I slapped him on the shoulder. “Well, I guess you’ve ticked that box now, bro.”
Instead of a fist-bump, he scowled at me.
“It wasn’t like that with Caro.”
My eyebrows shot upward.
“You’re telling me you didn’t sleep with her? Because, dude, I saw your back and she had some serious claws.”
His cheeks reddened. “I meant it wasn’t fucking. Well, yeah, it was. But it was more than that. When I was with her … it was like the whole world went away and it was just us.” He shook his head. “I can’t explain it.”
“Have you heard anything from her? From Caro?”
“Nah, man, and it’s driving me crazy, not knowing where she is or what she’s doing. Not knowing if she’s safe…”
“Maybe she went back to her mom’s.”
He studied the rug on the floor that was rough with sand we’d trekked in from the beach.
“I don’t think so. They weren’t close—not since her dad died.”
“So where do you think she’s gone?”
“I don’t know. I don’t fuckin’ know.”
He looked at me hopelessly.
“What are you going to do?”
His eyes dropped to the floor again.
“I’m going to wait for her.”
“That’s three years, man. That’s a long time.”
He shrugged, and a ghost of a smile made its way onto his face.
“Life is a long time living, but without Caro it would just be a long time dying. I love her. So I’ll wait for her. And I know that somewhere on this rat infested planet, she’s waiting for me, too.”
I hoped he was right.
But it was damn hard trying to believe it.
TWENTY-ONE
“Yeah, this is the place.”
Ches pointed towards a low-rise, khaki-colored building with a sign announcing ‘Porter’s Pub’. It was a typical student dive: happy hour and cheap beer. Sounded good.
To be honest, I didn’t really care where we went. I was just happy to have a couple of quiet drinks with my best friend.
Inside, it was a dark, narrow room set out with wooden tables and chairs, and a stage at one end.
Ches started to lead the way towards a table near the back, but before we got there, someone called his name.
“Ches! My man! What’re you doin’ here, dude?”
The speaker was obviously a college kid: long, greasy hair, looking like he’d just stepped out of a Red Hot Chili Peppers video.
“Hey, Vince. How’s it going?”
“I’m long, loose and full of juice, my friend.”
I tried not to roll my eyes, I really did.
I was feeling pretty fucking tense and on edge, excited really, but so not in the mood to party with Ches’s college buddies. It looked like I didn’t have a choice. Whatever.
Other than the ass-hat, there were four other guys that Ches introduced, and a girl whose name I didn’t catch. I noticed her running her eyes up and down my body, and it made me uncomfortable.
“This is Seb, a friend from high school.”
They nodded and muttered, eyeing my military haircut, and the girl smiled.
“I thought you said you were busy tonight, Ches, man?” said Vince.
“Well, yeah. We were just going to go out and have a couple of drinks now that Seb’s back in town.”
“Did you go away to school?” asked the girl. Her name might have been Stacey.
I didn’t get a chance to be evasive, because Ches answered for me.
“Nope. Seb enlisted. He’s a Marine—just got back from Iraq. A gen-u-ine hero, right, man?”
That shit was just fucking embarrassing—but typical of Ches.
“Wow, really?” said Del.
“Yep,” said Ches, “and looking damn skinny. Man, didn’t they feed you out there?”
“You try wearing ninety pounds of gear in 110 degrees, you fat fucker,” I muttered.
Ches laughed and patted his stomach, which was slightly larger than last time I’d seen him.
“Man is a large animal. Besides, wait till you try Amy’s cooking.”
Amy. This was Ches’s new girlfriend, and, according to him, the love of his life. I hadn’t met her yet, but if she made my friend happy, that was good enough for me. And he was—happy, I mean. Happiness rolled off him in waves. Not that I was jealous. Okay, that was a lie. I was jealous as fuck, but still really pleased for him. I knew what it was like to be in love—except right now, it was fucking painful. For me, anyway.
I’d earned a few days’ leave, and had managed to be in San Diego this week. I was waiting for Caro. I’d been waiting for her for three long years.
The guys around the table eyed me like I was a fucking Martian. I could see what they were thinking: too dumb to go to college. It didn’t bother me, I just didn’t want to spend the evening talking about being a Marine. I was having a night off.