Chapter 15
"Knock, knock." Paige walked through the front door as she said the words.
"Hi." Grace looked up from the book she'd been reading.
Her mom had dozed off in her recliner, so rather than let the TV continue to play, she turned it off and opted to read.
"How's she doing today?" Paige kept her voice low.
"She managed to take a shower, but it wiped her out. She wanted to go back to bed, but I convinced her to sit in her chair for a while. At least until her hair is dry."
Grace was concerned that her mom would develop pneumonia with all the sleeping she'd done over the last week.
"You can stop talking about me like I'm not here." Mom lifted her head and blinked her eyes.
Paige sat on the end of the couch closest to the recliner. "Hey, Mom. How are you feeling today?"
Tears sprang to Grace's eyes at Paige's use of Mom. Paige had fully accepted her mother-in-law as her own. She'd also accepted Grace as a sister, for which Grace was eternally grateful. She needed all the family she could get right now.
"Tired." Mom's voice was quiet. "Always tired."
"I'm sorry." Paige gently rubbed Mom's arm.
"How was school today?" Mom asked.
"It was good. I'm still getting used to the jump from second grade to fourth and discovering my students' personalities and how to motivate them, but I'm enjoying it."
"That's good. As with any job, it'll take a bit to grow into, I'm sure. Your students will come to love you, as you will them."
"I hope you're right, because I have two boys who are going to be challenging to love."
They all laughed, then Paige looked at Mom. "Do you mind if I sit with you for a while, so Grace can get out of the house for a bit?"
Grace's gaze jumped to Paige who winked at her.
"I don't need a babysitter." Mom's words were full of disapproval.
"I know you don't, but Grace hates leaving you alone. Besides, I want to hear more stories from Gabe's childhood. I thought I'd start writing them down."
"I'm not going anywhere." Grace scowled at Paige. It was her day off, and she'd been enjoying a quiet day at home after all the craziness of the move and the wedding preparations.
"Have you heard from Damon yet?" Paige asked innocently.
A swift arc of concern shot through Grace's chest and midsection. "I got a short text from him yesterday. I texted him back, but he hasn't responded."
"Ugh, I'd go crazy if I had to go more than twenty-four hours without talking to Gabe.
" Paige's gaze turned compassionate. "You're not the only one who's worried about him.
Charity is always a basket case when he deploys.
Each time she hears from him she relaxes a little bit, but the longer he goes without calling or texting the more she worries. "
"I understand that."
It's going to be a long six months.
Grace wondered if she was cut out to be a military girlfriend and eventually wife. The thought gave her goosebumps, but the constant fear and worry every time Damon was deployed might be more than she could handle.
"I think Aunt Charity could use a distraction too," Paige said.
"She mentioned that she offered to teach you how to make her Big Ol' Cinnamon Rolls.
" Paige gave Grace a hopeful look. "And you know, if you make some, you could always bring a couple home for me and Gabe. We'll gladly be your taste testers."
"You should go visit Charity." Mom made a shooing motion with her hands. "I'm sure she's worried sick."
"Fine, I can tell when I'm not wanted." Grace pulled her phone from her pocket and texted Charity as she headed to her bedroom to get her tennis shoes.
Whether Charity was up for a visit or not, Grace needed some exercise. Work at the Providence hospital was much slower than the one in Richland.
An hour later, it looked like Paige would get her wish.
"Now, we cover the dough with a dish towel and wait for it to rise." Charity pulled a clean cloth from the drawer and laid it over the bowl of dough.
While they cleaned the kitchen together, Charity asked, "Have you heard from Damon yet?"
"Just a short text from him yesterday as they were getting ready to leave France, but nothing since."
"Me too." Worry lines creased Charity's forehead.
"Is that common? I mean, he said it would be forty-eight hours before he got to Kuwait and received his duty assignment and would be able to call or text. But we're going on seventy-two hours now."
"That's normal. With the military, it's hurry up and wait. But they aren't always able to contact their families, even when they’re waiting because they’re 'on duty.’” Charity made air quotes. "Usually, they’re only permitted to contact their families when they’re off duty."
Damon had warned her that he might not always be able to call or text regularly, so Grace thought she was prepared, but the waiting was killing her.
