5

Ben

I had wanted to chill with Adam, but I wasn't sure how long he'd be gone on his brunch date. I decided to spend some time in Millennium Park. It had been a year since I was there. That's sad, considering Adam and I only live a few blocks away, but that's life when you have a job.

While Adam was a businessman, I worked as an assistant to the District Attorney. It wasn't easy getting this position. While Adam was in the Marines, I attended Saint Xavier University as a Criminal Justice and Political Science major. I took classes during winter break, the May term, and the summer, so I graduated with my Bachelor's in three years. Immediately after achieving my Bachelor's degree, I went to law school. A month after graduating, I became an assistant to an attorney. We worked as a team.

Adam came back a few months after I got the job. By some miracle, I balanced out taking care of Adam and working. Once Adam left for Yale, I became a court-appointed attorney, and it wasn't bad. Just a year ago, I started working with the district attorney. I'd say I had quite a successful career for being thirty.

It was refreshing to walk through the park. The crowd wasn't too bad for a Sunday morning; only a few people enjoyed a morning stroll.

There were a lot of couples. I wished I had a good woman to go on a stroll with. I had a girlfriend, but I didn't like being around her. I guess I just wanted to say that I wasn't single. Being single felt lonely, but my relationship still made me feel alone. I had lowered my standards by trying to find an attractive girl that seemed nice.

Daphnie's friend looked nice, but I'd doubt she'd be interested in someone as old as me. Daphnie seemed like she didn't mind dating someone as old as Adam, but she seemed more mature. Daphnie's friend looked more playful and like she'd be happier with someone her age.

I spotted a hotdog stand and decided to order one, Chicago Style. After eating my hotdog, I checked the time; It was 2:15. Time flies when you're enjoying yourself. I decided that I should head home.

I figured I could rest before starting work the next day and maybe talk to Adam. We never talk. Although I had been trained to be prepared for anything, as working in the law field can be crazy, I wasn't prepared for what I came home to.

Adam was sitting in the living room when I opened the door. He was always either in his office or his room, sometimes in the kitchen, rarely.

Adam was sitting comfortably in the living room, lost in thought, with a slight smile.

Who the hell is this man?

I debated whether I should say something; he didn't notice me coming in. I wanted to take a picture of this moment, but I also didn't want to be a creep.

"How was your date?"

Adam was startled by my voice. He looked up at me, still smiling.

"It went well. We both had a good time."

"Anything you want to share?"

"No, but we have another date planned."

"That's great! When's your next date?"

"I don't know. We know what we're going to do."

"Okay. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks."

Adam began to look around the room.

"I like this room."

"You should. You designed it and picked out all the furniture, color schemes, and other important stuff for the entire place."

"I didn't let you have a say in anything?"

"We weren't living together at the time, remember?"

"Yeah, now I do."

"However, you let me remodel my room when I moved in."

"Okay."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You seem different."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe because I'm genuinely happy for once."

"That's good."

Adam looked at his phone on the coffee table in front of him.

"I have to make a phone call and stop by the storage unit."

He got up, walked into his office, and shut the door. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Before I could think about it anymore, my phone began to ring. I looked at who was calling me and rolled my eyes; it was my "wonderful" girlfriend, Bianca.

Why am I with her again?

"Hello?"

"Hi, Baby! How are you? I miss you!"

"I'm doing good. You?"

"Good. Aren't you going to say you miss me too?"

No, because I don't.

"Of course! I'm sorry! What are your plans for tonight?"

Please say you're busy.

"I was going to go to the mall, but since you asked, I can go shopping another day. What are we doing tonight? Are we having dinner at that Italian restaurant I like?"

Crap. I should've worded that question differently.

"If that's what you want to do, yes."

"Awwww...... you're so sweet! I need you to send me some money, though, because I'm going to need a manicure and pedicure if we're going out."

"How much do you need?"

"Five hundred dollars."

"Sweetie, why that much?"

"Because I'm going to that salon downtown to get a spa Mani and Pedi and get the acrylic nails with rhinestones."

"Okay. I'll send you the money right now, then."

