Status Updates From The Ambush

this feels like The Little Friend, but isn’t keeping me focused

"Without an enemy," said Tim, "it's not a real war."

There was nothing silly or frivolous about him and I felt that his seriousness made him my natural soulmate. I felt, too - intuitively - that somehow he wasn't quite as temporary as Jackie and Sherilyn and the others, and as it turned out, I was right.

We lay there in silence for a few moments, staring blankly at the sky, before Tim got up and looked at me. "That's how my dad died," he said.