk.Sooner than you think, even.
“All right,” Layla said, clapping her hands together, “everyone’s going to be waiting for us at Mickey’s. He was nice enough to close down the whole place for your graduation party.”
I blinked at my soon-to-be sister-in-law as if I’d had nothing to do with it. “Really? I don’t even know enough people to justify that.”
“I pulled some strings,” she said with a knowing smile. “Now, let’s go.”
We filed through the mess of seventy-five new drill instructors and their families as I tugged Lyndi close to my side. I know I hadn’t physically left her to go through this training, but I felt different now that I’d completed it. The motivational speeches from my instructors still pumped through me, and between that dose of Marine Corps spirit and the excitement of what I was about to do, I felt a little like I did when emotions spiked after returning from deployment.
An hour and a half later, we filed through the door of Mickey’s Pub in Bluffton and were immediately assaulted with cheers and shouts of congratulations.
Sure, I wouldn’t have had a party this big for my graduation if it weren’t for my ulterior motive. But since Lyndi had only barely caught the memo the first time, I needed a repeat performance of my grand gesture. Only this time, there’d be a very important question at the end. One I already knew the answer to, and one I knew she didn’t want anyone other than her family and friends to witness. No public proposals for this girl, but I could still make it epic with only her favorite people around.
After saying hi to the few members of Lyndi’s family that she was closest to—including her grandmother, to whom I was now eternally grateful—as well as Ms. Hattie and the rest of our friend group, we settled in for beers and burgers and a little bit of normalcy.
A little while later, though, I excused myself to the restroom so I could go wash my hands and try to shake off the nerves that’d surprised me by showing up halfway through my burger.
“Hey, not getting cold feet, are you?” Zac asked as he, Will, Paul, and Chase walked into the men’s room.
I eyed them through the mirror as I washed my hands. “What is this, an intervention?”
“No, man. We know you got this,” Will said, stepping up to pat my shoulder. “And it’s almost go-time, so tell us where you want us.”
“You are good, though, right? Because if you need a pep talk, I’m pretty sure Layla is dying to give you one,” Zac told me with a laugh.
I dried my hands, turning toward him to lean against the counter. “Oh, yeah? Sure she’s not dying to change my mind instead? It wasn’t exactly the plan for me to take Lyndi out of Bluffton before you guys left.”
