Can I Live Again? - Tyrone Vincent Banks (summer reading list txt) 📗

me.”

Leonard replied, “I will…”

She kissed him on the cheek and walked away quickly as Leonard’s relief arrived.

At the graduation ceremony Leonard scanned the candidates in search of Manuela. After the crowds dispersed, a very disappointed Second Lieutenant Thomas sat quietly at the bus stop with his bags ready to return him to the airport for the flight back to Connecticut. He had spent the last few hours looking for Manuela. His heart ached and he felt lost without seeing her again or talking to her once more. Again he accepted defeat and was upset with himself for letting her in to his heart. Two busses arrived, one to downtown Quantico and another to the airport.

Leonard took the bus to downtown Quantico and walked into the Pizza restaurant. He placed his bags on the seat beside him and placed his bright white officer’s hat on the table. He sat there in a zombie like state for at least two hours. He was almost unaware as a glass was placed on the table. He prepared himself mentally for the long trip home and the lifetime of regrets created by losing a woman who was possibly the love of his life.
A familiar voice broke through his silent concentration.

“You’re going to have to pay for that lieutenant!”

Leonard looked up and replied, “But I didn’t…”

Manuela stared at him for a moment and sat down slowly.

“I almost thought that you left without saying goodbye Leonard!”

“Manuela, I looked for you everywhere. I was seconds away from getting on that bus to the airport when I decided to check here.”

“Good choice!”

“What, my choice to come here?”

“Definitely! Graduating from OCS is a big day for my family! My dad’s a general, my brother’s an MP, my mother’s a Major – we’re definitely a military family. I tried to escape and I tried to find you, but you know when the Marines go looking for you…”

“They will find you!”

Manuela agreed, “You’ve got that right!”

A brief and awkward silence passed before Manuela continued the conversation.

“Look Leonard, I am not usually this blunt but I have to let you know something. Ever since that day in the squad bay and our all night study session, I’ve been drawn to you. We spent that whole night together and you were a perfect gentleman. You didn’t force yourself on me, you were honest and you seem to be a nice guy, but…”

“But what?”

“Tell me, in all honesty, are you the man that you seem to be? I haven’t had too many relationships. I’ve never had a man that I can talk to like I talk to you. It’s as if I’ve known you forever…you just seem too perfect!”

With those words Leonard’s heart began to flutter uncontrollably.

“Manuela, I’m just…just not used to someone like you paying any attention to someone like me. You’re this exotic Latin Beauty and I’m this everyday African American guy. I’m far from perfect! I always feel as if I don’t deserve the good things that happen to me so that when they’re taken away I simply improvise, overcome and adapt. I am

the man that you see before you. I don’t have any emotional baggage or ties. I’m at the crossroads of my life now where the decisions that I make now may follow me for the rest of my life.”

“What kind of decisions are you talking about Leonard?”

“You know, life decisions…do I want to be a marine forever? Do I want to settle down? Do I want to risk my life and take lives?”

“Don’t overcomplicate things Leonard. Take each day one at a time and see where tomorrow will bring you. I’m not telling you to let anything happen, just let the good things happen, that’s all!”

“Where do you get all of this knowledge from?”

“Well, before being deployed, my Dad would sit with me and give me enough advice to last several years later. He never knew if his next mission would be his last and he didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. He’s given me so much advice in the past that he doesn’t know what to tell me next! By his estimates I’m all set until I’m about 35!”

“You know, your father seems to be a very nice guy! I hope to meet him someday! I know that I should take one day at a time but I’d still love to know where I’ll be say 20 years from now! But, like you said, I’ll take things one day at a time!”

Manuela laughed, “Exactly! So, where do you go from here?”

“I’m not sure; I haven’t received my orders yet. I was going to go home and relax with my family for the rest of the summer, but I don’t fit in there. I want to go somewhere and start all over. I want to go somewhere and grow up and make my own path in life. You know, I need a change! And what about you?”

“You know… the same thing. My whole family’s in Quantico or D.C. They don’t have any time to spend with me during the summer. I’ll spend my summer alone, on the beach, relaxing…”

“Next to me!”

“What are you talking about Lieutenant Thomas?”

“I’ll stay here with you…”

“Are you sure?”