"Thank you! Love you!"

"Bye."

Talk about a gold digger. I wish she never found out about my new job.

Bianca was highly high-maintenance, and I hated being with her. I needed to come up with a way to break up with her. I sent her the five hundred dollars she wanted before she could light up my phone, asking where it was.

I sat on the couch and thought, When will I find a good woman?

Amber

It was five o'clock, and I had already finished binge-watching Once Upon A Time. Daphnie was right. It was an excellent show, and I spent all seven seasons in one week. I decided to call Daphnie as I turned off the tv and went to the kitchen for a snack.

"Hello?"

She sounded a little tired.

"Hey, girl! What's up?"

"Not much. I just finished cleaning."

"Cleaning what?"

"The whole house."

"WHAT? Why?"

"My father got mad at me this morning and said he wanted the house spotless by the time he got home."

"What time does he come home?"

"Usually six, but sometimes eleven if he goes out drinking with his friends. However, he called me while I was out and said he would be away for a few days. I just wanted to get a head start, though that way, all I have to do is keep up with the house as I use stuff."

"Okay. That's smart. Do you know how long your dad will be gone?"

"No. Sometimes a few days turn into a few weeks. My father's schedule is unpredictable."

I noticed the tone in Daphnie's voice was sad. Not wanting to dwell on her problems, I changed the subject.

"You said you were out? What did you do?"

Daphnie chuckled a little.

"Adam took me out for brunch."

I could tell Daphnie was smiling. I sat at the kitchen table with a bag of m & m's.

"Whaaaaaaaat! Girl! How could you not tell me he was taking you out?"

"We decided on it last night, and it was late."

"You could've told me this morning!"

"I was busy. "

"With what?" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I had to make my father breakfast, then I had to clean the kitchen, and then get ready."

"How did it go?"

"It was great. I had such an amazing time. Adam is so sweet. He's such a gentleman and has done well with his life, and he's also very mature and disciplined."

"It sounds like you've found Mr. Right. When are you going to see him again?"

"I don't know, but we know what we're doing for our next date."

"And what's that?"

"A movie night."

"Very cute. Any idea what movie?"

"Yeah. Batman Begins."

"Are you kidding me?"

I put a handful of m & m's in my mouth.

"Adam said he never saw it, so I mindlessly suggested we have a movie night so that he can watch it."

"And he agreed on that?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Marry the man. Just marry him. I'll be your maid of honor."

"Amber! You're getting ahead of yourself."

"Ugh, girl."

"Anywho, I need to take a shower. I'm tired."

"Get some sleep, girl. You've got work tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll let you go then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I hung up the phone and continued eating m&m's. I thought to myself,

These have something in them; they're so addictive.

I kept thinking about Daphnie and Adam; they were a perfect couple. I just hoped that Daphnie's daddy issues or past wouldn't cause her to keep her guard up. She needed to be vulnerable for once and let Adam in.

I suddenly realized that I also had a date. I ran to my room to pick out an outfit. After half an hour of sorting through my closet, I decided on a pink button-up shirt, dark blue jeans, and wedged ankle boots. It was the perfect outfit. I chose to ignore the mess of clothes on the floor and hop into bed. I grabbed my laptop and logged on to N*****x. After some scrolling, I decided to start watching No Good Nick.

Daphnie

After showering, drying my hair, getting dressed, and getting my things ready for work the next day, I crawled into bed. I was so exhausted. I smiled as I thought back to my date with Adam. I reached for my phone and pulled up Adam's contact information.

Is it too soon to call him? Should I be calling him? What if he's busy?

After arguing with myself for a few minutes, I pressed the green button and breathed. He answered in the middle of the second ring.

"Hey."

I smiled at the sound of Adam's voice. I sat up in my bed.

"Hi."

"How are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"I'm doing good. You sound a little tired."

"Yeah, a little."

"Busy day?"

"I guess you could say that."

"What did you do?"

"I cleaned."

"You must've cleaned a lot. You shouldn't tire yourself out."

