* * * * *
Franklin and Claudia had long since reached the end of their walk. They stood together in front of her door in the center of the small circle of porch light that distinguished Claudia’s house from the rest of the neighborhood. The moment might have seemed awkward considering, but Franklin was too interested in the details of the battle fought by her son in the desert war that Claudia was relating to him. His interest in Claudia’s story eclipsed his discomfort with the social situation.
Jonathan Grey had appeared at her door. He was here, on the very same porch where Franklin and Claudia now stood. He appeared here one Sunday morning with no invitation and no introduction.
When Claudia opened the door in response to the bell, she expected to see one of her book circle friends who were now frequently calling on her. Her book circle friends knew that she had received notice that her son was lost in combat, and they came around regularly to support her. They were good friends.
But on that day, when she opened the door she was surprised to see a young man sitting in a wheelchair. This encounter did not go as she would have expected. Claudia, to her surprise, was able to maintain her composure throughout their long discussions, and she listened with great interest to everything that Jonathan Grey had to tell her.
Jonathan Grey told her the entire story. He told her the details of the Synaptic Implant device and the introduction of liquefied Somnambutol into the Exo-Suit worn by Holden Eckwood. Grey told her about the failed convoy mission. He described his previous mission where he himself was wounded, and his struggle to maintain a career in the military as a wounded combat veteran. When the opportunity to return to combat via Synaptic Derivation was presented to him, he volunteered without hesitation. He was so confident that his experience would make the difference for the new raw recruits.
Claudia understood that it made Jonathan feel better to speak to her. Jonathan told her that he had made a promise to her son. He said that he had promised to return his body undamaged. It was a promise that he failed to keep. Jonathan unburdened himself of a heavy knowledge that morning, and when he spoke, they both gained from it.
While he spoke about the circumstances leading up to the battle, Claudia poured hot tea. When he described the complex array of military technology, that the squad utilized to understand the battlefield and form at tactical plan, Claudia prepared sandwiches. And when he described the moment of realization, when he knew that he had led his squad into a trap, Claudia listened quietly and attentively.
When he was finished, she invited him to come back and visit with her again, and he promised he would do so. But so far, he had not returned.
Claudia surprised herself that she was able to remain composed that morning. She felt motherly towards Jonathan and wanted to help him. She wanted to let him see her strength, and she was grateful to learn the details about the last day for her son, for Holden Eckwood.
At times, Jonathan Grey would become overwhelmed by emotion and Claudia would comfort him. In the end, he asked her for her forgiveness because he felt responsible for the loss of her son. He felt responsible for all the men that were lost on the ridge that day.
Claudia responded to this with the expected answer, “There is nothing to forgive.”
Throughout that long morning, Claudia maintained her composure, except for one moment, it was the first moment. When her surprise at seeing a young man in a wheelchair on her front porch became overwhelmed by realization of what this meeting was about. In that moment, as she began to realize who he was and why he was there, as her emotions rose up into her eyes and blurred her vision.
Claudia had to lean on the door for support when he said, “My name is Jonathan Grey. I was the one. I was in control of his body on that day. I mean, on his last day.”