“I have no place else to go for the moment!”

“Then it’s settled, you’ll stay with me!”


***

Mikal stared intently as Leonard continued his story.

“Mommy and I stayed together until our orders came through. I was stationed in Parris Island and she was sent to California.”

“How did you meet each other again?”

“Well, I lead a small team of “Operators” in to Iraq in the early nineties. There wasn’t much combat activity at that time but we were responsible for gathering intelligence and getting it to the appropriate location. Well, what happened then was unfortunate but one of the best days of my life.”

“We were returning from one of our operations and one of my men stepped on a mine. I placed my foot next to his and took his place on the mine until an engineer could arrive to diffuse it. We were not “officially” there at that time and by giving our whereabouts to an engineer we would effectively divulge our location. Well, one thing lead to another and someone had a brilliant idea to strap a bunch of protective clothing on to me, place a large rock on top of the mine and pull me away. Well, I awakened hours later lying in the hospital minus one foot and very upset. The surgeons worked for hours trying to fix the damage, they did a fairly decent job but the pain was still there and most of the bones in my foot were fused together with rods and synthetic materials."

"I signed up for Sniper School and ignored the pain and stiffness in my foot to complete the training. I ended up in Quantico again and I felt drawn to go to your great Uncle’s pizza shop. I walked in and there she was, sitting at our table, reading the Bible. I sat down as if I had just returned from the rest room or something and cleared my throat. She was still beautiful and we were so happy to see each other again."

"We sat together and got reacquainted. So many things had happened over the years and we had so much to talk about. She was training to become a Chaplain and I spoke briefly about my new occupation. She was training to give life and I was training to take it. I felt ashamed of myself, but she understood why I made that choice. We were both stationed in Quantico for the next few years. In 1997 we were married. I taught a few courses on base until I was deployed to Albania just after you were born.

I provide evacuation support during that time although the military will deny it. After that mission your mother and I returned to Connecticut. In 2003 I was recalled for one final mission. My work resulted in a Purple Heart for several injuries that I sustained and this pretty little cane that I carry at all times to keep from falling!”

Mikal asked, “What do you do now, you’re always writing stuff?”

“I write training manuals and I’m a consultant. I may not be able to do the things that I did before, but I can tell someone else how to!”

The phone rang at that very moment causing a wave of nervousness to pass over Leonard. Mikal grabbed the cordless phone and handed it to his father and sat down to watch him.

“Hello?”

“This is Major Thomas, I’ll accept the call!”

“Hello Cowen! Yes, you can stop by – we’ll be here all evening! Yes and God bless you too!”

Leonard turned off the phone and handed it to Mikal.

“That was Uncle Ron, he has to stop by and drop some things off.”

“Mom’s things?”

“Leonard paused and then answered, “Yep!”

***
Leonard walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. As he sat on a small bench he scrutinized his malformed foot and scarred knee. He closed his eyes and thought about his last time in action.

In a vast mountainous region surrounding a small clearing, he could see the choppers idling as they were being loaded with evacuees from the area. He had been entrenched in the same area for more that 18 hours with his eye glued to the crosshairs of his scope. While in this position he scanned the surrounding area making sure that the evacuees made it onto the chopper safely.

The predetermined go ahead would be an almost undetectable movement that only he and the other four snipers would recognize. Upon receiving that signal he would have approximately 15 minutes to get to a small airstrip for extraction.

He received the signal and crawled slowly through the brush as he descended the mountain. Four leaf covered mounds slid slowly towards a shallow swamp and once out of the swamp they assembled on the banks momentarily. The “Operators” picked up the pace and ran towards the extraction point as the sound of a chopper could be heard nearby. The four men charged towards the site as the chopper landed. Leonard looked back and noticed a small flicker in the woods. He pushed his men onto the chopper as bullets snapped through the leaves, some pinging against the chopper.

Leonard motioned for the chopper to liftoff as he crawled back into the bush undetected by a group of ten enemy soldiers who concentrated their fire on the chopper. Moments later the aircraft was out of range and the group dispersed into the woods in search of the lone marine.

Leonard knew that he wouldn’t be left behind for long and his mission was to destroy his enemies before they could find him or jeopardize the rescue mission. He retreated into a tall tree and remained still until