“Me? No. Why would I drive your motorcycle?”
“Just asking. I’m selling it anyway,” she said as she opened the driver door of the car parked next to the bike, which was a silver, 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350, with black rocker stripes and matching top stripes that ran the length of it.
“Why?”
“I can’t see well enough to drive it.” She shrugged.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I still have this,” Darien replied, sitting down in the driver’s seat. Her knees hit against the bottom of the dash and she looked over at Val, who’d climbed into the passenger seat.
“I may have driven this one a time or two,” she grinned.
“Uh-huh,” Darien laughed, pushing the seat back a couple of notches.
The immaculately kept old car roared to life when she pushed the clutch in and turned the key. She put the gearshift into reverse and rolled out of the garage before pushing the button to lower the door. She sighed when her eyes caught sight of the Camp Pendleton MCB stickers in the lower left corner.
“I still can’t believe you drive this thing as your regular car in this salt air.”
“I didn’t spend five years and a pile of money restoring it if I wasn’t going to drive it. This old girl is probably more reliable than that Japanese tin-can you drive anyway,” Darien retorted as she turned up the 80s hair-band tune that was playing on the radio and stepped hard on the gas pedal one time to rev up the engine. The car was built for speed, not comfort, and she loved taking it out on the highway, but they were only going down to the beach, which was about a ten minute drive out of her neighborhood and down the street.
“I didn’t think you’d stay away long,” Val muttered, knowing her cousin and her vices all too well. It felt good to see Darien more like her old self.
***
The next morning, Darien stepped foot on Camp Pendleton MCB for the first time since she was deployed to Afghanistan over a year ago. She was very rarely seen on the base without her uniform or some form of Marine Corps clothing on, so she’d felt almost naked walking into the office of her company headquarters in a black pantsuit and white blouse.
“Staff Sergeant Hollister?” a young man sitting at the reception desk immediately popped to attention.
“Lance Corporal,” she said with a smile.
“I’m honored to see you again.”
“Thank you. I have an appointment with Captain Yarborough.”
“Correct. I’ll let him know you’re here.”
She sat down and took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.
“Look what the cat drug in,” Capt. Yarborough bellowed with his deep voice.
Darien popped to attention.
“Cut the formalities. It’s good to see you again, Darien,” he said, holding his hand out to her.
“You too, sir.”
He led her down the hall towards his office. “It’s been a damn minute, hasn’t it? How’ve you been?” he asked, closing the door behind her before taking his seat.
Darien sat down across from him. “Yes, it has. A few minutes, actually.” She grinned. “I’ve been good. I was out in Iowa for a few months, taking in the country air.”
“Oh yeah, how’d that work out for you?”
“Smells a hell of a lot better than desert sand.”
He laughed loudly. “I have to say, your new eyes are definitely attention demanding. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that color before.”
“Me either, until I looked in the mirror and could see again. I scared myself quite often in the first few months.” She smiled, choosing not to tell him how difficult it had actually been. She’d felt like a stranger was staring back at her and avoided looking at anything with her reflection for almost two months.
“Alright, let’s get down to brass tax,” he said, opening her file. “Your discharge was honorable with a medical notation. You can reenlist if the medical notation goes away.”
Darien nodded.
“How’s your vision?”
“It was 20/30 at my post-op.”
“When was that?”
“Almost four months ago.”
“Okay. Any blurred vision, double vision, or vision loss?”
“I don’t have any peripheral vision at all, but other than that, everything is fine.”
“The surgery alone is going to disqualify you for combat and the vision problem is going to severely limit you.”
“I understand.”
“You’re a hell of a Marine and an exemplary leader. I’d be stupid to turn you away when you’re sitting here wanting to come back after everything you’ve been through.”
Darien nodded.
“You’ll need to go through a complete medical physical and do some vision tests. Then, we can reconvene and go from there. I’ll get everything scheduled. Someone will contact you with the information. Are your address and phone number still the same?”
“Yes, sir.”
Darien popped to attention and shook his hand when he held it out.
On her drive home, Darien’s mind raced with thoughts of going back to the life she knew so well, but the idea of doing something other than LAV Recon and Ground Combat gave her a sour taste. Since she lost her sight, she’d had to learn how to live a completely different way. The surgery helped her regain some semblance of normalcy, but she’d still had to change a few things. Going back into the Marines and picking up where she’d left off would be the one thing that could give her back the life she’d been missing. Changing her occupation specialty would just be one more thing she’d have to learn, and it’d be an ongoing reminder of what had happened to her.
Darien ran her hand through her hair. Her life had changed so much in the past year. She wondered if she’d ever find normal again. She shook her head when Courtney’s image invaded her mind. Working on the Hoffman Farm had been grueling, but her time spent there was well worth it. However, letting herself fall for Courtney had been a huge mistake.
