Rise of the Death Walkers (The Circle of Heritage Saga) (22 page)

She looked confused and I elaborated. "The bathrooms?"

"Oh." she pointed to the back of the club. "Back there you will find a set of stairs that go down. At the bottom look for a sign that says Herren. That is the one you want."

I thanked her and started to make my way back to where she pointed. I found the stairs but I also found there was a line waiting to get down to where the restrooms were so I had to wait. Several times one of the local girls would say something to me and some would go even as far as tossing me a flirty look or two. I just pressed my lips tight and shook my head. Things would be easier if I could speak the language. I finally reached the restrooms and took care of my business. When I got back there were two guys at the table. I could see from Irma's expression they were not welcome.

"Come on baby don't be like that." said the one guy and the other who was clearly African American nodded at what he said.

"Is there a problem here gentlemen?" I asked.

"What's it to you dude?" The dark guy asked.

"It's not dude to you it's Sergeant Whitemar and unless you want to be standing in front of the First Sergeant first thing tomorrow morning, soldier, I suggest you apologize to the lady." My look was not at all friendly. "What are your names soldiers?"

Both of the men who had been leaning over the table straightened up and in a reflex motion that depicted good training went immediately to the at ease position. "Private George Brown Sergeant!"

I looked at the white man and he snapped. "Private First Class Walter O'Mally Sergeant."

"Very good men. Now in the future if a young lady clearly displays a discomfort to your attentions I expect you to behave in a manner fit for a United States soldier and leave her alone!"

The both nodded at me and I said. "Now you will apologize to the lady and get lost." they both mumbled an apology and I snapped. "I didn't hear it boys you have to be louder than that!" The both apologized and turned back to look at me. "Go have some fun guys and remember what I said."

"Yes Sergeant!" they both said and flashed a grin at me.

I watched them disappear and slid in beside Irma. "Sorry about that, there was a line at the men's room."

"How did you do that?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

"Do what?" I asked a bit confused myself.

"Make those men listen to you the way they did? I have seen others try to do the same thing you did and they would just laugh and ignore what was being said." She sipped her coke and waited for me to reply.

“I am a Sergeant and they are trained well. Once they knew who I was, training took over their reaction.”

"So they listen to you whether they want to or not?"

"Something like that." I sipped from my coke. "An old Sergeant I did cold weather training with in Alaska, explained it better to me one time. He told me that a good leader not only earned the respect of his men but his very presence demanded respect. It's sort of how you carry yourself in front of the men you lead. You have to always be sure of yourself and the decisions that you make even if you are unsure that the decision is the right one to make." We went back and forth for a bit looking up words in the dictionary until she understood what I had said.

She reached out and took my hand. "You are very good at this Jeran much better than Tom or most people I have seen." I know I flushed in embarrassment when spoke. "Let us go and dance! This song is a good one." She pulled me with her as she slid out and headed toward the dance floor.

We danced for the next hour or so. I spent the time looking at her. She moved like she was born to dance and as I watched her I had to repeatedly force myself to think of something else. Her movements were very provocative. The clothing she had chosen to wear that evening served only to heighten the feeling. In comparison to her fluid movements I felt blocky, like I was moving around carrying several tons of excess weight in my pockets. For freestyle dancing she was definitely much better on the floor than I was.

I leaned forward and spoke in her ear. "The music is much better when I am watching you dance to it."

She laughed lightly and spun away from me grabbing my hand at the same time. We moved to the front and before I knew it we were outside. I figured she wanted to cool off for a bit and was surprised when she pulled me further along on the side of the building. When we were far enough away from the other couples out there she stepped closer to me and said softly. "Tonight I dance for you Jeran you are making me feel so good."

I looked in those eyes that had the ability to hold me hostage for hours on end and said, "You do the same thing to me Irma. I feel so free and not alone anymore."

"Jeran you never need to be alone again." She stepped even closer to me and I folded my arms around her.

"I don't want to be alone... but" I stepped back confused at my own feelings.

