Page 68 of Sloane

“Nope. I happen to like pink.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet you do,” Luis said with a shit-eating grin.

Luckily, my men respected me enough to not pile on with anything cruder than that, because I might have had to throat-punch anyone who disrespected her. And for this mission, I needed all my Marines in top-form with working larynxes, so I could get back home to her in one piece.

****

Ashley

My mom, who had just finished her LPN three years ago, was one of the least senior nurses at the retirement home where she worked. Which meant she had a shift Thanksgiving Day. So, Tammy and I celebrated “Friendsgiving” with friends who were transplants to California and not going to their hometowns for Thanksgiving.

When we sat down at the table, Tammy suggested that before we ate, we go around and say something we’re thankful for.

When it was my turn, I looked around the table and easily answered, “I’m thankful for my friends and family.”

Sloane could be included in the friends category, right?

Then, not wanting to thumb my nose at the employment gods, I quickly added, “And my job.”

“What about your boyfriend?” Tammy asked with a sly grin.

Monica, our hostess, said, “Oooh, you have a boyfriend, Ash?”

Before I could respond, Tammy interjected, “And, he’s hot.”

That brought a chorus of oohs and ahs from the rest of them.

Carson scooped a helping of mashed potatoes on his plate as he asked, “So, where is he today?”

Thinking about him made my solar plexus ache, but I was determined to remain upbeat.

“He’s deployed in the Middle East.”

“Oh, he’s in the military?”

“Yeah, a captain in the Marine Corps.”

Monica paused carving the turkey and looked at me with a soft smile. “Aw, your very own officer and a gentleman.”

I returned her smile. “Something like that.”

Tammy asked, “Have you heard from him?”

I felt my face fall.

“No, not since the letters he sent after he got back to camp. But he warned me I wouldn’t hear from him for a while, so I’m trying not to panic.”

“I’m sure he’s fine. He seems more than capable of handling business.”

I really hoped so.

His last letter before his radio silence was a mixture of telling me how glad he was to have me in his life, and then he reiterated that I shouldn’t wait for him. But if I did wait for him, all the things he looked forward to doing with me.

It was obvious he’d been nervous about what he was about to undertake, so I took the last letter with a grain of salt and focused on the one he’d written on the plane.

The one where he told me he loved me and talked about the future he envisioned with me. That letter kept me going.

~~~~

---