J. Malcolm Garcia is a regular contributor to VQR and the author of The Kharagee: A Chronicle of Friendship and War in Kabul. His essays from VQR have been anthologized in Best American Nonrequired Reading and Best American Travel Writing.
Cursing, I slam down the receiver and run out of the house, shout for Bro. He stands by his car still parked on the street. Arms folded, he turns to me, a stocky young man with black hair and a heavy mustache. He wears a leather jacket and...