"What happened?" Shannie asked.
A long sigh escaped Calvin Gray. He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
"I want to know everything," Shannie said.
Lights around Washington flickered on. Evening shadows darkened, grayness faded to black. All around us, pinpricks of light penetrated the humid murkiness. "Combat fatigue," Calvin said.
"Combat fatigue?" I broke my silence. Shannie looked at me with a downcast stare, Undeterred I continued: "What do you mean combat fatigue? He wasn't even close to combat. The Iraqis were 50 miles away. How could he have combat fatigue?"
"Shut up and listen, you may find out," Shannie scolded.
"This oughta be good, just like the rest of this fucking trip. I can tell this is going to be a ten-beller, just like the rest of today! What the fuck? Why should it be any different from anything else; it's been a fucking ten-bell year!"
"Excuse him," Shannie apologized. "He's taking it pretty hard."
"Goddamn right I am!" I snapped. "I don't want anymore closure. I'm sick of closure. Fuck closure! I'm sick of it all! Why can't you let him lie? Why can't you leave him alone? You can't bring him back! Leave him the fuck alone!"
***
"Why did you come if you didn't want to know?" Shannie asked breaking our silence. Till then, only the purr of Saphix's engine kept me company as I drove home. It was close to midnight and we were on I-95 somewhere between Washington and Baltimore.
"I wanted to be with you," I said.
"Really?" Shannie smiled.
"Really," I answered.
"That's sweet Just James. I didn't think you liked being with me anymore," Shannie curled her legs under herself on the passenger seat.
"Why would you think that?" I asked.
"I don't know," Shannie rested the side of her face upon the seat's headrest. A short silence fell over us, permeated by the GTI's hum. "I'm beat," Shannie said. "It's been a long day, lets get a room."
"Really?" I asked.
"Really!" Shannie smiled, biting her lower lip.
My hand trembled as I slid the plastic key-card into the motel room's lock. When the green light blinked, I opened the door and was smacked in the face by a wall of warm, musty air.
"Yuck," Shannie said stepping into the room behind me. "Nothing like stale air." She turned the air conditioner on high.