AS IT CAME UP TO THE TIME TO DEPLOY, OUR RELATIONSHIP became more distant. Taya would push me away emotionally, as if she were putting on armor for the coming months. I may have done the same thing. “It’s not intentional,” she told me, in one of the rare moments when we both could realize what was happening and actually talk about it. We still loved each other. It may sound strange—we were close and not close, needing each other and yet needing distance between us. Needing to do other things. At least in my case. I was anticipating leaving. I was excited about doing my job again.
