by Mari Beck
CHAPTER NINE
Hero's Welcome
The day Riley Favreau returned from Iraq it was hot. It figures, he thought. But at least, he wouldn’t sweat through his uniform. He was glad he was wearing civilian clothing and that he’d thought to dress for comfort. He sighed as he looked out the small airplane window. That wasn’t the real reason that he was dressed as a civilian. It was also a good way to hide while he was traveling. It had worked for the most part as he’d made his way through the different airports. No one seemed to recognize him and no one came up to him or followed him. There were no reporters or tv cameras following him everywhere he went like before. No one trying to take his picture to post on Facebook or Instagram. No one trying to take a selfie with him without asking. He sighed once more. They had been on the tarmac for about 40 minutes now and he still sat in his seat. All of the other passengers had left as soon as the seatbelt light had gone off and retrieved their bags, briefcases and other luggage. They were all in a hurry to get back or to get going somewhere else. Riley had no desire to do either. He preferred to stay exactly where he was. He sighed again and ran a hand through what was left of his fade. He wondered what waited for him on the other side of the doors once he stepped out of the plane. He shuddered inwardly. He could imagine it because he had been running from it for the last 2 months. From the moment he had woken up in the hospital he had been besieged with requests for interviews, by email, by phone, by blog, in person and via video conference. He had turned down requests from all of the major news networks, several international newscasts and even the local news station back home. He simply had no desire to talk about it. But they were persistent. They offered him money, among other things, in exchange for a few minutes of his time and of course his exclusive story. It had blown his mind how much attention he was getting and it had taken him almost a full week in the hospital before he remembered why everyone wanted to talk to him. Then when he did remember, he wanted to forget it. After a few more minutes of staring out of the window the stewardess approached him.
“Hi.” She said softly. Riley turned to her and she smiled. He wondered if she knew who he was. He couldn’t help wondering that if he had been anybody else, he would have been kicked off long ago.
“They’re waiting for you.” She said. His heart sank but he wasn’t surprised. She knew who he was after all. Maybe the clothes hadn’t done as much for him as he had thought.
“Really?” he asked her.
“I guess they’ve been here for hours.” She said.
“Oh.”
The plane had been delayed in Atlanta for more than three hours due to a rain deluge that blanketed the city and grounded all air traffic. But it was obvious, Riley thought sadly, that the rain never made it back to Nebraska. There wasn’t a drop of moisture or a hint of clouds anywhere. Nothing but clear blue sky and a bright, hot sun. Dammit, he thought. He started to get up but she made no real effort to move out of his way. She seemed nervous. So, he stood there half sitting half standing unsure as to what he should do next. That’s when she finally spoke.
“I. . .I. . .just wanted to say that it has been a pleasure to serve you during this flight. I didn’t want to bother you during the flight, but I just wanted to say how touched I was by what you did. My brother is serving in Iraq. I’d like to think that if something happened to him, that someone would do for him what you did for the other solider. What you did . . .well, it was just so brave. I mean. . .you could have died but you went back and you. . . well, it was incredible and I wanted to let you know.”
Riley made an effort to smile. This wasn’t the first time he’d been stopped by someone. He was never quite sure what he should say because he really didn’t want to talk about his own story. He just mostly wanted the whole thing to go away. But what could he do? He had been involuntarily immortalized and frozen in time in a photograph taken at the precise moment he would have done anything to escape from the hell that surrounded him. But instead the opposite had occurred. He had been shoved up and out onto the world stage. He couldn’t go anywhere without someone knowing his name or alluding to what he had done. He had become the poster boy for some patriotic movement that swept the country and forced him into the spotlight, something he had tried to avoid his entire life. Now there was no escaping it. The stewardess still stood there, tears glistening in her eyes, her little American flag lapel pin shining in the bright sunlight coming throw the window seat. Riley attempted a smile again and said what he said to everyone that stopped him.