"Well, I didn't have a choice." Crap, I hope I didn't sound rude. "I'm working nine to five this week."

"Are you working Saturday and Sunday?"

"No, I have weekends off."

"Since you're gonna have a long week, how about you take some time to relax on Saturday and come over to my place for that movie night you mentioned?"

I became so excited when Adam mentioned a movie night. I didn't know what to say; I was glad he took that idea seriously.

"Sure. I'd like that."

"Okay. I wanted to make lunch, so can I pick you up at eleven-thirty?"

"I can get a ride to your house; I'll order an Uber. What time do you want me there?"

"Daphnie, I can't let you take an Uber."

"Adam, I insist. Text me your address and when I should be at your house."

Adam let out a frustrated sigh.

"Alright. Fine. I'm driving you home, though."

"Deal!"

Adam and I both laughed.

"I had a lot of fun today, Daphnie."

I couldn't stop smiling.

"Me too. It was nice getting to know you."

"Likewise."

"Are you working tomorrow?"

"No. My office has the day off since it's Columbus Day."

"I forgot about that. My boss is still making me work."

"Where do you work by?"

"Alsip."

"What? That's a long ride from where you live."

"Yeah, but I manage."

"Do you get a lunch break?"

I had an idea of where this conversation was going.

"Yes. I get a one-hour lunch."

"Do you have any plans for lunch tomorrow?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Would you like me to take you out to lunch tomorrow?"

"I think I would," I said with a smile.

"Great. What time do you take your lunch break?"

"Usually, 12:15."

"Okay. Text me the address where you work, and I'll see you tomorrow at 12:15."

"Okay."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I hung up with a massive smile on my face. I already had two dates with Adam to look forward to. I couldn't believe it. Adam was such a gentleman and a man like him was hard to find. Part of me was sure that he was the man for me.

The next day

Adam

It was about 9:30. I had already worked out, showered, and gotten ready for my lunch date with Daphnie.

Since I had plenty of time, I was in my office sorting through the box I brought from my storage unit. It held memories from when I was in the Marines that I hadn't looked at in six years.

I opened a small box that held my dog tags. They were still beaten up and had bloodstains on them. One would wonder how they were damaged if a soldier always wore dog tags underneath his shirt. They were damaged while I was being held prisoner. My dog tags were the only thing that they let me wear. They said they would throw my body somewhere when I died, and my dog tags would help everyone know who I was after they burned my body.

Next, I took out a shadow box I was given that held my medals. I opened the wooden frame to look at each medal I was awarded.

The first one was the purple heart. I was awarded this for being injured in combat. While the U.S. Embassy was under attack, I was shot in the leg multiple times. After I was captured, they beat on my leg again and again. By the time I was rescued, my leg was almost shattered. I had two metal bolts in my leg that kept my leg together. I also suffered third-degree burns on my back as well as stab wounds. The doctors had to do a skin graph to prevent an infection. The medal wasn't anything fancy. It had a purple ribbon and a heart shape outlined in bronze. The heart had a purple center and a bronze image of George Washington. I picked it up and turned it over to see the backside: "For Military Merit."

The successive medal was a Navy cross: the second-highest medal awarded for bravery in combat. This also connected to when I was captured. When you're in the Marines, there's a quote you live by, Semper Fidelis, which means you are dedicated and loyal to your comrades. I took that seriously. When the embassy was attacked, I took several bullets for my platoon. I also made sure to cover them as they tried to escape. I had to stay behind, and that was how I was captured. The medal had a blue ribbon with a white line down the middle. The award itself was a gold cross. A circle at the center of the cross showed sailboats in the water.

