1.
July 13th, 2007
Carter
"Deployed?" I repeated the word aloud, anxious about the prospect. "But I'm getting married tomorrow!"
Every morning, Remy arrived to drink coffee. Sometimes, it was the only time of the day where we'd see each other and other times, he wouldn't leave until after dark. My home was his home. We were living on base and as close as family gets. Special Forces were family. Everyone knew pretty much everything about me and I knew everything about them. Their kids’ names, their wives, even their dogs. Most of us were far from our real families, so it was good to be able to count on them.
"We’re leaving on the 16th." Remy paused and we lapsed into silence for a moment. That meant I couldn't give my wife the honeymoon she deserved. I was going to leave her two days later. I knew she would understand, because she knew how it worked. Her parents had served in the Army for many years and she'd spent her whole life around soldiers.
It broke my heart to leave her so soon after our wedding. "I'm sorry man. At least it's our last time. After that you'll be with her as long as she wants you."
"Yeah. I know.'' I was having a hard time deciding if I wanted to leave the Special Forces, I wanted to because I wanted a life here with Avery, but I loved being part of this team. ''But I still don't like it. I wanted more time with her, I wanted to have a family and see my child grow up.” For the first time in my life, I wasn't happy to be leaving. I wanted to stay with Avery and cherish her and the fact that she wasn't coming with us was making it even harder. For the past ten years, we’d worked together, teamed up and built a strong bond. Without her, I was a lonely man.
Avery was the sunshine in my life. Even in the height of battle, when things were really tough, she still shone like a diamond. She remained strong the whole time, stronger than some of the guys. Her determination and passion for her work made her of one of the best soldiers I've ever known.
I had three days left with her and I had to make the best of it. I wanted to spoil her, convince her she was the most important person in my world. She loved flowers and chocolates, so I decided to buy her a huge bouquet of pink roses and the biggest box of Godiva chocolates I could find. She'd mentioned wanting to paint her nails for our wedding and I figured a manicure and pedicure was the best gift I could give her. I booked an appointment for the afternoon. While she was getting her nails pretty, I'd search out a cute summer dress for her and invite her to dinner at her favourite restaurant. I wanted Avery to remember all the good things and not our little fights about the wedding arrangements.
"I have to go Carter, I have a few things to plan myself," Remy said, drawing me out of my thoughts.
"I’ll see you tomorrow."
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it." Remy was as excited as I was. We fist punched and he left.
I had to tell Avery that I was leaving sooner than planned. I hated it. I didn't want to hurt her, but she knew it wasn't in my control. She was upstairs, getting ready for the day, showering and probably imagining how wonderful our wedding was going to be. I hated to be the one who would put a damper on her happiness.
Breakfast! Yes, she would love it if I prepared breakfast, a good one with eggs, bacon and French toast. I hadn't surprised her with breakfast in such a long time and I regretted it. I started with the bacon, prepared the French toast and cooked the eggs last. My hands were trembling badly at the thought of announcing my news to her.
"Mmmm, it smells so good in here, what's the occasion?" Shit. I hadn't wanted to be so obvious. Now she knew something was up and I had to tell her now.
"I'm... I'm leaving... three days from now. Remy just told me ten minutes ago. I have to go and sign the papers."
"No... No... Not so soon!" She cried and it broke my heart.
Her knees gave way and she crumpled on the kitchen floor. I'd never seen her so affected. She was devastated and there was nothing I could do to delay my deployment. I had to leave, no matter what.
I joined her on the floor and pulled her against me. "I'm so sorry, baby. We knew this was coming, but I know we didn't expect it so soon. They need us, I have to go." I was going back to my Special Forces function and I knew this wasn’t good news for her.
"I know Carter, I've been dreaming of marrying you for years. It's all I wanted, but knowing that I'm going to lose you two days later, it’s tearing me apart."
"I’ll send you letters and I'll call you whenever I can. I'll email you all the time, I promise." I sounded like I was begging her to let me go, but we both knew that this was happening; I was leaving her.
"I trust you, Carter, you're not gone and yet, I'm already counting the days till your return." She sobbed. "I’ll miss you every single day."
I cupped her face in my hands and looked into her eyes. "I will too baby. I love you so much." I chuckled. "Remember the first time we saw each other?"
She giggled and rolled her eyes. "It was impossible not to notice you, you were so proud and arrogant." We kissed. "It only lasted a couple of days before they broke you in. You became more humble and the best team member we could have."
"I'm glad you and Remy were there to help me up when I fell down from my castle."
"Always, we will always be there." Her words meant so much to me. She always knew what to say to make me feel better and loved.
"Always." I needed her and Remy more than anyone else in my life. I hadn't talked to my parents since the day I’d enlisted. We weren't on good terms. My father was the type of man who had mistresses all around town and mom was taking so many different medications that she was out of it most of the time. I was left alone every night, to deal with the cooking, homework and everything else. Enlisting in the army was my only way out and Remy joined me. We were like brothers since the age of seven. His family was great, they came to visit him a couple of times. They were family to me. I loved them, his mother helped me a lot in my teen years, and I spent many nights at their house when she feared that staying at my house wasn't safe.
Ave held me tight in her arms, while I was lost in my thoughts. It was so much easier when we were going together. She had her reasons for retiring, she had seen death closer than we ever had. She was the only survivor of a bombing that occurred feet away from her and she had survived. She'd had her guardian angel with her that day. She suffered two broken ribs, broke her left arm and ankle but I was glad she had survived. She was placed in an induced coma for a few days and after that, she decided to demand her release from the army. She'd gotten scared and realized that maybe she should be doing something else. I supported her one hundred percent, I wanted my girlfriend, the one I loved more than my own life, safe and happy and alive.
She was still battling nightmares, but slowly, they were becoming less regular. Avery gave me every reason to be proud of her. There was nothing stopping her, she sought help when she needed it and every time she had a nightmare, we would talk about it until she felt better. Sometimes she freaked me out. Even by calling her name repeatedly, she wouldn't wake up. She was kicking and screaming, she even punched me a couple of times, leaving me with bruises.
"Ave, I know the timing is wrong, but I want you to enjoy our wedding as much as you possibly can, okay? This is our happy day. The day we’ve been waiting for."
"Yes... You’re right. Let's try and do this."
We kissed again and I dried her tears. I didn't want to leave her.
