Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

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Erica Bella Dunning sat in her office, typing a memo to one of her editors regarding changes to her publishing company's latest soon-to-be-released novel. Nearly done, her intercom buzzed.

"Miss Dunning?" June, her secretary interrupted. "Brooke Hathaway is here to see you."

"Send her right in, June." Erica said distractedly. While she finished typing her interoffice email, she put her pencil in her teeth to free her hands to type faster. Brooke came in through the main doors and walked over to the other side of Erica's large oak desk.

"Jus' a schec." Erica mumbled around the worn wooden instrument. Taking it from her mouth and setting it aside, she suggested, "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, Aunt Brooke. I'll be right with you!" Typing quickly while Brooke sank into the chair in front of her desk, she finally hit send and smiled, turning to one of her father's dearest friends. She was no blood relation at all, but she still was 'Aunt Brooke' to Erica.

Standing and circling around the desk, she watched the older woman stand back up wearily. Embracing her and kissing her cheek, Erica greeted her properly. "Hi! I'm so glad you could come see me! Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Rum and Coke?" Erica knew full well that Brooke was in AA.

Brooke smiled, her dark hair only just beginning to show the edges of gray. "Hi, sweetie! No, nothing for me! How's the family?"

Erica sat in a chair next to Brooke rather than talk to her over the huge desk. "Mamma's good." she said, referring to her aunt Heather, her mother in all but the legal sense. "Same for April and everyone... except me."

"Not you?" Brooke asked. "What's wrong?"

"Between my work schedule and trying to find the time to spend at home..." Erica looked at her with a blasé expression of exhaustion. "I'm pooped!" The two laughed together a moment before Erica continued. "I haven't even had time to write in a month, which for me is a long time!"

Glad to catch up with her best friend's daughter, Brooke frowned teasingly. "Aww! Having to live in that penthouse must be dreadful!"

"Very funny!" Erica laughed with her. "My 'poor, rich lifestyle'! It's not the money, it's the cost to my sanity! I'm going nuts!"

"So? How can I help?" she asked seriously.

"I don't need help! I'm going crazy just fine on my own, thank you!" Erica teased.

"Oh God, Erica!" Brooke said through her chuckles. "You sound so much like Jack, sometimes!"

"Funny you should mention Dad, Aunt Brooke." Erica segued. "He's the reason I wanted to talk to you. Do you remember the day we met and you told me you'd tell me about him and Uncle Richard someday?"

"Wow! That was nine years ago!" Brooke commented. "But to answer your question, yeah... I remember."

"Well, I was hoping to take you up on your offer."

Brooke balked. "What, did you want to talk about him right now? I thought you were really busy?"

"I am, but I had an idea, and I was hoping you could help. I want to write my father's story, and Uncle Richard's... as told by you!"

The retired Marine scoffed at the suggestion. "Erica! I'm no writer!"

"But I am!" Erica retorted. "See, I got this idea to tell their story as a novel. Since you were there for most of it, it would also be your story... and my mother's, and Mamma's. You tell me things that happened to my father and uncle and yourself and Mamma and my mom, and I write it in story form. I think it's a story that would really help a lot of people, especially Vets. To see two of their own, depicted realistically and respectfully, as told by one of their own... you!"

Brooke looked askance at her honorary niece. "So, you want war stories? I don't think..."

"No! Not at all, Aunt Brooke!" she interrupted to prevent confusion. "I want to tell the story of two average guys who also happen to be patriots. I... I want the world to know my father's story Aunt Brooke, and Uncle Richard's. I want to tell the story of how they met, how they lived, how they loved, how they felt... everything!"

Brooke was stunned. She moved her mouth in an effort to respond, but she couldn't manage to find the words. Finally, she gathered her wits. "Erica, that's a lot to ask! I don't know that you can capture the essence of those two in a simple novel. It's... it's..."

"...it's the job of a storyteller." she interrupted. "And that's what I am! Aunt Brooke, I've been making up stories since I was three years old! I'm pretty good at it too, if I do say so myself, at least my readers seem to agree. Now I want to tell Dad's story, and Uncle Richard's, yours, Mom's, and Mamma's! Trust me, Aunt Brooke. This story will be good!"

Seeing that she was still skeptical, she tried once more. "I'll tell you what. If after I'm done, if you don't like it, I won't publish it. I'll just keep it as a family heirloom. At least then their grandchildren and great grandchildren will know their stories... and that'll be good enough."

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

I met Jack and Rich when we were all three posted at Alameda Naval Air Station just across the bay from San Francisco. Jack was a total clown who hit on everything with breasts! We called him Corporal Strikeout because he couldn't get a date to save his life, but just kept right on swinging! From what everyone told me, it'd always been that way, too. Rich, on the other hand, was attractive, smooth, and never lacked for female attention. I would have hated him, except he was just so nice!

They both grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is funny when you consider that later Rich would move into a house near Pittsberg, New Hampshire, but I'm getting ahead of myself! Rich used to tell this funny story about how he met Jack. Of course, Jack being Jack, he had to add his own twist to it every time Rich would tell it. Rich's story would always be the same, but Jack added bits that were always different. Not that he would change his story mind you, but it was like each time Rich told it, Jack would remember some new little tidbit to add to it.

So this is how it all began.

---

Richard Hargrave was standing in line for lunch as usual. It was the first week of his freshman year in High School and he was starting to really like it. It wasn't as though he was always serious about school before, but he did get decent enough grades. To his mind though, the school's sports were more important, and he'd developed well from many years of football, baseball, and hockey. His natural athleticism and youthful good looks, as well as his above-average five-foot ten height, made him popular and a natural leader.

While waiting, he spotted a scrawny kid sitting at a table trying to eat while three jocks were standing over him. Ox, a nickname the boy had gotten due to his heavy and extremely muscular physique, yelled down at the poor kid.

"Move it or lose it, dork!"

The small boy just kept eating as though Ox wasn't there. Getting impatient, his tormenter shoved him and Richard just couldn't stand by and do nothing. Jumping out of line, he hurried over next to the kid, plopping down right next to him as though they knew each other.

"Hey, Ox! How was your summer?"

The bully was flummoxed. He knew Richard. They played football together and had been casual friends growing up, so Ox looked at him and shrugged. "Summer was OK, Rich... but fall is shaping up to be a problem. We have a severe case of loose leaves. This one fell onto our table and it doesn't seem to realize that it's gonna get squashed if it doesn't... leave!"

"Who, this guy? Ox! You got your signals crossed! This is my buddy! My buddy..." Richard patted him discretely on the shoulder and looked at him in that way that says, 'Insert blank'.

"Jack." he said flatly.

"Jack! Jack's cool, Ox! Come on and sit with us!"

The jock wasn't totally stupid. He knew Richard was joking, but he couldn't figure why he was hanging around a kid that looked like he'd never even seen a football, let alone played. After a moment he shrugged and said, "Uh, I think we'll go sit over there for a change." indicating a table over by the windows. "Better light. Come on, guys. See you at practice, Rich."

After they left, Richard found himself sitting next to Jack alone. Finally, the boy stopped eating, turned to him and said, "Ya know, if you sit there next to me, not even having a lunch, people are gonna think you're hitting on me."

Richard busted up laughing, turned to him, and held out his hand. "I'm Rich."

"So I gathered from what lum-Ox said." the scrawny boy rolled his eyes toward the departing bully. "How rich? 'Cuz I could use a loan."

The pun made him chuckle a little and he found he was starting to like this funny little guy. Slapping him gently on the back, Richard stood and started back to the lunch line saying, "Catch ya' 'round then, Jack. Try to stay out of trouble. I might not be there next time to get you out of it!"

The next day he was in line again when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Jack there, this time in line behind him.

"So I was thinking..." Jack started in as though resuming the conversation from the day before. "Since you seem to have an influence over the muscle-for-brains set, it would be good for me to stick around you."

Turning forward again, Richard asked, "What makes you think I want you hanging around me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jack replied condescendingly. "You need me because I need you! You can't help yourself! I'm all weak and helpless and you're the strong hero type. So, you need me to stick around you so you have someone to be a hero for. What good's a hero without someone to save? Besides, I have many other fine qualities that don't relate to the physical, as I'm sure you noticed that I'm quite lacking in that department."

"I did." he smirked. "So what're these qualities you have that defy detection?"

"I'm funny!" he answered quickly. "I can bust a gut on a gutless toad! I got a quick wit and naturally perfect comic timing!"

"Anything else?" he said, chuckling.

"I'm reliable! You can always rely on having to get me out of a jam. I seem to be a jam-magnet at times. See? You need me! What's your next class?"

As Richard took a tray, he looked over his shoulder at Jack, who stood easily a foot and a half shorter than him. "R.O.T.C.. You?"

Taking his own tray, Jack looked down. "Phys Ed. I'm thinking I should see the counselor and transfer to R.O.T.C.. It might be good for me!"

Filling his tray, Richard shook his head and laughed. "Why? Because I'm in R.O.?"

"Not entirely. After the last few days I can tell that I'm just not cut out for the type of activities they do in Phys Ed. I seem to lack the qualities the coaches are looking for, namely any sort of muscle tone."

"You should stay in Phys Ed. It'll build you up. You need it!" Richard moved down the line.

"What! And ruin this fine physique with bulgy muscles?" He gestured to his thin frame as he moved along the line behind Richard before pushing his blonde hair that needed a trim out of his hazel eyes. "Surely you jest! That's like saying the Mona Lisa could use a makeover and Madonna's wardrobe! How can I deny the girls of this world the beauty that is this body?"

Looking down at the scrawny boy next to him, Richard finished filling his tray. "So, you've actually gotten a girl to date you before?"

"Not as such." Jack responded as he followed Richard to a table. "Girls our age are flighty, finicky, and too easily swayed by peer pressure. They want me, but they let their girlfriends talk them out of it so they can have me for themselves. It's obvious!"

After Richard sat and stuffed part of a roll in his mouth, he chewed it and shook his head. "Sounds perfect. They want you, but you never have to be bothered with things like dates or stuff."

"Exactly, my boy! It's the perfect set up! I know they find me irresistible, but I never have to settle down!" Taking a bite, Jack stopped eating as he saw a group of four girls walk close by their table looking at the two of them before giggling to each other and walking toward an empty table.

Swallowing quickly, he stood up and tapped Richard on the shoulder. "Just watch." Striding over to the where the girls had taken their seats, Jack leaned on it with one arm and smiled. "Ladies! I couldn't help but notice you back there."

The girls sat and looked at each other in stunned silence. Beth, a cute blonde who seemed to be the spokesperson of the bunch, looked over at the table where Jack had been sitting. "Do you know Richard? He's cute! Can you introduce me?"

Jack looked over at Richard, who seemed to be trying to ignore the whole situation. "Who, Rich? Sure! We're old buddies!" Turning back to the girls, he sat on the edge of their table. "But as I was saying..." As he sat, his weight tipped the surface off balance and it toppled over, sending most the girls' lunches down on him as he hit the floor with an earsplitting crash.

"You idiot!" Beth screamed at him, her skirt covered in her own soup. "Now look at what you've done!" Running off in tears, the other girls followed as everyone around Jack started to applaud his clumsiness.

Richard shook his head and stood up, walking over to the mess as the kids around Jack were laughing and clapping.

Jumping up, Jack smiled and bowed to the kids around him as though he'd done it all on purpose to entertain them. "Thank you! Thank you! No! No more! You've been a great crowd! Tip your waitresses, but not your tables!"

"Well, I can admit when I'm wrong. It seems you certainly do have a way with the ladies, Jack." Richard said sarcastically as he picked a shredded lettuce leaf off Jack's shoulder. "One thing's for certain, they're sure never to forget you!"

The scrawny boy smiled, still covered in scattered and spattered food. "You see? It's perfect!"

After the janitor came up dragging his cart, the three spent several minutes cleaning up the mess. Soon the two boys were back at their own table.

Chewing on a french fry, Richard got a grossed out look on his face. "You know, I think you may be right. I do need you around. Who else could ruin my appetite so fast?" tossing the half-eaten fry back onto his plate.

Meanwhile, Jack ate with gusto, seemingly unfazed by the gross mix of odors emanating from his food-stained shirt and pants. "See? I knew you'd come around to my way of seeing things! You eat too much, anyway. I noticed it yesterday. With my help, I'll have you down to fighting trim in no time! So, can I have your fries then?"

When the two finished and dropped their trays off, Richard headed for the JROTC building with Jack following. Noticing his shadow, he shook his head. "Don't you have Phys Ed to get to?"

"First, I wanna see what all the fuss is about. We have fifteen minutes 'til lunch is over. Why are you in so much of a hurry to get to class?"

"Because I like school!" Richard replied. "R.O. especially. I think I'm gonna join up after high school."

"Join up what?" Jack scoffed. "Two ends of a broken pencil? Surely you don't mean the military!"

"Why not?" he asked. "It's an honorable profession! Sergeant Egman, my instructor, was in the Marine Corps. So was my dad. Sergeant's been telling us all the basics of the military and it seems like a really good idea. They'll pay for college ya' know."

Jack furrowed his brow. "But you could end up someplace like Vietnam or something!"

"We're not fighting in Vietnam anymore, Jack!" Richard barked. "Jeez! It's nineteen eighty-five for crying out loud, not nineteen sixty-five! We're not in any wars! Only war we have to worry about involves someone pushing a button and then... Boom! So it doesn't matter anyway!"

Biting his lower lip, Jack puzzled the issue out. "Well, I guess it could be OK. I mean, I should at least check it out, right?"

"Suit yourself, dumpster top. If I were you, I'd get cleaned up before next period, though."

"Oh, yeah. Can I meet you after school then? I wanna talk about this some more. Takes a lot of thought to commit to something like this!"

Richard rolled his eyes. "Look Jack, if you wanna join R.O., fine. Maybe it'll do you some good, but it's not like you're signing up to get shipped out next week! It's friggin' High School R.O.T.C., not the Army! Anyway, I have football practice after school."

"Alright, I'll see you there then!"

Stopping just outside the ROTC building, Richard turned to the boy. "You? At football practice? As what? The football?"

"Moral support!" Jack cried out as he slugged Richard's shoulder. Shaking his hand, he murmured, "Ow!"

A single chuckle escaped Richard's lips. "That's why we have cheerleaders!"

Jack's head perked up. "Do they come to the practices?"

"Sure, but they're busy doing their own thing. Anyway, I gotta go. See ya' 'round Jack."

His eyes widened and a half-smile crept across his face as Jack turned to head for his locker. "Yeah! Cheerleader! I could do that! They have male cheerleaders! How hard could it be?"

That afternoon, Jack sat on the bleachers watching football practice as well as the cheerleaders. He'd always considered sports to be a waste of time practiced by dullards who couldn't think beyond 'smash geek', but he was beginning to see the benefits, especially the company jocks got to keep. He'd quickly disabused himself of any idea of becoming a male cheerleader when he saw how much actual physical work was involved, but he had definitely enjoyed the show. When he saw Richard starting to gather up his things, he headed down the benches and ran up to him.

"Hiya, Rich! Say, you looked good out there!"

Richard laughed as the two walked together. "So good of you to say! So now you're some kind of football expert as opposed to just a professional victim?"

"So, about this R.O.T.C. thing." Jack changed the subject. "I talked to my counselor and he switched me starting tomorrow. We're in the same period!"

"Wonderful." Richard said deadpan as he started to walk off the practice field. "Just what I needed."

"You do! Soon, you won't be able to function without me." Jack handed him the helmet that he'd forgotten on the bench. "See? You need me!"

"Well, how about coming over to my house for a snack then? You any good at math?"

Jack laughed maniacally. "Are you kidding? Why, last year I turned down the Nobel Prize for mathematics!"

"There is no Nobel Prize for math, dummy!" Richard pointed out.

"Of course there isn't, not anymore. They already did all the math there is. To answer your question though, it's an absolute unmodified negative, but I'm a quick learner and can be a great study partner. You taking Algebra?"

"Yeah. Maybe we can help each other. Hi, Anne." Richard raised his helmet toward one of the cheerleaders who was walking past them.

"Hi, Rich!" she replied bubblingly. "Looking good out there!"

Jack turned and walked backwards to face her as he continued along with Richard. "See? That's what I told him, but he wouldn't believe me!"

Anne stopped and looked back at Jack, looking him up and down like she was examining an insect. "I can see why!" At that she turned and jogged to a group of other girls.

Jack turned around and sighed. "Ah! What is this power I have over ladies! Did you see they way she looked me over? And you said I should bulk up!"

"She probably couldn't believe her eyes!" Richard shot back with a sly grin.

After changing in the locker room and a short walk, Richard walked in his front door a short distance from the school, Jack still tagging along behind him. "Mom! I'm home!" he shouted as he dropped his helmet off at the door before walking toward the kitchen. "I brought company over!"

Judith Hargrave met her son at the entrance to the kitchen. "Welcome home, sweetie. Who's your new friend?"

Richard gestured between the two. "Jack, this is my mom, Judith Hargrave. Mom? This is Jack, Jack...?"

"Dunning!" Jack replied wiping his hand on his faded jeans before he held it out to her. "Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hargrave! My, you have a lovely home! Must be hard work for such a young lady for it to look so nice!"

The woman blushed almost as red as her hair as she shook the boy's hand. "Oh, stop it! You better keep an eye on this boy, Richard. He's a little Eddie Haskell! Would you two like a snack?"

Grabbing a handful of cookies from the jar, Richard headed back out of the kitchen. "Sure, Mom. Jack and I are going to go study Algebra. Could you bring it in my room? Thanks!"

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Hargrave!" Jack bowed at the waist, folding one arm under his belly and the other behind his back before he ran to catch up with Richard. "Hey, Rich! Wait up!"

Running up the hallway toward the room that he'd seen Richard enter, a girl came out of another doorway. "Richie? Could you... AH!"

Jack ran straight into her. As he began to stumble, his left foot caught on her right, twisting him in place and making Jack grab for her instinctually to try and prevent his fall. However, he only succeeded in dragging her down with him, such that as he hit the floor, she landed on top of him. Her notebook full of papers flew into the air to come flittering down around them both like leaves in autumn.

Erica Hargrave looked down at the strange boy who she was laying on top of and who was holding her waist. Shock turned to fury inside her toward this boy who not only ran right into her and made her fall, but also had just ruined her carefully organized folder. "Will you let go of me!" she yelled.

Immediately, Jack released the girl. "S-sorry!" he exclaimed as she got up off of him. Crab-walking backwards to get away quickly, he turned as he stood up and ran into the room he'd seen Richard duck into.

"You could at least help me pick up the mess!" Erica yelled down the hall as Richard closed the door behind Jack.

"Sorry." Richard explained as he dropped heavily onto his bed. "That's my ten-year-old sister, Erica. She can be sort of a pain sometimes, all the time pestering me for something. Anyway, we should get started."

A pounding sounded on Richard's door a moment later. From behind it they heard, "Richie! Your clumsy friend just ruined all my homework! Fix it!"

Richard rolled his eyes and got back up. "If we don't help, she'll just keep pounding!"

"Sorry!" Jack shrugged. "Just for the record though, she walked right out in front of me!"

Opening the door, Richard saw his sister standing with her hands on her hips and full of indignation. Storming down the hall she stood by her bedroom door, folded her arms, and waited for Richard to pick up her scattered papers.

While he started picking up the papers closest to him, Jack stuck his hands in his front pockets and turned on the charm. "Well, Erica! It's nice to meet you! Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, but you know how it is!"

"I know how it is." Richard grumbled. "I'm cleaning up your mess again, Jack. You wanna help?"

"Oh! Certainly, Rich!" Jack said apologetically as he picked up a few papers and stepped over the others that were scattered around to hand them to Erica. "Here you go! Nice penmanship, by the way!"

"Jack!" Richard nagged, dragging out his name.

Sighing, Jack started gathering papers while Erica stood and waited. Shortly, they had them all gathered up and handed back to Richard's sister. Jack bowed to her and smiled his half-smile. "Why don't you let me straighten those out for you, Erica! It's the least I can do!"

She eyed him suspiciously, even as his smile turned her knees to jelly. "Well, OK. I suppose you should. It's your fault they got all messed up!"

Looking at her, Richard again tried to rescue Jack from his own disasters. "Erica! We need to study! Jack can't waste his time on this kid stuff!"

Gallantly, Jack held up a hand toward Richard. "Now-now, Rich! I owe it to her! It'll just take a sec!" Ten minutes later, Erica sat on her bed as he sat at her desk and finished sorting out the mess. "There! All fixed, Buttons!"

Erica sighed. "Took you long enough! Why did you call me Buttons?"

The boy turned and smiled at her with his cute half-smile, making the girl's heart flutter. "Red hair? Red Buttons? Plus cute-as-a... Buttons!"

She almost smiled giddily at him saying she was cute, but stopped herself. "Fine. Now get out of my room!"

He turned and bowed at her once more as he left. Erica couldn't figure this boy out. He was cute and funny, and he'd even made her laugh a few times while he fixed her papers with his little jokes. She'd tried to stay mad at him, but somehow she just couldn't. Once gone, she finally allowed herself to smile at his compliment as she moved to her desk and started her homework, completely forgetting the question that she was going to ask her brother.

Entering Richard's room, Jack let out a breath. "Whew! Your sister can really be a grouch, Rich! Remind me never to cross her!"

"No worries, Jack. Come on, Mom brought us some sandwiches. We can eat while we go over this stuff."

After Jack had gone home, Erica knocked on her brother's open door. "So, Richie? That boy that was here. His name's Jack?"

Richard turned a page of his comic book. "Yeah. Jack Dunning."

Leaning against his doorway, Erica fidgeted with her fingers. "He's kinda small for high school. How old is he? Is he really smart or something? Did he skip grades?"

"Who? Jack?" he asked as he put his comic down. "Really smart? No! He's just small for his age. He turns fourteen next week. Why?"

She shrugged and looked at the floor. "No reason. He's kinda weird! Why is he your friend? There's no way he plays football!"

"He could, if he wanted to." Richard noted, picking up his comic again. "He could be a running back or slot back. Guy that small could be hard to catch, but I don't think he likes football."

"So why is he your friend, then?" she persisted.

Putting down his comic once more, Richard sighed. "'Cuz he's funny and fun to hang out with! Plus he's kinda smart, in his own way. Jeez, Erica! What's with you today? Why the third degree? You still mad at him for an honest mistake? He fixed all your papers, didn't he?"

"It's just that he's so different from your other friends!" she scowled at him. "I mean, usually you hang out with guys like Hank or Ox. Jack is just..." she sighed almost wistfully. "...so different!" she repeated herself. "He is funny, but you've never had a friend like him before."

"What, so I can only hang out with jocks? I have a few brains too, ya' know. Someday, I'm gonna go to college and study business like Dad."

Wandering into his room, Erica sat at the desk where Jack was earlier. She looked at her brother on his bed. "Is that why you play football? So you can go to college?"

Putting down the comic again, he rolled over and looked at her. "No, I'm not good enough for like a scholarship or something. I think I might join the Marines like Dad did. They'll pay for college if you serve long enough. I play football because it's fun and I know Dad did when he was my age."

"Oh." Erica replied, seeming disappointed over something. "I'd miss you if you went away a long time."

Her brother laughed. "I'm not leaving tomorrow, ya' goof!"

Standing up suddenly, Erica felt insulted. "Fine! I won't miss you then!" At that she stormed out of his room.

Picking up his comic once more, Richard shook his head dismissively and sighed. "Girls are weird!"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

When Jack used to talk about high school, it was always on the same subject. Girls! Jack would say he took a different girl to every school dance or party, but then Rich would point out that it was because he could never get a girl to say yes twice! Poor Jack! He tried so hard to fit in with the popular kids that Rich hung out with, and Rich would always make sure that Jack was included.

See, pretty soon, the other kids figured out that if you wanted Rich to come to your party, Jack had to be invited, too. Rich would say Jack never held him back though... he still was invited to all the parties and dances and they still hung out with his regular crowd, so you can't say Jack hurt Rich's social life, but Rich's friendship almost certainly helped Jack's, immensely.

I remember this story that Jack used to tell about their Junior Prom. Rich denied parts of it, but I think Jack was telling the truth. I could always tell when Jack was BSing his way through a story. Erica told me a lot of things about that night that tell me it was Jack that was being honest. It started a chain of events that would have life-changing effects, but then Jack would say that was true about everything that happens to a person.

---

Jack tried once more to knot his bow tie. He loved getting dressed up nicely and he wore it well, in the last two-and-a-half years having grown over a foot. Giving up on tying it himself, he headed out of his room.

"Mom! Can you help me please? I can't get this stupid thing to cooperate!"

Mary Dunning walked over to her sixteen-year-old son. "Here, let me get that for you. Put your hands down, dear!" Her old fingers tied the knot easily and quickly, smiling as she did so. "You look so much like your father in this!" she said wistfully. "I remember when he took me to our Senior Prom! It was right before the War. He looked so handsome!" she said, looking off in the distance. Returning from her memory, she looked back at Jack. "And now here you are! You're growing up so fast!"

Jack sighed as he waited for his widowed mother to finish. "Hurry, Mom! I need to get over to Rich's before five! We still need to make it to Anne's to pick up her and Wendy, then to dinner, and then the Prom! We don't wanna be late!"

Mary finished futzing with her son's tie and smoothed his jacket down with a smile. "There! All done! You're such a catch!"

He dismissed his mother's compliment out of hand. "Ah! Wendy's just going with me because Anne is going with Rich, and Anne and Wendy are best friends. It's just a date of convenience. Pity date, really."

"Don't you like her?" she asked concernedly.

"Oh, she's nice and all, but she's just too flighty and fickle for me. All the popular girls are, Mom."

"She might like you, Jack. Girls don't usually go to a dance with a boy just because it's convenient. I noticed her looking at you when I saw her last month at the store. Oh, never mind! You do what you think is best! If you say it's just friends going together, then that's what it is. You have lots of options... maybe more than you think!"

"Mom!" he dragged out the word. "Stop it already! Look, I gotta run! I'll see you tomorrow, OK? Don't wait up!" Jack kissed his mother goodbye and ran out the door yelling, "Love you!" as he left.

Mary stood at the screen door, watching him jog down the street. Finally she went to her chair and sat down. Looking at her black and white wedding photo sitting on the end table next to her, the youth it captured long gone, she sighed. I miss you, Danny. Watch over our boy tonight? I know it's silly, but I worry about him. I love you!

Jack ran part of the way from his house in North Oakland to Richard's house in Squirrel Hill. It was only a few blocks away, but was a much more upscale suburb of Pittsburgh. As he reached the border between the two, he slowed to a walk, noting the almost unmistakable line that separated his own poorer neighborhood from Richard's wealthier one. Finally reaching his best friend's house, he rang the bell and waited, thankful that the afternoon weather was not too warm.

After a moment, the door opened and he saw Erica behind the screen looking up at him with an expression of irritation. Opening the screen, Jack waited for her to move. "Well? Aren't I allowed in, Buttons? I got dressed up nice and everything! Just tell Rich his date is here!"

Erica rolled her eyes and stalked away from the open door.

"Who is it?" Judith called from somewhere down the hallway.

"It's Jack!" Erica yelled back as she dropped onto the couch and crossed her arms.

Frank Hargrave came out into the living room from his den, fiddling with his camera. "Oh, hi Jack!" he said, his teeth clenching his pipe. Removing it, he smiled at the boy. "Big night, eh?"

Nodding, Jack looked at his feet. "I suppose so, Mr. Hargrave. I sure hope Rich is ready soon. Anne and Wendy won't want to be kept waiting!"

His friend's father sat in the big leather recliner and tapped his pipe against a large glass ashtray. "Oh, don't worry about that. They'll leave you two cooling your heels while they finish primping! Got my camera ready! You sure you know how to use a Nikon?"

He nodded and took the offered camera. "Yes, sir! I took Photography last year, remember?"

"That's right!" he mentioned. "You took a lot of the yearbook photos last year, didn't you?"

"Not that many sir, only a few dozen, but they were the best ones!" Jack smirked.

Erica rolled her eyes and huffed. "Excuse me, I think I'm gonna go barf or something!" she groaned as she got up and stormed off to her room.

Watching her leave, Jack finally turned to look at her father. "What's up with her? She's been acting weird lately."

Shrugging his shoulders, Frank re-lit his pipe. "Who knows the mind of a thirteen-year-old girl?" he asked rhetorically.

A moment later, Judith came down the hall, looking back toward Erica's door. Shaking her head, she smiled when she saw Jack. "You look great, Jack! You and Wendy are going to have a lot of fun tonight! Richard will be out in a minute!"

Lifting a foot, Jack shined his shoe on the back of his pant leg. "Thank you, Mrs. Hargrave! I'll try not to disappoint!" He noticed Judith look at Frank sternly, glance at him, then she turned and disappeared into the kitchen.

Frank cleared his throat. "Sit down, Jack. Take a load off." When Jack sat on the arm of the couch, he scowled. "The arm isn't for sitting on, boy!"

"Oh! Sorry, sir!" he apologized as he moved to the couch seat.

Tapping his pipe again, Frank scraped out the ash, looked up at Jack, and sighed. "Look, son. I know your old man passed on quite a few years back, and... well... I guess these last years I've felt like a sort of surrogate father to you." He looked down as he nervously re-stuffed his pipe. "If you have any questions... you know... the things a young man wants to know about that he usually asks his father?" He looked up at Jack with just his eyes, his head still looking down.

Jack almost laughed. "Um... no! It's fine, sir... Mr. Hargrave. I... I'm good!"

The older man leaned forward. "Look here, boy. There are some things you need to know and it's my responsibility to make sure you know them! Do you know what I'm getting at? You treat your date right! No funny business! Even if she says she wants to, it's your responsibility to say no for the both of you! Got it? I don't wanna hear about you causing her any embarrassment! You're a fine boy, so I don't think it'll be a problem, but it needed to be said. Now that I've said my piece, you got any questions?"

"N-no, sir!" Jack stammered. "I'll do just as you say!"

Frank sat back and re-lit his pipe. "Good! Now I want you to have a good time tonight, so I want to give you this." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and held it out it toward Jack.

Jack looked at the money as though it were some sort of a trick. "No... it's OK, sir. You don't have to..."

"Damn it, boy! I know I don't have to! I want to! Now take it!" Once Jack got up and took the money, Frank sat back and grimaced. Lowering his voice to a conspiratorial tone, he added, "Besides, if I didn't give you that talk and some money, Judy would throttle me!"

Richard came out, dressed in his tuxedo. "Well? How do I look?"

Frank nodded as he puffed his pipe. "Very smart, boy! Looking good! You have the corsages?"

He looked toward the kitchen and then back to his father. "Oh! Mom put 'em in the fridge so they'd keep better!"

Jack smiled. "I'll get 'em, sport! Just leave it ta' ol' Jack!" Heading into the kitchen, he saw Judith doing dishes. "Hi again, Mrs. H! I'm just getting the corsages and we'll..." He saw her shoulders shake and knew something was wrong. "Mrs. Hargrave? You alright?"

Judith shook her head, forcing the guilty tears to stop. "No, I'm fine Jack. It's just..." She paused, thinking what to say. "It's just hard to watch Richard going off to Prom is all. I know next year you two'll be seniors, and then..." Her voice trailed off.

"Oh, it'll be fine, Mrs. H!" Jack tried to comfort her. "That's a whole year away! Lots of time until then!" He opened the fridge and took out the two corsages. "Don't worry! I'll take good care of him for ya' tonight! That boy still needs me, ya' know!"

She laughed and sniffed, wiping away a tear. "Thank you, Jack! Here." She walked over to him, straightened his tie some, and smiled at him. "You're like a brother to Richard. I'm glad he has you around! Wendy's a lucky girl to be getting someone like you, too! You might be just the right sort of young man she needs to... to be happy! I know any girl your age that gets you will be very blessed!" She reached into the pocket of her housedress and pulled out another twenty. "Here. Take this and have fun tonight!"

Jack tried to refuse it. "Oh no, Mrs. H! Mr. Hargrave already..."

She put her finger up. "Shush! I know he did, but he thinks twenty dollars is still a lot of money!" She smiled at him and took a breath. "Now, let's get you two on your way! Tonight's a big night for you... and Richard!"

They headed back out into the living room where Richard was talking with his father. "So anyway, Hank fades back and he's about to pass when... Oh! Hey, Jack! Took you long enough! Get lost somewhere between here and the fridge?"

Jack half-grinned. "Nah! I was just telling your mom all the things I do for you! You know, like remembering your date's name, warning you when you have bad breath, distracting the sales clerk while you lift our dates' corsages... things like that!"

"Jack! That's terrible!" Judith said feigning shock as though she wasn't used to his quirky humor. She looked at her husband. "Frank?"

"What? Oh, yes dear... terrible!" Frank commented absently.

"No dear, your son is about to leave?" she hinted.

"Oh! Yes... um... here, Rich. Your mother and I want you to have a good time so..." He handed Richard forty dollars. "Don't stay out too late!"

Richard took the offered money and smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad! Come on, Jack. The girls might be waiting already! Night, Mom!"

"Now you be careful, dears!" she called after them from the porch as they headed down the short walkway in front of the house. "Watch out for drunk drivers!" Watching the boys get into their family's station wagon, she sighed. Turning back toward the house, she spotted Erica watching from behind the screen door, only to duck away when she saw that her mother had caught her watching them leave.

Sitting in the passenger seat while Richard drove them to Anne's house, Jack looked over at his best friend. "So how much did your mom give you on top of what your dad knows about?"

"Twenty, on top of the fifty that you and I saved from mowing lawns. How about you?"

"The same... plus your old man gave me twenty. That gives us a hundred and fifty bucks! What do you want to do with it?"

"Us! Why should I share? I have eighty-five and you only have sixty-five!"

"Because you're bad with money! That's why. You know I can make it go farther for the four of us than you can make yours go for just you and Anne!"

Richard stopped at a light. "I am not bad with money! You just want your hooks in my eighty bucks!"

"Look, when we were at the movies last month, how much did you spend on snacks? Ten bucks? I spent three fifty at the store and just snuck 'em in! Come on! You know me, Rich!"

Pulling through the intersection, Richard shook his head. "Yeah, I do know you, Jack. I should probably get my head examined for listening to you, but OK. We'll pool our funds and ask the girls what they want to do, then you figure out what we can afford. Alright?"

"Don't worry! I've got it all planned out!" Jack said smugly.

They pulled in front of Anne's house and parked on the curb just after five. Climbing out, Jack grabbed the corsages and tossed one to Richard as they headed up the walkway.

"Not your best throw Jack, but you didn't send it into the bushes."

"So I've never been a football player... or baseball... or basketball... or hockey..."

"...or table tennis!" Richard finished for him as he rang the bell. "Is there anything your good at?"

"I seem to be good at weaseling money out of my friend!" Jack shot back.

The door opened and the two boys were shown in by Anne's mother Lydia. Standing at the foot of the stairs and waiting for their dates to come down, Richard could feel Anne's father John burning a hole in the back of his head with his eyes. Clearing his throat nervously, he adjusted his tie.

Jack could see his friend's nervousness, so he thought he'd help defuse the tension, or at very least take the attention off Richard. He turned and faced the older man who was standing in the hallway behind them. "Hi, sir! I'm Jack, Wendy's date. Your daughter Anne is in good hands tonight, sir! My buddy Rich is the safest driver in Pittsburgh! Modest and upstanding, too! The girls all call him 'Respectful Richard'! You won't hear stories about ol' Rich embarrassing any young ladies or taking any advantages! No, sir!"

Anne's father just stared at Jack unblinking.

Not to be intimidated, Jack flew into his second line of defense. "Oh, you'll also note that I have a camera with me to fully document the evening! So afterwards, you can look at the pictures and see for yourself that Anne had a good time and was always safe, secure, and well taken care of!"

He looked at the man who in turn returned his gaze with cold, dead eyes.

Falling back to his final line of defense, Jack cleared his throat. "We have a hundred fifty dollars that Rich and I saved from work we did over the year! Yes, sir! Rich is a responsible young man! Why, everything I know about being a good responsible citizen is due to his good influence on me! I bet if it weren't for Rich, I'd probably be making bad decisions! Doing the drugs and... um... stuff."

Finally, he saw the man crack a smile. Unfortunately it was more menacing than friendly or jovial before the man turned and walked down the hallway away from the two teens.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jack turned back around to face the stairs again. "Told you! I got you covered! You need me!"

"My hero!" Richard mumbled sarcastically.

Half a minute later, Anne's father came back into the living room carrying a cleaning kit and a holstered Colt Forty-five. After he sat on the couch, he opened the kit on the coffee table, unholstered and unloaded the weapon, and started cleaning it right there.

Glancing at the man's activities, Jack turned back around, lowering his voice to a whisper. "OK, don't freak out. Her dad has a gun and he's cleaning it right now! So don't freak when you see it, OK? See? You need me!"

After a short wait longer, Anne came down the stairs wearing a white off the shoulder drop-lace gown with an empire waist that hugged her tightly, while the skirt flared to emphasize her nearly perfect figure. Her hair hung down and loose, her natural curl flattened to let it fall just behind her shoulders. It was simple and elegant, and Richard was stunned at how beautifully grown-up she looked.

Wendy followed her down, dressed in a hot pink satin-lame dress with off the shoulder sleeves, a low cut neckline, an even lower back, and a flirty knee-length hemline that dropped to just above her ankles in the back. Her curly strawberry-blonde hair was sprayed up to leave her neck and shoulders bare. She smiled seductively at Jack as she reached the bottom of the stairs, making him unusually speechless for a moment. Just about to recover, they were interrupted.

"Daddy!" Anne yelled. "Put that stupid thing away!"

"What, pumpkin? I'm just cleaning it!" her father said innocently.

"I know what you're doing, Daddy! Now stop it! I'm almost seventeen!"

Just then, Anne's mother came back into the room. "Oh, for heaven's sake, John! Take that out of here this instant!" Turning to Anne, she smiled. "You look beautiful, darling! Here, I want you to take this for tonight!" She turned Anne around and wrapped a beautiful set of pearls around her neck. "There! It's perfect!"

The boys both gave their dates their corsages, Anne having asked for a wrist corsage and Wendy a pin-on type.

"Jack? Would you pin mine on me, please?" Wendy asked boldly.

"Well... uh... maybe Anne's mom should do it. I... I might pin it on wrong or stick you with it! Besides, I have a job to do!" he excused himself, holding up the camera. Her smile dropped as he turned toward Richard.

Clearing his throat, Jack got Richard's attention. "Rich? Why don't you and Anne stand in front of the fireplace and I'll get your picture!" he suggested as Wendy pinned her own corsage in place.

Afterwards, Richard returned the favor and took pictures of Jack and Wendy. While Jack smiled happily, Wendy only smiled vacantly, still upset that Jack hadn't taken the invitation to pin her corsage next to her exposed chest.

When the four finally headed for the car, Wendy's mood seemed to lift as she spoke up. "Anne? Why don't you ride up front with Rich. Jack and I can take the back seat!"

Jack cleared his throat nervously. "Sounds good to me! Oh! Rich and I were wondering what you'd like to do this evening. I mean, before the Prom, of course! Dinner? Movies? You name it!"

Anne looked at Wendy, who only smiled back and shrugged. "Well, dinner sounds nice! Can we go someplace fancy?"

"It just so happens I already made reservations at a very fine establishment!" Jack grinned his usual half-smile. "I think it just might fit the bill!"

Riding in the back to a local upscale restaurant after telling Richard where to go, Jack noticed Wendy's hand move to his knee. Making him nervous, he put his hand on hers, looked over at her, and smiled. When he noticed the mischievous grin on her face, it made him certain that one way or another he was in for a memorable evening.

Judith knocked on Erica's door, opening it slowly into the darkened room. Entering quietly, she could hear her daughter crying on her bed. Closing the door behind her, she silently crossed the room and sat next to her youngest child, rubbing her back until Erica got up and hugged her, still crying.

"Want to talk, dear?" she asked gently, already knowing what was wrong.

"Boys are stupid!" Erica said between sobs.

She laughed lightly. "Sometimes, yes they are! That's why we women have to push them in the right direction most of the time!" Waiting for her to stop crying, Judith held her and rubbed her back like she'd done when Erica was little. It worked, as it wasn't long before Erica was sniffing back tears. "Let me guess. Jack?"

Erica nodded shyly. "I... I wanted to go to the Prom with him, but... I'm just a little girl to him. He doesn't even notice me!"

"Oh! It's alright! You may be a little girl now, but soon you'll be all grown up. I'll bet lots of nice boys will notice you then!"

"But... but what if it's too late?" Erica nearly began to sob again. "What... what if... what if Jack falls in love with some other girl before I can finish growing up?"

"Well dear, you'll just have to trust that it'll work out the way it's supposed to. You'll meet another boy that you'll like even better than Jack!"

Her daughter shook her head slowly and sadly. "I can't imagine liking any boy better than Jack, Mom!" she sighed lovingly as she spoke his name. Suddenly, she got an angry look on her face and her tone turned cold. "And tonight he's taking that floozy Wendy to the Prom!"

"Erica!" Judith chided her. "That's not a very nice thing to say about anyone! She's Jack's date. If they like each other and decide to date, well then that's just that. They're nearly grown adults." Cautiously she asked, "Why did you say that about Wendy, dear?"

"All the girls say so, Mom!" the girl rolled her eyes. "Her younger sister Ruth is in my music class and she told me that Wendy flirts with all the boys all the time... and kisses them and does other things, too! Things I'm too young to talk about."

Judith swallowed hard. "It can't be that bad, dear!"

"She puts out and then she dumps 'em." Erica said sadly. "She broke Jimmy Mason's heart last year! Now she's gonna do the same thing to Jack!"

"Now stop that!" Judith admonished. "It's a sin to circulate rumors like that! Now you forget all about Jack! I know it hurts a little now, but soon this will all be behind you!"

Perturbed, Jack stood by the punch bowl getting his and Wendy's second cup. Richard stood next to him just shaking his head. All around them their class talked, laughed, and danced to 'I've Had the Time of My Life'.

"I don't get it, Jack! Wendy's hot, and for some strange reason known only to her seems to think you're... well... not repulsive. What's the problem?"

"It's too easy, Rich!" Jack griped. "It makes me suspicious, like she's up to something. It's like shooting fish in a barrel! Like fishing with a grenade! Like..."

"I get it!" Richard rolled his eyes. "So... what're you gonna do about it?"

Jack smiled as he picked up the cups. "Go fishing!" he replied. "Hey, just 'cuz it's easy, doesn't make it any less fun! I mean, I know I'm irresistible, but it's just a little... boring! No challenge to it! Plus it makes me wonder what she's really after!"

When they returned to their dates, Jack handed Wendy her punch. She took it and eyed him like a hungry animal, making Jack sweat like he'd just run the half mile. As the song ended and the next one started, Wendy stood and walked over to him, putting down her cup.

