Chapter 64
“Now finish your coffee, you two,” his mother went on. “Your father will be waiting.”
Ward and Joe pulled on their hoodies and went out the door.
* * * *
The brothers walked down the path to the milk barn, Ward hunched over with his hands thrust in his pockets, fretting about the task of taking Addy to Tyler. As they approached the barn, Joe asked, “What’s that sticking out of your butt pocket?”
“Nothing,” Ward replied and tried to cover the envelope with his hand.
Before he could, Joe snatched it. He looked at the address and stopped walking. Ward stopped as well.
“So, you’re really gonna do this?”
“Yeah…I think so,” Ward said, not really having fully made up his mind.
“Don’t you think you should at least tell Tyler, instead of sneaking off like you did last time? Or are you gonna be as big an asshole about this as he is?”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“So you’re brave enough to go over to some godforsaken hellhole and fight terrorists and maybe get killed, but you’re too much a coward to man up and tell the guy who you claim to love what you’re planning on doing?”
Ward was quiet. They began walking again. Without looking at him, Joe said, “You can say goodbye and tell him you’re joining up when you take the puppy over this afternoon.”
Ward protested again. “I don’t think I can do that. I don’t think I can tell him.”
“Can tell him or can’t, you’re going. I’ll come with you if you want, but one way or the other, you’re going, and he’s gonna be told, even if I have to do it myself.”
Ward stopped at the milk barn door. He looked at Joe. “When did you get to be the boss, littlebrother?”
“When I grew two inches taller than you and my dick got bigger than yours , big brother.”
“Ya don’t have to go with me. I’ll do it on my own,” Ward said, resigning himself to the reality that Joe was right. Ward owed it to Tyler to tell him face to face. With that thought, he and Joe entered the barn.
* * * *
Ward drove his truck to the end of the Cartwright’s drive and stopped. Little Addy was in the backseat, standing on her hind legs and looking out the window. Her little tail was wagging a-mile-a minute. A partial bag of kibble lay on the passenger seat. He would stop at the mill store to pick up more food and the other things Addy would need.
When he’d told his mother and father he would take the puppy to Tyler and the boys, his mother smiled and said she’d call to let them know. Ward was glad of that. He wondered if Tyler would even have taken the call if he had checked caller ID and saw that it was him.
Ward got out of the truck, walked to the mailbox, put the reenlistment letter inside, and raised the flag. He stood looking at the flag for a while, took a deep breath, got back in the truck, and drove off. He wanted to have that taken care of before he saw Tyler and the boys. He knew that once he saw them, his resolve would fail, and he’d waiver in his decision to go back into the army. He didn’t want to hang around Summerville in the shadows, making life harder for them all.
The drive to town seemed interminable. Waves of anxiety washed over him as he tried to rehearse what he would tell Tyler and the boys about his decision. Ward the soldier had never imagined when he came home he would ever be leaving for the army again.
Ward parked his truck in the lot at the mill. He was glad the mill itself was closed—less chance of seeing anyone. The store was open on weekends. He hoped he could get in and out without a lot of questions from whomever was on duty. He walked in and was relieved to see it was Johnny Horton, not Sarah Anne or Nancy.
At the end of summer Johnny had gone back to school and now only worked part-time in the mill store, usually on Saturday. He wouldn’t be aware of the situation with Tyler as Sarah Anne and Nancy might.
“Hey, Johnny,” Ward said as he came in.
“Hey,” Johnny replied. “What’s going on? Ain’t seen you since I went back to school at the end of summer. How you doing?”
“Great,” Ward lied. “Just here to pick up some things for a new puppy I got for…my mother.” Ward didn’t want to say anything about the pup being for Tyler, in case it led to a lengthy conversation.