The Wrong Brother

Chapter 17

MONTY

“You’re slacking a bit, Monty, something tells me you aren’t hitting your normal workouts anymore.”

“Shut up, Des. Sorry, I’m not running my daily regimens like you are every damn day. Maybe I have better things to do.”

“I bet you do,” he smirks.

I shoved Desmond with my elbow and dug deeper to pick up my pace. When he texted me this morning to meet him for a run, I wanted to say no, but I knew he’d give me shit since we hadn’t seen each other in a bit. Between both our jobs and making a conscious effort to see Iris anytime I could, our friendship was on the back burner a bit. Des and I had gone years without seeing each other and our friendship stayed intact, but he liked to tease me when I canceled on him, like any good friend would do.

Des liked to remind me that I swore off relationships and was insistent that I was focusing on my career for now. It was all in good fun though. Hopefully, he’d get the chance to meet Iris soon and he would see while I was crazy about her. She made me feel a way that I didn’t think was possible. 

After we hit the three-mile marker, we both took it down a few notches to a slight jog before fully stopping to take a drink break. While we both could make it the three miles back to the parking lot without a break, we weren’t trying to push ourselves to the point of exhaustion today. “This is a nice little running trail,” I commented to my friend. “How did you find it?”

“One of the guys on the base lives in the apartment complexes across the street from the parking lot. We ran it a few times. It’s a nice change from doing a trail run.”

“Agreed, those are going to be a bitch once summer hits.”

“Would you rather run in the heat or the snow and rain?”

“Fuck, I don’t want to run in either. At least once I was out of the service I could choose to run inside on a treadmill or an indoor track. Arizona summers might be hot, but I’m pretty sure I almost lost a toe running in a New England winter one time.”

“I fucking hate the cold, that’s why this place is perfect for me. I think I’ll probably end up staying after my contract is over.”

“Are you thinking about fully joining civilian life, my friend?”

He slowly nods, “I think it’s time.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. I thought you were going to be a lifer. Especially with your new role. I thought you loved it.”

“Sure, man, it isn’t that I don’t love it. I mean, you loved serving, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, it definitely gave me what I really needed in life. Lord knows it wasn’t happening if I stuck around here and followed the path my parents preferred. The decision to leave didn’t come easy, but I wanted to be my own person, ya know?”

“Yes,” he said enthusiastically, “I wasn’t sure how to say it, but that is exactly it. I’ve had the chance to go all over the world doing what I love, but it’s never been my choice. My entire adult life has been following orders. I’m not mad about it, I just want to make a choice rather than follow orders.”

“Any idea what you might do?”

Des shakes his head, “No, but I still have some time to decide. I’m not up for re-enlistment for another year. Some positions at the admin office can be filled by a civilian if I wanted to keep working on the base.”

“I like my job. I can’t hire or fire people, but if you’re interested, I could get you in for an interview.”

“Thanks, man,” Demond slaps my shoulder, “I appreciate you having my back.”