by Lisa Ladew
He smiled broadly. “Ah, that was all Carrie Manning. She was visiting a vet in the hospital. She volunteers with Operation Wounded Vet too. This was while I was still being treated, but she opened my eyes to the good they were doing. We got to talking and she offered me a job on the spot. Her and her husband are great people.”
Charlene watched him, realizing he really had built a full and complete life there. Without her.
His phone rang again. “Sorry. Gavin needs something.” He walked back out into the main area of his apartment to talk to Gavin. Charlene wandered around the room for a few moments, picking up the pictures, reading a bit of the letters, peeking inside the boxes, then pulled out her own phone.
She had a decision to make.
***
On Saturday morning, after two days of nothing but sex, cuddling, and making plans, Charlene and Relic made their way up to the hotel room Kerry and Susan were still staying in.
Charlene knocked on the door and Kerry pulled it open. “Charlene, you’re so late, you’re never gonna have time to pack before we have to leave for the airport.”
“I’m not going home, Kerry. I called the hospital and got another two weeks vacation.”
Kerry stared at her, then broke into a smile and hugged her. “Good for you.” She looked past Charlene to Relic, who stood stick-straight in the hallway.
She marched to him and pulled him into a hug too, then kissed his cheek. “You did good.”
Relic relaxed and smiled. “I never thanked you,” he murmured. Kerry waved him away and invited them into the hotel room.
Susan looked up when they entered the room. “Hey, bitch,” she told Charlene, then saw Relic She stared, her mouth opening in surprise.
Relic lifted his chin and let her stare.
“Susan,” Charlene snapped.
“Sorry, it’s just, well, you’re so hot. I love me a military haircut and a strong jaw.”
Charlene shook her head and relaxed just a bit, but knew she couldn’t let Susan get away with too much.
“Paws off, I swear Susan, I am not fucking with you or playing any games like you play with Kerry. He’s mine and I don’t share my men.”
“Sorry,” Susan said, but she threw one more smile at Relic before she slowly and deliberately turned on the TV, lifting her legs to the bed and leaning back so she could hike up her skirt just a little.
Relic blushed and turned away and Charlene only shook her head, glad Susan would be on a plane out of New York in an hour.
They packed Kerry and Susan into a cab, then Relic called a driver to take Charlene’s bags back to his apartment. They strolled down the busy New York sidewalk hand in hand. Charlene stared up at the skyscrapers and wondered what it was like to live in the city. She would find out over the next two weeks, and if she liked it, maybe Relic would invite her to live with him. She could find a job at a hospital in New York easily. Nurses were in short supply everywhere.
The thought made her glad and excited, like a new part of her life was starting at that moment. She swung Relic’s hand, ignored the few people who stared at Relic, and tried not to skip. “So what now?”
Relic smiled at her. “Want to do the touristy thing?”
“Yes, I want to do everything.”
“Ok, let’s start off here,” he said, turning down a back alley. “There’s a caricaturist in the park that you’ll love.”
Charlene giggled. “A caricaturist? Is that the quintessential New York tourist activity?”
“Yep. You can’t leave till you do it.”
“In that case, let’s not,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him. “Ever.”
Relic pulled her against a wall and kissed her deeply. “You can stay with me as long as you want.”
“How about we go back to your apartment right now, pick me out a bed.”
He laughed and tugged her back out onto the sidewalk. “Ok. After. You’re going to love this.”
He pulled her into a small park with concrete benches and trees surrounded by little fences. In the corner, sure enough, an older woman with long, beautiful white hair and a lined face sat with dozens of pictures around her. Big heads, strong features, and little tiny bodies doing funny stuff. Charlene giggled in spite of herself. Caricatures by Julie, a sign read.
“Hello, Julie, my name is Relic and this is my girlfriend, Charlene. Do you have time for a caricature?”
“Of course I do,” Julie said, motioning for them both to sit and winking at Charlene. She turned her easel so that Charlene couldn’t see it. Charlene smiled at her and wondered which of her features would be made monstrous. Her nose? Her teeth? Not her chin, she hoped.
Julie made broad strokes with her pen, stopping to look at Charlene and Relic occasionally. “What do you do Relic?” she asked.
“I work security.”
Charlene wanted to lean forward and tell Julie that Relic was a veteran who had been in Afghanistan but she caught herself. Maybe he didn’t want that in the picture. Maybe he wanted to forget about that time. She still had so much to learn about the new him.
“And you Charlene?”
“I’m a nurse.”
“Ah, wonderful. What do you two like to do for fun?”
Charlene felt her cheeks heat. She couldn’t tell Julie what they’d been doing non-stop for the past two days.
Relic laughed as if reading her thoughts. “Fun, what’s that?”
“Say no more, say no more,” Julie said, exaggerating her strokes wildly, then stopping to stare hard at both of them as if trying to make decisions. After a few moments, she stood. “Ok, I’m almost done, but I just need to know one thing before I can finish. Charlene, I need to know your answer.”
“My answer?”
Julie flipped the easel around so Charlene could see it. Julie had been generous with her, giving her flowing hair and no huge features, but when she saw what the picture depicted she felt her lip tremble and her eyes water.
