Part 32 (1/2)

Of course, the gunfire stoked up real loud as the words came out of my mouth.

”Chris?”

”Well, I think I'm going to get going now,” I told her.

”Are you okay?”

”Oh yeah. It's all good,” I lied. ”Nothing happening. Talk to you later.”

Just then, an RPG hit the outside wall right near me. Some of the building smacked into my face, giving me a couple of beauty marks and temporary tattoos courtesy of the insurgency.

I dropped the phone and started returning fire. I spotted the guys down the street and popped one or two; the snipers who were with me downed a bunch more before the rest got the h.e.l.l out of there.

Fight over, I grabbed up the phone. The batteries had run out, so I couldn't call back.

Things got busy for a few days, and it wasn't until two or three days later when I finally got a chance to call Taya and see how she was.

She started crying as soon as she answered the phone.

It turned out I hadn't actually ended the call before I put down the phone. She'd heard the whole gunfight, complete with shots and curses, before the batteries had finally run out. Which, of course, happened all of a sudden, adding to the anxiety.

I tried to calm her down, but I doubt what I said really eased her mind.

She was always a good sport, always insisting that I didn't have to hide things from her. She claimed her imagination was a lot worse than anything that really could happen to me.

I don't know about that.

I made a few other calls home during lulls in battles during my deployments. The overall pace of the action was so intense and continuous that there weren't many alternatives. Waiting until I got back to our camp might mean waiting for a week or more. And while I'd call then, too, if I could, it wasn't always possible.

And I got used to the battles. Getting shot at was just part of the job. RPG round? Just another day at the office.

My dad has a story about hearing from me at work one day when I hadn't had a chance to call in a while. He picked up the phone and was surprised to hear my voice.

He was even more surprised that I was whispering.

”Chris, why is your voice so hushed?” he asked.

”I'm on an op, Dad. I don't want them to know where I'm at.”

”Oh,” he answered, a little shaken.

I doubt I was actually close enough for the enemy to hear anything, but my father swears that a few seconds later, there were gunshots in the background.

”Gotta go,” I said, before he had a chance to find out what the sound was. ”I'll get back to you.”

According to my father, I called back two days later to apologize for hanging up so abruptly. When he asked if he had overheard the start of a firefight, I changed the subject.

BUILDING MY REP