My name is Lillian Walker, today I’m burying my husband, best friend, and father of our son Aiden. His name was Nathaniel Walker, he was 28 when he died during his third tour to Iraq. His unit was ambushed by a group of insurgents; he was a combat medic. He was the most influential person in my life. I have so much to be grateful for because of him. He got along with everyone, he just had this aura about him that radiated happiness. When he smiled or laughed it was contagious, the entire room would be infected by it. He was protective of his loved ones as a man should, he was the type of man to give you the shirt on his back if you needed it. Believe me, I would know, he usually gave me his shirt because I have needed it a few times. He would laugh and give me shit about it, always making me blush.
I met him when I started as a freshman in college, at a bar my friend Tessa convinced me to go to after orientation. Looking back I’m glad she did because I would have never had the most wonderful love enter my life. That crappy hole-in-the-wall bar was frequented by soldiers from the nearby base and college students all trying to let off some steam. It was called Thunder Road, eighties memorabilia covered the walls and bar. The owner Harry was a huge eighties fan, he was a big mountain of a man with tanned skin. He was starting to bald and had the kindest chocolate brown eyes I had ever seen. He always made sure the college girls had a way home and kept the soldiers and college guys in check when they got too rowdy. Hairband posters were sealed into the tabletops, movie quotes covered the front of the bar, the bar stools were upholstered with band shirts, and the drinks were named after famous eighties movies like Overboard, Beetlejuice, and Swamp Thing. By the way, I do not recommend trying Swamp Thing, you will look like the famed creature if you drink more than one. I had just finished orientation for my freshmen year and I was in my dorm relaxing with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey when the text messages started.
Tessa: ‘Hey girl! What are you doing?’
Me: ‘Relaxing, you?’
Tessa: ‘You mean you are eating an entire pint of ice cream in front of the TV in your ratty-ass rainbow pajamas!’
Me: ‘Don’t judge me, you’re just jealous you can’t be on my level.’
Tessa: ‘Get dressed I’ll be there in 10mins.’
Me: ‘No.’
Tessa: ‘I didn’t ask. Get Dressed!’
I sighed, looked down at my ice cream frowning. One thing about me is I love ice cream! Begrudgingly, I got dressed as simply as possible, which consisted of short jean shorts, a bright pink tank top, and my green converse tennis shoes. I threw my hair up in a messy bun and put on some pink lip gloss. I grabbed my favorite bag, it's a cross-shoulder bag with The Great Wave of Kanagawa on it, grabbed my keys, took one last look in the mirror at my 5’4, busty, thick-thighed, with some fluff in the middle figure, and walked out the door. I reached the sidewalk and Tessa was already waiting for me in her black Jeep Cherokee. Tessa was my age, she was my complete opposite, 5’9 athletic, blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned. I smiled when I saw her; Tessa just has this way about her she always knew how to cheer me up. As I stepped towards the Jeep she rolled down the passenger window and yelled out, “Hey loser get in, we’re going drinking!” I giggled at her comment and opened the passenger door, I slid in the seat buckling my seatbelt. I turned towards her and said, “Alright I’m here, where are we going?” She smirked at me and replied, “Thunder Road.”
I threw my hands in the air, “Awww damn it Tessa you know I don’t like that place! It’s full of degenerate, sex-starved soldiers and perverted frat boys!” I huffed and crossed my arms, the thought of being around soldiers cussing, while metaphorically measuring each other's dicks seemed repulsive. On top of the already annoying frats boys that act like they are the hottest shit since sliced bread only made me less enthused about the night. “Besides how are we going to drink, we are underage? Riddle me that genius.” Tessa chuckled, “ You know damn well Harry wouldn’t mind serving us because he went to school with our parents, plus he knows we are angels." She batted her eyes at me then continued in a sigh, "Dude c’mon, we need this, we just had our orientation for our freshman year of college! We need to let off some steam, drink a little, okay maybe a lot of drinking. But still, I stand by my statement.” She drives off towards the bar, once I finish sulking I look around the campus as we drive past the library and get into town. It’s a small town we live in, Holter, Massachusetts is a 20-minute drive from Fort Kilt, the army base where the soldiers escape from when they want to drink. The bar is about a 10-minute drive from campus and stands alone on the side of the highway. I see the neon green sign, ‘Thunder Road’ I sigh, Tessa parks the Jeep and turns off the ignition. She puts her keys in her back pocket and looks at me, her eyes full of concern, “Lily, try to have a good time. You never know you might meet someone interesting. After 2 drinks if you want to go we’ll go, but not before then. Got it?” I smile and nod in agreement, “Two drinks then we bounce.” We got out of the Jeep and walked to the entrance, I could already hear the music and the voices inside. I pass a lanky blonde man smoking a cigarette, I flinch at the smell, my back stiffens slightly. “I want a smoke right now,” I said to myself in a low voice, I stuck my right hand into my bag and began searching for my pack of smokes. I am well aware of the health risks involved with smoking but I am even more aware of how angry I can get when I don’t have a smoke. Trust me, I am more terrifying than the Hulk if I don’t have a smoke when I want one. Without paying attention I keep walking towards the door and