He shook his head.“Not my reasons to tell.”His hand began rubbing lazy circles on her back.“We’re all invited.”
Curiosity made her want to know more, but she didn’t push.“A cruise is expensive.”
“His dad’s covering our tickets and travel.From the chatter on the group chat Phil created, most of us who served with him are invited.Our team went through a lot.We’re close.I think his dad knows that and wants to bring his extended family there to represent.”He brushed a hair off her cheek in a gentle manner that made her heart skip.“So, anyway, how would you like to go with me?Be my plus one?”
The idea of being isolated with Jerry for a week, surrounded by the people he loved and respected, getting to know them in a unique way sounded very appealing.She studied his face, searching for any indication he didn’t mean it.She found none.“I would love to.When are the dates?”
They discussed minor details, then settled back on the couch for the rest of the movie.When the credits rolled, she glanced at the clock—11:47 PM.No wonder she kept having to fight off yawns.She used the remote to turn the television off and disengaged herself from his arms.She stood and stretched her back.“It’s late.The roads are probably still bad.You’re welcome to sleep on the couch if you want.”
Jerry stared at her, his expression thoughtful and introspective.“Well, that’s a very tempting offer.”He stood with her and pulled her to him.“I appreciate it, Captain, ma’am, but I think I will respectfully decline.For now.”
As much as she wanted to dismiss his concerns, she understood them.Still, she felt a twinge of rejection.“Okay.”
He cupped her cheek with his palm, his eyes darkening.Suddenly, her mouth went dry and her pulse started to pound.When he spoke, she somehow knew what he would say.“Olive, listen,” His voice dropped, raw.“I’m in love with you.”
That tiny little twinge of rejection vaporized.Quick tears burned her eyes.“I—” She took a deep breath, and spoke through the joy that burst from her heart.“I love you, too.”It spilled out, deep and true.How could she feel this strongly after such a short amount of time?It didn’t make sense.
His lips found hers, warm, the kiss holding a promise.She melted into it, fingers running through his beard then curling into his hair, breathing in his scent, until he eased back, forehead resting on hers.“Yeah.So, I won’t be staying.I better leave right now.”
She bit back the temptation to once more extend an invitation they might both regret.Instead, she smiled.“Drive safe.Let me know when you get there.”
After one last, soft kiss, he grabbed his coat.She stood at the door, listening to his boots crunching their way out to his truck.
Fort Campbell, Kentucky
May
Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.3 played softly in the background as Jerry neatly folded a shirt and set it on top of the stack on his bed.While he folded laundry, his mind wandered back to thoughts of home.Mabel was so jealous that he was going on a cruise.He needed to remember that.Maybe he could take her over the holiday block leave at the end of the year.They could do one of those theme park-type cruises.She would have as much fun as a seven-year-old with the activities and the characters.He wished he’d thought of it sooner.
He wondered if he could find a cruise that would accommodate people with Down Syndrome.He should look into that.
He glanced over his suit jacket hanging on the outside of his closet.He couldn’t believe that in just a few days, Phil Osbourne would get married.He’d worried about his friend ever since the harrowing trek through the Katangela jungle.Watching the decline in his personality and spirit had physically hurt.
As someone who made his living—a calling he answered, really—based on his physical strength and mental acuity, he couldn’t imagine what life would look like with any of that ripped away.Yet, every mission he went on came with the risk that he might return no longer whole—if he returned at all.That risk came with the job.He often prayed that God would give him the mental and emotional strength to handle it if anything ever happened.
He’d added Osbourne to those prayers over the last couple of years.Thinking of him now, in love, hearing the contentment in his voice, filled Jerry with a peace for his friend he didn’t know he could ever feel since Katangela.
His eyes glanced over the maroon velvet box on his bedside table.Nestled inside was a platinum ring with a traditional round-cut diamond.Just thinking about it made his heart race.
Was it too soon?
Probably.Regardless, it felt right.No one had ever made him feel like Olive Duncan made him feel.He could talk to her about anything and everything.She even understood the soldier aspect of his life, having served herself.In fact, she respected everything about him, and he thrived in the light of that respect.
The question was whether she would want the military lifestyle to be a part of her life again.Duty stations changed.In his twelve years in the Army, they’d assigned him to four different duty stations, and he knew they’d PCS him again soon.Uncle Sam didn’t keep soldiers in the same place for very long.He knew his place on the team would count for something, but eventually they would all disperse.
She had also left the army as a Captain.The lifestyle of a Commissioned Officer was not the same as the lifestyle of a Non-Commissioned Officer.They had different processes, different politics, and much different pay.
In an early conversation, she’d talked about buying her house and how it felt good to claim Clarksville as her home now.Would she want to live that transient Army life again?Would she want to live with his constant deployments—oftentimes with very little notice?Could she continue to handle the secrets, the things he could never share even with her?Or would those stack up until they toppled like a mountain of resentment?Jerry had seen so many relationships collapse under the pressure of his type of work.
Did Olive want children?He had always wanted children.Lots of them.So many questions still to ask and answer.He wouldn’t know the answers until he asked a very specific question.
Until then, conjecture and five dollars would buy him a cup of over-roasted coffee.
Someone rapped on his door, then pushed it open.He glanced up as Calvin Brock lumbered in.“Yo.”
He had thinning brown hair and a pink tint to his skin.His frame filled the entire doorway.He looked like a professional wrestler, though, in truth, he had once boxed.A judge had recommended he join the army at age eighteen because his trajectory had him landing in prison in a few years.Jerry didn’t know a lot more about his past life, but this current Brock was someone whose life he’d place his hands in—and had done so more than once.
“‘Sup?”Jerry asked, folding a pair of socks together, then rolling them into a neat cylinder.He picked up the empty laundry basket.“Burgers ready?”
