Free HDU #2: Dirt by India Lee

the time we were in middle
school,” Liam said, laughing in a way that Amanda didn’t quite appreciate.   “Logan met Heidi in eighth grade and I
don’t know how but he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her by
then.   So his real dream was going
to college with her, marrying her after and having kids that he’d play football
with every day after whatever nine-to-five job that he got.   Normal stuff.   That was his dream till he was eighteen.”
    Amanda waited in
silence for Liam to continue but he didn’t.   “At which point?”
    He eyed his cap
on her head.   “He enlisted in the
Air Force.”
    “Why? If he
didn’t want to anymore?”
    “Wasn’t really a
time to take out student loans and go to college.   Not when you had to support your little brother who had
already dropped out of school and sure as hell wasn’t going to college at any
point.”   Liam laughed bitterly.   “At that point, all I knew was trying
to make the fast cash thing work again — like how I did that one month when I was fifteen.   It’s like I spent three years living on
that memory of giving Logan a hundred dollar bill for groceries.   Which I guess is how I let myself spend
all of his hard-earned money just so I could make the easy kind.”
    Amanda chewed
her lip as she studied Liam’s taut shoulders and the stress in his body
language as he told the story.   “At
least he did get to marry Heidi though.   And have kids.   Earlier than
he wanted.   There was just some
thing about more benefits if you were married before deploying so they went to
City Hall and got it done really quick, just the two of them.   Cut to two years later — because
he always needs to be the best no matter what he’s doing — Logan’s done
with PJ school and gets deployed and doesn’t see his family for four months out
of the year.   And now he’s stuck in
a life that he chose but never really wanted because of how much it took him
away from Heidi.   But it’s just all
that he knows at this point.   And
all that she knows is taking the kids to live in Vermont for a third of the
year because she still isn’t used to this life of being without him.   And all the kids know is leaving their
friends for awhile and going months at a time without seeing their dad.”
      Amanda raised her eyebrows, absorbing
all the information.   She wasn’t
sure what to say or how to comfort Liam.   “It’s… at least nice that he has a good, steady and honorable job.   Incredibly honorable job.”   When Liam
shrugged, she frowned.   “You don’t
agree?”
    “I do.   But I know Heidi worries every day that
he’s gone.   And I know that on some
days, he’s risking his life and none of us even know it as it’s happening.   And all so he can make as much money a
year as I made for shooting one day of A
Soldier .”   Liam swallowed,
staring out at the lawn and giving a determined nod.   “Which is why I need to make it as big as I can,” he said
under his breath, mostly to himself.   “So Logan and Heidi and the kids never want for anything.”
    Amanda looked at
him with confusion.   She wasn’t
sure how to eloquently phrase the question, “Aren’t you already a millionaire?”
Her puckered lips wiggled as she tried to nicely arrange her inquiry.   “Aren’t you… comfortable enough? To
provide for them as well as yourself? I mean you’re successful.   And famous.”   It was about as graceful as she could word it in her
tipsiness but Amanda still grimaced at herself.
    “I have money.   Obviously enough to own the things that
I own.   But famous doesn’t mean set
for life.   Things can end.   I just want to work as hard as I can
for as long as I can so that I’m prepared.   Because I promised myself awhile ago that I’d give Logan and
his family the life they were meant to have.   And a thousand times more.”
    Amanda blinked,
stunned.   “How’d you end up
breaking into the industry then,