“Thank you.” He said and this time as he moved toward the aisle the stewardess moved out of the way to let him pass. He opened the top luggage bin and took out his duffel bag. He made his way to the front of the plane and turned to exit. He heard it as soon as he stepped into the light. The roar of the crowd and the loud rhythmic oom pa pas of the local high school band threw themselves at him. There were hundreds of people surrounding the little plane, some holding signs of welcome, others holding children who were holding signs of welcome and some with his name and the words A Real American Hero spelled out in magic marker and glitter glue. People were waving their arms at him and there was a flash frenzy as people strained to take his picture with their cell phones and digital cameras. The high school band started in on their rendition of Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless The U.S.A.’ while a group of school children released red, white, and blue balloons. Riley just stood there. It was surreal and it was the last thing he wanted. But if he had learned anything over the last 2 months it was that what he wanted wasn’t often what other people cared about. They had their own agendas, their own plans. There was a stage set up nearby and there was a red carpet rolled out from the tarmac, leading straight to it. He sighed again. The screaming continued, the clapping was persistent and the band played its heart out. Over all of it, Riley scanned the enormous crowd looking for just one person. He felt the tears well up in his eyes, threatening to spill over right then and there in front of all those strangers. So, he pulled out his army issue sunglasses, put them on and descended the small stairs carrying his duffel bag. The crowd reached out to touch him and pressed dangerously hard against the ropes set up by local law enforcement. It kept most people within fingertip distance, but it didn’t stop the Sheriff’s deputies and police officers from giving him congratulatory slaps on the back as he walked quickly through the throng of well -wishers and patriots. When he reached the end of the gamut he saw his fiancée Misty Langston, his best friend Brandon Cole and his grandfather EJ Favreau were waiting for him.
“Riley!” Misty yelled out but Riley walked right past her and Brandon. He dropped his duffel bag, took off his sunglasses and walked straight into the arms of the man standing next to them. He clung tightly to the elderly man dressed in a pair of worn overalls and a clean, white, long sleeve shirt. They held on to each other as the elderly man cried. EJ Favreau was the only father he had ever known and the two had grown closer after his mother died leaving him to be raised by his grandparents.
“Grandpa.” Riley said, emotion choking him.
“Welcome home, boy. Welcome home.” His grandfather whispered.There was thunderous applause and as if on cue the band started up again as a reporter struggled to make it the five or so feet to Riley in order to interview him. But after the fierce embrace he shared with his grandfather, Riley looked up and seemed to realize where he was. He pulled away quickly, put on his sunglasses and made his way through the rest of the crowd, avoiding the red carpet leading to the adjacent stage stocked with special guests and dignitaries. Then he walked into the terminal and out of sight. The reporter was visibly frustrated by Riley’s disappearing act but made do instead with sticking the microphone in the face of Riley’s grandfather. As he rushed through the hallways he could hear his grandfather’s words over the terminal loudspeakers.
“I suppose,” EJ told the crowd "that my grandson doesn’t feel that he should be singled out for this kind of attention. What he did over there, on that road, well, the
re are probably lots of young men and women in uniform that have been in that situation. The feeling, I’m sure he has, is that he did what any one of them would have done if they’d been in his shoes. So, he thanks you, as I do, for your prayers and support and asks you to continue to offer them for those who are still back there fighting. Thank you.”
Another thunderous round of applause cued the band into “God Bless America”. But not far away, inside the terminal, from the safety of the third stall in the newly remodeled men’s bathroom Army Specialist Riley Favreau found himself hiding from the crowd outside, his grandfather, his fiancée, his best friend and more importantly himself.
CHAPTER TEN
Different
Riley had been home for almost a week before he finally got the opportunity to be alone with his fiancée. He hadn’t really said anything to anyone since the ceremonies were over at the airport. He didn’t offer any explanations and as much as she or EJ might have felt they were owed some sort of explanation for his strange behavior, neither one of them pushed him on the subject. He slept most of the first week away, hidden in the darkness of his room with the door shut and locked. He came out when the sun was going down and reluctantly ate what EJ tried to set in front of him. Misty came over everyday probably hoping to find him awake and open to having some company. He never was and she spent many hours on the couch watching tv with EJ. When he was awake he often caught Misty playing nervously with the ring on her finger. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Should he ask to talk to her? Should he wait for the right time? Should he talk to EJ about it? It was confusing. The psychologist back at the army hospital had tried to explain to Riley that he had been through a very traumatic episode and that it would take time, maybe a lot of time before he felt more like himself. But she warned him not to expect everything would be just as it was before he deployed. It was unlikely, she reminded him, that he would just suddenly become the happy, easy-going guy everyone used to know. It just didn’t work that way and he would just have to have faith that in time he would find a way to reintegrate back into his life. He wanted to believe that. He wanted to be that patient, caring, loving person that his fiancée needed but he had barely acknowledged her presence since he got back. He couldn’t bring himself to go to her, to tell her what had happened to him. That bothered him. No. It didn’t bother-it hurt. Badly. He had played their reunion over and over in his mind and it hadn’t played out the way he imagined it in any way, shape or form. Now, as he sat in his room listening to the television out in the living room he felt desperate. Misty was probably out there waiting. He had no idea what time it was when he got up from his bed. Riley stared at the closed bedroom door. It was the only thing that separated him from Misty. It was horrible. It was exasperating. It wasn’t an ocean or a desert. It was a door. All he had to do was go to it turn the knob and call her name. He stood in front of the door and reached out a hand. He turned the knob, opened the door and there she was looking as if she had been about to knock. He took as step back, startled.
