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We drove to Heathrow in silence, but held hands the entire way.
Inside the airport, she looked like she might cry.
“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered.
“I don’t want to go, either,” I said as I brushed her hair away from her face. “But I’ll be back.”
“When do you think you’ll be able to get away?”
“My leave accrues over time. It’ll be three months before I can take off a whole week.”
“I don’t know if I can wait that long,” she said miserably.
“Then I could come sooner for just three or four days.”
Her expression grew worried. “What if you’re deployed again?”
“They won’t deploy me again for at least six more months – not after being in Afghanistan for so long.” I paused. “You know, you can always come to Sweden, too. Just for a long weekend – ”
She winced. “I think it’s best if you come to London. My job…” she said, then trailed off.
I wasn’t happy with her answer, but I nodded. “Whatever you want.”
She play-scolded me to break the tension. “Remember, you’re my boyfriend now – so don’t go dating anyone else.”
I chuckled. “I won’t. Same goes for you.”
She buried herself in my arms and squeezed tight. “Long-distance relationships suck,” she said miserably.
“It’ll work.”
She pulled back her head to look at me. “How do you know?”
I smiled. “Because we’re going to make it work.”
Then I kissed her, holding on to her until the last moment I could before I had to hustle through security to make my flight.
The last thing I saw as I rounded the corner was her standing on the other side of the divide, waving to me, tears streaming down her face.
My heart ached to see her in such pain.
I waved back, then sprinted for my gate.
55
Eight months went by like that. A week together every three months… and occasionally a three-day weekend when we couldn’t wait any longer.
Despite how much Rachel said she hated it, she still refused to come visit me in Sweden.
I told myself it didn’t really matter. In the long run, it was probably for the best. If she didn’t travel to see me, she could save up vacation days for when I came to visit.
But it still felt like she wouldn’t compromise.
It rankled me a bit, but mostly I just ignored it.
At least she finally gave me her phone number. Now I could talk to her every day.
The only problem was her phone number changed nearly every month.
