Epilogue
Zeke
Seven Years Later
“Staff Sergeant, there’s a phone call for you!
” The private’s hands trembled as he waited for dismissal in the doorway to the conference room.
Several other members of the chain of command sat around the table as we wrapped up our final briefing before the holiday break.
Piss poor reception in the building meant we all resorted to using the landlines, but the only person who had the number was my wife, making me jump to my feet in fear.
“Thanks, Baldwin,” I replied before skirting around him. I pointed to the desk phone that lay on the paperwork, clearly where Private Baldwin answered, and instructed him to transfer the call into my office. Being a staff sergeant now meant I had my own designated workspace as one of the perks.
“Maggie,” I breathed into the phone as soon as the line clicked over, “what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Everything’s fine! I just wanted to double check that you’re absolutely certain you don’t want me to pack another swimsuit for you.
” My wife’s voice sounded an octave higher than usual with giddiness.
I could hear thuds and bangs echoing through the line, making me wince at the mess I knew would be waiting for me when I got home.
Maggie didn’t know how to pack a suitcase without leaving our bedroom a disaster zone.
“Baby, I’m pretty sure three sets of swim trunks are plenty for a cruise. I don’t even own another pair.”
She snorted. “Yeah, because I only got you three when I went shopping for this trip. Sometimes it’s like you don’t even know me at all.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Maggie still earned her nickname. Trouble with a capital T.
“We’re just finishing up here, so I’ll be done soon.”
“I know. I made that Baldwin guy tell me before he went in to get you. He’s terrified of you, in case you were wondering.” Maggie sounded far too gleeful at the idea that one of the people in my unit was afraid of me.
“Just pick me up in about a half hour,” I replied, unsuccessfully stifling a laugh. “I love you, Trouble.”
My wife’s smile beamed through the phone. “I love you more! See you soon!”
We would soon be en route to the Phoenix airport so we could fly out to Miami and meet Celeste, Wesley, and their family for an eight day cruise to Turks and Caicos.
It would be our first time seeing them since they got back together and they insisted that they wanted a real “family” vacation with Maggie and me.
Marla would be there along with Celeste’s grandmother.
Maggie had been obsessively counting down the days on our calendar for months.
I hadn’t spent much time with Wes, but he already seemed like someone I could count as a true friend.
Even after all the time adjusting to my diagnosis and learning more about social expectations, friendships were hard for me to form.
Wesley didn’t have the best people skills either, so Maggie said we got along like two peas in a pod. Whatever that meant.
After my fall out with Leggett, Maggie and I only stayed at Fort Stewart for another couple months before I received orders to Fort Lewis, followed by almost immediate deployment orders to Afghanistan.
That deployment was a real testament to Maggie’s and my love for one another.
We grew so much stronger as a couple when we relied on infrequent video calls, emails, and care packages.
Despite my fear that Maggie would start to purge again, she made it through the deployment without a single incident.
She found another great therapist and fully committed to her program.
The time apart let her focus on really developing her sense of self outside of our marriage.
I had never been more impressed or proud to call her mine.
After three years in Lewis, eighteen months of which I spent on deployment, I came home and we moved again to our current duty station at Fort Huachuca.
We managed to get a year in here before I had to deploy again.
By that time, Maggie established a pretty steady clientele as a hairstylist. She used all her free time to go to the community college and earn an associate’s degree in business management so that she could open her own spa and salon.
We agreed that once I hit retirement eligibility for the military, I would get out and she got to pick where we settled permanently.
I had a strong feeling we would return to River’s Run, though.
Diana tentatively reached out to Maggie about a year into my first deployment.
Their relationship wasn’t great, from what she shared with me, but it was a work in progress.
As long as Diana kept her opinions of Maggie’s features to herself, I found a way to tolerate her.
She even came out for a visit once we moved to Arizona.
Maggie had warned me that this cruise would be a special occasion.
For some reason, I had to pack my dress uniform for the occasion and she packed one of the gowns she wore to a military ball.
As long as I got to experience it all with her, I didn’t care what we did.
Maggie was where my world began and ended.
