“It was a moment.I had a moment,” Norton protested.
The warm May sun felt good on Jerry’s skin, and increased his anticipation of the coming week.He imagined Olive by his side at events like this in the future, and it felt exactly right.He could not imagine anyone else he would rather have in his life.
He suddenly realized he had already started thinking of the two of them in the future tense.Married.Together.Committed.One, no longer two.Not “me and you” but “us.”
He even imagined his dad and her parents doting over their future children.What would they look like, those little people he and Olive would bring into the world with her spirit and his sense of duty?
That settled it in his mind and heart.He needed to plan to make that future he imagined into a present reality sooner rather than later.
Clarksville Memorial Hospital
Jerry gently revved the engine of his Indian Motorcycle before parking beside Olive’s assigned parking space, the deep rumble vibrating through his chest as he sat in the hospital employee parking lot.The late afternoon sun cast a golden glow over the parking lot, warming the air with the promise of a perfect evening.He’d polished the bike that morning, its teal and gold paint gleaming under the clear sky.Strapped to the seat behind him was the spare helmet he’d brought just for her—ruby red with a subtle visor tint, the one he’d picked out thinking it would suit Olive perfectly.
He checked the time.Her shift should end any minute now.The anticipation built in him like a quiet hum, mingling with the engine’s idle as he powered the bike down.When he spotted Olive walking toward him, still in her scrubs with her backpack slung over one shoulder and typing into her phone, a wave of genuine elation washed over him.Olive looked tired from the long day, but her smile lit up her face as she spotted him, and in that moment, everything else faded.
“Hey there,” she called, quickening her pace to a light jog.
The world shrank down to Olive and nothing else, as if he watched her through his optics.In the space of a heartbeat, he saw her hurrying to greet him when he returned home from a deployment, her backpack transformed into a toddler that looked like her, and looked like him, with her smile and his eyes.The future no longer stretched out before him.Instead, it floated above him and surrounded him, and it no longer existed without her.
Jerry swung his leg over the bike to stand, pulling her into a quick, warm hug to delay her attempt at a quick kiss of greeting.“Hey yourself.Good shift?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” she said, her eyes sparkling as she glanced at the motorcycle.“This is a surprise.”
He grinned, handing her the spare helmet.“Thought you might like to ride.I promised months ago, and it seems like we never got around to it.It’s such an amazing and perfect day—blue skies, no wind.Figured we could take the scenic route.”
Olive’s laugh sounded light and delighted, falling on his ear like subtle windchimes.“You know me too well.Lead the way, soldier.”
Before she could don the helmet, he placed his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes.
“What?”she queried.“What is it?Is something on my face?”
Jerry let his eyes do the talking and saw the moment when Olive realized this was the perfect time to shut up.He pulled her slowly closer, leaning down, moving his lips closer to his future.When he captured her mouth with his, it was not a friendly kiss.This kiss communicated his need, his want, his desire for their future together.For forever.She moaned slightly in the middle of it and carefully wrapped her arms around him, one hand still clutching the bulky helmet.
As they kissed, Jerry felt like he suddenly understood everything: the heart, the soul, the reasons that Olive and his life had become inextricably entangled since the second they met all those years back.The world turned beneath their feet, and they stood still, in the perfect stillness of this moment that was now, and shared their hopes and dreams to the exclusion of every other sense.This is what he wanted more than anything.This is what had been missing from his life all his life, and he was on the edge of making himself whole.
He broke the kiss and straightened, his eyes still staring into hers.Olive’s eyes stared back, a look of confusion and wonder and hope and desire all blended into one.“Wow,” she breathed.
He shrugged.“Missed you today.”
They mounted the bike, Olive settling in behind him, her arms wrapping around his waist with a comfortable ease that made his pulse quicken just a little.Jerry started the bike and kicked off, guiding them smoothly out of the lot and onto the road before making his way to the backroads of Clarksville that skirted the edge of town.The wind rushed past, carrying the scent of well-maintained farm fields, and he felt the world open up around them.
As the miles slipped by, Jerry’s mind drifted to the changes on the horizon.The team’s transition weighed on him—not with dread, but with a growing sense of rightness.
For years, he’d served as the primary sniper, the one perched in silence, waiting for the perfect shot.His role demanded precision, patience, and a steel nerve he’d honed through countless missions.
Now, stepping into the 18Z slot as the new First Sergeant felt like the natural next chapter.A tremendous relief settled over him at the thought of handing off the sniper duties to someone else—maybe someone new to the unit or one of the up-and-coming X-rays after they got through training.He would mentor whoever took the mantle he passed.He was ready to lead from the front and serve and shape the team in broader ways.
He thought of Captain Peña, the man who’d be his commander come June.Peña’s steady presence, his sharp tactical mind—Jerry respected him deeply, the kind of respect forged in shared trials.Looking forward to being his “top” sergeant filled Jerry with a quiet excitement.Together, they’d keep the unit strong, adaptable, unbreakable.Though his goal for years, he realized that serving in that role was also an honor—an honor he hadn’t fully anticipated, but one that fit.
Olive’s arms held him securely, her warmth pressing against his back in a way that made everything else seem secondary.It was amazing—simple and profound—how right it felt, how right she felt, her trust in him as they leaned into the curves together.She wasn’t just along for the ride; she made herself part of it, part of him, in a way that brought contentment to his soul.She partnered with him.The rhythm of the road, the hum of the engine, her gentle hold—it all wove into a moment of pure peace.
Spotting a wide shoulder ahead, Jerry signaled and eased the bike to a stop, the gravel crunching softly beneath the tires.He killed the engine, the sudden quiet amplifying the birdsong in the nearby trees.
“Ready to take the reins?”he asked, turning to her with a smile.
Olive’s eyes widened in surprise, then delight.“Really?”
“You know how, right?”