I picked up the last medal: the prisoner of war medal. I was held captive for six months, two weeks, five days, thirteen hours, and fifty-three minutes. All that time was represented by

a bronze medallion with an American bald eagle shown with its wings opened. Around the eagle were barbed wire and bayonet points. That meant the United States in general and the individual prisoner of war. The eagle is said to be standing "with pride and dignity, continually on the alert for the opportunity to seize hold of beloved freedom." Inscribed on the back was: "AWARDED TO ADAM CARTER FOR HONORABLE SERVICE WHILE A PRISONER OF WAR" It was nice that this medal was customized for me. It had the shield of the Coat of Arms of the United States on it. It was centered on the lower part of the backside with the inscription "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" around the bottom. The ribbon was a central band of black-edged white. The edge stripes of the ribbon were made of red, white, and blue pinstripes. This wasn't the only thing that summarized my time being a prisoner. I still had mental and physical scars from being beaten, whipped, stabbed, and burned. Honestly, those scars meant more to me than this medal.

I took out another small shadow box that held my ribbons and chevrons. I had quite a few decorations to wear. Back then, I was proud. Now, I couldn't care less. My chevrons were pretty basic: I was a staff sergeant by the time I was discharged. My chevrons consisted of two crossed rifles, three stripes pointing up, and one rocker. I put the box on my desk next to the other.

Next in the box were pictures. There were pictures of me in uniform, right before graduation, me with my squad, me on the silent drill platoon, my friends in the barracks, and so on. I looked at each picture, remembering the moments they were taken. I remembered the people I was with. They were my friends. Some were dead, and some were highly disabled. They were utterly cut off because I wanted to move forward and completely forget about the Marines. I couldn't, though, no matter how hard I tried; the Marine Corps was a part of me.

Ben

Thanks to good ol' Christopher Columbus, I had the day off work. I thought it would be a good idea if Adam and I went to lunch. Maybe afterward, we could hit the bar, not to get drunk, just to chill. I walked over to his office. The door was open, so I could see that he was standing by his desk. I stood in the doorway and knocked on the door.

"Yes?"

I began walking up to him.

"I was wondering if you wanted t-"

Then, I saw what Adam went to the storage garage for. I was speechless for a few seconds as I stood next to him.

"Wow, I haven't seen this stuff in a long time."

"Yeah, I never thought I'd look at it again."

Adam was going through a stack of photos; the photos were of people I hadn't seen since Adam was discharged from the hospital.

As Adam continued to look through the small stack of photos, I looked to see what was next in the box. It was Adam's combat uniform. I could see a few blood stains on it; I wasn't sure why Adam held onto it. All I knew was that he wasn't ready to look through these memories.

"Adam, I don't think this is a good idea."

Adam let out a sigh. He put the stack of photos on his desk and looked up at me.

"You're right. I'm not ready to go through this stuff."

"So, why are you?"

Adam turned to look at me.

"I told Daphnie I was in the Marines for six years. She doesn't believe the story I gave her."

"Why wouldn't she believe you? You can't make something like that up."

Adam remained silent.

"Wait, Adam. What did you tell her?"

"That I was discharged."

"What did you tell her the reason was?"

Adam was silent. He looked down at the floor.

"Adam!"

"I told her we had to evacuate."

"Wow..... She's the love of your life, and you're lying to her already?"

I could tell Adam was offended. His head immediately snapped up to look at me after I said that.

"We did evacuate!"

"You were a Prisoner of War! That's why you were discharged! You need to tell her!"

"You honestly believe I want to tell her that? Do you think I want to tell her I was injured? You think I want her to know I have PTSD and other problems?"

"Why not?!"

"I don't want her feeling bad for me or having pity!"

"Feeling bad? Are you serious?! It's not about her feeling bad; it's about her understanding. What if you have another episode? If you don't tell her and have an incident like last time or worse, I guarantee she'll walk away and won't look back!"

Adam was silent again. He looked me in the eyes for a few seconds and then looked at the floor; he knew I was right. After a few minutes, Adam grabbed everything off his desk and packed it back away. He picked up the box and walked out of his office.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm taking this back."

"So you're just gonna let Daphnie keep doubting you were in the Marines?"

Adam froze. He stood there in the hallway. After a few seconds, Adam put the box on the floor and began digging through it. He took a few things out and threw them on his desk.

"There."

He closed the box and walked out the door. I looked at what Adam decided to show Daphnie: his P.T. uniform and dog tags.

I let out a sigh and ran my hand down my face.

"Convincing enough, I guess."