(This is a fictional poetic series and short story about events that never take place and about people that have never existed. Any representation of an actual event or person is purely coincidental in nature.)

The U. S. Army Ranger, The Journey Begins - Intermission

Content

Beads of moisture

Chapter 1: A hot summer to remember

Chapter 2: Dinner for two

Chapter 3: On the long black leather couch

Chapter 4: Beads of moisture

Chapter 5: The morning after

Chapter 6: Corporal Elaine Williams

Chapter 1: A hot summer to remember

The summer of 2003 was the hottest summer on record. In Hackberry, the average daytime temperature reached a staggering 106 degrees for nine consecutive weeks. The Army Credit Union loaned Corporal Jamal Walker enough money to purchase a nice secluded house out on state road 27 and he moved out of the barracks on the base in the middle of April of 2002. The large red brick home afforded Jamal plenty of room for his unusually large collection of antique furniture. The house was built on forty acres of tranquil farmland on the Johnson Bayou Road. It was just far enough away so Jamal would not be bothered. Still, he was located close enough for quick access to the base.

After an exhaustingly long Thursday of running errands and antique shopping with Corporal Patrice West, Jamal drove up the long tree-lined entrance of his property. The Ford noisily rumbled down the long dusty road. The house was situated about a mile and half off state road 27. He stopped the Ford at the electric security gate and reached into the glove box to retrieve the steel gray remote gate opener. After a few seconds, the black metal gate slowly slid back into the enclosure of the six feet high block wall. Jamal softly rubbed his huge hand across Patrice’s exposed caramel left thigh and proceeded to drive the loaded truck through the open gate. The Ford came to rest next the back entrance of the house as Benjamin and Bear clumsily barged off the back porch.

Earlier that morning, the couple had attended an antique auction in Hackberry. Jamal purchased an exquisitely hand carved walnut finished dark beige chaise, and an elegant Louis XV style chair with a matching ottoman. The chair and ottoman’s fabric was a deep burgundy with embroidered flowers and dark cherry wood stained frames. He also acquired a sensational French antique maroon colored sofa with walnut wood frames. Immediately, Jamal and Patrice carefully unloaded the priceless antiques from the back of the Ford. They meticulously arranged each antique treasure around the formal living room.

The charming four-bedroom with two and a half baths home had been empty for almost eight years. One day, Jamal and Patrice stumbled upon it as they were returning to the base from a weekend in New Orleans. The moment Jamal’s eyes explored the vine-covered brick house and moss-covered trees, he knew he would own it.

This stately brick two-story home was built in 1970 by George Ramsey, a local businessman, and farmer from Hackberry. The home was built in the middle of forty rolling green acres bordering the Johnson swamp. Mr. Ramsey had sectioned off the main house, the various wooden outbuildings, and the adjoining acre around the house with a six feet high cement block wall and an electric entrance gate.

Alberta Ramsey, his wife of fifty-three years, had constructed a magnificent flower garden bordered by fragrant pine and cypress trees and complete with sandstone walkways, a small fishpond, and a cedar gazebo. His widow lived in the house until she became too old to keep it up. Most of the original furniture was still in the abandoned house when Jamal purchased the neglected property.

Two huge mahogany doors, with an oval shaped stain glass panel in the top center of each door, served as the main entrance into the house. The front room of this comfortable brick home was a spacious formal living room with a cherry stained beamed cathedral ceiling and a huge glass chandelier. To the right of the front doors was a dark brown staircase that led to four large bedrooms and a covered rooftop patio.

The cherry stained hardwood floors led from the living room into the roomy formal dining room. Mrs. Ramsey left in the house the ten-person mahogany Chippendale table with the matching chairs and the impressive four-drawer mahogany Chippendale buffet that was the showpieces of the entire dining room. Patrice added an antique mahogany cupboard that perfectly matched the Chippendale table and buffet.

The entrance to large kitchen was just to the right of the antique Chippendale dining table and buffet. In the rear of the kitchen, Mrs. Roberts had constructed a large windowless pantry room with an old Maytag refrigerator and freezer. Jamal replaced the old refrigerator, however the large old freezer worked perfectly after some work by a repairman.

