by Margaret Kay
“Who gives this woman to marry this man?” Lambchop asked, his smiling face on Madison’s father.
“Her mother and I do,” he replied with an equal smile. He kissed Madison and then he took a seat.
“When I initially spoke with Madison and John about their wedding, Madison insisted it not be a big deal,” he paused and laughed softly. “Like the love and relationship that God has sown between them should not be made into a big deal! It is a big deal. It’s the biggest deal ever, committing to love one person for the rest of your life. It’s something that should be shouted loudly before your family and all your friends. This woman loves this man, and this man loves this woman enough that they commit themselves to each other for the rest of their lives.” He paused and smiled wide. “I did promise them though, that we would keep this short. So here it is. Entering into the bonds of Holy Matrimony is not to be done lightly. The commitment between husband and wife is a blessed union, a union ordained by God, himself. As read in John 15:12: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. In Romans 12:10: we are told to Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” He reached into his pocket and removed the rings. He held them up and blessed them. “The last scripture I will quote comes to us from 1 Corinthians 13:13: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. He handed them each the other’s ring. “Madison Miller, do you take John Cooper to love, honor, and cherish, forsaking all others for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” Madison said, her teary eyes still locked onto Cooper’s.
“Please place the ring on John’s finger while you repeat these words.”
“With this ring, I, Madison take you John, to be my wedded husband.” She slid his solid gold ring onto his finger.
“And do you, John Cooper, take Madison Miller to love, honor, and cherish, forsaking all others for as long as you both shall live?”
Cooper smiled wide. “I do.” His voice was strong and decisive.
“The ring,” Lambchop prompted.
“With this ring, I, John, take you Madison, to be my wedded wife.” He slid the diamond encrusted gold band onto her left ring finger.
“Then by the power vested in me by God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has put together in his bonds of Holy matrimony, may no one put asunder. John, Madison, this is the part you get to kiss in front of your coworkers,” Lambchop said.
They both laughed at that statement before enjoying their first kiss as husband and wife. Hoots and hollers rose from the crowd. Tears filled Sienna’s eyes as she watched them. She remembered her happily ever after with Greg a decade before when she was that bride.
And then her eyes found their way to Anthony’s. Her smile was genuine as she gazed at this man, who she knew she deeply loved. Her past was her past, but he was her present and her future. The two could coexist. The timeline was not something she should or would control, just like Joe Lassiter had said. She finally got it. There were no set amounts of time to wait, no right or wrong actions in mourning. Her footsteps had been unique to her, just as her future would be as well.
She watched as Madison and Cooper retreated back up the aisle, followed by Madison’s sister, Megan and Cooper’s brother, Michael, and then Yvette and Shepherd, Doc and Michaela. She noticed that each man wore a shirt in the same color family as the dress the woman wore. Sienna stepped to the center aisle and linked her arm with Anthony’s. “I love you, Anthony Garcia. I’m ready to move here and be with you,” she said softly.
Garcia embraced her and kissed her fiercely, stopping the procession. Behind him, Jackson chuckled. As more people saw them, claps, laughter, and whistles came until someone shouted, “get a room!”
“I love you too,” he whispered in her ear. “Thank you. I promise you will never regret it.”
And she believed him.
Zulu
Sienna’s eyes were focused through the living room window, at the beautiful burning bush whose leaves were the most gorgeous, shade of deep red. All the noise in the house muted in her ears as she considered the beauty of the crimson leaves against the brilliant blue sky.
The black SUV pulling into the driveway snapped her out of it, and the sounds of conversations and laughter once again filled her ears.
“Oh, good, Coop and Madison are here,” Anthony said, his arms snaking around her middle from behind, his lips to her ear. He pressed a kiss to her cheek after he spoke.
Sammy shrieked, followed by male laughter. Sienna turned her head to view the scene. Jackson lifted his little flannel shirt and blew a raspberry over his tummy. The baby shrieked playfully again. It was their new game. At nearly six months old, Sammy had grown quite a bit and he was sitting up by himself, but he still looked tiny next to these big men.
Behind them, Sienna saw Angel, Yvette and Michaela in the kitchen putting out food and chatting. She could barely hear them over the much louder men whose bodies filled her living room. Her living room, this was her living room.
Bailey noticed that more company had arrived. She barked while running towards the front door, which was open, with only the screen door in place. It was a perfect seventy-degree Fall day. They had both the front door and the sliding glass door in the kitchen, open. The light breeze that blew in was welcome.
Madison pushed through Bailey, who Anthony was attempting to restrain. She held a package in her hand wrapped in sparkling silver paper with a big bow. “Happy Housewarming!” She gave both Anthony and Sienna a hug. Cooper followed suit as he too came through the front door. Then he showered Bailey with attention. “You have everything unpacked, pictures hung. Wow, you’re all settled in!” Madison gushed.
