Most mornings, you’ll find them at the larger tables huddled over coffees. Their caps will read Semper Fi or USS Somebody DDG-xxx. They do this often, know how to rib each other just shy of nasty, wonder where Joe is when he doesn’t show. There will be an empty chair.

Dr. Thomas Reed Willemain is a former academic, software entrepreneur, and intelligence officer. His flash fiction has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in Granfalloon, Hobart, Burningword Literary Journal, The Medley, and elsewhere. He holds degrees from Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.