"He had thought about reenlisting, but after this, he decided he didn't want to be away from us," Jennifer said. "I want him all to myself. I don't want to share him with the Army."
Because Scott was away for his 21st birthday and Christmas, she has wrapped and stockpiled presents to give him when he comes back. They were able to communicate frequently by e-mail when Echo Troop was in Kuwait, but that ended with the invasion of Iraq. At one point, he wasn't able to telephone her for two months.
Scott misses his wife's sense of humor -- and her common sense. "In our relationship," he said, "she's the sensible one, money-wise especially." He says she keeps him up-to-date on their son, sending photographs and letters. She says he writes to her when he can.
On Thursday, Scott called, and they talked about a family wedding that has been postponed, the 50 pounds he has lost on deployment, the six dozen cookies his mother had just sent.
"I miss you and I love you and I can't wait for you to come home," Jennifer said.
In a low voice, from a flat landscape of sand and dirt, a few palm trees and scrub brush, her husband replied, "Yeah. I miss you too.... I love you too. Bye."
Dahlburg reported from Hinesville, Zucchino from Fallouja.
