"War
is only half the battle."
Travis
Stephensen has arrived home for thirty days from a seven month deployment to
Afghanistan where his best friend was killed before his eyes. It is also his
first trip home since joining the Marine Corp. Having nowhere else to really
go, his mother is the only member of his family to meet him at the airport. His
father had a meeting to go to but Travis isn't surprised. A former Green Bay
Packer, Dean Stephensen was upset when his eldest son quit football after his
sophomore year. His decision to join the Marines didn't go over well either.
His younger brother Ryan is working at his father's car dealership. His
girlfriend Paige sent him a Dear John letter telling him that she is now dating
his brother. Before the two of them can leave the airport, Travis has a vision
of Charlie Sweeney, his dead friend. It seems that he is suffering from Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder and hasn't told anyone so that he doesn't look weak. His mother
cannot stop fussing over him.
Life
at home seems even worse than before he joined the Marines. Less than a year
apart, Travis notices that Ryan has fallen into his old life; dating his former
girlfriend and driving his car. He isn't happy to learn that Ryan hasn't taken care
of his car. His mother and father seem estranged and Travis feels the need to
apologize for not calling or writing more often. His mother, who consistently
sent care packages and joined support groups, tells him that she would get a
call from Charlie's mother every time he wrote home. Ryan asks him if he wants
to go with him to a party at their old haunt. Not really wanting to be around
his brother with his old girlfriend, he reluctantly decides to go.
Once
they arrive at the Manor, he is surprised to see one thing that hasn't changed
since he left. Once inside the crowded house, everyone is welcoming him home
and all he wants to do is escape. He sees Paige across the room and feels the
pull of her even though he has to tell himself that they aren't together
anymore. Before he can reach her, his best friend from high school Eddie comes
up. He begins to wrestle him but Travis quickly bests him. Paige comes over to
Ryan first and then Travis. The group begins to chit chat a bit and catches up and
Travis quickly realizes how different he is from Eddie. Ryan sees his
discomfort but he shrugs it off. After a few beers, Travis's thoughts turn back
to a time just before his deployment and the promise Charlie asks him. if
anything happens to him, he wants Travis to go see his mother. Travis is having
a flashback and realizes that he needs to leave.
Walking
down the street to a rough biker bar, he goes in and sees several more people
from high school. He goes to sit on a stool at the bar next to two girls, one
that he knows and he doesn't recognize the other from the back. Sitting next to
her, he tries to strike up a conversation and is floored when she turns to face
him. It is Harper Gray, the first girl he ever crushed on. At a party in middle
school, the two of them were sent to a closet to play seven minutes in heaven.
Doing nothing more than kiss, Travis embellished a bit to his friends that she
let him feel her up. By Monday morning at school, the rumors were that Harper
had sex with all of the guys at the party and she got the reputation of being a
slut. He never told the truth. Now years later, Harper welcomes him home and
tells him to leave her alone. He asks what her problem is and is entranced by
her eyes up until the moment she punches him. She berates him over the party
and leaves. Paige and Ryan come looking for him. He follows Paige out the door
and she offers to come over during the night even though she is dating his
brother. He declines.
Paige
comes over anyway and afterwards Travis realizes the she hasn't changed and
their relationship was a waste of time. Unable to sleep, Travis goes for a run
and finds himself outside of Harper's house. A man comes out and asks Travis
why he is outside of his house at 4:30am and he says he was unsure where else
to go. He asks Travis if he needs a ride back home and he accepts. Just then
Harper steps out of the house and asks him why he is there. He says he needed
some air and she tells him that he looks like hell. she realizes that Travis
has run seven miles from his house to hers and he finds it interesting that she
knows where he lives. Her dad needs to go to work and she goes to change out of
her pajamas. Travis and Harper's father begin a conversation and he asks if he
is Linda Stephensen's son. Travis is floored that he mentioned his mother and
not his famous father and comments that he use to be a douchebag. Travis agrees
and thinks that he still is. Wanting to know why he has to be at work so early,
Travis is surprised to learn that Harper's dad is one of the DJs on a local
morning radio show that he made his roommates listen to on the Internet. He
offers Travis the chance to come on and talk about Afghanistan if he ever wants
to.
After
dropping of her father, Harper asks if he is hungry. They stop at the Waffle
House and order. She asks why he is there and Travis says that he wants to
apologize for his stupid fourteen year old self. She asks if he thinks an
apology is enough since guys continuously grab her and that she has never had a
boyfriend, a date or sex. Paige has slept her way through the entire school and
Harper is the one they call the slut. Travis feels terrible and suddenly has a
flashback of Charlie. He is suddenly sick and runs to the bathroom. Harper
comes to check on him and he tells her that he needs to go home. She takes him
home and Travis asks why she didn't just bring him straight to his house. she
doesn't answer except to say she will be late for work. Inside, he finds his
mother crying. Her life became so wrapped up in making sure he was safe in
Afghanistan, that she spent long periods of time on the Internet chatting with
other marine parents. She began ignoring his father and now he is having an
affair. They both head off to get some much needed sleep.
Soon,
Travis keeps running into Harper in the most unexpected places. One night, she
invites him to help a nest of sea turtles hatch. Just one look from her and he
is ready to give up his darkest secrets. After having another flashback, Harper
understands about what he is going through. They sit down to wait and talk but
soon he tells her that he doesn't anymore. As the first baby turtle emerges,
Harper reaches up and kisses him. They spend the night counting turtles. He
kisses her again when she drops him off mid-morning. He knows that he will kiss
her again.
Can
Travis work through all that happened to him in Afghanistan, especially
Charlie's death? Will his family fall apart or try and repair the damage? What
will Travis's future hold? Is Harper the one person who can help him find his
new normal?
Visit
Trish Doller’s website.
No comments:
Post a Comment