Together at last?

In the weeks that followed the letter, I found out I was supposed to receive a promotion at work to 1st shift Team Leader with some added responsibilities. Now, since I wouldnt be filling that need, they had to get someone else. Luckily I still moved to 1st shift, but it was really hard knowing I missed the opportunity for a job I wanted and earned. The toughest thing for me though, was knowing that Rachael and I finally had the normal life we'd dreamed of for like 10 years, and it was being ripped away from us.

As most of you know, Rachael and I have been "together" since high school (with one brief break period, but lets not go there). I put "together" in quotes because even though we dated for so long, we were never actually in the same spot at the same time. She went to Princeton, I went to Widener. She was still at Princeton, I was 6 hours away in the Army. She graduated, I went to Afghanistan. I got back, we got engaged, she moved home . . and I moved to Lancaster for work. We got married, bought a house together, ready to start our normal life together at last . . . . but I work night shift for over a year and a half. Then, when it really all does look like its coming together, I get 1st shift, an awesome job, and. . .well, you know what happens next.

The Letter

"Pursuant to Presidential Executive order of 14 Sep 2001, you are relieved (haha!) from your present reserve status and ordered to report for a period of Active Duty . . . . not to exceed 545 days, unless extended or terminated by proper authority". Those words turned an ordinary day upside down and threw my quasi-normal life out the window.

It was about a week before Thanksgiving, and at the time I was still working night shift. I typically slept during the day when I worked nights, and when Rache came home with Chester, he'd sprint upstairs to lick my face and wake me up, and Rache would give me a kiss hello. Today though, Rachael sat on the edge of the bed and started to cry (Chester, unaware anything was wrong, continued to lick my face). She handed me a large yellow envelope marked overnight priority from the Department of Defense. Now I was worried, because the Army never actually pays to send you anything. Inside was a folder with some info, and a one page sheet that looked very familiar - official DA orders. I read the 1st line (quoted above) and my heart sank, and I felt a strange pain like someone had just kicked me in the balls.

After about 10 minutes where Rachael sobbed on my shoulder and I yelled disbelieving profanities, we settled down enough to call our parents and break the news. Poor Chester didnt know what the hell was going on, so he kept a timid distance for a while. That was a tough night, and I knew there were going to be many more. I called my boss and told him I wouldnt be in the rest of the week, and being an ex-82nd Airborne guy and a friend, he understood. So Rache and I got drunk, cried with our parents (yes, I cried for the 1st time in about 10 years), and went to sleep hoping we'd wake up and this would be a bad dream. Unfortunately, it wasnt.