"Dance with me?" she said to make him understand it was not a request.

As Madonna's 'Crazy for You' played, they reached the dance floor and he nervously took her into his arms. "Are you having a good time?" he asked looking into her eyes, their height the same with Wendy's three-inch heels.

Slowly swaying to the music, she pressed her curvaceous body against his. "Mmm-hmm!" she replied with a smile. "Jack? Can I ask you something?"

"S-sure! Anything you like!"

"Do I make you nervous?"

"W-who? Me? Don't be silly!" He paused. "Why? Do I seem nervous?"

She laughed and lowered her head against his shoulder, pressing her ample chest against his. "Yes! And I think it's adorable!"

Closing his eyes, Jack tried to steady his breathing. As they danced though, his mind would not let go of the question that he had been dying to know for over a month; ever since Wendy had not so subtly hinted that he should ask her to the Prom. "Can... can I ask you a question?"

"Mmm-hmm!" she replied, breathing on his neck.

Jack breathed heavily for a moment, trying to keep his mind clear. Finally his need to know overpowered his teenage hormones and angst. "Why me? I mean, don't get me wrong, I... I'm grateful! You're easily one of the prettiest girls in school, probably thee prettiest! You must have had a literal ton of guys asking you to go, so... so why did you want me to ask you?"

"Why not you?" she countered.

"Well... OK, can we just be honest for a second?" Jack sighed. "I know the only reason I get to go anywhere near the parties and stuff that you all have is because of Rich. And he's great! He never makes me feel like he's... well... propping me up, but I know he is, and so does everyone else. I have like, no doubt that if I weren't his friend you probably wouldn't even know my name, let alone consider going to the Prom with me. I... I know you know all this, but I think it's important that I say it. I talk big and all, but I think you know I'm just a geek with a really nice popular friend. So, all that said, why me?"

Having raised her head up to really listen as Jack admitted what they both knew to be true, Wendy took a moment before answering. "Well, I... I guess I just wanted to know... I wanted to go out with a guy who was different. I..." She leaned her head against his shoulder again.

"Oh. OK. I just... Well, I was afraid that maybe you only came with me 'cuz you lost a bet or something... or were planning something Carrie-like!"

Wendy laughed. "No, Jack! I didn't lose a bet! In fact, I think I might have won! You make me feel like you respect me! Like... like I'm safe."

Jack felt simultaneously flattered and insulted; flattered that she trusted him to be a gentleman, and insulted for the same reason. A moment later, all he felt was lucky, her hands sliding up his back to hook onto his shoulders as she pressed tightly against him, contentedly humming the tune they danced to. Closing his eyes, he just enjoyed the moment.

Suddenly Jack felt Wendy pull away from him. Just as he opened his eyes, he doubled over as a fist slammed into his belly.

"Stay away from my girl, twerp!" Ox snarled. "Come on, Wendy!" Pulling the shocked girl to the side of the dance floor, he held up his hands. "Look, I know! I blew off asking you 'til the last minute, but come on! I have a big game coming up! You don't have to pity date Rich's 'help the needy' project to show me I messed up! Lets just forget all this and spend the rest of the night making up!" At that he started to reach out for her.

Richard shoved himself between Ox and Wendy. "She's not your date, Ox! Now beat it before I do to you what you just did to my friend!"

"Rich!" Ox scoffed. "Don't be such a goodie-two-shoes, man! Haven't you had enough of playing 'fairy godmother' to the kid from North Oakland? Come on! He doesn't belong! You know it, I know it, everyone knows it!"

Just then, Vice-Principal Ford walked his heavy form up to them. "Alright, Oscar. I saw that. You're done." He waved his chubby hand toward the door and smiled. "You're suspended!"

Grinning, Ox tried to smooth-talk his way out of it. "No, see here's the thing, Mr. F! See, this loser was horn-dogging on my date so..."

At last coming to her senses again, Wendy stormed up to him. "You're not my date, Ox! Nor are you ever going to be again! Don't call me anymore, don't even bother talking to me!"

Holding his hands up again in mock surrender, his voice turned patronizing. "OK! I get it! You're mad! You want me to apologize to the little dork?"

"No, you big oaf!" she yelled. "I want you to drop dead!"

Ox's expression turned sour. "Fine! Who needs an easy lay like you anyway! I'm outta here! Bunch a' wimps!"

While Ox was escorted from the room, Wendy ran to Jack and helped him to their table. "Are you alright, Jack?"

Holding his stomach, he nodded. "I'm fine! Nothing a little internal surgery and new kidneys won't fix! Oh!" He winced as he sat.

"Jack!" Wendy giggled. "You're such a clown!"

He smiled, the pain slowly subsiding. "I'm sorry we're going to miss a few dances tonight, Wendy. I don't think I can do any fast ones! Might sprain my spleen! You can dance with someone else if you want. I don't mind."

Scooting her chair over until it was right up next to Jack's, Wendy shook her head dismissively. "But I don't want to dance with anyone else! So, we'll just dance to the slow songs!" she said seductively.

At once Jack felt very little pain as her hand sensuously caressed his inner thigh. "Uh... Wendy? I... I thought you came with me because I was... um... safe... because I respected you and wouldn't want to... ya' know..."

"True, I know you won't pressure me!" she admitted. Leaning in close to his ear, she whispered, "That doesn't mean that I can't pressure you!"

After the song ended came the crowning of the King and Queen and other events. Later, when they announced the final song of the evening, Wendy looked over at Jack. "Do you feel up to one more?" she asked.

"If you had to pull me around the floor in a wheelchair I'd be ready!" Jack quipped. "Just... Can you give me a hand up?"

While everyone made their way to the floor, 'Take My Breath Away' started playing. Wendy groaned, "Oh no! Not this one!"

Jack looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong?"

Wendy draped her arms over Jack's shoulders. "Like getting a punch in the gut! Take my breath away? Get it?" She smiled a goofy open mouth smile as she pressed her forehead against his.

Laughter wracked Jack's bruised body, causing him to wince. "Ow! Don't make me laugh, Wendy! Ow!"

After the two started dancing to the song, their mood changed dramatically. Swaying slowly and feeling each other, Jack knew that the night would end soon and their time together would come to a close.

"Jack? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Wendy." he almost purred.

"After the dance, would you want to... I mean... oh, shoot!" She buried her face in his shoulder.

Jack was confused. "What is it? You can ask me anything you like, Wendy. You don't have to be embarrassed!"

Wendy looked at him. "Well, as you put it, can we just be honest for a sec? I... I originally agreed to go with you because I wanted you to be my first... um... virgin." She was quiet for a moment, but then continued. "I... I've never been a guy's first before... and... um... I wanted... I wanted to know what it was like to be a guy's... God! You must think I'm a slut!"

Stunned, Jack stared off in the distance. She wanted to... Oh, Wow! Pulling himself together, he reached up with a hand and lifted her chin so he could look in her eyes. "I kinda figured it had to be something. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm flattered that you would want to with me, but... I... uh... wow!" He held her close as he tried to think. "I really want to, more than you know!"

"Wanna bet?" she asked, smiling knowingly.

"Oh!" Jack backed up so his hips weren't pressed into hers anymore. "Sorry!"

Closing the gap, Wendy pressed herself against him, still smiling. "Don't be!"

Jack's head was spinning and he felt like he might faint. Taking a deep breath he let it out slowly. "I... I want to Wendy, a lot! But... I... I want something else more. I... I want... Would you be my girlfriend? I mean, after tonight? You don't have to decide right now. I mean, take your time! But if... if I had the choice of having you tonight, or seeing you tomorrow? I... I'd wait."

The song ending, she looked at him softly. "Who says you can't have both?" She pulled her body tightly against his, pressing her soft lips to his mouth, opening hers as she did, prompting him to do the same. It wasn't anything more than an open mouth kiss, but it was his first and enough to send Jack's head spinning again.

After a moment, their kiss and the song ended and she smiled. "I like you, Jack. You're more than just sweet! You're funny, smart, cute, and I... Yes!"

Shaking his head, he tried to regain his ability to think. "Yes? Yes, what?"

She laughed. "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend!"

Jack's eyes bulged out. "Really? I think I feel like dancing!"

She looked around at the other kids leaving the floor. "But the dance is over!"

Slowly, they started to walk back to their table, hand in hand. Seeing Richard and Anne there gathering their things, Jack half-smiled. "You guys ready?"

Nodding, Richard smirked. "Hey, Jack? Your lipstick's smudged! You might wanna touch up!"

Jack blushed and picked up a napkin, wiping his mouth. "Sorry! Good one though, Rich! You're getting better, but you're still just a straight man! Leave the real comedy to the professionals!" He looked at his watch. "Well, it's only eleven. What would you girls like to do?"

Grinning happily, Anne looked at Wendy. "Beth's parents are throwing an after-party!" Looking at Jack, her grin vanished. "Beth still doesn't like you though, and I think even you would agree she has a good reason not to, so you'd have to bow out gracefully!"

Her friend shrugged. "No, I'd be happy just going someplace like Frick Park. It's a beautiful night for a walk!"

Anne glared at her for not taking the hint. "Wendy! You may be willing to blow off your social obligations, but I'm not! The dance is over, so he's not your date anymore! Maybe you might find a guy to replace Ox at the party!"

Glaring back, Wendy growled. "It's not like that, Anne!" She looked at her date. "Jack and I are dating!"

Her eyes slowly widened. "Like... dating, dating? Like after tonight? Like for all summer?"

Sighing as she turned back to look at Anne, Wendy's arms held Jack tightly. "Maybe longer, if I'm lucky!"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

I think Jack was really in love with Wendy. They dated almost four months before she ended it. Rich said that he thought Jack would never recover. It absolutely destroyed him. Jack just never talked about it. I think... I think it just hurt too much, even years later. He never would say her name, even when he would talk about it.

Rich told me what happened though. Wendy dated Jack through the rest of May and June and into July. Then her parents took her on a month-long trip to Florida. When she got back, right before school started, she told him that she'd found someone else and broke up with him. Rich said she was cruel about it, telling him that he was too much of a wimp for her and she needed a strong man. I don't know if it's true or not. Rich hated her for hurting him, so he might have just been bitter and wanted to say mean things about her. I guess now only one person knows the truth... and she'll never tell.

So Jack and Rich started their senior year of high school on a bad note, and it just kept getting worse from there.

---

Richard knocked on Jack's door for the third time. Inside he could hear the muffled strains of 'Take My Breath Away' playing.

"Jack! Come on, dang it! Open the door!"

"Go away, Rich. Just leave me alone!"

Trying the knob, he found it locked. Pulling his keys out, he flipped until he got to his screwdriver and shoved it in the hole in the doorknob. Twisting until he felt the tip slide into the tiny screw end slot, he turned it and the knob came loose. Opening the door, he looked around the room, taking a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Seeing Jack lying on his bed still in his pajamas, his shades drawn, Richard stepped over and stopped the tape player, throwing up the shades before turning back to his miserable friend.

"Alright, Jack. Enough moping. You missed the first day of school! I won't let you miss the second!" He ripped the sheets down and saw his best friend lying there with the eight-by-ten Prom photo of him and Wendy held to his chest. His eyes looked puffy and swollen, as though Ox had finished what he'd started; his body drawn and weak. "Damn, Jack! Come on! Get a hold of yourself!"

While he just lay there, Mary Dunning came in and stood next to the older teen. "I... I don't know what to do, Richard! He's not eating! He never gets up except to use the bathroom! He won't talk! He just lays here and keeps playing that awful song!" She turned and buried her face in Richard's chest.

Trying his best to console her, he led her out of the room and into the front room. "Uh... I have an idea, but there may be some... difficulties."

Drying her eyes, she looked at him cautiously. "Like what?"

"Nothing that isn't worth seeing him up and moving again. Will you trust me? I'll... I'll have to yell and use some harsh language. It's the only way to get through to him right now."

Mary nodded fervently. "I... I trust you Richard! You're a good and smart young man and I know you only want to help. Do what you have to."

With a nod, Richard walked back into Jack's room, stormed up to his bed, snatched the photo from his grasp, and quickly tore it in half.

Up in a flash, Jack's puffy eyes were full of rage. "You son of a bitch!"

Richard smirked. "Well! Lover boy lives! What's the matter, little man! Did the mean girl break you wittle heart? Too fucking bad! Deal with it! The bitch dumped you like a bad habit and you sit here pining for her like a dog that runs back to its master for another kick! I bet if she called you, you'd be back up and running to her in no time flat, huh? I thought girls were too fickle and flighty, so that's why you never let any get to you! What a sad and sick little wimp you turned out to be! Oh, I don't mean your muscles, I mean your heart, maggot!" At the final word, he poked Jack in the chest.

"Fuck you, asshole!" Jack growled as he tried to throw a punch, but Richard caught it mid-throw. He tried to throw his other fist, but Richard caught it as well, now restraining Jack by his hands.

"Let me go, muscle head!" Jack screamed.

"No!" Richard shouted back. "Damn it, Jack! I'm your friend! You wouldn't let me help, so I'm doing what I have to do!" He let Jack go and pushed him backward. "Listen up, half-pint! Yeah, Wendy broke your heart! Well guess what? Anne broke mine! She dumped me while you were still writing love letters to your cheating girlfriend in Florida! But do you care? No! You wanna know why she dumped me? Because of you!"

Jack furrowed his brow. "What the hell are you talking about!"

"Anne! Dumping me! Because of you!"

Confused, Jack flopped back to sit on his bed. "I... I don't get it!"

Richard looked down at his friend. "She dumped me because she wanted me to do things like going to parties or movies without you and I wouldn't!"

"Well that's normal!" Jack screwed up his face. "Jesus, Rich! You could do those things without me sometimes! Anne probably just..."

"No, you idiot!" he interrupted. "She wanted you out! Completely gone from my life! She didn't even want me to hang around you when she wasn't there! She said you were a leach, just using me to make rich friends and get to Wendy! She thinks Wendy made a mistake when she didn't just dump you at the Prom and take Ox back after he laid you out with one punch!"

"So... she dumped you because..."

"Because I wouldn't dump you as a friend! She gave me an ultimatum... you or her!"

Jack looked up at Rich. "And you picked me?"

Richard nodded. "Yeah!"

"Why?"

He leaned back against the wall. "Right now I couldn't tell you. You're a self-centered jerk who's just feeling sorry for himself and doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone else! Your mom was about to call the cops, or the ambulance, or the guys from the nut hut to come and pump fluids in you! You've got her scared shitless and you don't even care! So right now I figure you can just go to hell! I guess I made the wrong choice!"

Jack looked at the torn photo on the floor. "Thanks." he mumbled.

"For what?" Richard yelled.

"For being a good friend... my best friend... my only real friend."

Looking down at Jack, he felt tears well up. Taking a breath, he blew it out slowly and brought down his anger. "You're welcome. And thank you."

"For what?" Jack looked up at him.

"For always getting into jams so I can be the hero and get you out of them!"

"Yeah!" Jack chuckled. "That's what I'm here for! Make you look good and keep your date's name straight!"

"Don't forget about warning me when I have bad breath and distracting the sales clerk while I lift our dates' corsages!"

The two young men laughed together. Richard sat on Jack's bed and put an arm around him. "Feeling better?"

Nodding, Jack shrugged Richard's arm off. "Yeah, but it's creepy as hell you puttin' your arm around me while we're sitting on my bed!"

Grinning, Richard helped Jack to his feet. "Jeez, dude! You weigh like eighty pounds wet! You need to eat something!"

Jack patted his empty stomach and lowered his voice. "Yeah, first I need to go apologize to Mom, though. I shouldn't worry her like that. You know, I don't think I ever said, I know it's sorta obvious, but she and Dad had me when they were old, like almost fifty! They were told she couldn't have kids, so I was kind of a surprise! That's why she's a lot older than most moms. I shouldn't stress her out this way. She might have a stroke or something."

The two came out talking about Richard's first day at school as a senior when they heard a gasp.

"Jack! You're up! Oh, thank God!" She ran to her only child and hugged him, then surprising Richard, she hugged and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you! Thank you, Richard!"

He blushed and nodded to her. "It's fine, Mrs. Dunning! Sorry about the rude language."

She wiped her tears away. "No! You did what you had to do. Men know these things about each other. Now, let me get you boys something to eat. You look half starved, baby! Richard, you're welcome, too! It's the very least I can do!"

He thought about refusing, knowing that Mary was a single mother working a low-skill job as a cashier at the local supermarket for even lower wages, but thought better of it and sat with the Dunnings for dinner.

The next day when Jack came to school, he noticed a lot of the other kids were whispering and giggling to each other as he walked by. Confused, he quickly walked to his locker. There he found, spray-painted across it, the words 'Couldn't Score With Slut Wendy!' Squaring his shoulders as the kids around him laughed, he opened his locker as usual, put in everything but his first period books, and closed it. When he turned to walk away, he saw that Wendy had moved up to stand behind him.

He was just about to say something when she slapped him, her face a mask of rage. "How could you write that!? Don't ever speak to me again, jerk!" She turned and stormed off, close to tears.

As she did so, Jack saw Ox grinning, wiping his hands clean, and nodding before the football player turned and walked away.

He didn't see Richard until lunch. When the two sat down together, Jack asked, "So... did you see it?"

"Yeah." Richard nodded. "I know it wasn't you. You know who?"

He shook his head as they started eating. "Ox."

Nodding around a fry, Richard's voice turned cold. "Figures. Something will have to be done."

"No use. Damage is done." A long silence followed before Jack continued. "Still... it would feel really good!"

"Come to practice this afternoon." Richard smiled.

That was all that was spoken of it beforehand. That afternoon, Jack was sitting in the bleachers again watching Richard. He also saw Ox, and then Wendy at cheerleader practice. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until practice ended. When the players started gathering up their things, Ox ran up to Wendy. She only talked to him for a few seconds, for when he took off his helmet, she suddenly slapped him and stormed off; Ox standing there dumbfounded.

Turning toward his friends, he held out his hands in a wide shrug, only to see them laughing. Ox looked around confusedly before Jerry ran up to him. Ox put his hands on his forehead, then along his cheeks, wiping like mad. When Richard climbed the bleachers, he was smiling and chuckling.

With a confused look, Jack shrugged. "What gives?"

Laughing as he sat next to Jack, Richard calmed himself down enough to talk. "I have art for last period. While there, I grabbed some indelible black ink and painted the inside of Ox's helmet!"

Jack half-smiled. "OK, so he's in black-face for a few days. Why'd Wendy..."

His laughter growing, Richard put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "I painted words..."

"Well? What did it say?"

"On his forehead were the words 'Locker Artist'... that's what got Wendy! She knows who did it, and soon everyone else will, too! Then... on each cheek..." He couldn't stop giggling as he added, "I drew limp-dicks!"

Jack started laughing along with Richard before he noticed Ox coming and several others standing back on the field watching. Tapping Richard on the shoulder as the younger boy's laughter died, they both got up quickly to face his wrath.

"You little weasel!" he screamed as he got close to the bleachers. "You're dead! Dead meat when I get up there!"

"I did it, Ox!" Richard barked back at him. "Serves you right! I hope you never live it down! You wanna take it out on me?"

"How long are you gonna keep standing up for this little nobody, Rich! The rest of your life? Why don't you let him fight his own battles!"

"Oh, I do!" Richard replied. "He fights his own battles... and mine... and I fight my own battles... and his! It's called teamwork, you Neanderthal! You should try it! You might be a better player!"

"What're you queer for this little dork, Rich? Is that it? Is that why Anne dumped you? 'Cuz you can only get it up for your boyfriend?"

"No, but I'd rather be queer for Jack than be as sick and sad as your lard ass!"

"You think this is over? Tomorrow it'll just be worse! I'll spray-paint the whole fucking school if I have to! And your queer little boyfriend will take the blame!"

While the two exchanged words, Ox was slowly climbing the bleachers while Richard was holding fast. He knew if Ox tried to start something, he and Jack had the advantage.

"Go ahead, Lum-Ox! Start something with someone that is in your own weight class! The two of us combined ought to match your fat ass! But fair warning, we've got the high ground and two-to-one odds! Just walk away!"

Ox looked at the two, both in a defensive stance. Surveying his surroundings, he realized he didn't stand a chance against both of them there. Grinning, he turned his face slightly. "Jerry? Mike? Brad? You guys go around in behind 'em! We'll squeeze 'em though the bleachers into paste!" He turned his head to look and saw that the only one standing behind him was their coach.

"I don't think so, Ox!" Coach Greg shouted up. "Get your fat ass down here!"

Defeated, Ox slumped his shoulders and slowly descended the bleachers. "Yes, Coach."

As the two smiled at each other, Coach Greg called them down while Ox walked toward the locker room. "Rich, I hate to do this, but I'm gonna have to drop you from the team. What you did, even if you had a good reason, can't be tolerated. I'm sorry."

Rich sighed. "It's OK, Coach. I was thinking of dropping this year anyway. Football isn't in my future, I think we both know that."

The two reached the field, Coach Greg nodding in agreement. "I think I understand. Look, I'll need to report this incident, but it means we know who the vandal was, so Ox won't get away scott-free. You can grab your stuff tomorrow. I don't want you in the locker room with Ox. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Coach." Richard said. "I know it's against some rule somewhere, but I just need you to know it was the right thing to do. Do you? Know, I mean?"

He reseated his cap before answering. "Well, I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but it sure was damn funny! See you 'round, Rich!"

After that Richard and Jack headed home. When they arrived at Richard's house, he asked, "Jack? Could you come in with me? I... I don't wanna tell Dad alone."

Jack smiled. "I keep telling you! You need me!"

They walked in smiling as Richard called out, "Mom! I'm home! Jack's with me!"

Judith came out from the hallway. "Richard! I just got off the phone with your coach! He called me to tell me you've been cut?"

"Yeah." Richard nodded. "It's OK, though. I've had enough of football."

She turned to Jack. "Oh, and I heard about you and Wendy, Jack! I'm sorry! Still, there's lots of other girls at your school!"

"It's fine, Mrs. Hargrave." Jack half-smiled. "I'll get over it. Can I use your phone? I wanna call my mom and let her know I'm here so she won't worry."

"That's fine, dear. Use the one in Richard's room. Come with me, dear. Tell me what happened."

As Jack headed down the hall, he saw Erica looking out at him from her bedroom door.

"I... I'm sorry you got hurt, Jack." she offered as he passed her.

"Thanks, Buttons." Jack replied sadly. "I... I gotta call my mom."

Erica watched him go into her brother's room through eyes that were starting to wet with tears, her heart breaking for Jack's sake.

"You what?" Judith asked.

Richard sighed as he paced the kitchen. "You don't understand, Mom! You don't know what he did!"

"What could Oscar have possibly done to deserve that!" she demanded.

"I'll tell you what! He spray-painted Jack's locker with the words, 'Couldn't Score With Slut Wendy!' So it makes it look like Jack wrote it to spite her by calling her a slut and frigid at the same time! Plus it makes him look like a looser! When Wendy saw it, she slapped Jack!"

Judith sat back down. "Oh, Richard! That's too bad about them, but what does that have to do with you?"

"His heart's broken and the whole school was laughing at him, Mom! I had to do something to even things up! So I set Ox up... made it so he would confess to the spray-painting in front of coach, plus get even with Wendy!"

"I can't conscience anything against the Evans girl, dear!" Judith shouted. "What's her comeuppance supposed to be for?"

"She dumped Jack for another guy, Mom! She filled his head with her lies, wrapped him around her little finger, made him fall for her, then dumped him when it got boring! She deserves to be called a slut!"

"She is a slut, Mom! I told you!" Erica growled from the kitchen entryway.

Judith was shocked. "Erica! Don't you dare use such language in this house! And you either, young man!"

The seventeen-year-old looked at his mother with a shocked expression, his voice dropping to a hush. "You knew?"

Their mother was struck speechless. "I... wh... a... What? Of course not! How could anybody know what would happen?"

Erica crossed her arms. "Because I told you it would, Mom! I told you on their Prom night!"

Judith stood up. "That's enough! I will not be spoken to in such a way! Now Erica you did no such thing! You repeated a rumor, which is bad enough! I want you to go to your room and stay there until Jack goes home and your father gets here!"

"Mom! I told you it was Wendy's sister who told me! She should know! She lives with her!"

"That's beside the point!" she defended her actions. "Nobody knew it would happen! I thought Jack would be good for the Evans girl, and her for him! Help settle her down and give him someone to date so..." She glanced at Erica and paused a moment to think of an excuse. "...so he wouldn't be alone! So, I put a bug in her ear about Jack and said that if she settled down with him, I'd see to it she had money for the summer to spend on their dates! You know her family goes to our church and I told them I'd help..."

"What?" Jack said, standing at the kitchen entrance next to Erica.

"Jack!" Judith gasped. "Oh, dear! I..." She tried to come up with another excuse, but Jack ran out their door before anyone could say another word.

Glaring at his mother, Richard's voice dropped to a growl. "My eighteenth birthday is in six weeks. I'll be out in seven." At that he stormed out of the house to catch up with Jack.

Erica just glared at her mother. "You already knew, didn't you? Before I even told you that night! You knew and you let Jack go months thinking Wendy really liked him!" She shook her head and quickly stomped to her room, slammed the door, and began to cry for Jack, thoughts flitting through her mind and wondering if her mother had not interfered if he might have asked her to go with him to the Prom.

Richard ran toward Jack's house as fast as he could move. When he caught sight of him, he yelled out, "Jack! Wait up!"

Slowing his pace, Jack's whole worldview had exploded and all he wanted to do was go home and stay there.

"Jack!" Richard caught up with him and stood in front of him. "Please stop!"

"Get out of my way, Rich! You can all just go to hell!"

"You're right!" he agreed. Seeing that it had the effect he wanted, confusion, he waited a moment until he could catch his breath. "Mom... Mom knew! She knew... Wendy... was a flirt... and God!... She didn't... say anything... I don't... think I can... ever... forgive her for that!"

Jack started to understand more of the half conversation he'd overheard. "So, she... she tried to use me? To help Wendy's mom not be embarrassed at church?"

"Yeah." Richard nodded. "Erica knows Wendy's sister, Ruth. Ruth told her, and Erica told Mom... on Prom Night, Jack! She knew all along! When you came over? She could have told you then! She could have warned you, but she didn't... to help Wendy's parents be less embarrassed at church! She used you!"

Taking another moment to try and slow his breathing, Richard continued. "I... I told her that after my birthday, I'm moving out. They can't stop me once I'm eighteen. I'll be a legal adult."

"You... you're leaving home while still in school?"

Looking over his shoulder at Jack's house just down the block, he asked, "Why don't we go to your place?"

"Sure. Come on." Jack sighed.

The two walking in the door, Mary looked up at them as she sat crocheting in the front room. "Jack, baby? Are you OK? You sounded so upset over the phone! I thought you were going to be at Richard's for a while."

Jack shrugged. "I was, but then something... happened. I... I don't know if I can go back there again."

Mary looked at Richard for some explanation.

"It seems my mom knew that Wendy was a flighty slut, pardon the language Mrs. Dunning, and she could have warned Jack or me, but she goes to church with Wendy's parents and wanted to help them not be so embarrassed by their slutty daughter. So she set Jack up to date her by bribing Wendy, hoping Jack would make her settle down. It's like Mom didn't even care that it would hurt him if she dumped him like she did a lot of guys before!"

Slowly, Jack realized the context of the talk he'd had with Judith in her kitchen on Prom Night and just what was really going on. Just why she'd been so generous to make sure they had a good time, and why she had made Frank give him 'the talk' and all that extra money.

"Son of a..." Jack stopped himself. "Sorry, Mom." Going to the kitchen table, they sat while Jack explained everything that had gone on that night.

"I can't believe it!" Mary said. "Judith? Are you certain, sweetie?"

Jack nodded. "Positive. I remember that night perfectly. Every detail perfectly stored in my big, stupid head!"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

Richard moved out of his parent's house in October of eighty-eight, just a few days after his eighteenth birthday while he still had most of his senior year left. He moved into Jack's house and got a part-time job after school to help with money. Jack used to say that after they moved in together was when their friendship saw its first real test.

It was a really hard time for them. Rich was working, Jack was depressed a lot of the time, and Rich's parents were calling him every day asking him to come home. Rich told me that by Christmas break things had hit their lowest point. Most of the details though I got from Jack and Erica.

High school is supposed to be about learning to deal with real life. Jack and Richard only got three years of that before they had to start living it. That year seemed to be a living hell that nearly ruined their friendship, and more.

---

Jack was brooding on the couch again. The last day before Christmas break he'd learned that Wendy was changing classes and she would be moved to his Government class at the start of the last semester. To make matters worse, his teacher Mr. Anderson always paired students for study and discussion. The first semester had been great. He'd been the odd student out, so he was solo and didn't have a partner. With Wendy joining the class, Mr. Anderson wouldn't want to split any of the existing study pairs, so he was certain he would end up being assigned as her partner.

"So much for graduating!" Jack grumbled.

Shaking his head, Richard was finishing getting ready for work at a local tire store. "Look, Jack. Why borrow trouble? If you end up being assigned together, there's nothing you can do about it! You'll just have to learn to live with it. It's only for a few months, then you'll never have to see her again."

"How would you like it if you got paired with Anne? Sound like a picnic?"

"Damn it, Jack! Quit sulking and grow up! I gotta go! See you tomorrow!" Richard barked before slamming the front door on his way out.

Mary quietly came out of her bedroom. Since her schedule had changed to swing shift, she usually slept while the boys were at school. "Good afternoon, dear. I hear school was bad. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, Mom. I guess I just have to suck it up if I want to graduate in June."

"Are you still looking at joining the Marines with Richard after graduation?"

Jack stared at the living room ceiling. "I don't know anymore, Mom. I don't even know if Rich will stick around that long. I've sort of been getting on his nerves lately. I know I should try harder, but..." Jack sighed. "...I just... I don't care about anything anymore."

Sitting next to him, her voice trembled. "Sit up, Jack. I want to talk to you."

Without much enthusiasm, he slowly sat up. "OK, Mom. Let me have it."

"No, dear. This isn't a lecture. I want to talk to you about when your father died. Do you remember that?"

"How could I ever forget." he replied sarcastically.

Looking away from her son, Mary swallowed hard. "After the funeral, I... I knew I had to get a job, but I just couldn't seem to get out of the house to do it. It was... just too hard! I... I couldn't see the point. Why face that hardship? What made it worthwhile?" She looked back at him. "Sound familiar?"

"Vaguely." he quipped. "So how'd you do it, Mom? What magic gave you a purpose?"

"You." she said simply.

"Oh. So, you saw I needed to be taken care of and did what you had to do?"

"No, I saw you needed the same thing I did... purpose. You were just as lost as I was. So I left the house so you had to do things for yourself."

"I don't see how this helps." Jack sat back. "I mean, I get it. I was important enough to you that you had to make me find a purpose, which gave you a purpose, but how can I do the same thing?"

Mary's voice quivered again. "Jack, I'm not as young as I used to be. I... I'm getting old dear. I... I can't keep working much longer."

Sitting up, Jack really looked at his mother for the first time in many years. Intellectually, he knew she was sixty-five, but he'd never seen her look it so much as she did now. "Mom? I... I'm sorry! Sorry that I was ever even born! You shouldn't have had to put up with a baby at your age!"

"No, dear!" she cried. "I wouldn't trade being your mother for all the youth in the world! You were a true gift from God! Your father and I loved every second we had together with you! Don't ever think otherwise!"

Taking a deep breath, Jack began trying not to care about his own problems. All that mattered was his mother and seeing to it she was taken care of. "I... I'm sorry, Mom. I'm really glad you and Dad got to have your baby, and by lucky coincidence, it's was me!"

"Oh, Jack!" Mary laughed. "You always could make me smile! It's your gift. You know just what to say to put a little laughter in people's lives when they need it!"

"Comes from watching all those old TV shows with you and Dad! Comedy hasn't been the same since they took Uncle Miltie off the air!"

"So that's where you get it!" she joked.

"OK, Mom. I get it. Turn that frown upside down, make lemons into lemon pie, make my smile my umbrella, put my shoulder to the wheel, get those high apple pie in the sky hopes, and so on, and so on." Taking another deep breath, he stood up, stretched, and headed for his room. "I have semester finals to study for, so I better get cracking!"

Mary smiled as she heard his door close. Danny? He's hurting so badly. If there's anything you can do for our boy, he surely could use it soon!

Jack dropped into his desk chair, his false optimism spent in his display for his mother's benefit. Thinking how he could help her with Wendy about to become his study partner only led to one conclusion. I'm not gonna graduate anyway, so I might as well drop out and get a full time job so she can finally retire. Failing to graduate was a huge blow to his ego. If there was a certainty in his life, it was that he would get his diploma and see Mary sitting there proud of him, but that was gone. They needed money and she couldn't earn it much longer. Richard's part time job only offset the higher cost of food and utilities he'd added to the household, so they were no better off than before.

Doing some quick math, he determined that the start of the spring semester should be his target for having a full time job that paid at least ten dollars per hour. Any less and they wouldn't be able to get by, let alone deal with emergencies. Jack then spotted the discrepancy. There's no way for a high school dropout to get a ten-dollar job!

A new despair straddled his shoulders. Nice little catch-twenty-two! If I quit school, I can't get a good enough job for her to retire. If she doesn't retire, then I don't need to quit high school, but if I don't quit high school, I'll flunk out anyway and Mom can't retire.

Now even more depressed, he sank into an apathy that would take a near catastrophe to shake him from it.

Richard walked in the front door to the Dunning home at eleven. Bone tired, he dragged his body down the dark hallway to the room he and Jack shared. When he opened the door and saw Jack passed out on his bed, not Jack's, it was the final straw. He kicked his bed.

"Get up!" he shouted. "Jack! Get your lazy ass out of my bed!" He reached down and jerked his friend up by the hair.

Jack was awake in the blink of an eye. "What the hell! Let go! That hurts!"

"That's it!" he yelled. "I've had it! I'm moving out of this shit hole and into somewhere decent enough to shower and sleep in!"

Only vaguely aware of his surroundings, Jack only knew that Richard was pulling his hair. Fighting back, he elbowed Richard in the kidneys, making him let go. The two boys stumbled in the mess of their room for a minute, each trying to punch the other's lights out. The only advantage Jack had was familiarity. He knew where to step in the clutter, while Richard scrambled for footing. The outcome was inevitable though.

Jack felt Richard's fist connect as he tried to escape over his bed. He had a feeling of falling, then he noticed that he really was falling. The last thing he saw was the corner of his nightstand racing towards his head.

Richard watched himself deck his best friend as if it were a scene in a movie that he was idly watching. When the blood splattered out of Jack's nose and he fell face first into the nightstand, Richard felt a moment of terror. The two blows had to have killed his only true friend.

He backed away from the body, every instinct in his brain telling him to run away as far and as fast as he could. Back to his parent's house, steal their car since it would have more than the five gallons of gas in his own used vehicle, drive all night, then just before they got up in the morning, abandon it somewhere out of sight and run until he dropped from exhaustion.

The only thing that stopped his flight was the desperate need to stand up to the worst enemy his best friend had ever faced; him. Looking down at his bloody fist and then his friend's apparently lifeless body, he saw Jack move. Just a ragged breath, but it told him that Jack was still alive and needed help.

Carefully, he moved Jack to the floor while supporting his neck and head. Remembering the first aid training they'd both received in ROTC, he knew what to do, making an improvised cervical collar by tearing up his pillow. Once Jack's neck was immobilized, he checked all his vital signs. He was breathing and he had a pulse, but he was unconscious; probably with a severe concussion.

He lifted Jack up off the floor gently, making sure to keep his neck and back straight, and carried him out to the station wagon he'd bought from his father the previous year for five hundred dollars. Sliding him carefully into the back seat, he buckled him down and got behind the wheel. Driving as fast as he could, he got Jack to the hospital in less than five minutes. The story he told them was the truth; they'd been fighting and he'd knocked Jack out. Confused by the obvious concern that Richard was showing to his alleged victim, they nevertheless followed procedure and called the police.

When Jack woke up, he knew something was wrong. His room was never this bright. The world now just consisted of a blanket of whiteness with nothing visible, not even himself. He vaguely recalled the nightmare he'd had of fighting Richard. He knew it couldn't have been real because if he ever fought his best friend, it wouldn't have lasted that long. Slowly, he became aware that his nightmare had turned into reality.

Or is this still part of the nightmare? he wondered.

He existed nowhere for an unknown amount of time with minutes seeming to stretch on for centuries. It let him think. He thought about his father, his mother, Richard, Buttons, Frank, Judith, Wendy... everyone. He seemed to have all the time in the world with nothing to do but think. He went over all the things that had led him to that fatal point in his life where he'd driven his best friend to turn against him.

After spending a seeming eternity mulling it over, he eventually saw clearly that his entire life had turned on a single point; the day Richard stopped Ox from pummeling him in the lunchroom. Remove that one event and the entire thread of his life came apart. Then it was joined by millions of other events, each just as important as the rest.

He thought about God, his mind drifting aimlessly through scripture, some of which he was sure he'd never read before. He thought about his problems; school, work, and his mother's retirement. Then oddly enough, his thoughts drifted back to Buttons. Always around, always underfoot, always... there. She seemed one of the few constants in his life, as constant as his mother, Richard, or sunrise. Sometimes he could almost hear her voice, but then he would drift again and be thinking about Wendy or his mom.

When he thought about God, he wondered what He was waiting for. If this nightmare was real, then he must be in limbo waiting God's judgement. But I've already been waiting forever. How much longer will it be? he wondered. He tried talking to God. He asked questions that received no answers. He asked for an end to his unending nothing of an existence, but it never came. He thought about his life and all the bad things he'd ever done to anyone, and then he thought about all the good things he could have done and didn't. And his bodiless life wept.

Once during his eternal drifting, he thought he heard a voice. Not really a voice, but a half-remembered dream of a voice. It spoke nonsense, but it was definitely there. When it went away he drifted once more. Then it came back and it sounded somehow familiar, like remembering the voice of a person that only exists in your dreams. The words were audible, but too faint to understand. Listening to it, he tried moving towards it. Lacking anything to move, he tried just drifting towards it. It got clearer the more he did, but then the voice stopped and he would drift for another eternity.

When he'd almost convinced himself that the voice had never really been there, suddenly it was back again, but different... smaller... like he'd drifted too far away to hear it clearly anymore. So he tried again. He was sure that if he found the voice it would end his torment of eternity, but every time he tried to follow it, the voice would vanish once more.

The next time he heard it he ignored it. Then again... and again. When he couldn't stand it anymore, he begged for help from anybody that could, but nothing changed. Drifting once more, things became fainter... darker... and the voices disappeared. He figured that finally his eternity of torment was coming to an end and he was going to be allowed to drift off into oblivion; a fitting end for a boy who had cared so little for anyone but himself.

Eventually, the darkness took him and he was no more.

Jack stood in emptiness. It was different this time. It wasn't eternal drifting. It was more like a dream. He wasn't sure if the dead ever dreamed, but here he was, so they must.

"It's not a dream, son. And you're not dead!" the man's voice said.

Looking around, Jack couldn't see him. He couldn't even hear him. It was as though he just knew what the man was saying.

"You can." the voice said.

He tried to speak, but nothing worked. He was a nothing; not even a drifting consciousness.

"You can wake up, ya' know."

Finally able to recognize the voice of his dead father, he wanted to ask how to wake up, but didn't know how to even ask how.

"You just did."

Before he could even formulate the idea of a question, the answer was there.

"I told you! You're not dead, ya' igit! Don't you wanna wake up, Jack?"

"Yes." his thoughts formed.

"Then do it!"

"How?"

"Want to!"

"I do."

"Horsefeathers! If you did, you would!"

Suddenly, Jack saw his father, but it wasn't as he remembered him. It was more like an idealized version of him. He wasn't sure when the man appeared in front of him. It was almost as though he'd always been there, but he'd just failed to notice him.

"So what's holding you back, son?"

"Pain." Jack replied.

"So what! Push through it and it'll be behind you."

"Dad? Are you sure this isn't a dream? It feels like one... and you're dead."

"So? You think that matters, Jack?"

"You're saying I can wake up anytime I want to?"

"Yup."

"So that means I don't want to."

"Now you've got it!"

The distant voice returned. It was small again.

"It's people." his father told him, looking upward at the darkness as though he could see someone who wasn't there.

"Real ones?"

"Yep... and no, not dead ones!"

"So if I can..."

"You can't will it boy! You have to want it!"

"What if I want to be here with you?"

"Then eventually you'll die, and your life will have been a waste. That's not what I raised ya' for, Jack!"

"What did..."

"To live, dag nabbit! You did, for a while, but then you got hurt and you died again! People think living and dying are something ya' do only once, but there are a whole heap of people that're dead inside that walk around every day! They forgot how ta' live! Damn walking corpses with not a shred of life in 'em!"

"Will waking up and living hurt?"

"Like the dickens, kid! But it'll be worth it! 'Sides, you got things ta' do! So git!"

Jack listened to the voice again and for the first time, wanted to be with it.

"so... ... ... school... ... ... mom... ... Richie... ... ... trouble. I guess... love... ... never know."

Jack opened his eyes and they were stabbed with a light that cut like a knife. He quickly shut them again to try and stop the pain.

"Jack?"

He tried to speak, felt his tongue move, and was stabbed again by a knife, this time in his throat.

"I'll go get the doctor!"

With the voice gone and the light too painful to look at, Jack thought he'd drifted to the nothing place again. Then he heard footsteps and the voice.

"See? Look! He's moving!"

A sea of sounds assaulted his ears and he couldn't stop them. He wanted desperately to have the ability to close his ears the way he'd closed his eyes. The sounds blasted his eardrums until he thought he'd gone deaf. Then he noticed he hadn't. The sounds were just finally tolerable and sounded normal once more.

"BP?"

"One hundred over sixty."

"He's trying to talk. Jack? I'm Doctor Marks. You're in the hospital. You've suffered a severe concussion and neck injury. If you can understand me, try to open your eyes."

Jack tried to shake his head no, that he didn't want to open his eyes because of the pain, but his head wouldn't budge.

"He's getting agitated, Doctor. Pulse one fifty."

"Very well. Administer five CCs morphine."

Knowing that would knock him out, he forced himself to calm down.

"His rate's dropping."

Gathering all his nerve, he opened his eyes.

"Jack!" the small voice cried out. He was finally able to recognize that it was Erica Hargrave. Buttons!

"Nurse! Get her out of here, please!" the man's voice spat harshly.

Terrified that if Erica left he'd lose her voice and fall back into the nothing, Jack began to panic.

"Pulse rising rapidly, doctor. One forty."

"Wait! Nurse, bring her back."

"Pulse dropping."

"You want her to stay?"

He tried to nod, to no avail. He blinked.

"OK, once for yes, twice for no. Do you want the girl to stay?"

Blink.

"The girl has a name!" Erica snapped.