It was Relic, down on one knee, his clear left side showing, holding up a monster ring to Charlene who had her hands up to her mouth. A word bubble over Relic’s head said Will you Marry Me, Charlene?
Julie tapped the empty word bubble over Charlene’s head. “See, I just need to know what to put here.”
Charlene bit down on her lower lip and put her hands to her mouth, exactly like the Charlene in the picture was doing. She turned to Relic and found him down on one knee, a beautiful diamond ring in his hand, holding it up for her.
Tears leaked from Charlene’s eyes. “How did you arrange this? When did you get the ring? We haven’t left your place for two days.”
“I got it for you almost a year ago. As soon as I got out of the hospital. I knew if I ever saw you again I was going to ask you.”
Charlene sobbed openly, and held out her left hand.
Julie flipped the easel back around. “Yes it is then. Good choice.”
“Yes,” Charlene said, to both of them. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Chapter 12
One month later
“I can’t believe you are moving to New York permanently,” Kerry sighed, peeking out the door of the tiny room the church had given them to get ready in. “I can’t believe your last day at Westwood General was last week and we won’t be living together anymore.”
Charlene, dressed in a simple but beautiful white dress, waved her hands in front of her face. “Don’t make me cry. My makeup is perfect.”
Kerry turned to her and smiled. “No crying! This is a happy day. All thanks to me.”
Charlene huffed a laugh. “Yes, and thank you for getting everything together for this on such short notice. I owe you big time.”
“You do. You can plan my wedding in New York.”
Charlene glared at her. “If you ever get married.”
“That’s right, if I ever get married.”
She peeked out the door again. “Ok, Relic’s up there. His brother is standing behind him.”
“Oooh, let me
see.”
Charlene put her eye to the crack in the door. “So that’s him huh? He looks a lot like Relic. The only other time I saw him was just part of his face when he slammed the door on me and wouldn’t talk to me after Relic disappeared. Besides that we only talked on the phone.”
She turned to her sister. “Wait, how did you know that was him?”
“He’s the one who told me how to find Relic.”
Charlene put her hands on her hips. “How did you get him to tell you?”
Kerry smiled and leaned back on her heels. “I fucked him.” She stared at Charlene, waiting for the admonishments she knew were sure to come.
Charlene’s expression didn’t change. She watched her sister closely, trying to figure out if it was true. When she decided it was, she ran forward and hugged her sister. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. That’s your wedding gift by the way.”
Charlene laughed and hugged her again. “Relic and I both thank you. That’s better than one hundred punch bowls.”
“Yeah, or one punch bowl.” She grinned at her sister. “Besides, he was good. I’d fuck him again. Hey, maybe I’ll be your sister-in-law one day.”
Charlene laughed. “It doesn’t work like that. We’d still be sisters.”
Outside the door, the music started. Kerry fluffed Charlene’s hair. “It’s time. Let me go first, then you.”
Charlene nodded tightly, holding back her tears. She was five minutes away from marrying Relic. Her prince. Her soldier.
She would finally be the one who got the happily ever after.
Epilogue
The plane touched down in Lihue, Kauai as light as a butterfly. Charlene held her stomach and tried to quell her queasiness. Relic held the air sickness bag open in front of her. “Flights to Hawaii are bumpier than flights to New York. Maybe that’s all it is.”
She pressed against the back of the seat taking deep breaths, just wanting to get outside. “That or the shrimp at the reception.”
Relic shook his head. “I still can’t believe Wayne sent a gift.”
Charlene smiled weakly. “Me either. But I’m glad. He’s moved on with his life and he wanted to let me know.”
Relic nodded, although his eyes were dark.
They disembarked slower than Charlene would have liked, but once outside, she felt slightly better even though the air was hot and humid. The ocean breeze in her face helped. Getting their rental car took very little time, and within forty minutes, they were driving up the coast of Kauai, ready to start their honeymoon.
Charlene looked around at the mountains to her right and the ocean to her left. “What a beautiful place. I can’t believe we are here.”
“It is. Wait until you see the beach we are going to.”
Charlene covered her mouth with her hand and stuck her face out the window, afraid she was about to throw up.
Relic pulled over to the side of the road. “You ok?”
“Yeah, just queasy still. Do you think there is a drug store around here?”
Relic pulled out his phone and had Google directing them within a minute.
As they pulled into the parking lot of Long’s Drugs, Charlene laughed. “Shouldn’t this be Kamahakahiliopiiulua’a Drugs?”
Relic ran his finger down her cheek and tucked a blonde lock behind her ear. “Hey, my beautiful wife, just be happy we aren’t heading to a medicine man with a skull attached to a stick.”
Relic’s phone rang. He looked at it and his brow furrowed. “It’s Operation Wounded Vet.” He hovered his finger over the end call button but Charlene stopped him. “Just take it. I’ll run in. You can remind them we are on our honeymoon.”
“You sure?”
Charlene nodded and got out of the car, hurrying into the drug store. Interestingly enough, the anti-nausea medicines were next to the baby care aisle. She thought for a few moments, then made only one purchase and headed back out to her new husband.
