Jack was sound asleep when Jill tried to wake him. “Jack, wake up. It’s time.”
“Uh huh, what . . . who . . . what time is it?”
“It’s five a.m. You need to set up Betsy.”
“Oh, yeah. Let’s have some coffee first.”
“Sure, but let’s make it quick. We don’t want to be late for the party.”
Jack heated water for Jill’s coffee, and added the ingredients. He handed it to Jill and she started sipping the steaming drink. Then he heated water for his cup of coffee.
“Jill.”
“Yes, Jack.”
“Did you ever have a boyfriend called Buzzy?”
Jill sat up straight, her eyes narrowed. With tension written in her voice she spoke, “How did you find out about Buzzy?”
“You were mumbling in your sleep last night. Remember how we were close, sharing body warmth like you suggested. Anyhow, I was close enough to you that I could make out one of the word . . . Buzzy.”
“Hmm . . . my old boyfriend Buzzy? I suppose that my sniping partner is starting to get jealous now that I am dreaming about Buzzy.”
“Well . . . ah . . . no . . . I mean . . . I don’t want to pry. I was just curious. You don’t have to talk about it. You mentioned about being open and honest with each other, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some . . . well, open up about past experiences.” Jealous? I don’t think I am getting jealous. Why would I be jealous?
“You sure like to ask a lot of questions about my old boyfriends. Anyhow, Buzzy . . . he was . . .” Jill started to giggle.
“What so funny?”
“I am sorry, Jack. It is just funny that you assumed Buzzy was my boyfriend. You see, Buzzy was my teddy bear that I always slept with. I couldn’t get to sleep without him. In fact, I cuddled in bed with Buzzy every night until the tenth grade. By then my brothers were teasing me so much that I had to stop.”
“Oh . . . I see.”
“Are you sure you aren’t jealous?”
“No. Of course not.” Why would I be jealous? Jill is my sniping partner, not my girlfriend.
Jill and Jack sipped their coffee in silence.
“How is your infection?”
“It is much better. Those cranberries really are helping. I hardly notice it now. How are your injuries doing?”
“The pain is slowly improving, and my limping is almost gone.”
“Good. We may have to double-time it to Alpha after I kill Ramiro and the helicopter pilot. Do you think you will be able to move that fast?”
“I’ll be up to it.”
“Jill, can I ask you something?”
“Jack . . . I really don’t want to talk about my boyfriends anymore.”
“I wasn’t going to ask about your boyfriends.”
“Oh, in that case, what’s on your mind?”
“I was wondering; what is the first thing you are going to do when you get back to civilization?”
“Hmm, that is a good question. I suppose I will call Mom and tell her the ‘training mission’ went okay. She will be on edge until she gets my phone call. After that I will get a shower and clean up. So, I guess you are asking what I will do after that. I’ve really wanted a nice strawberry milkshake these past couple of days. As much as I enjoy camping there are some things that I miss. How about you?”
Jack pondered Jill’s response, and wished he had a family to call when he returned home. “A strawberry milkshake? That does sound good. You are making me hungry. I could eat a nice thick juicy steak right now. Anyhow, like you, I want to get cleaned up. Then, maybe I will rent a plane and go flying. That always gets my mind off work.”
“Work! You call this work? All the fun we are having and you still refer to this as work? Come on, Jack, deep down inside don’t you enjoy being out here in the wilderness with me killing bad guys?”
Jack really was having a good time with Jill. I do enjoy this. I wish I could really tell Jill how much I have enjoyed being with her the last three days. Jack didn’t know how to respond. He was afraid to say what he was really thinking, so he looked down at his metal cup and continued sipping his coffee in silence.
***
Jill noticed Jack’s silence. Why did Jack become quiet all of a sudden? Doesn’t he like me? Does he hate having me for a partner that much? I thought that we were making progress in our relationship, but now Jack seems so distant when I brought up the subject of us working together.