Page 46 of Forever Fascinating

There was a handful of charms inside of the glass case that the register sat on that caught his eye. Picking up an Air Force T-shirt, a package of gum, a bag of Cheetos, which was extremely rare out here and already the display only had two bags left on them, Matthew pointed at the charm.

“Can I see that?”

“Dude… it’s a penny. They are charging ten bucks for a freaking penny,” the clerk laughed. “Just go find one, have one of the mechanics put a hole in the top and use some baling wire…”

Matthew interrupted him.

“I’ll take it – and these, please.”

“Sure thing,” the man shrugged.

Matthew looked around the small exchange, hesitating as he saw the wall of cigarettes behind the clerk. He quickly looked away, fighting the urge to say, ‘give me a pack of Marlboro Lights, too’ just like he used to.

“Smokes?”

“No,” Matthew said quickly, wincing at the dreaded question, not looking up at the clerk.

He paid, held the prized penny in his hand, and studied it. The penny had a strange building on it, surrounded by sheaves of wheat, with wavy writing underneath of it.

Yes, it was a plain, silly penny with a hole drilled in the top… but the thought behind it was priceless. He wanted to get a penny everywhere they went and gift it to Jana to start a charm bracelet that was ‘theirs’.

It was lovely, simple, and original – just like her.

Matthew went to the makeshift post office, grabbed a piece of paper, scribbling a quick note to Jana.

For my incredible date,

I wanted to send you a little something because I was thinking about you – and a teaser. The charm is from me, here, in Afghanistan… and we’ll pick up our next charm for you together wherever we go.

I can’t wait to see you again,

Merry Christmas, Jana!

Matthew

He folded it several times around the little penny, taping the note shut so the penny didn’t fall out or get lost in the small package he was sending. Grabbing his phone, he scrolled through the photos until he got to the one of the business card that she’d given him. He’d taken a photo of the card and got rid of the ‘evidence’ as soon as possible in case someone found it in his area and decided to tell Hot Cakes.

Writing Jana’s address on the box, Matthew sealed it with the tape gun before going to pay for the postage. He was so thrilled with the charm and wished he could see her face when she received the package.

CHAPTER12

JANA

Holland, Massachusetts

She was sitting there,on her couch, eating Funyuns inelegantly, shoving each circle of chip into the ‘O’ of her mouth, before crunching down as entertainment, shattering each one into debris to chew on. Yes, she knew it was horrific table manners… but no one was here to see her.

Hoping her box arrived in Afghanistan soon, she was striving to get it to Matthew in time for Christmas. It was just a few small things that made her smile and think of ‘home’ since they were both from Massachusetts.

Loading up her computer, she clicked on her email and saw that Matthew had replied – twice. She nearly choked as a piece of Funyuns went flying back in her mouth, causing her to cough and gag.

Taking a few moments to compose herself, she clicked on the email, set the laptop on her coffee table, sat back and clasped her hands over her mouth nervously, rocking back and forth slightly as she read.

She had been nervous about sending the other email, hoping it didn’t come off as abrasive, accusatory, or demanding… but there were a few ‘NO’s’ that she needed to get off her chest right away before they went any further at discussing things… only to hear her phone ring.

Who in the world would be calling her at eleven o’clock at night?

Sliding open her phone at the unknown number, she blurted out the canned spiel right away, without thinking. She had about three or four candid ones that she would spout easily, making anyone hesitate.

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