“So my brother and I promised after that fire that we wouldn’t live our lives that way.”
“Makes sense,” Kael said, looking around the yard, then back to me. “Wanna hear my side?”
I shook my head, teasing. He smiled.
“I get that. For real, I do. But to me, a Black kid from Riverdale, joining the Army changed the trajectory of my life. It was the thing that changed my whole family. My great-grandpa’s dad was a slave, my grandpa couldn’t find a regular fair-paying job, and my mother struggled her whole life, always encouraging me to find a way to leave, and here I am, you know? Until now, the only job I’d ever had was bagging groceries at Kroger, and now I drive a decent car, can help my mom—” He stopped abruptly.
“Don’t stop—” I urged him.
That earned me a small smile. “All the shit like that. It’s hard, yeah. Really fucking hard sometimes, but the Army was the only way I was able to afford living on my own, getting a college education, having health insurance.”
I sat, digesting. He had extremely valid points, given that his opinion of the Army was the opposite of mine.
“I get it,” I told him.
“There are two sides to everything, you know?”
I nodded, whispering, “Yeah. Two sides at least.” I tilted my head and asked, “Is your mom proud of you now?”
“Oh, of course. She tells everyone at church and anyone who’ll listen that her son is a decorated soldier. From my town, it’s kind of a big deal.” It was beyond adorable to see him turn shy and even a little embarrassed.
“Local celebrity,” I teased, leaning into his shoulder.
“Right,” he said, smiling. “Not like Austin,” he joked, as we heard my brother yelling again.
“What’s your mom like? I bet she’s—”
“We should probably go inside. You’re the chaperone, and if it stays this loud, the MPs will definitely come.”
I was well aware that he was avoiding my question, but I had already gotten more out of him than usual, so I decided not to be greedy. It was almost his birthday, after all.