The ample kitchen was built with two long rows of custom-made oak cabinets on either side of the kitchen and a suitable double sink by the side window. Jamal installed a six-burner black gas Kenmore stove in the cooking island in the center of the large kitchen and some metal hooks near the stove where Patrice hung the pots and pans.

The entrance to the Mr. Ramsey’s office sat beside the black steel backdoor of the kitchen. This wonderful office was added to the original house in 1984 so the ailing Mr. Ramsey could continue his work from home. He worked out of the office for just a few months before he died in 1986 from cancer.

This exquisitely oak paneled nine hundred square foot room offered more room than the entire living room and dining room combined. It had an impressive quarrystone fireplace on the far wall and dark brown hardwood floors. The surprisingly large office offered an attractive view of the backyard through the almond colored hardwood double Dutch doors. Jamal filled the entire room with a gorgeous Mahogany desk, some beautiful antique office furniture, and an imitation bear skin rug.

Chapter 2: Dinner for two

Jamal met Patrice during the annual field exercise and readiness training drill in 2001. All of the military personnel on the base were assembling on the General Mitchell T. Richardson’s parade field on a rainy October morning. The sky released buckets of precipitation the entire first day and part of the next.

Jamal spotted Patrice as she gracefully exited a camouflaged Humvee on the first day. She was placing her long jet-black hair in a bun and wore the traditional Army issued fatigues under her open army green rain poncho. Jamal noticed how the uniform appeared tailor made as it tightly outlined the curves of her thick Afro-American frame.

Patrice was a wonderful person. She grew up in Marion Junction and knew of Jamal from school. She attended Marion Junction high school. Patrice was on the track team in high school and joined the military right after high school like Jamal. However, she completed her basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. She was then stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas where she became a medical laboratory specialist. At Fort Hope, Louisiana, she was attached to the 41st Medical Battalion and worked at the General Andrew T. Hope Memorial Hospital on the base and ran one of the fastest miles on base.

It was true love at first sight. Jamal was captivated by Patrice’s exceptional beauty. His eyes followed the attractive Patrice to her position in the formation. Right after the companies were dismissed from formation, he hastily pursued after her and asked her out on a date. On their first date, the couple drove Patrice’s black and gray 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix to New Orleans for dinner and a jazz concert. Over the next year and a half, Patrice quickly became an intimate part of Jamal’s home life. She even shared his unusual love for antique furniture. They were a perfect couple.

After the couple finished unloading the Ford, Jamal entered the large kitchen to prepare a very tasty dinner for his girlfriend. He took an empty slate blue platter out the backdoor to the wooden gazebo in the flower garden. The smell of the fresh seasoned salmon cooking on the hot smoky grill drifted up to Jamal’s nostrils. Patrice was relaxing on the plaid cushions of the lounger in the gazebo. She glanced over at Bear and Benjamin, Jamal’s two red Pit bull -Rottweiler mix dogs, as they lazily lounged on the shaded floor of the gazebo.

‘Hey, Jamal, will you pour me some more wine, please,’ she inquired. Patrice picked up her clear long stemmed wine goblet from the floor and passed it to Jamal’s extended hand.

‘Sure, but only a little bit more. Dinner is just about ready. I am just waiting on the fish and the cornbread to finish cooking. It will not be much longer.’ he replied.

Patrice never felt as comfortable anywhere as she did with Jamal. It was a nice steamy summer afternoon. She was entertained by an occasional visit from the rabbits, ducks, and squirrels that roamed throughout the property. Jamal’s black cellphone vibrated on the fabric of the lounger beside Patrice. Reluctantly, she handed the black telephone to him.

‘Hello, Jamal speaking,’ he said after he placed the telephone to his left ear. The conversation was short, quick and to the point. The captain wanted to see him in the morning. Jamal hung up the black cellphone and continued to cook.

‘Ok, are you going to tell me who it was? You are not leaving right now are you?’ inquired Patrice.