After they finished cleaning up their mess, Charity checked the dough. "It still needs another twenty minutes or so. Would you like to learn how to crochet?"
"Sure. It's not like I have anything else to do since Paige kicked me out of the house."
After much frustration and a lot of unraveling, Grace finally crocheted a long chain that was mostly straight and even. A sense of accomplishment filled her until Charity said, "That should be long enough for a small lap afghan. Now it's time for the next step."
Doubling back and adding another row was much trickier than making a simple chain, and Grace wanted to scream in frustration.
Her fingers cramped from the effort of holding the yarn.
She kept missing stitches and was unraveling part of the second row for the third time when Charity announced that the dough was ready to finish the cinnamon rolls.
Hallelujah!
Grace almost cheered out loud.
Rolling out and working the dough was therapeutic, and Grace understood why Charity enjoyed baking so much.
Her rolls didn't look as nice as Charity’s, but Grace felt a sense of pride as she surveyed hers.
They stuck with normal sized rolls for Grace's first lesson, rather than Charity's signature six-inch ones.
"Okay, now we need to let them rise again. You should be able to finish the next row of your afghan before they're ready to go into the oven."
Grace had to feign enthusiasm. She enjoyed cooking, so she was certain she would come to love baking. Crocheting, she wasn't so sure about. After a while, however, she got better at holding the yarn with her fingers and missed fewer stitches.
She was halfway through her third row when Charity put the cinnamon rolls into the oven. It was nice to actually see something taking shape.
Instead of picking up her yarn and crochet hook again, Charity propped her hands on her hips. "I'm thinking about redecorating Damon's room. Would you like to help me?"
Grace's head popped up in surprise. They had talked about all kinds of things as they'd made the cinnamon rolls and crocheted, but her pulse picked up at the mention of Damon's name.
"Sure, what do you have in mind?"
"Nothing in particular, but like the rest of the house, it could use a fresh coat of paint.
I've avoided doing much with it, because I've always wanted him to know he had a place to come home to.
" Charity winked and gave her a sly grin.
"But I have a feeling the next time he comes home, it won't be long before you guys are married, and he's moving in with you. "
Heat warmed Grace's face. She liked the idea of marrying Damon, but they still had a long way to go before their relationship was at that stage. And considering he was ten thousand miles away, she couldn't see it progressing very fast.
"Come look at his room and tell me what you think I should do with it."
Grace was all too happy to set the crocheting aside and give her hands a break. "I'm not particularly skilled at interior design, but I'd be happy to help you paint the room and pick out some accessories."
"I'm toying with the idea of turning it into my sewing and craft room. It has the best lighting in the afternoon."
As the smell of cinnamon and dough filled the house, Grace stood in Damon's bedroom, listening to Charity talk about his fascination with cars and basketball. She pointed out a handful of pictures of Damon in high school and his basketball and track trophies.
Grace felt privileged to have this glimpse into Damon's life, but she agreed it was time to give the room a makeover. And she was up for the challenge.
Grace jumped when her phone buzzed on her desk in the Radiology Lab.
Damon!
Heart racing, she reached for it then jerked her hand back. Would she get in trouble for talking to him at work?
It had been four days since she last talked to him. If they waited until she was off work, he'd be asleep.
She snatched up her phone and answered the video call.
"Hello."
Damon's face filled her screen. His lips moved for a few seconds before sound came from her phone. "Oh wow, I forgot how beautiful you are."
Grace laughed. "You're rather handsome yourself."
"Nah, I'm just a desert rat." He rubbed at the stubble on his jaw. She was about to argue with him when his mouth started moving again. "Sorry, I know you're at work. I don't want to get you in trouble, but I couldn't wait another day to talk to you."
"Fortunately, I'm not busy at the moment." Grace glanced over her shoulder at the open door to the hallway that led to the Emergency Department. "I've been so worried about you. I expected you to call two days ago."
"Sorry, about that. They sent us out on convoy to deliver supplies almost as soon as we hit the ground, and I didn't have any service the whole time."
"I'm just glad to know you're safe." Grace studied the dim lighting of his background. "What time is it there?"
"Twenty-one hundred."
"In English?" Grace laughed as she did the math in her head.
"Sorry. It's nine o'clock. Which means it's...eleven a.m. there?"
