Chapter 10: An Ordinary Morning

“What kind of favor? Just say it. What are we to each other? Don’t be shy.”

Ash asked, her tone as light as that Jack’s on the radio.

“Just say it. Don’t hold back.”

She pressed again, cutting the half pancake on her plate into three roughly equal pieces with her knife and fork.

She set the knife down, picked up the maple syrup, and poured a golden layer over the top.

Then she stabbed a piece with her fork and lifted it to her mouth.

“It’s about… Sherry. Remember her?”

“Mm, I know. You two made it!”

“No, not so fast… She asked me to see a movie. Today.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Let me guess, is it The Godfather Part II?”

“Mm.”

“Then go. I’d like to see it sometime too.”

With that, she speared another piece and took a bite.

“But, well…”

Chris hesitated for a moment, then said: “I had it planned out, but they called earlier today, told me to cancel my leave and report for guard duty right away.”

“Oh, that’s a pity.”

“So… Ash, I want you to stand in for me on guard duty.”

Chris finally came out with his request.

“Huh?”

Ash froze at that, the pancake on her fork stopping halfway to her mouth.

“Me? Stand guard for you?”

She popped the last bit of pancake into her mouth as she spoke.

“…Yeah. You just have to go in, sign the register, and stand watch until around eleven, then I’ll be back. Normally nothing ever happens, and it’s a new unit, so nobody knows anyone yet. All you have to do is wear my uniform, sign my name on the register, and follow the squad or platoon leader’s orders. You just stand around or kill a few hours in the barracks.”

Once he’d crossed the threshold of his own hesitation, Chris blurted out his whole request in one breath.

“Mm… okay.”

Ash shrugged and agreed.

“But won’t I look off in your uniform? There’s a bit of a size difference between us.”

As she spoke, she stood up and gestured with her hands.

“Ha, no worries. It’s close enough.”

“Mm. Remember, I’m doing you a big favor here. Thank your good buddy properly later.”

She reached over and patted Chris on the shoulder.

“Have a great time with Sherry.”

It was an ordinary, unremarkable morning.

Just as ordinary as always.

Just as unremarkable.

But from that day on, things changed.

Everything changed.

It had already happened.

Ash could never go back to that past.

Never again.

“What’s wrong? Does it taste bad?”

Chris noticed Ash hadn’t touched her food for a long time, and asked with concern.

“Did you two have fun in the end, you and Sherry?”

Ash muttered it without thinking.

She kept her head down, her gaze idly resting on the syrup-soaked pancakes in front of her.

“Huh?”

Chris was caught off guard by Ash’s sudden murmur, but he gave a small smile.

“Oh, that… Well, it never worked out between us in the end.”

“Oh.”

Ash murmured in acknowledgment, glanced up at Chris, then lowered her head again.

Figured as much.

In all this time at Chris’s place, she’d never seen a single photo of that woman with the short, slightly curly chestnut-brown hair. Same as five years ago.

“We just weren’t a good fit. Sherry went to Columbia for pharmacy, and I think she moved to Seattle or abroad by now… It’s been so long since we kept in touch, I don’t remember exactly.”

He chucked softly again as he spread sour plum jam onto his toast with practiced precision.

“Oh… Doesn’t your dad pressure you about it?”

Ash asked, clumsily slicing her pancake into chunks with her knife and fork.

“Dad couldn’t care less about that. He’s probably living it up in Hawaii right now, ha. Compared to all those hippies running off to music festivals to get high and hook up, he’s just glad I’m not worse.”

“Mm.”

Ash nodded, then picked up a piece and took a small bite, then another, chewing slowly.

As her teeth sank in, the pancake’s soft fluff and the syrup’s sweet richness burst in her mouth, weaving together and melting gently at the tip of her tongue.

Still just as delicious.

Way better than those compressed biscuits back in the army.

The taste she’d missed for so long made Ash close her eyes slightly, a smile creeping up at the corners of her mouth on its own.

The smooth maple syrup slid into her mouth along the pancake’s seams, spreading its sweetness without being cloying.

She ate in small bites, chewing gently, a faint sound escaping with each bite, the syrup slowly blending into the pancake’s fine texture, turning silkier with every chew.

Ash ate slowly, her dainty, deliberate chewing making her look just like those quiet, introverted girls in high school.

Chris felt a pang of surprise watching her eat.

She still loved maple syrup. She still hated bacon. Ash was still Ash. But it was hard for Chris to square this quiet young woman with that sunny, outgoing, sharp-tongued Texas boy from five years ago.

Even so, he kept repeating it to himself, over and over: Ash is still Ash. Besides me, she has no one else to lean on.

He had to protect her, always.

“…Alright, that’s the end of the commercial break. I wonder how many of you listening are going to buy that for your girlfriends? Anyway, my wife really likes their stuff… Enough rambling, let’s move on to the next story…”

“With the last C-130 of the day touching down at Philadelphia International Airport, the final group of Vietnam soldiers has made it back to their homeland. On this, Jack here wants to ask every listener not to spit at them, not to hurl insults. Coming home alive is the best outcome there is, so please, let’s all show some tolerance…”

“…Jack’s still as kind-hearted as ever.”

Ash sighed as she listened to the radio.

“By the way, did you fix this radio yourself?”

“Mm.”

Chris nodded.

“You’re still so capable…”

Murmuring with what sounded like a touch of envy, she turned her head and took a sip of her oat milk.

“Ah, that’s what the job demands.”

Chris took a bite of his toast and a sip of coffee as he replied.

“Does the IRS even require you to learn electrical work?”

At Ash’s question, Chris explained: “We’re part of a newly formed operations division. In theory, we’re on par with those agents at the FBI or CIA, so there are a lot of skills we have to pick up.”

“Oh, I get it. After all, how are you supposed to collect taxes without some firepower?”

Ash laughed and took another bite of the fried meat strips.

“Hey, this edge is a bit burnt.”

“Ah, sorry. It’s been so long since I made fried meat strips, I misjudged the heat.”

“It’s fine… At least you still remember how.”

Ash said it in a tone that sounded a little tentative.

“Ash, don’t forget to take your medicine after you finish. And what are your plans for today?”

“…I haven’t decided… I want to go see Aunt Mei, the guys, and those kids… It’s been five years…”

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