‘No and no,’ Jamal replied with his patented half smile. He walked over to her and gently kissed her lips. ‘Anyway dinner is ready. Let’s eat.’ Jamal easily picked Patrice up in his powerful muscular arms and carried her delicate frame over the threshold of the house. As he looked deeply into her green eyes, he could imagine her as his wife. He gently placed her in the waiting chair in the dining room and returned to the grill outside

The meal consisted of a mouth-watering grilled salmon stuffed with baby red onions and a garlic clove, grilled butter squash, cornbread, a tossed garden salad and a delicious baked sweet potato pie. He took the mouth-watering grilled salmon and carefully placed it on the serving platter. Then Jamal returned to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner.

After Jamal placed her on the chair, Patrice noticed how beautifully formal he had arranged the table. The ivory-white "Heinrick" dinner plates and the crystal long stemmed Waterford wineglasses were perfectly arranged. ‘He never uses this stuff,’ she thought to herself and reached to retrieve her napkin. She slid the napkin ring off the rolled up napkin and noticed something falling out of the unrolling napkin. ‘It is a ring,’ she said aloud as tears welled up in her eyes. Just then, she heard Jamal enter the kitchen from the backdoor.

Patrice excitedly screamed, ‘Jamal!’ She hurriedly jumped up from the table and bolted into the kitchen. ‘Jamal, I love you!’ she exclaimed while wrapping her arms around his neck.

‘What’s wrong, honey?’ he tenderly questioned.

‘The answer is YES,’ she loudly cried out.

‘Okay, then what was the question?’ he asked.

‘The rings that were in my napkin fool! What do you think the question is?’ she smartly replied showing him the rings in her hand.

‘Oh, that. I was going to wait until later but okay,’ Jamal took the rings from her hand.

The antique-style 3-Stone 18k white gold 1.6 cts. diamond engagement ring had an elegant twisted rope designed matching wedding band. The antique style diamond ring set was an expensive classic reproduction. Jamal gently took Patrice slender hand and quickly kneeled on one knee.

His dark eyes stared passionately into her green eyes. “Patrice, well, uh, I … no. We.’ He stopped to gather his thoughts. This was harder than he thought it would be; nevertheless, he went on anyway. He said ‘Okay, Patrice, I will make it simple. I love you. Every moment I am out in the field, I am thinking about you. When I am caught up in messed up situations, I can only think about getting back home safe to you. I want to hear your heartbeat softly as I doze off to sleep. I want to look in your beautiful eyes when I get old. I just want to lie in your arms for the rest of my life. Patrice, I am just trying to say will you give me the honor of being my wife.’

By this time, tears was streaming down her face as she shook her head and cried, ‘Yes! Jamal, yes, yes!’

Chapter 3: On the long black leather couch

After finishing dinner, Jamal retreated to the office as Patrice washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. She gently scrubbed the fine china and delicate stemware and carefully placed them inside the Chippendale buffet. After placing the remainder of dinner inside the black Maytag side by side refrigerator, Patrice strolled into the office from the back porch and sat on the black leather couch. Her soft soprano voice question, ‘What are you doing?’

Jamal had recently purchased a new Dell computer. ‘What do it look like I am doing? I am trying to get this stupid computer to work.’

It had been an hour since Jamal started this project, yet the Internet still would not connect. He checked and rechecked the connections to the computer, the cable outlet, and the modem. After an exhausting forty minutes on the telephone, he placed the telephone on the receiver, tossed the instruction manual on the floor, grasped his Corona, and headed for the couch.

Playfully Patrice said, ‘My big strong soldier got beat by his little computer. How sad.’

‘Be quiet, Patrice,’ Jamal replied.

The leather couch was eight feet long and was positioned on the wall facing the double Dutch doors. Jamal stretched his long frame out on the opposite end of the couch, retrieved the remote to the stereo, and turned on the compact disc. The soothing sounds of the Isley Brothers gently flowed from the Bose surround sound system. As the yellowish light from the antique Tiffany’s table lamp illuminated her hair, Jamal smiled and replied, ‘and you are amazingly beautiful.’

