Born of the War

Leigh was covered in dirt, dust and what looked like blood spatter. “I’m alright Kelly,” said Leigh. “You can let go of me now.” Kelly never did let go. The group walked back to the skipper’s SUV. “No-one even cares if I survived,” MC1 Daniels thought to himself. The public affair’s group drove back to their area. At the office, the skipper and senior chief helped the surviving sailors bring their gear inside. They sat down at the picnic table that served as the board table in the meeting room. “Kelly, I think Leigh is going to live,” said Senior Chief Wilson. “You haven’t let go of her since she got out of the Humvee!” It was very improper for enlisted sailors to do this with officers. No one had said anything because of their respect for Kelly and Leigh. But it was starting to become awkward. Leigh finally grabbed Kelly’s arm and got up. “Let’s go,” she said as she tried to remove the problem from the room. “Walk me back to my can.” The back passageway was the closest exit to the cans. Most of the enlisted sailors used this door when they came to and from work. The officers all shared SUVs and used the front door. Leigh and Kelly didn’t make it very far down the back passageway, when Kelly stopped and pulled her into the storeroom. It was where the PAO sailors kept their camera and video equipment. “Why did you go,” sobbed Kelly aloud as he pulled Leigh so tight she could feel his heartbeat. “Why did you go,” he said once more. Leigh didn’t think before she did what came next. She raised her chin, looked at him for long second, then kissed him – on the lips. Kelly’s eyes widened. He didn’t think either as he paused for a brief second. He kissed her right back. Then Kelly and Leigh crossed the line - the line between close friends and lovers. Like other affairs between good people – the participants don’t plan them. They don’t know how they happen. They just do. Kelly didn’t know how he got enough of his and her clothing off to make love. She didn’t know or remember either. They just found themselves past the point of no return. Doing what spontaneous lovers do, they did the whole thing – against the wall in the back of a storage room in Iraq. The fact that it was war, didn’t make it right or justify anything. The bible both Leigh and Kelly read, states that the 7th commandment – adultery, is wrong. The scriptures state that God will help you resist any and all temptations, if Christians will just ask. Well, fine and good, but Kelly and Leigh were as they were. His big arms were bulging, holding Leigh with both her feet off of the deck, making love loudly against the storage room bulkhead. In the meeting room, Capt. Benton was preparing to head to his stateroom. Senior Chief Wilson was gathering her folders and MC1 Daniels was picking up his M-16, when the thumping sounds came into earshot. No one said anything for several seconds, wondering what it was. Senior Chief Wilson was the first to figure it out. She looked toward the sound and immediately looked down, trying to hide her eyes so the two men wouldn’t catch on. But it was too late. Both men looked at each other at the same time. There was no hiding it. The sounds died down as quickly as they noticed them, and MC1 Daniels was the first to speak. “I’m going to turn in,” he said, as he went out the front door instead of the back. Benton just turned and walked to his stateroom. He knew Senior Chief Wilson too well for her to hide very much from him. “This was the first time an affair had happened on their deployment,” thought Benton to himself. It wouldn’t be the last. They would talk about it tomorrow and handle it from there. These were two of Capt. Benton’s finest sailors. He would protect them, counsel them, and together with Senior Chief Wilson, pursue the correct and proper end to this infraction.