A very short (for me) tale. Nothing new here and not breaking any new ground.

“Ted looks so handsome in his uniform,” Donna Linder said to her long-time friend Carol Bruce.

“He does, doesn’t he,” Carol replied, looking fondly, yet proudly toward her husband and the praise directed at him. Carol was standing a few feet from her husband as she looked around the large room. Groups of people were in clusters chatting away; some catching up with old friends; others meeting for the first time. Carol was expecting a large crowd today and the room was filling quickly.

Carol had seen photos of her husband in his military uniform, but those had been taken when he was younger; before they met and married. Today was the first time she had actually seen Ted in uniform and she could not get over how handsome and dashing he looked.

“What kind of uniform is he wearing?” Donna asked. “I don’t think I’m familiar with it. And those medals...”

“It’s the Ukraine army dress uniform,” Carol said of the green dress uniform with a white shirt and black tie. “The two larger medals he’s wearing ... the ones with the blue and yellow ribbons ... those are Hero of Ukraine and Order of the Gold Star. They’re Ukraine’s highest awards for bravery. President Zelensky personally signed the awards citation!” Carol said, waving her hand towards an easel on which could be seen two framed certificates for the medals which adorned her husband’s chest. Carol again looked proudly at her husband. “He’s also wearing his American awards. He was awarded a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts in Afghanistan, but that was before we met.”

“I had no idea he had volunteered to fight in Ukraine,” Donna said. “What on earth possessed a man of his age to volunteer to fight in another country’s war? Especially a country thousands of miles away from his home. He’s not even Ukrainian! He’s from Beaumont, for crying out loud. Couldn’t you talk him out of it?”

“I tried,” Carol said. “I tried to talk him out of going. I begged and pleaded and argue with him, but his mind was made up. There was nothing I could say or do to change it.”

Carol thought back to the day she had arrived home from work to find her husband already home, a saucer containing a cup of coffee sat in front of him the dark walnut of the dining table gleamed under the hanging light fixture as her husband sat in silence.

“Hi honey, what are you doing at home? I thought you weren’t coming back into town until later tonight. Did the deposition go alright?” Ted had to drive an hour to take a deposition in downtown Dallas and had told his wife he would be late getting home. It was eight o’clock in the evening; nearly three hours past the time Carol usually arrived home. If she had known Ted would be home, she would have canceled her plans and come home immediately after work.

“We need to talk about a few things. Pour yourself a glass of wine or coffee and have a seat.”

Carol had been mildly perturbed at her husband’s brusque tone. “Let me take a quick shower and change into something more comfortable,” she had said.

“No!” Ted had barked at her, shocking Carol even more. “Sit down. This is important and I’m not going to wait while you clean yourself off.”

Carol could feel herself pale at her husband’s comment. She nervously pulled out her usual chair across the table from her husband and sat, placing her cell phone on the table in front of her. She looked down at her hands splayed before her, as heat from her body left blurry halos of condensation on the dark, glossy wood. Apropos of nothing, Carol remembered the day she and Ted had purchased the dining room set. The furniture was Amish made, well-constructed and very expensive. Being able to afford fine furniture had been a new experience for both of them after years of furnishing their home through department stores or Ikea.

“In about four hours,” Ted began as he glanced at his watch, “I’ll be catching a flight to Warsaw, Poland. From there I’ll be taking a combination of trains and buses to Kyiv, Ukraine. I’ve signed a 12-month contract to fight with the Ukrainian Army. I’ve taken twenty-five percent of the savings account, but I’m not touching the checking account. I’ve given Sam Albright my power of attorney. Here’s his card,” Ted said as he slid a business card toward Carol.

Carol felt lightheaded as if she were about to pass out.

“I-I-I don’t understand,” she was finally able to get the words out. “Is this a joke? You’re forty-five years old. You can’t go off to fight in some war!”

“I can, and I am. My combat experience may have been twenty-two years ago, but some things you don’t forget.”

“What about the kids? Have you told them? You’re just going to desert our children?”

“Trey is married with his own son and Lisa is engaged to a good man. My kids will be fine. They were before and they will be again.”

Carol stared at her husband in shock. He had referred to Trey and Lisa as ‘my kids’ leaving no doubt Carol’s place. She had come into their lives fifteen years ago when Trey was six and Lisa four. Ted had divorced his first wife when he caught her having an affair with her boss. She had not fought the divorce. She had been happy that Ted had discovered the affair because it gave her a chance to start her life over without the encumbrances of a husband or children. She had not requested either custody or visitation and had agreed to sign over her parental rights in exchange for not having to pay child support. The kids had been in therapy for two years over their mother’s abandonment when Carol entered the picture. She could not love Trey and Lisa more if she had birthed them herself. Ted’s stark reminder that Trey and Lisa were his kids and not hers was a gut punch for Carol.

“How can you say something so hateful?” Carol cried. She could feel her eyes beginning to tear up. She was their mother, dammit!

“I met with them last week to let them know what’s going on. They’re not happy about it, but they understand. They’ll be fine.”

“Last week?” Carol asked, surprised. “They didn’t say anything to me. I thought we were closer than that, especially Lisa.” When Ted and Carol married, Lisa had clung to Carol. She was desperate for a mother’s affection and Carol was overjoyed to give it to her. She was not able to have children of her own and being a mother to Lisa was one of the greatest gifts Carol had ever received. Tears tracked down Carol’s cheeks as she realized that perhaps as of late, she had grown distant from the two fine young adults that she had helped raise.

“So just like that? You’re going to leave me for a year and I’m supposed to just accept it? Accept my husband deserting me for a whole year?” Carol was furious with her husband.

“I’m sure Ray Hanna will be there to comfort you,” Ted said, more than a hint of anger in his voice.

Carol looked at her husband. She could feel her mouth open in frightened disbelief as she slowly began to realize her husband knew about her relationship with her boss.

For his part, Ted looked at his wife in disgust. He thought she resembled a flounder that had landed in a fishing boat; its mouth opening and closing, gasping for air, and well ... floundering around for a response. Denial or admission. Lies or truth. What to do? What to say?

“Wh-what do you know?” Carol asked. The fear and shakiness in her voice obvious even to her.