Patrice really loved Jamal. ‘You are just telling me that because you think I going to make love to you tonight,’ she said as she seductively crawled across the long couch. Patrice smiled as her hand came to rest on Jamal’s crotch and she playfully squeezed.

Patrice lifted her eyes to look at Jamal and he placed his hand on top of hers. ‘Wrong, I gave you the rings so I can make love to you for the rest of my life.’ Tenderly, Jamal caressed her ebony hand and quickly pulled her down upon his reclining frame. ‘I said what I said because it is the truth.’ Wrapping his massive arms around her soft body, he gently kissed her waiting lips.

‘Umm,’ Patrice softly purred.

Jamal easily and skillfully repositioned himself on the long couch. He was now lying on his stomach on top of Patrice. Jamal tenderly fondled her through the sheer fabric of her pink sundress. She enjoyed the feeling as his rough hands tenderly massaged her muscles. Jamal slowly moved his hands down Patrice’s soft body. He slowly peeled the fabric of her dress up her ebony body to reveal her black silk panties, her bare abdomen, and her black silk bra.

‘Umm,’ Patrice softly purred again, pulled the dress over her head, and placed it on the floor. ‘ Jamal, I can get use to this.’

Jamal could feel his penis harden and push hard against the restraining fabric of his Levi 501 jeans. Slowly, he rotated his erect sexual organ against Patrice. The motion made her moan louder. He started gently nibbling on and sucking on her dime-size nipples through her bra while supporting his body with his extended arms.

‘Umm, Jamal,’ Patrice softly moaned. She was becoming more aroused by the second. Gently, Jamal rubbed his index finger across the moist lips of her warm vagina and lightly rolled and massaging her excited clitoris between his index finger and thumb. He waited a few seconds and slowly inserted his ring finger into my waiting steamy vaginal passage while he continued to suck on and nibble on her now exposed erect nipples.

‘Stop,’ Patrice screamed then abruptly bolted up from the couch. Picking up her dress, Patrice smiled and said, ‘Not so fast, Jamal. Let me go take a shower first.’ Jamal could only watch as she quickly walked across the bear skin rug and exited out the door. Nevertheless, Jamal locked the house and released the two large dogs outside. Afterwards, he decided to take a shower in the bathroom that was upstairs in the hall.

Chapter 4: Beads of Moisture

Following a brief fifteen minutes, Jamal’s muscular wet frame slowly climbed out of the shower, quickly dried off, and walked toward the master bedroom. The Grandfather clock in the hallway chimed. The time was now 1930. Patrice was just coming out of the shower in the master bathroom as he came through the bedroom door.

After lightly patting her caramel colored skin dry with a soft white oversized bath towel, she quickly dried her long black hair and wrapped it up in the bath towel. Patrice carefully covered her muscular body and thick athletic legs with some cocoa butter lotion and slowly rubbed it into her soft ebony skin.

Jamal was standing in front of the large antique bed putting on his royal blue terry cloth robe when Patrice’s nude ebony body strolled into the bedroom and seductively walked toward the bed. Immediately, his penis became erect and pushed hard against the restraining fabric of his robe. Jamal abruptly untied the long robe and let it fall down his muscular legs.

Coming around the bed to face Jamal, Patrice gently slid her small warm hands between his moist muscular thighs and wrapped them around his thick throbbing shaft and hanging testicles. Jamal stared deeply into the eyes of his attractive soul mate and inquired, ‘You are sure you are ready for that?’

Silently, Patrice slowly rose on the tip of her toes and kissed him on his waiting lips. Calmly and erotically, she moved down Jamal’s body briefly stopping to leave small beads of moisture as she passionately kissed his muscular and powerful body. Slowly, she continued to slither down his stimulated torso. Patrice stopped, lightly kissed the warm skin covering the crown of his penis, and allowed it to slowly slip pass her full lips into her anxious mouth. Passionately and erotically, the ecstatic couple made love for several hours.

