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"It always comes back to this job. Would she be happy if I found her just to leave her? Could she live this life, or could I, and not be with her? In the end, I normally leave it to a one-night stand," he gives me a sad smile.
I nod my head in understanding. It always comes down to the job. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it. I’m going to go check on my wash, it should be time to put my clothes in the dryer,” I tell him getting out of my chair.
He nods his head, while typing again.
My thoughts go over everything Jonathan told me as I make my way to the laundry room, and change out the clothes to the dryer, then head back to my room. I sit in front of the laptop and see Ellie sent another message.
“Nice to meet you Ryan,
It’s refreshing to know I’m not the only one with a mother pushing for whatever reason.
It’s also very refreshing when someone is honest and upfront about what they want. I’ve done
other dating sites in the past, and let’s just say most people only use them for hookups, but under the guise of wanting a relationship. Ughh, that is so frustrating and one of the reasons why I was very leery doing this.
So to answer your question, I am definitely good with being pen pals so to speak. I understand all jobs, when a person is putting their heart and soul into it, will take up a person’s life. Mine definitely does and I can only imagine what you have to go through every day in your job protecting our country.
How about we set up a time to chat through emails every night? If one of us doesn't reply in thirty minutes, it means we are unavailable and will try the next night. This way, we can let the other know we are okay. I’m in Maine, so that is eastern standard time. I’m not sure what time zone you are in, but let’s try for eight pm eastern standard time, and if we find we need to adjust the time later, we can.
Let me know your thoughts.
Ellie
Damn, she is smart, and I like her suggestion. I look at the time and calculate, she is eight hours behind me. That means getting up at four am to meet her time. It’s doable, and I will still have time to hit the gym before morning briefings. I email her back.
Ellie,
I like your suggestion, and the time will work for me. I look forward to getting to know you and seeing what else, besides meddling mothers, we have in common. (ha, ha) We can start tonight.
Looking forward to talking to you later.
Ryan
It’s Tuesday morning, and we are sitting in the briefing room. I have spent the last week talking to Ellie and learning everything about what a publisher does, her likes, dislikes, and randomness. She seems very quirky and funny. I’m really enjoying our conversations. Jonathan had left for home on Saturday, so we are going to be two men down on this mission that we seem to be getting ready for.
Major Cartwright walks into the room. “Hey, listen up, I have some news to share before we start planning our next mission.”
We all sit up in our chairs at the seriousness of his voice.
“First off, Staff Sergeant Grayson will be extending his leave longer, his father passed away last night. Make sure you send him and his family your condolences. Second, Sergeant First Class Moore will not be returning. He has opted to submit his retirement packet. I will need a couple of you to pack up his things and ship his things back to him in the states.”
Wow, this is a lot of news to hit us at once. Poor Gray and his family. I’m glad he listened to me and went home when he did. Jonathan is a surprise; I wonder what it was that changed his mind? He was only home for a couple of days, but it had to be something big for him to decide to retire.
“Third, we have a mission to get ready for. We’ve been given intel about a new terrorist cell. We will be taking another team with us until we can find a couple more soldiers to add to our team,” Major Cartwright continues, breaking through my thoughts.
We spend the next few hours planning our mission and going over the intel we received. Once we are done, I head back to my room and boot up my laptop. I see an email from Jonathan and open it.
“Hey Ryan,
I know by now you have probably heard from Major Cartwright that I am not returning. Things took an unexpected, but surprisingly happy turn here. I found the woman I met at my brother’s wedding. She's my sister-in-law’s sister, her name is Shawna, and it turns out I’m going to be a dad. She’s six months pregnant, and we found out today it’s a boy.
I need to focus on building a relationship with her. I have already missed so much time with her, and I don’t want to miss the last three months of her pregnancy or possibly the birth of my son, by being out on a mission. I didn't make this decision lightly, but I made the best choice I could at the moment.
I hope you all understand, and if you are ever in Largo, Maine, come by and visit us. Also, if you need anything from me, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Jonathan
Wow, he’s going to be a dad, that’s awesome news. I count up and realize he will have a December baby; it would be funny if he has a Christmas baby. I quickly send him a reply congratulating him and informing him about Gray’s dad. I send Gray a quick message letting him know we are all thinking about him and that if he needs anything, let us know.
