First Class Hero (First Class Novels) (8 page)

Date: Monday, May 13
10:11 PM

To: Nic Stewart
(nicas821@out...

Hi Nic,

I see you missed me! ;)
Gotta admit it was nice to open up my email and find several from you.
J

Oh, and I’m glad I wasn’t
on CNN either! Lol

Okay, so let’s try and
answer all your questions. I’m in the northern hemisphere... that I can tell
you. The military doesn’t like it when we tell people where we are going for
safety reasons, so it’s usually a secret. So when we get back I can tell you
where we were and a little bit about it. But I can tell you that our mission
was successful and we were able to accomplish more than we had initially
anticipated and nobody was injured so that’s a double win.

I’m sorry about the
rejection letters. That’s gotta sting.
L
But my mom has always told us boys that God leads us in a direction and
sometimes when we begin to stray from our path, he gives little course
corrections. Now, whether I believe that or not is still up for debate, but if
I did, I would say that those jobs were not meant to be in your future because
there is a much better one waiting for you. Like the one you had your phone
interview for or the written questions and answers you submitted. I would like
to believe that we are being led, so in this case I will choose to believe that
you wouldn’t have been happy at the schools that have decided they don’t want
you.

 As for your old boss?
She’ll get what’s coming to her. You can’t treat people like shit and not
expect some kind of payback, or karma to smack you in the face at some point. The
hard part is watching it not happen in a timeline of our choosing, but
eventually it will. If you have the opportunity you should tell the school
board chair what happened to you and to the others you worked with. I believe
we have a moral obligation to try to make the world a better place. And
sometimes that’s just speaking up for those who can’t do it themselves. Ok,
I’ll get off my soapbox now! ;)

 So, your mom? You
haven’t said anything about her so I am curious about her calling. Feel free to
tell me anything you want.
J
I’m
glad that you feel comfortable sharing with me. I consider that one of the
highest compliments I have ever received.

Ummm…I think that’s all
your questions. If I missed one just remind me in your next email. And no! I
would NEVER blow you off.

So I just got word that
we are headed back to San Diego on Wednesday. It’ll be nice to get back. I’m
not a fan of all this sand if there isn’t an ocean attached to it. haha.

Well, I’d better go.
There’s a lot of stuff to get done before we leave so I’ll email you once I’m
back on friendly soil.
J

Take care of yourself and
my fingers are crossed for you.

Paul

RE: We’re back

From: Nicole Stewart
(nicas821@outloo...

Date: Tuesday, May 14
03:51 PM

To: Paul Lathem ([email protected]...

Hi Paul!

Very happy to hear your
mission was successful and you’re back safe. Really good news!

I also have some good
news! I have a job interview for the position I had the phone interview for!
That means I made it to the final three!! It’s in two weeks and I am really
feeling good about it, so…fingers crossed!
J

I haven’t heard back yet
on the job in Boston. Still waiting.

I’m not surprised I
haven’t said anything about my mom…we aren’t what you would call close. You
know I watched your family a little bit on the cruise and I can tell you that
it wasn’t like that for me. I’m an only child. Actually, I was an accident and
I’ve been reminded of that my entire life. If I went all Sigmund Freud on
myself I would probably say that’s why I became a kindergarten teacher. When I
started school as a five year old, I remember feeling so special for the first
time ever. My teacher, Mrs. Hunter, made me feel loved and at the end of the
school year I remember crying for days because I desperately wanted to go to
school. I needed Mrs. Hunter to make me feel loved and cared for. So when I had
to decide what to major in at Norfolk State, I picked Elementary Education so
that I could be a ‘Mrs. Hunter’ for a child that needed me.

But, back to my mom, or
Heather, as she made me call her for years. She called and wanted to have lunch
and ‘catch up’. I told her I was too busy and she actually sounded
disappointed. She might call again before Thanksgiving, who knows?!

Well, I gotta get ready
for work. I really am very glad that you’re safe! I will wait for your email
from San Diego.
J

Bye,

Nic

As Nic folded the laundry on her bed on Thursday morning,
her mind drifted to Paul. Would she get an email from him today? Did he
actually make it back to San Diego yesterday?

The irony of her situation was not lost on her. For so many
years she had been raised to despise all things Navy. Her mother had instilled
in her a deep-seeded disdain for the men in that branch of the military. Yet,
here she was hoping for her cell phone to beep telling her she had an incoming
message, from a man in the Navy no less. Her mother would be horrified.

Nic absent-mindedly put socks in the sock drawer and jeans
in the jeans drawer and the folded towels on the shelf in the bathroom. She
shoved the empty laundry basket in the bottom of the closet and sat on her bed,
folded her legs in front of her and opened the lid of her laptop. She opened
her web browser and read the headlines on MSN. Opening up her email, she was
disappointed to see that it did not contain a new message.

She closed the lid of her laptop and shook her head.
This
is ridiculous
, she thought. She jumped off the bed and checked her
appearance in the mirror. She had an appointment in an hour with Mr. Benson,
the chair of the school board. Surprisingly to Nic, she wasn’t nervous. She’d
talked to her friends Leslie and Wendy, teachers at River Grove Elementary, and
they had encouraged her to meet with him. They had said that things at the school
were heading downhill rapidly and seeing as though she didn’t have a job that
would be threatened if she spoke up she had agreed that she should enlighten him
to the goings on of the principal, and her evil little minions. And now she was
going to make good on her promise.

*****

Paul sat in the transport aircraft impatiently waiting to be
back in San Diego. He wanted to go back to his hole-in-the-wall apartment and
have a long hot shower and he wanted to call Nic.

