“We decided to treat ourselves.

You have no idea how hard it is on the families with all of you deployed.”

“A hundred and eighty dollars is a lot for one share of a dinner.”

“We all pitched in for the entrées and some nice drinks,” she said.

“The support group is a lifeline right now.”

She didn’t even stop to breathe.

“Hey, did finance tell you exactly which Friday your deployment bonus hits the account?” she asked.

I looked down at the oil stains on my boots.