Unspoken Abandonment (19 page)

Kevin and I just looked
at each other. “What? Excuse me, but
are you serious?” I asked.

“
I’m v
ery serious, son. Today’s Friday, so I will see you Monday morning in my office. I’m in building 1347 on the third floor,” said Major Sanders.

“Eight o’clock, sir?”

“Make it ten-thirty, son. No need to rush,” replied Major Sanders as he cracked a smile.

Within days, Kevin and I were living in a new barrack and reporting to our new assignment with Major Sanders. The new barrack
definitely was no
t the Hilton, but
it was a vast improvement
from where we were.
The barrack
was a three story, modern
,
cinderbl
ock building, with a bare white-
wall interior. Inside
,
it was divided in
to
multiple rooms and reminded me a lot of a college dorm. Each room had its own shower
,
own
bathroom
,
and only two people
per room. Major Sanders could no
t get
Kevin and I
into one room together,
but we were in the same building
.
Kevin
was
staying
on the first floor because of his legs
,
and I was on the second. My new roommate was a quiet guy who minded his own business, and
he
definitely did no
t piss his pants.

Working for Major Sanders was a lot different than working in the
S
upply
D
istribution
C
enter. He had us come in around
, as he called it,
“ten-ish”
each morning,
and
then
he
usually had us leave by two or three
in the afternoon. It is
actually difficult to call it working, because we did very little work
, if any
at all. We formed a fun pattern of going to a local
pizza shop
each day
for lunch, and then goofing
off
until it was quitting time.
M
y cholesterol levels must have been screaming, but we were enjoying it.

After a few weeks of working with Major Sanders, Kevin and I were really starting to like him.
The three of us had a lot in common, and
we
formed a very unique bond
that I have never experienced, before or since
.
Kevin and I really liked
Major Sanders
, and we knew he
was really starting
to like us as well. To this day, I
think we
each
understood what
the
other had been through in a way that no one else ever will.

Major Sanders
rushed into his office one morning, closing the door behind him.
Major Sander
s
’
office was fairly large, with a stately
,
solid wood desk in the middle. Along one wall was a plush leather couch, and the remaining walls were adorned with diplomas, awards, letters, and accolades. A photo on the wall showed Major Sanders with then President Bush, and another depicted the Major shaking hands with Nelson Mandela. It was a very impressive room.

“I have great news for you two! Well, great news for me actually, but I’m going to share it with you guys first,” the Major shouted excitedly. He continued, “I’m being promoted! It hasn’t been announced officially, but I have good word that I’m being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel at the end of the year!”

I told the Major how I thought it was great news, but Kevin just began to chuckle. The major asked, “You don’t think that’s
great
, Kev?”

Kevin, obviously holding back a laugh replied, “No, it’s awesome! I’m really excited.”

“What? What’s so funny?” Major Sanders asked.

Kevin, now barely able to control his laughter, responded, “Dude, you’re going to be Colonel Sanders! You’re name will be fucking Colonel Sanders! Let’s just promote Bryan to Major so you two can be Major Wood and Colonel Sanders!”

The three of us laughed, with Major Sanders giving Kevin a lighthearted slap upside the head and saying, “Real funny, asshole.”

“Oh shit, I’
m going to be late. I have to get
over
to
my
physical therapy
appointment
,” Kevin announced.

I replied, “See you for lunch, dude. Pizza?”

Major Sanders said, “Works for me.”

Kevin added, “Me too.”

I had
some errands of my own to take care of,
so I gave Kevin
a ride to the medical facility
and then went about
tending to
my business.
Two
hours later, I got back to Major Sanders
’
office to meet the guys for lunch. I found the Major’s door was closed, with a note taped to it that read, “Bryan, hang around for a minute.  I’ll be right out.”

After waiting for what was actually twenty minutes but felt like hours, I
became
very
curious
about
what was going o
n. Kevin was
n
o
t waiting with me,
so I assumed he was in
the office
with the Major.

The Major’s door opened, and I saw he was alone in his office. Have you ever had that strange
,
sinking feeling in your stomach
,
where you somehow know that something is wrong? I was having that feeling right then.

“Bryan, come on in, bud.”

“What’s going on? Is everything ok?” I
anxiously
asked.

“No, buddy, i
t’s not.”

There was a long pause before the Major continued, “
This morning,
after you dropped him off,
Kevin was in
his
physical therapy
session
,
and
he
re-broke
his leg. His
leg just broke
.”