Chapter 5: The Morning After

Friday, September 19, 2003, Jamal woke to the loud ringing of the alarm clock. It was at 0400. It was time for him to go to work. The ranger slowly placed his feet on the blue rug on the floor and felt the hair stubble on top of his head. ‘I need to shave before I leave,’ he thought to himself. Reaching over to the antique bedside table, he turned the ringing alarm clock off before it awoke his angelic looking fiancée.

Patrice had gotten up in the middle of the night and now was wearing a royal blue satin midriff tee. Her knees were slightly bent as she sleep half twisted on her stomach. The sheer fabric outlined the curves of her ample breast as the light from outside softly cascade down upon her body. ‘Last night was a night to remember,’ he softly said as he stood beside the bed looking at her.

Like in the rest of the house, Jamal’s obsession with antique continued in the bedroom. Mrs. Ramsey had left an inlaid mahogany three-piece bedroom set that Jamal placed in the guest bedroom next to the master bedroom. This bedroom set consisted of a mahogany Hepplewhite high chest, matching Hepplewhite inlaid low dresser, and a full size exquisitely hand-craved mahogany bed with inlaid headboard, and a hand-carved footboard.

The guest bedroom across the hall contained a solid mahogany Chippendale bedroom set consisting of a large mahogany Chippendale high chest with Queen Anne padded feet, a solid mahogany vanity, and a solid mahogany full-size bed.

A lovely 1930’s mahogany Kindel bedroom set furnished the other guest bedroom. The lavish bedroom set consisted of a matching pair of hand-carved mahogany twin beds, with two solid mahogany Chippendale night stands and one solid mahogany Chippendale dresser with a matching solid mahogany Chippendale high chest.

The master bedroom was furnished with a walnut Queen Anne dresser, a matching walnut carved Queen Anne king-size bed. The large master bedroom also had a Queen Anne vanity with attached mirror, and a beige Queen Anne chair with solid walnut frames. There were also one solid walnut vanity bench, a solid walnut Chippendale vanity, and a gorgeous Chippendale full-length mirror.

Patrice was curled up in a tight little ball on her side of the bed as he headed for the master bathroom. He quickly flicked the ivory colored light switch by the door of and inserted a jazz compact disc into the CD player on the bathroom counter. As the soothing sounds of Kenny G filled the eggshell colored tiled bathroom, Jamal reached into the shower, turned the water on, and slid the glass door closed.

While he waited for the water to reach the right temperature, he looked into the fogging mirror at his reflection. ‘Damn, I look just like my dad,’ he thought to himself and proceeded to shave his face and head. Afterwards, Jamal stepped in the hot shower and enjoyed the pleasure of the hot water cascading over his muscular dark brown body for a long relaxing thirty minutes.

Just after Jamal’s wet nude frame emerged from the steamy bathroom, he was greeted by the smell of hickory smoked bacon cooking on the stove. He hurriedly dressed in his heavily starched camouflaged uniform, grabbed his highly polished black military boots, and headed down the oak staircase. As the ranger strolled into the kitchen, Patrice was standing beside the gas stove cooking the last of the eggs. She carefully placed them on an ivory colored plate and gently placed the plate on the breakfast table.

‘Good morning, sweetheart,’ Jamal said as he passionately kissed the back of Patrice neck and tenderly squeezed her behind.

Patrice was only five feet six inches tall and Jamal was over six feet three. She turned to face him and placed her semi nude body against his body. She rose on her toes and kissed him on the lips. With her caramel arms wrap around his neck, she glazed into his black eyes and replied, ‘ Well, good morning to you, soldier. I have already made your breakfast and the espresso will be ready in a few minutes.’ She playfully saluted him and returned to the stove to cook the pancakes.

Chapter 6: Corporal Elaine Williams

By 0630, the midnight blue Ford pulled into the Special Ops parking lot. A well polished U. S. Army Ranger stepped out of the midnight blue open door. Jamal locked the door of the truck and retrieved his gear from the pickup bed. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and proceeded for the entrance of the white marble building. He was greeted by Sergeant Derrick Shelton as he walked up the white marble steps of the Special Operations Division building.

