The Flag At The Door

Chapter 10 - The First Visitor

The first official visitor was not a general or chaplain.

It was Sergeant Lucas Reed, Daniel’s best friend.

He arrived two days later in civilian clothes, holding his hat in both hands. He stood on the damp porch like a man afraid the house might reject him. Anna opened the door and saw grief on his face before recognition.

“Lucas,” she said.

He broke.

Not dramatically. His shoulders simply dropped, and he stared at the floor until he could speak.

“I should have been here.”

Anna stepped aside. “Come in.”

Noah ran from the living room, then stopped. “Are you from Daddy?”

Lucas knelt immediately. Good man, Anna thought. Daniel chose good men.

“Yes,” Lucas said. “I was his friend.”

Noah studied him. “Did he talk about me?”

Lucas laughed once through tears. “Constantly. It was honestly annoying.”

Noah smiled for the first time since the door.

That smile nearly ended Anna.

They sat at the kitchen table with the folded flag still in Daniel’s chair. Lucas looked at it, then away. His hands shook around a glass of water.

“He saved us,” Lucas said.

Anna closed her eyes.

“Please don’t make him sound like a statue.”

Lucas looked startled.

She opened her eyes. “Tell me something real.”

So he did.

Daniel snored when exhausted. He cheated at cards badly. He sang old country songs off-key during convoys. He carried a photo of Noah in his helmet band until someone teased him, then moved it somewhere more private. He made everyone promise that if anything happened, they would tell Anna he was still himself at the end.

Noah leaned forward.

“Was he scared?”

Lucas looked at Anna.

She nodded.

“Yes,” Lucas said. “But he kept going.”

Noah looked at Private Rocket in his hand.

“That’s brave?”