Close Enough

Chapter 3 - The Inner-German Border

Chapter 3 - The Inner-German Border


Bonnie awoke, tired from her late-night vigil.  She had stayed awake until one a.m., hoping Mark would have a chance to call.  Just after twelve, though, the sound of a big aircraft's engines had approached from the west and faded to the east,
followed a few minutes later by another one, and then another after that.  The waxing and waning of aircraft engines had gone on for nearly an hour.  When it ended, she had gone to bed, knowing Mark was on his way to Germany.

Looking at the clock, she saw it was just before seven.  She entertained a few special thoughts about Mark for a moment then, calculating that he was probably still over the Atlantic, she said a short prayer for his safety.  Bonnie rose, washed up and got dressed, then ate breakfast.  She decided, right then and there, that she wasn't going to spend the next two weeks sitting around moping and worrying.  She was twenty, not ten, and she was going to go out and do things.  She had gotten a little familiar with the area over the past few months; she now decided she was going to get the map of Killeen and Fort Hood, figure out the major landmarks and streets in the area, then go find them.  After that, she was going to call Betty Williams and see if she had any suggestions about getting used to Army life.

***

"How was the flight, honey?  Was it good?" Bonnie asked, thrilled that Mark had been able to phone.

"Not bad," Mark answered, his voice sounding remarkably clear to her.  "A little under nine hours to Brussels, then an hour on the bus to Ghent.  Commercial all the way, too - no military transport.  That'll change, though.  I'm driving a Gama Goat to our next stop; we left a couple in the motor pool, so you can drive by and take a look at one, if you want.  I'll be driving a jeep the rest of the way."  He paused just a moment, then asked, "I know it's just the first day, but are you okay, Bonnie?"

"I'm fine, sweetie.  I drove around town and around post, just going to various places.  I wanted to be sure I'd been paying close enough attention when you were driving us around.  I also bought some things for the flower bed.  They should be starting to look nice, by the time you get back."  They'd planted daffodils in April, but something hadn't worked out right, and they had shriveled and died under the Texas summer sun.

"I'll be glad to see them," Mark replied, "but I'll be a lot happier to see you. I've got to run.  I love you, Bonnie."

"I love you too, Mark.  Bye."

They hung up, both happy with how the call had gone.  Bonnie was glad Mark had arrived safely, and Mark was relieved that Bonnie seemed to be doing all right.

Mark returned to the bivouac tent - a huge beer tent erected by the Belgian military for their use - and ate his lunch which, today, consisted of ham slices, applesauce, crackers, peanut butter, and a round, solid chocolate bar, all of it neatly packaged in four olive-drab cans.  Technically designated "Meal, Combat, Individual", everyone called them by their predecessor's name: C-Rations.  After lunch, he attended the drivers briefing.  Along with the others, he was issued a photocopy of their route across Belgium and Germany, with the intermediate stops clearly marked.  In order to impact local traffic as little as possible, the numerous multi-vehicle convoys would begin travel at twenty hundred hours local time.  Also, the sun wouldn't set for almost another hour, so they'd have good visibility to start.  He listened closely to the instructions, then returned to the tent to study the route and catch a nap.  It was going to be a long drive.

Forty-five minutes before departure, everyone assembled for a final briefing, then manned their vehicles.  The movement started right on time and thirty minutes later, everyone was on the highway headed east.  Mark was glad there was still light, so he could get a glimpse of the Belgian countryside as he drove along, the Goat's diesel engine roaring.  He was also glad that he'd be driving only on improved surfaces, since the steerable rear axle wheels were a little tricky.  They made their first stop-over north of Cologne (or Koeln, as all the roadsigns said), and he moved his gear to the jeep he would drive the rest of the way.  Eventually, they pulled into the main Assembly Area north of Kassel, where another collection of tents awaited them for one last non-tactical night's sleep.

Before the sun rose the next morning, Mark's company had eaten and completed the drive to their deployment area; Exercise Training Area WHALE would be their home for the next week.  Each vehicle took the position designated by the Battalion's Operations Officer, put out security and erected the camouflage nets.  As the sun rose in the east, Mark took a moment to make the short climb from his team's location just below the military crest of the hill, to the hilltop itself, and there it was, not two hundred meters to his front: the fortified border between East and West Germany.  The Inner-German Border.



Chapter 3 word count = 896 words
Running total word count = 2441 words