Blink.

"Do you know her name?" the doctor asked probingly.

Blink.

"Do you know who you are."

Blink.

"Do you know how you got here?"

Blink... blink.

"Do you know the date?"

Blink... blink.

"Alright he's breathing on his own. Let's remove the breathing tube. Nurse? Alright... hold his head steady..."

The knife was carving into his throat again, and then just as suddenly it was gone. He moved his mouth ineffectually, trying to form words, but they wouldn't come out.

"Is... is Jack trying to talk?" Erica asked.

"Yes sweetie, but his throat is sore... very, very sore!"

Jack looked down with his eyes and for the first time could see something. Not exactly faces, but the sort of images that you think are faces but are just random patterns in things. Then the faces started clearing and Jack could make out details. Glasses over eyes. The one on the right was a woman. There was another face... smaller and farther away.

"Try to make a sound with your mouth. Whisper. Not your speaking voice."

"Ouch!" Jack whispered.

"Jack!" Erica giggled.

Smiling, Jack knew he'd used his gift the way God had intended him to. Becoming very tired, his eyes closed.

Some time later he woke up to the sound of his mother's voice.

"Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told."

"Thirsty." Jack whispered.

"Jack!? Here..."

Wetness touched his tongue again, slowly loosening it. "Thanks."

"Jack baby, do you know where you are?"

"Hospital."

"Do you know what happened?"

"Rich."

"Yes." she said, her voice hard. "He's under arrest for attempted murder."

"No!" he almost spoke.

"Jack, he tried to kill you!"

"No!"

"Well, what happened then?"

"Me."

"You?" she asked confusedly.

"My fault. Selfish."

"Jack, someone being selfish isn't a reason to..."

"Both... fighting."

"You... you hit him?"

"Poorly." he smiled.

Hearing his mother laugh brought tears to his eyes. "Jack!"

He tried nodding, but couldn't. "Can't move."

"You're immobilized, dear. Your neck was nearly broken. Richard... he immobilized you before bringing you to the hospital."

"Good thinking." Once more exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep.

When Jack next awoke, he was alone. When he tried to move he found this time he was able to, lifting his head and looking around his room. Seeing he was in a private room with the second bed empty, he looked down and saw a remote control with a red button on it. He chuckled when it made him think of Erica. Reaching slowly, he grasped it and pressed, hoping that it was a nurse call button and not a trigger for an infusion pump. When he didn't fall asleep, he waited until the nurse came.

"Good afternoon!" she said cheerily. "I'm Maggie. You need something?"

"Water." he whispered. Once she'd handed him a cup, he tried swallowing. It hurt badly, but he endured it and it went away. "Thank you."

"You're welcome..." she paused and looked at the foot of his bed. "Jack!"

"Where's my mom?"

"I believe your mother's gone home to rest. She's spent a lot of time here. A lot of people have."

"Phone?"

Maggie retrieved it for him and set it next to his right hand. It was an older phone with a rotary dial instead of touch-tone buttons. "Dial nine to get an outside line. Anything else?"

"No, thank you." he whispered.

After she left, he tried dialing his mother's phone number. It rang until he'd figured if anyone was home that they would have answered. Hanging up, he tried the Hargrave's house. This time, it connected.

"Hello?" Erica answered.

"Buttons!" he croaked.

"Jack! Dad! It's Jack! You're all the way awake?" she asked.

"Ouch!" he croaked again.

Hearing her giggle was like the ringing of angelic bells, until they stopped.

"Jack? This is Frank. You alright, boy?"

"Hurting. Where's Rich?"

"He... uh... he's in jail, Jack. Under arrest for attempted murder."

"Not true. He saved me."

"Jack, he confessed!"

"He lied."

"Listen, Jack. I know you two had a row about something. That's none of my business, but he says he tried to kill you and was going to flee prosecution. He's being held without bail."

"But he didn't. He lied when he confessed. I hit him first."

"Where? The police found no marks on him except on his right knuckles where he... well... bashed your face in."

"Elbow... kidney..."

"Hmm... he's been hit there so many times I doubt a single hit would show. Jack, are you saying it was self defense?"

"Yes... and an accident. Hit nightstand. Rich saved me."

"I'm going to talk with our lawyer. Would you swear to what you're saying?"

"Not polite to swear!"

"Alright, boy." Frank laughed. "I have to go. Do you need anything?"

"Mom? No answer."

"Oh. I... I think she's down in the chapel, there at the hospital. She spends a lot of time there. Anything else?"

"Buttons."

"You want what? Oh! Erica! Jack wants to talk to you, sweetie. Daddy's gonna make a phone call in the office. Talk to Jack."

"Jack?" she asked.

"Hey ya, Buttons. Wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Did you come in my hospital room and talk to me a lot?"

Silence filled the space between them. "Yeah." she finally said shyly.

"You helped."

"I did?"

"Uh-huh! You're my miracle girl! I heard you."

Again dead air filled the void. "Um... all of it?"

"No, just pieces. Couldn't tell it was you, at first. I think I heard Mom talking once, and a doctor... I think. Who all came to see me?"

"Um... a lot of people. Dad, Mom, me, your mom, they let Richie in once before he went to jail, and that Wendy twice, I think."

He heard the disdain in her voice at the mention of Wendy. "Don't like her?"

"She... she hurt you, Jack! Maybe even worse than Richie did!"

"Richie didn't mean to hurt me, Buttons. I told your dad that. He's calling his lawyer to try and get your brother out of jail."

"But Richie told me..."

"He lied. I hit him and then fell. Rich saved me."

"Jack, I... I told Richie that I hated him and never wanted to see him again because of what he told me he did to you."

"He'll forgive you, Buttons. He always will." Jack coughed painfully. Taking a sip of water, he said, "Can't talk much longer. How's everyone?"

"Mom moved out. Her and Dad had a big fight. She's staying with Aunt Edina. I... I think she went a little crazy after you got hurt."

"OK. I hope she's better soon."

"I thought you hated her, after she let Wendy hurt you."

"I want to forgive her. She didn't mean for me to get hurt."

"I don't know if I can. I warned her, and she let you date Wendy anyway."

"Buttons, I know you may not understand this now, but someday you will understand, I... I had to get hurt."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just know I had to."

"Oh. Alright. If you say so. Doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"That's OK. I have to go, Buttons. Thanks again for helping me get better."

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you just call me Erica from now on? Buttons is so... childish. After all, I'm fourteen now."

Jack did an unconscious double take. "Wait, what?"

"Could you just call me..."

"No! You're how old?"

"Fourteen. You were asleep through my birthday."

Afraid to ask, but more afraid of not knowing, he forced himself to ask the question. "How long... what day is it?"

"It's Sunday... um... February twelfth."

Slowly it came to him that he'd missed nearly two months of his life. "Gotta go, B... Erica. Bye." At that he hung up.

Erica heard him hang up before she dared say it. "I love you, Jack. I'll always love you! Bye."

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

Rich didn't ever tell me much about the time he spent in jail. He just would say, 'It wasn't that bad, really.' and change the subject. When Jack told the police that he hit Rich first and refused to press charges on the assault, the DA dropped the pending charges. Jack told me he was contacted by the DA while in the hospital saying they had filed assault charges against him, but Rich pled the fifth because testifying against Jack would incriminate himself, leaving no witnesses and a really weak case. So in the end, the whole matter was dropped and neither one was convicted of anything.

Jack spent the next three months in physical therapy. The only thing that kept them afloat was the money that Frank Hargrave gave them to help out. Rich said his dad felt responsible for the whole thing because he did nothing to stop Judith from playing matchmaker with the neighborhood floozy, not caring if Jack got hurt in the process.

He took classes between therapy sessions by state appointed tutor until he was able to come back to school, but by then it was early April and there was less than ten weeks of school left. Richard had classes to make up from his jail time, so he had to quit his job and go back home to have any chance of graduating with his class.

Rich told me the most about when Jack finally was able to go back to school. Jack didn't like talking about it, but he had the best stories about the things going on outside of school.

---

Richard waited in his car. If we don't leave soon we're gonna be late. He was just about to go back in and check on Jack when he came hobbling out on his cane. The neck injury damaged some nerves and it was taking extra effort to get full mobility back in his legs, but the prognosis was good that he would be able to walk down the aisle for his diploma unassisted.

Richard got out and opened the car door for him.

"You don't need to do that, Rich. I'm not an invalid! Just a cripple!"

"I do if we want to make it on time. Hurry up!"

Jack slowly lowered himself into the seat of Richard's station wagon. Pulling the cane in, Richard slammed the door and ran to the other side. Jumping in, he sped off down the road toward their school.

"I know you're the criminal type, but I would like to get there in one piece!"

"Fine, grandma!" Richard smiled as he slowed to the posted speed and turned to look at Jack. "Better?"

"Great! Now just watch where you're going."

Parking in one of the school's handicapped spaces, Richard jumped out and helped Jack up on his feet and stayed with him until he reached the office.

"Are you OK from here?" he asked.

"Yeah, Rich! Go on! You don't want to be late, too! See you at lunch."

Waiting in the office to be admitted back into school, the recently promoted Principal Ford came out to greet him.

"Welcome back, son. Getting around OK?"

"Good as can be expected, sir. Had a little trouble getting ready this morning, so I'm running behind. Well, not running..."

Harry Ford laughed, his obese form shaking slightly. It was a simple deep laugh that was barely noticeable, but sincere. "That's OK, Jack. We'll see to it you get where you need to go." He turned and snapped his bulky fingers. "Angie! Get Mr. Dunning here his re-admittance papers." He nodded slightly to Jack before slowly returning to his office.

Angie Green had been the school secretary for more years than anyone could remember. She quickly found the file and walked over to the desk. "Here's the form. Do you have your notice from the school district for your missed time?"

Slowly, Jack pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Sorry." he said as she impatiently snatched it from his fingers.

She looked him over. "You seem healthy enough. No casts."

Jack slowly shook his head. "Nerve damage, Ms. Green."

"What, were you hit by a speeding car?"

"Nightstand." Jack retorted with a smile.

She almost just accepted the answer, but then did a double take. "You were hit by a speeding nightstand?"

"Fell on it. Almost broke my neck." he answered seriously.

"Oh." she replied. "Well, give me a minute and I'll get your pass and you can run off to class."

"Nice trick if you can manage it!" Jack yelled after her.

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. Getting around was slow, but Jack had gotten used to that. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever be fully mobile again as he made his way to the lunchroom, finally seeing Richard sitting at their usual table with three trays.

"Jack! I already have your lunch!" he yelled.

Lowering himself into his seat, he looked at the trays. "Hungry much, Rich? I know I can't eat all that! You need me to do something to curb your appetite again?"

"No." Richard looked down. "I got you your usual and this tray's mine."

Jack looked at the third tray curiously. "Will our mystery guest enter, and sign in, please?" he said, quoting a line from an old TV show.

"Jack?"

Turning slowly to look behind him, Jack's heart fluttered. "Wendy." he said coolly, turning back to his tray.

The girl sat down with space between them, not wanting to sit too close. "Jack, I... I wanted to talk to you. I hope you don't mind. I asked Rich to arrange it."

"Well, I seem to be a captive audience, seeing as I can't outrun either of you two." He picked up a fry and slowly chewed it.

She laughed a little, but soon the awkwardness started to build.

"Jack, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry." she began. "I... I was really upset when I heard you got hurt. I went to the hospital a couple times to see you. I've been doing a lot of soul searching and... well... I was really unfair to you! When I got back from my vacation last year, I... I lied to you. I never found anyone in Florida. I let Anne and Beth talk me into dumping you."

Jack dropped his half-eaten fry. "Anne. Figures. That girl is like Typhoid Mary. Everywhere she goes she spreads just a little ray of her particular brand of sunshine."

Richard sighed. "I know you have a lot of reasons to hate her Jack, but..."

"I don't hate her." he said emotionlessly as he resumed eating.

"Well it sure sounds like it! Typhoid Mary?"

"I'm out of practice. I'll come up with a funnier joke on next week's show."

"Jack, I... I wouldn't blame you if you hated me." Wendy looked down ashamedly. "I guess I was just too willing to go along with whatever other people think, but I hope someday you can forgive me for being so stupid."

"You're forgiven, Wendy. And I don't hate you." Jack said around a fry. "I don't have the strength to be carrying around all the grudges I could. I... I owe you an apology, too."

She looked at Jack in surprise. "You have nothing to apologize for, Jack! You didn't do anything to deserve the way I treated you!"

"It's not about what you did, it's about what I did, and what I didn't do that I should have." Jack sighed. "When I asked you to be my girlfriend, I knew you only said yes to go along, but I didn't try and stop you. I let it happen when I knew I shouldn't because I wanted to believe it. Then when you broke up with me, I took a grotesque amount of joy at you being humiliated by Ox. I hope you can forgive me."

Wendy was taken aback. "Well, I... uh... I guess I can forgive that. I hurt you pretty bad, so I understand. I thought some pretty horrible things about you too, and I... um... well... I said some pretty bad things, too."

"Anything I can't live down?"

"Probably." she answered honestly. "I don't think you'll be getting a date for Senior Prom, and that's my fault, too."

"That's OK, I probably won't be able to dance by then anyway." he joked.

Deciding it was his turn to speak, Richard was much less forgiving. "Wendy, he may forgive you, but I don't. I don't think I ever will. I had to sit by and watch as Jack spiraled down into the worst state of depression possible and not be looking to eat a bullet. First of all, I don't believe you when you say you're sorry. If you really were, you'd ask for him back. I think you were just bored with Jack because he didn't have a fancy car or lots of dough to throw at your feet after my Mom stopped paying you to date him."

He took a moment to let what he was saying sink in. "Second, even if what you say is true, your inability to just tell Anne to 'ef off' like I did when she made me chose between her and Jack caused him so much pain and suffering that I don't think there's enough forgiveness in the world for you. I honestly hope you rot in Hell for what you did to him!"

Wendy held back her tears. "I... I understand. I don't blame you. You're right. I'm still letting her tell me what to do. Why did you even set this up for me?"

He stared across the table at her with boiling anger in his eyes. Keeping his voice low, Richard practically growled his response. "Because this isn't about you, Wendy! It's about Jack! He needed closure and told me last week that he wanted to apologize to you for giving you what I think you deserved! I may think he's crazy for wanting to apologize, but I'll be damned if I was gonna stand in his way! He deserved it!"

Standing slowly, Wendy picked up her tray. "I... I guess I deserved that, too." Turning to Jack, she smiled slightly. "I do honestly wish you all the best, Jack. Just for the record though, I said yes because I really wanted to. It... it was the one time I did something because it was what I wanted to do, not because someone else did, and not just because Mrs. Hargrave offered to pay me. I... I know I took her money, and then broke up when she stopped, but I really did want to like you. I won't bother you anymore." Carrying her tray away, she dumped it in the trash uneaten, running from the cafeteria in tears.

"You should forgive her, Rich. If not for her sake then for yours." Jack said.

"I don't get it!" Richard answered back. "You spend four months in misery because she flakes on you, and now you're all philosophical about it?"

"A little thing called perspective." he answered, pushing his pizza around with a fry. "When I was out, I was still thinking. I could even sometimes hear people. Couldn't understand them for shit, but I heard them. It was like a hundred eternities there. You can do a lot of thinking in that much time."

"So, Dali Lama. What's the word from on high then?"

"Drop your baggage. A laugh is worth more than gold. Forgiveness isn't for the person that screwed with you, it's for you. When you see a chance to do some good, don't pass it up. When you have the chance to get even, don't."

Richard shook his head. "Sounds easy, but also sounds impossible."

"That's when you forgive yourself, for the crime of being an imperfect and flawed human being." Jack smiled. "To boil it all down, cut yourself and everyone else some slack!"

As time wore on however, Jack started to find it harder and harder to keep his new outlook. It seemed the stronger his body got, the weaker his new attitude became. He became increasingly agitated over a very short time, and after six weeks Richard sat with him to talk again.

Hearing a knock on the garage door, Jack turned to look and saw Richard smirking at him.

"What's so damn funny?" Jack asked as he put down the five-pound weight.

"You! That's what. Working out? Aren't you afraid you're going to ruin that marvelously gelatinous physique of yours?"

Jack shook his head. "Can it, Rich! I need to do my P.T. if I ever wanna be normal again."

"Bull!" Richard laughed as he walked into the garage that had become Jack's physical therapy room. "You're doing way more than the therapist required. Free-weights? Who do you think you're kidding?"

"OK! So I want to be more than a ninety pound weakling my entire life! Is that so terrible? Besides, I need to be in some sort of decent shape to pass MEPS." Jack said between breaths. Wrapping a towel around his neck, he walked over to the weight machine that Richard's father had bought him.

Richard stood and walked around the garage, seemingly at random. "No, I suppose it's fine, but your attitude is changing with your newly discovered muscles. Just a few weeks ago you were all Zen and peaceful. Now you bite my head off for a simple question."

Lying down, Jack started leg lifts. "You want to talk about my attitude? Fine. Lets talk about yours while we're at it. Don't you think you're about done walking on eggshells around me all the time?"

"Fine!" Richard barked. "Let's drag it all out then! I nearly killed you, Jack! Over you falling asleep on my bed! What does that say about me?"

He stopped lifting and looked at Richard. "Well, for starters it says no one should ever screw with your sleeping arrangements!"

"Knock it off, Jack! I'm being serious! Can't you be? Does everything always have to be one big freaking joke to you?"

Jack stood up slowly. "OK, lets be serious. You nearly killed me. OK. So now what? What to you want me to do, Rich? Hate you for it? Yell at you? Punch you? I was being a self-centered bum and you know it!"

"Alright fine, Jack! Yes! I want you to hate me! I want you to yell at me! Hell, take a free punch! You owe me one! But your Zen halo is slipping and that self-centered jerk is starting to come back!"

"Bum, not jerk." Jack nit-picked.

"Whatever! God! Jack, you can't turn it off, can you? Always the comedian! Always need to go for the quick laugh!"

"It's who I am, Rich! Haven't you figured that out by now?"

"What are you hiding from, Jack!?"

"What? Now what are you going on about?" Jack looked at him perplexed.

"I'm talking about you! About your always-on comedy routine! You're hiding, Jack! Hiding from something that's been scaring you since before I even met you! Now the comedy bit isn't enough! You're hiding in this room! Hiding behind physical therapy! Hiding behind your near-death experience that seemed to put you at peace for a while, but now you act like you've totally forgotten about it!"

"Hard to forget an eternity floating around with nothing to do but think."

"So talk to me about it!"

Jack laughed. "Sure, pull up a chair! Have ya got a few thousand years to spare? That'll cover the beginning."

"It was an illusion, Jack! Drugs messing with your head and sense of time!"

He stormed up to Richard, his eyes burning with anger. "No it wasn't, Rich! Drugs can't let you contemplate your life a few hundred times! It was real!" He stared at his friend a moment before turning away. "It was terrifying."

"What was so damn scary?"

"Me! That's what! I looked my life over a hundred ways and it all added up to one thing! Nothing! Just a big waste of time!"

Sitting down on the free weight bench, Richard looked at Jack. "What did you expect? You're only seventeen, dude! What, you thought by now you'd have cured cancer or something?"

"It's not just that!" Jack snapped back. "It's like my whole life is just some big joke! Joke of the universe! The world's biggest situation comedy! God wanted to see what would happen if he gave an old infertile couple a baby! Hilarity ensues! Ha! Ha!"

Sighing, Richard stood up. "So that's it? That's what's been eating you up? You were born to an old couple?"

"Mom's sick, Rich!" Jack barked. "She won't tell me what's wrong, but I can see it in her eyes! She's dying! Dying of old age or something and her only child isn't even out of high school yet!"

Silence hung in the air while the two friends looked at one another, whole volumes being spoken without a word.

Walking over to Jack, Richard put a hand on his shoulder. "I... I'm sorry, Jack." He wrapped his arms around his buddy and hugged him. "Is there anything I can do?"

Jack strained just trying to not cry. "No. I don't even know what can be done. Like I said, she won't talk to me about it." Jack let Richard go and walked around the room like a caged animal. "I just feel so... so useless! On top of all that, I have no outlet! Nothing fun to look forward to! Ever!" Jack sat and looked at the floor. "So anyway, how've you been?"

"Can't complain." Richard shot back. "Oh, there's the usual things. Money, girls, school, girls, graduation..."

"...girls!" they said together.

"Have a date for the Prom?" Jack wondered.

"No." Richard shook his head. "Doesn't seem to be in the cards, anyway. Ah! It's not important. Just the end-all be-all that everyone and their mother has been hammering on for weeks about. Nothing too important, though."

"Yammering, not hammering. Don't corrupt the language." Jack half-smiled.

"No, I mean hammering! After the thousandth time someone asks you 'Have a date for the Prom?' the words start to feel like a hammer beating into your skull!"

"Guess I'm lucky." Jack commented. "No one has even brought it up to me."

"Think they're afraid how you'll react. You tend to have a viscerally negative response to any and all mention of the word 'Prom', for some reason."

"Gee, can't imagine why! My last one ended just marvelously, didn't it?"

"You seemed to think so at the time, gut punches excluded, of course."

"Hindsight, my boy. Hindsight. If I had to do it all over again... Ah, hell! Who am I kidding? I wouldn't change a thing!" he laughed.

"Really? Why not?"

"Part of my eternal self analysis." Jack looked over at Richard. "I figured out that every part of my life was important, especially the bad stuff. I need it or else I wouldn't be me, I'd be someone else... and I like me."

"Wow, Jack! That's... profound!"

"I'll try not to make a habit of it. The wear and tear on my poor bruised body to get me there is murder!"

"So then... not going?" Richard asked nonchalantly.

"Going?"

"To... the... Prom!" Richard sounded out each word slowly.

Flinching like he'd just been slapped, Jack looked away. "Oh, that! Well let's see... I don't have a date, I don't have a tux, I don't have tickets, I don't have money to get tickets, don't have a way to get there or back... There's literally no end to the list of things I don't have in order to go to this clam bake, so... maybe?"

"I was talking to your mom the other day and she's worried about you. She seems to think you should go."

Picking up the five-pound weight again, Jack started exercising his other arm. "I really don't want to disappoint her, but I just don't see it happening, Rich. I would have had to start preparing for it a while ago. Days even!" He stopped working out and looked at Richard. "You're driving at something."

"Who? Me?" Richard looked astonished.

"OK, let's start with who."

"What who?"

"You expect me to go stag to this thing? Who? You obviously have someone in mind or you wouldn't have brought it up. A name! I assume this girl has one." Jack looked sideways at Richard. "It is a girl, isn't it?"

"If you asked her, I bet your dear Wendy would go with you." Richard's voice dripped with loathing as he spoke her name.

"Ugh! No more pity dates! You don't have to say her name like it's 'Hitler', either. You gotta let that go, man. It'll eat ya' up inside."

"Fine. Is there anyone you want to go with?"

Jack sighed as he put the weight down once more and stretched his arm. "I'm sorta out of the loop. I don't know who's available to turn me down. So... no, but like I said, I know you, Rich. You already have someone in mind, don't you."

"You wouldn't consider a blind date would you?"

"Oh, that would be great! I can see it now. 'Daddy? Who did you take to the Senior Prom?' 'Well, I never really caught her name, sweetie.' I don't think so."

"And stag's right out?"

"With the trash." Jack answered as he started to put away the weights.

"You could always go with my sister!" Richard joked.

"Buttons! Don't be grotesque, Rich! She's not a girl! Not one someone my age should be staying out late with, anyway. Or any age really until she's at least eighteen! I'd get arrested for violating her curfew or contributing to the delinquency of a minor or something! I mean, don't get me wrong... I love Buttons... but she's your sister! Taking Buttons would make me one of those creepy guys! Besides, she just thinks I'm her brother's weirdo friend! Next?"

"Hmm... it does present a problem. I don't suppose you could, ya know, trust me or anything." Richard asked.

"Of course I would!" Jack stated obviously. "Who is the hero in this story? You! I'm just your professional victim, remember?"

"So that's it then. You're going to the Prom and I'll take care of everything."

"With a date, that's not a blind date, and actually wants to go with me?"

"Yep."

"Tickets? Dinner? Money?"

"Yep, yep, and yep."

"Transportation? That clunker of yours won't cut it. If you are so fired up for me to go to this dog and pony show, I want a nice ride. Go in style for once!" Jack walked toward the door to the garage.

"Doable. So it's settled, then?"

"One other thing..."

"Oh, here it comes! The caveat. I knew you wouldn't make it that easy."

Jack stood next to the door, blocking it. "Nothing like that. It's just..."

"Spit it out, boy!"

"When is Prom? Honestly, I don't know! I've been a little... preoccupied." Jack gestured to the collection of weight machines.

"Oh! It's tomorrow night." Richard said nonchalantly.

Jack chuckled. "Pushing it a little aren't you? What if I'd said no?"

"Never would have happened." he dismissed the idea. "What? You think I didn't know I could needle you into it when I came in here?"

"I suppose you're right. After all, you did!"

After a Saturday afternoon trip to the barber, Jack was pleasantly surprised that by four Richard had brought him his tuxedo. By five Jack was sitting in his living room ready to be picked up. He found himself wishing Mary was up, knowing she would be getting more out of this than he was, but she'd been in her bedroom all day, only coming out to have breakfast. She seemed tired, distracted, and unfocused. Jack wondered how long it would be before she wouldn't even be able to take care of herself, let alone him.

Hearing a car pull up, he looked out the window to see a black limousine parked in front of his house. Richard had come though so far and now Jack found himself anxious to find out who his 'not a blind date' was. He figured it must be a girl he knew, but had never considered, but he quickly dismissed that idea as he believed there was no such thing as a girl he didn't consider.

When he heard Richard knock, he quickly opened the door. "Rich! Looking good! Where's the girl? We need to go pick her up?"

"Anxious much, Jack?" Richard shook his head. "And no, we don't need to go get her. She's here."

"Well, why didn't you ask her in?" Jack scowled at him.

"Because you need to ask her out, dear!"

Jack turned at his mother's voice and was stunned by the sight that greeted him. His mother was wearing a beautiful pink satin gown. It was obviously not a modern design, one that was more reminiscent of the fifties than the eighties. Gone was the gray of her hair, now tinted the blonde he'd seen in pictures of her from before he was old enough to remember, and she'd done her makeup beautifully. Altogether she looked twenty-five years younger, and she looked stunning.

"Well, dear? How do I look?" she asked, turning in place.

Jack smiled his half-smile and turned to Richard. "My mother. My mother. My mother! No matter how I say it, it keeps coming out the same!"

Mary frowned, thinking that she'd made a horrible mistake in agreeing to this with Richard. "Dear, if you'd..."

Jack turned around and looked at her. "It keeps coming out 'wonderful'! Mom, you look beautiful!"

"Thank you, dear." she smiled, blushing at the compliment. "So you wouldn't mind taking your Senior Mom to the Senior Prom?"

"Oh, Mom! You need to quit stealing my jokes! You keep this up and I'll have to start stealing Berl's stolen material to impress you! Where did you get the dress?"

"Do you like it? I haven't worn this since my fifteenth high school reunion! I know it's sort of old-fashioned. Will it do?"

"It looks beautiful on you, Mom! Don't you think so, Rich?"

He nodded. "So you two about ready?"

Slipping her arm around her son's, Mary nodded. "Whenever you are, dear."

The three made their way to the waiting limo. Climbing in and waiting to be taken to the dance, Jack turned to his mother. "Well, I won't have a girl I can make out with, but I think I'd rather be going with you than anyone I know." He sighed sadly. At least I know she won't break my heart.

"You better not try anything!" his mother joked, nodding toward Richard. "Our chaperone would be quite put out!"

"To say the least!" Richard added. "You two start kissing and I might just blow a gasket!"

"No worries there, Rich." Jack chuckled. "Don't get me wrong Mom, you look gorgeous tonight, but I just don't think I could look past the whole Mom thing. Oedipus, I ain't!"

"Can we change the subject, please?" Richard begged.

Arriving at the two teens' Prom, the three were shown to their table, each guest being grouped by request for the dinner that would precede the dance. Several of Richard's friends came by, offering for him to join them, but he kept refusing, choosing instead to stay with Jack and Mary no matter what.

After dinner, when Richard declined a dance for the third time, Jack scooted over to him and lowered his voice. "Look Rich, it's OK to have fun without me. This is your Senior Prom, too! You should enjoy it! After all, you're paying for it!"

"It fine, Jack." Richard insisted. "I just wanna make sure you're having a good time, is all."

"Richard?" Mary interrupted. "Go tell that pretty brunette that was just here that you've changed your mind and would love a dance." When the two of them looked at her surprised, she blinked back at them. "What? You two aren't nearly as sly as you think you are!"

After Richard got up and left to ask Sherry for a dance, Mary looked at her son. "You know, it's OK for you to ask someone to dance, too. Don't let me being here stop you from having a good time. I think you deserve it after all you've been through."

"Mom," Jack began. "I'm glad you're here! I want to spend time with you, not these jerks. Besides, I've wanted to talk to you for a while now." Taking a breath, he let it out slowly. "When I was in the coma, I... I saw Dad."

Mary drew in a sharp breath. "Jack! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to think your son had stripped his gears, Mom!"

"Nonsense!" she slapped his hand lightly with her gloved hand. "I would never think that!" Sighing, she looked at him. "Did he say anything?"

"Sorta." he replied shyly. "He... he helped me get back to you. I was lost, for a really long time. It... it felt like forever a dozen times over. I did a lot of thinking, not much else to do for eternity, and I... I learned a lot about myself. I haven't been a very good son to you over the years. I... I was... embarrassed... by you. I feel so ashamed for even admitting that."

"Jack, it's alright." she said, taking his hand in hers. "I... I understand. Your father and I were a lot older than your classmates' parents. It's part of the reason we never got involved in your school activities. We didn't... didn't want to embarrass you. So we let you do your own thing. I was so happy when you became friends with Richard! Your father and I were worried that we'd raised you such that you wouldn't be able to relate to your peers."

"You don't need to worry about it, Mom. I don't relate to them, but I don't care! I don't want to dance with any of these girls! They're all vapid and as shallow as a sidewalk puddle! I'm happy being me, and I wouldn't change it for anything! I think you and Dad did a great job of raising me, and even after Dad..." Pausing, he cleared his throat. "Well anyway, you're the perfect mother!" Hearing 'Songbird' begin, he stood and extended his hand to her. "And I would love a dance with my perfect mom!"

"Are you sure, dear?" she asked concerned. "I... I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself. I know even walking is still hard for you."

Jack looked at the dance floor. "I think I can manage a dance or two, so long as it's slow like this!" He looked back at her. "Please?"

Taking his hand, Mary rose graciously. "I'd be delighted, young man!" she sighed as she followed him out onto the dance floor. As they danced together simply, she sighed. "You're a fine dancer, dear. How did you get to be so good? I know I didn't teach it to you! I'm terrible!"

"You're a great dancer, Mom!" Jack said defensively. "Are you having a good time? I know the songs they're playing aren't exactly off the Hit Parade, but some are kinda nice, don't you think?"

"Well, I like this one!" she smiled. "Reminds me of Benny Goodman!"

Continuing to dance, Jack laughed. "You know it's funny? I feel more at home with Benny Goodman, Uncle Miltie, Burns and Allan, Bing Crosby, Bob Cummings, and those people than anyone today. It's like I can relate to them better!"

Smiling, Mary shrugged. "Well then, I guess it was right when your father and I named you Jack! Did we ever tell you who you're named for?" Seeing him shake his head curiously, she laughed. "It was your father's idea! You're named after Jack Benny!"

"Funny, I feel more like Jack Lemon!" he chuckled, making Mary laugh along.

Swaying slowly to the tenor sax, Mary's smile slowly melted. "Thank you for tonight, Jack! I... I really wasn't sure about Richard's idea to have me be your Prom date, but I'm glad he talked us into it! I... I think we both needed it more than either of us will ever admit, each for our own reasons."

Furrowing his brow, Jack looked at her quizzically. "OK, I'll bite. I know why I'm happy to be here with you. Why did you need tonight?"

Gulping, Mary couldn't look her son in the eyes as she said it. "I... I saw the doctor a few days ago, Jack. I... I'm in the early stages of Alzheimer's, dear. Very soon, I... I won't be able to do things like this anymore. I just hope I can still remember tonight! It's been wonderful, Jack!"

Stunned at the revelation, Jack stopped dancing a moment before picking up again. "OK, Mom. Did... did the doctor give you any sort of idea how long before..." stammering to a stop, he couldn't ask without breaking down.

"It's OK, Jack!" Mary comforted him. "I have a while left! Years, with any luck! I might still be able to see my grandchildren, if you hurry!"

"Fat chance of that, Mom!" Jack chuckled. "Not with these girls, anyway! I'd have to meet someone really special. Someone who gets me and doesn't have any ulterior motives. I... I just want a girl that loves me... not what they can get out of me or who thinks they can make me better. None of the girls my age fit the bill."

"Then maybe you need to broaden your horizons, Jack." Mary offered.

"What?" he asked with a half-grin. "Date older women? No offense Mom, but I need to stick to girls between the ages of fifteen and twenty! You don't want your son to be accused of cradle robbing or falling for Mrs. Robinson, would you?"

"That's not what I mean, dear." she admonished his jumping to conclusions. "I mean, maybe there's someone for you that you've never considered, for one reason or another. Men often think a girl is unattainable or uninterested, even when all she wants is him. Your father was that way. I practically had to club him over the head before he realized I was in love with him!"

"OK, Mom!" Jack conceded. "I promise I won't put any girl on my 'out of bounds' list!"

When the song ended, they made their way back to the table, seeing Richard there with Sherry. Jack's benefactor stood for Mary as she sat back down, noting his friend's limp. "Do you need me to run back home and get your cane, Jack?"

Shaking his head, Jack grimaced as he sat back down. "It's fine, Rich. I don't know that I'll be dancing much more tonight, though."

"Oh, by the way." Richard noted. "This is Sherry. Sherry? Jack and Mary."

"Mary and Sherry," Jack commented. "Sounds like a vaudeville team!"

Sherry looked at him with a puzzled expression as Mary laughed. "A... huh?"

"Never mind." Jack shook his head. "Before your time."

"Yours too, dear." his mother added mirthfully.

"Not in my heart, Mom."

When the next song began, Richard and Sherry headed for the dance floor once more. Dancing together, Sherry asked, "So why is Jack here with his grandmother? Isn't that a little... odd?"

Defensive of Jack, Richard stopped dancing. "No it's not. And she's his mom, not grandmother." Taking a moment, he started dancing again and tried to explain. "Jack was in the hospital from December until last month, so he never got a chance to ask anyone. Besides, his mom isn't doing well. She... well, let's just say this might be her last chance at a fun night out."

"Oh! I didn't mean... oh, shoot!" Sherry admonished herself.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. You're new. Jack and I have been friends all through high school. He's a good guy."

"He seems sort of... well... different. I don't mean in a bad way, just... kind of... geeky!"

"He's just Jack." Richard shrugged. He spent the rest of the dance telling her how they'd become friends, Jack's unusual upbringing, and by the time they were heading back to the table, had just explained about Wendy.

"He must be pretty torn up." Sherry commented as they stopped near their table. She looked over at her other new friends. "Say, listen. I... I need to spend some time with the girls, but I'd like to get together sometime, if you would."

Jack smirked. "He says 'Yes'! Right, Rich?"

Turning from Sherry to Jack, Richard scowled. "I can answer for myself, thank you!" Looking back at her, he nodded and smiled. "I'd like that!"

While Sherry left to join her friends and Richard started to sit down, Mary stopped him. "Richard, you should go with her."

"But..."

With an exasperated sigh, Mary explained things to him. "Richard, when a girl says she wants to spend time with you, then leaves, she wants you to follow her! Trust me on this! I used to be a girl!"

"Get lost, Rich!" Jack smiled. "Go on! Who needs ya'!"

"You do, remember?" Richard shot back. "Who else is going to bail you out of trouble all the time?" he quipped before turning to follow her.

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

Jack told me a story once about things that he said happened later that night, but Rich insisted that he was exaggerating, so I don't know what happened after that, really. Jack says Anne made a scene, trying to tell Jack to leave and quit embarrassing himself by taking his mother to the Prom, but Rich says she only wanted to make peace now that school was ending. I don't know what the truth is, but I suspect Rich was just defending her out of his sense of loyalty. He could be like that sometimes. Besides, he still put almost all the blame on Wendy and his mom. He never said so, but I think he always believed that Wendy broke up he and Anne, not vice versa.

Their graduation was apparently as uneventful as they usually are. There was apparently a party afterwards, but both of them said it was boring and not worthy of a story. Just things that happened, but then I think a lot of life is that way... just things that happen.

In the weeks that followed, Jack was working at his physical therapy. He said he was concerned that the Corps wouldn't take him due to his injury, but in the end, with Rich's help, he passed MEPS and, with his mother's signature, headed off to Paris Island in July while he was still seventeen.

Boot is Boot, so telling you what it would have been like for them isn't really telling you about them. It wasn't until they came home after MCRD and before heading out for SOI that things got interesting.

---

Jack walked in the front door of his mother's home, shuddering from the cold October morning. He was in his uniform and wanted Mary to see him since she couldn't be there for his graduation from Boot Camp. "Mom! I'm home!"

Mary walked out from her bedroom in a state of confusion. "Danny? Is that you?"

His smile disappeared in a heartbeat. "Mom? It's me. Jack."

She looked at him as though he were a stranger, then realization came to her. "Oh... Oh, Jack! My, you look handsome! Are... are you staying long? You... you went into the military, didn't you? At least, I think I remember you doing that." She looked at him with terrified eyes. "I... I don't remember!"

"It's alright, Mom." Jack hugged her comfortingly. "I... I was looking for a place that can take care of you while I'm deployed. I'd like to take you there to see it, if that's alright."

She looked at him with terror. "I don't want to go anywhere else, Jack! I... I want to stay here at home!"

"Tell you what, Mom. I'll take you to see it and if you don't like it you don't have to stay. Is that fair?"

"Well, I suppose that's only fair, but... why bother? Why can't we just stay here?" she asked confusedly.

"You have Alzheimer's, Mom. Pretty soon you won't be able to remember if you ate a few minutes ago. You're going to need people to help you."

"Can't... can't you help me, Jack?"

"I'm going in the service. I won't be back for a few years at least. Who'll take care of you until then?"

"I don't need anyone to take care of me, Jack! I've taken care of the both of us for years!"

Resignedly, Jack finally accepted that she just couldn't understand. "I know, Mom. Say, I was thinking. You need a nicer place to live! Now that I can afford it, I want us to move into a nice apartment! Someplace where you don't have to cook and clean all the time! No yard to weed, no bad plumbing to fix! How does that sound?"

Mary smiled. "That sounds wonderful, Jack! Where is it?"

He barely was able to hold back the tears as he lied to her. "Not far, just east of here. I think we'll love it! Come on, let's pack a bag and I'll show it to you! It's fully furnished! If you want, we can even stay there tonight to try it out!"

She patted him on the cheek. "You're such a good boy, Jack! I'll go pack an overnight bag!" She started down the hall and Jack followed.

"Let me give you a hand, Mom." he said, wiping a tear away.

That night, as Jack drove Richard's borrowed station wagon back home, he felt like he'd betrayed his mother; abandoning her in a strange place with people she didn't know. Intellectually, he knew it was what she needed. He'd talked with the staff for a good long time and liked them. This was his third trip out there, the first two just to see if he could trust them with Mary.

Pulling up out in front of the Hargrave's home, he sighed and walked up the few steps, beating himself up inside for the tenth time. Letting himself in, he flopped on their couch, emotionally exhausted.

"Jack? Are you alright?" Erica asked from the hallway.

"Huh? Oh, hey Bu.... um... Erica. No, but I will be."

She walked into the living room and sat down across from him in the smaller loveseat that faced the couch. "Richie told me you had to take your mom to an old-age home. I'm sorry, Jack. You must feel awful!"

Sighing, he just stared at the ceiling. "Well, it wasn't a trip to Cedar Point, that's for sure, but it's what she needs now. Even if she doesn't understand it, she needs people that can take care of her, and I just can't. I feel like an absolute heel!"

Moving to the couch, Erica took his hand. "No! I know you, Jack! You love your mom more than anything! I don't think you have any reason to feel bad! I bet the place she's staying is awesome!" She desperately wanted to soothe his troubles however she could.

Jack patted her hand. "Yeah, it's a great jail. Twenty-four hour security so she doesn't wander off somewhere she wants to go, doctors available at all hours to pump her full of drugs, orderlies to boss her around when she wants to do something they don't feel like putting up with, and every one of them a total stranger to her so she'll feel like she's been kidnapped! It's perfect!"

"I don't think you'd let your mom stay there if it was like that, Jack." she challenged him.

"No. It's not. It really is a great place. The staff are all nice, dedicated, and really want to help her as much as they can. Maybe in a few years I can get a long-term posting and move her in with me so I can take care of her myself, but for now, it's a good place. At least I don't have to worry about her being all alone."

Erica loved sitting this close to him, sharing in his troubles, and helping to ease his suffering, even if only a little. Her heart raced as she fought the urge to lean over and kiss him, unleashing four years worth of built-up yearning, but it was about the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. She knew she had bad news to deliver. "I... I need to tell you something, Jack. Mom's back."

"Brilliant! What a perfect capper for a day of absolute betrayal." He stood up and dropped Richard's car keys on the coffee table. "Tell Rich I'll be by Sunday at four to take him out for his birthday. I don't think I'll be coming to his party, though. Not with her here. Can you tell him I'm sorry I'm going to miss it?"

"Sure thing, Jack." she accepted, rising to stand close next to him. "I'll tell him anything you like. I'll miss you not being there. I mean, Richie is sure to miss you."

Giving her a one-armed hug, he smiled down at her. "Thanks, Erica. I... I appreciate that."

His smile had her completely undone. She decided in that moment to throw caution to the wind and follow her heart. Just as she was about to grab the back of his neck and pull him down to kiss her, he pulled away and walked out the door, oblivious of her aborted intents. Near to tears, she composed herself and decided that by Sunday she was going to get his attention and show him that she wasn't a little girl anymore.

The day of Richard's nineteenth birthday came and, as his guests started to arrive, he found himself completely bored. Going into the house, he sat in his room and started going through things to select what he would take with him and what could be packed away. All his crowd of high school friends wished him their best, but without Jack the party seemed dull and lifeless. Worst of all was his mother. Judith had come back and picked up her role as though no time had passed; like the entire ordeal had been nothing more than a bad dream.

"Richard! You're neglecting your guests!" Judith admonished him from his doorway.

"So?" he said harshly. "I'll be out in a while, but I need to get this done before four. I need to be ready to leave tomorrow, first thing."

"Oh, nonsense! You can do all this after the party! You're not doing anything tonight, so you'll have time later! Now put that down and come along."

