Image by Prettysleepy from Pixabay
Sgt. Vincent Trent, like all excellent military men even in retirement, maintained situational awareness at all times.
Thus he heard his neighbor, Capt. R.E. Ludlow, quickly get down his front steps and to his car, and to pull off hastily, and also heard him drive back to the house some hours later.
Of course, by this time, Sgt. Trent was working on his front yard and could see what the captain's style of driving up and parking had already told him: Capt. Ludlow was furious. He sprang from the car in a rage, and then, because he loved his family, closed the door carefully and leaned on it, trying to calm down before going into the house.
“Another day that makes you happy you're leaving the job, eh?” Sgt. Trent said kindly.
“I don't even know how I go back even to my home office and deal with these people again tomorrow,” Capt. Ludlow growled in his basso profundo voice. “I'm not talking about Lofton County's panicking landlords making stupid mistakes with veteran tenants. I'm talking about the people in my office who now think I'm some kind of circus performer, entertaining them with my unique style of getting things straightened out.”
“Well, sir, I've seen you in action twice in these parts, laying down the law,” Sgt. Trent said. “If I wasn't in therapy for my PTSD just like you are, I'd probably see the landlords you deal with as the enemy and enjoy watching you put them in their place.”
“That's exactly the thing,” Capt. Ludlow said. “When you are in the process of healing, you absolutely cannot be with a crowd that has no interest in you healing any more. It's why my own children failed at drug rehab – you can't run with a crowd that wants you addicted and sick so they can justify their failure to do the work necessary to heal. I didn't know any of that then. I struggle every day with blaming myself for them not knowing that – but I know now and I am absolutely not going to do this any more. People could have died today. There's nothing humorous about it.”
Sgt. Trent thought for a long moment.
“I've been looking through part-time job descriptions the Lofton Trust offers veterans for after Melissa and I remarry next week,” he said. “I notice that in all job offerings I've looked at, the fine print says that any veteran who encounters a triggering situation can leave the job at once and receive 1-3 months severance pay and counseling.”
Capt. Ludlow jumped, then put his head in his hands.
“I am getting old or tired or both,” he said. “Of course I read the fine print on my job and thought nothing of it – how hard could it be, right? It got so hard today it will be in your breaking news by the time you finish your lawn care. But that also means I am done, and likely will be ordered to leave the job, because today was certainly a triggering situation!”
“And be paid to leave it, so we can just work on our business for the entire summer,” Sgt. Trent said. “The job is bad, but God is good, Captain.”
“Sergeant, you'll see on the news how good God is, and I'll call you after our little children and grandchildren are all in bed!”