Garcia pointed to Sienna. “Her, she did it all.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. “Amazing, isn’t she? And she put this house together while teaching full-time these past few weeks too!”
“Did you get a position?” Madison asked.
“It’s a long-term temporary position. The classroom teacher is pregnant with twins and the doctor ordered bedrest for three months. Then she’s planning to be off with the babies after they are born for two more. The school is walking distance which is a plus, and a long-term assignment is what I wanted. It’s the perfect scenario for me. It worked out great for them too, assured they would have the same substitute for the entire time.”
“That’s if the classroom teacher comes back. Several of Sienna’s coworkers have already told her they don’t think she is, so Sienna might get the position permanently.”
“Or in the very least, I get to work in that school for five months and establish myself with the principal and the other teachers so if another position comes available, I have a good shot at it. I love kindergarten, but I’m not opposed to a different grade level.”
“That’s great,” Madison said.
“Did the closing go well on your place in Virginia?” Cooper asked.
Sienna nodded. “My attorney says it did. I am officially out from under it.” Sienna sat the gift box down on the table in the corner with the others.
Angel handed her a glass of wine. “Do you want one Madison?”
Madison eyed the beer glass in Lambchop’s hand. “Is that Octoberfest?”
Lambchop nodded that it was while taking a drink.
“I think I’ll have a beer. Are they in the fridge?” She motioned towards the kitchen.
“Yes, help yourself,” Sienna answered.
Doc was the last to arrive. Sienna saw him park at the end of the driveway, which was now full of cars. Her eyes flickered to Bailey, who laid on the couch, practically on top of Cooper. She and Greg had never let Bailey on the furniture, but that was one of the first things Anthony did when they picked her up from Christy’s house. He called Bailey onto the couch, onto the bed, onto the back seat of the car. She smiled when she remembered it. Now, she couldn’t imagine sleeping in bed without Bailey beside her when Anthony was working.
The day after the baptism and the wedding, she and Anthony flew to Virginia. They spent a week at her house. They packed up the few things she wanted to keep and shipped the overflow that wouldn’t fit in the trunk of her car. The rest, she packed up to donate to charity. She signed the house over to a relocation service that would list the house for sale. There was an attorney who would handle the sale and closing. That was it. Her life in Virginia was her past.
When they drove away, she felt free and at peace. She knew she had made the right decision. She was starting her life over in Illinois, with Anthony, and she was excited at the prospect. The trip back was fun. She, Anthony, and Bailey took their time and stopped wherever they wanted, to see whatever captured their interest. There was no hurry. They took three days to drive to Illinois, even though the actual drive time was just over twelve hours. All members of Alpha Team were off for the two weeks. Madison and Cooper were on their honeymoon, Doc was away on a fishing trip, and Angel and Jackson were just enjoying being parents, together for the entire two weeks.
Doc reached the front door. Sienna let him in, her smile wide and welcoming. “I’m glad you made it.”
He held two bottles of wine in his hands. “Happy Housewarming. I didn’t know if you liked red or white, so I brought both.”
“I like them both, thank you.”
Doc chuckled. “I figured it was appropriate to bring a liquid given our first interaction.” He winked at her.
Sienna chuckled as well. “Hopefully it’s straight wine and none of your sleepy juice.”
Doc laughed harder. “Sleepy juice? No one has ever called it that. That’s good. I’ll have to remember that.”
Garcia came in close and shook Doc’s hand. “Welcome to our home.”
Doc nodded to Garcia’s beer. “You got another one of those?”
“Of course,” Garcia replied. The two men moved towards the kitchen.
Sienna wove her way through the knot of people in her living room and joined Angel, Yvette, and Michaela in the kitchen to help get the food out. Every member of both Alpha and Delta Teams were there. Sienna gazed over the people. “I sure hope we have enough food,” she thought aloud.
“Are you doubting my ordering capabilities?” Angel pretended that she was wounded from insult.
Sienna laughed. “No, not at all. You know just how much food these people eat.”
“Food’s out!” Angel yelled above the many voices, quieting them instantly.
“A toast! Shepherd sends his apologies that he couldn’t make it,” Cooper said loudly, “But he wanted me to make this first toast on his behalf. Garcia, Sienna, I wish you many years of happiness in your new home.” He raised his glass high. “Congrats you two!”
That sentiment echoed through the room. Then they all took turns heaping food onto their plates.
Sienna looked over those present at the gathering, at the familiar faces. These people were her friends, her family now. They were a tight group that could count on each other. The bonds the men had, from the work they did, were unbreakable. She felt lucky to be accepted by them, to feel a part of their group. She remembered when Angel had told her that she felt that way. She also remembered wishing she would some day feel the same. She smiled with that thought.