"No!" he growled, continuing to go through his things. "Jack's taking me out tonight! That's what I'm looking forward to, not those idiots you invited."

"But they're your friends, Richard! Besides, you can't go out tonight, dear. You spend too much time with Jack as it is, and you'll have plenty of time together after you leave! I've not had a chance to spend any time with you!"

Stopping for a moment, Richard walked to his door and glared down at his mother. "That's because I've been avoiding you! Take a hint! As for those yahoos you invited, they aren't my friends. Jack is my friend, and the only reason he's not here is because you are! I'll waste time with them once I've made damn sure I'm not losing any time with Jack tonight! Now if you'll excuse me... Judith... I have things to do!" He then slammed the door in his mother's face and returned to his task.

"Well of all the...! Richard! You apologize to me at once or so help me I'll... I'll..."

"You'll what, Mom?" Erica said snidely from her doorway. "Throw him out? He's leaving tomorrow! Forever!"

Judith turned to face her daughter to see that Erica was wearing a skirt and a cute sweater; her hair nicely styled with her usual curls mostly flattened and makeup in a style that made her look seventeen rather than three months shy of her fifteenth birthday.

"This is none of your concern, young lady! Your brother is behaving very disrespectfully and I will not have it! I'm glad to see you looking presentable, though. Go and play hostess for our guests while I deal with your brother."

"The way you dealt with Jack, Mom? What? You gonna try and set Richie up with a hooker to make an honest woman of her?" She rolled her eyes and stormed out of the house.

Judith was speechless. "Why, I... I... I..." Finally overcome with emotion, she broke down and sobbed.

She was collapsed on the floor in front of Richard's door crying when Frank walked up. "Come on, Judy. Let me help you up."

"I... I don't know what to do, Frank! Richard won't talk to me, and Erica hates me!" she sobbed as she was pulled to her feet.

Leading her into the living room, he sighed and shook his head. "Judy, you have a lot of apologizing to do before either of them will forgive you."

"What do I have to apologize for? I've done nothing wrong! Oh, Frank!" She fell into his arms sobbing once more. "I... I... Frank? Am I a bad woman for wanting to help the Evans girl? I... I just don't understand why Richard hates me so much for it!" Sitting her down on the couch, her husband patiently tried to calm her down. "You just don't understand, Frank! I... I had to!"

While she resumed sobbing, Erica walked back in the house. When she saw her parents sitting on the couch together, her mother crying and father consoling her, her anger intensified. "Pardon the interruption, but Hank just threw up on the back lawn. I think he's drunk."

Frank shook his head. "I'll be out in a sec, sweet pea." Once she'd left, he stood up and looked down at his wife. "I don't know what you can do, but apologizing to Jack would be a good start, if he'll let you. I'll be outside if you need me, hun."

Having finished sorting everything, Richard had managed to reduce his 'must take' things down to just one seabag. The rest he didn't care about. Sighing in satisfaction, he glanced at his watch and saw that Jack would be there in about half an hour. "Just enough time to make a sociable appearance and then go have some actual fun!"

Going out into the back yard, he saw Hank, the quarterback of the football team, passed out face-first on the lawn. Shaking his head, he pasted a smile on and made small talk, continually glancing at his watch.

Erica brought him a paper plate with a hamburger, hot dog, and chips just about the time he was checking it for the third time. "When's Jack supposed to get here?" she asked almost desperately.

"Four. Thanks, sis." he said, taking the plate. When he did, he noticed she was dressed a lot nicer than her usual jeans and top. "Did Mom make you wear that? You can go change and be yourself if you want to. This is my birthday, not hers."

"Don't I look nice?" she asked, self-consciously.

He looked at her again. "Oh, sure! I just figured..." Realizing he'd goofed, he lowered his head and laughed. "Sorry, sis! I thought... You look great!" Seeing her smile and walk away happy, he shook his head, thinking Erica had gotten dressed up just for his birthday. "Goofy kid!" he said to himself.

While he could tell she was going for 'grown up', and if he'd looked with unbiased eyes he would have seen just how well she'd pulled it off, all he could see was his baby sister, but he wouldn't dare tell her. I already have enough trouble with women in this family without starting a fight with Erica!

Jack walked up to the Hargrave's home promptly at four. He'd spent most of the last few days getting his mother's power of attorney turned over to himself, then listing their home on the market, and finally getting as many personal effects moved to his mother's nursing home as possible. Seeing her there so many times, starting to settle in, made him feel easier about his decision. He still didn't like it, but he'd quit beating himself up over it. She actually looked happier and healthier than she had in a while.

Walking around through the side gate, he let himself in and slapped a smile on his face for Richard's sake. "Hey, bud!" he shouted.

Genuinely smiling as Jack came walking into his back yard, Richard ran up to him. "Jack! Get things taken care of?"

"Yeah, all done. You?" Jack asked as he stopped next to Richard, looking at the lawn.

"Junk on the Bunk!" Richard replied before he took another bite of hot dog. Talking around a mouthful, he asked, "Wan' some?"

"No thanks, Rich. I'll have this though." he said, grabbing Richard's burger off his plate. "Mmm! Charcoal burger!"

"Mom didn't make these." Richard joked. "Dad did."

Taking a bite, Jack nodded in appreciation. "I can tell. They're edible. You about done here? I've got the whole evening planned!"

Richard nodded as well, swallowing another bite of hotdog. "Just about. Already did cake and stuff. Sorry you missed it."

"Ah! You know me! I'd have just ended up falling in the cake or something to make you have to get me out of another mess." He looked around at the guests and shook his head. "Don't know how soft they got it, do they?"

Shrugging, Richard finished his last bite and wiped his hands. "Yeah. Well, let me make polite and then we'll get outta here."

Going around, Richard thanking and saying goodbye to their guests, Jack stood behind him the whole way. He nodded as people he never liked, and who he knew had never liked him, gave him backhanded compliments and congratulations for getting through Boot Camp; their every word screaming that the only things they knew about it came out of Hollywood. About halfway done, Frank stopped Jack at the grill.

"I... I wanted to say, I'm proud of you, boy." he said earnestly. "The Corps will do good things for you, and you for the Corps." he spoke through gritted teeth; his pipe clenched tightly out of the corner of his mouth.

Jack smiled genuinely. "Thanks, Mr. H.! That means a lot coming from you. I... You're a good dad. Rich is lucky to have ya'."

Slapping him on the back firmly, Frank genuinely smiled. "Call me Frank! You're a man now. You've earned the right."

He shook his head and chuckled. "I dunno. You once said you were like a surrogate father to me! Maybe I should call you Dad!" When he saw the older man glare at him, he cleared his throat. "Frank it is!"

Erica came up to her father and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, sweet pea! You had a chance to say hi to your brother or Jack yet?"

Shaking her head, she looked over at Jack, batting her eyes. "Hi, Jack! It's really good to see you! Can I get you anything? A drink? Some food?" Me? she wanted to add.

Jack smiled down at her. "That's OK, Bu... um... Erica. I'm good. Rich and I'll be stepping out in a few." He noticed she was dressed up and realized he ought to say something. "You look nice!" he complimented her.

Blushing as her heart raced at the thought that Jack had finally noticed her as more than just a little girl, she looked down. "Thank you... Jack!" she said coyly. When she looked up again however, he was gone. Looking around, she saw him next to her brother once more, smiling and talking to a few other people.

Noticing her unusual behavior, Frank was finally starting to understand some of what was going on. "Listen, sweet pea. You think you could run to the fridge and get me a beer? Thanks!"

About to go over to Jack and ask to speak to him privately, she was irritated with her father for interfering in her attempts at catching Jack's eye. "Fine!" she scowled at him. Storming off toward the house, she simply had to get back before Jack left. When she did a minute later, handing her father his beer bottle, she looked around. "Where's Jack... and um... Richie?" she asked him, adding her brother as an afterthought.

"They left for the evening, sweetie." he answered flatly. "Don't worry, you can still see your brother off tomorrow morning."

"But..." She paused, reformulating how to ask without being obvious. "Is Jack coming over tomorrow? I know he and Richie are leaving together."

He shook his head. "Rich is heading over to his place and pick him up after Rich leaves from here. I... I don't think Jack wants to see your mother and she'll be unavoidable tomorrow morning." He poured some of his beer over a burger, causing the flames to flare up.

"Oh." she said sadly, unable to hide her disappointment as tears began to form in her eyes. "I... I never even got a chance to say goodbye."

Nodding, Frank saw he was going to have to have a talk with his daughter.

Jack drove while Richard sat next to him in the passenger seat. "So, what's the plan?" the nineteen-year-old asked curiously.

"The plan is we're going to Ohio." Jack stated mater-of-factly.

"So what's in Ohio?" Richard asked suspiciously. "I mean, besides cows and Cleveland."

"The Keaton Family Bar and Grill." Jack answered as he drove down the highway, smiling. "Remember Doug from Boot? Well, his old man owns the place. Doug invited us to stop by."

Only vaguely remembering the other Marine recruit, Richard shrugged. "Oh. Sounds like it could be fun, I guess."

After driving for just over an hour, the two pulled up in front of a building out in the middle of nowhere.

"Jack, we can't go in there." Richard warned wide-eyed.

"Why not? We were invited!"

"That's not a grill, Jack!" Richard said obviously as he looked at the building. "That's a strip club!"

"So? They have food! Doug says their steaks are the best in the state!" Jack pointed out.

"Jack! We could get arrested! We're both under twenty-one!"

The younger Marine looked at his best friend as he opened his car door and climbed out. "Come on, Rich! No one but Doug knows us here and we both look over twenty-one! Live a little!"

He shook his head as he opened the car door and climbed out. "I should have my head examined for ever listening to you!"

As the two walked up to the front door, a large man stopped them. "IDs?"

Jack clapped his hand on the man's shoulder. "We're here to see Doug! Can you tell him Jack and Rich are here to see him?"

Eyeing the two youths suspiciously, he grumbled, "Wait here." Going in the building, music poured out the door as he entered, Jack rubbing his hands together.

"You'll see! Tonight's gonna be a blast!"

An hour later, Jack sat with Richard and Doug in the restaurant side of the establishment, the thump of music from the next room ever present. "Doug, I have to admit, that was the best steak I've ever eaten!" Jack grinned as their barely clothed waitress dropped off another beer for Richard and a soda for him, watching her every move. "I think it's the service!" he said distractedly, noting her smile at his compliment.

Doug Keaton shrugged. "Not the best. It was a little off tonight. Pete must be having a bad day in the kitchen. You two still planning on driving down to Geiger?"

Noticing the way Richard was eyeing their waitress, Jack smiled. "Yeah, we leave tomorrow morning. Say, Doug. Seeing as it's Rich's birthday and our last night home, I was hoping to treat him to a really good time tonight. Alright if I take him next door?"

He shrugged. "None of my business. I just invited you over for a good steak dinner. What you do after that... well... I can't be blamed for anything you two get into on your own. No one'll be calling the cops on you, if that's what you're asking." He winked at Jack as he stood up. "Well, Dad'll be wanting me to help behind the bar tonight. He don't care that I'm leaving in a few days. He's just miffed he's losing a bartender that works for free. Catch you guys later!"

Jack half-grinned as he stood up, dropping a twenty on the table. "Come on, Rich! Let's see if we can find you a nice girl your mom would approve of!"

Richard awoke the next morning slowly, the pounding in his head so loud he was sure Jack could hear it from his house. Starting to roll out of bed, he noticed he wasn't alone, and that he wasn't in his bed. Looking around, he determined he must be in a hotel; the queen bed taking up most of the small space while the only doors appeared to be for a bathroom and the door to the outside. He held his head, trying to keep it from falling off as he slowly stood up and headed for the bathroom.

When he came out a minute later, he saw a vaguely familiar looking woman sitting up in the middle of the bed. "Um... need the restroom?" he asked nonchalantly.

She shook her head slowly, her frizzy light brown hair twisting freely. "I was hoping I could coax you back into bed!" she said seductively.

Looking at her naked body, her firm muscle tone and long luscious legs gave her away as a dancer. He had vague recollections of her undulating body against his and her legs wrapped around him. One thing he wished he could remember that he couldn't though was her name. Looking at his watch, he saw it was only six in the morning, explaining why the only light in the room was from the dim light of a street lamp filtering in through a curtain.

"I... uh... I feel bad!" he said looking down at the grungy and cheep carpet covering the floor. "I... uh... I can't remember... well, much of anything from last night! I hope you're not mad at me for that!"

She smiled at him and knee-walked to the edge of the bed, sliding off to walk up to him. "I appreciate your honesty, Richard. I'm Cindi... with an i."

Seeing her intent, he asked, "I take it you had as much fun as I apparently did last night?" As she nodded slowly, he smiled and said, "I think I can spare some time!" while she wrapped her arms around him once more.

Jack pounded on the door as the sun was rising. "Rich! Reveille, buddy! It's oh-seven thirty and we have an hour's drive ahead!" He started knocking continuously until Richard flung the door open.

"Jack! Can you give me a minute?" Richard barked at him.

Looking at his best friend standing at the door wearing nothing but a sheet held at his waist, he half-smiled. "Good morning?" he asked inquisitively.

"It will be if you come back in about ten minutes!" Richard said, pushing his friend away from the door and slamming it in his face.

"If you're done that quick, you really should see a doctor about it!" he yelled through the door with a half-grin. Returning to Richard's station wagon, he sat in the driver's seat and spent the next fifteen minutes looking over the map of their nine-hour drive to Camp Geiger in North Carolina where they would spend sixty days going through Marine School of Infantry. They had two more days to arrive and report, and intended to make the most of it.

Just as he was about to go up and knock again, Richard came running out, tucking his shirt in as he left. As the hung-over young Marine opened the car door and climbed in, Jack saw Cindi standing in the doorway, a smile on her face and a sheet wrapped around her, waving goodbye to his best friend.

Pulling out of the parking lot, he glanced over at Richard. "So, you gonna see her again?"

"Nope!" he replied. "I offered gallantly, she rejected politely, we're cool."

Glancing once more at his watch, Jack started going over their plan. "It's oh-seven fifty. We'll be home by oh-nine hundred, stop at my place, you drop me off so I can pack my gear while you head home to do likewise, then come get me by oh-nine thirty and we'll only be running ninety minutes behind schedule. Plan?"

"Plan." he replied absently. "Thanks." he added after a moment of silence between the two.

"For what? Getting you plastered and hooking you up with Cindi with an i? What else are best friends for?"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

I came out of MCRD Paris Island in January of ninety-one, days before the start of Operation Desert Storm. From there I went to Camp Geiger for MCT and Lejeune for MOS. By the time I got my first posting later that year, the war was over and the country had a different attitude toward the military.

Before the Gulf, most people looked down on a military career, leftover crap from Vietnam, I guess. After the Gulf though, the country almost seemed to be on overkill trying to apologize to every service member for the treatment of Vets after Vietnam by being overly proud of them. I hadn't even gotten a posting outside the US yet and I had people thanking me for my service! It was bizarre when you think that just a year earlier I had every friend I ever knew telling me what a mistake it was to join up.

I was posted to The Bricks... Marine Barracks, Alameda Naval Air Station as an eleven forty-two, Electrical Equipment Repair Specialist, about July of that year. I met Jack about a week later. At first I thought he was rude, boisterous, pigheaded, and inconsiderate. Later I found out he was all that and so much more!

---

Jack cocked his half-smile at the Electronics Specialist as she examined his handheld radio. "I just don't get it. Every time it gets jostled I get static. Goes away if I tap it on the bottom." He bit his lower lip to make himself not make an inappropriate joke.

PFC Brooke Hathaway cocked her eyebrow at the Lance Corporal. It was the third time this week he'd come in to the Ground Equipment Maintenance Shop with the exact same radio, and she'd yet to find anything wrong with it. She started to believe he was just building up the nerve to ask her out. "Well, I still can't find anything wrong with it, Corporal Dunning. You sure you're using it right?"

Somewhat insulted, he took the radio back. "Here! Watch!" He clipped the radio to his belt and started jumping in place.

Just when she was about to tell him off, she heard the horrible static emanate from the radio. "OK, Corporal! Hand it over!" she shouted over the noise.

Half-smiling at her again, Jack handed it to her. "See? Told you! Now if you just tap it on the bottom..." He reached his hand toward the radio to silence it, when she slapped it away. "Hey!"

"Now that it's in a fault condition I can diagnose it, Corporal! If you fix it, I still won't know what's wrong!" With the static blaring through the shop, she carefully removed the back cover as though the noise didn't exist.

"How can you stand letting it blare like that!?" Jack shouted.

Touching a probe to a few places, she smiled. "Got it!" she shouted. Pressing on a spot, the noise vanished. "Cold solder joint. I can fix this right here."

"Thanks." Jack said, sticking a finger in his ear and shaking it around. "I think I was about to go deaf!" Watching her press the soldering gun to the joint, smoke streaming up away from it and into her face and around her safety glasses unnoticed, he admired her focus.

"Done." she said proudly. Blowing on the joint to cool it without creating a new fracture, she touched the joint and used her finger to soak away the last of the heat. Closing the cover, she shook her head. "I was starting to doubt your veracity, Corporal." she admitted.

Jack pressed his fingertips to his chest. "Moi? Dishonest? Skating? Epithets! Rude ones, even!" He finished with his fists on his hips.

She couldn't help herself as she started to laugh, a snort coming out before she could prevent it. Suddenly very self-conscious, she covered her mouth with one hand. "Stop it!" she said just above a whisper. Handing him back the radio, she couldn't restrain the smirk.

"Say listen, we have Liberty this weekend and I was thinking, since you're new and all, that maybe you might want to..." His voice trailed off as he saw her shaking her head. "No?"

"No." she replied with a smile.

Jack took on an offended expression. "Look, if you think I was just trying to get you alone and in a compromising position, well then..." He blew out a breath exasperatedly. "...you... you... you'd be right! But I only have the lowest of expectations! Hand-holding is a big deal for me!"

Brooke tried to be angry with him, but his comical response was insidious. "Look, Corporal Dunning..."

"Jack!" he replied happily.

"Jack... you look like a nice guy and all, but I've made it my policy not to date at all while I'm in."

He stood slowly, having started to lean on her desk. "Not at all?" he said slowly. Watching her head shake slowly, a smile barely restrained on her lips, he whistled low. "Lady, that's just not normal! You're in for what, four years minimum?" She nodded just as slowly. "Well that's just... uh... it's just wrong! How can you deny mankind a beauty like yours for that long?"

"Mankind will just have to do without! My ass belongs to the Corps!" she stated boldly as she handed him the paperwork she'd signed off on. "Here you are. The door is that way." she said emphatically as she pointed off to her right. "Goodbye, Corporal Jack Dunning!" she finished with a wicked smile and a wave.

Sitting on Richard's rack later that evening, Jack looked distracted. Richard noticed and nudged his arm. "Hey? You awake?"

"Huh?" Jack snapped out of his thoughts. "No, I just was thinking. Say, Rich. You ever hear of someone not dating for their entire cruise?"

Richard smirked as he pulled out a fresh uniform blouse. "Yeah, you! People are starting to talk."

Jack waved his hand dismissively. "Ah! You think you're so funny! I date! I just... I haven't met the right girl yet."

"So, now you found some new woman to bother? What's her name?" he asked impatiently.

"Brooke! She's this POG at the electronics shop! Man, Rich! You oughta see this girl! Long dark hair, luscious lips, great figure, trim, athletic... I tell you, she can't do it!"

"Do what?" he asked as he continued to dress.

"This girl is intent on not dating for her entire active duty cruise, Rich!" he said as though he were reporting a crime. "I tell you, she can't do this to me! It's unhuman!"

"Inhuman, Jack." he corrected as he slammed his locker shut. "So what's it to you, anyway? She can do her own thing if she wants."

"True, but... jeez, Rich! You should see this girl! She's a total knockout! A ten! Perfect!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about!" Richard quipped. "You never stood a chance anyway! Leg it! Fire Watch in three minutes!"

The next six weeks saw Jack volunteering to run equipment to and from the electronics shop as often as possible, each time trying to befriend the woman who had him so mystified. Finally, while waiting to pick up PFC Rogers' night vision equipment, Brooke spoke to him first for once.

"Say, Jack. You have Liberty this weekend?"

Seeing a crack in her armor, Jack smiled. "Oh! Uh... yeah. How'd you know? You been checkin' up on me?" She started to answer when he rapped her desk. "I knew it! You can't stand it, can you? Oh, Jack! What is this power you have over women? No, but seriously. Yeah I have Liberty, you?" He leaned on her desk nonchalantly.

The woman Marine nearly changed her mind, but something told her to take a chance. "Yeah. I haven't taken any since I got stationed, and this weekend my CO is making me take it. Says I'll burn out if I don't. I'm too gung-ho or something, as if there were such a thing." Looking up at Jack who looked overly interested, she shook her head. "Maybe this is a bad idea."

He stood up and straightened his uniform blouse. "No! No! Not at all! I think he's right! You can be too gung-ho! What did you have in mind?" he said, trying to act only vaguely interested.

"Anything's fine. What were you planning?"

"Not much. Usually my buddy Rich and me go see a movie or something, or a party if there's one he knows about. He's hooked in with the college set around here, but I can find out!"

Sighing, Brooke shook her head amusedly. "Alright. Well, I'll meet you guys at Main Gate then." She looked up at him. "You do have a car, right?"

"No." he said bashfully, but recovered quickly. "But Rich does! We drove The Beast, that's what he calls it, here from our last posting with the First MEF at Pendleton, after driving it there from Geiger, and there all the way from Pittsburgh. That's where we're from, Rich and me."

"Oklahoma City." she replied simply.

Jack picked up the night vision goggles, walking slowly backwards toward the door. "OK, then! See you Saturday!" He backed into a table and slapped it before turning to leave, like it was the table's fault for getting in his way.

Brooke shook her head and sighed once more. "Somehow, I get the feeling I'm in for a weird evening."

Saturday came and Richard sat behind the wheel of his old station wagon with Jack in the back seat. Checking his watch as they continued to wait, he looked over at Jack. "I think she was jerking your chain, Jack."

"You'll see Rich! She'll be..." Without warning, he reached over Richard's shoulder and honked the horn twice.

"Hey! I can do that!" Richard said, pushing Jack back into his seat. Looking out the windshield, he shook his head. "I don't frigging believe it! Jack, you don't stand a chance!"

"Why not?" he answered defensively. "She asked me out!"

"I don't care if she got down on her knees and begged you, Jack! You aren't gonna get this girl!"

"What makes you so sure?" he asked.

"Because I'm going to!" he said as he jumped out of the car and ran around to open the front passenger door for her.

"Hey! Rich! Don't... Rich!" he was flummoxed while Brooke got in.

"So where're we off to?" she asked, turning in her seat to look at Jack while Richard went around to get back in.

"Someplace to hide a body." Jack retorted as Richard got behind the wheel.

Brooke looked confused as she turned and sat facing forward. "Hi, I'm..."

"...Brooke, Brooke Hathaway from Oklahoma City." Richard finished for her. "Richard Hargrave, and it's a pleasure to meet you!" he said as he pulled out into traffic. "Jack told me a lot about you already! It's great to put a face to all that stammering."

"Stammering!?" Jack said defensively. "Maybe gushing a little bit, but not stammering! I'm like a rock, Brooke! This guy is just trying to make me look bad so he looks better by comparison! But to answer your question, we're headed to a party at a friend's place just outside of Oakland."

"Sounds fun!" Brooke smiled at the two. "I guess I really did need a break."

"Of course you did!" Jack exclaimed. "Recharges the ol' batteries!"

"In your case, I think it's time for an overhaul, Jack." Richard quipped as he pulled onto the freeway. "Yours are looking awfully worn out, what with all the girls you've been seeing."

"What girls? The ones you keep setting me up with so you can date their friend?" Jack shot back. "The last one was a real piece of work! She spent the entire time harping about the terrible state of women in the military!"

Brooke turned her head toward Jack. "And you would be some sort of expert in that area? What do you know about it?"

Jack blinked at her. "Well, I know a little! More than she ever could! She's a civilian!"

While the two debated about women in the military, Richard shook his head with a smile. After driving for fifteen minutes, he pulled up in front of a large house, the two still going at it. "We're here!" he interrupted Jack.

"Oh!" Jumping from his seat, he ran out and held the car door for Brooke just as she was climbing out. Closing it behind her, he gently escorted her toward the house. "This way, lovely lady!"

Looking at her, Richard smiled. "You know, if he gets to be a bother, just let me know! Jack has a way of getting on a girl's nerves after a while... say after about five minutes!"

"I can take care of myself, thank you." Brooke admonished.

Standing next to Richard some time later, Jack got a beer while he looked over at Brooke. "I don't know about this girl, Rich. She doesn't seem to find me nearly as witty, charming, and irresistible as she should!"

"Maybe she has good taste." Richard quipped wryly. "Maybe you should make yourself scarce for about fifteen minutes while you let me have a crack at her. You keep horning in on my best stories!"

"You've dozens of girls dying to go out with you! Whadaya want with mine?"

"She isn't yours until she says so." Richard said taking a swig of his beer. Looking over his shoulder at Brooke, he saw she was talking with Fern, the girl who's house they were in. While watching, one of the college boys came up to Brooke, tried to talk to her, and Richard smiled when she gave him the brush off. "Well, good news is she's not into college boys!"

Jack nodded. "Good thing, too. I was about to get rid of him for her."

"Sure you were, Jack. What were you gonna do? Threaten to tire him out from beating you to a pulp? You gonna back off and give me a shot?"

"Not a chance, Rich! I'm sticking to you like rubber cement! Come on!"

As the evening wore on, the two shared a few of their stories with Brooke. She liked their camaraderie, making her a little jealous of it at times. They talked about their deployment with the First Marine Expeditionary Force to the Gulf, sharing some stories, but it was their time back home that she found most interesting.

"So did you get even?" she asked.

"I don't get even." Jack shook his head. "I live a more elevated existence, but that didn't stop Rich! God! You shoulda seen what he did!"

Looking down as he sat across from Brooke, Richard blushed embarrassedly. "Jack! I was a stupid kid and I regret it now, so can we just drop it?"

"Alright, alright. Suffice it to say, Rich gave Ox what he thought was coming to him." Taking a drink, he looked at Brooke. "So how about you? Got any interesting and colorful people you wanna talk badly about? Ex-boyfriends, current boyfriends, anything like that?"

"Subtle, Jack!" she laughed as she shook her head. "No, no boyfriends, ex or otherwise. Dad was a Corps lifer, so we bounced from base to base a lot. Okinawa, Germany, all over stateside. Folks moved back to their hometown when he got transferred to the First Couch Company. Now he's in the sheet metal business. He'll probably retire pretty soon, though."

Richard nodded. "You never had a steady boyfriend then. Understandable. Any temporary ones of note? You know, the one that got away?"

"Rich!" Jack admonished his friend. "No need to bring up her past mistakes! You've done enough of that already tonight. Don't make me bring up Cindi with an i!"

Groaning as he leaned back, Richard flopped onto the back of the couch. "Oh, Jack! Please don't!"

"Don't worry, buddy. I won't... for now." he jokingly threatened. "Besides, you know where all my bodies are buried! But all that doesn't matter now, now that I've found true beauty in my life!" He turned and looked at Brooke with a grin, making her look away.

"Look, guys. I'm flattered and all, I can tell you're both interested, but I meant it when I said I'm not dating while I'm in the Corps. I... I can't." She looked back at them, one to the other, hoping they would back off.

Jack furrowed his brow. "Of course you can, beautiful! There are no regs against Enlisted dating each other!"

Looking at Brooke carefully, Richard could see that she was intentionally not saying something. After a moment, he sat up and looked at her curiously.

Brooke only nodded imperceptibly in response. Glancing at Jack, she shook her head toward Richard just as subtly.

"Now if you were an officer, it would be different, but we're not even NCOs yet!" Jack continued, not having noticed their exchange of looks. Seeing neither of them listening, he looked over at Brooke, then to Richard before he shrugged. "Did I miss something?" Pausing a moment, he looked hard at Richard. "Rich! Come on, man! Cut me a break! You owe me! You can't be taking every girl I like!"

Standing up slowly, Richard shook his head. "No, Jack. Not this time. I'm gonna head out for a breath of fresh air."

Watching Richard walk toward the back door, Jack smiled. "Well I'll be a... That Rich sure can be a heck of a guy, sometimes! Ya' know, for a minute there I thought you two were..." Even as he spoke, he watched Brooke get up and follow him out the door, not even hearing what he was saying. "Son of a..." Jack sat on the couch, fuming that even when Richard stepped aside, the girls still wanted his best friend more.

Leaning forward against the railing of the second story back porch, Richard looked at the skyline across the bay. The salt air filled his nostrils, clearing his thoughts and helping him to re-center. He heard her follow behind him, closing the sliding glass door as the sound of the party grew and then faded. Dropping his head to look over the rail, he picked it back up and took a drink from his beer.

Coming up alongside of him, Brooke leaned on the railing as he had done. "You won't say anything, will you?" she begged.

"I'm supposed to, if I know, but then I don't actually know, do I?" he shook his head. "You didn't say anything, and I haven't seen you do anything, so..." He took another drink and turned around smiling, shaking his head and leaning back. "Poor Jack!"

Mimicking his turn, she leaned on her elbows. "Poor Jack! Just can't win with the ladies, can he?" Laughing, she shook her head. "Look who's talking!"

"Not much luck there?" he asked.

"No, but that's OK." Brooke shook her head. "I'm a patient girl." she sighed before taking another drink. "You seem to do alright."

"I suppose." Richard shrugged. "About average, I guess... but I've had my share of heartbreak, just like everyone else."

"Cindi with an i?" she probed.

"No!" he laughed. "She was just a lady that shared a good time with me!" His laughter died slowly, thinking of Anne. "But there were times..."

She looked back toward the party inside. "Would Jack say anything if he knew?"

Looking over at her, Richard shook his head and turned to face the water again. "No. Jack won't say anything. He'd lie his ass of for you! He's like that. Don't get me wrong, he can be a pain, but when push comes to shove, I don't think he has it in him to be vindictive or mean, to anyone. He won't hold it against you." Taking a drink, he chuckled. "He might spend the next three years trying to get you to change your mind, though!"

Laughing, Brooke looked away. "I can see that he just might!" Glancing back in, she sighed. "Would you ask him to come out here for me? I... I want to break it to him without a crowd."

Letting out a breath, Richard turned to her. "You don't have to, you know. I could do it. That way you have deniability. You still haven't actually said anything to either of us. If you like, it can stay that way."

"No. I... I think he might believe me more easily. He might think you're just trying to throw him off me so you could have a shot!"

"You're not wrong!" Richard chuckled. "I'll get him and see to it you two are left alone for a bit." Going back in, Brooke turned towards the bay.

"Jack!" Richard shouted when he saw his best friend brooding just where he'd left him. Making his way through the crowd, he sat next to him. "Jack, Brooke wanted me to tell you..."

"It's fine, Rich!" Jack interrupted. "I know how it is. She likes you and that's all there is to it."

"Jack..."

"You can't help it! You're the hero type who gets all the girls!"

"Jack..." he dragged the name out.

"It's just how the story always goes! I mean, look at you! And then look at me! You, with all those bulging..."

"Jack!" Richard shouted.

"What?"

"Brooke wants you to go out on the porch to talk to her... alone. I swear to you, I have zero chance with her!"

"Huh? Really?" Jack perked up, looking at the back door and then back at Richard. Seeing his best friend nod toward the door, he practically leapt up to run outside.

Rising slowly, Richard stretched his body as he did so. "Poor Jack!" he said as he went to stand watch over the door, ensuring they would be left alone.

Slowing to a cool pace as he came out, Jack quietly closed the sliding glass door behind him and turned to see Brooke leaning against the rail, looking upset. Clearing his throat, he came up along beside her, just as she had done earlier with Richard. "I... uh... Rich said you wanted to talk to me."

Nodding, Brooke wiped a fearful tear away. "Yeah. Listen, Jack. I..."

"You don't need to explain!" he interrupted. "I understand! You've never had a serious boyfriend! So what!"

"Jack..."

"Lots of girls your age haven't! That's OK!"

"Jack...!" she dragged his name out the same way Richard had done.

"I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of! In fact, I think it's sort of..."

"Jack! Will you shut up a minute!" Brooke yelled.

Shocked into silence once more, Jack turned and looked out over the rail. "Well, I could offer to jump if you like..."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Jack, I... I need to tell you something, OK? I just... I don't want you to freak out or anything, alright? I like you, and I..."

Whipping his head around, Jack looked at her. "You like me?" he interrupted.

"Jack!" she growled through gritted teeth.

Turning back towards the water, flinching at her verbal assault, he held up his hands in mock surrender. "OK! OK! Shutting up!"

Frustrated, Brooke started pacing along the porch. "As I was saying, I like you and I don't want to lose you as a friend, but there's something you have to understand about me."

Jack turned around and saw she was seriously agitated and scared. "Hey! It's OK!" He reached out a hand to her, Brooke looking at it like it was an animal about to attack. Seeing her reaction, he held up his hands defensively once more. "It's fine! I wasn't going to try anything! I just wanted to help ease whatever it is that's making you so nervous is all. It can't be that bad! What, are you an escapee from a mental institution or something?" Then his smile melted. "You didn't used to be a dude, did you?"

She laughed once more at his disarming humor. "No!" Brooke looked at his perplexed expression. "Um... well... You know how you're always looking for the right girl?" Seeing him nod curiously, she took a breath. "Well, I understand that, really well."

Puzzled at first, after a moment his expression turned rapidly from confusion, to realization, and finally to shock. "What you? A..." He paused, unable to bring himself to say the word out loud. "No!" he dismissed the idea. "You're too pretty!" he said absently. "I mean..." Looking over at her and seeing her cross her arms indignantly, he arched a brow. "Really?"

"What?" Brooke countered, offendedly. "Let me guess. My hair's too long, I'm wearing too much makeup, and there's not enough flannel, right?"

Swallowing hard, Jack looked her up and down. Realizing he had hurt her feelings unintentionally, he lowered his voice. "Look, Brooke. I... I didn't mean to offend you or anything! I just... I thought you were joking!" Seeing her attitude shift, she suddenly looked small and helpless. "Seriously, I... just ignore me! I was just trying for a laugh is all. You... are we OK?"

Nodding shyly, Brooke looked at her fingers as they twisted themselves in knots. "I'm trusting that you won't say anything!" she looked up at him. "So you see, that's why I can't date while I'm in! Being in the Corps is much too important to me! I... I can't risk getting thrown out!"

Straightening himself up, Jack stepped over and hugged her, noticing for the first time how much taller she was than he; at least two inches.

When she finally relaxed into the friendly hug, she let out a relieved sigh. "I just... I wanted you to understand why I won't go out with you. You're nice and I didn't want you thinking it was because of you, OK? I hope you don't think any less of me."

Holding her at arm's length, Jack turned serious. "You don't ever have to worry about that, Brooke. I think you're great! I think it's a crying shame what you're denying to all mankind, but who am I to say it's wrong or a sin or something!" Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he walked her over to the railing. "I... uh... I think I might even be able to help you."

Brooke looked over at him suspiciously. "Jack, don't even think about trying to kiss me! It's not a phase I'm going through!"

"No! No! No!" he stopped her. "Nothing like that! I was just... I think it's unrealistic of you to say you're not going to see anyone for the next four years, is all. You'll go bananas!" He paused a moment to let his thoughts sink in. "I... I could cover for you. We let everyone think we're dating, you can go out with Rich and me, and if you have a date, either Rich or I can say she's with one of us if anyone sees anything."

She shook her head and turned out toward the sea. "No. I can't risk it. It's not worth it!"

Mimicking her posture, he shook his head. "See, that's where you're wrong. I went through hell over that girl we were telling you about, more than you know, but you know what? It was worth it! Four months where I truly felt alive, against a year of misery? I... I wouldn't trade it for anything!" His voice trailed off as he remembered how happy he'd been with Wendy.

"I don't know, Jack." she sighed. "The Old Man would have a coronary if I got caught!"

"Then we make sure you never get caught!" Jack held out his arm. "We can start with me being your beard tonight! Come on! At least the guys inside will leave you alone for the rest of the night!"

Turning, Brooke slipped her arm in his. "Alright, but don't get any ideas! I'm bigger than you and could easily kick your skinny ass all the way back to The Bricks!"

Gulping, Jack nodded at her. "Yes, ma'am!"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

After that day, Jack, Rich, and I were inseparable. There were rumors that I was dating Jack while sleeping with Rich, but we didn't care. Rich about killed PFC Ricks the one time he called Jack a cuck and wasn't just shitting around. We had lots of fun and I never got caught. Jack made sure of that.

Not that I was sleeping around a lot, mind you, but I went on a few dates, mostly with college girls. I never risked dating a fellow W-M. While Rich and Jack were running cover for me, I couldn't count on any of them having similar arrangements. We also never went anywhere that was near the base.

If I had a date, which was rare, it was always somewhere remote and out of the way... never any of the usual places the Hellcats or anchor-clankers might go. The only times we'd go places like the Warf or any place we could get seen it was the three of us, sometimes with a girl Rich was seeing, but never with a girl Jack was seeing. That wasn't often and never the same girl more than once, for any of us!

By ninety-four, things got easier with 'don't ask, don't tell', but we kept up the pretense of Jack being my boyfriend because it just made things easier. For me, anyway. Most W-Ms got hit on all the time, but once it got around that Jack and I were an item, I was off limits. Grunts had no qualms about hitting on W-Ms if they we're seeing a civi or were even married to one, but they'd rarely turn on a fellow member of the Corps. I felt bad for Jack, though. It made his success rate with the ladies track nearly to zero.

Even when it looked like maybe Jack had a shot at a terrific girl, something would always screw it up.

---

Jack was bored, waiting in the quiet of the library as Richard got yet another book on business management. Ever since he'd enrolled in Menlo Collage, Richard had spent all his free time studying for his night classes, which was why they were wasting the Saturday before Labor Day weekend in a library. Jack didn't care when Brooke was available, but today she had duty and he was bored out of his mind.

"Come on, Rich!" he whispered. "Haven't you found what you need yet?"

"No." Richard whispered back. "If you hate it here, why did you come?"

"Because you have the car!" he retorted quietly. Raising his voice to a low talk, he grumbled. "I'd get my own if I had any dough, but..."

"Shhhhhh!" the old man sitting across from them shushed him angrily.

Glaring back at the man with eyes crossed and lips pursed, Jack lowered to a whisper again. "Rich, this is no way to spend Liberty! Do you know how long it's been since we did something fun? Saw a movie? Went clubbing? On a date? You remember dates, right? With girls? Those soft, round, luscious things you want to earn all your riches for?"

Rolling his eyes, Richard tried to keep from laughing. "Jack, why don't you find a nice book and read for once." he whispered.

"They don't have nice books here! Only knowledge!" Jack quipped. Seeing that he was getting nowhere, he wandered through the library. After fifteen minutes of poking at books and putting them back, he turned a corner and literally bumped into a girl, sending the books she had loudly to the floor.

"Sorry!" he said, prompting people around them to shush him. Shushing them right back, he started to help pick up the books she'd been carrying that were now scattered around their feet. "Sorry!" he whispered. "Let me help!" As he did so, he got his first real look at the girl. She was blonde and uncommonly beautiful. Her hauntingly vibrant blue eyes caught him by such surprise that he stopped helping and just stared.

Taking the book that he held loosely in his hands as he crouched numbly, she glared at him. "Thanks!" she whispered. "But I can get it myself!"

Shaken back to awareness, Jack grabbed the last book and stood up. "Um... here!" he whispered, handing her the book as she stood and snatched it from his fingers. "Fancy meeting you here!" he joked. "You may not remember me, but I remember you!" he whispered to her as she tried to walk away, Jack following closely. "The name's Jack! Jack Dunning!" he held his hand out as she stopped and glared at him.

With her arms full of books, she was quite incapable of returning the offered hand. Instead she just glared at his hand until he lowered it. Whispering, she asked as she started toward her table again, "Well, Jack... Jack Dunning. Where was it we supposedly met?"

"My dreams!" he answered. "Only every one since the day I was born!"

Rolling her eyes at his bad pickup line, she looked askance at the seemingly crazy young man. "Then what's my name?"

Thinking quickly, he guessed, "Beauty? No, too obvious! Uh..."

She stopped and turned to stand in front of him. "Tell you what, lover boy." she whispered. "You tell me my name and I'll go out with you. Until then..." Leaving her sentence unfinished, she turned and walked away smartly.

Watching her depart, Jack was entranced. "Wow!" he whispered. Running off back to Richard, he skidded to a stop next to him. "Rich! Rich! You gotta check this out! I think I'm in love!" he whispered.

Not even looking up, Richard sighed. "So what's new?" he whispered back.

Undeterred, Jack started tugging on Richard's sleeve. "No seriously, Rich! This girl! She's..." His voice having raised to a low talk again, the old man once more shushed him. Turning to him, Jack whispered angrily, "Oh, hush yourself!" As the man moved to another table, Jack continued to pester his best friend. "Rich! Won't you at least come over and look? I need to figure out her name!"

"No!" Richard shouted quietly. "Now beat it, Jack! I have to get this down before Monday night or I'm gonna flunk!"

Frustrated by Richard's total lack of interest, he looked around helplessly and sighed. Finally sitting down next to him again, he leaned an elbow on the table with his fist against his cheek, trying to think of what her name might be. Realizing there was no way to know, he formulated a new plan. Tapping Richard on the shoulder as he stared off in the distance, a smile forming on his lips, he rose and whispered, "I'll see ya' 'round, Rich!" and quickly left.

Shaking his head, Richard tried to go back to his book. "He's gonna need me to rescue him again!" he said absently to no one, looking up embarrassedly when several people nearby shushed him.

Not seeing his best friend for the rest of the weekend, Richard was worried. When he got back to the Barracks on Sunday night, Jack was finally there. "Jack! Where you been? I was starting to think you went U-A!"

Jack had a smile on his face. "Naw! I'd never do that! Too easy to get caught and you never get good dates in Leavenworth."

"So where you been all weekend?" he asked, already having a good idea.

"Research, my boy! Research!" Jack smiled as he turned a chair around and straddled it backwards. "Remember that girl?"

"The one you're in love with this week?" he needled.

"That's the one!" he answered. "I followed her. Subtly! She's a Stanford girl!"

Looking up at Jack from shining his brass, Richard was stunned. "You... you followed her? Isn't that a little creepy, Jack?"

"No! See, here's the thing. She told me that if I can tell her what her name is, she'll go out with me! She invited me to look into her! It's fine!"

"Ask Brooke if she thinks it's fine. If she says it is, I'll agree." Richard said as he went back to his polishing.

"Here's the kicker, Rich!" he beamed. "I know her name! It's Heather Moore! She's a psych major in her junior year, twenty, five-five, one-ten, blonde, and has the bluest eyes you've ever seen!"