"Yes."
"I thought about waiting until you got off work to call, but that would be early morning for me, and I wouldn't be able to talk for very long before PT."
"I'll speak to your Uncle James and make sure he doesn't mind me talking to you while I'm at work. I might have to hang up abruptly if I get an order for imaging."
Dr. Young wasn't the only doctor she'd need to clear it with, but hopefully he'd help sway the other doctors to let her take Damon's calls at work.
"It's kind of late for you, but I usually take my lunch break around noon. It's slow then, because all the providers are eating lunch too."
"That's ten p.m. here. I can't think of anything I'd rather do right before I go to bed." He gave her a cheesy grin, and she reciprocated. He leaned his head to the side and rested it against the wall. "It's so good to see your beautiful face and hear your voice. I've missed you so much."
"I miss you too." Tears stung the back of her eyes.
Damon needed a supportive girlfriend, not someone who got emotional every time she talked to him. That would only make it harder for him to do his job.
She changed the subject. "Where are you sitting?"
"On the stairs outside the barracks." He pointed behind him. "Six of us share this upper pod. The rest of our unit is in the downstairs pod."
"Who are your roommates?"
"King, Durrant, McDonald, Flores and Romeo."
"That's good. At least you won't have to worry about Howie's practical jokes and Chevy's stinky feet."
"Not bunking with Howie will not keep him from playing practical jokes on us.
But yes, I'm glad I'm not rooming with him and Chevy's stinky feet.
" He went on to explain the building he'd be sleeping in.
"Each container is very basic; a single large room with six beds, two windows and two small AC units.
I'll show you the inside in a minute." He stood and rotated his camera.
"The latrines and showers are over there.”
He wandered away from his building and pointed down the road. "I can't give you an actual tour of the base for security reasons, but when I’m not out on assignment, I’ll spent most of my time in those buildings down there.”
“Doing what?”
“Logistics. Helping organize the movement of troops, equipment, and supplies in and out of this area. We also spend a lot of time doing training exercises and routine patrols.”
He decided to leave out that their training prepared them for rapid deployment, insertion and extraction of soldiers, reconnaissance, as well as ambush and seizure situations. And then there were the frequent drills for in-coming fire. Those always sent the heart racing.
He rotated in the opposite direction. "Way down there is Social Row. We spend a lot of down time there. That’s where the mess hall and a few other eating establishments—including Burger King—are located."
"Burger King?"
"Yeah, a greasy burger is nice once in a while, but just like in the states, it gets old pretty fast." He continued his rudimentary tour, pointing in the direction of the airstrip, the PT area, and the gun range, then he eventually ended up back on the stairs.
"I thought you were going to show me where you sleep," Grace reminded.
"I will in a bit." He shook his head. "I don't want to share you yet."
"What?" Grace felt her brows rise.
"The guys figured out I have a girlfriend. If I walk in there with you on the phone, they're going to want to introduce themselves and will no doubt tell you every embarrassing moment of my life."
"Hmm... Maybe you should introduce us. I want to hear all your embarrassing stories."
"Nope. Only one per week." Damon's grin made her heart skip a beat. "But that means you have to share your secrets with me."
Grace thought about that for a moment and decided that there were things she wasn’t ready to share with him yet. He must have seen the resignation on her face because he changed the subject.
"How's your mom?"
"Not great. She still sleeps most of the day, but she's started spending a little less time in bed and a little more time in her chair."
"Has this become her new norm?" His face mirrored the sadness she felt.
"I don't know. I'd like to think she'll continue to improve, but I'm not sure she will." Grace blinked back tears. "It's almost like she was hanging on just to see Gabe married. Now that he is, she seems to be letting go."
"I'm so sorry." The tenderness in Damon's eyes tightened Grace's chest. "I'll be praying for her and for you."
Tears sprang to Grace's eyes again. "Thank you."
"I wish I was there with you, so you don't have to go through this alone."
She forced a smile. "I'm not really alone. I have Gabe and a new sister in Paige. And someone in your family is always checking in on me and my mom." It wasn't the same as having Damon wrap his arms around her though.
"I still wish I was there." He wiggled his eyebrows, making her giggle.
Warmth filled her as she recalled the kisses they'd shared.
"Me too."