Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LILA
It’s been two weeks since Lila left Louisville behind and adopted this new world, this new place as her own. She got together with Stephanie every evening, making a quick and easy dinner for the two of them so the exhausted new mother didn’t have to mess with it and helped clean up a bit. Stephanie was exhausted because Angel was feeding every three to four hours. It was hard on a single mom alone and silently, Lila couldn’t wait for her turn.
She loved it. Loved this new life, this feeling of belonging. A routine. A purpose. A secret thrill ran through her as she thought about her upcoming interview at the bank where Stephanie worked. If she got the job, they could carpool—just like old times, but better. No more weekend escapes to outrun loneliness. No more pretending she didn’t crave a future filled with love, stability, and a place to call her own.
No more weekend escapes to hide from reality – but rather savoring the wonders of making a home, a real home, with the person you loved.
Her sweet Louis.
Her tiny apartment wasn’t much, but she could already picture him here, sprawled on the loveseat with his easy grin, teasing her about the mattress on the floor, not caring about the lack of a bedframe. She got a package of dishes from Goodwill, a dresser that she painted to spruce it up, a shelf also painted to match, and a few picture frames to put on the walls to make it look or feel homey. She knew without a doubt that Louis would just be happy to be with her.
“Look at me,” she murmured to herself with a soft laugh, “talking like we’re already married.”
Her phone rang, slicing through the moment, and she grabbed it without hesitation.
“Hello?”
“Oh, gosh, Lila.” His voice—raw, thick with emotion—stopped her cold. “Sweetheart, how are you doing?”
She straightened instinctively. “Better now that I’ve heard your voice.”
“I love you.” The words tumbled out, cracked and desperate. “I love you. I’m crazy about you. Can we figure this out? Take the next steps together? If you don’t want to get married yet, maybe just a long engagement or something—but I need you in my world, my life. I’m scared something will happen, and we won’t get our chance.”
The pain in his voice stole her breath. This wasn’t just longing. This was fear.
Her eyes burned as she whispered, “I want us to have our chance.” She swallowed hard. “I’m in. Let’s do this. Let’s figure this out and get married.”
A sharp inhale. Then, a sound—half laughter, half something broken—that made her chest ache.
“Oh, gosh,” he breathed.
And then he shattered.
“Louis?”
“He nearly drowned,” Louis wept. “I saw it all. They were able to save him, but Ohio’s not the same. He’s broken and… and they removed him from the ship because he wouldn’t stop screaming.”
Her stomach twisted.
“Oh my gosh…” Horror clawed up her throat. The weight of what he had witnessed—what he was carrying—was suffocating. Her sweet and gentle man was struggling right now, having witnessed something so tragic, threatening his soul.
“Louis?” Her voice was urgent now. “Louis, listen to me.”
“It was so bad…” His breath came fast, uneven.
“Louis,” she said firmly, forcing strength into her voice even as her heart pounded. “I need you to breathe. Right now. Deep, slow. You have to hold on. I’ve done this after a tragedy – you can too. Breathe with me.”
A shaky inhale.
“We’re pulling in tomorrow.” His voice was quieter now. “Can I fly out and see you?”
She didn’t hesitate. “I’ll be there when the ship pulls in.”
A beat of silence.
“You don’t mind flying here?” he asked, disbelief laced in his voice.
“Nothing could keep me from being at your side,” she said, meaning every word. She had so much to show him—the apartment, the tiny pieces of their future falling into place—but right now, all that mattered was getting to him.
“I’m on the flight deck,” he murmured. “Trying to get some air, some sun. I hate seeing his empty rack beside mine.” His voice caught. “But I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
A pause. Then, “Yeah. I just hit a weak spot. It all feels overwhelming. But when I let it out, I feel like I can get through it. Until another weak moment comes.”
Her chest ached.
“How’s the rest of the guys?”
“A mess,” Louis admitted. “Trophy called his mom crying. He’s ashamed to cry in front of Stephanie, but we’re all wrecked. Shellac’s taking anxiety meds. Orion’s on the other side of the deck talking to Cherry on the phone and Moonbeam… Moonbeam is in the brig right now.”
“What?”
“He jumped off the flight deck after Ohio. Nearly got himself killed.”
The silence between them was thick, suffocating. Then she heard it—the small, broken hitch in his breath.
“Breathe,” she urged again, softer now, gentler. “Just one more day, Louis. I’ll be there to hold you.”
“I can’t wait,” he whispered.
She closed her eyes.
“Me either,” she admitted openly, treasuring the gentleness of his voice. “Now, get some rest and try to think of me instead of replaying that nightmare in your head.”
Then, a quiet chuckle. “You’re distracting me, you know.”
“That’s the plan,” she smiled.
“They’re not exactly… decent thoughts,” he admitted. “I’m a lonely man.”
She laughed, the sound lighter, trying to give him something—anything—other than the horror still clawing at his mind. “Then those are exactly the thoughts you should focus on.”
His voice softened. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She exhaled. “I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon,” he promised.
The call ended, but she stayed there, gripping the phone like it could somehow tether them together across the miles.
Tomorrow.
That night, she barely slept.
The next morning, she was up before her alarm and already texting Stephanie – who was up feeding Angel.
No offense, Lila, but I’m gonna disappear in my hubby’s arms for a week and not even bother to come up for air.
Uh, you can’t do THAT yet.
Duh! Hello? Baby stuff and not feeling sexy at all.
You know, if they wanted to teach birth control at schools – they could make the girls have contractions for five to ten hours and then give them their period for a month. That would do it.
(but then again – the human race would die out)
Truth.
But Angel’s soooo sweet.
I want another.
I want my first one.
OOOOH?!