Looking up at Jack, Richard paused his work. "So? You make it sound like she's the greatest thing since sliced bread. What's the catch?"

"There is no catch!" Jack shook his head. "She's smart, beautiful, and I have a guaranteed date with her! I'm so confident, I think I'll let you tag along! There's a party she's going to on the fourth and I ganked an invitation. Wanna go? You can bring Brooke!"

"Speaking of Brooke, isn't it going to be a little hard dating Ms. Wonderful if you're already 'dating' Brooke?" he said in a more hushed tone.

"You're up, Rich!" Jack said slapping him on the back. "She's all yours! I've been keeping myself out of the game for three years. It's your turn to keep the field clear for Brooke while I take a turn at romance!"

"Jack?" Richard looked at his friend. "Have you even considered what you're gonna do in a couple years? I mean, we've already shipped over twice. You thinking of lifeing or are you a Terminal Lance?"

"Nah!" Jack shook his head dismissively. "I'm done after this cruise. When I didn't make the cutting score, I decided then. They might not even offer it. Nope, it's back to Pittsburgh for me! Only reason I haven't moved Mom close is that I knew I'd be going back soon. How about you?"

"Me? I've been busting my rump getting my degree!" he bragged. "After I graduate, I'm transferring to the First-Civ-Div and get me a nice cushy office job somewhere, maybe someplace like New York or LA! Something where the heaviest thing I have to hump is my checkbook!"

The two looked at each other, for the first time aware that in two years they would be going their separate ways after practically living in each other's pockets half their lives. Neither one said anything, but they both knew what the other was thinking. Finally, Richard broke the silence.

"Look Jack, you haven't done anything with your GI bill. Don't you want to go to college? Make something of yourself?"

"Me? Joe College?" Jack shook his head. "Please! I'll be twenty-five by the time I'm Outside! After college I'd be pushing thirty!"

"Forty, the way you study." Richard quipped.

"Ha, ha!" Jack stood up and paced the room. "Besides, what would I get a degree in? Women's Studies? No. No, I see myself maybe starting my own business. Maybe a car lot, or something."

"You? Run a car lot? You've never even owned a car!"

"Or a dry-cleaning place! That's what my old man did after the war!" He paused, his back to Richard. "I might just marry money." Jack smirked as he looked over his shoulder with a mischievous grin.

"So I take it then that this Heather Moore, or should I say the future Mrs. Heather Dunning, isn't hurting?"

"That's what people say." Jack resumed his seat next to Richard. "Story is, her folks were old money with a mansion in New Hampshire or Vermont or something and they both passed a year or so ago. I don't know the details yet, but..."

"What happened to your research? Or did you stop your investigation when you found out she was loaded?"

"Rich!" Jack stood up. "I'm insulted! I just felt that knowing too much would be bad! Wouldn't leave us anything to talk about on our first date!"

"And you know she's interested?" he asked dubiously.

"Rich, she told me to learn about her, and guaranteed me a date if I did! It's a sure thing!" he said, spreading his arms wide.

"Alright. I'll go along with the gag." Richard shook his head. "Just remember, you invited me, so I don't wanna hear it from you when she embarrasses you with Brooke and I there to witness it, or she passes on you to go for me!"

Jack patted Richard on the shoulder. "You're a good man, Rich! I'll name my second boy after you! The first will be Jack Junior, of course!"

"Of course!" Richard rolled his eyes and resumed his work.

Monday the fifth of September came and the three Marines managed to get a day of Leave together. When at last they parked in front of the strange house, Jack practically ran inside, leaving his friends to their own devices.

"Rich? You said this girl told him to look into her, and that if he did she'd date him?" Brooke asked. "Doesn't that sound a little..."

"...impossible? Weird? Crazy?" Richard finished for her. Laughing, he shook his head as he opened his car door. "Yeah. Something tells me I'm gonna be pulling his butt out of the fire again! No woman invites a guy to become her stalker!"

Brooke opened her door and the two climbed out. "Well, it is your turn to rescue him, Rich. Remember last time? I kept that thug from ripping Jack's throat out for hitting on his girlfriend!"

"I know." he said walking toward the door. "It'd be nice if Jack returned the favor once in a while, though!"

"You never need it, and he's always doing me the biggest favor anyone ever has, so I figure I owe him."

"Then you can take a double-turn." Richard suggested, opening the door for her. "Shall we see if he needs rescuing already?"

Brooke shook her head as she entered the room filled with loud music and louder people. Shouting, she answered, "It's early yet! He can't possibly have screwed it up this fast!"

Heather Moore slapped Jack as hard as she could, fury burning in her eyes. "You've been spying on me?" she shouted, seemingly loud enough that he thought Richard and Brooke might hear her from over by the front door.

Jack was dumbfounded. What he had thought was a sure thing had instantly dissolved into a disaster. "Look, Heather. I... I thought you wanted me to..."

She reached her hand back to slap him again when Jack stopped explaining and backed away. "OK! OK! I can take a hint!"

"Obviously not, you cretin!" she growled, this time her voice not carrying far. "I was politely brushing you off! So brush off!" As Jack walked away sadly and so obviously hurt, Heather genuinely felt sorry for him. Taken literally, she saw how her words could have been mistaken for a veiled offer, but the thought that he'd pried into her life enough to know she'd been raised in New Hampshire left her feeling she was better off without her dejected harasser.

Seeing Jack heading back towards him and Brooke, having heard the end of the all-too-brief conversation between he and Heather, Richard tried to console his best friend. "Hey, Jack..."

"Save it!" he shot back as he reached them. "Let's just get outta here!"

Determined to try and earn his buddy a second chance, Richard stopped him. "Hang on, Jack. Let me talk to her."

Jack waved at him dismissively. "Fine! You want her, be my guest!"

"No!" he replied, grabbing Jack's arm to stop his retreat again. "I mean for you! Lemme see if I can get you a second shot at her, a fair shake! You at least deserve that much!"

"Yeah?" he smiled at his best friend. "You think she might?"

"Only one way to find out!" he said, heading off towards where he saw she was sitting with a group of girls.

Heather was trying to put the whole thing out of her mind when she saw a man approaching her who took her breath away at first sight. Now this is more like it! she was thinking as he sat next to her. "Hi!" she said coyly, glad that she'd gotten rid of Jack just in time.

Coming over to her with the best of intentions, when Richard looked at her though, her deep gaze penetrating through to his bones, he sat beside her and smiled; Jack a distant memory. "Hi! I'm Richard, Richard Hargrave." He held out a hand and almost kissed hers when she took it daintily.

Feeling the heat flushing to her cheeks as he spoke, Heather's pulse pounded in her throat as he took her hand. "I... I don't think I've seen you around the college. Are you taking your post-grad?"

Shaking his head, Richard laughed lightly. "No! I don't go to Stanford! I'm studying business at Menlo while stationed at The Barracks in Alameda."

"Oh?" she inquired breathily. "I don't think I've ever met a sailor before!"

Richard's smile melted instantly. "I'm a Marine! Not a squid!"

"Oh! I... I'm sorry!" Heather flushed embarrassedly. "I think that's even more interesting!" she said, trying to salvage her faux pax.

Finding himself utterly unable to be angered at her ignorance, Richard's smile returned quickly. "That's OK! It's an honest mistake!"

"You're too kind!" she said demurely. Looking back up at him slowly, she couldn't help but return his smile. "So, how do you know Melody?"

"Who?" Richard asked innocently.

"Melody? The girl who's party this is?" Seeing his confusion, she smiled wickedly and asked, "Did you just crash or are you somebody's guest?"

Suddenly remembering how he'd gotten here and why, he was overcome with guilt. "Huh? Oh! Um... well..." He laughed, trying to find something funny about the situation. "Well... uh... see, here's the thing..."

Standing next to Brooke by the bar, Jack took a drink from his scotch and soda. "So how's it look?" he asked her. He'd asked Brooke to watch Heather and Richard for him so he wouldn't look too desperate. "Does it look like it's going the same way it did earlier?"

She didn't have the heart to tell him. "Well, no. It... it's going... um... OK." Sighing, she decided that the news was better told to him elsewhere. "Come with me!" she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out the front door.

"So that's why I came over to talk to you." Richard sighed. "To... uh... see if you'd give him a second chance." he smiled at her.

The college girl bit her lower lip, uncertain what to do about it. "So, Jack got an invitation from Eddie, who got one from Melody, and you and your friend are here with him for...?"

"Moral support?" Richard half-answered. "Honestly, Jack is about as good a guy as they come. He and I have been best friends since high school." He sighed heavily. "And that's why I feel so bad."

She furrowed her brow at him. "Why?"

Scooting closer, he looked deeply in her eyes. "Because I don't think he's going to get a second chance. Is he?"

Her breath caught as she felt his knee touch hers. Flushing, she suddenly felt dizzy and out of breath. Almost giddy, she giggled, "Um... I... I don't think so!"

"Poor Jack!" Richard laughed lightly.

She nodded. "Poor Jack!"

"God damn, son-of-a-bitching, cock-sucking, mother..." Jack fumed around the front yard next to Richard's car. "I'm gonna kill that son-of-a-..."

"Jack!" Brooke tried to steady him. "You have to calm down! You're gonna cause a scene! There are kids in this neighborhood! Ease it down!"

Pacing like a caged animal, he fumed. "Some best friend! Every time I like someone, boom! There he is trying to take her for himself! God damn..." he censored himself and took a breath. "OK! Alright! Fine! He can have her! He deserves the stuck-up....! Ugh! I'm outta here!" Jack spat, starting to walk back down the street they'd come up.

"Jack!" Brooke called after him, but he only waved her off and kept walking. "Damn it, Rich! Why did you have to..." She put her hand on her forehead, trying to think what to do to salvage their nearly life-long friendship. Finally, she ran back in the house to look for Richard. She found him happily talking and holding Heather's hand when she came running up.

"Rich! You gotta come! Jack took off! I think he might go U-A! For real this time!"

Standing quickly as Heather did, he looked at the door. "Oh, crap! Jack!" Turning to her, he stammered, "Um... I... I gotta... uh..."

Practically dragging him to the front door, Heather didn't need explanation. "Come on! Let's go find your friend!"

The three piled into Richard's station wagon, Brooke sitting in the front with Richard behind the wheel. Heather took a seat in the back just as Brooke pointed back down the street. "He took off that way!"

Turning the car around, Richard sped down the street quickly.

"Richard!" Heather warned. "This is a residential street! Slow down!"

Backing off his pursuit, Richard slowed to the legal limit. "Sorry, I..."

"...you just want to find Jack. We know." Brooke finished for him. "So do I, but let's not kill anyone in the process! Ourselves included!"

Making their way down the street, Heather and Brooke looked down side streets while Richard drove a search pattern. After looking for half an hour, Richard returned to the party.

"Look, I'm sorry for all this." Heather apologized. "I... I guess I was sort of cruel to him."

"He has that effect on people." Richard excused as he parked out in front of the house again. "It's fine." Taking a breath, he got out and opened Heather's door for her.

Climbing out, she looked up at him. "Are you sure you wouldn't like my help to keep looking for him?"

"No." Richard shook his head slowly. "Jack'll do what he needs to do to cool off. He'll be back at The Bricks on time. I'm sure of that." He looked around the neighborhood. "I'm just worried about him is all. I've been doing it so long it's become a habit!" he laughed.

Laughing with him a moment before their mirth died, Heather took a chance. Reaching up, she pulled him into a kiss. Making it quick, she backed off and sighed. "Call me?" she asked. "Let me know he's alright?"

Collecting himself from the kiss, he smiled at her as he got back in the car. "I will. Promise."

After he got in, she came up to the window. "You'll give him my message?"

He nodded before he pulled away from the house, leaving Heather to watch them disappear into the distance.

Jack walked for hours. Eventually his anger melted away, replaced with a sick feeling, the same as the day Ox sucker-punched him or the day Wendy dumped him. He felt betrayed, but knew he had nothing to blame but his own hubris this time. Eventually, he found he'd walked back to the Barracks while not even being aware of it. By nine he was walking in through the front gate and headed toward his rack.

He undressed and hit the bed like a hammer, his body shaking it as he came to rest with a shudder. Closing his eyes, he heard movement from the foot of his rack. Turning in place, he looked down to see Richard standing there.

"Come to rub it in?" he growled.

"Nope." Richard said earnestly. "To apologize, and deliver a message. Two, actually, one from Brooke and one from Heather."

Turning over in his bed, he looked up at Richard. "Well?"

He stopped pacing and faced Jack. "Well, Brooke said to say you're an a-hole and she hopes you rot in the brig when they drag your sorry carcass in here tomorrow morning. You can tell her she lost our bet."

Jack chuckled once, then twice. "She should know better than to bet against you when it's about me! And the other?"

"Heather said to tell you that her offer still stands, the one she made to you in the library. She also said to tell you that she's sorry she reacted so badly, that she's willing to make it up to you, and to give you her phone number."

Sitting up in his rack so quickly he nearly bounced out of it, Jack looked at him in confusion. "Really? I mean, you and she didn't...?"

Richard looked his friend straight in the eyes. "Yeah, we did! We hit it off! Marvelously! But she still wants to give you your shot. I do, too."

Sitting back, Jack thought about it a moment. "Whoa! Dude! That's..." His words failed him as he considered what Richard was saying.

"It's a serious offer, Jack." he said. "She means it, and so do I. I honestly wish you the best. She... she'd be a lucky girl if she ended up with you. I mean it." He stuffed his hands in his front pockets, biting off the desire to push his friend aside and take Heather for himself. He'd never fallen so completely in love with a woman so quickly before; not like this. He'd swallow it and risk losing her for Jack's sake, though.

Looking deep within himself, Jack knew what he should do. "No." he said, turning over and lying back down in his rack.

"Jack! I mean it!" Richard half laughed. "I'm serious, bud! She's willing to give you a chance and I want you to take it!"

"Nope!" Jack said, turning back over to face the man standing over him. "No thanks. Call her and give her my regards."

Insulted that Jack would turn down the woman he found so alluring, Richard nearly barked back at him. "Why not? This afternoon you were..."

"This afternoon you weren't in love with her." Jack interrupted him.

Stepping back, almost as though Jack had slugged him, Richard was shocked. "In what?" he asked incredulously.

Standing up, Jack faced him. "You! In Love! With Heather! This afternoon! Do I need to draw you a logic diagram? Get you a sign language interpreter?"

"No!" Richard balked. "What in God's name makes you think..."

Walking up in front of Richard, Jack started ticking off his fingers. "One, you have never offered to step aside for me before, because you always knew the girl wasn't serious and I'd end up getting my heart broken all over again, which means Heather's the real deal, at least as far as you can see. Two, you spent enough time with her, I'd guess looking for me, that she got to know me enough through you that she's willing to give me another shot. Three..." he paused, his voice lowering. "I... I can see it in your eyes. You fell for her hard. Didn't you?"

Stunned, Richard nodded and looked down. "Yeah, I kinda did. And I feel like a total jerk for it!"

Turning away, Jack wandered. "Oh, and four, your lipstick's smudged."

Reaching up, Richard wiped his lips and looked at his fingers unconsciously.

Turning in place, Jack faced him. "Ah, ha! She did kiss you! Five! She feels the same way about you!" Seeing Richard's shocked expression, Jack smiled and pointed it him. "Gotcha!"

He couldn't help it. Richard burst out laughing and walked over to Jack. "You a-hole!" he said, wrapping him in a bear hug. Slapping Jack on the back, he backed off and shook his head. "I guess you know me pretty well. Better than me sometimes."

"I keep telling you, but you never listen." Jack shrugged. "You need me!"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

The next day Rich called Heather and told her that Jack stepped aside, but Heather wouldn't have it. She insisted on a date with Jack and wouldn't take no for an answer. Jack said it was good, friendly and warm, but they quickly learned that he and Heather would never have worked out in the end. She was made for Rich and Jack could already see she was in love with him.

Heather and Rich were inseparable after that. For about six weeks, every minute of Liberty Rich had was spent with her, leaving Jack and I to fumble around on our own. It wasn't until Rich's twenty-fourth birthday that Jack and I got to spend any time with him again, but by then it was a foursome.

Rich was done dating and Jack was stuck as my 'boyfriend' for the interim. We went on a triple date once. Rich and Heather, Jack and... Marie I think her name was... and me and Julie. It was awkward because they were first dates for Jack and me, but Heather and Rich were a permanent couple, so I think it made our dates a little uncomfortable. We never did it again.

By the end of the following year, Jack was in a bit of a depression. He was happy for Rich and Heather, but he'd begun to feel like he was never going to find anyone that would love him. It was shortly before Christmas ninety-five that I found myself in a position to repay all the help Jack had ever given me, plus interest.

---

Brooke leaned against a rack of cards while Heather was crouched next to another rack. "Come on, Heather! Just pick something and get it over with!"

Heather wouldn't be rushed. She wanted to get the perfect card to go with her gift of a Rolex this year. She'd decided on something sweet and loving, but nothing said just what she felt. "Brooke, if you want to speed things up, help me find a Christmas card for Richard!"

Standing up, she stretched and wandered around. "Heather, I can't pick your card to Rich! It would be... weird! And gross!"

Laughing at her commentary, Heather stood back up and stopped suddenly. Picking up a card, she read it quickly and smiled. "Found it!" she gushed, running over to Brooke with it.

Reading the card, Brooke stuck out her tongue. "Blech! Disgustingly sappy! It's perfect for you two! Can we go now?"

"Jealous, much?" Heather teased. "Come on! I still need a ride to the library so I can get the book I need for French Literature."

Driving Heather to the campus library, Brooke enjoyed driving her white Firebird she'd bought new the previous fall. Even though it was the first day of winter, she had the top down and they both enjoyed the sunny weather; a significant improvement from the devastating storm only ten days earlier.

When they got to the campus, Brooke opted to wait in the car while Heather went in search of her book. Some time later, while lying back in the reclined driver's seat, she heard a woman clearing her throat. Opening her eyes and peering over her sunglasses at her intruder, she smiled. "Can I help you?" Brooke asked, sitting her head up slightly.

"Possibly." the girl replied. "I... I don't mean to be overly inquisitive, but I couldn't help but notice your car has a military base sticker on it. Are you from the Naval Base or is this someone else's car? Your boyfriend's, maybe?"

Brooke had thought she'd heard it all when it came to subtle inquiries about her availability and sexuality, but this one took the cake. "No, it's mine. I'm a Marine stationed at Alameda NAS. Why do you ask?" She shifted in her seat to get more comfortable and expose a little more cleavage to the college girl.

"I... I was just wondering, could I ask you a few questions?" the girl asked. "I'm a psychology major and I have to do a dumb report on women in male-dominated occupations. Would it be alright? It would only take about ten minutes or so. It won't include your name or anything! Just an anonymous set of answers!"

Taking a deep breath, Brooke watched the girl's body language. She was shy, but cute. Her wavy red hair, green eyes, and fair complexion made for a sexy combination. Clearing her throat, she sat up. "Sure. Take a seat... I'm just waiting for a friend of mine to get a book."

She came around the car, opened the passenger door, and sat with her legs outside. "Thanks! Who's your friend? Are they a student here?"

"Her name's Heather, Heather Moore. Maybe you know her? She's a psych major, too."

Shaking her head, she looked down at her paper. "The name sounds familiar, but I can't place it. I'm new! Alright, first question. 'Are you ever made to feel inferior by any of the men in your occupation?'"

Laughing, Brooke tossed her head back. "That's half their job description, honey! I'm an Enlisted Marine, not a Girl Scout! But to answer simply, yes. My superiors, most of whom are male, make me feel inferior. I don't think it could work any other way, though!"

"Good point." she replied. Jotting down some notes, she sighed. "Alright, question two. 'Have you ever been sexually harassed in the workplace?' It means only in your current occupation where men are prevalent, not any previous job."

Brooke shook her head. "No, but I know it's happened to other W-Ms. Just not to me personally."

"W-Ms?" she asked innocently.

"Women Marines. Sorry, the jargon is unavoidable. I'm a third-gen Marine."

"I see." Taking more notes, she sighed heavily as she read the next question to herself before asking it. "Some of the questions are a little leading!" she commented. "Alright, question three. 'How often have you been passed over for advancement due to your gender?'"

Brooke nodded. "Just a little leading, but I can still answer it. Never. Next?"

The girl made notes and pressed on. "Question four. 'On the occasions you were passed over, were you offered the opportunity to advance if...'" She sat back. "OK, this is stupid! This isn't applicable to you! They just assume the answer to three is yes! We'll skip it!"

Noting that the girl was getting frustrated, Brooke reached over and touched her shoulder. Seeing her reaction, the Marine realized that maybe her first impression of the girl was incorrect. "It's fine, really!" she said, drawing her hand back. "If you want, you can continue. I know you have to do the paper, so maybe with my help you can still do it, just with a twist your professor wasn't expecting!"

The girl shook her head. "You're very nice, but... Ugh! They expect that every woman is being sexually harassed all the time! Half these won't even apply to you! There's one that asks if you could ever feel physically threatened in the normal course of your work!"

Brooke laughed loudly, the girl joining her after a moment. Finally, Brooke managed to get out, "It goes with the territory! Warning! If you become a Marine, people may try to kill you!" The two ladies were laughing so hard that neither saw Heather walk up.

"Is this a private joke?" she asked, making the two laugh even harder.

Finally getting control of herself, Brooke wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. "Sorry, Heather! You had to be there!" She turned to the girl. "Heather? This is..." Pausing, she stopped laughing. "Oh! I don't believe you ever said your name!"

The girl stood up, closing her notebook. "It's Erica, Erica Hargrave! Are you her... um... girlfriend?" She'd had suspicions about Brooke from her body language and the way the Marine had looked at her.

Siting up in her car, Brooke stopped laughing. "Wait a minute! Did you say Erica Hargrave? You wouldn't be Richard Hargrave's sister, would you?" she asked, stepping out and around her car.

Looking at the two women nervously, Erica stepped back. "Um... yes? Do you two know Richie?" She paused a moment and looked at Brooke. "He... When he's home for holidays, he's told us about a woman he serves with. Your name wouldn't be Brooke, would it?"

"Last I checked!" she answered. "Damn! This is just too wild!"

Erica slowly turned at look at the other woman with Brooke. "Wait a minute! H-Heather? Heather Moore?" Her eyes widened in sudden realization as she nodded with a smile. "Oh... my... God! Richie wrote me about you! He... he doesn't know that I got into Stanford or that Daddy's paying for my college yet! I only transferred here this semester!"

Heather looked at her and smiled. "Well this will be a big surprise for him, then! I've heard so much about you, Erica! I've been looking forward to meeting you for over a year!"

Leaning on her car, Brooke nodded. "I've been hearing about you for over four years! I expected you to be some mousy little girl! Rich talks about you like you're still twelve!"

Rolling her eyes, she looked at Brooke. "You know big brothers! They think little sisters are children forever!" Looking down, she cleared her throat and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "Is... is Jack still around? I haven't seen him in years. When he gets vacation time, he never comes to visit with Richie."

"Marines get Leave, not vacation." Brooke corrected. "But yeah, Jack's still around. We hang out all the time! Doesn't Rich tell you about him?"

"Richie never talks about him at home." Erica shook her head sadly. "Jack and Mom don't get along, so Richie stopped talking about him years ago." She looked up at the two. "Is he doing OK? Does... does he have a... a girl?"

Heather and Brooke looked at each other with a knowing glance. Finally, Brooke suggested, "Why don't we go somewhere and talk a bit. It's about lunch time and I could use a few thousand Calories."

Nodding, Heather turned to Erica. "Do you have time? We don't want to get in the way of your class work."

"Oh, no!" Erica shook her head. "I can do this anytime! I have until middle of January to get it done, and lunch sounds divine!"

The three decided on a restaurant in walking distance, so very shortly they had a table and were sitting around and chatting like old friends.

Brooke looked down at her half-eaten burger, trying to formulate how to ask Erica what was on her mind. She'd been telling the girl about Jack for an hour and Erica never seemed to get enough, with hardly a word asked about her own brother. "Um... Erica? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Brooke!" Erica answered, taking a bite of her Caesar salad.

"Um... do you like Jack?" she asked delicately.

Erica flushed with embarrassment. She swallowed her bite hard and nodded shyly. "I... I've been in love with Jack for over ten years!" Turning sad, she sighed forlornly. "But he never noticed me. To him I'm just..." she sighed again, "...just Buttons!"

"Buttons?" they both asked together.

"Jack's old nickname for me." she answered with a wistful smile. When she saw they didn't get it, she explained. "Red hair? Red Buttons? Cute-as-a-button? It's OK, I didn't get it at first, either. But see? It's just like Richie! Jack will only ever see me as... as just a little girl!"

Looking Erica over, Brooke shook her head. "Speaking as an expert in the attractiveness of women, if you'll pardon me saying so Erica, if Jack saw you now?" She wolf whistled quietly. "You're no little girl anymore!"

Nodding, Heather agreed. "I may not be so inclined, but I can tell that you would be serious competition if you and I were both interested in Jack!"

Perking up, Erica smiled gaily. "Really? Do you think Jack..." Swiftly, she dismissed the idea. "No! It's stupid! Why should someone like Jack want someone like me?" speaking Jack's name almost reverently.

"Would you like a chance, though?" Brooke asked before she took a bite.

"If you think it would be alright! When can I see him? Is he busy tonight?"

"Slow down!" Heather advised with a laugh. "First of all, you need to appear not so anxious. All men get suspicious when a woman takes too much of an interest. They think she wants something out of him."

Brooke shoved a half-eaten bite of her burger into her cheek. "Besides, Jack doesn't have Liberty coming until New Years Eve, and that's only a forty-eight with the first half covering for Rogers." Seeing Erica's confusion she explained, "He has the weekend off, but Saturday he's covering for Corporal Rogers, so all he gets is Sunday."

"Oh." Erica said disappointedly, but she perked up quickly. "Does he have plans for New Years, do you know?"

Looking at Erica, Brooke swallowed. "Jack and I will be at our New Years party that night. You can come if you like!" She noticed Heather giving her a look, but Brooke shook her head subtly.

"Alright! Is it formal or casual?" Erica was hoping for something romantic.

"Casual... Jeans and shirt kind of thing." Brooke answered. "Whatever's comfortable. It's just a New Years house party. You twenty-one?"

Erica slumped back in her seat. "I... I won't be until January ninth."

Brooke shrugged. "Close enough!" she smiled. Glancing at her watch, she winced. "Damn! It's already fourteen hundred! I gotta get back! Look, call me and I'll give you the details." She grabbed Erica's notebook, scribbling her number in one of the margins. "Sorry, Heather! You're gonna have to bum a ride from someone else or cab-it back to your place!" Heading for her car, she heard Erica running after her. Stopping just outside the restaurant, she was surprised when Erica hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you so much, Brooke! Oh, and thank you for your service, too!"

Stunned for a moment, she cocked an eyebrow at Erica. "You know, when you first came up to me, I was sure you were hitting on me. I was actually a little disappointed when I figured out you weren't." She smiled at the girl after a moment. "Now I'm glad you weren't! See, I couldn't figure what to get Jack for Christmas this year. He's in so much trouble when he sees you!"

"Why?" Erica asked innocently.

"Because, he doesn't stand a chance against you! You being at the party is gonna be my present to you both! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas..." Erica replied confusedly as Brooke ran for her car.

With New Years Eve approaching, Erica was franticly trying to pick the perfect outfit. "Too casual, too obvious, too dressy... Ugh!" she screamed. Dialing Brooke's number, she waited for her to answer.

"Maintenance Shop, Hathaway." Brooke answered.

"Brooke? This is Erica. Is this a bad time?"

"No!" she replied happily. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you have time to come over and help me pick something for Sunday? I can't figure out what to wear and it's driving me crazy!"

Laughing, it took a moment for Brooke to compose herself. "Look, whatever you wear will be fine! He won't be looking at your clothes!"

"Brooke!" she whined. "I need your help! Please? This is really important to me! I just have to get it right!"

"Alright! Alright! I can't come over until Saturday, though." She heard the young woman squeal with delight. "So I'll see you then!"

When Brooke finally arrived Saturday afternoon, Erica had narrowed her choices down to three outfits: a green satin evening gown, a little black dress, and tight jeans with a T-shirt and white see through jacket.

Holding each up to herself, Erica looked at Brooke. "OK, so which one? The green dress, the black one, or just jeans?"

Pursing her lips, Brooke thought about it seriously, using everything she new about Jack and her own sense of attractiveness, she nodded. "OK, the green dress is right out. You'd look beautiful in it, but this isn't Prom, it's a house party. That leaves the dress or the jeans."

"OK, so which one makes me look hotter?" Erica asked directly.

Laughing, Brooke shook her head. "Jack isn't looking for hot! He probably won't even notice your outfit. All he'll see is you! Of course, I'm also biased. I don't care for dresses, but I know Jack and..." Looking at the two options, she pointed at the coordinate set. "Jeans! Don't get me wrong, you'd look smokin' in that dress, but the casual look will draw more attention to your face and..." She trailed off and blushed slightly.

"My chest?" Erica finished for her.

"Yeah! That!" she said, glad to not have to say it out loud about Richard's sister. "Seriously though, with an outfit like that you really need to hit your hair out of the park to dress it up." Picking at Erica's hair, Brooke hummed quietly. "Well, you could hit it with highlights, really bring out the color, use a curling solution and set and spray, light hold since you got fine hair, Yeah!" She looked at Erica. "I don't think any of the salons around town will have any openings this close to New Years, though."

Erica's hopes sagged. "You're right! I... I didn't think to make an appointment for one!" She dropped onto her bed feeling hopeless.

"So that's why I'm going to do you up myself!" Brooke smiled.

Erica sat up eagerly, but with a confused look. "You?"

"Don't act so surprised!" Brooke said defensively. "Mom was a beautician! She taught me everything she knows about it and I even worked in her salon as a beautician myself for most of a year. She figured someday it might come in handy, and it looks like today's the day!" Brooke sat next to Erica on her bed. "Between you and me, I think she figured it would give me a backup career because she didn't think I could 'Pack the Gear' in the Corps!"

Leaning over, she hugged Brooke. "You're the best!" After a moment, she felt the older woman stiffen. "Oh! I'm sorry!" she said embarrassedly.

Brooke took a breath and stood up. "It's fine, Erica! It's nothing! It's just... I haven't had a date in a while is all, and... well... you're cute, OK?" Letting out a breath, she turned to her. "...and taken. Very taken if I read you right! Are you sure that we're talking about the same Jack? Jack Dunning? Short guy? Skinny? Thinks he's funny?"

"He is funny!" Erica laughed. "He's been making me laugh since the first day I met him!" Turning sullen, Erica looked at the floor. "I think the only time he didn't make me laugh was the time he was in the hospital when I thought he was going to die." Her smile returning, she looked up at Brooke. "Then he woke up and the first thing he did was to make me laugh again!"

"Don't think I've heard this story." Brooke noted as she sat back down. "What happened to him?"

Erica started to tell a brief version, then found herself needing to backtrack through it, finally just telling the whole thing. "So I went to see him every day. Daddy told me that talking to him might help, so I did. I talked to him about school, about my friends, about everything I could think of! I even did my homework out loud next to him! And every day before I went home, I... I'd tell him I loved him, even though he would probably never know it."

Her mind a jumble of thoughts, Brooke found the story finally filled in some missing pieces to the puzzle that was Jack Dunning.

Taking a breath, Erica smiled. "And then on the last day, just after I said 'I love you', I saw him move! Eight weeks of talking to him every day and I finally saw him move! Oh, Brooke! You know what the first thing he said was? He told me, 'Ouch!' so it would make me laugh! I wanted to kiss him right then!"

Laughing, she looked at the younger girl. "Wait, how old would you have been then? Thirteen?"

"Fourteen." Erica blushed. "I... I tried to kiss him twice more before he left home. By then I was almost fifteen, and after my sixteenth birthday I wanted so much to just run away to California, find him, and marry him!"

"What stopped you?"

"Daddy." Erica said sadly. "Mom knew for longer, ever since I was thirteen, but Daddy figured it out the day Richie left home. He... after they left... he took me aside and I told him how I felt about Jack, how I've always felt about him. He held me and let me cry in his shoulder because I didn't get to say goodbye to him. Daddy told me if I ran away to be with him, I'd be on my own, but if I worked hard in school and got into college, he'd pay to send me to a college that was close enough to Jack that I would have my chance!"

She stood up proudly. "So here I am! I wasn't in a rush though, I wanted to do it right. I graduated, got accepted to Stanford, but I went to two years of Community College first. Getting a lot of core classes out of the way there meant Daddy could afford two years at Stanford! Pretty smart, huh?"

Brooke nodded. "Smarter than me! I won't get started with college until I'm Outside in two years!"

Sighing at the thought of seeing Jack the next day, Erica's expression became dreamy and far away.

"Wow! You've got it bad, girl!"

"Don't I know it!" she giggled. "I love him so much, Brooke! I just have to try! So you'll help me?"

She smiled. "When I get through with you, Jack won't know what hit him!"

Turning around, Heather smiled as she saw the three people she was waiting for enter. Making her way to the door, she saw Richard notice her approach and her heart fluttered with anticipation.

"Richard! I'm so glad you could make it!" she said as she got close enough for him to hear.

He smiled as he saw her approaching. Removing his cover, Richard ran his free hand through his short-cropped red hair. "Hey, beautiful! Couldn't leave you alone! You might come to your senses and realize you could do way better than me!"

Heather smiled coyly as she wound her arms around his waist. "Better than you? Who? Adonis? Apollo? John Wayne?"

Jack peered around him, having been standing next to him and being quietly ignored by the two lovebirds. "Ah, come on! This jarhead? I just don't get why you threw me over for that! What do you see in him when there's me to be had!"

Brooke tapped him on the shoulder. When Jack turned and faced her, she looked him up and down, then did the same with Richard, and simply shook her head. "Sorry Charlie, but even I can tell he's got you beat."

Jack, ever the comedian, took off his cover and held it to his heart. "Brooke! My sweetness! Say it ain't so!"

Pushing past Jack and snaking around Richard, Brooke smiled and hugged Heather. "Hey, beautiful! Still sure I can't tear you away from this clown? I can really make it worth your while!" She arched her eyebrows at Heather in a comically seductive way.

"You make an awfully tempting offer, Brooke..." she said in her low throaty voice. Releasing her and returning to Richard, she hooked an arm through one of his. "...but alas my heart is already spoken for."

Jack turned to his best friend. "Say Rich, you wouldn't mind if Heather took a little break from you, would you? Just a short one? Like say for an hour? Oh, I don't mean for myself, but think of poor Brooke!"

Turning to his best friend, Richard smirked at him. "Yeah, I know who you're looking out for, Jack."

Pleading as the four made their way through the other guests, Jack begged, "Oh, come on, Rich! Give a guy a break! Just let them go upstairs, alone, for ten minutes! I swear, you can even handcuff me to the front door! I just wanna know it happened!"

Brooke slugged Jack in the arm hard enough to bruise. "Can it, clown! I'm not your personal masturbation material."

"OK, OK. You know I was only kidding around." Turning to Heather, Jack smiled sincerely. "So how've you been?"

She put her other arm through Jack's as they walked slowly. "Can't complain, Jack." Thinking of how to segue into what Brooke wanted to talk about, she asked innocently, "Seeing anyone?"

He jerked his thumb at Brooke and Richard. "No one but these two yahoos. Alas, you were my last and final hope. My heart can never love another!"

Smiling, Brooke hoped to not give too much away. "Well, that's too bad. I was hoping you could help me with a little problem."

His smile melted immediately. "What's her name?"

Laughing, Heather reached the end table where she'd put her drink and the ones she'd already gotten for the trio. "Oh, Jack! Here I thought I'd ruined you for all other women!"

He nodded. "True, true, but what's her name, Brooke? Her name!"

Looking at him, Brooke smiled. "Her name's Erica. She's sweet, but shy. I met her while waiting for Heather at the campus library. I kind of got my signals crossed and thought she was hitting on me, but she was really just wanting to ask about my service. She was doing some psychology paper on the effect of women in predominantly male occupied professions."

Wincing as he picked up a beer bottle, he opened it, and handed it to her. "Please! Not another she-woman man-hater! I don't care how cute she is, they're more trouble than they're worth! You sure she wasn't hitting on you?"

Taking a drink, Brooke shook her head. "Positive. And she's not a left-wing wacko feminist, either. Her professor probably is, so it's the assignment she got, but she's actually quite nice, loves the armed forces, and even thanked me for my service."

Shaking his head as he took his own beer, Jack swigged it. "Then her old man's probably a swabbie at the base."

While Brooke laughed, Richard, who'd not been listening to the conversation, asked, "What about swabbies?"

Taking another drink, Jack grinned. "Nothing, Rich. Just go back to ogling your girlfriend."

Picking up his own beer, Richard glared at him. "I wasn't ogling her, I was admiring her beautiful eyes!"

Nudging him in the shoulder, Jack quipped, "Sure, sure, Rich. Increase your scanning elevation about twenty-five degrees to find her eyes."

His comment brought a laugh to the three and a blush to Heather's cheeks before Brooke turned and looked toward the door and checked her watch.

Noticing the action, Jack shook his head. "Oh, no! You didn't! Brooke! Say it ain't so! You set me up without even asking?"

She shrugged as she took another drink. "You'll love her, Jack. I swear."

He nodded. "Uh-huh. How many eyebrows does she have?"

"Three, one for each eye." Brooke smiled sweetly. "But you'll never notice because the hump on her back will draw all your attention." Almost sensing more than hearing the front door open over the clamor of conversations and the music, she turned and smiled when she saw Erica look into the throng of partygoers. Handing her beer over to Heather, she didn't even look back. "Excuse me." she said as she headed for the door.

Thinking she might've come to the wrong address before she spotted Brooke coming toward her, Erica smiled and embraced her. "Hi! I thought I got the wrong place. This is your party?"

Slinging her arm over Erica's shoulders, Brooke grimaced. "Not exactly my party, but I was invited, so the invitation is yours as well. Come on!" She leaned in close to whisper, "Keep calm, girl!"

Making their way through the crowd, Brooke walked toward the trio with her guest. Heather and Richard were looking at each other with stars in their eyes; Richard's back turned to their approach.

Jack was the only one who saw them coming. The two getting closer, his heart skipped a beat. Suddenly the room seemed very quiet, the noise and laughter seeming to fade into the background. He wasn't even seeing Brooke anymore, just the girl she was with. She was thin, but not skinny, with well-rounded hips and bust and a narrow tapering waist. The T-shirt she wore under a see-through white jacket emphasized her gracious curves, and her jeans covered long legs that Jack could tell were well formed and sexy. Her shoulder-length red hair bounced with every step, framing her beautiful face and haunting green eyes.

For her part, Erica saw Jack at the same moment and her breath caught. It wasn't his looks that had always taken her breath away. It was him. Most especially now, with a room full of half naked women surrounding her Jack, his eyes were locked on her and only her as though she, Erica Hargrave, were the best looking woman in the room.

Brooke stopped in front of him. "Jack? This is Erica." Seeing the two staring into each other's eyes and not even noticing her, Brooke pursed her lips. "Well, I can see you two don't have any further need of me." she said as she turned toward Richard and Heather, trying keep them distracted to give the two a moment alone in a crowded room.

Erica spoke first. "Hi."

"Um... hi!" Jack swallowed hard. Gathering his composure, but still unable to tear his eyes away from hers, he stammered as he held out his hand. "Jack, Jack Dunning. Lance Corporal, USMC."

She smiled and took his hand gently, only just then realizing that he didn't know who she was. "Erica, Erica Hargrave. Student. Stanford." Her eyes smiled along with her lips, but she could feel her hand nervously sweating in his.

Just then Jack heard from behind him, "Erica!?"

The young woman's eyes were torn away from Jack's enchanting stare when she heard the one voice that had been catching her attention her entire life. Looking over Jack's shoulder, she saw her brother looking at her in sheer astonishment. "Richie!? Brooke didn't say you were going to be here!"

Jack was confused as her full name hadn't even processed in his mind yet. In point of fact, Jack hadn't done much actual thinking since he first saw her. Suddenly, it all dawned on him, his eyes grew wide, and he looked at her again. "Erica... Hargrave? But... Rich's Erica?" What he remembered of her was the image of a little girl. Now before him stood a vision of lovely young womanhood.

Her brother pushed Jack aside. "What are you doing here, Erica? You're not twenty-one yet! You can't be here!"

Brooke halfway interposed between the siblings. "She's my guest, Rich! And she turns legal in like a week, so back off!"

"That's OK, Brooke." Erica's eyes flared. "I can see I'm not going to be allowed to have any fun here tonight. Maybe you can take me to another party! I can be your date!"

Pulling Richard aside, Jack tried to convince him to let her stay. "Listen, Rich! Come on, man! Let it be! If she stays here, you can keep an eye on her, and so can Heather, Brooke, and I, right? If she leaves, God knows what trouble she could get into! Think, man!"

Turning back to his sister, Richard lowered his gaze. "Look, Erica. I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything, OK? I... I overreacted. Please stay." He looked up at her as he finished his plea.

Her fury at still being treated like a child by her older brother melted quickly. Never one to carry a grudge long, she eyed him suspiciously. "Fine! But I don't want Sergeant Ramrod killing my good time, is that clear?" She poked him in the chest as she finished.

Raising his hands defensively, Richard backed away. "I give! I give! Why don't I get you a beer?"

"I'll get it!" Jack offered, his voice nearly cracking comically. Turning to Erica, he smiled. "Don't move a muscle, my angel! I'll be back to worship the ground you walk on in a flash!"

Erica looked to Brooke and her brother with a wistful smile as Jack ran to the bar. "Isn't he funny?"

Brooke tousled her hair. "Unfortunately, looks aren't everything."

"Don't let his outward clownish charm fool you, sis." Richard warned. "He's still the same Jack Dunning you've known for years."

Biting her lower lip, Erica swayed gently. "He always seemed really sweet to me."

"The word you're looking for is 'desperate'." Brooke said as she took another drink. "We call him Corporal Strikeout for a reason."

Erica shook her head, inwardly hopeful. "Doesn't do well with the ladies then?"

"He does fine at first." Heather interjected. "But once girls stop laughing at his jokes, his lack of things like a car or money, and thereby his ability to take them out, tends to make them lose interest quickly."

Furrowing her brow, Erica fumed. "Well that's awfully shallow of them!" Pausing, she asked, "Is he very bad with money?"

"Not really." Brooke shook her head. "He's just overly generous. He sends most of his pay to the place that's taking care of his mom."

Her heart melted, remembering the few times she'd met Mary Dunning and how torn up Jack had been about moving her into a home before he'd left Pittsburgh. "Oh! That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, other girls think its sweet too." Richard smiled. "Until it's time for their second date and he still can't afford to take them anywhere, let alone have a car to take them in."

