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* * *
Cameron stepped into the house on Monday after a grueling meeting with her new client. Yeah, she had convinced them to sign a multi-year contract for her to manage their web site, but it had been her toughest sell yet. The meeting had run long, and other than a quick text to Mom to make sure she could handle the girls, Cameron hadn’t given thought to much else.
She checked the time on her phone. Almost six o’clock. everybody would be getting hungry about now. Mom had taken the girls to the park, so that bought Cameron another fifteen to thirty minutes. She could collapse on the couch for half that time and then whip something up.
Who was she kidding? She wasn’t a whipper. She was a take-out orderer. And that was what they’d do, which gave her almost thirty minutes to rest.
Until the doorbell rang.
She grumbled under her breath as she opened the door… and stared.
A man in an Army uniform like Alex’s stood on her porch. He handed her a large paper bag. “For you, ma’am.”
“What is this?”
“Dinner.”
She looked behind her to see if Mom had returned with the girls, but Cameron was alone in the house. “Did my mother order this?”
“No, ma’am. There’s a note enclosed.”
She took the bag from the man. “Thank you.”
“Yes, ma’am. Have a good evening.”
The man turned on his heel and strode down the steps. She scrambled in the bag for the note. “Cameron, I know you had that big pitch today. I’m sure they loved you. Since I doubt you feel like making dinner, here are all of your favorite dishes from La Cuchina. Enjoy.”
Like yesterday’s note, this message was signed, “Love, Alex.”
She pressed the paper to her heart. That man.
She dashed off a quick text to him, thanking him for dinner and updating him on Mariana.
The gestures continued throughout the week. On Wednesday, a box appeared on her porch containing a recent DVD release she’d wanted to see as well as two packs of microwave popcorn. And of course, a note from Alex, wishing he was sitting beside her on the couch, her hand in his, while their girls sprawled on the floor watching the movie.
On Thursday, a note had been tucked under her windshield wiper when she was leaving for an appointment. One of Alex’s friends had changed her oil early this morning and didn’t want to disturb her. Evidently Alex had noticed the Check Engine light that she routinely ignored for a good three or four thousand miles before taking her car in.
Her text message to Alex that day included a car and a heart emoji in addition to her daily update on the girls.
Friday morning, she answered the door to a colorful, majestic bouquet of gerbera daisies and alstroemeria lilies. His note suggested she take these straight to her room to avoid Boomer. Smart man. And like the previous gestures, the note attached to her flowers was signed, “Love, Alex.”
The worst part of his being gone was that she couldn’t just pick up the phone and call him. To thank him for the gifts. To tell him she was lonely without him. A text just wasn’t the same.
She hadn’t been this way with Josh. When he would leave, she would just be angry. But she wasn’t mad at Alex. She missed him. While he remembered to email Mariana daily, the personal texts he sent her wer
e like a lifeline, a reminder that he was coming home soon.
* * *
Alex checked the time on his phone. Almost zero-one-hundred. They had been pushing straight through since about zero-six-hundred the previous morning… but the tests were almost done. He didn’t mind the grueling schedule. He loved being with the unit, the bonding that only happened when they spent time together in close quarters with no other distractions.
But being overseas now wasn’t like it had been. Now that Mariana was older, she’d gotten used to him being around, and he missed her in a different way than he had when Valentina was alive. After almost a week of long days and hot nights in the field, he was anxiously looking forward to his nine-to-five schedule and non-deployable desk job.
And then there was Cameron. He hadn’t expected to miss her as much as he did. The few texts they’d been able to exchange had helped, but he couldn’t wait to get back to her.
How were they doing? Was Mariana really feeling better or putting on a brave front for Cameron? Was Cameron taking on too much, watching both girls with only the help of her mom?
And what had Boomer gotten into this week? Yes, he even missed that menace of a beast. Because he was part of Cameron and Alex missed everything about her. From those ratty T-shirts and yoga pants that she called her “work clothes,” to the way that she loved Lizzie with all her heart.