hear voices close by, in my peripherals I see the door swing open abruptly it barely misses me. Outcomes this tall guy wearing a grey t-shirt, charcoal cargo shorts with black vans, I shout, “Hey! Watch it dickbag!” while holding my box of cigarettes in my hand. He chuckles, “Oh I’m sorry miss I didn’t mean to just swing the door open like that. Let me get it for you.” I roll my eyes and continue looking into my bag, “I’m not going in yet. I want a smoke before I have to deal with the chaos in there. I just can’t find my damned lighter.” Still fumbling around my bag I hear a sound I instantly recognize, the tall man is holding a lit lighter out to me. I look up at him taking in him completely for the first time and I stare straight into these bright green hazel eyes, if Harry hadn’t chosen such bright neon signs outside I wouldn’t have seen the full brilliance of this guy's eyes. I don’t know how long I stared when he waved the lighter in front of me and said, “Miss you needed a light?” I fumbled to get a cigarette between my lips when I stammered, “T-thanks I appreciate it, I can never find anything in my bag. Sometimes I call it Narnia.” The guy gasps suddenly, “No way! I call the small space between the driver's seat and the console Narnia!” I giggle at him. “That makes a lot of sense. I’ve lost a countless number of fries to that Narnia!” I smile at him and hear Tessa from the door, “Hey Lily what's the hold-up? I wanna drink!” I blush and look up at the tall guy with green eyes again, “Well I gotta get going, she won’t wait for long when it comes to drinking. And she is my ride home, so I’ll see you later. Thanks again for the light.” I put out my cigarette and headed inside when he stopped me, “Lily right? I’m Nathaniel, Nathaniel Walker, maybe I can have a drink with you before you go for the night?”
I raise my right eyebrow and ask, “You a frat boy?” He smiles, shaking his head, “No college wasn’t for me.” I leer at him, “You’re a soldier.” He raises his left brow replying, “Is that a problem?”
I sigh slightly before swinging my bag behind me and adjusting the strap, “Normally yes, most of the guys that come over from base are douchebags, they get way too rowdy or are disgusting. But I suppose you are going to tell me how you are so different from them?” He laughed so hard tears formed on the corners of his eyes, “Girl you aren’t wrong. Most if not all soldiers act like idiots when they are in a bar, but to answer your question no I won’t lie to you and say I am not like them because I am. What I will tell you is unlike some of these guys, I know how to treat a woman. If my momma caught me mistreating a woman she’d have my ass!”
I laughed at his response. I was not expecting that at all, he completely caught me off guard. He is funny which grants him major brownie points with me, alright I’ll give this soldier a chance. I nod at him and wave him to follow me as I turn to go inside Thunder Road, “Well come on uniform boy, let's go have a drink.” I saw him grin, “Yes ma’am after you.” And in that instant, I was glad Tessa pulled me away from my ice cream binge.
I met him when I started as a freshman in college, at a bar my friend Tessa convinced me to go to after orientation. Looking back I’m glad she did because I would have never had the most wonderful love enter my life. That crappy hole-in-the-wall bar was frequented by soldiers from the nearby base and college students all trying to let off some steam. It was called Thunder Road, eighties memorabilia covered the walls and bar. The owner Harry was a huge eighties fan, he was a big mountain of a man with tanned skin. He was starting to bald and had the kindest chocolate brown eyes I had ever seen. He always made sure the college girls had a way home and kept the soldiers and college guys in check when they got too rowdy. Hairband posters were sealed into the tabletops, movie quotes covered the front of the bar, the bar stools were upholstered with band shirts, and the drinks were named after famous eighties movies like Overboard, Beetlejuice, and Swamp Thing. By the way, I do not recommend trying Swamp Thing, you will look like the famed creature if you drink more than one. I had just finished orientation for my freshmen year and I was in my dorm relaxing with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey when the text messages started.
Tessa: ‘Hey girl! What are you doing?’
Me: ‘Relaxing, you?’
Tessa: ‘You mean you are eating an entire pint of ice cream in front of the TV in your ratty-ass rainbow pajamas!’
Me: ‘Don’t judge me, you’re just jealous you can’t be on my level.’
Tessa: ‘Get dressed I’ll be there in 10mins.’
Me: ‘No.’
Tessa: ‘I didn’t ask. Get Dressed!’
I sighed, looked down at my ice cream frowning. One thing about me is I love ice cream! Begrudgingly, I got dressed as simply as possible, which consisted of short jean shorts, a bright pink tank top, and my green converse tennis shoes. I threw my hair up in a messy bun and put on some pink lip gloss. I grabbed my favorite bag, it's a cross-shoulder bag with The Great Wave of Kanagawa on it, grabbed my keys, took one last look in the mirror at my 5’4, busty, thick-thighed, with some fluff in the middle figure, and walked out the door. I reached the sidewalk and Tessa was already waiting for me in her black Jeep Cherokee. Tessa was my age, she was my complete opposite, 5’9 athletic, blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned. I smiled when I saw her; Tessa just has this way about her she always knew how to cheer me up. As I stepped towards the Jeep she rolled down the passenger window and yelled out, “Hey loser get in, we’re going drinking!” I giggled at her comment and opened the passenger door, I slid in the seat buckling my seatbelt. I turned towards her and said, “Alright I’m here, where are we going?” She smirked at me and replied, “Thunder Road.”