She slapped her brother in the chest. "You know, you could be a little more generous with your dough back home, Sergeant! Daddy's not getting any younger, and he's about killing himself trying to put me through school!"

He nearly choked on his beer. "Hey! I send what I can! More than Jack!"

His sister crossed her arms. "But he makes less! I bet he leaves less to spend on himself than you do!"

"You're right, he does!" Heather nodded. Turning to Richard, she smiled as she draped her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. "You really should help your family more, Richard. Your money doesn't impress me!"

"Good lord!" Brooke rolled her eyes. "If this gets sweeter, I'm gonna barf!"

Nearly running back to the foursome, Jack handed Erica a beer and smiled. "Here! My treat, my beauty!"

Nodding at Erica, Brooke joked, "If she's Beauty that makes you The Beast."

Putting the drink down, Erica smiled. "That's very sweet of you, but you don't need to buy me drinks! I think I'd like to stay clear-headed." Slipping her arm into Jack's, she looked around. "Is there someplace quiet we could talk?"

"You could take him upstairs!" Brooke smirked.

"Brooke!" Richard barked as he nearly turned white, knowing what most couples went upstairs to do. "Over my dead body!"

Erica stiffened her back. "Is that so, Richie?"

Lowering his voice desperately, he leaned in toward his sister's ear. "Are you crazy? Do you know what Mom and Dad would do to me if they found out I let you 'go upstairs' with Jack?" he emphasized with air quotes. "I'd never live to see morning! Mom'd kill me over the phone!"

Erica tilted her nose up. "Well, Mom and Dad aren't here, Richie! So unless you want me to just leave and take Jack somewhere more private, he and I are going to go upstairs!" She paused to let her brother squirm. "...and talk!"

At that, Erica took her brother's beer, took a swig from it, handed it back to him, and practically dragged Jack toward the staircase.

Looking back at his best friend, Jack just shrugged. "What can I do, Rich? Buttons' got me hooked!"

Richard looked over at Brooke as the two disappeared up the stairs. "What the hell, Brooke? You set my sister up with Jack?"

"Would you rather I set her up with Corporal Strikeout, or have her end up with someone like you, Sergeant Trouser Snake?"

Heather turned his head to face her. "Relax, darling. I'm sure she's perfectly safe with Jack. Now would you mind not thinking about your sister and turn your attention back to me? It's kind of creepy if I kiss you while you're thinking about your sister."

"Ha!" Brooke busted out laughing. "Maybe that's why he's so protective!"

He pushed Brooke's shoulder. "Cram it, Brooke! That's not even funny! I'm just looking out for her is all!"

Once more Heather turned his head back towards her. "I'm over here, dear!"

As he finally returned his focus back to his girlfriend, Brooke sighed and took another drink. "Great job, Brooke." she said to herself as she looked up the stairs where Jack and Erica had gone and then to Heather and Richard starting to dance. "You've managed to help find love for everyone but you."

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

I spent my next Liberty with Erica. She talked while I listened and messed with her hair. I learned a lot about Jack, things he never told me. I understand why he'd kept it to himself, though. He'd endured so much pain, it's amazing he was only as nuts as he seemed to be! No one want's that to show.

I learned a lot about Rich, too. She didn't talk as animatedly about him as she did Jack, but she knew all his secrets! I don't know what it is about being a beautician, but women will bear their souls to us the way guys do with a bartender. They tell us things they won't even tell their shrink!

For Jack's part, he was just so damnably, blissfully, innocently, ignorant of Erica's feelings toward him it was hard to watch! It wasn't that Jack didn't see her that way because she was younger, but because of something much more basic. She was his best friend's sister, and that made her almost like his own. It's a little creepy if you think too hard about it!

Jack wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, though. Erica loved him, and had loved him through some of the worst times of his life. He wasn't about to let that get away, no matter who she was.

---

Following Erica up the stairs, Jack was in a bit of a daze. He had a hard time reconciling that the girl ahead of him was 'Buttons'; the girl who was always there. Heading into an empty bedroom, she turned on a light and pulled him in, closing and locking the door behind her. Jack gulped nervously as she did.

"Do you know how long I've waited for this, Jack?" she asked, moving to him slowly as he tried backing away anxiously.

Smiling weakly with a quiver in his voice, Jack tried to humor his way out of whatever it was he'd gotten himself into. "Few minutes? An hour? What exactly are we talking about, here?" Downstairs he'd been happy to make Richard squirm by hitting on her, and honestly that's all he thought it was, Erica messing with her brother, but when he hadn't known who it was that Brooke had set him up with, he'd been mesmerized by her. Now that they were alone and he knew who she was, there was no one to impress but her, and he realized she knew him too well for false bravado. His knees hit the back of the bed as he continued to back away from her, causing him to fall back and sit.

Slowly, Erica walked to him, her hips swaying to draw his attention. Smiling that she could make him this nervous, she settled her mind and desires and stopped in front of him. "First, there's one thing I want more than anything, Jack. Something I've waited years to do!" Pulling him up to stand again, she wrapped her arms around him and tucked her chin over his shoulder. "I've missed you!" she almost cried.

Relief washed over him as he hugged his Buttons in return. "I... I missed you too, Buttons! Erica! Sorry!"

"It's OK, Jack!" she laughed. "You can call me Buttons! I don't mind much, anymore!" She pulled back from her hug and regarded him. "I've grown up, though!"

"So I noticed!" Jack complimented her. He still could hardly believe that the stunning woman in front of him was the same girl he'd nearly trampled more than a decade ago. Half laughing, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. "You look, amazing!"

Guiding the both of them to sit next to each other on the stranger's bed, Erica smiled and blushed. "Thanks! That means a lot coming from you!"

"Me?" he asked confusedly. "What's so important about my opinion?"

"You really don't know, do you?" she sighed lovingly.

Trying to figure out what she meant, the words she'd said sparked a memory of the day he'd woken up from the coma. His eyes wrinkled up in memory of the pain. He'd slowly begun to regain consciousness, following the sound of the voice, and after all this time the words finally started to make sense.

"So anyway, that's all I've been doing in school. Just trying to get through each day while Mom's at Aunt Edina's is hard enough without all the kids in my classes asking me how Richie got put in jail. I hate him for what he did to you, but even so, I don't like him being in so much trouble. I... I guess that's all. I love you so much, Jack. You really don't know, do you? I wish I could tell you, but I guess you'll never know."

"You were in the room with me, when I woke up." he commented. "I heard a voice, I mean, before I was really awake." He paused and his eyes went wide. "It said... No! No, you said, 'I love you'!" Even as he said the words, a thousand memories flooded his brain. Every time he'd seen Erica, from the first day they met all the way up until the day before he and Richard had left for North Carolina, and it all started to make sense.

"Erica, how long..." he began to ask.

"Since forever!" she interrupted with a happy note in her voice.

"I... I wish I'd..." He stopped as Erica put a finger on his lips.

"It wouldn't have mattered, Jack. Back then I was too young for you." She looked down as she spoke, then looked into his eyes. "But not anymore!" she smiled.

Swallowing hard, Jack looked into her happy eyes. "Erica, I... I care for you, a lot! Hell! I love you! You're my Buttons! My miracle girl! But... but you're Rich's sister!"

Scooting next to him until their hips touched, she lowered her voice to a sultry whisper. "But I'm not your sister, Jack. I love Rich, don't get me wrong, but..." She gathered her courage to say the words she'd spoken so many times, but never to his face. "I... I love you, Jack! I think I always have! From that first day you knocked me down! I think I always will!"

Stunned at hearing the words spoken out loud, Jack could feel his heart race. His ears rang with an overload of emotions. He felt lightheaded, dizzy, and just like he was thirteen all over again and lying in a pile of spilled papers. "Erica..." was all he managed before he could no longer formulate words.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders and leaning forward around in front of him, she pulled him to her. Wanting this moment to last, she moved so slowly that at times she felt like she could hear her muscles contracting. Her lips quivered as she anticipated what she'd wanted for so long.

Slowly, tenderly, she touched her lips to his. A wave of feelings washed over her, threatening to drown her in them. Desire, happiness, longing, hope, fear, need, joy, and dread all jumbled into a tangle of emotions that made her cry both tears of joy and sadness at the same time.

Jack was so overcome with mixed emotions he didn't know what to do. He wanted to kiss her more deeply, but he also wanted her to stop. He wanted to push her back on the bed and ravage her, but he also wanted to run. He wanted to hold her and feel her body against his, but he also wanted to push her away. He wanted to see her in the throes of passion, but he also wanted to see her running from him. In the end he decided that all he could do was sit there and let her do what she needed, but before he realized it, he found himself kissing her in return, and liking it far more than he felt he should.

Slowly pulling away, ending their kiss, she sighed in a tearful whisper full of hope and dread. "So long! I've wanted to do that, for so long, Jack! I... I love you!"

Seeing the tears running down her face, he reached up, cupped her face in his hand, and wiped them away with his thumb. She turned her head slightly and kissed his hand gently, her eyes closed as tears fell. She sobbed; crying into his hand with all the pent up emotion in her heart until she felt it would never end. He in turn drew her to him, softly tucking her eyes against his neck and shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him so tight she felt she might crush the life out of him. Holding her gently, Jack just ran his hands along her back, trying to comfort her.

When at last her emotions were spent, she pulled back and wiped her face soaked with tears. "S-Sorry, J-Jack. I..."

"Shhhhhh." he quieted her. "It's alright!" Pulling her back into his arms, he just held her. "I've got you, and I'm never letting you go."

Erica slowly pulled away from him with shock in her eyes and her mouth hanging open speechlessly.

Finally, he half-smiled at her. "Well, until I gotta go to the bathroom that is!"

Her look of shock at his words melted into a grin of pure joy. "Jack!" she laughed. "You...! You...!"

He looked at her with a dumb expression. "Well what do you expect! You fell in love with me, didn't you?" he said smiling. "You think I was gonna let comedy gold like that slip by unused?"

She threw her head back in utter hilarious joy. "Jack! God, I love you!" She closed on him again, this time kissing him hard, needfully, and passionately. Her hands wound up through the short crop of hair at the base of his neck, pulling him into her with a ferocious desire. Her lips parting, she felt his do the same, their tongues touching and sending spikes of pleasure through her with such strength that she jumped in fright of their intensity.

Their kiss slowed until finally she felt the hunger ebb. She knew it would return, so she basked in the happiness of the moment. Smiling, she pressed her forehead against his. "Thank you!" was all she could say.

Chuckling giddily, Jack felt like he'd just inhaled a tank full of laughing gas. "My God, Buttons! That was intense!"

Nodding against his brow, she composed herself and slid away from him knowing she needed the space to have coherent thought.

Feeling her move away, it suddenly felt like someone was ripping him in half. He started to move towards her again until he felt her outstretched hand stop him. Looking at her with a look that was equal parts pain, desire, and confusion, he forced himself to back away until she lowered her hand.

"Whew!" she breathed out. "You have no idea how hard it was to stop you, Jack! Do you know how badly I want you right now? How long I've ached for this day?"

Composing himself, he drew a breath and exhaled slowly. "Right. Thinking. I can do that!" He looked up at her and grinned his half-smile, forcing her to wince as though she'd been pricked by a needle.

"Jack!" she begged. "Now stop it! Please? I... We need to talk, OK?"

Standing up, Jack walked the room slowly. "OK. I... I know we do. I can do that."

"Can you be serious? Just for a little while?" she asked hopefully.

"That's a pretty tall order, Buttons..." he joked. Forcing himself to push aside his humor, he grabbed the chair that sat in front of the stranger's desk and straddled it backwards. "OK. So let's talk. Seriously."

Erica took a breath again and looked at him. Seeing his funny face bent into seriousness almost hurt her physically, but she needed to know. "Jack, I... I've been in love with you a long time. I... I need to know if you... if you feel anything towards me. If you ever have."

"I love you, Erica." Jack sighed. "I have for years, but, I... I never thought..." He hated himself for not seeing it all sooner. Standing quickly, he threw the chair to the floor and screamed at the ceiling. "God, why! You had the chance to clue me in! Why'd you let us suffer!?"

Coming down from his rage, he remembered his eternal drifting and his self reflection; the millions upon millions of things that happened to him that had brought him to this point in his life where he could feel the utter elation of Erica's love for him. His fury spent, he chided himself for challenging God's wisdom, for presuming to think he could see all ends, and for thinking that he knew better than God that things would have been better if he'd known sooner.

We still would have been just as separated. The needs of our lives dictated that. he realized. I would have known, and she would have known that I knew. Who knows how that knowledge, too soon in our lives, would have twisted our love into something it was never supposed to be? Full of angst, longing, despair, anger, and hate towards one another for not throwing our futures away and running into one another's arms. Finally, he just laughed and fell to his knees.

Erica didn't know what to make of Jack's outburst. Seeing him fall made her run to his side in spite of her fear. "Jack! Are you..."

Unable to help himself, he laughed. He laughed until he cried, and then he just cried. Feeling Erica take him in her arms the way he had done for her, he cried like never in his life. The pain and anguish of a lifetime poured out through his eyes, and he held on to her for dear life.

After it was his turn to be emotionally spent, he wiped his eyes and laughed at the idiocy of the situation. "Sorry! I know you want me to be serious. It's just... I feel ridiculous! A grown man, a Marine, bawling like a baby!"

She smiled at him and caressed his cheek, taking her turn to wipe away his tears. "I don't think it's silly, Jack! I think it's beautiful!" She sat on the floor with him until he regained his composure. "You alright now, love?"

Nodding, Jack stood up, helping her to stand next to him. "Well, now that that's out of the way." He gestured toward the bed and picked up the chair, resuming his seat. "You asked me a question, if I ever felt the way you do. Not until today." he admitted. Seeing her disappointment, he held up his hand. "It had nothing to do with you, Buttons! Not your age, your beauty, not anything you could have done. I swear!"

Seeing he was being completely serious, she just nodded and accepted his answer at face value and waited for him to explain.

"It was Rich." he sighed. "He's why I couldn't see you. It's not his fault, but you were his sister and, to guys anyway, that means 'Hands off! This isn't a girl, this is a sister!' Do you understand? It's not even something we think about. It's just something we do, instinctually, I guess. There was nothing you could have done or not done to make me see it!"

"I could have told you I loved you to your face." Erica pointed out guiltily, looking at her lap. Looking up at him, she nearly started crying again. "Then you would have known, but I was too scared! Too afraid you'd reject me because I... I was just a little girl to you!"

"Hey!" Jack comforted. "It's alright!" He sighed and tried to explain. "Do you remember when I told you I had to get hurt? That I needed it? And you didn't understand why?"

Erica nodded, looking up at him.

"Do you understand now?"

She thought seriously for a moment, trying to justify the pain he'd endured and why it was needed. Her mind rebelled at the idea, wanting to spare him every pain of his life. "No!"

"You love me, right? Just as I am? Good and bad, strength and faults, right?" Seeing her nod enthusiastically, he continued. "I wouldn't be me, the person you love, if it weren't for those things! Would you still love someone who looked like me, but wasn't me?"

"No!" Erica cried. "I don't love you for the way you look! I love you for who you are! The man..." Her own reply finally brought understanding of what it was he'd been trying to tell her. She paused, unable to formulate the words she needed to say. Slowly she looked at him with new eyes, and smiled. "I'm a foolish little girl sometimes, Jack!" she admitted.

Standing up, Jack pulled her to her feet, the two embracing where they stood. "I wouldn't change a thing in my life, Buttons! Because of this moment, right here, right now! Being able to hold you, touch you, kiss you..." He pulled back to look her in her eyes. "...to love you? It's worth all the pain, sadness, loneliness, and heartache of a hundred lifetimes!" He pulled her close to him and kissed her. "I love you, Buttons!" he said with a smile. "Is that enough?"

Erica nodded through tears of joy. "Yes, Jack! It's enough!" Pulling him into another passionate kiss, they heard yelling and horns from below.

When their kiss ended, Jack smiled at her. "Happy New Year, Buttons!"

"Happy New Year, Jack!" she replied through her own smile.

Kissing slowly and tenderly once more, the two reveled in the moment of the New Year before parting. Hearing the crowd below quiet down, the two sat back down together to talk.

"So, you say you've always loved me?" Jack asked incredulously.

Erica nodded. "I have a confession to make. I've had a crush on you since I was ten!"

"Who me?" Jack laughed. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that!"

"Then I'll remind you of it often!" she laughed back at him. "Something to hold over your head when we're fighting about money or kids!"

"Kids!" Jack yelped. "When did we have kids?"

Slapping his arm playfully, Erica pursed her lips. "When we do! Someday, maybe. I don't know, maybe you've changed in six years! Maybe I won't want to spend the rest of my life with you now!" Her humor dying down, she looked at him. "Seriously though, I... I want to take it slow. I think we should get to know one another all over again, as we are now."

"I think that's prudent." Jack nodded. "After all, I need to stop thinking of you as just Buttons and start thinking of you as a woman." His eyes drifted over her body. "A really, really, gorgeous woman!"

Blushing, Erica looked away. "Jeez, Jack! You're too much, sometimes!"

"I'm serious!" he defended his opinion. "I think you're just about the most beautiful woman..." He sighed and paused for effect. "...on the second floor!"

Grabbing a pillow, Erica smacked him with it playfully. "You're gonna pay for that someday!" she threatened.

Jack took hold the pillow and pulled her over to him with it slowly. "I want another kiss!" he said mater-of-factly. "It'll help me get used to seeing you as a woman! Honest! It's strictly for my own self-improvement!"

"Oh?" she asked. "What'll you give me for it?"

"The same in return!" he replied.

Moving closer, Erica could feel his breath on her lips, making the hunger inside her rise once more. She pushed forward into him, wrapping her arms around him and relishing the feel of his lips and tongue against hers. She found her hands clinging to him, groping and grasping, trying desperately to pull him tighter into her. Her lithe legs wrapped around his waist as she moved to sit on his lap, their lips never separating for a moment. With her arms wrapped around his neck, she pulled their bodies tightly against each other, a moan of need escaping.

They stayed like that for a time unknown to either of them, lost in one long moment that never seemed to end. Finally, with the hunger abated once more, she stopped and could only pant in a further need that she knew she wasn't ready for. "Jack?" she gasped. "I... I need to stop! Please?"

Groaning with unfulfilled desire, his love for her outweighed his need for her, and he slowed his kisses just as they'd begun trailing down her neck to stop just below the collarbone. "OK." he relented, making his body just be satisfied with holding her.

After a few ragged breaths, Erica could think again. Lifting Jack's chin up, she looked him in the eyes with a wild desperation. "Make no mistake, Jack! I want you! All of you! Right now!" She smiled and kissed his cheek before turning shy. "But... um... there's something... something I need to tell you. I... I've loved you since before... I mean, I never could..." She tried to make the words come out, but she just couldn't find them.

Slowly, Jack realized what she was saying. "Oh! You mean, you mean you've never..." It dawned on him then just how deep and powerful Erica's love for him had burned. "Never?"

She shyly shook her head. "I've never even kissed a boy before tonight! I... I couldn't! I never gave up hoping that..." She looked into his eyes. "I only ever wanted you, Jack! No one else! Ever!"

Jack cleared his throat. "Well, alright then. We'll..."

"...take it slowly!" they said together, ending in laughter.

Pulling herself up off his lap, Erica flopped back on the bed even as her body screamed for more. "I'm sorry if I... well... If it's any consolation, you got me... um..."

Looking at her, Jack waggled his eyebrows. "Ready for beddy?"

Erica burst out laughing. "God, Jack! You are perfect! Don't ever change!"

"I'll try, but I remember my old man, Buttons. Don't get too attached to this hair!" he joked, making them both laugh uncontrollably.

Their mirth slowing, Erica moved off the bed and held out a hand to him. "Talk done! Now fun!" she giggled, pulling him to his feet. Passing a mirror on the way to the door, Erica stopped and gasped. "My God, Jack! I look like shit!" Quickly, she opened her purse and took out some cotton swabs and started removing mascara from under her eyes and off of her cheeks. "How can you even look at me like this?"

Coming up behind her, he put his hands on her waist and kissed her head while looking at her in the mirror. "You look beautiful to me."

Grimacing, Erica nudged an elbow into his ribs, causing him to fade back defensively. "That's for lying! It's a beautiful lie, but if I look this bad, I want you to tell me!"

"OK, Buttons!" Jack chuckled. "I'll tell you if you look fat in those jeans!"

She looked down at her hips in the mirror. "Do I?"

"God, no!" Jack yelled. "Good Lord, woman! Don't you eat?"

After Erica finished touching up, she turned to Jack and smiled. "There! Now how do I look?"

Looking at her earnestly, he surveyed her face for flaws. "You have a speck of something black in the corner of your left eye." he pointed out.

Turning and looking in the mirror, she retrieved another swab and cleaned it out. "Mascara." she noted. Turning back she asked, "Better?"

Kissing her quickly and gently, he smiled. "Perfect!"

Coming out of the bedroom door, they both saw Richard and Heather sitting glumly at the top of the stairs.

Waving a hand at them, Jack couldn't resist. "Look! Chaperones! I didn't think college parties had those anymore!" he said loud enough that the two could easily hear him. When Richard stood up and walked over to them, he smiled at his perturbed best friend. "Don't you know parties are for having fun, Rich? You're killing Heather's good time!"

"Jack!" Richard wanted to throttle him. "What the hell have you two been doing in there!? You were in there for over two hours!"

Erica tried to get between the two. "Richie! It's none of your business what we were doing! Get away from him!"

"Buttons?" Jack said softly. "Will you please let your brother and I handle this like men?"

She turned to him. "You are not going to fight over this!" she insisted.

"No one said anything about fighting, Buttons." Jack said calmly. Looking Richard directly in the eyes, he nodded. "We just need to talk."

"We'll see what needs doing, Jack!" Richard spat. "So let's have it then! Got anything to say for yourself, funny man?"

Closing his eyes, Jack exhaled. Opening them again, he once more stared Richard down from below. "Rich? Do you know me at all? Have you ever known me to be anything but civil to a lady, even alone?"

Feeling his outrage start to shrink like an ice cube in a microwave, Richard was at a loss. "Um... well, no..." Re-gathering the anger he felt was justified, he glared back at the smaller man. "...but there's always a first time, Jack!"

Unfazed, Jack took a breath. "We talked, Rich. And cried. Both of us."

The anger he felt was suddenly replaced with confusion. "Huh?" Turning around to face the two ladies, he pushed open the door to the bedroom Jack and Erica had just come from and shoved Jack back in. "We'll be a few!" he said to them, following Jack in and slamming the door behind him. Scanning the room for evidence of anything untoward, when he found none he turned at last to his best friend. "Jack!? What the hell goes on?" His face turning ashen, he asked, "Did something happen to Mom or Dad?"

"No! No! Nothing like that!" Jack said, waving his arms dismissively. "It's Buttons!"

"What's wrong with Erica!?" he demanded, closing with him, ready to wring the truth out of him, if needed.

"Nothing's wrong with her, Rich!" Jack sighed happily. "She's just in love with me!"

Richard felt numb as his heart skipped a beat. "She's what?"

Pacing the room away from Richard, Jack flung his hands up in confusion. "She's in love with me, Rich! And this isn't a new thing, either!" He turned and faced his oldest friend. "Rich, she's been in love with me for years! Since before we left home! Since before Wendy! Since... Hell, according to her, since the day we met!" He stopped, letting his arms fall to his sides. "Well, not since the day we met, I mean the day you and I met, that was a full day before Buttons and I even knew..."

"Jack!" Richard barked.

"What do you want, Rich? It's still me! Still Jack! Same guy!"

"I want you to be serious for a minute, damn it!" he shouted. He looked at Jack with murder in his eyes. "Jack, did you ever..." his voice trailed off menacingly.

Jack's eyes bulged at the unspoken accusation. "Rich! No! God, no! That's... What the hell's the matter with you! Jesus! She was a little girl!"

"Well, she got it in her head to like you somehow, Jack!"

"Love, Rich!" he forcefully corrected Richard. "Not like, love! She loves me! She loves me! She loves me! No matter how you say it, it keeps coming out the same!" He lowered his voice before finishing his thought. "Wonderful."

Richard's anger broke under the strain of Jack's re-spoken words.

"Rich, she's not a little girl." Jack pointed out. "She's a grown woman, and she loves me." he laughed.

"How long have you known?" Richard asked seriously.

Jack checked his watch. "Uh... pfft! About two hours. Why? You wanna make an anniversary of it?"

"Jack!"

"Sorry!" he held his hands up defensively.

Richard forced himself to be calm. "So you had no idea about this before tonight?" Seeing Jack shake his head seriously, Richard almost collapsed as he sat on the bed. "Shit!"

"Now what!" Jack asked defensively. "I didn't do anything!"

"Not you, ya jarhead!" Richard spat back. "What are we gonna do about this? How can we make her snap out of it?"

"It's not a hypnotic trance, Rich!" Jack retorted. "She's in love!" He braced himself as he said the rest. "And I don't want her to stop."

Richard looked at Jack as though he'd gone mad. "What? Are you nuts? We have to fix this! You're..."

"I'm what, Rich!" Jack snapped at him, stepping forward. "What? Unlovable? Unworthy? Too low a station for your sister? What, is it because Mom and I were so poor we could never afford a nice house? Or a car? Or cable TV? Is that it?" He lowered his voice as he looked at the shocked expression on Richard's face. Sighing, he parted his hands and dropped them down to his sides again. "Rich, don't I deserve to be loved, too?"

He hung his head, ashamed of what Jack had stopped him from thoughtlessly saying. Shaking his head, he bit his lower lip and sighed. "Jack, this can't work. You and Mom hate each other!"

"Last I checked, Erica's an adult and this is almost the twenty-first century." Jack stated simply. "She doesn't need anyone's permission to love me." He paused briefly before letting the other shoe drop. "And I don't need anyone's permission for me to love her back."

Richard looked up at him perplexedly. "How can you love her, Jack?" he asked. "She..."

"How can I not, Rich!" Jack shouted. "I've known her most my life! She's too wonderful not to fall in love with! I'm surprised she doesn't have a hundred broken hearts pining for her!"

"But she's my sister, Jack!"

"And I love her!" he shot back.

Silence sat between them like a thick blanket. Finally, Jack turned away from his best friend. "Rich, we're not asking your permission. We don't have to. We don't need anyone's! Not your mother's, your father's, yours, Heather's, Brooke's... anyone's!" He turned and faced his greatest friend and protector. "But I would like your understanding. It's not like we're gonna go out and get married next month, Rich! She wants to take it slow, and so do I. We need to... to find each other. We've been apart six years!"

"How long have you been in love with her?" he asked quietly.

"I've loved her for years, Rich. She's my miracle girl! My Buttons! It's not the way she loved me, but the way I love you, ya' jarhead!"

"So, how long have you been in love with her?" he asked more directly.

"Since the moment I knew who Brooke's mystery guest was, Rich. That the beautiful woman who came as my 'not a blind date' was my Buttons!"

Richard chuckled at the memory of setting up his mother as his Prom 'not a blind date'. "Nice callback, leatherneck!"

"Dillweed!"

"Seabag!"

"Woah! Low blow! That's a penalty! One more and you're disqualified!"

Richard laughed low and slow. "Look, Jack. I... I'm sorry, alright? You're right. You do deserve to be loved. And if Erica... well... loves you, then... then that's just the way it is."

"Well!" he scoffed. "Why don't you make sound like she's just been stricken with some disease or something, Rich!"

"No! I didn't..." he stopped as Jack started to laugh. "Oh, you son of a..."

Running from the room laughing, Jack pulled the door closed behind him, holding it shut. While Richard tried to pull it open, Jack looked over toward Heather, Brooke, and Erica who were standing nearby and looking stunned. "Don't worry! Everything's fine!" he assured them.

"What'd you say that set him off?" Brooke asked as Erica ran up to him.

Her eyes growing wide at the memory of just how intimate they'd almost gotten, Erica whispered, "Did you tell him what we almost did in there?

"Nope!" Jack said, straining to hold the door. "Just made a smart ass remark is all!" Quickly letting go of the knob, Richard tumbled backwards into the room as the door flew open.

Heather took up a place in the doorway, blocking Richard's mad dash out to the hallway to clobber Jack. As he came running up, she cleared her throat.

"What?" he asked, breathing heavily and wanting desperately to get to Jack.

"I was wondering if it was as good for you as it apparently was for Jack!" she asked nonchalantly. "He certainly came out all smiles!"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

CAUTION - Sex / Sexual Scenes
CAUTION - Highly Emotional Content

--

Erica once told me that the night she and Jack talked upstairs was one of the most romantic experiences of her life. Sounds great when you say it, but if you think about it you come to realize that the logical corollary to that is that it must have been all worse after that! Luckily for her, Jack was only getting started. Besides, Erica had a tendency to exaggerate!

Jack told me that they talked, cried, kissed a few times, and professed their love for one another. That and a bunch of stuff about living in contentment with pain and such. Blah, blah, blah. Richard was a wreck. He hid it well, but I knew him better than anyone except Jack, even better than Heather. He was torn between wanting to see Jack happy against his protectiveness of Erica. I guess that means protecting her from ever growing up, having fun, sex, a marriage, children... etc. Men are idiots!

The rest of New Years morning was uneventful, unless of course you count Jack's proposal to Erica, but then I'm pretty sure they both knew it was only Jack being Jack. I told you that story already, though. The next few weeks were hard on them. Jack had no Liberty and Erica was swamped with school. Richard and Heather had gotten to the 'comfortable' part of being a couple, so they were used to the separation. Plus, they were sleeping together, which took off a lot of the tension. Jack and Erica... well... Erica told me what they weren't doing.

It got difficult for them to go slowly after only six weeks. Their needs pushed them father and faster than they'd planned to go, but sometimes you realize you gotta to take hold of life fast, and live it while you still have the chance.

---

Just as Jack closed the door to her apartment, Erica was on him. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she could feel the hunger inside smoldering like a fever as she showered him in kisses all over his face. "Jack!" she panted between kisses, "I know... I said... I wanted... to go... go slow... but..." She covered his mouth with hers as he tried to move towards the couch. "Jack! Please?" she mumbled against his lips.

Aching with desire, Jack didn't know how much longer he could put off the inevitable. "Erica!" He had to stop her or else he was going to lose control, and he knew it would end badly if he did. Returning her kisses, he was able to lower her down to the couch, their lips still searching for more pleasurable contact even as he did. Stepping back, he struggled for breath as he forced them to stop their passionate assault. Even being in top physical condition, her sensuous attack had left him with difficulty breathing.

Yearning for him badly, Erica wanted to cry. "Jack!" she whined. Tucking her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs. Rocking back and forth while Jack gasped, she lost control as tears began to flow.

Not being able to stand seeing her so distraught, Jack knelt on the floor in front of her. "Buttons? I... I don't think our original plan is going to work!" he stated, referring to the six-month 'getting to know you' time they'd agreed on, to be followed by whatever they felt comfortable with after that. It was to be discussed beforehand all neat and tidy. Unfortunately for their plans, their bodies craved more, and love is neither neat nor tidy.

She nodded, trying to stop her tears. "I know, Jack! It's just so hard! I never get to see you! It's been weeks! I can't stop thinking about you! I dream about you! I can't focus in class! I don't know what to do!" She buried her eyes in her knees, letting her jeans soak up her tears as she vented her frustration.

Knowing they were fighting a hopeless battle, Jack hung his head in defeat. They either had to take the next step, or never see each other again. Their hearts and bodies gave them little other choice. "Erica?" He looked at her longingly. "I... I want you to know, I love you more than life itself! I can't breathe without you near me! I... I want to make you happy, content..." He paused, taking a breath. "...pleasured."

His words nearly made her take him there in the living room. Controlling her need for him by only the smallest of margins, she let out a ragged breath. "God, do I want you, Jack! You have no idea!" She chucked a little. "OK, so maybe you have some idea!"

Closing her eyes and taking a long slow breath, she forced herself to calm down. When she opened them, she looked at him kneeling in front of her smiling sweetly; almost shyly. She moved to him slowly, uncurling her legs until her feet were on the floor by his knees. Helping him to stand as she did, she took him by the hands and led him to her bedroom.

He followed Erica helplessly into her room and stood numbly as she closed the door. Walking up to him slowly and carefully, as though too quick of a movement would scare him off, at last she stood in front of him. Her hands reached up and started undoing the buttons on his uniform blouse.

Slowly, she worked her way down until she reached his belt, her eyes never looking away from his returning gaze. Pulling his top up to free the last two buttons, she undid them just as slowly until she could push the shirt off his shoulders without more than the slightest touch, which she provided with a smile and listened as it rustled to the floor behind him.

"Erica..." he started to say, but her finger moved over his lips, staying his words. Her hands drifting down to his belt, she pulled the strap to loosen the buckle, letting the strap glide freely through and out. Not done, she started undoing his uniform trousers, unzipping them and letting them fall to the floor with a satisfying sigh.

Guiding him to her bed silently, not a word spoken nor a sound made until her bedsprings creaked with his weight, she stepped back slightly and began to unbutton her own blouse while he watched, almost frozen with a hunger for more. She removed her light green blouse, exposing her naked abdomen and leaving her lacy bra the only thing between Jack's eyes and her breasts. Undoing the buttons on her jeans, her smile seemed contented and peaceful. She knew exactly what she wanted, and this time nothing was going to stop her. When her jeans fell to the floor, she stepped out of them and her flats, leaving her almost completely bare to him.

Scanning the curve of her body, he tried to memorize every millimeter. When she lowered herself down to her knees, she at last pulled his shoes, socks, and trousers off, tossing each one over her shoulder with an almost wicked smile. Moving up, she sat on the bed beside him and reached for his T-shirt, letting her fingertips brush the flesh of his belly. Jack's eyes rolled back in his head, overcome with sensation. Slowly tugging it up his chest, she let her fingers drift gently along his sides, forcing a low moan from his lips.

Just as she started to push him backward to lie on her bed, Jack caught her hand; his breath ragged. "Erica!" he gasped. "I need you to stop for a just minute!" he begged. Trying to move his hand away, he wouldn't release it, moving around her wrist until their fingers were joined together. When his emotions slowly gave way to his thoughts, he looked at her desperately. "I... I don't want you to stop..." he began.

"Then don't stop me." she interrupted. Trying to untangle her hand from his, she found he wouldn't let go. "Jack..."

"Buttons, please!" he begged. "I... I need to tell you something, first! I... I've never... I mean, I don't really know what I'm doing." Just as she couldn't say the words on New Years Eve regarding their passionate reunion, he too was having difficulty finding the same ones. He'd said enough, though.

Leaning back, she regarded him confusedly. "But... Didn't you and Wendy..."

He shook his head as a smile crept over his lips. "The only thing Ox ever got right in his entire life!"

Looking at him in astonishment, she couldn't help but join in his mirth after a moment. Soon the two were rolling on the bed, both in just their underwear, holding their stomachs from laughing so hard. Eventually, as their giggles faded, they lay next to each other looking into each other's eyes.

Jack reached out a hand and watched as Erica intertwined her fingers with his. Their delicate touch seemed to satisfy more need than anything else they could have been doing at that moment. Gone was the hunger from both of them, their love for each other having taken its place.

"Jack?" she smiled. "Tonight. Now, if you'll let me. I want you." she looked at him expectantly. "Do you still want me?"

He sighed, lost in the green of her eyes. "Yeah. I do."

She moved gently, rolling over his body and letting her bare stomach press into his. Her lips found his and they kissed delicately, slowly, and lovingly as their hands roamed freely over each other.

Rising up, Erica's legs straddled his hips as she reached around behind her back with one hand, unclasping her bra. "I love you, Jack." she whispered. "I have a confession to make. I've had a crush on you since I was ten!"

"Who me?" he replied routinely with a smile.

She giggled as she slipped her arms free. "Just remember who loved who first!" she teased, the only thing holding her bra in place being her free hand. Shyly, she let it slip down until she finally dropped it to the floor. Leaning forward, she lowered her bare bosom to his nearly hairless chest, pressing her open mouth to his once more. She moaned with pleasure as he ran his fingertips along the side of her naked breasts.

Slowly, she slid her body upward until she was straddling his stomach, and gasped when the tip of his tongue flicked over her taut nipple. Now certain she was ready, Erica slipped a hand down and hooked a thumb into Jack's boxers, pushing them lower until she could grab them with the toes of her right foot; stretching her leg out and dragging them down his legs until they slipped off his feet.

Feeling Erica remove his last bit of clothing, Jack felt a burning need in him to see her lost in pleasure. Rolling them both over so that she was below him, he supported his thin but athletic form on his arms as he kissed his way down her body. Reveling in her lusciously sensuous movements, every kiss seemed to make her squirm with pleasure. He kissed lower and lower until he at last came to her own final garment. Feeling her hips lift off the bed, Jack slowly slid the panties down her thighs, kissing the skin below them as if preparing it for their passage.

When at last the two were completely bare to one another, Jack slid up her legs, using his hands to caress the smoothness of them and causing her to part them on instinct. In no hurry toward his own fulfillment, and desperate to make her happy, he leaned down and began kissing the inside of her thighs, working his way slowly toward the place the two limbs joined.

Erica's breath became ragged and heavy, her head thrown backward against her pillow as she arched her back. When Jack stopped just before reaching the center of her desire, she looked down at him wantonly.

"It... it's not too late to stop." Jack pointed out, offering more than wanting.

Shaking her head, her breath came rapid and deep until a smile crept over her lips. "You do, so help me God Jack, I'll throw you down and rape you!"

They laughed together, both reveling in each other's passionate desire for one another.

Slowing his chuckles, Jack looked up Erica's body as it lay before him and into her eyes. "I love you." he said softly, his breath just barely reaching her highly sensitive skin and making her tremble.

"I... I love you, Jack!" she panted. "Please?" she moaned beggingly.

Certain of her desire, he lowered his open mouth until it covered the lips of her womanhood and made her gasp, her entire body tensing up in desperate need. His tongue pressing forward, she felt it enter her, making her eyes snap open widely as she stopped being able to even breathe. After nearly a decade of fantasy, the reality was so intense that her mind almost couldn't handle it. She'd utterly underestimated the effect actually having him touch and taste her would have on her body as she convulsed.

"Jack!?" she almost screamed as her first orgasm ripped through her body at so simple an intimacy, her pent-up need breaking through every part of her as her hands gripped the back of his head and her legs wrapped around his back. She forced her mouth closed, screaming through her nose in an effort to hide the enormity of the pleasure from her neighbors.

Sitting perfectly still, he looked up her naked body in awe of her pleasure. Even as she convulsed, he could feel the muscles of her entire body tense and contract, the flesh of her sensitive womanhood pulsing against his tongue and her moisture wetting it further as she continued to grip him in place. Her loss of control almost scared him, it was so powerful.

When at last her first wave of pleasure passed and her limbs started to relax, he pulled his mouth away from her. "Are... are you OK?" he asked, concern making his voice shake.

"I... I'm fine, Jack!" Erica managed after a moment as her body vibrated with the pleasure coursing through her. "Please... please don't stop!"

Returning to his ministrations, he explored her. Using his tongue and fingers, he learned every part of her, memorizing every inch of her as though it was the most important thing in his life to know. When his fingertip brushed the nub of her pleasure, her sudden gasp made him pull back. "Did... did I hurt you?" he asked concernedly.

She shook her head vigorously. "N-no! Th-that was... Ungh!" Her words left her as his tongue took the place of his fingertip, sending waves of ecstasy through her and threatening to push her rapidly to climax once more. Guttural sounds escaped her lips as his tongue slowly circled her pleasure, rocketing her skyward in an ever-expanding burst of bliss. She screamed once more, this time incapable of holding back her vocalizations as the most powerful orgasm of her young life tore her mind apart. No longer caring who heard, for several minutes she only cared about Jack and the ultimate pleasure he was giving her. Nothing else in the entire world mattered at that moment.

Her mind returning to her, after Jack slowly ended their first frenzied time as one, she covered her mouth with a hand as she started to laugh. A languid feeling washed over her while her body slowly shook from her giggle fit. Moving her hand up to cover her eyes, a smile shone across her entire face.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked confused.

Erica shook her head, her hand still over her eyes. "Me! That's what!" she answered in a hushed throaty voice between giggles. "My God, Jack! That was... that was the most intense experience of my life!" She tried to move, to pull him up to her, but her body was as weak as a newborn kitten and she could barely move her limbs. "Come here, Jack!" she purred.

Moving up alongside her naked form, one hand propped his head up while the other rested on her belly. Her giggles still shaking her, he couldn't help himself. "You know, I've made people laugh before, but this is humiliating!"

His humor only intensified her giggles into fits of full laughter as her love for him and who he was poured through her. She rolled over to push him flat on his back, snuggling up next to him and laying her head on his chest as she continued to laugh. "I... I'm sorry, love!" she giggled. "I just... I can't help it! You make me so happy it... it just comes bubbling out like this! I love you so much!"

Running his fingers through her soft red hair, he smiled. "A guy could get a complex, ya' know! I thought women were all hot and wanton afterwards, not chuckling like they just got done watching 'Your Show of Shows'!"

Continuing to giggle, she enjoyed the feel of her skin against his. "I have no idea what that is, Jack! I love that about you!"

"Sid Caesar? Imogene Coca? No?" he inquired. "Oh, well. I guess I'll have to show you sometime. You have a lot of catching up to do!" He wrapped his arms around her, holding her until her laughter was spent.

At last, she was able to stop her guffaws and looked up at him libidinously. "What about you, love?"

"Me?" Jack shrugged. "I've seen 'Show of Shows'!"

She lightly slapped him on the chest. "No, you goofball! You know what I mean!" She slowly slid her body against his sensually and started running her fingers down his side.

His breath caught as she touched him, raising gooseflesh everywhere her fingers roamed. "Oh." he moaned. "Y-you mean..." his voice trailed off as she moved on top of him, straddling his belly. "Y-you know, you don't h-have to...."

"I know I don't." Erica shook her head slowly. "I want to, Jack. No, I need to! I need to make you feel just as good as you just made me feel!" Lowering down until their lips met once more, kissing him slowly and seductively, she moved her hips toward his. When she felt his manhood press between her legs, it raised a need in her unlike any she'd ever felt before, the need to feel him inside her seeming to overwhelm her senses. She raised her hips slightly, feeling him press against the outside of her wetness. Ever so slowly, she pushed down, relishing the feeling as he slipped inside her, forcing a moan to escape her lips as she closed her eyes.

Gasping as he felt it, Jack's eyes went wide and his hands found her hips all on their own, a desire burning in him to push her more forcefully onto him. Not wanting to rush her or force it though, he fought the urge and just let his hands follow her hips slowly down, the warmth and wetness of her on him threatening to send him over the edge at any moment. "Oh God, Erica! You... You're incredible!"

