Those words had come out of my brother’s mouth. I knew that for sure because I’d heard them since he’d signed up at nineteen. It wasn’t that he couldn’t have fast food or junk, he just didn’t allow himself to indulge in it that often.
Rett didn’t add to Hart’s question or say anything for a good twenty minutes after that because he was too busy alternating between bites of a sausage McMuffin and an original glazed donut.
“How can you eat them at the same time?” Tana asked as she and Hart watched on with disgusted curiosity.
I’d learned a long time ago not to watch him eating when he allowed himself cheat food after he’d done the same thing with a taco and a Twinkie, so I busied myself with my coffee and the donut I’d chosen for breakfast. McDonald’s breakfast items still tasted good to me after a couple of hours—unless it was the hash browns—so I’d have mine later.
“Skill, dear Watson. Skill. Technically I’m not eating them at the same time. I finish my bite of one of them and either wash my mouth out with my coffee or my Coke before biting into the other one.”
Both Hart and Tana shuddered when he said Coke, and I smirked at how much they hated the stuff.
Those were about the last words Rett said, preferring to either nod or shake his head as he continued eating his ‘cheat delicacies.’ Not that there was a lot of conversation after that. I hadn’t realized how hungry I’d been until I’d had my donut, but unlike my brother, I could control myself and not reach for a second or third.
Finally, he leaned back and rubbed his stomach. “That’ll about do it for a while.”
“Are you sure?” Tana asked drily, her eyes lowering to the amount of empty food packaging in front of him. “You haven’t really eaten much.”
Rett waved a hand. “I know, but I have to keep my girlish figure.”
I’d had a lot of occasions over the years to feel grateful for having him in my life, especially after Carrie’s death and me having Toby, but at that moment, I felt it on a different level.
“Why can’t you eat them in moderation? That’s what Mom always says we have to do,” Hart asked, shoving the last bite of his donut in his mouth.
Being the teenager he was, he’d chosen the ones with a chocolate thing in the center and a thick chocolate icing on the top. In time, he’d come to appreciate that original glazed ones were the more delicious ones out of the vast choice of flavors. It happened to us all, even though the others were still nice on the odd occasion as something different.
“I have to stay fit because I keep state secrets and do secret missions and shit,” Rett told him seriously.
He forgot who he was bullshitting, though.
“No, you don’t. Marines don’t get told state secrets, only the government does.”
My brother narrowed his eyes on him. “I do, too. What do you think secret missions are based on?”
“Discretion. My brother does the same job as you, and he says the stuff he can’t talk about is because he took an oath not to, and it all boils down to discretion.” Hart’s face fell. “Or, at least, he used to do the same job as you. I don’t know if they have Marines with one leg.”
That was a question none of us could answer, and it sobered us all up. Realistically, Croix wouldn’t ever be able to do the job he’d been doing again, it just wasn’t feasible, but there was every chance he could still work in the Marines doing an alternative one.
Tana squeezed his thigh as Rett patted him loudly on the shoulder. “None of that, Hart. Croix is the most determined guy I’ve ever met in my life. If he still wants to be in the Marines, he’ll make it happen. If he wants to use his training to do other things, he’ll make that happen, too. He just needs to sleep for a couple of days so his body can heal enough for that to happen.”
In all likelihood, the kid knew Rett was making it more straightforward than it was, but the words had the effect on him they were intended to have. Straightening up, he took a deep breath and blew it out again.
“You’re right. When he wakes up, I’m taking him his favorite McDonald's breakfast and a dozen mixed donuts, so he can eat something. Pawpaw said hospital food was shit and tasted like moldy ass. After what Croix’s been through, he’s going to need the good shit.”
I saw Tana roll her lips next to me, likely fighting the need to tell him not to swear and trying not to laugh at the same time, just as Rett’s shoulders started shaking as he laughed at Hart’s wording.