Free Forever by Jeff Holmes Page B

goodbye to the Days, too. Scott finally went over to Andy.
    “You have no clue what you did for me,” Scott said. “You made this place bearable and you gave me the best gift ever.”
    “No charge,” he said. “Thanks for being there.”
    They hugged, and Andy climbed into the front seat of the van.
    Roni was telling the rest of the guys goodbye when Scott looked up and their eyes met. It hadn’t even been 24 hours, but it was time. And it would be six more weeks. He walked to the driver’s side of the Sky Bird and Roni met him there.
    “So…” he said.
    “Yeah, so….” she said.
    “Be careful,” he said, starting to tear up.
    “Hey, I have my passenger,” she said, tears coming down her face. “Call me Sunday, OK?
    “Absolutely,” he said. “I’m so glad you came, baby. You don’t know…”
    “Yeah I do,” she said.  “I had to come. I love you.”
    “Love me forever?” he asked.
    “Forever,” she said. They kissed and held each other for a long moment. Scott finally reached down and opened the car door. “OK, get going.”
    She slid into the seat. Scott leaned down and kissed her one last time. “Bye, Baby.”
    “Bye, Baby.”
    Dale fired up the van and pulled away from the curb. Roni slipped on her sunglasses and followed, blowing Scott a kiss. He put his hand to his heart and watched the baby blue Sky Bird pull around the corner and out of sight.
    Carl was standing there. The Pepitones, Perrsons and Debi Forsburg had already hit the road. “Well, fuck,” Scott said, regaining his composure. “I don’t know about you Swede, but I need a beer before we leave for Texas. You in?”
    “Damn right I am,” Carl said.
    They then headed to the snack bar. It was time to turn a page.
     
     
    ****
     
     
    CHAPTER 10
    The medical training was almost secondary for Scott. He was learning a lot, but this was just a warm-up for July and August and his Emergency Medical Technician training. He’d already been promoted to PFC when he arrived at Fort Sam, and once he completed EMT, he would make Specialist 4th Class, or Spec 4, which would mean bigger money.
    And he was watching his money. He hoped when he went home on leave, he could talk to Roni’s dad about getting a truck. Scott and Roni had talked over the possibilities of needing two vehicles right away, but decided it would work out better. Because of how late she had been accepted to the design program, she wouldn’t start until January. In the meantime, she was on a full-court press to find a job in Manhattan.
    Scott really wanted a new pick-up. It was probably kind of impractical, and Roni had even told him as much. But Roni had her car and she told him she wasn’t going to argue about  the truck.
    Company was coming on June 8. Scott’s parents, Wayne and Donna, along with his sisters, Amy and Kimmy, were coming down to see their boy. Scott was excited. He loved his family a lot and missed them; it had been three months. Sure, he was going to be home for the Rodeo, but they needed a vacation, and when they asked where everyone wanted to go, Kimmy said, “…to see Scotty.” Mom agreed and the Mitchells were going to Texas.
    Kimmy was Scott’s little buddy. Red hair and freckles, she was quite the junior-high jockette. She’d become a good basketball and softball player. But even at 15, she was still a little girl – at least to Scott – and he was pretty protective of her. Rick had been teasing him about Kimmy having boyfriends not long before he left for basic.
    “You’re baby sister is hot,” Rick said, in a way that disturbed Scott. “She’s going to have a lot of boyfriends!”
    “Bullshit,” Scott said. “I’ll have to kick some ass.”
    “We both had girlfriends in seventh grade,” Rick countered.
    “Yeah. Would you want my little sister dating somebody like we were then?” Scott said sternly.
    Rick paused for a moment. “Yeah. You’re right. We were pretty bad, weren’t we?”
    Scott and Amy were always