When he felt their hips meet in conjoined ecstasy, his eyes fluttered and his grip on her hips strengthened, pulling them tightly together. They sat there like that, unmoving, for what seemed to be an eternity. Erica looked down at him with eyes wide and her lovely face contorted into an expression of almost pain.

"Does... does it hurt?" he asked concernedly.

"N-No." she stammered. "Well... o-only a little." She smiled at him, their faces only inches apart. "It mostly just feels wonderful!" Slowly, she began to rock. Small movements, both patient and deliberate, she loved how her slightest move would send him into absolute fits of pleasure. Soon, much sooner than she would have liked, she saw his eyes tighten.

"E-Erica! I... I'm..." he mumbled.

Slipping a hand under his head, she ran her fingers through his short-cropped hair. "Good! I want you to, love. Take your pleasure from me!" Hearing her words sent him flying, his body trembling as she gripped his hips with her legs; her feet wrapping around his knees to pin her in place on top of him. Pulling him into a kiss, she felt his pleasure explode in her, Erica gripping against him and holding him tightly to her as they finally consummated their love for one another.

His breath rapid and shallow, he pulled slightly away from her lips as his desire peaked. "I... I love you, Erica!"

She lay on him as his body slowly calmed from their lovemaking. Feeling his entire body grow languid against hers, his hands slipping off her hips to flop lifelessly against her bed, but his pleasure still buried inside her, she looked him in the eyes once more, smiled, and said, "Yes!"

Laughing, he knew at last what she must have felt earlier, the giddiness of love and passion commingled. Slowly comprehending that she'd spoken, his eyes tightened in confusion. "Huh? Yes, what?"

"Yes, I'll marry you!" she replied. "You've only asked me five times. Did you want to make it six?"

He looked at her in awe. "I thought you wanted to wait! We've only been dating a month and a half, I thought you wanted to go slow to be sure?"

"Oh, I'm sure!" she smiled. "I knew before I saw you again!" She leaned down and whispered seductively in his ear. "I just didn't want to scare you away! I was going slow for your benefit, love!" She pulled slightly back from him so she could look at his whole face. "I never doubted for a second that you're the one man in this entire world meant for me! Seeing you again just meant I didn't have to wait anymore! I love you, Jack! I've always loved you, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and making you happy!"

"You are... amazing, Buttons!" he looked up at her in awe. "I don't think I could imagine life without you now!" His hands reached up and pulled her face close to his. "I love you, too... and I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing whatever it takes to deserve the love you have for me." He pulled her into a loving kiss, their bodies still joined together.

An hour later, they sat across from one another eating the spaghetti dinner that Erica had prepared before Jack arrived for their Valentines Day meal. The holiday was actually two days earlier, but they'd had to wait until that Friday to celebrate it. She smiled and giggled at seemingly nothing as they ate wordlessly.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked before taking another bite. "Do I have sauce on my nose or something?"

"No!" she giggled as she looked away from him embarrassedly. She stared at the candles that lighted their meal. "I was just thinking about how different tonight went from the way I planned it. We were supposed to have dinner, a little wine afterwards, and then I was going to drag you into the bedroom and have my way with you, even if I had to club you over the head!"

Jack nodded as he finished a bite. "Ug! No, me club you! Drag you!" he grunted. "Don't you know how these things are supposed to work, Buttons?"

His reply only made her laugh harder. After settling herself back down, she looked across her small table at him lovingly. "So, we still have the rest of the weekend before you have to head back. What would you like to do with it?" she asked seductively.

"I have a feeling I know what you would like to do with it!" he commented knowingly. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the second reel, but I think we should talk."

Nervous that she'd jumped the gun and scared him away, she took a large drink from her wineglass. "Alright. Anything in particular?"

Shrugging, Jack looked over at her. "Well, there's the fact that you accepted my proposal. Understand, I'm elated that you did, but don't you think we'll need a new plan, now? The old one was kinda ripped to shreds earlier when you were clawing at my back!"

She chuckled as relief washed over her. "Well yeah, I guess we do need to figure things out! I have a year and a half of school left, but you only have four more months of service, right?" Seeing him nod through a bite, she took another drink and sighed. "Can you move in here while you finish up?"

"Only after we're married." Jack informed her, leaning back from his empty plate. "It's a violation of the UCMJ to cohabitate with a member of the opposite sex outside of marriage. I can't even leave a pair of socks here!"

"Well then, there's only one thing we can do." she sighed in a defeated tone. "We're just going to have to get married right away!"

He laughed a deep full laugh. "Oh, God! Rich is so going to kill me! I'm a dead man!"

Standing up, Erica walked around the table. Sitting on his lap, she wrapped her arms around him. "He touches you? He dies!"

"So how do you want to do this, then?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Justice of the Peace? A church wedding will take time, but I want you to have your dream come true. I'm told it's something a girl imagines her whole life and I don't want to deny you anything!"

"Jack, darling. I have everything that I ever dreamed of right here!" she said before she kissed him slowly and lovingly. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me! I just want to be Mrs. Jack Dunning for the rest of my life!"

"OK. You want me to plan it then? I will, if that's what you want, Buttons."

Running her fingers through his close-cropped hair, she smiled contentedly. "Yeah! I think I'd like that!" Running her fingers down the side of his face and neck until her hand came to his chest, she pressed the palm of her hand against him. Pushing herself up, she captured his hand as it slipped off her waist and pulled him to his feet. Walking backward as she looked him lustily in his eyes, she led him once more toward her bedroom. "In the mean time love, I think I'm ready for a second course of the meal that you brought!"

"Well, if your reaction earlier was any measure, it certainly was a happy meal!" Their humorous journey to the bedroom was halted when the phone rang. He looked at Erica longingly and sighed as he started to pull away from her towards it.

"Jack! Let the machine get it! Come with me!" she begged.

"Can't, Buttons." he groaned. "I'm just on Liberty and I left your number at the base for a contact. Someone has to answer!" He released her hand and jogged over to the phone, picking it up before the answering machine did. "Hargrave residence. Dunning."

"Jack? It's Rich. I... I have some bad news for you."

Gritting his teeth, Jack punched the wall lightly. "Let me guess... Liberty's canceled?" he presumed. He saw Erica's shoulders slump and a pout cross her disappointed face.

"No, it's not that, Jack. We... we got a call from the home where your Mom lives." Richard had a hard time finishing the message.

"Rich? What's wrong? Is she OK?" Jack's mind raced with the possibilities; that she'd gotten lost, she'd run away, she fell and broke a bone...

"She... uh... she's in a coma, Jack. She won't wake up."

Seeing Jack drop the phone, Erica ran to him, grabbing him as he collapsed to the floor. "What is it, Jack? What's wrong?" Hearing her brother shouting from the dropped receiver, picking it up, she answered for him. "Richie?"

"Erica! It's Jack's mom. She's in a coma. She's... she's not expected to wake up. You need to get him back here right away so he can put in for Emergency Leave. The hospital told me she's not expected to survive the weekend."

"I'll get him there, Richie! Love you!" she said, hanging up the phone and hugging Jack as tight as she could. "Oh, Jack! I'm so sorry! I... I need to get you to the base right away! You can get Emergency Leave, and then we'll get a plane back to Pittsburgh. We need to hurry, Jack!"

Only numbly aware of his surroundings, he responded idly. "Emergency Leave. Right." His thoughts suddenly rushing back to him as the shock wore off, he looked at Erica. "We'll get a plane?"

"Of course!" she stated, heading to her room to pack. "I'm going with you! You don't think for one minute I'd let you do this alone do you?"

"Thanks." he smiled at her. "I... I think I may need you there, Buttons."

Four hours later, the two were taking off on a non-stop flight to Pittsburgh International. By seven the next morning, they were in a rental car driving towards Mary's nursing home. Jogging into the lobby half an hour later, they were greeted by one of the nurses.

"I'm sorry, visiting hours don't begin until..."

"I... I'm Jack Dunning!" he interrupted her. "Mary... Mary Dunning's son! This is my fiancée, Erica. We came as soon as we could!"

She nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, her condition is unchanged. She's not expected to wake up. You... you can go see her if you like. I'm sorry."

Jack and Erica walked somberly to her room. Entering slowly, he saw her lying in a hospital bed, monitors next to her showing that she was still alive. Creeping quietly into the room, Erica holding his hand, he carefully moved up to her bedside. "Mom? It's Jack. I came to see you. You've got the place buzzing! They all think... well... I know what you're going through!" He knelt down next to her bed, taking her frail fingers in his free hand.

"I... I have some news, Mom! You remember Erica? Rich's sister? We're getting married, Mom!" He squeezed her fingers gently, trying to coax a response from her, but none came. "She loves me, Mom! Always has, it seems!" He looked back at Erica only to see tears streaking down her face. He stood and held Erica as she cried into his shoulder, her heart breaking for Jack's sake once again.

When at last Erica stopped crying, regaining her composure, Jack returned to his mother. "Mom! I know you can hear me!" he almost shouted, not quite loud enough to be a disturbance. "Look, just... just follow my voice, Mom! You have to want to come back! You can't will it, you have to want it! Come on, Mom!" He was near to tears and heard Erica begin sobbing behind him again while he watched his mother for any sign, any indication of her return. When none came, he pulled up a chair. "Alright, then. I'll talk."

He talked for hours. He talked to her about his work, about Erica, about their plans, about Richard, about Brooke, about Heather; he talked until he ran out of things to talk about. Then he just started remembering things, telling her stories about when he and Richard were young and the things they'd gotten away with without her ever knowing. He talked the entire day. When Erica left to get lunch, he talked. He even talked while they ate, never stopping. He kept at it until the sun was going down and still he talked. He knew if he kept it up long enough she could find his voice and return to the land of the living. He just wanted one more moment.

When the nurse came to tell them they'd have to leave in five minutes at the end of visiting hours, he told the nurse he wasn't leaving, that he was staying with her until the end or she woke up, whichever came first. When the nurse called security, he demanded to speak to the facility administrator, insisting on staying with his mother and not even leaving to go talk to him until Erica finally spoke up.

"Jack? Go! Talk to him and get it straightened out. I'll stay and talk to her. I promise. I won't ever stop! Not for a second! Not until she wakes up or you tell me to stop!"

He looked at her with exhausted eyes, having been up for two days with only the short nap on the plane. "Alright. You promise?" Seeing her nod, he left with the security officer while the nurse stood by at the door as Erica turned to face his mother.

"She's not going to wake." the nurse explained. "He's just making it harder on himself."

"Jack knows what he's doing!" Erica defended him. "I'm staying and I'll talk all night if I have to!" She mumbled under her breath, "Why not? It worked before!" Walking over to Mary's bed, she started talking. She talked about Jack almost exclusively, how much she loved him, every memory she had of him, watching his successes and heartbreaks, and her own heartbreak at his leaving. She had just gotten to their wedding plans when she saw Mary's eyes move.

"Mary?" she asked hopefully. "Mary, it's Erica. Erica Hargrave! Richie's sister! Mary?"

"Jack?" Mary mumbled. "Where's Jack?" Her eyes were still closed, almost as if she were talking in her sleep.

Erica ran for the nurse. "She's waking up! Go get Jack! Now!" she shouted. Seeing the nurse nod in astonishment and head towards the administrator's office, Erica ran back to Mary's bed. "Mary? Mary, wake up! Jack's here! He's here to see you!"

She lolled her head over and opened her old and worn eyes, trying to focus on who was talking to her. "Who're you?" she asked groggily.

"I'm Erica!" she laughed. "Erica Hargrave, Mrs. Dunning! Richie's sister! Jack's here with me! He just stepped out for a few minutes! He'll be right back, OK? He's been with you all day!"

"Hargrave? Richard's sister? No! You can't be her! She's a little girl!"

Laughing through tears of joy and heartache, she nodded. "I'm all grown up now, Mrs. Dunning!"

"Grown up? Where... where am I? Where's Jack? I'm... I'm supposed to be getting ready. I... I'm taking him to the dance."

"He'll be here any minute, Mrs. Dunning! You... you look beautiful! He's going to have such a good time with you!"

Mary smiled. "I hope so! He... he's been hurt so bad! Poor Jack!" she laughed slightly. "Poor funny Jack! I hope he's not embarrassed by his... his old mom going with him!"

"He won't be, Mrs. Dunning! He's going to have so much fun! I... I have to admit, though. I'm pretty jealous of you! You see, I wanted Jack to take me to the dance!"

His mother looked at her hard. "You?" she asked incredulously. "That's right! You like my Jack."

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "No, Mrs. Dunning! I love your Jack! I always have! Ever since I was ten! I want to marry him!"

Mary's eyes cleared and Erica could see she'd subtly changed. "You're Erica Hargrave, all grown up." Becoming lucid and seeing Erica nod, she squinted. "You're still in love with my Jack? You want to marry him?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" she answered as she wiped another tear away. "I'd do anything to be Mrs. Jack Dunning! I've always loved him!"

"I know." Mary nodded. Waving Erica closer, she took the girl's hands in both of hers. "I've known you liked Jack a long time, dear. A woman can see it. I'm old dear. I think I might be going to see my Danny soon. Does... does Jack know you love him? He's never mentioned that he knew."

"I was afraid to tell him, Mrs. Dunning." Erica explained sadly. "I... because I was so much younger than he was, just a little girl, but now..."

"Now you're a woman, and you still love my Jack." she looked at her sternly. "You promise you'll take care of him? Stay with him always? Never hurt him? Never leave him?"

"I'd sooner die myself than live without him, Mrs. Dunning!" Erica sobbed.

"Good girl!" she cackled and patted her hand. "I knew you'd be good to him. He'll need all the love you can give! Dunning men can be that way! You'll see!" she laughed.

"I will, Mrs. Dunning!" she laughed along with her.

"And call me Mary or Mom! If you want to be my Jack's wife, we can be on a first name basis!"

"OK... Mom!" Erica laughed as Jack came running into the room.

"Mom! You're awake! Thank God!"

"Jack!" Mary growled. "Good! Get over here! Siddown, boy!" she barked.

Gulping, he slowed to a walk, crossed the room, sat next to his mother, and looked over at Erica. "Thank you! I don't know how you do it!"

"Do what?" Erica asked.

"My miracle girl! Something about your voice just helps!" he said with a half smile before they both started laughing together.

Seeing them laugh made Mary smile before her face turned serious. "Jack? I want to talk to you. Alone." She looked at Erica and the nurse. "If you two wouldn't mind?"

Erica practically had to drag the nurse from the room. "We'll be right outside if you need us." she promised.

Once the door was closed, Mary looked at Jack sternly. "That Hargrave girl. She loves you, Jack. Has for a very long time, you know. Do you love her?"

"Yeah, Mom! I do!" he nodded. "I asked her to marry me and she said yes!"

His mother smiled and clasped his hand in both of hers as her entire body seemed to relax with the release of decades of worry. "That's good! I told you that you just needed to look where you weren't expecting. I was thinking I'd never live to see you two get together. She promised me she'd take care of you, and I know she will. Love that lasts that long isn't going anywhere!" She looked sternly at him. "I didn't see a ring!"

Swallowing hard, Jack looked at the floor. "I... I couldn't afford one, Mom. I'll have one before we get married, though. I promise!"

Pulling at the ring surrounding the third finger of her left hand, when at last it came loose, she held it out to him in her wrinkled and barely functional fingers. "Here. Take this. Your father's ring is in the shoebox in my closet there. Take that, too. Sell 'em and get her a real pretty one!"

"Mom! I... I can't sell your and Dad's rings!" he almost cried.

Sighing, she sat back exhausted. "Then if she likes it, you can give it to her! Girl's got to have a ring or she won't feel properly engaged!" Beginning to feel drowsy, her mind started slipping back into the light that she'd drifted away from to come back here. "Jack? You know you're my gift, right? My precious gift from God? He blessed us, me and Danny, with you!"

Tears rolled down his cheeks. "Yes, Mom! I know! And I... I love you! When you see Dad, tell him... tell him I'm alive! I'm alive again! And I'll see to it Erica and I spend the rest of our days together alive, too!" Pausing a moment, something she'd said finally clicked. "Wait... Erica... you knew?"

"'Course I did!" Mary furrowed her brow. "I've got eyes, don't I? Every time I saw that girl I could see it, the way she watched you, hung on your every word. You'd have to be blind to have missed it!" Looking at him carefully, she grinned. "Didn't have a clue, did you baby?"

"Not one." he admitted bashfully.

Cackling, Mary looked at the ceiling. "Same as your father."

"Is it alright if she comes in again?"

"That's fine, dear." she said wearily. "I said what I needed."

Calling her back in, Erica came and stood next to Jack. "Mom?" she asked delicately.

Mary Dunning reached out a hand to her. When she felt the young, fresh fingers against hers, she guided Erica's hand to Jack's. "There!" she sighed contentedly, her words beginning to slur. "That's where it belongs! Where it's always belonged and always will! Don't you two ever forget it!"

"We won't, Mom!" Jack cried happily and sorrowfully, "Ever!" but she was already unconscious again, this time never to awake.

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

They buried Mary in the plot next to his father Danny there in Pittsburgh the following Saturday. It was just the two of them and Erica's father Frank there to say goodbye. They flew back the next day and Jack went to work on his big plan.

Jack told me about his plan for the weekend of March twenty-third, ninety-six. He'd thought of everything, but needed Heather and me to help pull it off. So we spent four weeks between Jack burying his mom and the weekend of the twenty-third plotting, scheming, and basically having a blast planning the surprise of a lifetime for both Erica and Richard. Rich almost caught us once. He walked into the shop while I had stuff out he shouldn't see, but he could be a bit oblivious at times. He never had a clue!

Rich once told me that he thought Jack didn't know how to plan ahead... that he seemed incapable of thinking more than five minutes into the future. He thought Jack was wasting his time and opportunities by not going to college on the government dime. We'd earned it, so why not take advantage? The truth is Jack did have a plan for what he wanted to do, he just had different priorities than Rich. He thought love and happiness, even in total poverty, were better than living in the lap of luxury...

...but Jack did know how to plan.

---

When Richard walked into Jack's room the Friday before he was scheduled for a week's leave, he looked at his friend with a puzzled expression. "You're up to something, Jack." he said accusingly as he leaned on Jack's locker.

He looked up at Richard as he changed into his Civies with his usual half-smile. "Yep. I am."

Surprised at his candor, Richard pushed off the locker. "You admit it? Come on, Jack! Tell me what's up! You've been acting weird for weeks! Weird for you, I mean, I know you lost Mary, and you seem to be alright with that, but you're definitely up to something! Usually you can't help but brag to me over and over about whatever it is you have scheming, but this last month you've been button-lips!"

Jack chuckled at Richard's choice of words, nearly having to actually bite his tongue trying to keep from turning it into a crude joke. "I ain't gonna tell ya', Rich! Might as well drop it!" He laced his shoes as he talked. "Hey, change of subject, I was thinking. What do you think about a road trip with the girls this weekend? Say run up to Reno and drop some cash?"

"I guess that could be fun." Richard shrugged, secretly glad of the suggestion as it meant he could keep an eye on Jack and Erica.

"Thanks, Rich! We still meeting the girls at Erica's place for dinner?"

"That's the plan." he replied, seeming to forget all about Jack's odd behavior. "I'll see you two out front at eighteen hundred, alright?"

Smiling, Jack nodded. "See you then!"

Just as Jack, Richard, and Brooke walked in the front door of Erica's apartment, they saw Heather and Erica sitting at her dining room table talking. Moving away from each other as the trio entered, Heather ran up to Richard and threw her arms around him, planting a quick kiss with a smile.

"Richard? Have I told you lately what a wonderful man you are?" she asked.

Suspicious, he nodded. "Whadda you want? Don't get me wrong, whatever it is, the answer's yes, but I'd kinda like to know!"

Heather wrapped her arms around his chest. "Jack called earlier and said we were headed up to Reno this weekend. Would you mind if we spent some time alone while we're there? Just the two of us? I was thinking maybe a romantic evening at one of the casinos? Dinner, dancing..." She looked in his eyes. "...a room for just the two of us?"

"Sounds great for us," he commented happily, "but what about Brooke, Jack, and Erica? What'll they do while we're off on our own?"

Brooke laughed as she walked by him, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about us! You two have a good time! We'll figure something out!"

Shrugging, Richard smiled back at her. "Alright! If everyone's agreeable!" He planned to take a moment alone with Brooke to ask her to keep an eye on Jack and his sister and make sure they didn't get too carried away with each other. He took comfort in the idea that Reno was the divorce capital of the U.S. and that Las Vegas was where people got quickie marriages.

Jack spoke up as he wrapped an arm around Erica. "That's OK, I was kinda thinking we could spend some time up at Tahoe. They have this cruise and dinner around the lake that's supposed to be really great!"

"I think I should drive up in my own car." Brooke added. "That way when we split up, no one's left without a car. Sound good?"

The five sat in the living room, talking about their weekend plans and other things, Richard noticing that Heather and Erica occasionally would give each other knowing glances, as if the two of them knew something the rest didn't.

They headed off the next morning, Richard driving Jack, Heather, and Erica up in his station wagon, and Brooke in her car, packed to overflowing, full of all the things that they needed in order to carry out Jack's greatest gag of all time.

Richard followed the four of them through the casino. They'd checked into their hotel at a little after two in the afternoon taking two rooms; one for Jack and himself, the other for the girls. That surprised him. Not that they'd split rooms that way, but that he didn't have to suggest it... Jack had. He knew that Jack was conscious of Richard's feelings when it came to him and his sister being alone together, so he chalked it up to Jack trying to make him more at ease. It was fine, so long as Richard didn't know what they were doing. If Jack hadn't suggested the arrangement though, he would have insisted on it.

Still, he couldn't shake the funny feeling that there was something amiss. The way Heather had been behaving had bordered on schizophrenic; secretive and quick to anger one moment, sweet and romantic the next. Erica was even more perplexing. She seemed to know something he didn't about their plans, but at the same time kept asking Jack what they were doing as though she were lost.

"Hey, Rich?" Jack asked as they stopped at the top of an escalator leading down to the gaming floor. "Erica wanted to take a walk down by the river, but Brooke wants to play the tables. You wanna come with, or stay?"

"I did?" Erica asked with a puzzled look. "Oh! That's right! I did!"

Her brother had little interest in walking more than they already had. It had seemed they'd done little else for two hours. "I think I'd like to stick around and sit for a while." He turned to Heather. "You wanna join them, honey?"

Clutching his arm, Heather smiled up at him. "Not a chance! Where thou goest! I don't trust some of the ladies here not to see you looking fine and sharp and try to pick you up!" Heather had asked Richard to wear his dress blues as they walked the casino floor, saying it made her proud to be seen with him. That prompted Erica to insist the same of Jack, which the younger Marine griped endlessly about the entire time that they were getting ready for the evening.

While Erica and Jack walked off on their own, Erica's arm in his, Richard took comfort in knowing that they couldn't do much in public, kissing at the worst. Following Brooke down the escalator, they walked past the fake mine shaft in the middle of the gaming floor and sat at a Blackjack table, enjoying the 'free' drinks as they slowly lost money. He didn't mind as it was fun, and Brooke seemed to be having a good time and won almost as much as he lost.

After a while, he noticed Heather checking her watch repeatedly. Eventually, she sighed and tugged on his arm. "Richard! Can't we go do something else now? I feel like we got dressed up for nothing!" A smile slowly crept across her face. "Let's go dancing at that place Jack talked about!"

"Fine by me." Richard shrugged. "Brooke's the only one winning. Well, her and the casino!" He dropped a twenty-five dollar chip in front of the dealer as he got off the stool. "Thanks!" he told the casino worker.

Walking away from the tables, he felt Brooke tap him on the shoulder. "We should go down to the river and find Jack and Erica. If we go without them, Jack'll get pretty steamed! After all, he's the one that suggested the place!"

He nodded, starting to get uncomfortable with how long they'd been gone, anyway. "Good idea. They shouldn't be too hard to spot, a Marine in dress blues with a girl in a white dress? They looked like salt and pepper shakers!"

Walking out onto the city's main street, they saw people coming and going. Richard kept his eyes open looking for Jack and wasn't really watching where they were going, just following Brooke while Heather held his arm.

Passing over the tiny river that cut the town down the middle, he looked up the sidewalk that ran alongside it, but still couldn't see Jack or his sister. They turned down the river walk, crossed the street, then turned down a side street, finally turning again to start coming back the way they'd come. By the time Richard noticed to look, he'd become completely lost.

"Hey, where are we, anyway?"

Brooke turned her head and pointed forward. "The main street is ahead, right by that little white house on the corner. See?"

Coming alongside the building, he heard Jack before he'd seen him. "Rich!" Looking around, he saw Jack peering from around the corner of the house.

"Jack! We've been looking all over for you! Where's Erica?" he asked as the three got closer to him.

"She's inside! I think she hurt her ankle or something! The people here let her sit down for a minute!"

Rushing ahead, Richard was worried about his sister. "Damn it, Jack! You were supposed to take care of her!" He turned the corner, ran up the short walkway, and up the few steps, not even looking at his surroundings as he stopped to knock on the door; Jack, Brooke, and Heather coming up behind.

An older man opened the door, smiling. "Come in!" he offered, stepping aside as he did.

Rushing into the house, Richard looked around. Instead of a living room, it seemed to be the front reception area of an office of some kind. Suddenly, he felt Jack behind him, pushing him forward and around the counter.

"This way!" he directed Richard. "Right down the hall and to the right!"

Confused, Richard walked into the room and saw Erica holding a bouquet and standing next to their father, Frank. Stunned, he stopped a moment until Jack pushed him the rest of the way into the room.

"Time's wasting, Rich! We're on the clock!" Jack said as he pushed Richard up to stand next to a podium.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Dad? What..." Suddenly it became clear to him, washing over him like a storm.

"Here. Hold these." Jack said, stuffing something in his hand. Richard looked down and opened his fingers numbly and saw two gold rings.

"Jack?"

Taking his place next to Richard as Brooke and Heather walked slowly to them, turning to the opposite side of the podium, Jack let a out a sigh and smiled toward Erica and her father. "You'll do fine, Rich! Just stand there and hand me those when the guy says to. Easy as pie!"

Richard looked around in a daze as the old man who'd let them in walked up to the podium carrying a bible. Setting it down, he opened it and nodded to Erica; Richard only just then noticing that she had added a beautiful floral ring veil to her dress, completing the look of a bride to perfection.

As Frank walked Erica up the aisle, the Wedding March playing softly in the background, he turned to his daughter and whispered, "You know, when I said I'd pay to send you to a school near him, I didn't think we'd be jumping to this so quickly! Are you sure, sweet pea?"

Nodding, Erica looked up the aisle at Jack, standing and waiting for her. "I always have been, Daddy! When it comes to Jack, I'm sure of everything!"

Coming up to stand next to Jack, Erica turned to her father and blushed as he partially lifted her veil and kissed her on the cheek before stepping back.

Richard was so dazed, he hardly noticed when Jack started nudging him a few minutes later when the man asked for the rings. "Huh? Oh." Wanting to refuse to give them over, drag Jack out of the building, and beat the tar out of him, Richard just sighed and accepted fate, handing them over.

"The couple have decided to write their own vows, so as you exchange rings, exchange vows." the officiant instructed.

Turning to Erica, Jack gave her his half grin. "I don't think I'll ever deserve the love you've given me over the years, Buttons. I intend to spend however many I've got left trying to be worthy of it, though!" Holding up the ring, he nearly cried. "Mom... Mom gave me this. It's been on her hand since the day she and Dad were married back in forty-five after the war. She wanted you to have it, and so do I." He slipped his mother's ring over her finger, fitting perfectly. "I love you, Erica. Now and forever!"

Trying to hold back her tears while she held Jack's father's ring, Erica took a ragged breath. "I have a confession to make, Jack! I've had a crush on you since I was ten!" she repeated to him, the words signifying their happiness together. "You make me laugh! You're the reason I smile! You've been my friend, and now I want you to always and forever be my love." She slipped the ring on his finger. "I love you, Jack! I always have!"

Nodding with a smile, the officiant stated, "If anyone can show cause why these two should not be wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Watching as everyone turned to him, almost daring him to say something, Richard shrugged. "What? Now? I'd lose a head I'm fond of! I'm good!"

Shaking his head, the minister took a breath. "Then by the power vested in me by God and the State of Nevada, I now pronounce you Man and Wife." He leaned forward slightly to finish with a smile. "You may kiss the bride!"

Jack turned and lifted her veil, laying it gently over the back of her head. Leaning down slightly, they tilted and kissed, simply and quickly.

When they all started exchanging hugs and congratulations, Richard found a moment and dragged his father aside. "Dad, I have to know. You're OK with this? I mean, I assume you are! You're here, you gave her away, but..."

Nodding, Frank clapped Richard on the shoulder. "Yes, son. I've known about your sister being in love with Jack for a long time. I figure if after this long she's still in love with him, then there's nothing more to say. You can't fight a woman's heart, boy. Remember that!"

Sighing, Richard nodded and turned to his best friend. "Jack, you son of a..." His words were interrupted as Jack hugged him tightly.

"Thanks, Rich! I know you could have said something, stopped the whole thing, but you didn't! I'll love you forever for that!"

Stepping back, he looked down at his new brother-in-law. "I meant what I said before, Jack. You know perfectly well that if I'd said one bloody word, Heather, Brooke, and Erica would have all thrown me into that creek they call a river here!"

Jack looked at him seriously. "For what it's worth Rich, I really do love her, and I'll be good to her. I meant what I said in my vows. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life trying to deserve how much she's always loved me."

Grabbing him in a hug, Richard sighed, "You damn well better, Jack!"

The two separating, Frank came over and took Jack's hand. "Congratulations, boy. Welcome to the club. Just remember the most important words in any marriage."

"I love you?" Jack guessed.

"Nope! It's 'Yes, dear.'" his father-in-law advised. "You'll see!"

When the six walked out of the building after paying the fees and signing the license, Richard and Heather signing as witnesses, Richard took a look at the outside of the building, wondering how he'd been fooled. "I could of sworn this was a house when we walked up!" he said as he looked at it.

"It used to be one!" Jack pointed out. "That's what made it so easy! Well, that and you're an all day sucker, Rich!" he added. "Gotcha!"

Richard tried to grab him, but Jack slipped loose and backed away; his cover falling to the pavement. Quickly grabbing it again, Jack ran in a large circle, keeping Richard at a good distance and laughing the entire time.

"Will you two children act your age!" Heather barked at them.

Leaning back, Jack howled like a coyote as Richard caught up to him, nearly tackling him.

Starting to walk back toward the casinos, Frank pulled his daughter aside. "I can't stay, sweetie. I've got a nine o'clock flight back to Pittsburgh, but I wanted to tell you something first."

"I'm sorry you have to go home so soon, Daddy. What is it?"

"Well, your mother and I are moving to Newport Beach, California in May. I retire in a month, and I'm sick of shoveling snow, dealing with rain half of the year, and never seeing the sun. We've sold the house and bought a place there, so we'll be closer when you want to visit."

"I notice Mother didn't come." she stated disappointedly. "Why not?"

Exhaling heavily, Frank started to walk with her behind the other four. "Jack invited her, that's one of the main reasons I'm here. He swallowed his pride and showed me what kind of a man he was. He offered to pay for both our tickets, round trip, too." Pulling out his pipe, he struck a match, puffing on it until it lit. "Your mother wouldn't accept it, sweet pea. Keeps insisting that if we cut off your tuition and threaten to disown you, you'll forget all about Jack. She even threatened to leave me just for coming to give you away, but I called her bluff."

"I think she's been trying to push Jack and I apart for a while, Daddy." she stated sadly as they started to cross the bridge over the tiny river. "When I first told her how I felt about Jack, the first thing she did was to try and push me toward someone else, anyone else! I got so sick of her trying to set me up on dates with boys that go to our church!"

Looking at the pavement as they walked up the street and toward the casinos, Frank grimaced while the other four ahead of them talked and laughed. "I... I need to tell you something else, sweetie. I don't know if it's a good idea to let Jack know this. I'll leave that to your judgement."

Swallowing hard, Erica knew that whatever he had to say was going to be bad. "OK, Daddy."

He let out a sigh. "See, your mother knew you had a crush on Jack longer than you think." he explained. "She told me after Jack invited us here to your wedding that she knew how you felt about him almost a year before she set him up with that Wendy girl."

She stopped on the sidewalk on the side of the bridge over the river. "Mom was always trying to get Jack away from me?" Suddenly her mother's erratic behavior regarding Jack all made sense. "But why, Daddy?"

"Your mother thinks Jack is a 'bad influence'." Frank huffed as he puffed on his pipe. "She wanted you to marry a rich boy who could take care of you, the way I took care of her. Jack grew up poor, so she thinks he'll always be poor. She just won't ever admit that love beats money. I'm sorry, sweet pea."

"Daddy? I know this sounds terrible, but..." Erica sighed and looked out onto the small river flowing under their feet. "Why don't you just leave Mother in Pittsburgh and marry some busty actress!"

"Can't." he replied. "Despite it all, I still love her. Besides, I didn't promise your mother I'd stay with her the rest of our lives, I promised God."

They started walking again, Erica seeing that the other four had stopped at the north side of the bridge. "I can understand that, Daddy."

His arm hugging her shoulder while he puffed his pipe, he nodded toward the group that waited for them. "You gonna tell him?"

"I don't think I can keep it from him." Erica sighed. "I love him so much I just can't! I spent so long hiding how I felt from him, I don't think I could hide anything from him ever again. I don't want to." She looked at him as they slowly walked together. "Do you understand?"

Frank nodded as his pipe went out again. "Yeah. I get it, sweetie."

"What's with the long faces?" Jack asked. "Second thoughts, Buttons?"

She laughed at the suggestion. "No, Jack! No second thoughts! No regrets, no going back!" She separated from her father and flowed into his arms. "Daddy can't stay. He's flying home in just over an hour."

"Yeah, I know." Jack nodded. "I bought him his ticket, even after he tried to insist on paying for it himself! You sure you can't stay, Frank? You're more than welcome! You can still get your ticket traded for a later flight."

He clapped his hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'd love to son, but I gotta get home. Lots to do! Your wife can fill you in on the details!"

"My wife!" his expression brightened. "God, I love the sound of that!" He kissed Erica on the forehead quickly and sweetly before extending his hand to her father. "Have a good flight then, Frank!"

Taking it, he gave a firm grip back. "Oh, and you can call me Dad, now! It's official! You're family!"

"Jack's been family for a long time, Daddy." Erica cooed.

"No. Good thing too, or else you two would be in serious trouble!" he replied jokingly. "So long, sweet pea!" He bent and kissed her cheek before hailing a cab to take him back to the airport.

After the five watched him depart, they turned toward the casinos once more, Richard suddenly remembering something. "Oh! We were supposed to be looking for you! Heather wanted to go dance!" he looked at the conspirators. "Or was all that just a part of the ambush?"

Smiling, Heather wrapped an arm through his. "A little of both, dear!"

Jack grinned as the three walked into the club, music playing loudly while video screens all over showed re-runs of 'American Bandstand'. Leading the way to the bar, he ordered drinks for all of them. "You're looking at a married man!" he told the bartender.

"Congratulations!" the man said as he poured, eyeing Richard and Heather. "Them too?"

Turning to look up at Richard, his girlfriend smiled. "We could if you want to, dear! Nothing stopping us!"

Sweating, Richard shook his head. "Oh, no! You're not getting off that easy, lady! You're getting a wedding in a proper church with a proper reception and the whole nine yards!"

"So what?" Jack interrupted angrily. "You think my wedding wasn't good enough?" He scowled at his oldest friend; all humor gone from his face.

Pushing between them, Brooke put a hand on the both of their chests. "Don't either of you even think about starting anything, or else I'll kick the shit out of both your asses! Stand down!" she ordered them. Turning to Richard, she poked him in the chest. "And don't you ever belittle Jack and Erica's wedding ever again!"

Seeing he was completely outnumbered, including Heather, he dropped his head. "Look, I didn't mean... I..." He looked up at his sister who was staring daggers at him. "Erica, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of your wedding! It was beautiful, really! It's just... it's not us is all. OK?"

Heather softened her ire some. "I'd be happy with any wedding, Richard!"

Moving closely to her so he could talk more privately, Richard lowered his voice. "I thought you wanted to wait until you graduated and I got out?"

"I still do, dear." she said softly and pulling herself close to him. "But I don't care how we do it!"

"I want to give you the wedding you always dreamed of!" He felt someone bump against him as they pushed past, trying to make their way into the club. Pulling her aside and out of the way of the entrance, he took her hands in his. "I love you. You know that, don't you?" he asked.

"Of course I do, Richard dear, and I love you. I think it's adorable of you that you want me to have a big wedding with all the ceremony! So if that's what you want, then that's what we'll do!" She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply, not caring who was watching or if it was proper.

When their kiss ended, they were greeted with a round of cheers and catcalls. Richard could only blush and nod his head in a slight bow.

"Here!" Jack said, almost shoving a drink in his hand. "Drink it, jarhead!" His face was still serious until a moment after he raised his own glass against Richard's, then slipped into his half-grin. "You are such an easy mark, Rich!" he gloated.

After Jack downed his drink in one gulp and started to laugh, it dawned on Richard that his best friend had gotten him yet again. "You are so gonna pay for that later, Jack!" he chuckled as he downed his own drink.

"Rich! How many times are you gonna fall for it!?" Jack laughed. "You are such an all-day sucker! See? This is yet another reason why you need me!" He took Richard's glass and slapped it back down on the bar for a refill.

"He's not the only one that needs you, Jack." Erica said, slipping her arms around his waist. Pulling him down into an even more passionate kiss than the one her brother and Heather had just shared, she didn't end it until both of them were gasping for breath.

They didn't notice the whoops and cheers for their kiss until it was over and Jack found himself taking his turn at bows, in his case more flamboyantly and in grandiose style, bowing deeply at the waist. "Thank you! Thank you! No! Please! You're too much! It was nothing! Thank you!"

Grabbing his arm to halt his bows, Richard pointed at Brooke, who'd snagged a table for them while they'd gotten drinks and applause. Making their way over to her, they all sat and enjoyed the music, slowing their drinking to a reasonable pace. In the middle of a funny story that Jack was telling, Richard stopped him. "Wait a minute! What about our rooms? We only have two and... well... I guess you two will want... um... your own now." He looked at Brooke sadly, noticing she was still the odd girl out.

Brooke shrugged. "Don't sweat it, Rich. Jack and Erica aren't staying in either one tonight. He already reserved a suite for them before we even got here! As for me, well now I get a room to myself! You two can have our room..." She indicated Heather and Richard. "...and I'll get yours!" Hearing a song come on that she liked, her eyes got wide. "Oh! Jack! Come on! You're with me!" She grabbed his hand and almost jerked him to the dance floor.

While Heather laughed at Jack and Brooke hamming up the place to 'Heart of Glass', Richard scooted over to his sister. "Erica, I just wanted... well... I wanted to say I'm happy for you, for both of you!" he shouted over the music. "I can tell you make each other happy, and I guess that matters a lot to me."

"Thanks, Richie!" she shouted back. "Same for you and Heather! She's a great girl!"

"She is. Sometimes I worry that she's too good for me, ya' know? Like I don't deserve her and one day she's gonna wake up and realize that she's dating down?"

"I'll be the judge of that!" Heather interrupted with a shout, leaning against him happily.

When Jack and Brooke returned to the table, he sat next to his new wife and exhaled heavily. "Woo! Brooke, I don't know where you get the energy! That about wore me out!"

Erica leaned against him happily and took his hand. "None of that! I need you healthy and rested for later!"

Finally leaving the club for their rooms after one in the morning, the five stumbled, staggered, and laughed the whole way there. When the elevator stopped at their floor, Jack and Erica didn't get out.

"Aren't you coming?" Richard mumbled.

"Not our floor!" Erica answered, while Jack pushed another button. Seeing her brother disappear between the closing doors, she waved. "Goodnight!"

Slowly Richard sobered to the thought that Jack and his sister were about to celebrate their wedding night. He sighed as Heather led him to their room with Brooke already ahead of them and grabbing her things to take them to the room he and Jack had shared that afternoon.

Walking in, Brooke tapped him on the shoulder. "Key, please?" Seeing him fumble for it, she grabbed his wallet and removed his room key, dropping the wallet in his hand once she had it. "Goodnight, you two!" she shouted.

Heather undressed him, Richard being too sauced to know how. Shaking her head, she tsked. "This will be the last time I do this, Richard! Promise?"

He nodded his head, the room spinning as he did. "Promise. I jus' wanted ta' celeb... celeb... ah, shit! I just didn't wanna think about Jack an' my sis doin'... stuff!"

"She's his wife now, Richard. You're just going to have to put it out of your head!" When she heard a snore emanate from her fiancé, she shook her head, finished undressing him, and tucked him into bed; staying up half the night to make sure he didn't vomit and choke in his sleep.

Walking slowly along the sidewalk next to the tiny river that ran through the middle of the city, giving it life, Brooke tried to settle her emotions. She'd gotten restless after moving her things to Jack and Richard's room, so she decided to take a walk. Leaning against the railing along the riverside, she sighed wistfully as the water ran by her; its soothing natural sounds helping to distract from the loneliness that threatened to overwhelm her.

Even as she tried to escape the feeling, she would see couples roaming along the walkway, each one a hot knife to her aching heart. "Shit!" she exclaimed to nobody. I know I should be happy for them, but... Her thoughts filled with self-loathing, she was angry with herself for her jealousy of the happiness that both Jack and Richard had found that continued to elude her.

"Damn it!" she swore. Stalking back to her hotel room, she passed a laughing group of teens going the opposite way, sure that they were far too young to be out so late, even for a Saturday. "Patience has its limits!" she grumbled absently. "I know I'll find her someday, but someday better get here pretty damn soon!"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

When Rich, Heather, and I drove back to the bay area in his car, mine stayed with Jack and Erica after we three had properly 'decorated' it. By then I was feeling a little better about things, but not much. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping the boys blissfully unaware, but not Heather. She knew I was upset, and why, without me saying a word.

That week was hell for me. Once word got around that Jack and Erica had gotten married, I had every single serviceman at that base 'dropping by' the shop to give their condolences on the breakup of our relationship, and not too casually expressing their interest at taking his fictional place in my bed. I managed to duck out of them all that week by saying how I was still kind of heartbroken over the whole thing and just wanted to take time away from dating anyone, but I knew they'd be back.

I never realized before that week just how much Jack had helped my time in the Corps be as enjoyable as it was. After he got married, it was a chore. Just work... and I had eighteen months left in my cruise.

When Jack finally returned the next weekend, I got to hear all the details of their Honeymoon. Romantic evenings, dinners at the lake, feeding ducks at some park, I wanted to puke it was so sweet! I'll admit it. I was bitter. Bitter, jealous, and angry with Jack for taking away my protective cloak. I think that's why he did what he did.

