An Aria for Nick

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

THE knock on her dorm room door surprised Aria. Her roommate and most of her friends would be in class right now. When she opened the door and saw two officers in military dress uniform, the first thing she thought of was her father.

The very tall black man with the light blue cord around his shoulder spoke first. "Pardon the intrusion, ma'am. I'm Captain Kahan with the 173rd Infantry. This is Chaplain Noble. Are you Aria Suarez?"

The smile melted from her face as her eyes widened. "No, no, no," she breathed, feeling the blood drain from her face.

The Captain looked confused. "You're not Miss Suarez?"

She nodded. "I'm Aria Suarez."

"Miss Suarez?" The Captain stepped forward.

"Daddy?" she whispered. "Is it Daddy?"

The other man with silver crosses of the Chaplain's corps on his shoulders held up a hand and shook his head. The Captain spoke again. "No, ma'am. As far as I know, your father is fine. We have the unfortunate duty to inform you of the death of Sergeant Nicholas Williams."

The roaring in her ears blocked out anything else he might have said. "No," she said again, backing up and holding up a hand. "You can't be right. I just got a letter from him today."

The Captain retrieved a green folder with the U. S. Army symbol embossed in gold leaf on the outside of it. He began to quietly read, his voice low but steady, almost calming. "During Operation Arrow Feather, Sergeant Williams and his unit were sent to Ramadi, Iraq and assigned to train Iraqi Army soldiers. Five days ago, Sergeant Williams was assigned as a machine-gunner on an aircraft transporting a high profile prisoner.

"The aircraft was attacked in flight and forced to crash land. During the subsequent engagement with enemy combatants, two crewmen were killed. The copilot was badly injured. Sergeant Williams ran into the open while under continuous insurgent gunfire to help rescue his injured comrade. He personally engaged ten insurgents in that fire fight, killing four and injuring six before he, himself, was shot and killed. Due to his valor and selfless sacrifice, his comrades survived and were subsequently rescued.

"We're very sorry, Miss Suarez," the Captain concluded.

The Chaplain stepped forward, "Ma'am, I know this is a shock. Do you have any questions at this time? Is there anything we can do for you? Can we call someone?"

"He can't be dead." Aria said. "He just can't be. I know he isn't dead. This isn't right."

Chaplain Noble nodded and said, "Miss Suarez, his remains will arrive in Dover tonight and he will be interred at the National Cemetery of your choosing. In his last will and testament, he specifically asked that you accept his honors. Sergeant Williams was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for his service in Iraq. He was also awarded the Bronze Star for his earlier service in Afghanistan.

"Were you aware that he left his Soldier's Group Life Insurance entirely to you? You are named as the sole beneficiary. Do you understand?"

Aria's head spun. "What?"

Chaplain Noble handed her an envelope. "He wrote this before he deployed. It was also in his proof of life kit. It's for you."

The letter was addressed to her in Nick's hand writing. There was no doubt. She tore it open and could not read beyond the first line. It said, "Aria. If you are reading this that means I am dead." She fumbled behind her for her desk chair and collapsed into it as the world in her peripheral vision turned gray.

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THE sun streamed bright through the trees that shaded the ceremony spot at the National Cemetery. Aria's mind whirled with the last several weeks … the visit from the captain and Chaplain, finding out she was the benefactor of Nick's will and his life insurance, making the funeral arrangements. She had no idea what to do or how to do it, and spent the time relying on her mother to help her with the arrangements while desperately trying to finish the school semester.

Now she sat at his graveside surrounded by her parents, her friend Carol, and a few JROTC friends from high school. In a large military town, it had become almost a common occurrence for a military funeral during the war. Nick Williams was the first combat death from their school, their class, and it hurt now that it was so personal. She watched as if from a distance while the military burial team went through the ceremonial motions.

Aria couldn't believe it. For five years, she'd pined for Nicholas Williams. Now all she had left of him was the urn of ashes she was having interred at the National Cemetery and the precious memory of a few stolen kisses.

Thinking back to their graduation day almost exactly two years ago, she felt her heart twist before actual physical pain from her chest overwhelmed her. She sat on the little folding chair next to her mother and accepted the flag from the uniformed man, feeling sobs well up from deep inside her. "On behalf of a grateful nation, we present this flag in memory of Sergeant Nicholas Williams."

She bent, clutching the flag, and rested her forehead on her knee, her whole body trembling as grief completely overtook her. The officer who had presented the flag came to rigid attention and rendered a parade ground perfect salute. The instant his fingertips touched his temple, seven rifles fired in unison. The loud noise made Aria jump in absolute shock. Then the rifle team fired yet another volley and she let out a little cry. Her mother patted the back of her hand as the third and final volley was fired.

No sooner had the echoes of the twenty-one shots died on the hot summer breeze than a lone bugler began to play the long, slow, mournful notes of Taps. A deep sob surprised her and she choked her emotion back.

When her dad put his hand on her back at the conclusion of Taps, she pulled herself together and sat up. Everyone milled around now, talking about high school Nick because no one present ever knew soldier Nick.

Her mother encouraged her to stand. All she could keep thinking was, What now? Until this moment, when the reality of Nick's death washed over her, she'd always hoped and prayed that her future would be their future. What now?

She saw a man enter the courtyard and her breath caught in the back of her throat. Could it be? Was it Nick?

She rushed toward him, but as she drew closer, she realized that it wasn't Nick but rather an older version of him. Only — darker, angrier. He wore a gray mechanic's uniform stained with black grease, the front unbuttoned to show a dirty and ripped white T-shirt. His unshaven face sported a vicious scowl as he scanned the crowd, then honed in on Aria, the woman in the black dress carrying the folded flag.

As she approached, he drained a beer bottle and tossed it on the ground. The shattering of the glass on the concrete courtyard silenced the crowd around them.

"And who are you, then?" he yelled at Aria, approaching quickly. She held her hand up in an almost defensive gesture and heard the sound of her father and brother, John, rushing toward them. "Who are you that you get what's mine?"

"I don't understand what you mean," she said.

"I mean," the man said, grabbing her upheld hand and twisting it painfully, the smell of beer on his breath so strong that it made her gag, "that I'm Nick's father, and any money you got from that no good fer nuthin' boy ain't yours. It's mine."

Aria yelled aloud as pain rippled up her arm. "You're hurting me," she gasped.

"You don't know what hurt is," he said, twisting. The crack of bone sounded like it echoed around her louder even than the rifle shots from before. The pain sent her to her knees just as her father tackled the man.

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