He was staring off into the blue sky, his face troubled. When he saw her he asked, “Did you get what you needed?”
She held up a white bag and nodded. “What did Op Vet want?”
“They fired Mr. Hayden because they found out he was skimming money from the operation. They are in flux and worried about who the new director should be. They said they need someone with absolute moral fortitude and a strong character, someone who is beyond reproach to make up for what Hayden did. They wanted to know if I had any ideas.”
Charlene sank into the seat next to him. “What did you say?”
“I asked them if they wanted a retired Colonel or something and they said yeah, former Army would be great. Someone who believed strongly in the cause would be better. I told them I would think about it, make some calls. My old CO might be a good choice.”
Charlene nodded, letting him think, as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, headed out of Lihue. As they drove towards Kekaha, they saw nothing but gorgeous beach after gorgeous beach. Charlene began to feel relaxation spread through her. It was hard to look at scenery like that and believe that there could be anything wrong in the world.
It took them an hour to get to the Pacific Missile Range Facility and pass through the guard gate, then another thirty minutes to get the key to their cabin on Barking Sands Beach. Relic was uncharacteristically quiet, but Charlene didn’t mind. She was breathing in and out, trying to settle her stomach with her mind.
When they finally drove down the tiny, sandy road to the cabins, and the area opened up before them, Charlene gasped, her stomach forgotten. “It’s so beautiful. We are staying here?” The cabins were adorable, and only twenty feet back from the widest beach she had ever seen, bordering the bluest water on the planet.
Relic pointed to the last cabin on the left. “That one’s ours. All week.”
She leaned forward to look out his window. “There’s not one person on the beach!”
He grinned. “This isn’t a heavily-used place. There’s only one other couple here for a few more days, then they leave and we have the place to ourselves.”
“That’s crazy!” she gushed.
“You’d think no one knew about this place. The military does a crappy job of advertising.”
They parked the car and Relic carried their bags inside. Charlene tried to help but he insisted she stay on the porch and watch the waves. The sun would be setting in a few hours and he wanted her to see all of it, to watch for the ‘green flash’.
After Relic carried the last bag in, Charlene followed him. She had to pee. She took her bag from the drug store with her.
She could hear him moving around outside the bathroom door, and then she heard his phone ring and his low voice as he answered it. She waited until he said goodbye, then slipped something into her pocket and headed out of the bathroom.
He looked stunned, just staring at the window. She didn’t even think he noticed the gecko eating bugs on the outside of it. “That was Diane again,” he said. He dropped onto the couch. “They want me to be the new director. If I take it, the job starts when I get back. They said I can work part-time until I give my two weeks’ notice at Club Privé.”
Charlene rushed to him. “What did you say?”
“I said I would think about it.”
Charlene sat next to him. “How much would it pay?”
Relic’s voice was soft, wondering. “Almost $200,000 a year.”
“For a charity?”
“The director is one of only two high-paying positions and they are partially self-funded. They actually just increased it because they don’t want to deal with skimming again. The former salary wasn’t much for New York City.”
“True,” Charlene said, putting her hand on his leg. He didn’t seem to quite believe it yet.
“Relic, ah, would that be enough for me to not work?”
He looked at her then. “You don’t want to work?”
“I-ah, I thought I could stay home to take care of the baby, at least for
a couple of years.”
“Whatever you want Cha─ wait. Baby?”
She pulled the pregnancy test out of her pocket and showed it to him, watching him closely, praying that he would be ok with it. Praying he would be happy. They’d only gotten married the day before and hadn’t even talked about kids yet.
Relic shot off the couch and pulled her up, too, whooping with joy. He whirled her around, then set her on her feet and ran straight out the door, leaving her laughing. From outside she could hear him screaming into the surf, “A baby! I’m going to be a father!”
He ran back inside. “Charlene, are you ok? What can I get you? Sit down, please.”
She laughed at him but sat and watched to see what he would do next. He knelt in front of her. “You weren’t on the pill?”
She shook her head.
“So it could have happened that first night we were together?”
“Yes.”
His face hardened. “I hope it was. I hope it was that first time when you were against the wall. That was the moment I got my entire life back. It would be awesome if it was the moment I became a father too.”
Charlene smiled at him and ran her palm down his face. “Sweet Relic.”
He took her hand and his expression turned scared. “Wait. Will the baby be, you know, scared of me? Because I look like this?”
Charlene smiled at him. “Do you know anything about babies?”
“Not much. They’re cute. They smell good. I like to see them smile and hear them laugh.”
Charlene giggled. “That’s enough. Your baby is going to love you so much, and when he or she is old enough to notice and they ask about it, you’ll explain in simple terms what happened and she’ll say, oh, and go back to playing. And you’ll cry. And I’ll cry. And we’ll hold hands just like this and gaze at our brilliant and resilient child.”
Relic wiped his eyes. “What if I don’t want to cry?”
Charlene shrugged. “Okay. You don’t have to cry, but when he or she graduates boot camp, then you do have to.”
His face grew hard. “She is not going to join the military. Oh no. I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl.”