She rarely compared Anthony to Greg, but in that moment, she couldn’t help but wonder if Greg had had that connection with his coworkers. She doubted it, given that they didn’t socialize with any of them. From what she’d seen, this team stuck together both at work and outside of it. During these past six weeks, since she moved here, they’d spent a great deal of off-work time with those present in the room.
Every Sunday afternoon that the teams weren’t working, they got together to watch football at Cooper and Madison’s condo. Saturday evenings, if they were off, she and Anthony would spend it with Jackson and Angel, usually at their townhouse across the street, so Sammy could be put to bed on time. Angel’s Aunt Meredith even babysat one Saturday night and the four of them went out, like normal people. Last Sunday, the team worked, so Sienna and Michaela hung out at Angel’s and the three of them watched football. Though she was a Carolina Panthers fan, she didn’t hate the Chicago Bears. She could cheer for them if they weren’t playing her Panthers.
Sienna was also accepted into the teacher’s group at school. She had gone out to dinner with a group of them several times. And there was a date of the neighborhood ladies’ group on her calendar for the following weekend, a wine and canvas party. She felt as though she belonged here already.
All at once, every team member’s phone lit up, vibrated, or chimed, depending on what setting their phone was on. Every man and Madison reached for their phones to check the text alert that they all received.
“This can’t be good,” Angel said softly to Sienna and Michaela.
“Sorry babe,” Jackson said to Angel.
Anthony came up beside Sienna. “Sorry, we’ve been called in.”
Sienna nodded. She’d figured that out.
Everyone quickly finished their food and then dumped their plates in the trash.
“Tell Ops to call me in if they need me,” Yvette told Cooper as he and Madison moved towards Sienna to tell her goodbye.
Madison looked back at her. “Miraldi and BT are on. It’s covered. Enjoy your day off. I’m sure we’ll be talking to you tomorrow when you are in.”
Each man made his way to Sienna and gave her a quick hug, congratulated her on the house, and then filed out the door. Jackson kissed Angel and Sammy goodbye and then waited at the door as Anthony embraced Sienna.
“I’ll text when I can. Be safe.”
Sienna kissed him more forcefully. “You be safe. I love you.”
“Love you,” he whispered and then he pulled away. He and Jackson disappeared out the door.
The four women and Sammy were left standing in the now empty and very quiet living room.
“I should really call into Ops and see what’s going on,” Yvette murmured.
“Only to share it with the rest of us,” Angel said. “Madison’s right. You’re off duty. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“It has to be something big if they called both teams in.”
“Yes, I don’t recall that happening too often,” Angel agreed. “Try not to worry, Yvette.”
“It’s hard not to when you know your team is out there,” she replied.
“They’re not out anywhere just yet. It’ll probably be hours before they’re deployed,” Angel said. She grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled everyone’s glass.
“Sienna, turn on a news channel just so we can see if anything big has gone down anywhere. “Yvette instructed. She wasn’t asking.
The four ladies sat and sipped their wine as they watched the television. Nothing. No big news events, no terrorist attacks, not even a natural disaster.
“So, whatever it is hasn’t hit the news.” Yvette shook her head. “I hate not being in Ops when something is going down and I know a team has been scrambled.”
“Call,” Sienna prompted. “You know you’re going to be thinking about it until you do.”
Yvette chuckled sarcastically. “You can’t tell me you’re not worried.”
“No, I won’t tell you that, but this is what they do, what I signed up for.” Her eyes went to Angel. “Someone very wise once told me that there was no where they’d rather be, with no one they’d rather be with, even if it meant loving a man who did what they do. I’m here, obviously I feel the same way.”
Angel raised her glass. “Here, here. It’s nice to have a sister to share these times with.”
Sienna smiled and gently tapped her glass against Angel’s. They both drank.
“What’s up?” Yvette spoke into the phone. “I’m at Garcia’s and both Alpha and Delta just got scrambled.”
“The Army called in a favor from Shepherd. The teams are heading over to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. There was a problem at a neighboring boarder that official US troo
ps can’t touch,” BT told her.
“Roger that, and thanks.” Yvette disconnected the call and informed the others.
“Sounds like they could be gone for a week or more,” Angel said. She thought no more of it. “Open your housewarming gifts.”
“I can’t open them without Anthony here,” Sienna protested.
Angel took Sammy back from Michaela as he was getting fussy. It was time for him to nurse and then go down for a nap. “Sure, you can. You’ll do everything else the next week or so without him here. Besides, I want you to open the gift from Jackson and me.”
