ld have been different if you hadn’t known each other for so long? I asked hesitantly.
Without a doubt, Remy rumbled.
We know each other. Noah said slowly. We’ve shared things for years. God put us together. We chose to be brothers. We understand each other. So, it made sense that the transition to sharing you wouldn’t be as difficult.
And your content with that? Are you okay knowing for the rest of our lives we’re on this ride together? I asked as I gnawed on my bottom lip.
“Content? No,” my face fell at Troy’s words. “We’re thrilled to be on this ride with you.”
I looked up at him as he took my hand.
You make us better me, Noah added.
You make us want to be better men, Remy uttered.
You make us stronger, Drake declared.
You make us feel individually special, Jaxson professed.
You made us the complete picture, Jace claimed.
Chapter 7
We decided to take a break for lunch a little after noon. It had been a long time since we heard the other group, and we thought it would be safe to take one. We found a spot that had a nice vantage point in several directions and would still give us time to get out of there if need be.
We had been walking for hours now, and we were all feeling it. Despite my inserts, my feet were killing me. I’m pretty sure I had blisters on them. I wasn’t going to mention it to Noah because no one else was complaining.
We each pulled out a MRE pouch, and I looked at it with genuine interest. I chose the cheese tortellini first. I pulled my multitool off my waist, opened the pouch, and pulled out the contents. There was a cardboard container that said Cheese Tortellini on it. There was a brown foil packet labeled crackers, jalapeno cheese spread and dried cranberries. A little plastic packet that had napkins, salt, pepper, sugar, creamer, and an instant coffee tube. It even had a pack of skittles in it! I looked at another plastic green bag and saw something rattling around the bottom of it.
That will heat up your food, Troy chuckled at my skeptical expression. Put your pasta in there than add the water to the indicated line. He waited for me to follow his instructions, before he nodded.
I noticed I hadn’t been the only one listening to him. Now fold it over and put it back in the box. It’ll take a few minutes to warm up.
Thanks, I smiled at him. How do you know all this stuff?
A shadow crossed his eyes before he shrugged. The summer after Pops adopted me, he sent me to a military summer camp. I was misbehaving and acting out, so he told me to straighten up or he was sending me to that camp. If I didn’t behave after that, he was going to send me to a military boarding school.
He straightened up really quick, Noah said and snickered.
He hasn’t even grown out his hair since then, Jaxson added as he spread some peanut butter on a dry looking bread.
But you still seem to like everything military. Why didn’t you join? I asked as I removed my crackers from the packaging.
My record. He shrugged. Judge Myers made it disappear, but after dealing with a crappy recruiter for over a year, I decided that was my sign not to go.
Plus, he would have missed us, Noah smiled as he pulled out his food from the cardboard. I looked in amazement as the steam came pouring out of the bag.
Not really, Troy joked. But I had a counselor at the camp that was prior service. He helped me a lot. We stayed in touch, and when he heard I had issues getting in, he asked me if I wanted to join his security firm. After a year of working with him, he made me partner. Last year he retired, and I bought him out.
That’s an amazing accomplishment. Especially at your age. I turned to Remy. He was a young entrepreneur as well. Why restaurants?
Remy gave me an indulgent sigh. He hated talking about the past. One of my jobs when I was fourteen was a dishwasher. The owner gave me as many hours as I would take. He paid me under the table. It was crap, but it was something. One night it got busy, and he still needed to place a food order. I had seen him do it numerous times. So, I took his clipboard, did inventory, and notated the orders that needed to be placed.
The following day he gave me a raise and told me to come every morning before school to place the orders. I improved his system. Then I started noticing some of his vendors sold the same items but cheaper. That afternoon I made some phone calls and had his food cost dropped. I’ve always been a numbers guy, so I learned the business side of the restaurant.
When I was placed with Pops, I asked him if I could get a job. He found me a job with one of his acquaintances, but I couldn’t be a dishwasher anymore. I asked the general manager to do the ordering for him and he let me. It wasn’t long before I was helping the numbers there, too.
When I turned eighteen Pops got me my first brick and mortar restaurant as a graduation present. He had the faith in me to do what I had already been doing. I was able to pay him back with interest two years after the doors opened.