Hardest to Love | Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw

𝟎𝟏 - 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋

The soft hues of orange and pink start to appear above me as I'm in the middle of washing my motorcycle. I pull a piece of my hair back behind my ear, leaning over the seat of the motorcycle to clean a different part of the bike. Faint music in my garage plays. It's another lousy afternoon in California and I decide to spend it washing my motorcycle. It's the same old motorcycle my Father rode on back in his day. He handed it over to me when I got my license. It took a while to get it back in it's original shape when it first started going down, but it's all worth it. This motorcycle is the only transportation I take to go to places.

As I finish hosing down the rest of the soap running down my motorcycle, I hear my phone from the garage beeping. Since it's connected to the speaker, it rings through the speaker, irritating me from how loud it is. I drop the hose on the ground and jog my way inside my garage. Wiping my hands on my shirt from using the hose, I pick my phone up to see who's calling. It's my Father. I quickly disconnect my phone from the speaker and answer the call.

"Dad?" I say.

"Hey there, honey. Are you busy?" He asks through the phone.

I look behind me at my motorcycle. Pausing for a second to think of a response even though washing my motorcycle isn't the most important thing in the world right now. "No, why?"

"I have some good news I think you'll enjoy." I can feel his smirk behind the phone.

"What is this news you say?" I raise my eyebrows, walking to a wooden stool to find out what my Father has to offer me.

He waits a few seconds for me, making sure I'm listening attentively to what he's about to tell me. "I talked to a few buddies of mine and you're transferring back to California for something I need your help in."

"Dad, I just back here a few weeks ago. I'm supposed to be leaving to go back to Hawai'i in a month." My eyebrows knot.

"Don't worry about it, I got it all situated." I listen to him. "I'm recruiting some other aviators to come and join me to train for a bit mission coming up in a couple of weeks. Do you think you're up for it?"

I sigh, slightly pinching the bridge of my nose. "Do I have a choice?" I hear him chuckle. Which means he knows I'm up for the job.

"We start next week. Call is at eight, sharp. I'll see you there?" He informs me.

I lick my lips and stare off into the distance. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"That's it." Silence grows between our call.

"I'm thrilled to know that you'll be working in my team, honey. You know that right?" His voice turns soft.

"I know, Dad. Me too." I make a small smile even though he doesn't see my reaction through the phone.

He finally says. "Alright, call me if you need anything. Love you, kid."

"Love you too, Dad." I say, before hanging up.

I connect my phone back to the speaker and start playing music again. Looking back at my motorcycle from inside the garage, I find all the navy stickers my Father put decades ago. It reminds me of the days I was in the academy, training to graduate. The good old days is what everyone refers it to. It's been over two years since the last time I've seen fellow aviators that I used to know. After I graduated Top Gun, I got moved to the coast of Hawai'i.

I met new people who were also transferred for the same reason. This was my first real offer to work in a real team. I was happy, I did what I loved to do, but it was away from home. I don't get homesick like others do, but something about training in California was different than in Hawai'i.