Sidelined

“What’s wrong? You don’t look happy with me.” Ben tried to lace his fingers through hers again, but the mood had changed.

“I know this is going to make me sound suspicious and jealous and we haven’t had this discussion, but is Faith someone else you’re seeing?”

Ben’s eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead. “No. You think—” He shook his head. “No, Faith is my best friend’s wife.”

Skye relaxed her shoulders. “Oh good.” Skye felt more relieved than stupid for prying. But on the night she was going to sleep with him, she didn’t want any other women in the picture. That wasn’t too much to ask.

Ben’s hands grasped the edge of the silver necklace he wore and he revealed the dog tags from his shirt. “This is her husband. Riggs.” He held out the bottom tag.

“Why do you have his tag?” Skye had a sinking feeling, but didn’t want to jump to any more conclusions. Maybe Riggs was deployed.

“Let’s sit over here.” Ben led her to a rock formation, sticking out of the sand. He kept a firm grip on her arm so she didn’t slide on the slippery bottom rocks.

“Is everything ok, Ben?”

“No, it’s not.” He shook his head. “Riggs and I were college roommates. That’s where we met. Middle Tennessee State.” Skye didn’t want to interrupt a single word. “It was great. We both had the same kind of shitty family lives. We were supposed to be roommates. I have no doubt about that.” Ben’s eyes drifted to the waves. “After four years of it being the two of us, he met Faith and they got married. But, he still wanted to join the Marine Corps. We did that together, then flight school together, moved out to California, and went through the RAG together.” Ben took a long pause. “Anyway, one night we were out doing carrier training. That’s when we have to land at sea. It’s just part of the process to keep us fresh on all the skills.”

Skye wanted to put an arm around him or crawl in his lap, but it was like he was on autopilot telling the story. She waited for him to continue.

“I came in for a landing first. No problem. The winds were fine, it was clear. I landed on deck and went straight to the debriefing room. I was excited. I’d never had an easier landing at sea.” His eyes misted. “But Riggs, he never landed.”

“Wh—what happened?”

Ben used the back of his hand to wipe at his eyes. “I don’t know. He vanished. He lost contact with the tower. They never found him or the jet.”

“Never found him?”

He shook his head. “Gone.” He looked at the ocean.

“Oh my God.” Skye studied his face. “I don’t understand how that can happen.”

“There were a few theories floating around. Electrical failure may have led to his losing radio contact. Once that occurred there’s no telling what happened with the jet. One engine problem could lead to the other. If he was trying to deal with that, he didn’t have time to make the landing or find a divert. It was late at night, dark, and he was two hundred miles off the coast.”

“How long ago did it happen?”

“It’s been almost two years. Sometimes I think he’s still here. It doesn’t feel like two years to me, and I know it doesn’t for Faith either.”

“I’m really sorry, Ben. That’s awful. I can’t imagine something like that happening.”

He hung his head. “Me either. He should still be here. After we finished flight school, we had the RAG left to complete and then we were going to do our best to get in the same squadron. He only had one month until that. One month.” He shook his head. “He never got a call sign. Charlie Riggs flew almost two years and never got his call sign. Can you believe that?”

Skye stared in disbelief. “No, it’s hard to imagine any of it.”

“So, that’s why I wear one of his tags. Faith gave it to me. She has the other one.”

“Where is she now?”

“She decided to stay here. She moved out to California for the one-year stint while we were going through the RAG. Riggs was hoping we would both get on with the Rebels. After the accident, she didn’t want to move out of their house. She’s in San Diego. I’ve been trying to help her at the house when I can, but I’m not always around. I’m not the best substitute for Riggs.” Skye was surprised to see Ben smile. “That’s why she called. I thought something else had broken, but she just wanted to let me know that the garage door was still working. It got stuck and I ran over there this morning to fix it.”

“That’s so sweet of you.” Skye pictured Ben with a tool belt. “I bet it means a lot to her that she has someone she can count on.”

“I know that’s what Riggs would want for me to do. I think it’s good for Faith too.”

“Maybe I could meet her some time.” Skye rested her hand on Ben’s knee.

“That would be cool. I think you two would like each other. She’s artsy. Kind of like you.”

“You think I’m artsy?”