Are you and Louis clicking? Oh boy, do I see an EPT test in your near future?
I’m gonna marry that man.
I knew you were here – and it was serious.
Very.
I love him.
I’m so glad. You deserve to be happy. I’ll be done feeding Angel in about ten minutes, and then I’ll be ready to head to the pier.
Sounds good.
Laughing, Lila hurried and got ready to meet Louis at the pier. He probably thought they would go grab a hotel or simply hang out, but won’t he be surprised. She was bringing her man home.
Home.
Home where he belonged, in her life, in her arms, in her heart and soul.
An hour later, after another unexpected feeding, a diaper change for Miss Angel, and then getting stuck in an agonizing snarl of traffic on base—thanks to the return of the fleet—Lila finally spotted the massive carrier looming in the distance.
Her breath caught.
It was surreal to see it there, solid and unyielding, the very heart of the Navy’s power and presence. A steel titan resting on the water as if it defied the very laws of nature. The sheer enormity of it was staggering. How did something so impossibly heavy—laden with fighter jets, intricate weapons systems, and thousands of souls—simply float ?
The pier buzzed with energy. Sailors streamed down the ramp in waves, their rucksacks slung over their shoulders, their faces a mixture of exhaustion, relief, and joy. Others still moved about the deck, finishing their duties before their own turn to disembark. Lila’s pulse quickened at the sight of them, her heart thrumming with anticipation as she and Stephanie maneuvered through the chaos.
Stephanie was out of the car in an instant, her hands already reaching for the stroller as if driven by the same urgency that twisted through Lila’s veins. Lila followed, moving quickly to help. The crisp snap of the stroller locking into place sent a shiver through her—because this was it. This was the moment. Any second now, Louis would be walking down that ramp, and she could see him again.
Her phone rang, shattering her spinning thoughts. She fumbled for it, breathless, as she pressed it to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Louis’ voice rumbled, low and familiar, sending a delicious wave of warmth through her. Just that one syllable unraveled something inside her. “I just got here…”
Relief flooded her.
“Perfect. Stephanie and I just got to the pier.”
“Oh, cool! I’ll head out with Trophy. He’s leaving now.”
A laugh bubbled in her throat, the kind that barely concealed the emotions pressing at the edges of her control. “Grab your rucksack,” she ordered, her voice breathless with anticipation.
There was a beat of silence. She could hear the gears clicking in his mind before his soft chuckle filled her ear.
“ That kinda weekend?” His voice dipped, teasing. “Maybe we should stop at the chaplain’s office on base.”
Heat coiled in her belly, her fingers tightening around the stroller handle. “I’m game,” she murmured, her voice softer now, thick with something unspoken.
Another pause.
A shared moment suspended between them.
Then, his answering chuckle—deep, knowing, intimate .
“Yes, ma’am,” he drawled. “I’ll go get my things and be right down.”
The call ended, but the electricity lingered, dancing along her skin, making her feel alive, anchored – only to feel Stephanie elbow her slightly, grinning.
“You go, girl…”
“Oh, hush,” Lila flushed. “Don’t tease me about Louis, and I won’t tease you about Trophy. You know that man has a huge ego, right?”
“I love his ego,” she sighed happily, closing her eyes. “His ego, his arms, the way he says my name, his chest, how he steals the blankets…”
“Okay – enough,” Lila muttered. “Don’t make me bring up my breakfast before I get to see Louis again.”
And then Stephanie let out a little shriek right before she was picked up bodily by her husband, Trophy. The man swung her around, then leaned into the stroller kissing his daughter tenderly on the forehead, causing Lila to look up hopefully – and she met Louis’s eyes. He raised a hand to wave, coming down the steps of the gangplank of the massive ship – his bag on his shoulder.
She couldn’t help but smile.
That was the best-looking man on that ship by far – despite the leg of a hastily tossed pair of pants hanging from the bag that was packed in a hurry. It was an obvious sign of how thrilled he was to be reunited with her,and his soul shone from his eyes.
Had anyone ever looked at her that way?
Louis jogged toward her, dropped his bag in the gravel, and snatched her into his arms, kissing her tenderly before pressing his forehead to hers.
“Gosh, I missed you,” he breathed softly.
“I missed you too,” she admitted, marveling at how sweet he was. It wasn’t that he was some big brash guy, some strong bulky man, but rather how he wore his heart on his sleeve, believed the best in everyone, and always turned his face upwards, believing that a higher power led him. There was something so peaceful in his firmly tranquil outlook on life, so when he was shaken by what had happened to Ohio, his friend, she had worried it would tear his soul apart like she had experienced having lost her child.
“Let’s go,” she invited – only to see him pause as he dropped to his knee before her, pulling a tiny velvet box out of his pocket.
“Let’s go,” he agreed, smiling tenderly at her, “but to the chaplain because I don’t want to wait any longer for our forever to start.”
Louis turned to Trophy.
“Will you stand up for us?”
“Do you even have to ask, brother?”
Louis’s eyes met hers once more as she gave him her hand. The two of them silent as he slipped the engagement ring on her finger. He looked up from her finger, leaned forward, and kissed it gently, before standing.
She nodded, feeling like words would fail her if she spoke. It was intimidating to meet someone who just seemed to ‘fit’ so wonderfully with who you are at your deepest person… and then to fall in love with them?
A miracle indeed.
“Let’s go,” he urged softly, moving to pick up his bag. He clasped her hand in his, chuckling. “I want to stop and get carrot cake for our wedding.”
“I’ve got it already,” she smiled secretly, winking at him and treasured the way he laughed easily. His joy was a thing of beauty, but the best was yet to come.
And you have no idea, buddy.