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Emily just stared at them in dismay, and feeling torn. She was so tired, so frustrated, so lonely… and didn’t want to lose herself in work, building spreadsheets, or sobbing in a pint of ice cream.
“I’m not going to be good company…” she admitted – and saw them look at each other with sympathetic glances.
“That’s why we are here,” Karen said gently, coming over and hugging her. “You think I’m going to let you stay here and mope? No – and I can tell you that John wouldn’t want you to do that either. He’s going to worry about how you are holding up, if you miss him, and if you are taking care of yourself… because that is what Jace did when he had to leave for Ghazni.”
“We all know what the feeling of being adrift is like – in various ways,” Glory said gently, picking up her purse. “Is this all you need? Your purse and keys? I waited four years for Hunter to finally pay attention to me… so let me tell you, that waiting three or four months, while it’s terribly hard? You’ll get through it just like all the rest of us – and you aren’t alone.”
Emily looked between the two of them, feeling a glimmer of comfort at knowing that they seemed to understand what she was feeling.
“Come,” Karen urged gently. “Come meet the team, smile, and…”
“I don’t feel like smiling…” Emily whispered, looking at her sister painfully – only to see Karen’s eyes shimmer in awareness.
“I know,” she replied. “But Jace made me promise to go, because I was feeling the same way. I miss him terribly and can’t wait to see him again – but you need to be the woman that John fell in love with too. Don’t slide down that slippery slope…”
“If you come eat with us… then there’s no dishes or clean up here for you,” Glory teased, smiling. “C’mon.”
Emily nodded, feeling both suddenly insecure, as well as that ‘adrift’ sensation. She accepted her purse, followed her sister and Glory out the door, and saw there was another woman waiting in the car.
“Who’s that?”
“Another lost soul that is struggling…” Glory said simply, opening the driver’s side door. As the trio slid inside, Karen turned and began the introductions.
“Meredith… this is my sister, Emily. Em – this is Handsy’s wife.”
“Estranged…” the woman corrected bluntly. “I cannot believe I let you talk me into this, Glory.”
“You’ll love it…”
“Meredith – my sister is newly married to X-Ray, who’s stationed with Handsy.”
“Ahhh…” Meredith smiled bitterly. “Another pilot’s ‘unwanted widow’…” causing all three women to gape at her in shock while she shrugged, looking out the window.
“Oh, this is gonna be fun…” Emily muttered openly, looking at Glory, who smiled sheepishly.
“Between ‘Sunshine’,” Karen said, pointing at Emily… “And ‘Rainbows’over here,” pointing at Meredith. “This is going to be an absolute disaster of a get-together.”
Emily glared at her sister – and saw Meredith was doing the same.
“No one is ‘unwanted’…” Glory said softly. “It’s just finding a way to bring our worlds together.”
“Yeah, well, that’s something Mike and I certainly struggled with for a while before we just gave up…”
“You gave up?” Emily said, stunned, feeling almost like she’d been kicked at the woman’s mutinous look as she stared out the window. Giving up on John was not something she could ever imagine. No, when she thought of him, it was all smiles, laughs, and tenderness.
“I feel so sorry for you…” Emily whispered, staring at the other woman occupying the back seat of the car as Glory drove down the road. Karen looked over her shoulder as Meredith turned slowly in shock.
“John’s my best friend and I can’t imagine giving up on him. Right now, it hurts so much, because I feel like my world is missing his beautiful smile. I can’t imagine giving up on that.”
“I can’t with Jace either…”
“Then maybe you haven’t had your husband pick his career over you repeatedly,” Meredith said coldly.
“I don’t think that is what Handsy is doing…” Glory interrupted. “Hunter, or you might know him as Alpo, said that your husband thinks about you all the time.”
“I don’t want to talk about it…” Meredith replied before looking at Karen. “And your husband is returning, right?”
“Yes, in two months.”
