Page 102 of Forever Fallen

Ryan pulled out a pocketknife and sliced through the tape, hearing the room around him get quiet as he noticed that several of the guys were watching him open the package.

Mail was always important here, and the men stationed here overseas never received enough. Email was great, but something personal from home? A photograph? A lock of hair or a favorite magazine did so much for morale sometimes.

Opening the box, Ryan peered inside, and it took him a second to figure out what he was looking at… only to burst out laughing wildly.

Several of the men around him froze – and he knew why. He rarely laughed here… but Sophie had a way of tickling his funny bone in the best way possible.

He pulled it out, unsure how to explain what she’d sent, and couldn’t stop laughing in sheer delight as he marveled at his clever wife. The contents were black satin… and stitched on one side were the words, ‘Reaper’s Wife’.

Sure enough, he chuckled in amusement as he pulled out the strange gift and set it on his bunk. There was a faint crinkling sound as the contents shifted and settled.

“Is that a… butt?”

“Yeah, it is,” Ryan cracked up hysterically. “I accused my wife of having a butt like a bean bag…”

“DO WHAT?” Handsy, Caboose, and Hot Cakes burst out immediately, laughing uproariously.

Ryan heard several snickers of delight behind him from the new guys and touched the satin bean bag that was stitched into two large pouches. Sophie was amazing and he couldn’t love her more in this moment than right now. She was clever, inventive, and so fun-loving, that he was touched by this gift that she’d obviously made for him.

“She was really upset one day – and I was being a complete jerk, saying that her butt was my favorite type of bean bag. So, she sent me a bean bag that looks almost like a butt pillow.”

“Y’all are weird,” Hot Cakes laughed easily. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you crack a smile before. It must be the end of the world or something…”

“Don’t say that because I plan on going home in just a few months,” Ryan uttered painfully, realizing that anything could happen in that time.

He could end up being killed in action like Lieutenant Greene – or there could be some other catastrophe that would forever keep him from Sophie… and the thought of never seeing her again was nearly crippling.

Still chuckling, Ryan put the bean bag on his standard issue pillow, grinning. He lay down, put his head on it, and heard the guys laughing around him still. He knew they all thought he was crazy – but this was about the best thing Sophie could have ever done.

Quickly getting up, he dug out his cell phone from his footlocker and powered it on, seeing there was less than twenty percent power left on it. He lay back down, held the phone away from him, and took a selfie of himself lying on the beanbag – and another smiling and pointing at the stitched embroidery that said, ‘Reaper’s Wife’.

Getting up, he slid the bean bag under his pillow out of sight and quickly straightened his bunk.

“Where are you headed?”

“I’m going to go ahead and fill out a request for leave,” Ryan admitted. “I want to go home for my first wedding anniversary.”

“I hope you get it,” Handsy said openly, his eyes looking so tired and pained. “I hope you do, my friend.”

“I’ve got a few other things I’d like to discuss with Reilly and weigh a few options. I’ll be back soon – keep everyone’s hands off my wife’s butt,” Ryan grinned. “Things I never thought I’d say aloud…”

The airmen lying around in the bunkhouse reading, playing cards, and goofing off, all got a kick out of Ryan’s statement… and it was a blessing. Anytime laughter rolled through the building, it lifted spirits – including his.

Now, he’d been thinking about this crazy idea for a few days and wanted to see if it would actually pan out. Nothing would happen without discussing it with his commanding officers, so it wouldn’t hurt to kill two birds with one stone.

* * *

“Denied, Lieutenant Merrick!”

Ryan tried not to let his emotions show as he stared at the clock just over Colonel Reilly’s shoulder. His temper was rising, and he could feel his cheeks getting hot as the urge to knock the man’s smug face into next week was almost overwhelming.

Reilly had hated him from the moment he stepped foot on base, taking an instant dislike to Ryan immediately. He didn’t know if it was because he was a threat to Reilly because the other airmen respected him – or if it was because he controlled himself in a much better fashion than the irate colonel.

He knew Valkyrie had problems occasionally with the man – but he had taken a shine to Valkyrie over time.

Not Ryan.

“Begging your pardon, sir…” Ryan began.

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