When he’d asked her if she would like to exchange emails, he
figured he’d get one or two brief, superficial messages and then she’d be done
with him. He’d assumed she’d agreed to his request to be polite. But she’d sent
several emails and they were filled with news and thoughts and even feelings
which had encouraged him. Just maybe she would come to feel the same way about
him as he already felt about her. Although he couldn’t articulate it yet, he
knew in the depths of his soul that he wanted to spend the rest of his life
with her, to make a life with her, and for her to
be
his life. How he
knew he didn’t understand, but he
did
know and he was going to go after
it. He just hoped that Nic would comply.

*****

That night at work, Nic looked at her phone about every
fifteen minutes.

“Are you waiting for something?” Brian had asked.

Even Evelyn had noticed and she was usually oblivious to
everything except that which directly affected her.

“Just thought I’d have an email by now,” Nic had frowned.

“Oooohh,” Evelyn teased. “Waiting for your Navy man?”

Nic rolled her eyes and shook her head. She lifted the tray
of drinks from the bar and set off to deliver them to the table of women out
for a girls’ night.

By the time Nic returned home, she was irritable and tired.

“I’m going to bed,” she muttered as she threw her purse on
the couch and walked down the hall. She stepped into her bathroom and pulled
her hair back into a scrunchie and smothered her face in make-up remover and
scrubbed away. How quickly she had come to care for a man she hardly knew. How
quickly she had trusted him by sharing things with him that were so personal
she hadn’t ever told anyone else. All this with a man she had been forced to
meet on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean Sea and had purposely been
rude to. Yet here they were several weeks later and she realized that she had
found someone special. It was quite a shocking revelation. Yet her life was so
unsettled that the idea of anything more than friends was obviously out of the
question. But she could always use a trusted confidante. And Paul seemed to be
fitting the bill.

*****

Paul sat in the office of his Commander. He had made it
home, taken a hot shower and fallen into bed to sleep for a few hours before
coming back to the base. Now here he sat having just received news that he
really didn’t want to get.

“It will be for the remainder of your tour,” he’d been told.

Paul wasn’t really surprised, in fact, under normal
circumstances it wouldn’t have bothered him for a second, but things were
different now. He was different now. He wandered out of the building and sat on
a metal bench under a tree. Pulling out his phone he mentally added three hours
to the current time to make sure he wasn’t calling too early. She answered on
the second ring.

“Paul!”

“Hi Nic,” he smiled.

“I was expecting an email. This is a surprise.” She didn’t
even bother trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

“Well, I had some time so I thought it would be good to hear
your voice.”

“You called at the right time too. I’m home with nothing to
do until I have to get ready for work.”

“Good!” he grinned. “So how are you? What’s new?”

“I told you about the job interview next week, right?”

“Yup.”

“Well, that
could
be exciting,” she laughed. “Still
no word from Boston though.”

“You only need one to love you,” Paul chuckled.

“True!” Nic agreed.

“Did you meet with the school board guy?”

“I did! And it was rather interesting. He asked me all kinds
of questions ranging from the state of my classroom, you know, paint on the
walls, air conditioning, tables and chairs, etc., to what I thought of the
current administration. I answered honestly, not pulling punches and trying not
to let emotion cloud my answers. When it came to discussing Jenny, he stopped
talking and just let me talk, and he took a bunch of notes. I promised Leslie
and Wendy I would share their concerns, which I did, so I feel like now I can
move on. I can leave that chapter behind and look forward to the next. It was
actually very therapeutic.”

“That sounds great,” Paul agreed. “Now you are destined to
find the job of your dreams.”

“I hope so,” Nic laughed. “So, can you tell me about where
you were for the past little while?”

“We were in Somalia, but that’s all I can tell you. And,” he
paused, ”I just found out about ten minutes ago that we are being deployed
again next week.”

“Oh,” sighed Nic. “How long will you be gone this time?”

“Actually, that’s the part I was just informed about. I’ll
be gone ‘til my tour is up in August.”

“Oh,” she repeated. Nic didn’t understand what the emotions
were swirling through her body. She tried to remain in control until she could
figure out what it was. “I’m sure there are lots of people counting on you
wherever you go.”

*****

As Paul packed his bags for deployment, it was with mixed
emotions. He was happy to be serving his country wherever he was needed and yet
he was sad knowing it would be for the very last time. And at the same time he
was optimistic for the future he had waiting for him in August and hoping that
his future would include Nic.

They had spoken on the phone for a long time but her
demeanor had changed once he had informed her of his orders. And then when he
had asked about her mother, she had become quieter and had responded to his
questions with succinct answers, nothing more.

He had pondered it all weekend and had realized that he was
being unfair in his expectations of her. She barely knew him. His intentions
had not been made known to her. They were friends, or at least he hoped they
were friends. There was nothing more between them.
At this point,
he’d
said to himself. And they would remain friends. Once he got home and was a
civilian with his future to offer, then he could pursue more.

So, once again, he sat down at the computer just hours
before his ride to Kandahar, Afghanistan, left, and sent her an email.

Back in three months

From: Lathem, Paul R.
LCDR (lathempr@nav...

Date: Tuesday, May 21
04:53 AM

To: Nic Stewart
(nicas821@out...

Nic,

I wanted to drop you a
quick message before I head out in just a bit. I wanted you to know how much
your emails mean to me. When we are away from home, friends, family, peace,
safety, it does a soul good to get a message from someone we care about sharing
the day-to-day activities that are taken for granted so often. I do hope that
you will continue to include me in your life.

I really hope all goes
well with your interview. All you have to do is be yourself and you will impress
them, I know it. You’d be a great addition at any school and I’m sure they will
see that. :)

I’ll email you when I can
and will see you when I get home.

Paul

RE: Back in three
months

From: Nicole Stewart
(nicas821@outloo...