Free Fire and Forget by Matt Gallagher

the sign. It said: SGT PRICE, NOW THAT YOU’RE HOME YOU CAN DO SOME CHORES. HERE’S YOUR TO-DO LIST. 1) ME 2) REPEAT NUMBER 1.
    And there, holding the sign, was Cheryl.
    She was wearing cammie shorts and a tank top, even though it was cold. She must have worn them for me. She was skinnier than I remembered. More make-up too. I was nervous and tired and she looked a bit different. But it was her.
    All around us were families and big smiles and worn-out Marines. I walked up to her and she saw me and her face lit. No woman had smiled at me like that in a long time. I moved in and kissed her. I figured that was what I was supposed to do. But it’d been too long and we were both too nervous and it felt like just lip on lip pushed together, I don’t know. She pulled back and looked at me and put her hands on my shoulders and started to cry. She reached up and rubbed her eyes and then she put her arms around me and pulled me into her.
    Her body was soft and it fit into mine. All deployment I’d slept on the ground, or on canvas cots. I’d worn body armor and kept a rifle slung across my body. I hadn’t felt anything like her in seven months. It was almost like I’d forgotten how she felt, or never really known it, and now here was this new feeling that made everything else black and white fading before color. Then she let me go and I took her by the hand and we got my gear and got out of there.
    She asked me if I wanted to drive and hell yeah I did, so I got behind the wheel. A long time since I’d done that too. I put the car in reverse, pulled out and started driving home. I was thinking I wanted to park somewhere dark and curl up with her in the back seat like high school. But I got the car out of the lot anddown McHugh. And driving down McHugh it felt different from the bus. Like, this is Lejeune. This is the way I used to get to work. And it was so dark. And quiet.
    Cheryl said, “How are you?” which meant, How was it? Are you crazy now?
    I said, “Good. I’m fine.”
    And then it was quiet again, and we turned down Holcomb. I was glad I was driving. It gave me something to focus on. Go down this street, turn the wheel, go down another. One step at a time. You can get through anything, one step at a time.
    She said, “I’m so happy you’re home.”
    Then she said, “I love you so much.”
    Then she said, “I’m proud of you.”
    I said, “I love you too.”
    When we got home she opened the door for me. I didn’t even know where my house keys were. Vicar wasn’t at the door to greet me. I stepped in and scanned around and there he was on the couch. When he saw me he got up slow.
    His fur was greyer than before, and there were weird clumps of fat on his legs, these little tumors that Labs get but that Vicar’s got a lot of now. He wagged his tail. He stepped down off the couch real careful, like he was hurting. And Cheryl said, “He remembers you.”
    â€œWhy’s he so skinny?” I said, and I bent down and scratched him behind the ears.
    â€œThe vet said we had to keep him on weight control. And he doesn’t keep a lot of food down these days.”
    Cheryl was pulling on my arm. Pulling me away from Vicar. And I let her.
    She said, “Isn’t it good to be home?”
    Her voice was shaky, like she wasn’t sure of the answer. And I said, “Yeah, yeah it is.” And she kissed me hard. I grabbed her inmy arms and lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. I put a big grin on my face, but it didn’t help. She looked a bit scared of me, then. I guess all the wives were probably a little bit scared.
    And that was my homecoming. It was fine, I guess. Getting back feels like your first breath after nearly drowning. Even if it hurts, it’s good.
    I can’t complain. Cheryl handled it well. I saw Lance Corporal Curtis’s wife back in Jacksonville. She spent all his combat pay