Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Three months. It was a long time, but it was a complex mission with multiple parts. Wasn’t she just glad that I was home?
“I can’t control how long I’m sent off for. Trust me, I don’t want to be gone so long,” I assured her.
Brianna sighed softly as she nodded.
“It’s just hard being away from you for so long,” she said.
Maybe I was used to the time and distance away more. I came from a long line of military officers, so I was used to family members, including my own father, being gone for weeks to months at a time. I knew that their work was important, and I hoped that Brianna still remembered that about my own work too.
I didn’t stay away from home because I wanted to. I stayed away to perform my assigned duties to serve my country as I had signed up to do so many years ago after I graduated high school. I enjoyed my work and my company, but that didn’t mean I didn’t love her too.
It was just hard showing her that. It was hard to make her look past the time and distance.
“I’m here now. Let me take you out to dinner, okay? Just you and me,” I suggested with a hopeful look on my face. I didn’t want to argue right when I got home.
Brianna held my gaze for a few seconds, her soft eyes looking conflicted. She then smiled and nodded before wrapping her hands around my arm and huddling close to my side.
“That sounds nice. Thank you,” she said.
I could hear an apology in her words, but I didn’t want her to feel bad for being upset. I wouldn’t ever make her feel bad for missing me. It just showed me that she loved me and wanted our marriage to flourish like I wanted as well.
I planned to be married to her for the rest of my life. When we started dating, it wasn’t some casual arrangement. I was in it for the end goal of being with the love of my life forever, and that hadn’t changed for me. Even if many other things had changed over the course of fourteen years.
“Come on. Let’s go home,” I told her before leading her out of the busy airport.
When we got home, the first thing I did was take a shower, standing under the warm spray with closed eyes. It was nice taking a shower in my own bathroom, and it would be great sleeping in the bed that I shared with my wife. She probably didn’t believe it at times, but I was glad to be home.
By the time I got out, she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror with her curling iron, carefully wrapping her hair around it. I wrapped a towel around my waist and leaned close to kiss her on the cheek, feeling it shift beneath my lips as she smiled. She had no idea how much I missed that smile.
“I’ll be ready in thirty minutes,” Brianna said.
I nodded and wandered into the bedroom to get ready, my eyes sweeping over our light gray sheets, two wooden nightstands on either side, and our old dresser with a flatscreen mounted on top. All of the picture frames and little decorative assets were the same, and I wondered if she kept everything the same for a reason.
My clothes in our walk-in closet were recently washed and hung up like she had prepared the entire house for my arrival. Those little things warmed me, and she deserved more than a nice dinner to thank her for holding down the fort here. I just wished I could think of a bigger, better gesture.
Once we got dressed, we went to one of the nicer Italian restaurants in town, choosing a small table outside under the stars and string lights. The night was warm but not unbearably so. It was much better than the scalding heat out in the desert with sand blowing in my eyes and my skin being constantly sunburned where my uniform didn’t cover.
At least I came back with a tan.
“I know you can’t give me details, but how did your mission go?” Brianna asked once the waiter brought each of us a glass of red wine.
“It went well. A bit dangerous at times, but we got the job done,” I said with a satisfied nod. We were an effective unit, which was why we were one of the first ones called to handle high-risk situations.
Brianna threaded her fingers together and rested her chin on top of them, peering across the table with an intrigued look on her face.
“You always do. They should reward you guys with a break,” she told me with a hopeful smile.
It would be nice to have some time off before being shipped off yet again. I was getting older, so moving around so much for extended periods of time was definitely weighing on my body more and more. Plus, the thought of being able to lounge on the couch with her and just watch a movie sounded great right about now.