‘Good morning, Rick.’ Jamal greeted the sergeant. Jamal inquired, ‘I have not seen you in weeks. Where have you been?’

‘I was on leave, Jamal. I had to go home to Tulsa because my brother got in some trouble,’ answered the sergeant. Derrick Shelton was a full-blood Creek Indian from Oklahoma. He had enlisted into the service in 1994 and had made the rank of staff sergeant last year. The two close friends talked for another four minutes before Jamal entered the building.

The highly polished tan tile floor, with the embossed ranger symbol in the floor, gleamed brightly in the morning sunlight that flowed in through the glass windows of the lobby. Captain Jab’s office was the third office on the left of the meagerly furnished huge lobby. Jamal opened the office door and walked in. Sergeant Major Wilson as usual was not at his desk as Jamal entered. The office was quiet because no one had arrived. So Jamal picked up a copy of the Army Times and started to read.

The time slowly passed as Jamal patiently sat behind the office clerk’s desk and waited for someone to arrive. The square black digital clock on the wall read 0655. The first person to arrive was the office clerk. She was a twenty-five year old woman from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Corporal Elaine Williams gracefully walked into the office and spoke to Jamal. ‘Good morning, Jamal,’ Elaine seductively said as she sashayed across the room.

‘Good morning, Corporal Williams. How are you this morning,’ he replied as he quickly but thoroughly examined her well-built 118-pound frame. Jamal stood and offered the corporal the chair.

‘You do not have to be so formal, Jamal. The captain will not be here until at 7:30,’ she informed Jamal as she walked around the gray metal desk and took her seat in the black leather office chair.

‘Hey, uh, do you know where the captain is sending me this time?’ Jamal inquired because he knew that Elaine was the person to open all the communications that came into Captain Jab’s office. The mission assignments for all the covert operations teams were sent through secure communications from General Parker’s office up on the third floor to the various unit offices throughout the building. By 2003, over twenty covert special operations units were housed at the white marble building.

Corporal Williams quickly lied, ‘Jamal you know that I do not have the security clearance to see that stuff. Anyway, the captain will be here soon. Hey, how about escorting me to the mess hall for breakfast?’

Elaine always had a thing for Jamal. She first met him as he cleaned the office for a few months. She had lived in the same barracks as him, when she first arrived a year and a half ago. However, he eventually moved out so she only saw him when he came into the office.

‘No thanks, my fiancée cooked breakfast before I left the house,’ he informed her.

Elaine eyes grew wide with surprise ‘Fiancée? When did this happen, Jamal?’ she questioned.

Jamal said, ‘ Oh, I asked her last night. Patrice said yes right away.’

‘Well, congratulations, Jamal. I did not know you were even seeing someone.’ Elaine said, ‘Well, I am going to get some breakfast. The captain should be in a few minutes.’ She walked out the office door into the lobby of the Special Operation Building.

Captain Jab arrived in the parking lot of the building as Corporal Williams was exiting the entrance of the building. He drove a reddish-brown 2001 Toyota Forerunner. ‘Good morning, Corporal,’ he spoke to her as she was coming down the stairs.

Elaine was engrossed in her thoughts and had not notice the captain until he spoke to her. She quickly saluted him and replied, ‘Oh, I am sorry, sir, good morning. Corporal Walker is in the office waiting for you.’

Captain Jab noticed the tears streaming down Elaine’s soft cheek. He inquired, ‘Are you okay, Elaine.’ He offered her is white silk handkerchief.

Taking the handkerchief, she replied, ‘Yes, sir, I am. Corporal Walker was telling me he is engaged. I guess my emotions just overwhelmed me. I am heading to the mess hall, do you want a sticky bun or something?’

‘Yes, that will be great. Thank you Corporal,’ he said and started up the stairs to the office.

Corporal Williams turned and headed toward the mess hall as the tears continued to flow down her cheek.

Captain Jab opened the office door at 0730. The morning was just starting for him.

Copyright 2008
Pastor Reginald Levi Walker
{This is part of the U. S. Army Ranger series. I hope you enjoy. Please leave a note and let me know}