I threw my hands in the air, “Awww damn it Tessa you know I don’t like that place! It’s full of degenerate, sex-starved soldiers and perverted frat boys!” I huffed and crossed my arms, the thought of being around soldiers cussing, while metaphorically measuring each other's dicks seemed repulsive. On top of the already annoying frats boys that act like they are the hottest shit since sliced bread only made me less enthused about the night. “Besides how are we going to drink, we are underage? Riddle me that genius.” Tessa chuckled, “ You know damn well Harry wouldn’t mind serving us because he went to school with our parents, plus he knows we are angels." She batted her eyes at me then continued in a sigh, "Dude c’mon, we need this, we just had our orientation for our freshman year of college! We need to let off some steam, drink a little, okay maybe a lot of drinking. But still, I stand by my statement.” She drives off towards the bar, once I finish sulking I look around the campus as we drive past the library and get into town. It’s a small town we live in, Holter, Massachusetts is a 20-minute drive from Fort Kilt, the army base where the soldiers escape from when they want to drink. The bar is about a 10-minute drive from campus and stands alone on the side of the highway. I see the neon green sign, ‘Thunder Road’ I sigh, Tessa parks the Jeep and turns off the ignition. She puts her keys in her back pocket and looks at me, her eyes full of concern, “Lily, try to have a good time. You never know you might meet someone interesting. After 2 drinks if you want to go we’ll go, but not before then. Got it?” I smile and nod in agreement, “Two drinks then we bounce.” We got out of the Jeep and walked to the entrance, I could already hear the music and the voices inside. I pass a lanky blonde man smoking a cigarette, I flinch at the smell, my back stiffens slightly. “I want a smoke right now,” I said to myself in a low voice, I stuck my right hand into my bag and began searching for my pack of smokes. I am well aware of the health risks involved with smoking but I am even more aware of how angry I can get when I don’t have a smoke. Trust me, I am more terrifying than the Hulk if I don’t have a smoke when I want one. Without paying attention I keep walking towards the door and hear voices close by, in my peripherals I see the door swing open abruptly it barely misses me. Outcomes this tall guy wearing a grey t-shirt, charcoal cargo shorts with black vans, I shout, “Hey! Watch it dickbag!” while holding my box of cigarettes in my hand. He chuckles, “Oh I’m sorry miss I didn’t mean to just swing the door open like that. Let me get it for you.” I roll my eyes and continue looking into my bag, “I’m not going in yet. I want a smoke before I have to deal with the chaos in there. I just can’t find my damned lighter.” Still fumbling around my bag I hear a sound I instantly recognize, the tall man is holding a lit lighter out to me. I look up at him taking in him completely for the first time and I stare straight into these bright green hazel eyes, if Harry hadn’t chosen such bright neon signs outside I wouldn’t have seen the full brilliance of this guy's eyes. I don’t know how long I stared when he waved the lighter in front of me and said, “Miss you needed a light?” I fumbled to get a cigarette between my lips when I stammered, “T-thanks I appreciate it, I can never find anything in my bag. Sometimes I call it Narnia.” The guy gasps suddenly, “No way! I call the small space between the driver's seat and the console Narnia!” I giggle at him. “That makes a lot of sense. I’ve lost a countless number of fries to that Narnia!” I smile at him and hear Tessa from the door, “Hey Lily what's the hold-up? I wanna drink!” I blush and look up at the tall guy with green eyes again, “Well I gotta get going, she won’t wait for long when it comes to drinking. And she is my ride home, so I’ll see you later. Thanks again for the light.” I put out my cigarette and headed inside when he stopped me, “Lily right? I’m Nathaniel, Nathaniel Walker, maybe I can have a drink with you before you go for the night?”
I raise my right eyebrow and ask, “You a frat boy?” He smiles, shaking his head, “No college wasn’t for me.” I leer at him, “You’re a soldier.” He raises his left brow replying, “Is that a problem?”
I sigh slightly before swinging my bag behind me and adjusting the strap, “Normally yes, most of the guys that come over from base are douchebags, they get way too rowdy or are disgusting. But I suppose you are going to tell me how you are so different from them?” He laughed so hard tears formed on the corners of his eyes, “Girl you aren’t wrong. Most if not all soldiers act like idiots when they are in a bar, but to answer your question no I won’t lie to you and say I am not like them because I am. What I will tell you is unlike some of these guys, I know how to treat a woman. If my momma caught me mistreating a woman she’d have my ass!”
I laughed at his response. I was not expecting that at all, he completely caught me off guard. He is funny which grants him major brownie points with me, alright I’ll give this soldier a chance. I nod at him and wave him to follow me as I turn to go inside Thunder Road, “Well come on uniform boy, let's go have a drink.” I saw him grin, “Yes ma’am after you.” And in that instant, I was glad Tessa pulled me away from my ice cream binge.
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