Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Twenty-Seven Years Ago
The military plane landed with a puff of dust around its wheels. Helen Brown’s heart leapt inside her chest. She’d waited for this moment for six long months, and it was finally here. He was finally here. Her husband, Paul, was deployed to Kenya. He’d been gone a whole year with one trip home halfway through that stint. And he still had three years left to go. She wasn’t sure if she was going to make it that long. Him being gone was the hardest thing she’d ever had to face before in her life. Every day felt like a trial. It was easier now than it’d been at first, but it still hurt all the time. She pined for their next video chat, waited for the email messages to load with bated breath. Couldn’t stand waiting for his next visit, but all of that was pushed out of her thoughts in the moment as she watched him descend the steps onto the tarmac.
The wind whipped at her straw hat, and she pressed a hand to hold it in place as she ran across the tarmac towards him. Her floral dress flapped around her legs. She was conscious that she likely looked childish—the other women with their children stood back waiting patiently. But not her. She couldn’t wait another moment to be in his arms. She leapt at him, wrapping one leg around him as she laughed against his searching lips. He kissed her long and hard, his arms tightly pulling her to him by the waist. Then whispered, “Baby, I’ve missed you.”
She grinned. “More than anything in the world?”
“Yes, more than anything.”
“Me too,” she said, her forehead pressed to his so that their eyes were fixed upon one another.
They walked back to the car together. He had one arm around her waist, the other holding his backpack in place over his shoulder. She couldn’t stop grinning and every now and then leaned over to kiss whatever part of him she could reach.
He laughed at her, put his backpack down on the road behind the car, then placed one of his hands on each of her cheeks. He gazed into her eyes with longing, then leaned forward to kiss her soft and long on the mouth.
By the time he pulled away, she was dizzy.
“I’ve been waiting so long for you, husband.”
“Well, here I am, wife. What are you going to do with me?”
She laughed and hurried to climb into the car while he loaded his bag in the back. “Oh, I can think of a few things.”
After they’d made love for hours, Helen lay in Paul’s arms with a contented smile. She twirled her fingers around his, letting her cheek rest on his chest.
“I’ve got your whole stay planned out,” she said. “We can go to Krispy Kreme, then I thought we might have dinner at Mary Mac’s with the rest of the family.”
“Is every day going to revolve around food?” he asked, one eyebrow quirked.
She pouted. “Maybe.”
“Because I’m good with that.” He laughed. “Although I want to spend time with you too. Don’t schedule too much.”
She kissed his chest. “I promise. Lots of time with me.”
“How are Mom and Dad doing?”
She shrugged. “I told them you get in tomorrow morning. I wanted to have the entire evening with you by myself.”
He groaned. “You’re gonna get me in trouble.”
“They can have you all to themselves in the morning. I want tonight.”
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Because I’m starving.”
“Pizza?” she asked.
He nodded. “That would be perfect. And could we watch a game? I don’t even know what’s on.”
“We’ll just have to figure it out. I’ll order the pizza.”
“I’m going to jump in the shower,” he replied, climbing out of bed.
She watched him walk to the shower, her throat constricting with unshed tears. It was so good to have him back. She wanted him to stay, but she knew it was impossible.
“Don’t forget we have to see my parents too. They’ve invited us for a BBQ on Saturday at the lake,” she called after him.
He turned the shower on, letting the water heat up and steam rose towards the ceiling. “Okay, but your Dad has to be nice. I’m not sixteen anymore, he can’t keep treating me like I am.”
She sighed. “He’s still angry with you for dating me.”
“But I married you.”
“Yes, you did. And he’s never quite forgiven you.” She laughed. “I’m only joking. Dad loves you … really. He’s just gruff. That’s his style. I don’t think he can change at this point, he’s too old.”
Paul shook his head. “I know, but for once it would be nice if he’d act as though he likes me. At least a little bit.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
“No … don’t do that. He’ll call me whiny again.”
Her lips pursed. She loved it when her father and husband got along, but it was a rare event. They’d been hunting together once and went on two fishing trips. All three outings had been a success. But as soon as they were back in the city, her Dad acted like Paul was that sixteen-year-old boy knocking on the door to take her out all over again.
“He’ll be good. I promise.”
Paul grinned at her. “And I’ll suck up to him like I always do. Anything for you, baby.”