Darien maneuvered around Val’s car that was parked in the driveway and pulled into the garage. Val came rushing out of the house, breaking Darien’s train of thought before she could even shut off the car.
“Well?” Val asked.
“Well what?” Darien questioned with a raised eyebrow. “When did you get here?”
“A little bit ago. I hope you don’t mind. I let myself in.” Val grinned.
Darien smiled and nodded.
“So, how did it go? Are you back in?” Val questioned, following her inside.
She shook her head. “I have to go through some tests first.”
“You don’t sound very excited. Are you having second thoughts?”
“No. It’s complicated.” Darien removed her suit jacket and unbuttoned the cuffs of her shirt before rolling the sleeves back. “I won’t be able to do the same occupation because of my peripheral vision problems. It’s the only thing I know. That job is what defined me as a Marine,” she sighed.
“What are they going to do? Give you a desk job?”
Darien shrugged.
“Oh, Dare.” Val shook her head. “Then why go back? You retired as a decorated combat veteran. You’ll never be happy doing anything else, even if you are wearing that uniform.”
“I know. I’m going to go through with the tests and see where it goes. If they try to put me somewhere I don’t want to be, then I won’t reenlist.”
“Have you told your parents?”
“No. There’s no need getting them worked up if it doesn’t pan out. I know they won’t be happy, so I’d like to avoid that conversation as long as possible,” Darien said, walking into her bedroom.
Val nodded. She didn’t blame her, but she’d also been the one sitting with Darien’s parents in the waiting room at Walter Reed Medical Center when the doctor told them their daughter was very lucky to be alive, but she’d also been permanently blinded by her injuries.
“Want to go get some lunch?” Darien asked,
stepping back into the living room, dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. “I was thinking of going to that new oyster bar down at the beach.”
“Sure.” Val grinned.
***
Both women were surprised at how busy the bar was. They chose a high-top table on the outside deck, overlooking the ocean. The salty breeze felt good on Darien’s skin.
“I’d kill for an ice cold beer,” Darien mumbled.
“Still not drinking?” Val asked, perusing the menu.
Darien shook her head. “Those therapists I saw strongly advised against drinking.”
“Has it gotten any better?”
“Yes and no.” Darien stared out at the water through her sunglasses. “Being in Iowa actually helped me. My donor’s mother, Beverly, is an amazing lady. She’s dying of Lupus, but she doesn’t let it get her down.”
“Aw, that’s sad.”
“Yeah, it nearly did me in when I found out. She was curious about my life in the service, so I’d go sit with her every couple of days and basically tell her my story. I started by telling her about my time in college. Then before I realized it, I was telling her about the Marines.”
“That’s interesting. How did you end it?”
“I didn’t go into details about my tours during the war. I mostly told her about each of my jobs as I advanced in rank over the years. I finished with telling her I’d had enough of the war, basically.”
Val nodded as the waitress came to take their order.
“Talking about my career with Beverly really helped me see past the war to the core of why I joined and why I continued to re-sign every four years. She helped me remember what it meant to be a Marine, to me anyway,” Darien continued when the woman walked away.
“The therapist told you it would help if you talked. I guess you needed to find the right person to talk to.”
“You know, it’s odd. I never intended to tell her much of anything. It just happened. She’s very good at getting people to talk.”
Val smiled. “She must be because you keep a lot of shit bottled up.”
Darien grinned and shook her head.
“So, you never told anyone the truth about why you were there?”
“No. I wanted to tell her, but I couldn’t.”
“You mentioned her daughter-in-law in one of the letters and her son. How did they take to you being there?”
“The son hated me from the start. He’s a dick on a power trip because he runs the dairy side of the farm.”
Val laughed. “Men are such pompous asses sometimes. What about his wife?”
Darien smiled. “Courtney isn’t his wife. She was married to my donor.”
“No shit?”
Darien nodded. “I didn’t find out until…well, until I’d gotten to know her.”
“You didn’t?” Val raised her eyebrows.
“No, not at first.” Darien bit her bottom lip. “She hated me too, but…things changed.”
“Don’t look, but the waitress at your two o’clock is checking you out.”
“What?” Darien laughed.
“I’m serious. I think she’s trying to get you to notice her, but little does she know she’s standing in darkness,” Val laughed. ‘She’s cute though.”
Darien didn’t have to turn around because the woman walked right up and offered to refill her glass, which Darien allowed.
“See, definitely flirty,” Val teased.
Darien shook her head. “She’s cute, but I don’t need any more women in my life.”
“Yeah, so this Courtney is the reason you hung around the farm, huh?” Val grinned. “Did things change in a good way?”
Darien shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s complicated.” She’d only ever loved the Marines, and for the first time in her life, she actually loved another person. That scared the hell out of her. Jason finding out about her was the extra shove she’d needed to go back home—back to the life she knew.
“From the way you came home in a moment’s notice, I’m going to assume you cut ties with everyone in Iowa and plan to never look back.”
