The first two days on the carrier were too busy to allow for any downtime, and when I was able to get to my email, she’d already sent three messages. They’d been very sweet, and supportive, but I hated to think of her waiting for my reply.
Which was why I was in such a hurry to get back to my quarters after completing my shift at the end of the first week aboard the carrier. As a senior officer in my squadron, I’d been given priority in my accommodations. Rather than being crammed into an open bay with a hundred sailors, I shared a two-man stateroom with Lt. Commander Richard Lions, a fellow officer and pilot in my squadron. Before the beginning of the tour, we’d known each other by reputation, and in passing, and I’d been relieved to find out we’d been bunked together. Lt. Commander Lions was older than me by a handful of years, married, with a pack of kids at home waiting for him. In the few days we’d been aboard the ship, he’d already plastered one of his walls with photos and artwork that had clearly been done by little hands.
He was a quiet guy as far as I could tell. Whenever we were in the room at the same time, he was usually on his laptop, calling his kids, or reading from a well-worn paperback that had an illustrated cover and a title that had something to do with zombies.
Usually, when he got a call from his family, I made myself scarce for an hour or so to give him some privacy. Usually, I’d hit up the workout room or go to the wardroom for a cup of coffee and remnants of whatever food had been served. However, after a long day spent in and out of meetings, my mind was on information overload, and I just wanted to get to my rack, spend the time to write out a proper reply to Holly’s emails, and then close my eyes for a nap.
“Hey, Lions,” I said, stepping inside the small room. He was reclined against a pillow in his rack, book in hand, and barely glanced up at my greeting. I slid the door closed behind me and went to my own rack.
Moments later, he laid the book down in his lap, and looked over at me. “Long day?”
I scrubbed my hands over my face. “Very.”
Lions smiled before returning his attention back to his book. I opened the last email from Holly and typed out a reply, letting her know how much I was thinking about her, and that I’d be free for a call if she was available. When the message was sent, I put the laptop back on the desk, and looked over at Lions. “Hey, I’m gonna try and catch some z’s, but will you let me know if I get a call?” I asked, throwing my hand in the direction of my computer. “I’m waiting for my—girlfriend.”
I hitched over the term girlfriend, not sure that was the most accurate way to describe Holly. We hadn’t known each other long enough—or at least, not as long as it usually took for a couple to land on the proper labels for one another. And yet, our feelings seemed to run deeper than a lot of other couples. We had an instant connection that had rapidly grown and deepened in the short week and a half we’d been able to share together.
“Sure thing,” Lions replied, lifting his book back to eye level.
I grunted my thanks and rolled over, fishing my hand in the crack between the mattress and the wall, looking for my earbuds. When I snagged them, I put them in my ears, and dug out the MP3 player they were attached to and started the music up from the stopping point I’d set the night before. When I was at home, I never needed music or TV noise to fall asleep, but for whatever reason, on the ship, there was something about being in the tiny room, away from land, in an unfamiliar bed that made it hard to sleep without the assistance of some kind of noise to drown it all out.
I was drifting off to sleep, one arm slung over my face, to block out the overhead light, when Lions said, “Boomer, you have a call.”
I dropped my arm and rolled to my side. I ripped my earbuds out. “What?”
“You’ve got a call,” he repeated, jerking his head toward my computer.
My heart lurched into high gear as I hopped down and grabbed my computer, momentarily wondering why I hadn’t heard the sound. Since leaving Holly, the sound of a virtual call coming over the computer speakers had become my favorite song. The melodic beeps a source of comfort and excitement. As my eyes found the handle of the caller, my heart sank back down. It wasn’t Holly, it was Aaron.