She stepped boldly closer to me. "Tell me more about Katie, Jeran." I spoke for a while about her and how she was like but then stopped. "What is wrong Jeran?" she asked.

"It does not seem right it's almost as if I am placing her as a barrier between us and I don't feel right making comparisons between you two." I struggled to articulate what I meant.

"You feel as if you are making me compete with her?" She asked. Irma was a very perceptive person. I nodded in response. "Jeran. I would never compete for the love you felt for her. That is not right. She was a special person for you and it would be wrong for me to try to push her out of your life and memories. I want to find my own ways to make you happy and possibly you could find a way to make room in your heart for me."

I smiled at here and lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "You already have Irma. You have a very special place already here." I put her hand over my heart. "I just don't want to rush into things too fast and hurt you. You have been hurt enough already and I do not want to cause any more."

She sighed at me. "I understand I feel this too. And I am not sure my parents would approve of you as it is."

"Your parents?" I asked confused, "What have I done to your parents?"

She shook her head. "You personally nothing they just do not like Americans for some reason. I think it is because they think I would go away to America and never come back."

I was astonished that someone I had not even met could feel this way about me. "So this is Americans in general and not me specifically?"

She nodded. "When I was involved with Tom my parents would not even speak with me. I think my mother was happy when Tom left me the way he did." She rested her head on my chest.

"Well we will cross that bridge when we come to it. That's if you even wanted anything to do with me in a couple of weeks." I smoothed her hair with my hand and looked into the dimly lit street.

"What do you mean by this Jeran?" She asked with lines of worry in her forehead.

"I mean you might grow tired of me in a few weeks."

She shook her head and responded. "I do not think that is possible Jeran. You are like a sickness I do not want to get rid of. I feel good when you are with me. It is like you are the medicine I need and want more of."

What a pair! We were both dealing with losses and both clinging to each other to feel good. Was this a good basis for a solid relationship? I didn’t know. I was too young and didn’t have a lifetime worth of experiences to fall back on. "I understand what you’re saying." I paused for a moment as another couple walked past us.

Somewhere in the night I heard someone calling. "Irma. There you are Irma." The short girl from the store today appeared in the darkness. She was speaking English and I knew it was for my benefit. "I figured you would be here tonight with your gorgeous hunk of a man." She looked at me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable.

"Sonja." Irma said in a sharp tone and then cut loose with rapid fire German. This went on for several minutes. After the two girls exchanged comments Irma started to giggle and she pulled Sonja into a hug.

"Ladies." I interrupted the exchange. "Maybe we should go in and sit down." I spotted the clerk I had met this morning and called out. "Brown come over here I want you to meet someone."

He turned to me and smiled when he recognized me. "Sgt. Whitemar, I see you found the local watering hole." He sauntered up to us and looked at Irma who was still holding onto my hand and then at Sonja. I could see the interest spark in his eyes. "Who might these delectable ladies be?"

"Brown this is Irma," I pointed at her and then waved my hand toward Sonja. "And that is her friend Sonja. Ladies this is..." I waited for him to supply his name.

"Tyron Brown." He said

"Tyron is the clerk at the unit I was recently assigned to." I steered Irma toward the door and she flashed her eyes between Sonja and Tyron. She guess what I was up to and I could see a half-smile on her face.

Sonja looked at Tyron and displayed the interest an aardvark might display to a couple of cockroaches mating on the street. Her gaze switched between admiring looks at me and looks of anger at Irma. Irma cleared her throat and joined in on my attempt. "Tyron why don’t you get Sonja a drink."

We sat back down and I ordered a couple more cokes for Irma and myself. Tyron ordered a beer for himself and when he asked Sonja what she would like she said something about and Asbach Cola. I had no idea what that was but when the drinks came, I guessed it was a whiskey of some sort.

Tyron turned to me and reached into his pocket. "Sergeant, This came for you today and I was told to make sure you received it ASAP." He handed a folded paper to me and I glanced at it quickly. It was an address in Heidelberg. Looked like Blake held his promise and would be coming in two weeks.

