AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I am nothing without you… and amazed that you married me. I love you so much.
John
Clicking send, John hesitated, and desperately needed a way to reach Emily, or an outside set of eyes on his wife to make sure she was okay while he was gone.
She was so sweet, so sensitive and loving, that it was tearing him up on the inside to think of her alone. Yeah, she was the strongest person he knew… but there was still that soft, tender side that she showed him.
Gosh, he loved that tenderness like no other…
He did something he never thought he would ever do. During Hot Cakes’ wedding in November, he stayed with Thumper and Harley – a former pilot and his wife. The man was very quiet, noble, and kind… focused solely on his wife and child, happy to meet another man from the squadron. They treated him like family… and he appreciated it so much.
Caboose had checked on Reaper’s wife, reporting back on how she was doing… He heard Alpo helped with Marisol, Valkyrie’s wife - and he was going to do the same. He was going to ask for help…
Dialing Thumper’s cell phone, he heard the other man pick up.
“X-Ray? Hey, is everything okay? Where are you? What’s going on?”
“Thumper, I know it’s strange for me to call…”
“Never, I’ve got your back, brother – what’s up?”
The sheer offer and willingness to help was staggering – and John slid down into a seat weakly, watching Emily’s plane soar into the sky and fighting back tears.
“I need your help…”
“Are you okay?”
“No,” John admitted. “I just watched my wife’s plane leave for Texas…”
“Wife? Say no more, X-Ray… I understand.”
“Can you just check on her every once in a while to see how she’s doing? I mean, I don’t want her to know that I worry, but I also don’t want her alone… I’m just scared that she’s going to get sick of the separation and…”
“Hey… it’s all good. We take care of our own,” Thumper said gently. “Congratulations, by the way. Is this a new marriage? I wasn’t aware you were married.”
“We’ve been married nearly three days…”
“Three days? I see.”
“Maybe Harley can…”
“Don’t worry,” Thumper replied. “Harley and Glory, Alpo’s wife, will eat this up. Those two love taking people under their wing, making them feel included, and you’ll be back before you know it.”
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
“What’s your bride’s name? Where can I find her?”
“Uh… well,” John chuckled easily, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s actually Karen Sorensen’s sister, Emily, and I don’t have her phone number…”
“Hot Cakes’ wife’s sister? You’re now brothers-in-law? Oh sheesh… this is rich. Yeah, we’ve got Karen’s phone number from where she volunteered in the offices when Harley was home with the baby. I’ll drag Karen in to help pull Emily into our fold. No worries, my friend.”
“I owe you big time…”
“Just keep your head on straight out there, relax, and focus so you don’t get injured. I would rather have the extra company at the house, another mouth to feed, or someone hanging around all the time… than to have to break the news that something happened to you. You keep your head straight – and your ‘heart’ will be waiting when you return.”
“Bless you…” John whispered gratefully. “I appreciate it so much.”
“You betcha, X-Ray. Now, I have to go, because Harley is at the office and my daughter has toxic waste leaking out of her diaper onto my lap and I might vomit…”