“Look at that sexy, Mr. Hayes!” She leaned out the window of my truck as she pulled to a stop in the parking lot outside my office. “I bet he’s got some hot wife back home!”
A few of the guys heading to their cars laughed.
One even gave a wolf whistle in response as I climbed into the cab of the truck beside her.
The grin on my face grew wide enough to hurt as I murmured, “Oh, she’s a total smoke show!
” before kissing her fiercely. We broke apart to beam at each other like the lovestruck fools we still were, then Maggie headed for the highway.
I read once that couples experienced something called “the honeymoon phase” which lasted about a year after first getting married. Supposedly, that was the stage where everything still seemed blissful and exciting until the realities of marriage set in.
That phase had yet to end for me. Everyday I woke up with my head on Maggie’s chest, hearing her heartbeat steadily in my ear, felt like the most twisted sense of reality. Her beauty still took my breath away while her sassiness always made me laugh. I didn’t see a single sign of that changing.
I now had a family, thanks to her. Marla treated me like I was her own son and Celeste regarded me as the equivalent of a brother.
There was nothing I wouldn’t do for Iris, who made me nearly tear up when she called me “Uncle Zeke” for the first time.
I loved them all. Me—the kid who never even knew what love was until that Shiny Girl struck me dumb at a party.
Any adventure she wanted us to take, she could count me in. We found our new normal, after all.
Maggie
I bounced on the balls of my feet, looking through the crowd for Wesley’s mop of blonde hair.
As the tallest person in our family, he would be the easiest to spot so we could get on the ship together.
Zeke’s hand squeezed mine tightly to keep me in place, and without looking at him, I knew the crowd of people around us made him anxious.
My bouncing only worried him that somehow I would get hurt.
“Easy now, Mrs. Hayes, or I’ll have to restrain you,” he warned.
“Oh no! I forgot the handcuffs!”
An older couple walking past us along the dock gave a scandalous grunt. They hurried away with genuine shock on their faces.
Zeke snorted. “I can’t believe you just said that in public.”
“Well, your toolbox isn’t really complete without them!” I shrugged, flashing him a deceptively sweet smile.
The “toolbox” as Zeke still liked to call it, had evolved a lot since our days in South Korea.
We both enjoyed incorporating new toys in the bedroom, and I’d worn out my fair share of dildos copied from a mold of Zeke’s dick while facing deployment alone.
Since this was our first real vacation in several years, I packed everything to ensure we had plenty of options to celebrate in our room the whole time.
“I’m sure we’ll make do.” Zeke nodded towards the crowd. “There they are.”
Celeste and Wes appeared and Iris raced over to envelope us in a hug. “Aunt Maggie! Uncle Zeke!” Marla and Nana came up in the rear, and I had to bite my tongue so I didn’t laugh at Nana’s shirt. As yellow as a highlighter, the shirt’s neon pink letters declared SUNS UP, TITS OUT.
Only someone as bold as Celeste’s nana could pull off a look like that. My feistiness would never match hers.
After a slew of greetings and hugs, some tears and laughs, the seven of us made our way up through the line and onto the ship.
Wesley insisted on paying for suites for all of us in honor of the occasion and a complementary concierge led us to our rooms. Iris bunked with Marla and Nana, and Zeke and I had our own.
I swore up and down that we didn’t need an ocean view or private deck, but Wesley wanted to splurge.
I think he liked blowing his dad’s money after everything his dad put him through.
“Okay, we have to be up on the deck by six, so don’t be late,” Wes called out to everyone before we entered our assigned rooms.
“That means I’ll be down to your room at five on the dot, Cee, so you better be dressed!” I warned. “I will literally pull you two apart, if I have to!”
Iris looked up at Marla in confusion. “Why wouldn’t Mama and Daddy be dressed?” she asked quizzically.
Zeke, Nana, and Wes all tried to cover their laughs with coughs.
“Thanks for that.” Celeste shot me a Mom Glare. I stuck out my tongue in response.
The door closed softly behind us, shutting out all the sounds of the ship.
Our suite had a dining table with four chairs next to a kitchenette along with a living area that included a sectional couch and oversized television.
Sliding glass doors led out onto our private deck that had a small hot tub.