Joe had finally caught him enough time during his day to stop into the mess hall and grab a bite to eat. When he went inside it looked like most of the people from the night shift were leaving and headed to their cabins for some well-deserved sleep. So even as Joe was placing his order the place was emptying out. It would soon be that quiet time between shifts followed by a flood of other people.

For the time being Joe had the place to himself save for a few people who were working odd hours. Joe got his order and found him a table. He eased himself down into a chair and began to inspect his sandwich. It certainly smelled good. He raised the bread and there it was. A pile of corned beef with Gouda cheese and Russian dressing and the bread? Yes, it was a nice rye. While he would have preferred it with a nice cold beer he had to settle on a cup of steaming coffee. As Joe lifted the sandwich and took a bite he actually cooed. All was right with the world.

Lt.Cmdr. Joe Milligan XO