AP NEWS FLASH: The Iranian government has gained support of several Middle Eastern nations. There are now armored units, as well as infantry from at least three countries around the region preparing to move into Israel. These military force movements are on a scale unseen since World War II, which was also the only other time in human history nuclear weapons have been used in hostility. In that case the weapons ended the war. This time is different, they were used to fire the opening salvo.
AP ECONOMIC NEWS FLASH: Upon hearing the news of Iran gaining allies in their fight for dominance in the Middle East, speculative investors raced into defense related stocks. There has been public outcry about this kind of war profiteering, however defense contractors claim they will need the influx of cash to start expanding their operations. In other economic news, unemployment has now surpassed the psychologically important 10 % mark. This number may cause more harm than any other increase as households will start holding back on spending even further, due to lack of confidence in the stability of the economy.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The announcement came over the intercom that the flight was approaching Reagan National Airport and all passengers should return their seats, put the seat backs in the full upright position in preparation for landing.
Sandy couldn’t believe that she had agreed to do this. Here she was, doing possibly the most impulsive thing she had done in her adult life, and all for a guy she had just met. The flight had cost a small fortune with her last minute ticket, and rising fuel costs, causing airline seats to go up in price at a record setting pace. All of that aside she was happy to be here. A whole different part of her was extremely nervous about what the next few days might bring.
The phone call with Frank had gone fast when she finally got it, gosh that seemed so long ago now.
He had seemed nervous, which was totally out of character for her man.
She really was starting to think of him as “hers.”
Was that good or bad?
She couldn’t think about that now.
She asked him if he had seen the news. He hadn’t seen it, but would be sure to check it out so they could talk about it if she wanted him to.
He had tried quickly, almost too quickly, to change the subject. He started asking her questions about work.
It was almost as if he was avoiding talking about Iran.
A soldier? Avoiding talking about the country we were at war with?
He must know more than he was saying. Maybe he just couldn’t talk about it for some reason. That was so frustrating!
Thankfully he said it before she did, that he really missed talking to her, and desperately wanted to see her. She would have said it, but was hoping not to scare him off by going down that path first. Was this even a man who could be scared off by something like that?
The entire conversation was not at all what she had expected. She had replayed in her head many times since then. There was a work sponsored dinner thing event that he had to attend. He said that in the Army these things were as much for the families as for the soldiers. Even though she wasn’t family he still wanted her there. Many times he went to these things alone, but this one was really too big for that, so unless she wanted him to take his sister, she was going to have to be his date.
He had offered to pay for the flight and get her a hotel at his expense. She refused to let him cover her expenses but would be happy to come. She still had self-respect and didn’t want him to think she needed to be taken care of. Some men had been scared off by her independent nature, but he took it in stride. That was a good thing.
When is the event, she asked?
Day after tomorrow!! Really?
Two days from now, in Washington, are you serious? Give a girl less notice why don’t ya!
Normally she would never go into “girl” mode, but this time she did in a dramatic fashion.
It was a whirlwind 36 hours that led her to this point. It was all hair, nails, sometimes calling him twice an hour while running around town trying to get everything set for the trip.
“How formal?” she asked.
“Umm, well, ahhh,” he said. “Kind of formal, like church formal, but not evening gown formal.”
Well, that was a little helpful.
She had to find a dress. Shockingly she didn’t own any that seemed appropriate. Or maybe it was just that she wanted to impress him.
She had been to DC as a tourist so she called to see where the dinner was, maybe she knew the restaurant, or at least the part of town. Oh, just this little place I know about, he said. He wouldn’t tell her on the phone, but he promised he would as soon as she got to town.
He suggested she get a hotel near the Pentagon, or maybe in Rosslyn Virginia, that way it would be pretty convenient to everyplace that they had to get to. He assured her that their dinner would have a great view, and the food would be some of the best in town.
Didn’t he realize she was a low maintenance kind of woman?
If he was in charge of the team didn’t he pick the venue?
She hoped he wasn’t just trying to impress her. She just wanted him to be himself.
Perhaps he was being himself?
She decided that she had to stop over analyzing, or she was going to drive herself crazy.
So here she was, about to land, and her nerves were finally kicking in. Up until now she had been too busy for them to rear their ugly little heads. She looked at her watch. Yup, there it was. Dinner was three very short hours away and those ugly little things were starting to do laps around her stomach. Barely enough time to claim her luggage, check into the hotel, clean up, and change. There was not really even enough time to talk to him.
Suddenly the airplane was pulling into the gate and there was no turning back. As she picked up her purse and backpack Sandy hoped all the other passengers gathering their bags didn’t realize just how nervous she felt.
At least, for once, it wasn’t the bombing that was occupying her mind but something that had the potential to be wonderful. Perhaps life really would go on, just as everyone said when they tried to help her cope with the nightmares that continued to wake her up every night.
She never thought that as an ER nurse she would suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder but she was and slowly learning to cope with it. She had to see someone at the hospital before she really understood what was happening to her. At least knowing it was PTSD gave her something to fight.
As she exited the terminal her nerves were worse than ever. Then she saw him standing there in his dress uniform. He was holding some flowers. Just seeing him made her feel a little less anxious, but only a little.
He did look good in his uniform, she had to admit that much to herself with a smile.
She suddenly hoped the dress she bought wouldn’t show any of her bulges. She just now realized that he was probably as close to zero body fat as a human could get without being dead.
She felt that her own body wasn’t nearly that nice. All of the sudden she was regretting that daily bagel with extra cream cheese as her usual choice at the cafeteria. She was also ashamed of herself for not going to the gym more often.