“Something like that,” Darien replied as the waitress set their lunch on the table. “I’ll never regret going there. It changed my life.”
Val knew there was more to the story, but in true Darien form, she’d kept the details to herself. She was happy to have her home, but she had a strong feeling that Darien left a small part of her behind on that farm, just like she’d left a very large part of herself in Afghanistan—a part she’d never get back.
Chapter 22
Courtney couldn’t believe her eyes when she read the information on the computer in front of her. She’d refused to believe Jason’s story when he’d explained why he and Darien had been fighting in the driveway over a week ago. She couldn’t let it go, so she’d driven to the local library to the Internet. Reading through the news articles had made her finally understand why Darien had left without giving her side of the story.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered, reading about the attack that had blinded Darien and killed three men in her command, as well as the transplant surgery that had allowed her to see again with the help of a donor.
She looked at the dates, noting how the surgery had definitely corresponded with Janice’s death. In all of their time together, she’d never known that Janice was an organ donor. In fact, she’d had no idea about the organs being removed. As her wife, it puzzled Courtney knowing that she hadn’t been aware of any of this. She printed the various news reports and paid the woman at the counter before heading back to the farm. So many questions were unanswered and as much as she didn’t want to hurt Beverly, she needed to know the truth—they both did.
***
Beverly had been too weak to go up and down the stairs ever since her latest setback, so she’d spent all of her time sleeping and reading the occasional magazine. The highlights of her weeks had been the days when Darien had come up to tell her some more of her story. It had only been two weeks since she’d left, but Beverly missed those hours tremendously. That was the only time she could forget for a little bit that she was battling a disease that was taking her life one day at a time.
She was just waking up from her afternoon nap when Courtney walked into her room with a handful of papers and a stern expression on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Beverly asked, thinking something was wrong with one of their accounts.
“How much of her life did Darien tell you about?” Courtney asked, pulling the chair over the same way Darien had always done.
“What do you mean? She told me about her time in the service.”
“Did she go into details about why she got out of the military?”
“No. Courtney, what’s this about? Did you find out why she and Jason were fighting?”
“Did you know Janice was an organ donor?”
“Yes.”
“When did you find out?”
Beverly sat up a little straighter. “Honey, I had no idea about a lot of things until we got to the hospital and the doctor told me.”
“Where was I?” Courtney asked.
“You were sitting in a chair crying. I told him you were Janice’s wife and he said I was listed as her next of kin, so he needed to inform me.”
“Inform you of what?”
“That Janice was an organ donor.” Beverly sat up further and patted the bed next to her. Courtney moved to her side. “She was badly injured, which you know, and the only organs they were able to transplant were—”
“Her eyes,” Courtney said, cutting her off.
Beverly nodded.
“Did you know the whole time?”
“About Darien? No. The transplant information isn’t given to either family from what the doctor told me. He said Janice’s eyes were going to a wounded war veteran.”
Courtney wiped the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.
“Darien never told me herself, but I knew the day she came to the door. I’d
caught a glimpse of her eyes when she didn’t think I was looking and as soon as she mentioned the military, there was no way I was letting her go.”
“Is that why you asked her to tell you her story?”
“Yes. I wanted to know all about her.”
“She lost her sight when her convoy was attacked. She was actually injured really badly, but she managed to pull two guys from the burning, mangled vehicle they were in together. Three other men died though,” Courtney said.
“Oh, that’s sad. No wonder she’s so closed up. That woman has been to hell and back.”
Courtney nodded. “The doctor who performed her transplant has only done a few of them, and Darien’s has been the most successful so far.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand why she didn’t tell us.”
“Honey, she probably couldn’t. That woman has more honor and selfless pride than anyone I’ve met and certainly more than most people in this world. She came here and took a hard, manual labor job for pennies because she needed to repay us for what we did for her. She knew Janice had to die in order for her to see again. I’m sure that eats away at someone like her. She didn’t come here to hurt us.”
“I know,” Courtney sighed. “I just wish I would’ve known.”
“Do you think it would’ve made you feel any differently about her?”
Courtney shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You can’t help who you fall in love with,” Beverly said, patting her hand.
“I’m not—”
Beverly smiled. “It’s written all over your face. It’s the reason you’ve been moping around this farm for the past two weeks, and it’s the reason you’re wiping tears from your cheek right now.”
Courtney squeezed her eyes closed. “Did you push me to go after her because you knew she had Janice’s eyes?”
“No,” Beverly laughed softly. “I pushed you because the way you looked at her was a way I never saw you look at my daughter.” She held her hand up. “Honey, I know you loved Janice. I also know she was your first love and the love of your life. No one will ever take that away from you.” She paused. “Darien is simply a different breed of woman and you’re drawn to her like a moth to a flame. There’s no shame in that, no matter whose eyes she’s using to see.”
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