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“While you are taking care of Max for a moment, I’m going to change in the restroom,” he said simply, digging in his bag.
He wanted to get out of his dress uniform before he ruined something, and nearly dropped grease from his burger on the front of his jacket. Letting Trigger out once more into the yard, he quickly changed.
As he returned to the living room, he saw Madison look at him in surprise. He was wearing something that would be easy to sleep in – his running shorts, a t-shirt, and some socks.
Folding his uniform, he carefully placed it back in his canvas bag, getting out his things to wear on the flight tomorrow. He removed the last two cans of dog food, his toiletries, and put everything else away, trying to keep from bothering Madison as she rocked Max.
“Tell me about Maui and the angry pineapples,” she whispered, causing him to look up and see her easy smile… and felt himself chuckle in awareness that she was teasing him.
“I had to be creative, because I can’t put in emails where I’m at in case it’s picked up. They are very careful regarding security breaches.”
“I can imagine so.”
“So, Maui,” he began, taking a seat on the couch not too far away from her. “It’s actually Ghazni, Afghanistan, located south of Kabul. We’re there helping maintain order in a town that is being overwhelmed by rebels, hostiles, and insurgents that are bent on returning to their old, traditional ways. Sometimes we go for long spans where there is nothing, and then there’s other moments where the entire world seems to blow up around us, and it’s a matter of trying not to get killed.”
“Are you in danger?” she whispered softly.
“You’re my beneficiary now,” he shrugged, not looking at her. “As a widow, you’ll get a nice payout and benefits for you both, plus…”
“Don’t make me kick you in the shin,” she growled angrily under her breath, causing him to look up. She actually looked hostile in that moment, causing him to pause as he replayed what he’d said in his mind.
“Are you mad at being my beneficiary?” he asked, dumbfounded.
“I’m mad because you don’t have to be so casual about it,” she retorted. “We just got married today, and I really don’t want to think about being widowed already – and combined with the fact that you are going back there in the morning? Yeah, not cool – and not a funny joke if you were trying to be humorous about it.”
“Madison,” he began softly, realizing that it was a good thing that she was getting so upset. Even if she didn’t want to be married, or had done this ‘only on paper’ – she was obviously a kind-hearted soul who didn’t want to see him hurt or injured. “That’s a part of my job, and we’re very careful in what we do. That’s also the reason I have Trigger now.”
“To lick you to death?”
“Nooo…” he drawled, chuckling easily as he stood up to let in the animal in question. Trigger burst into the room, skidding slightly on the floor, her tail wagging happily as he sat down. She put her paws on his lap and buried her nose against his stomach, as he scratched her ears.
“Maybe?” he volunteered, smiling at Madison. “She’s a bomb detection animal, and we work well together.”
Eric looked at Max’s relaxed features and smiled softly.
“He’s almost completely asleep,” he volunteered, and watched as Madison kissed the boy’s head gently, before standing up slowly.
Padding silently down the hallway, she went to put Max down for the evening, and Eric moved to feed Trigger. He wanted to feed the animal, then send her back out into the yard to burn off some energy… and give them a little privacy to talk.
Madison looked almost shy returning into the living room, and he wished that he had some clever way to break the ice between them.
“… So the pineapples,” he began, continuing the conversation from a moment ago – only to hear her soft laugh.
“I’m sorry,” she volunteered, looking at him and rolling her eyes. “It’s hard to keep a straight face when we are talking about pineapples or start a conversation like that.”
“I suppose it is,” he admitted, smiling faintly at her… only to see her face soften perceptibly, feeling any thought in his head disappear in that split second. “You have the most beautiful smile…”
Her cheeks flushed pink so prettily, as he marveled in amazement.
“What made you write the first time?” he asked, unable to help himself.
“I was told I would be writing to someone who was lonely on the other side of the world, someone that was a friend of Lily’s, and…”
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I still have no idea who Lily is.”
“Turns out it was a friend of a friend… which makes me wonder about the other things she’d said in order to get me to write.”
“About me being lonely and on the other side of the world?”