“Misty. What are you doing here?”
“I was waiting for you. I’ve been keeping your grandpa company but he went to buy a paper.”
“A paper? Is it morning?” He said rubbing his eyes.
“No. It’s almost 9 in the evening.” She said
“No kidding?”
“No. You’ve been sleeping a long time.”
“I guess. But I still feel tired.” He said and yawned. He wasn’t sure what to say next. She was staring at the ugly scars that zig-zagged across his chest, were still red and raised in some places. Riley forgot he was shirtless. She reached out suddenly in an attempt to touch the one closest to his heart. But before she could actually put her fingers on it, Riley had a hold of her hand.
“Don’t.” He said in voice that was suddenly hard and cold. He’d never seen her look at him that way before. She was scared.
“Please, don’t.” He added, his voice softening.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. . .”
If he looked at her now he would see that he had made her cry. He pushed past her and she tried to get out of his way. He headed for the kitchen but she didn’t follow. He decided to get a glass of water even though he wasn’t thirsty. From the kitchen he could still see the light from the lamp he’d left on in his room. They had spent lots of time together there. Some of it had been purely innocent and some of it downright sinful. But now it seemed like an unwelcoming and forbidden place. It was exactly the same as the last time they had been there together, entwined in each other’s arms, wrapped in a mass of sheets and blankets because no matter how hot or warm it was inside or out she was always freezing. They had taken advantage of every spare moment while his grandfather was out of the house that they had before Riley was deployed. That’s how she’d ended up with the small, diamond solitaire she now wore on her ring finger. He’d simply rolled over and opened the drawer to the nightstand and gotten out a small, black velvet box, opened it and taken out the ring. He had done it all so quickly that she hadn’t even noticed until he turned to kiss her, slowly caressing the skin of her left arm, making his way down to her hand leading her to believe initially that they were about to say goodbye again. But instead he slipped the ring on her finger. It had confused her.
“What are you doing?” she asked momentarily distracted as he continued to kiss her, more passionately now.
“Kissing you.” He said. He was gearing up for another goodbye. There was no mistake about that but the moment she felt the ring on her finger she gently pushed him away.
“It’s a ring.” She said somewhat stunned.
“Yes.” He said and picked up where he left off.
“Riley, you gave me a ring.”
“Yes.” He said pulling her closer to him.
“Is it what I think it is?”
“Your first guess was correct. It is a ring. I gave it to you. Can we continue?”he asked playfully biting her earlobe. She pushed at his chest a little bit harder.
“You’ve given me a ring. It looks real. It looks like an engagement ring. Is it?” she said unable to keep the excitement out of her voice. He looked at her and smiled.
“Yes.” He finally answered and kissed her neck.
“Riley! Can you be serious about this for just a moment?”
“I’m the one who gave you the ring, so on the serious scale I think I’m rating high.”
“Yes, but. . .”
“But what?” he said and moved slowly down to her chest.
“Do not distract me. This is important.” She said touching his face.
“Yes. I know.” He said
“You want to marry me?”
“Yes.” He said
“Why?” she asked. He paused for a moment. He raised an eyebrow.
“I thought it was obvious.” He said and kissed her on the lips.
“Okay. But I wouldn’t mind hearing it.” She said and he sighed.
“Because I love you? Because I want to spend the rest of my life with you?”
“It’s not because you're leaving is it? Riley, don’t ask me because you’re leaving. That would make me sad.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because it means you don’t think you're coming back. We had a plan remember?”
“So I moved up the timeline a little.” He said and picked up her hand to intertwine it with his. He reached down to kiss her ring finger.
“Don’t even think of not coming back to me.” She whispered looking straight into his eyes. He didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Riley. . .why now?”
“I know you don’t want to think about me leaving or getting hurt over there or worse. I don’t either. But, I don’t want to waste any time.”
“You could have given me a teddy bear or something. Even a puppy would have been fine.” She laughed and kissed him.