“Where is he?” I demanded to know. “I want to go see him.”

“Bryan, that’s not something they can take care of here. He was transported to the local hospital, and he’s going to be transported to
another medical center
tonight for surgery.”

I had no idea where they were about to take my friend, but
I wanted to see
him
before he left. I
felt as though I
just had to. I asked Major Sanders
if I could
go to the hospital to see Kevin.

“Bryan, we can’t. They’re prepping him to be flown out right now. I tried to arrange to have you see him at the airfield before he goes, but it’s a no-go.”

The conversation continued on like this for quite a while, pleading with Major Sanders
until I finally realized I was no
t going to see Kevin before he left.

Little did I realize that when I gave Kevin a ride that morning, it was going to be the last time I
woul
d ever see my friend.
Then,
just like that, Kevin was gone.

As the weeks rolled on without Kevin, life went on like it always does. I thanked God every night that we found Major Sanders before K
evin had to leave
,
because
I kn
e
w I could
n
o
t have made it through
my
old situation alone. Life may kick us in the balls
, and
really hard
at times
, but I also believe life will
always
help you back up
to your feet and
just
when you need it the most. I think Major Sanders knew that I wa
s taking it all very hard, and h
e was always there for me
. H
e became
one of the truest
friend
s I
ha
ve ever had
.

One morning out of the blue, Major Sanders called me into his office.

“Bryan,
” he said,
“
the only thing that
is going to
be worse than
seeing Kevin leave
will be
seeing you go
,
too
.”

“Go where, sir?”

“Home, son. Your unit is loading up
,
back
in Afghanistan
,
as we speak
.
They’re coming back, and y
ou’re going home.”

I had
very recently
finished all of
my physical therapy
,
and
I
was medically cleared. At this point
,
I was simply waiting for my unit to come back from Afghanistan
so I could
be released from active duty with them.

“When? When can I leave?” I anxiously asked.

“I
received
an email from your c
ompany commander in Afghanistan
,
and
as of eleven o’clock last night
they were in the process of loading their equipment onto transport aircraft.”

“But when?
W
hen can I leave?” I repeated.

“Your unit should be wheels up sometime tonight or
tomorrow
,
and
they should have their boots
on the ground here in a day or two. After that, I’d imagine you’ll be heading home within a week or so.”

I asked Major Sanders if he was joking. I begged him not to joke about this.

Major Sanders said,
“I’m not joking, kid. That’s it;
it’s all over. You’re
really
going home.”

I told Major Sanders, “Thank you, Bernie. I don’t think I can ever repay
you for
what you did for me here.”

“Go home, have fun, and enjoy your life. You’ve been through enoug
h bullshit.
Just go enjoy, and make the best out of everything.
”

I replied, “I wil
l.
I really hope nothing bu
t the best for you, a
nd if I ever need a good fried chicken recipe, I’ll be sure to call you, Colonel Sanders.”

Major Sanders gave me a
hug and said, “I’m just glad I was here for you guys.”

“I don’t think you’ll ever know how much you
really did for me,” I told him.

Exactly eight days after having that conversation, I was home, and
the entire
nightmare
was finally over
.
I had been so consumed by the challenges of life in Fort Drum that
I didn’t
even
realize
,
but I w
as
quickly
going
see
,
that the person I was before this
all
started had somehow changed.
The way I saw the world was gone, and I saw things, almost everything, in an entirely different way.
It was now time to face
this
fact,
and
I needed to
a
djust to
life in
an entirely
new reality.

I
am all alone
in a desert, wearing my Army uniform with full battle gear. I’m on my knees
,
with my
fingers clasped and my
hands behind my head. My pulse is racing, and I’m sweating so profusely that my uniform is soaked. I don’t see or hear anyone else, but I can
sense
them
standing
behind me. I can feel that their intentions are
frightening
,
and I begin to panic. I’m instantly laid out on my stomach
,
with someone’s foot on the back of my neck. My face is being pressed into the hot sand, with the grains scraping like sandpaper. I still cannot see who is there, but I can now hear them. I hear them talking about taking me alive, and a bag is slid over my head. The fear becomes so intense
that
I can feel myself wanting to vomit
. I a
m powerless and cannot move.
I can only think to myse
lf that this canno
t be happening; i
t can
no
t be real.