Page 49 of Wishing for Christmas
Clara was surprisedto see so many people when they arrived on base. The entire operation was set up inside an airplane hangar. Brent began unloading their cookies. She spotted Janie, who beckoned her over immediately.
“Hey, Clara, over here. Grab an apron.”
She joined the assembly line of folding tables and greeted Janie with an insecure wave. “I’m not sure what to do.” She tied on an apron and smoothed it down. She stayed along theoutside edge of the table and folded her arms, hesitant to get too involved.
“It’s simple,” Janie said. “Take a plate, fill it with each type of cookie from this platter. Wrap it up in the cellophane and tie on a pretty ribbon. Easy!” She motioned toward the two ladies beside her. “This is Laura, and this is Ava. They’ll help you out with anything you need to know. I gotta go manage the incoming loads. Good to see you here.” Janie pulled out her phone and drew Clara in close. She snapped a selfie of the four of them before Clara even realized what had happened. Then she bounced off.
Janie always seemed to be busy, and was so upbeat and full of enthusiasm. She wasn’t exactly what came to Clara’s mind when she thought of a military spouse. Although she still wasn’t exactly sure what shedidthink being a military spouse would be like, she usually imagined something more depressing—a rather boring and lonely existence. A life that required you to sacrifice your own ambitions for the greater good. To submit your life to the career of your husband and the United States government.
She tossed a polite smile to Laura and Ava, both about her age and dressed in matching aprons with the squadron logo across the front. “It’s nice to meet you both.” Clara shifted her glance to the cookies in front of her. She didn’t really want to engage in small talk with these ladies, as nice as they seemed. With any luck, they would leave her to wrap cookies in peace.
“Are you new to the squadron?” Laura turned to her with a bubbly grin.
Clara sighed to herself. Clearly luck was not on her side today. “Sort of. I guess I’m new to—well, to all of this.” She made an awkward gesture at the hangar, wondering how obvious it was that she wasn’t used to this kind of scene. She just wanted to blend in, but it was evident by the looks on Laura and Ava’s faces that a new person quickly drew interest.
She moved in closer, reluctantly resigning herself to a conversation. “I’m Clara. I’m Brent’s—” She paused. Laura and Ava looked at her, waiting for her to continue. “Fiancée.” She bit her lip, feeling guilty for even saying it out loud. She was still uncomfortable with this fact, or lie—depending on how you looked at it, and felt even more awful saying it around other military spouses.
Laura gave her a wide-mouthed smile. She had long blonde hair and wore a thick pair of glasses over her green eyes. “Well, congratulations, and welcome. You won’t find a friendlier bunch of spouses to welcome you into the group.”
“Are these all spouses?”
“Most of them,” Laura said. “Wives—and husbands—of the service members on this base. But people come from all over to help us with our efforts. This community is really supportive. It’s fun to watch people pull together—military and civilian—especially during the holidays.”
“Which ones are your husbands?” Clara asked, nodding over to the group of guys loading boxes in the corner.
“Oh, Jeff’s right over there.” Laura pointed out her husband standing by Brent. She threw a careful glance toward Ava. “But Stephen is deployed.”
Ava’s bronzed cheekbones fell. She nodded. “This is going to be our first Christmas apart.” Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail that sat on top of her head, the curls spiraling to her slumped shoulders. She looked down at the table and stopped wrapping cookies.
“I’m sorry,” Clara said. It came out sounding more emotionless than she had meant it to, but she didn’t know what else to say.
Ava nodded. She took in a cleansing breath. “It’s okay. I understand why he can’t be with us. But my kids are young, so it’s especially hard for them right now.”
Clara tilted her head as she looked Ava in her almond-shaped eyes for the first time. “I’m sorry,” she said again and really meant it. She did feel sorry for Ava—for her, her husband, and her kids. She felt bad forallthe families who weren’t together for the holidays. She grimaced as she thought about her selfish reaction to the news of Brent’s deployment. She hadn’t cared or even thought about the sacrifices of military families. She had thought only about herself and about not getting to spend Christmas with him.
Ava looked back at her and wrinkled her nose. “It’s okay; it’s part of our life, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Clara crossed her arms in front of her and narrowed her eyes. “Really? But isn’t it so hard?”
“Sure it is.” She shrugged. “But it’s worth it too.”
“What do you mean?”
Ava set down a cookie and turned to her. “Our husbands don’t just have a job, in the normal sense of the word. The Air Force has a mission, and we—you—are a vital part of it.”
Clara tried to hide the massive eye roll happening inside her brain. She doubted it was as easy to see the big picture as Ava made it all seem. It couldn’t possibly be that simple. She appreciated the sentiment, though, and nodded as if she understood the other woman perfectly.
Clara knew she probably shouldn’t continue to pry, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself either. She was becoming increasingly curious about Ava’s take on things.
“But to be without your husband on Christmas—I can’t imagine.” She lowered her head to study Ava’s expression, hoping it would draw out her true feelings on the matter.
Ava gave a wry smile. “Well, it’s not what either of us would choose, that’s for sure. But what my husband and Icanchoose is how to make the most of our time apart.”
“Hmm,” she replied, unconvinced.
Ava cleared the cookies from the space in front of her, settling in for a deep discussion. She turned her body toward Clara so they were face to face. “Sometimes a couple can connect in a new way by enduring the hard separation together. When he’s gone, you kind of get to know each other in a completely different way than when he’s home.”
Laura nodded in agreement as she continued to wrap cookies. “It’s true. A long separation can certainly make you stronger as a couple.”
