166 Days: My Journey Through The Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

is also active duty?” I smiled. Little did he know I had done the same thing in the past. I would often tell people my name was “Bernice” or something like that to keep my distance… but not from this guy. I saw the expression of concern on his face that this was the beginning of the end of our incredible encounter.
    I figured I would let him sweat it out for a bit. “Well, Greg, how do I know that is your name? Perhaps I should request a formal background check.” I was having fun with it, but I could tell he was sincerely sorry.
    “No look! Here’s my military ID! You see? Gregory Ryan Clark. And if you think about it, technically I wasn’t lying completely; see Ryan is my middle name.”
    I looked at the card and confirmed he was actually who he said he was this time. I also noted the date he entered the service; July 5th, which just so happened to be my birthday. Interesting. Oh, man, I liked him. I decided to let him off the hook, and as the night went on Greg and I started out on what would become our lifelong romance. I will never forget the last song of the night. We danced to “The Dance” by Garth Brooks and I couldn’t help but smile about how I almost didn’t come out and meet this wonderful man. We exchanged phone numbers and he leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Do you mind if I call you tomorrow and ask you out on a proper first date?”
    I smiled and responded, “You better!”
    He leaned in again and said simply, “You have my word.”
    Wowza. My heart was pounding. Such a gentleman! As we said goodnight, I knew there was a special reason why we were brought together that night, even if it was in a bar, on the strip, in Las Vegas of all places.
    As promised, he called me the very next day. Our conversation seemed to start right where we left off the night before; it was so easy to talk with him. Ironically I ended up in the hospital the following week due to an unfortunate incident with a cat bite (A piece of advice: don’t ever put a scared cat in a bathtub full of water, it doesn’t end well). When I told him what happened his playful response was, “Wow, if you didn’t want to go out with me, you could have just said so!”
    Despite my unlucky circumstances we talked on the phone every day I was admitted and exactly one week after we met, we had our first date. As I watched him walk up to my door, I felt that same feeling that overwhelmed me when I first saw him in the bar. The conversation through the night flowed effortlessly and we laughed and flirted. I got us lost trying to find the restaurant, but we couldn’t get enough of each other. When we met, I still thought I was going to pursue the nursing degree, and my package was already submitted. As the evening went on, I couldn’t get past the fact I would be leaving in a few short months for school, once I got accepted into the program. I had to be honest with him. I will never forget the conversation: “Greg, listen, I like you a LOT, but, I’ve got goals, and I am going to finish school and when I get selected for this commissioning program, it means I will be leaving in four months. So… we’re going to have to figure this thing out.”
    He could have responded in so many ways to that, I think most guys would have been like, “Well, see ya!” but he didn’t, instead he said, “Wow, that’s great that you have such drive. I agree, we are just going to have to find a way to make this thing happen.”
     
    I was so lucky to have this man in my life, I thought, as I stood outside my room in Manas. We had such an instant connection when we met, and we have continued to build an incredible friendship. I sat down on the steps and remembered how supportive of me he had always been. I remembered how comforting he was when I was so devastated by the rejection for the nursing program, and how he pushed me to pursue becoming a PA.
    As I began completing the prerequisite coursework, Greg and I continued to grow as individuals