Oh no; I’m in trouble. He has my complete attention and he hasn’t even said a single word. I don’t even know his name. He’s quite tall and imposing with bulging muscles, indicative of hitting the gym daily, but it’s his sparkling blue eyes that could make a girl do stupid things after a few stiff drinks.
It’s a good thing I’m more mature than I was back then. It doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy the view from afar, though.
Ch 2 – Gage
The child looks exactly like his father. I don’t mind being close to him on his big day. He does look fresh and innocent, but I know those days are fleeting. It’s amazing how fast they grow up.
I can only imagine what my mother went through when I told her that I was enlisting. She cried and begged me not to go, but I insisted that I had to do this with my friends.
It’s been many years since her death and I still think about the hell I put her through. My childhood made for some very scary times in her life. Raising me alone wasn’t easy when my father decided to cut and leave us in the middle of the night, when I was barely four years old.
She worked two jobs to make ends meet. I never had the chance to thank her for all of her hard work. Her sacrifice was something I took for granted.
“I know you want to be anywhere else but here; this isn’t exactly your kind of thing. You’ve been there for us and I’m grateful for you showing up when we needed you the most. There’s no reason to blush. What you did touched the both of us,” Chloe says, while rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet with the child nestled in her arms.
“I didn’t do anything special,” I say, humbled by her words.
“Don’t be so modest. Taking me to the hospital and bringing this child into the world in the backseat of a taxi is something I’m never going to forget. I don’t know if anybody else would have done the same in your shoes. I’ve been trying to come up with the right words for months now. Just know that you’ve proven there are still a couple of good ones left,” she praises but I dismiss it with a wave, which she doesn’t take kindly.
“You not only brought the child into the world, but you put up with my pregnancy cravings in the middle of the night. It couldn’t have been easy to find a jar of pickles at midnight,” she says with gratitude before joining the priest and Jake at the water where he is about to conduct the ceremony.
I see her out of the corner of my eye watching me, and I feel a little self-conscious, like I have something in my teeth. She’s quite sexy, and I remember Jake talking about one of his best friends coming to visit. He made it sound like she was a tomboy always getting into trouble, but this woman is a breath of fresh air.
I can’t even imagine her climbing trees and getting into trouble with the other boys.
The temperature outside has nothing to do with the reason why I’m getting a little hot under the collar. The humidity isn’t the only reason why my clothes are sticking to me like a second skin.
Father Brown raises his hand, and everybody becomes silent. “Today is the day that we welcome another addition into his flock. Quinn is a child of God, born in his image,” he preaches, and we follow the pied piper to the edge of the water.
“I heard what Chloe had to say; that was a selfless act of bravery. Where in the world did you get a jar of pickles at that hour?” April asks in this whisper nobody else can hear.
“Don’t tell her, but I bothered her neighbors by knocking on their doors until somebody answered. I had the police show up, but they were rather amused by my plight to find pickles at midnight. It’s a good thing one of the neighbors took pity on me,” I tell her the condensed tale without going into any great detail.
“Not every man would have gone to those lengths for somebody else’s family. She might be right about you being one of the good ones. I commend you for going above and beyond the call of duty. Is there a reason why you agreed to be a surrogate husband?”
“I never looked at it like that. He was my friend first, and then I met her through him. I felt it was my duty to watch over her when he was on assignment. Usually, I am with him in the thick of things, but on this particular detail I stayed back. I don’t harbor feelings for her; I know that’s probably something you might have wondered like everybody else,” I say defensively, but she has her hands raised in mock surrender.
“The thought didn’t even cross my mind,” she mentions while we are taking a few steps closer to where the ceremony is already in progress.
That fresh face of innocence is something I’ve seen in a different way. War has its own form of casualties, sometimes with children getting caught in the crossfire. There’s no way to desensitize yourself from that kind of violence. Those that do are no longer human. I still hold onto a vestige of my humanity by a thread.
I’m only a few feet away from her, but still have this feeling of wanting to get closer. April is the perfect name for someone with her beauty. This is my first time seeing her, yet I feel drawn to her like a bee to honey.
“Jake tells me you have been surfing most of your childhood. I’ve been known to pick up a surfboard from time to time,” I lie through my teeth, but the words are already out of my mouth before I have a chance to stop myself.
“It just so happens that Jake has signed me up for a competition tomorrow morning. I could use any pointers that you can give me. Why don’t you come over to my place? I rented this place by the water and I have an extra surfboard; we can make a day of it,” she offers with her hands touching my bicep through the white starched shirt.
There’s no backing out now and I can’t graciously decline without making it look suspicious.
“I haven’t been on a surfboard in a couple of years,” I say with this need to have her all to myself.
“I’m probably just as rusty as you are. This baptism reminds me of those carefree days when I was young and impulsive. I gave my mother gray hairs with many broken bones, not including the cuts and bruises. I thought she was being overprotective, but I now realize she was just being a mother. I should get in touch with my relatives; it’s been quite some time since we have reconnected. I guess you lose touch after a while when life becomes too busy,” she replies, and I can’t take my eyes off the swell of her breasts in that fabulous white dress, perfect for the weather.
I think about it and I can’t remember the last time I reached out to my uncle. He has always been my biggest supporter and he’s proud of me for making a real difference in the world. I fondly remember the time spent with him in his cabin in the middle of nowhere. I learned survival skills long before I stepped foot into the military.
“I know what you mean. Life sometimes gets in the way. We forget to take the time for what’s important.” I look at the child and I see the future of tomorrow in his eyes.
“We are having an old-fashioned bonfire with a corn boil tonight on the beach. I want to invite you before anybody else has the chance to. It’s going to be fun. It’s nice to let down your hair and do something completely crazy. Don’t be surprised if you find me dancing naked around the bonfire tonight,” she teases.
“Now that is something I definitely wouldn’t want to miss; you’re on,” I quickly reply.