Page 111 of Nathan
I gave her breasts a last squeeze and pulled my hands away but didn’t answer her for a long moment.
“Nathan, what is it? Your face just changed. Did I say something wrong?”
“Actually, I had a weird dream on the plane over here. I dozed off a few times, and each time, I had these vivid dreams about teaching women to fight and defend themselves.” More details from my dream stood out as I tried to describe it to Serena. “It was a massive seminar with lots of instructors, and I saw a standing banner with a list of dates for events in different countries. There were hanging banners, and one of them said free for all women and non-profit. It was all so real to me. In my dream, I worked with an Indian woman and her two teenage daughters. I was teaching them to get out of a chokehold, and then she took my hands and thanked me with tears in her eyes.” I inhaled deeply. “Anyway... I don’t know what it was all about, but it felt different from my other dreams.”
Serena sat up and looked into my eyes. “Sounds more like a calling, Nathan.”
I was quiet.
“When you flew over here, you’d just watched the video with your mom being murdered. No wonder your brain fantasized about ways to prevent something like that from ever happening again. What better way to honor your mother than to empower women around the world by teaching them how to defend themselves?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. “But how would I even start something like that… I’m rich, but I don’t have money to fund a movement like that for long.”
“You wouldn’t have to. That’s what fundraisers are for.”
“No. I hate begging people for money.”
Serena pulled down my hands to meet my eyes. “Now you’re just making excuses. You wouldn’t have to do it alone. I would help you raise the money, and so would your family. You know as well as I do that wealthy people use charity to look good and for tax purposes. How much would you need to get started?”
“I don’t know, but…” My shoulders relaxed a little, and a smile grew on my lips. “I can already think of one huge perk if we can get it up and running. You know the dates of your work projects way ahead of time, don’t you?”
“Typically, yes. Denise and I try to plan eight to twelve months out.”
“That means we could plan the events according to where your work takes you, and that way we could still have a life together.”
Serena’s eyes widened. “We could sleep together every night.”
“Yes.”
“That’s brilliant. Wait... I just thought of something… you should name the whole thing after your mom.”
I swallowed and sucked in my lips, feeling emotional from thinking about the video with my mum.
“What was her name?”
“Sandra Hamilton.”
“Hmm… if you call it the Hamilton Foundation, everyone is going to think of Alexander Hamilton, but calling it the Sandra Foundation doesn’t sound right either. Did she have a middle name?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Maybe you could use her maiden name?”
“I don’t know that either… Yes, hang on… it was Clint or Klink... I’m not sure.”
“The Sandra Klink foundation.” Serena tasted the word but didn’t look convinced. “It’s okay, I guess.”
I thought for a second. “What about Liberty? My mum changed my name to Liberty, so that word must have meant a lot to her. What about if we call it the Sandra Liberty Foundation?”
Serena’s face shone with approval. “Now you’re talking. Liberty would be symbolic for the power you’re giving women across the world to stand up for themselves. Iloveit!” Serena hugged me, and I closed my arms around her lower back and held her tight.
“You don’t know how right this feels to me. Ever since they dismissed me from the army, I’ve felt sort of lost. This would give me a purpose again. I’m a warrior, and if I’m not allowed to be a soldier, at least I can train people weaker than me to protect themselves.”
“I would call that an honorable mission,” Serena agreed and was emotional as well.
We met in a kiss and rolled down on the bed, unconcerned about the people on the street that were hoping to spot us. Serena and I were far too busy making love and whispering sweet declarations of eternal loyalty to each other.
