Page 28 of Player
"Hi, Bradley."
A silence falls between us, during which I hear male voices on the other end of the line. I catch fragments of conversation without being able to understand what's being said.
"Am I interrupting something?" I ask.
"Not at all!" He must move away from his colleagues because the voices fade, then he asks, "How are you? Still enjoying OMU?"
"Yes, it's exactly how I imagined it." If you ignore the arrogant jerk I share my dorm with, everything's fine. I think about Player, whom I haven't seen since the other night. What's he up to? I shake my head to clear my thoughts. What the most sought-after quarterback at this college does is none of mybusiness. As long as he's not around, everything's fine with me. I push him from my mind to focus on my brother. "What about you?"
"I'm learning a lot of things."
"Like how to tie sailor knots?"
Bradley laughs, and the sound warms my heart.
"You could say that," he admits.
"Is life too tough?"
I can't help worrying about him. The transition from civilian to military life is no small change.
"I get up early, exercise a lot, and eat pretty healthily."
"Hmm," I mutter, "aren't you forgetting alcohol and women in that equation?"
Another silence falls on the other end of the line.
"I'm thinking about coming to see you for Halloween," he finally says.
I can't hold back a little cry of joy. "That's awesome!"
I immediately calculate in my head, a little less than two months to wait.
"I can't wait to show you around campus," I add.
"Me too."
I realize that my brother is usually the one asking questions, and I feel like I don't know much about his life, so I ask, "How are things with your colleagues? Have you made new friends?"
"The Marines are like a new family. I'm never alone, if that's what you're worried about, Dixie Dix."
"No, I'm not worried about you, but I don't know anything about what you do."
"Probably because there's nothing exciting to tell you."
"I don't believe you! Your life can't be that boring. You must have met some people."
Bradley doesn't answer, and I press on. "A handsome manlike you must have met a woman or two to your liking. Plus, I hear military men are popular with the ladies."
"You know, you're starting to sound like our Grandma Janine with these kinds of questions."
"What? I can't believe you're comparing me to her!"
He's referring to our paternal grandmother, who's a notorious gossip in our small town—she always knows everything about everyone.
Bradley bursts out laughing.
"That's right, make fun of me!" I cry with mock indignation.