"Thank you Brown I was expecting this." I saw Irma flash a questioning look at me and I said lightly. "Nothing, it's just work related." She nodded at me and started looking around the club.

Brown grinned back and me and said in a conversational tone. "Top was pretty impressed today Sergeant."

"At what?" I asked and Irma turned her attention back to the conversation.

"At you. He said he had never seen a man fresh from the States go on a run like we did this morning and then spend several hours running around the woods after the detachment was finished PT." He drank his beer and added. "Top doesn’t miss much. So how many miles did you go in total today?"

I could see both Irma and Sonja watching me. "I think it was around twenty or so. Running that distance without full combat gear is not very difficult." I said trying to make it sound light.

"You ran twenty kilometers today?" Irma asked me.

"No miles. I think that's about thirty two kilometers." I said before thinking about what I was saying. Sonja kept rubbing her leg against mine and it distracted me.

Irma noticed what Sonja was doing and kicked her under the table. "Wow thirty two kilometers in one day on foot. I doubt I can run one kilometer."

"If you want we can go running together tomorrow morning." I smiled at her.

"Not if you plan on running to Heidelberg and back!" She exclaimed

I shot a grin at her and said. "Doesn’t have to be all running we can alternate walking in the woods and running if you wish."

"Ok but I warn you I am not made of muscles the way you are. I have all I can do just walking around work the way we have to." She grinned at me.

Sonja was still trying to distract my attention and Irma spotted it again. "Sonja, leave Jeran alone... What you are doing is rude!"

There was real anger in her tone and Sonja's eyes went wide in surprise. "Sheesh Irma, Get a grip." She stood up quickly and stormed to the back of the club.

Irma sighed heavily and said. "I better go talk to her. I am sorry I will be right back."

I nodded at her and watched her walk to the back of the club to look for Sonja.

Brown chuckled and asked. "You always stir up a hornets' nest like this Sergeant?"

"Looks that way." I sighed. I could not understand why Sonja was reacting the way she was. I was not special just your ordinary half-breed Indian from a reservation in the far north of America. There were several other guys in here that were much better looking than I was.

"Cool then if you don't mind I will hang around you from now on. It could get interesting." He laughed and ordered another full round for the table.

I did not reply but nodded my thanks for the new round. A few minutes later Irma and Sonja returned. From the looks on Sonja's face she was not happy at all. Irma grabbed my hand and said. "Come Jeran we are going."

I nodded at her and said. "I will see you later Brown. Tell Top I got the message and will be there." We walked out of the club and headed in the direction away from the car. It looked like we were heading to the town square in front of the bank she had brought me that morning. She led me to a bench near the water fountain and we sat down together.

We were silent for a few moments and I gathered that Irma needed some time to compose herself. After a bit she said. "I am so sorry about the way Sonja was acting tonight Jeran. She is usually not that way."

I waved my hand in dismissal. "It's nothing Irma really."

"It is something to me Jeran." She paused for a moment before rushing on. "I do not know why I feel this way but for some reason I feel so possessive when it comes to you and what she was doing bothered me."

I reached out and took her hand. "If you want to talk about it I’m here and listening."

She bit her lip and traced the outline of my hand with her finger. "I do not know if I can explain my feelings when I do not understand them myself." She paused and I could see her closing her eyes like she was in intense concentration. "Have you ever had a favorite book or toy or something like that where you know it belongs to you and only you?"

I looked at her in surprise and nodded. "Yes I have." I said softly

"It is sort of like that. Then when someone comes along and takes this object from you the only thought you have in your head is to get it back. Because it does not belong to them and you want to protect it from any harm they could do to it." She bit her lip and looked sideways at me. I nodded and she rushed on. "I know I have only today met you. It is silly for me to feel this way but I feel like you are that favorite book I have. What Sonja did tonight. I just got so angry at her."