Chapter 14 #2
But the kitchen was empty. Trigger saw a piece of paper on the counter, but ignored it for the moment.
He needed to clear the rest of his apartment, make sure no one was lurking in the shadows or Gillian wasn’t sleeping somewhere.
As irritated as he was at the thought she might’ve ignored his request to come up the next afternoon, after he’d had a chance to unwind from his intense mission, he didn’t want to scare the shit out of her by pulling out a knife if she’d decided to surprise him.
But after a quick search, Trigger found his apartment empty.
Putting his knife away, he walked back into his kitchen. Pulling open his stove, he found a glass dish covered in aluminum foil. He felt the dish and realized it was still warm.
Even more baffled now—had someone broken in and cooked dinner? Of course they hadn’t. That was just stupid—he picked up the piece of paper and opened it. Glancing at the end, he saw it was a note from Gillian. He read quickly.
Welcome home!
I know you’re tired and I didn’t want to bother you. It’s not the same thing at all, but I know sometimes after a major event that I’ve spent weeks planning, I don’t want to talk to anyone. I need to go home and decompress without having to think about anyone or anything for a while.
Anyway, I started thinking about how if you were tired, you were probably hungry too. I’m sure they didn’t have our favorite takeout place wherever you were.
So I made you a casserole. It’s nothing fancy, just noodles, hamburger, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and cheese.
But I thought maybe it might hit the spot.
I didn’t want to leave your oven on, because I had no idea when you’d get home, so it might be cold.
But you can always warm it up in the microwave.
I’m glad you’re back. I’ve thought about your job a lot since you were gone, and for the record…
I can handle it. I don’t like not knowing where you are or if you’re okay, but I’m one hundred percent sure that wherever you are, you’re keeping our country safe from men and women who want to do it harm, or you’re helping someone like me…
a normal person who somehow got stuck in a situation they never thought they’d find themselves in.
Before I met you, I never really thought much about men like you and your teammates, but now that I’ve experienced a situation where I’ve needed help firsthand, I’m as proud of you as I can possibly be.
Eat something. Get some sleep. I’ll see you soon.
Xoxo, Gillian
PS. I didn’t break into your apartment. I knocked on the manager’s door.
I don’t think he was very happy to be woken up at one in the morning, but after I told him what I wanted and how amazing you were, he begrudgingly agreed to let me into your apartment.
He glared at me the entire time, and I think he thought I was going to steal something, but I was only in here for like ten seconds, long enough to put the casserole in your oven, turn on a light so you wouldn’t come home to a dark apartment, scribble this note, then leave.
How long Trigger stood in his kitchen, reading and re-reading the note from Gillian, he had no idea. He’d never, in all his adult life, had someone do for him what she’d just done.
When he’d called, it had been after ten. She’d cooked the meal for him, driven up to his apartment, woken up the manager of the apartment complex to get into his place, then driven back home.
She understood that he needed to decompress. She’d heard him when he’d said he had to get some sleep. But she’d gone even further, understanding that he probably hadn’t eaten very well recently either.
He wasn’t happy that she was out driving at night as late as she had been, but he loved that she’d been thinking about him.
Eventually, he turned and took the casserole out of the oven. He scooped some onto a plate and ate it standing up right there in his kitchen.
The meal was delicious. It was lukewarm, but he was too tired and impatient to wait for it to heat up, even if it only took a minute or two in the microwave.
He ate way too much, his stomach protesting after the lean rations it had gotten over the last week and a half, but Trigger didn’t care.
That meal was made with love, for him, and he appreciated it more than he’d ever be able to put into words.
He put the leftovers into the refrigerator and headed to his bedroom. He took a ten-minute shower to wash the rest of the dust and dirt from his mission off his body, then dropped into bed. Right before he fell asleep, dead to the world, he reached for his phone and typed out a quick text.
Trigger: I’m not thrilled that you came up here in the middle of the night, because it’s not safe, but that casserole was literally the best thing I’ve eaten in my life.
Thank you, Di. You really are Wonder Woman.
MY Wonder Woman. Be ready, we’re both sleeping in my bed this weekend.
I’m done waiting. You’re mine, and I intend to show you how much you mean to me over and over, until we’re both so exhausted we can’t move.
Knowing that Gillian was asleep, he didn’t wait for a response. He put his phone face down on his bedside table and fell into the sleep of the exhausted.