It had been a few days since Mandie and I had gone to Denny's and during those few days, all I could think about, was if Jude was ok, and Chic. I wanted to call him, and it took every fiber of my being to not call him right away. I didn't want him to think that I was desperate to talk to him, or that I didn't have anything going on in my life, so I waited to call him. My grades, and work got even worse in my classes, because I didn't have room in my mind for anything other than Jude, and Chic. I even found myself doing nothing but laying in my room, thinking, or checking the mail.

The day that I actually found a letter from Jude felt like the best day ever. It meant that he survived another week, and that was great news. I was also overjoyed to find that there was not a letter  telling me that Jude was killed, or injured. He was alright for at least another week. It also meant that he was one week closer to getting shipped back home to Mandie and I. I didn't even shut my mailbox before ripping open the letter and reading it, soaking up every word.

Hey Sugar, 
        Sorry my letter is late, I've been really busy lately. I promise that I have not been shot, stabbed, blown up, or otherwise hurt. There was an explosion in an area that Shay and I were at, but it wasn't close enough to hurt us. I've been working with Shay a lot in training and practice, and she has made a lot of improvement. She's  already found  quite a few IED's in one area alone! She's doing really great and I am very proud of her.
        I hope you're doing alright. You are doing alright aren't you? I know it must not be easy that I'm gone, and I know you miss me, but I'm sure you're doing great. I definitely miss you, and it sucks that I had to leave at such an inconvenient time, however, I'm not going to lie, I love what I'm doing. the circumstances are shitty, it gets pretty miserable, and I would much rather be there with you and Mandie, but that doesn't mean I don't love what I do.  
        How do you think Mandie is doing? I, of course, sent her a letter too, but I want to know what you think, because we both know that she won't be honest with me. I reeeeeeeeaaaaaaalllly miss you guys, a lot. I miss waking up every morning, and getting to hang out with you. I'll be back though, and I'm really looking forward to that because, as I've said, I miss you guys a lot. I can't wait to see you all again.
        I put some pictures in the envelope too. They're all from different missions that Shay and I have gone on. Now you have photographic evidence that I'm ok, in one complete peace, and not dead. See? No need to worry about me. 
Love,
Jude

I folded the letter back up and kept hold of it as I pulled a few pictures out of the envelope. They were all pictures of Jude and his dog, a brown malinois named Shay, on some of their missions. In one of them, Jude was in full gear, and he and Shay were sitting in some dirt. Jude was smiling at the camera, with one hand on Shay who was drinking water. Behind them, were a bunch of neon red flags in the dirt, that marked where different explosives were. Another picture was of Jude and Shay standing next to a cellar that was filled with guns, knives, and explosives. All of the pictures were just of different missions that he and Shay had been on.

It was nice to see his smile again, and it was really nice to see him happy. I wasn't going to lie, I didn't entirely like seeing him so happy when he was off in another country, risking his life constantly, living in not-that-great conditions, without me. It was great that he was doing something he loved, and I just wanted him to be happy, but I just wished that I could be part of that. I couldn't help but ask if it was really better to him in Eurasia, living the way that he was over there, than back in America, with me. It hurt.

^^^

The day after I got the letter from Jude, sent him one back, and hung his pictures on my wall, I called Chic.

"Hello?" I heard Chic ask.

"Hi, um, this is Brian." I said nervously, then it occurred to me that I had never told Chic my name. "I'm the guy from Denny's, and, the parties."

"Oh hey. I was wondering when I would be hearing from you. I was beginning to think that I had freaked you out or something."

"Uh, no, I just, waited."

"Oh I see. So what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to maybe do something sometime?"

"Yeah sure. I'm free tonight. Would that work for you?"

"Uh, yeah. What time?"

"Would six work? Then we could go out to dinner or something."

"Yeah, that sounds great. Do you need me to pick you up from somewhere?"

"Yeah. I'll text you my address and we can go from there."

"Alright. See you, tonight."

"Can't wait."

"Um, bye."

"Bye."

I quickly hung up the phone and sat up. The clock on the wall said that it was five, so I had an hour to get ready. I knew it would take me a little while to decide on an outfit, because I was an indecisive and anxious mess. Plus, it would take some time for me to do my make up.

I eventually decided on a nice pair of black slacks, and a dark blue dress shirt. I left the top button of the shirt undone, with the sleeves rolled up. For my makeup, I used some mascara, making my eyelashes darker and more prominent, with a thin layer of blue eyeliner. I also used a bit of lip gloss to make my lips shiny.

Then I left the house to go pick up Chic.