The wooden rail felt cold under my palm while the dog tags in my purse clicked against each other through the handkerchief like a sharp memory. “Then let us not start with the scar if you are so convinced that my life is a work of fiction,” I replied.
Gwen opened her briefcase and pulled out a sealed packet that had come directly from the Southern Arizona Veterans Hospital. She followed that with a second packet from the Department of Defense and then a third envelope that I had never seen before in my life.
“Your Honor, we have the official service records and the medical discharge papers right here,” Gwen said as she handed the documents to the bailiff. My mother’s face changed so rapidly that it almost made me feel dizzy while my brother Jason stopped smiling and looked at the floor.
Even the judge leaned forward over the bench because he knew that military records were not something that could be easily faked by a civilian. “These appear to be highly detailed surgical notes from a field hospital in a combat zone,” the judge remarked while flipping through the pages.
“My daughter is a liar, and she probably paid someone to print those papers in a basement,” my mother shouted as she lost her grip on her composure. The judge hit his gavel once and told her to remain silent or he would have her removed from the courtroom for the duration.
“Your Honor, before we open the final envelope, there is one more witness waiting in the hallway,” Gwen said while looking toward the heavy doors. I knew exactly who she meant because only one person besides my grandfather knew the full story of the week I finally came home.
My mother did not know he was there and her hand was still resting on the table when the courtroom door began to swing open. Jim Tucker stepped into the room wearing his full dress uniform with a posture that you only keep after the Army teaches it into your bones.
He had been the operations sergeant on my last deployment and he was also the man who sat beside my hospital bed when I woke up. “Please state your name and rank for the record,” Gwen said as Jim walked toward the witness stand with a steady and measured gait.