---

Signing his release papers, Jack then handed them back to his commanding officer. Sighing, he dropped the pen on the desk. Without another word, he saluted and left, knowing that today would be his last day of active duty. He had enough Leave saved up that he would be taking the rest of his cruise on Leave starting the next day and ending on the anniversary of his joining up. Smiling as he returned to start packing up his things, most of them already at the apartment he and Erica shared, he knew that his entire life was about to change.

"Jack!" Richard called out to him, running down the hall to catch up. "All out?"

He nodded silently. After walking a bit, he looked at his friend. "You?"

"Signed off, but I have three weeks left before I can take Terminal Leave." he replied. "So what're your plans now?"

Jack stopped in the hall and leaned against the cold bricks shrugging. "Well, Erica still has a year left on her degree. I'm thinking of getting a job around locally so I can keep things moving toward us buying that place when she's done. Dad's still paying her tuition and housing for her, so we don't need to worry about that. Makes me feel guilty, though."

"Don't sweat Dad's help, Jack." Richard advised. "Soon you'll be missing it! Badly!"

Starting down the hall once more, this time Jack was slow and methodical. "Well, I had a thought about what to do after she's done with school. With Mom gone and your folks living in SoCal, there really isn't any reason to go back to P-A. No one there to want to go back to. So I was thinking, maybe Erica and I'll move down south so she can be close to your folks."

Stopping in his tracks, Richard grabbed Jack's arm. "Jack, you're willing to live that close to Mother? Not afraid she's gonna poison you or anything?"

"Nah!" Jack shook his head. "I just won't ever eat her cooking! She's got to get used to me being her son-in-law eventually, right? Right? Rich!?"

Laughing, Richard shook his head. "I dunno, Jack! I wouldn't be surprised if you bring your wife over for dinner at their house one night and find that Mom happened to invite some single guy friend over, someone she thinks Erica might like better than you!"

"I got no worries about that, Rich! Buttons would sooner gnaw off her own arm than leave me! Poor girl! She's a hopeless case, Rich!"

He patted Jack's shoulder. "I don't get it. I don't think I ever will, but you're right! She's totally gone for you!" After a moment, he gently grabbed Jack's shoulder to pull him to a stop again. "Um... you talked to Brooke?"

"Brooke!" Jack sighed. "See, I don't get it! She was all happy to help me with the wedding and almost giddy at tricking you into being my Best Man, but then as soon as I got back... Bam! It's like a freezer got left open anytime she sees me! I can feel the temperature drop twenty degrees!"

"You know she's getting hit on like thirty times a day?" Richard pointed out.

"No! How could I know! She hardly speaks to me!" Jack lightly punched the wall. "What does she expect? She want me to get a divorce just to keep the guys off her back?"

"Just cut her some slack, Jack! She's having a hard time adjusting to things! She got used to you keeping the field clear and now it's like every guy here is trying to make up for lost time! Swabbies included!"

"Ouch!" Jack winced. "Oh, that's gotta hurt! Well what can I do? Put out the word that she's frigid or something? Bad in bed?"

"Have Erica invite her over for dinner more often! At least if you keep her social calendar full, she'll have handy excuses for turning them down!"

"Great! Just what I want! Brooke crashing my romantic dinners at home just when I get time to be there myself? No, Brooke's just gonna have to man-up and turn them away on her own. If she's pissed off at me for marrying Erica, then... well... then she's on her own! See ya, Rich!" At that, Jack took off down the hall, intending to make the rest of his final day at The Barracks less uncomfortable.

Watching his friend leave, Richard sighed. "Damn it, Jack!"

Erica lit the second candle at the dining room table, shaking the match out before turning the lights down low. Any minute Jack would be home to stay, and she intended to make the most of their first of many evenings to come. Checking her makeup once more, she smoothed her hair away from her face, smiling at her reflection. With a gratified sigh, she waited.

Hauling the seabag out of the cab, Jack pulled it over his shoulder, vaulting up the steps by twos towards their apartment. Opening the door, he noticed the dark lighting immediately, despite the late afternoon sun. The smell of pasta and bread wafted out the door as he entered; his seabag dropping off his shoulder as he saw her standing next to the couch.

"Welcome home, Jack!" she purred.

Not even bothering to close the door, he rushed up to her and lifted her in the air, making her shriek with laughter. "I'm free!" he shouted, spinning her around. Putting her down gently, he kept his arms around her. "How was school, little girl?"

Laughing, Erica relaxed into his embrace. "Boring! This makes up for it!"

Returning to and closing the door after picking up his bag, he carried it off to their room, dropping it unceremoniously in their cluttered closet. "Dinner smells wonderful!" he complimented her. "How do you find the time?"

"I made the time!" she replied from the kitchen. "Go wash up!"

"Yes, dear." he surrendered. "Want me to change to a suit and tie?"

"No, just wash your hands!" Erica laughed. "And shave, you Neanderthal!"

"Ug! Me scrape face! Then club head!" he grunted, drawing another fit of laughter from his wife.

Coming out freshly shaven and clean, he leaned against the wall next to the kitchen, his smile at watching Erica stir spaghetti almost made her laugh for that alone. Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. "Anything I can help with?"

"Just go sit and I'll bring it out. You can help later with the dishes! I cooked, you're cleaning up!"

"Deal!" he agreed, poking her sides with his fingers and making her jump.

"Ah! Jack! No!" she laughed.

While they sat and ate silently, the two kept looking at each other smiling, sometimes breaking out into giddy laughter at nothing but the other's smile. Once Jack finished his plate, he sat back and held his stomach. "Now that I'm Outside, I'm gonna need to watch that. You keep stuffing me like this, and I'm gonna bloat up like Principal Ford!"

"I'll make sure you get plenty of physical activity to keep you in top fighting shape!" she joked seductively. "You can start with the dishes!"

"Ah! The bliss of married life! You're bossing me around already! I love it!" Getting up, he made his way to the kitchen, kissing her cheek on the way.

"So did you see Richie before you left today?" Erica asked as she gathered their dishes and brought them into the kitchen.

"Yep. Just a quick word in the hallway, though. Got too busy after that." Jack started running hot water over the pans.

"How about Brooke? I haven't heard from her in weeks! How's she doing?" She leaned against the refrigerator to listen.

"Um... well, Brooke's been a little... distant... lately. Downright frosty, to be honest." He talked as he washed. "Apparently, since I'm not available to run interference for her anymore, she has like half the base beating a path to her rack. Poor kid! Still, she acts like it's my fault."

Twisting her fingers in knots, Erica looked down. "I... I feel for her. It's sort of my fault that you're not around to keep the guys away. If I didn't..."

Jack stopped washing and hugged her. "No, Buttons! This is not your fault! It's just... just the way it is." Stroking her hair and comforting her, he decided that it would be a good time to tell her about his idea. "I was thinking, after you graduate next spring, what would you think about moving south to be close to your folks? I mean, I just want you to be happy, and I know being able to be near Dad would help."

"Oh, Jack!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep and loving kiss. "That sounds wonderful!" She stopped and her smile vanished. "But we have another year until then. What'll you do in the mean time?"

"Well, I... I saved a lot of money from the sale of my mom's house. Between my pay and that, Mom's care and funeral only used about half of it, so I have a bit left. If I get a temp job around here I can add to it, so by the time we're ready to move south we can afford a pretty decent house. So long as Dad keeps paying your apartment rent now that we're married, that is. Otherwise, I'll have to make enough to cover expenses and the money we have saved will have to do for a down payment. Either way, I should get some kind of job around here."

"What were you thinking of doing?" she asked.

He returned to washing dishes as he answered. "Well, I know a lot about the dry-cleaning business from my old man. I figure I could get my foot in the door to start, then work up to management pretty quick. Good enough for temp work anyway. Once we get to SoCal, I'm thinking about opening my own place. 'Jack's Jiffy Dry-Clean'! How's that sound?"

"Corny!" she laughed. "Still, I think you could do anything sometimes! If that's what makes you happy, then I'm right there with you!"

He finished scrubbing dishes and loaded them in the dishwasher. "Sometimes I feel like that, too! Usually after you tell me!" He added the soap and started the appliance. Turning to dry his hands on a dishtowel, he wrapped his arms around his wife. "So any other plans for the evening?"

She looked up at him coyly. "I just might have one or two!"

Three weeks later, Richard joined Jack in leaving the service, using the last of his Leave time to get out early. Carrying a box of Richard's clothes out the door to the old station wagon, Jack met Brooke coming in. The two looked at each other, almost daring the other to say something. When Brooke slowly looked away and cleared the doorway, Jack sighed and carried his load out without a word.

"You two ever gonna work this out?" Richard asked idly as he taped another box shut.

She shrugged as she looked for the next thing to take out. "Nothing to say, really."

"Oh? How come you keep staring daggers at him every time he so much as breathes in your presence, then?"

Brooke paced the room, her task forgotten. "You just don't get it, Rich! OK, so he fell in love and got married! Where does that leave me? I can't even use the head without three grunts and a squid asking me out!" She moved over close to him so she could lower her voice. "I can't even think about going on a date! If I got caught, I don't have Jack around to cover for me!"

"That's not Jack's fault, Brooke. You know that." Richard pointed out. "I don't see why you're pissed at him for it."

"It's because... Rrrg! You just don't get it, do you!" she growled. "I know, I've had it easy the last five years. No one bugging me for a date because I was Jack's girl. Now it's ten times worse than the other W-Ms get though, 'cause all the guys know I'm 'straight', available, supposedly willing to date grunts, and some of them have years of pent up desire to act on it! I'm scared one of these thugs is gonna drag my ass in a closet and rape me 'cause I dated Jack and won't date them, Rich! What am I supposed to do!? I... I don't think I can finish my cruise like this! It would have been better if Genius Jack had never helped me in the first place!"

"Sorry to have been so much trouble." Jack snidely remarked as he came in for another box. "OK, Brooke. What do you want me to do? Divorce Erica so I can go back to 'dating' you for the next sixteen months? Huh? Tell me how to fix it! What do you want from me?"

Brooke stared at Jack as though she could burn him with her eyes. "Nothing, Jack! You've done enough! Why don't you run back home to your little girl and play House some more!"

"Hey!" Richard barked. "So you're pissed at my sister, too?"

She nearly cried in frustration. "Rrrg! You two are impossible!" She started for the doorway that Jack still stood in. "Make a hole, maggot!"

"Gladly!" Jack snapped as he stepped back out into the hallway. As Brooke stormed away, he saw Corporal Rogers intercept her in the hall.

"Brooke! Hey look, I was thinking, since you're available and all, if you'd like to..."

She turned on him with fire in her eyes, her voice a low growl so it wouldn't carry. "Let me break this down Bert and Ernie-style, shit-brick! Finish that sentence and they'll be collecting shards of your nuts from the floor for the next month! I'm no fucking Barracks Bunny! And even if I was, I'd sooner stand naked in the middle of Mess Hall at noon than go out with a broke-dick maggot like you! Do I make myself clear!?"

He escaped down the hall away from her and towards Jack as she went the other way. "I can see why you dumped her, Dunning! What a bit..."

Lunging, Jack pinned him to the opposite wall with his forearm against his throat, interrupting his insult. "Don't even say it Rogers, or I'll do to you what she threatened!" He leaned in and lowered his voice to a low growl. "Spread the word! Leave! Her! Alone!" Pausing he added, "She's still not available, get me?" As Corporal Rogers tried to struggle away, Jack leaned harder, threatening to break the other Marine's neck.

Richard pulled Jack off the hapless Marine. "Back off! You're on Terminal Leave, so don't screw it up!" Turning to Jack's victim, he hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "Beat it, Rogers!" Looking back to Jack, he ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled heavily. "And you, ya' double-digit midget! Help me get this stuff out of here, will ya'?"

Calming himself from his rage, Jack nodded. "Alright, Rich. I'll behave."

Between the two of them, they managed to pack out Richard's things by the end of the day. Getting ready to leave for the last time, Richard saw Brooke approaching. Nodding to her, he got Jack's attention. "We have company."

Brooke walked up to her two best friends almost shyly. "Listen, I wanted to say..." She paused and stopped next to the rear hatch of the old car, looking at the two men who had been her best friends, but were about to get in and never return. "Shit!"

"Really?" Jack said with surprise. "That's your parting words for us?"

"Jack! You..." Brooke fumed before she couldn't help herself and began to laugh along with the two others. "I hate you!" she said jokingly.

Straightening up, having doubled over laughing at Brooke's reaction, Jack shook his head. "Brooke! You know you love me! Come here!" She walked over and they hugged, their laughter fading. "Just so you know, I straightened out Rogers and told him to spread the word that you're still off limits."

Brooke pulled back and looked at him with an astonished expression. "Jack! Won't that make people think..."

"Who gives a shit what these jarheads think!" he interrupted. "They wanna think we're having an affair? Let 'em! It's harmless and will keep you outta their scopes. What? You afraid you'll get hit with Article one-thirty-four? I'm out, and Erica isn't going to lodge a complaint!"

"Jack, if that gets back to Dad," Richard pointed out, "he'll kill you where you stand, on rumor alone!"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take, and I know Buttons will back me up on this!"

Erica stared at him. "You did what?"

"Look, I didn't actually say anything, honey!" Jack defended his actions. "I just implied it! It'll keep the guys off her back until she's out!"

She paced the living room floor almost yelling at him. "Jack! I don't want anyone thinking things like that about you! Why didn't you talk to me about it first?"

"Is that it?" he accused. "Or is it you'll be embarrassed if people think that your husband..."

"Jack!" she screamed at him. "I don't care what people think of me! I... I just couldn't stand it if someone like Daddy were to think... think so badly of you! It would make Mother look like she was right and break my heart!"

Looking at his wife, he saw the tears streaming down her face, melting his defenses. "Oh God, Erica! I... I'm sorry!" He closed to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Honestly, I didn't plan it. It... it just popped out of my mouth! I couldn't let that idiot badmouth her, and when I saw that my defending her could be taken to mean... well... I added just enough to put the idea in his head. I... I'm sorry, but I wouldn't take it back, even if I could. Brooke is one of my best friends. I just... I couldn't sit by and do nothing while she went through hell!"

Erica held him tightly, terrified. "I guess there's nothing to be done about it now. I'm just scared that your solution to Brooke's problem will backfire on us, somehow! I... I really hope it turns out for the best!"

The following Saturday Jack was out job hunting when Erica heard a knock at the door. Looking through the peephole, she opened up with a worried expression. "Brooke? Is everything alright?"

Her husband's best friend couldn't look at her. "Um... can I talk to Jack?"

She opened the door for her. "Come on in." The Marine walked into their living room as Erica explained. "Jack's not here, but you can stay until he gets back." She closed the door and watched Brooke start toward it again.

"No, I... I think I should go and try to talk to him later. I..."

"Brooke! It's alright! Please? How about a nice cup of coffee?" Erica smiled, trying to ease her discomfort.

Forcing a smile, she still couldn't look at Erica. "I... I suppose that would be alright." While Erica warmed up their drinks in the microwave, Brooke took a seat at their table. "Maybe I should just go until Jack gets back."

"Really, Brooke! It's fine! Whatever it is, I..." she said as she sat down at the table with her. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around us."

Brooke sighed. "It's just... well... Jack's been really easy to talk to about some things over the years, and I... I was hoping he could help me with... well... with a problem."

Hearing the microwave, Erica got back up to retrieve their drinks. "Well, you could talk to me. I know I'm not Jack, you and he have a lot more in common, but I'd like to think I know Jack pretty well. Maybe I can help!" She sat a warm cup of coffee in front of her guest and returned to the seat next to her. "Try me!"

Staring at the cup in front of her, Brooke shook her head and laughed lightly. "It's stupid, really! I... I'm just used to Jack being around to help me. Guess I'm gonna have to find a new normal." She looked at Erica and smiled. "I really am happy for you two, but also just a tiny bit jealous!"

"A tiny bit?" Erica retorted. "You look like I've felt for the last six years!"

"How's that?"

"Pining!" Erica replied empathetically. "Is there... um... someone special?"

Brooke pushed her cup around in a circle with the handle. "No, and... well... that's the jealous part! I see you and Jack, Rich and Heather, and... ugh! It just makes me think I'm never..."

"Hold it!" Erica interrupted. "Just stop right there! I know there's someone out there for you, Brooke! You just haven't found her yet!" She took another drink before asking, "I mean, how long has it been since you even went on a date?"

Rolling her eyes, Brooke chuckled uneasily. "Too long! Not since last year! Um... November. God! What a disaster that turned out to be! But, it's... it's harder now that I can't fake-double with Jack."

"Can't Richie help?"

Brooke stuck her tongue out. "Blech! Sorry, I love your brother, but doubling with he and Heather is like swimming in a syrup vat! They're so damn cute and into each other it's like they aren't even there with you sometimes! Even when they are, it makes any date I have uncomfortable. It's so obvious they're gonna spend the rest of their lives together, it makes them start thinking the same thing about me! That's dangerous territory!"

"Don't you want a long term relationship?"

"Of course!" Brooke said defensively. "But it's kind of a turn-off for a first date! Besides, you start talking long-term commitments with a lesbian and you might get them showing up the next day at your house with a U-Haul!"

The two laughed together for a bit before Erica asked, "So, what was it you wanted to talk to Jack about?"

Smiling embarrassedly, Brooke looked into her cup. "Um... well, I was kinda hoping he would... um... take me out? Running as my wingman? That way if I bump into anyone from the base I can just say I was out with him and not raise any ticklish questions."

Pondering Brooke's situation, and wanting to get closer to the woman that helped her get Jack, Erica shrugged. "Well, I suppose it would be alright with me, but what would you think about going out with the both of us? I swear, I wouldn't be too much of a drag!"

"I don't think that would work." Brooke said shaking her head. "I mean, if I was out with the both of you..." She stopped and reconsidered her objections. "Actually, come to think of it, I don't see why it couldn't work!" She looked up at Erica, concerned that she didn't trust her with Jack alone. "I hope you know that there's never been anything between Jack and me, and there never could be! I love Jack, but like a brother! You have nothing to worry about!" She was surprised when Erica began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

Unable to help herself, she tried to calm down and explain. "Oh, Brooke! It's just... I tried to see you and Jack being romantic in any way and... Oh God, no! It was almost comical! Honestly, I have no idea how you've pulled off being a couple for so long!"

They were still laughing together when Jack came in the front door. "Well this doesn't bode well! You two? Laughing and conspiring while I'm out there slaving to get a job?" He looked at Brooke. "You're not trying to take my Buttons to the dark side are you?"

Erica rose and hugged him, still laughing. "No, love! Just you and I taking her out tonight for some fun and looking for a date! Nothing to worry about!"

"So what? You need two wingmen again?" Jack half smiled as he sat down at the table. "Now that Rich is living up the whole 'unwed couple' bit, you need to horn in on my Saturday nights?"

"Hey! I was just gonna ask you to fly CAS for me like you used to, but she insisted!" Brooke said defensively.

Coming up behind him, Erica wrapped her arms around his chest. "Don't worry, love! It'll be fun!"

Ordering three more drinks at the bar, Jack stood and waited uncomfortably. The bartender gave him a dirty look as he took the drinks and dropped a ten on the counter. "Keep the rest for the wonderful service." he quipped. Taking their drinks back to their table, he rejoined Brooke and his wife. "Ya' know, I get the distinct impression that the bartender might have spit in my drink."

Shaking her head, Erica took a sip. "She's just jealous that you're with us!"

Sitting back in her chair, Brooke stirred her drink absently. "I'm starting to think going out with you is part of my problem, Jack! Heck, Erica's gotten hit on more times than I have tonight! Maybe I'd do better if she and I left you at home!"

Blushing, his wife shook her head again. "I think that last girl really wanted to ask you to dance, but she chickened out at the last second and asked 'the ugly friend' instead!"

"You take that back!" Jack almost barked. "No bad-mouthing my Buttons!" He took another drink before leaning over to Brooke. "Hey. End of the bar. The tall blonde with the cropped hair? I think she was just eyeing you."

Glancing over at where Jack had indicated, she shook her head subtly. "No, and if she was it was to shoot me a dirty look. I'm not her type. She's the type that thinks that you're not a real lesbian unless you look like a man."

"How can you possibly know that from here?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"The same way you can tell when..." She paused and looked at the couple sitting with her. "Oh, wait. I forgot who I was talking to. Mister Oblivious who couldn't figure out that his wife was in love with him for over a decade! Never mind. You wouldn't understand. Suffice it to say I can just tell!"

Link: Every Day Is Your Last Title Page and Description

--

That established the pattern. Jack and Erica would go out with me when I had Liberty and I'd trawl for Ms. Right. Never really got anywhere, but the three of us sure had fun trying! We got together with Rich and Heather a few times for dinner, but it was becoming clear that the guys started getting too busy with their own things to spend any real time together.

Jack got a job managing a dry-cleaners in Palo Alto, meanwhile Rich was busy finishing his degree. With Heather and Rich graduating shortly after he and Jack were officially shifted to the Reserves, a full year ahead of Erica's graduation and sixteen months before the end of my cruise, we all knew it meant big changes were coming in our lives. Rich had talked about taking an office job somewhere in LA so he could be close to Jack, Erica, and his parents, but he never got into any details. I guess he was just stalling.

I remember the last dinner we had all together that summer. It was at Heather and Rich's apartment because it was bigger. I'm pretty sure Jack knew what was coming, but it didn't make it any easier to take.

---

Richard was hiding in the kitchen cooking when Heather came in to check on him. "Everything alright, Richard dear?" she asked.

"Sure! The roast is almost done!" he answered with a false smile. "We can sit down soon."

"Richard." Heather intoned knowingly. "You have been in here for over an hour. Are you avoiding Jack?"

He sighed, letting his head hang. "Yeah, kinda. I... I just didn't want to ruin dinner is all. I know Jack's going to take it hard."

"You're going to have to tell him sooner or later, and we're running out of time, Richard!" she told him. Taking his hands in hers, she smiled at him. "It's what we both want and Jack loves you! You'll see! He'll be fine!"

"I've been watching Jack's back so long it's hard to stop." Richard laughed. "I guess he was always right. I do need him!"

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him gently. "I know, dear. I know you do."

They came out into the living room several minutes later, Richard carrying the roast. "Chow time!" he called to the three.

Jack intercepted him before he even made it to the table. "Good! I was about to start gnawing on your table leg, Rich!"

"Hands off!" Richard shouted as he tried to hold the tray out of Jack's reach. "What? You can't wait until we sit down?"

"I might faint!" Jack rolled his eyes and staggered back. "Food!" he dragged out the word like a starving man.

While the girls laughed at his antics, Richard shook his head and put down the roast. Once they'd all started eating, the conversation trailed off.

Jack couldn't help but notice that Richard was continually looking at Heather expectantly, as though waiting for her to say something. "OK. Rich, you're about a subtle as a brick to the side of the head. What's going on?"

Putting his fork down, Richard sighed and looked at his oldest friend. "Well, we were going to wait until after dinner to tell you three, but I guess there's no use putting it off." He looked over at Heather who nodded and smiled at him encouragingly. Looking to the others, he let it out in one breath. "I've been offered a job, but it's not in LA. It's in Concord... New Hampshire."

Silence cut through the room as Erica lightly gasped. Finally, Jack smiled at him. "Congratulations, Rich. I uh... I assume you accepted it. Otherwise we're all in shock for nothing and this was a pretty terrible joke!"

"I did." he replied seriously. "It... uh... I start next week. Heather and I'll be moving to a place in Concord by the end of this week. We'll be looking to buy a place pretty soon, though." He resumed eating as he finished talking.

"What about LA?" Erica almost cried. "I... I thought you were going to..." Her voice faltered as she worked on keeping her tears from spilling out.

"I have some news, too!" Heather offered cheerily. "I got a position interning as a psychotherapist with a medical group not far from Richard's new job!" She looked across the table at Richard's stricken sister. "It... it really is a good opportunity, for us both. We were worried that we might end up with jobs that split us up."

"Well, we can't let that happen!" Jack broke the somber mood. "After all the work I put in getting you two together? So when's the wedding?"

"Jack!" Erica laughed as she wiped a tear away, the other three chuckling and giggling as well. "You goofball! It is a good question, though. I can assume you're going to have one eventually, right Richie?"

"Well, we were planning on getting settled in first and then plan a big thing for the fall, say around Thanksgiving? That way Brooke can build up a long enough Leave." He looked over at the only person yet to comment.

Brooke set her glass of wine down, trying to steady her nerves. "That's nice of you two, but you shouldn't have to wait on account of me."

"But we have to, Brooke!" Heather explained. "I can't get married without my Maid of Honor!"

"Who? Me?" Brooke looked at her in shock.

"Well, it's your turn!" Erica commented. "Then it'll be my turn when you get married!"

"Yeah, right!" Brooke laughed. "Figure some way to pull that off!"

Taking a drink before answering, Erica looked at her seriously. "Well, even if you can't make it legal, you can still have a wedding ceremony, right? We'll do it, even if I have to get Jack ordained!"

"Woah!" Jack nearly choked as he heard his wife. "You want me to do what now? Try it and I don't think anyone would be able to stop laughing long enough to say 'I do'!"

Finishing dinner as they talked, Richard could see that Jack was putting up a front. It was painful to see his best and oldest friend hurting as bad as he was, but in the end it was inevitable. They had both known for some time that life would push them in different directions, but now that it was here, Richard couldn't help but feel like he was abandoning Jack, and Erica.

"So, we'll keep in touch and set up the plans for the wedding while you two get settled in." Jack went over everything. "Then in November when Brooke arranges her Leave, we'll be all set for the wedding on November thirtieth. That's the date, right?"

"Yup." Richard responded with a nod. "If it works for you, honey." he asked, turning to Heather.

"I don't care when or how, Richard! So long as we get there!" she said gaily, a smile covering her face that shone through the undertone of sadness that permeated their occasion.

Erica and Jack rose together. "We should be getting back to our place."

"And I have a long drive ahead." Brooke pointed out, grabbing her jacket and looking over at Jack. "See you guys on Saturday like usual?"

He nodded absently. "Yeah, sure." Turning to Richard he asked, "So, when do you two fly out?"

"Friday morning." he answered, one arm around Heather.

"So soon?" Erica asked disappointedly.

Her brother nodded glumly. "Our flight leaves at nine. The movers will have everything out by end of day Thursday though, only day they were available, so we're planning on staying in a hotel near the airport Thursday night." He laughed a little. "We'll have to call a cab to get there! The guy who bought my old wagon will be picking that up Thursday, too!"

"You sold The Beast?" Jack said in shock. "I wish I'd have known! I would have taken it off your hands!"

"Yeah, but the guy buying it paid me money for it!" Richard needled him.

"What? You think I don't have anything?" he replied with mock hurt. "I'll have you know I've got forty grand saved for the house Erica and I are buying in Newport Beach!"

"You'll need every penny of it!" Richard replied.

Erica shook her head. "No way you two are going to take a cab and sleep in a hotel on your last night in town! Don't think you're getting out of it, either! You two are staying at our place Thursday night and we're driving you to the airport on Friday!"

"Oh, Erica!" Heather intoned as she shook her head. "We can't put you out like that! Besides, don't you two have work and classes Friday?"

"I can get the first few hours off." Jack answered as he looked at Erica.

"And I haven't missed any classes this semester. I think I deserve one day of hooky! I just couldn't imagine not being there to see you two off!"

"Well, I can't be there!" Brooke shook her head. "Unless I come up with the most fabulous excuse in the history of excuses, I'll be in the shop all day!" Pushing past Jack and Erica, she gave Heather a hug. "I'm gonna miss you two! You take care of Rich for us, girl!"

Returning the hug, Heather nodded and choked back a tear. "I will, Brooke dear!" With a mirthful tone, she added, "I'm looking forward to seeing you this fall!"

The Marine slowly stood back and looked at Heather in shock. "Oh, God! You're gonna make me wear... a dress! Aren't you!?"

Nodding, Heather smiled wickedly. "Why of course! It goes with the job description, dear!"

Seeing Brooke turn to her pleadingly, Erica shook her head slowly. "Not a chance! You're up!"

Jack half-smiled when Brooke looked toward him, desperate for an escape. "Don't look at me, Brooke! I'd look terrible in a dress!"

"How do you know? Weirdo!" she retorted. "I bet you have nicer legs than I do!"

Getting a laugh and trying to change the subject, hoping to talk Heather out of it sometime before November, she turned and hugged Richard in a tight bear hug. "You take care too, jarhead! Stay clean!" As she pulled back, she flung her jacket over her shoulder and waved at the four as she headed for the stairs. "Catch you all later!"

"We do really need to get going." Erica apologized. Wrapping her brother in a warm embrace, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "We'll see you on Thursday, alright?"

Giving Heather a friendly one-arm hug, Jack smiled at her wryly. "See if I ever trust you again! First you toss me over for this chump, then you drag him two thousand miles away! I guess I can see why. Guess you need that distance to not run back to me! What is this power I have over the ladies?"

"It's called BO!" Richard replied to his rhetorical question. "New Hampshire might be far enough that we won't smell you!" Grabbing his best friend in a firm hug, he slapped Jack's back. "We'll see you Thursday."

Pulling back and surreptitiously wiping his eyes, Jack nodded and looked away. "If you're lucky!" As he and Erica made their way to the stairwell, he managed to maintain his half-grin until their door closed.

Thursday evening, Jack opened the front door to his and Erica's apartment after picking up Richard and Heather at their vacated apartment. "Entrez-vous!" he shouted, carrying in Richard's suitcase. "We just cleaned up the place, so the whips and leather harnesses are tucked away! Make yourselves at home! Well, for tonight anyway, you traitors!"

"Traitors!?" Richard declared as he put his carry-on bag down by the door. "Why? Just because we worked hard and found jobs? You make it sound like we're skipping the country!"

"You might as well be!" Jack shot back as he turned on the living room light. "New Hampshire! What's in New Hampshire, anyway? Snow? Didn't you get enough of that stuff back in Pittsburgh, Rich?"

"Well, for starters there's my family home!" Heather noted as she came in following Erica. "It really is a fine place. You'll see it when you come out for the wedding!"

"Wait a minute!" Jack said stopping to turn back. "You have a house there? Why in the heck are you getting an apartment then? What, do you need a summer home and winter home? What're you, birds?"

"No!" Heather laughed. "The house is in central New Hampshire! We'll be working in Concord, twenty miles away. I was thinking of just selling it, but until Richard and I have a place of our own, I don't have anywhere to put the family heirlooms, so we'll just hang on to it until we do."

"Oh!" Jack sniffed as he raised his voice an octave. "The family heirlooms? My, what was I thinking!" Dropping his tone back to normal, he scoffed and waved her off dismissively. "Bah! Twenty miles! You think twenty miles is to too far to drive to work to save on renting an apartment? Just how good do these jobs pay? Might think of charging you a night's rent!"

"Don't even joke about it!" Erica chided him. "My brother is welcome in my home, free of charge, anytime!"

"Great!" Jack sighed. "He's got brother-in-law Roger privileges!" he joked, referencing a running gag from the Burns and Allen TV show. "Just don't be coming over all the time to raid the fridge and gank my stuff, Rich!"

"I'll try not to make it a habit, Jack! The airfare puts a damper on the profit margin, anyway!" He carried his and Heather's suitcases into the spare room. "I've been meaning to ask, sis. Why'd you rent a two bed apartment when you moved out here?"

"I used to have a roommate." she answered. "A girl that went to school with me. She flaked on me after two months. Never even came back for her share of the deposit! I guess it's fair. I never got her last month's share of rent!"

Coming back out, he leaned on the wall by the bedroom door. "So Dad has been footing the whole bill ever since? Our father?"

Erica smiled as she headed to the kitchen. "Well, at least he loves one of us!"

"Ooh! Ouch!" he laughed as he and Heather moved to the sofa. "So Jack, you're living off my old man now?"

"He wouldn't take 'I suppose we shouldn't' for an answer!" Jack answered as he followed Erica into the kitchen. "Make yourselves at home. Dinner'll be in about half an hour. Feel free to use the Head to get clean!"

Enjoying their final meal together before going their separate ways, Jack kept the mood up by telling embarrassing stories that he hadn't gotten around to telling Heather yet about their lives back in Pittsburgh.

"So anyway," Jack said between laughs, "I'm banging on the door, saying we need to get moving, and he flings the door open, wearing nothing but a sheet, tells me to come back in ten minutes, and slams the door in my face! So I yell at him..."

"If you're done that quick, you really should see a doctor about it!" Richard said along with him as he shook his head in shame. "God, Jack! You're never gonna let me live that down, are you? It's your fault anyway! Dragging me to Doug's Dad's place! At nineteen! You are a bad influence on me!"

Fisting him in the ribs gently, Heather looked at him in mock anger. "Makes me wonder about poor Erica! What stories she doesn't know about Jack!"

"Ah! I got no stories like that!" Jack almost blushed. "Never could get a girl to take me serious! Not that I didn't look!"

"Ugh!" Erica groaned. "I do not want to know!"

Finishing the casserole as Jack kept them entertained, the two couples split into their separate rooms that evening, finally getting to bed by eleven. The next morning was a flurry of activity. Re-packing after laundering Richard and Heather's clothes from the previous day, Jack saw to it they were ready and at the airport by eight-fifteen.

After the four went through the lax security, Jack and Erica walked the two to their gate, still laughing and trying to keep their feelings at bay until the last minute. When the call came announcing the boarding of their flight, their moods shifted; the fun and laughter finally giving way to the seriousness of their parting. They got up and started heading toward the gate slowly, none wanting their years together to finally come to an end.

Richard wrapped his arms around his sister as she started to sob. "I'll miss you, kiddo! Seems like just yesterday we were doing this out in front of the house in Pittsburgh!"

"I... I know!" she cried. Wiping her eyes as she stepped back, she shook her head. "Seems like we're always saying goodbye!"

"It won't be long until November!" he pointed out. "I can't wait to see you!"

Nodding, Erica wiped her eyes again before hugging him once more, this time more fiercely. "November! You take care, Richie!"

Meanwhile, Jack and Heather hugged almost as tightly.

"Jack, I... I don't ever think I'll ever be able to tell you just how wonderful a man you are!" Heather intoned, keeping her emotions in check. "I owe you for the love of my life! If you ever need anything, you need only ask! You and your family will always have a place in our home!"

Sighing at what might have been, but glad of how things had turned out, Jack shook his head with a smile. "I still don't know what you see in that muscle-headed brother-in-law of mine, but I'm glad you make each other happy! I'm sure gonna miss you two! Who else can I bum rides off of?"

Heather laughed as they separated. "I love you, Jack! I really do!"

"So dump this creep and run off with me!" he joked, only to have Erica slap him in the arm. "Ouch! I was only kidding, love!"

"Not even funny!" she growled at him as they switched places. Hugging her future sister-in-law, Erica almost started crying all over again. "You have a good flight!" she sniffed as she tried not to cry. "Call us when you get in?"

"We will!" Heather promised. "And you take good care of Jack! He's going to need you more now than he'll ever admit."

"I know." Erica nodded as they separated. "I'll take care of him, and you keep Richie out of trouble!"

"I think that will be easier without Jack around!" she stated with a feigned serious tone and a faint smile on her face, making Erica laugh.

While his wife and Heather hugged and talked, Jack stuck his hand out to Richard. "Well, figures! After all this time you're finally getting rid of me! I knew you were just a fair-weather friend!"

Grabbing Jack's hand, Richard yanked him into a hug. "Jerk!" he said as they slapped each other on the back. Feeling the tears edge into the corners of his eyes, he shook off the feeling and laughed. "You always told me I needed you! Now look at who needs who!"

Hugging him back, Jack suddenly felt the same as the day Wendy broke his heart. "You still need me, muscle-head!" He paused a moment before adding in almost a whisper, "And I always needed you, Rich!" Pulling apart before he started to actually cry, he stepped back and wiped his eyes. "Aww! Now look what you've gone and done, Rich! You've made me get all misty!"

"Softy!" he needled his friend as he pushed on Jack's shoulder.

"Jock!" Jack shot back with a shove.

"Dork!" Richard fisted him in the ribs.

"Jarhead!" he countered with a jab toward Richard's gut.

"Leatherneck!" he joked as he grabbed Jack's fist and pulled him into another quick hug. "Love you, man!"

"You too, Rich!" Jack said before stepping back again and putting an arm around Erica, her arms wrapping around his waist.

Mimicking the other two, one arm around Heather and backing toward the gate, Richard looked sadly at his best friend and his sister. "Take good care of Brooke, Jack. Tell her we'll see her in November!" Right before turning to the boarding ramp, he tossed a sloppy salute to Jack. "Catch you 'round Jack! Try to keep out of trouble! I might not be around to get you out of it next time!"

After Jack and Erica watched them board their flight, they stayed until the plane pulled away from the terminal, holding each other as Jack kept his tears at bay through strict discipline while Erica freely cried for them both.

"It's alright." Jack consoled her as they turned to leave the concourse. "The wedding in November will be here sooner than you think!"

"I know!" Erica said, trying to dry her tears. "I just miss them already!" She looked at Jack's stoic countenance. "And you don't fool me, mister! I know you miss them already, too!"

"Yeah, I do." he sighed as they walked through the airport and back to their car. Letting the silence speak for him, the two walked out together feeling the sorrow of the end of one part of their lives wrap all around them like a blanket, threatening to smother them. After Jack started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, he looked over at his wife and half-smiled. "Of course, you know what this means, don't you?"

Looking over at him, Erica shook her head after wiping away her tears again. "What, what means?" she asked innocently.

"Well, with Rich and Heather getting married soon, we have a job to do!" he explained. "We need to get Brooke hooked up by November so she doesn't have to go stag to the wedding!"

She furrowed her brow at him. "Why is it so important now?"

"You know what they say about the Maid of Honor and Best Man! We need to get her hooked-up so she doesn't get any ideas about me!"

Erica burst out laughing at the ridiculous thought of Jack and Brooke. "I... I think I can only see it if you're the Maid of Honor!" she laughed.

"Oh, Ha! Ha! Very funny! Sometimes I may feel like Jack Lemon, but I am not pulling a 'Some Like it Hot'! Just forget it!"

By the time they pulled up to Jack's work, Erica was feeling a little better about things. Jack had continued to clown around until he pulled to a stop. "OK, your man needs to go and win some bread." he said before he leaned over and kissed her quickly. "And you need to get to class! I'll see you after work. Pick me up about five?"

She nodded and smiled. "You always know how to make me happy, Jack! I love you!" She leaned over and kissed him much more deeply before he got out and closed his door. Sliding over to get behind the wheel, she waved at Jack as he walked around the car and into work almost two hours late. As she pulled away from the curb, she sighed; her vaguely sad smile not wanting to leave her lips.

Weeks passed while the trio were getting used to Richard and Heather not being around. They settled into a comfortable pattern. Brooke would spend Liberty at their place, more often than not sleeping in the guest bedroom if they had a little too much fun. She also wasn't getting hit on at the base as often; Jack's warning having spread. It was nearly forgotten by August, so Brooke was taken by complete surprise when she was asked to go see her commanding officer one Friday afternoon.

Jack half-heard the pounding on their door through his sleepiness. Looking over at the clock, he stumbled out of bed. "Who in God's name could that be at nearly midnight?" he asked nobody.

"As if you didn't know." Erica yawned. "I bet you anything it's Brooke." She looked at the clock and tried to think. "She's not supposed to be here until tomorrow afternoon, though."

Opening the door in nothing but boxers, Jack strained his eyes at his intruder. "Brooke? It's late! Did they kick everyone out of The Bricks already?"

Ignoring his near nakedness and bad joke about the pending closure of the naval base, she pushed into his apartment and quickly sat on his couch. "I... I needed to talk to you right away!" she said, her voice obviously shaken.

"Well they have these things called phones you know!" Jack quipped as he closed the door and walked up to her. "You want anything? Coffee? Tea? Hard liquor? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I couldn't use a base phone, Jack!" She looked up at him. "I'm in trouble!"

Sitting next to her, he shook his head to clear the cobwebs. "Well, whoever she is, we'll get a shotgun and make an honest woman of you!"

"Jack!" she yelled. "Be serious! I got called in for Office Hours today!"

Suddenly wide-awake and serious, he leaned forward. "What's the beef?"

"Someone anonymously filed a complaint, Jack! Article one-thirty-four!"

Jack furrowed his brow. "Adultery? Seriously? Brooke! They can't make it stick! They'd have to have photos or a confession that say we did something that I'm damn sure we've never done or confessed to! Besides, they'd never even bother unle..." He looked at her seriously. "What're the other charges?"

"Cohabitation." she replied. "He... or whoever it is, knows I've stayed here a bunch of times! The CO said that the person filing the complaint threatened that unless something is done about it, they'll take the story to the papers! That sets the second and third points of evidence, Jack!"

"They can't prove the first though, Brooke!" he said, standing and pacing the room. "Without that, they can't make anything stick! They can search this apartment top to bottom and they're not going to find anything of yours!"

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes. "Sit down, Jack! You're making me more nervous!" When he'd done so, she let out a worried breath. "The CO told me he knows they can't prove anything, but the rumor mill is so full of talk about us two seeing each other behind Erica's back that he ordered me to stop seeing you and accept counseling because it was hurting moral! If I violate that, or refuse, they can Court Martial me for defying orders!"

"What can we do to help?" Erica asked as she came into the room.

Jack waved her away. "It's fine, honey. I just need to think for a minute."

Refusing to accept his dismissal, Erica persisted. "I don't know much about the military, but... I mean, can't I like, sign an affidavit or something saying that every time you stayed here that I was here and you two were nowhere near each other? I mean, they can't stop you two from being friends based on a rumor, can they?"

"That might work, Brooke." he pointed out, suddenly hopeful. "If we go to the Old Man and tell him how it is, that we never actually dated and I was just helping you keep the guys away, he'll have to drop it. He knows he can't ask you why you didn't want to date any guys!"

Sighing, Brooke nodded. "Yeah, but it also means that the ruse is finished. I'll have to do my last thirteen months without you keeping the flies off me! Everyone who's been laying low will be right back on me again!"

"Can't do anything about that now, Brooke." he pointed out. "I'll call Monday morning. It has to be done." Jack stood and headed for the door before he stopped. "Well, there's one alternative."

"What?" Brooke looked at him hopefully.

"You can follow orders." he stated simply. "Take the counseling and stop coming over."

"Jack!" Erica cried. "She can't do that! You're her best friend!"

Shaking her head, Brooke looked at Jack resignedly. "Besides, it wouldn't make any difference. If I give in, it'll go on my record and the guys will be on me anyway. No, she's right, Jack. My only hope now is you two."

He nodded in acceptance and resumed his walk to the door. "In the mean time, you need to get out of here. Go back to The Bricks and tough it out 'till Monday."

Brooke walked over to the open door and hugged him as Erica looked on. "Thank you, Jack! You're the best friend anyone could ever have!"