Chapter 6 - The Woman I Couldn’t Remember Had Been Angry With My Commander
Marcus did not like being summoned.
Good.
He met me in the lobby of temporary lodging at 10:40 p.m.
No office.
No uniform advantage.
He was still in fatigues because his day had apparently been as long as mine.
“My mother says there was a conversation you were glad I forgot.”
His face barely moved.
“Dana says things dramatically.”
“That’s not a denial.”
“No.”
I waited.
He sat.
I stayed standing.
“Maya had requested transfer.”
“Why?”
“She was done with the unit.”
“Because of you?”
“Partly.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing dramatic.”
That was not reassuring.
He rubbed his hands together.
“I leaned on her.”
“For?”
“To extend.”
Maya's medic section was short-staffed.
She had been scheduled to move to another installation after four months at Danner.
Marcus asked her to stay two more.
“She said no.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“I kept asking.”
“How?”
“Conversations. Scheduling pressure. Reminding her what the section needed.”
“Did you threaten her?”
“No.”
“Did she think you did?”
He hesitated.
“She said I was turning duty into guilt.”
I looked at him.
“That sounds specific.”
“She was specific.”
“Where do I fit?”
“You told me to stop.”
I almost smiled.
“Apparently I was specific too.”
“You were furious.”
“Why?”
“Because Maya had already told you she was leaving for reasons that had nothing to do with me.”
“What reasons?”
Marcus looked away.
“Walter.”
I sat now.
“What happened between them?”
“Maya wanted distance.”
“Why?”
“She thought he relied on her too much.”
“Financially?”
“No.”
“Emotionally?”
Marcus nodded.
Walter had been widowed young.
Maya was his only child.
Every disagreement became a crisis.
Every plan to move felt like abandonment.
Walter did not forbid her from leaving.
He made her feel the cost of leaving.
That distinction mattered.
“Maya signed the medical directive because of him?”
“Not only.”
“Then?”
“Her mother died after a long hospitalization.”
Walter had fought every recommendation to stop aggressive treatment even after doctors said recovery would not come.
Maya watched.
Later she created her own directive.
Walter took it personally.
“Did she tell me?”
“Yes.”
“Did I tell you?”
“Some.”
“What was our last conversation?”
Marcus leaned back.
“The morning before the crash.”
“Where?”
“Outside company headquarters.”
“What did I say?”
“That if I used her upcoming transfer to pressure her again, you would make it formal.”
“Complaint?”
“Yes.”
“Did I?”
“No.”
“Because of the crash.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“So what part were you glad I forgot?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
“Marcus.”
His jaw tightened.
“I told you to mind your career.”
That did not sound like much.
He continued.
“You were junior enlisted. Maya was leaving. I told you not to make yourself a problem for somebody who wouldn't even be there in two months.”
I stared.
“What did I say?”
“You said maybe that was exactly why people waited until they were leaving to tell the truth.”
I could almost hear myself saying it.
That bothered me.
Marcus continued.
“Then I said something worse.”
“What?”
He looked at the floor.
“I told you Maya made every relationship into a test of whether someone would choose her.”
That hit.
“Why?”
“Because I was angry.”
“At her?”
“At both of you.”
“What did I do?”
“You walked away.”
“That’s it?”
“No.”
He looked up.
“You came back ten minutes later and said, ‘If she gets on that transfer, don't rewrite this like you supported her.’”
Silence.
“Did you?”
Marcus’s face tightened.
“After the crash, I wrote that I had supported her reassignment.”
I stared.
“Had you?”
“Eventually.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“No.”
There.
Not a grand cover-up.
A sentence polished after tragedy.
A man making his role cleaner because the person who would have corrected him was dead and the other person could not remember.
“Did I ever read that?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“You were in rehabilitation.”
“Later?”
“I didn't show you.”
“Because?”
He looked at me.
“Because you had asked us not to feed you memories.”
I laughed.
“You found that request very useful.”
“Yes.”
He did not defend himself.
That made the room colder.
Then:
“I also thought knowing would make you come after me.”
“Would I have?”
Marcus looked at me.
“Six years ago?”
May you like
He almost smiled.
“Absolutely.”
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