Feeling better, I dropped the sweater back on the chair, adjusted my glasses, smoothed my hands down my blouse, and let out a shaky breath. It was only around three o’clock, which meant I had a solid five hours until closing time. I sat in the chair and woke up my computer, going straight to my email and opening a new message to Angie. I knew she’d be at work so this would be faster than a text.
Her brief reply came only a minute after I’d sent the email, which briefly alerted her to trouble in paradise. I clicked it open and chuckled, despite myself. It simply read: “On my way... with a bat.”
Best friends were something of a miracle. After I’d kicked Derek out of that hotel room on that horrible day, my mom and Angie had been standing in the hall waiting to come back in. My mom was emotional, wanting to hug me, but knowing I didn’t like being touched when I was upset. Angie was all sarcasm and murder plans. I remembered enjoying the way she’d distracted me with thoughts of bodily harm as she’d helped me get out of my beautiful dress and into the outfit I’d originally planned to wear as we boarded a cruise ship for our honeymoon.
The morbid humor might seem strange to an outsider, but Angie worked for a true crime podcast. It was her job to edit their raw recordings before they went up on the app, so she listened to hours of murder stories every day. She was the reason I’d started reading mysteries after it happened, since I couldn’t stomach the romance genre anymore. She knew how much I loved to read a good love story, and being the close friend that she was, she sent me an entire box of mysteries and thrillers from Amazon one day. I’d been hooked ever since.
I decided I needed to get back to work while I waited for Angie to arrive. We had books that needed stocking and customers who likely needed help to find things. I picked up a box of new books as I exited the back room. There were two other employees at work that day, Zack and Rachel. Zack worked at the cafe most days, but Rachel liked to ring people up at the bookstore’s checkout counter. When we had both of those positions manned, I was able to do more of the managerial and administrative tasks. Truthfully, I liked these days better than when I had to talk to customers more frequently. I silently wished I’d been stocking books instead of making coffee the day I’d met Vince, in fact. Then none of this would be happening and I might have healed from the Derek thing without risking getting hurt once again.
About twenty minutes into stocking new releases, Angie walked through the door. She came right up to me and helped herself to some books from the box and began finding their place on the shelves nearby. I knew she was waiting for me to explain further without trying to rush me. She’d done the same thing in the hotel room in Seattle.
“It’s not as bad.” I started, biting my lip. “I don’t even have the full story.”
She peered at me. “What do you know?”
“I went to bring him coffee, he said there was a girl in the back room taking a practice ASVAB, and he hoped she’d pass because then he’d have the second contract he needed for the month.”
Angie nodded, shelving a book. “Okay, then what?”
“Then, when she came out, she was dressed like she’d been clubbing not interviewing with the Marines. It threw me, but it wasn’t my business. Then she got all nasty with me and asked Vince if I ‘knew about them.’ Whatever that meant.”
“And what did Vince do? Did he look guilty?”
I shook my head. “He looked mad.”
“Mad that he got caught?”
“Not exactly... I don’t know. I just said I had to go, and he said he’d come by after I closed.”
Angie’s mouth popped open. “He let you leave?”
“Yeah. I mean, maybe he didn’t want a scene at work? I’m pretty sure his boss was in the next room, too.”
“Still. I feel like he should have at least walked you back over here and told you nothing was going on with the other girl.”
I bit my lip. “Unless something is going on with the other girl.”
Angie patted my shoulder and sighed. “If so, he’s an idiot.”
“At what point is the idiot... me? When this happens twice in a row and I’m the common denominator, aren’t I the dumb one?”
My best friend frowned. “I will never accept that you’re the dumb one. But I may start actually killing these guys if they keep hurting you. Honestly. The story I edited today was perfect. The chick used an ice mold in the shape of a knife, stabbed her ex-boyfriend with it, and then melted the ice with hot water from the kitchen sink before calling 911 and saying she found him like that.”
“Nice,” I allowed, shelving more books.
It would be a long five hours while I waited to find out what Vince had to say for himself. I hoped more than anything he had some kind of explanation. The only problem was, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to trust that it was true.
Vince knocked on the back door a little after eight, and I only hesitated for a brief moment before heading over to let him in. When I pushed open the heavy door, his face was a stone mask. I couldn’t see any traces of guilt or pity. He just looked... determined.
He brushed past me into the store, so I followed him to the cafe area, wringing my hands as I went. As usual, he put his stuff at our table, then turned to face me. “I’m having a hard time with the right words.”
I tilted my head. “You haven’t said any.”
“That’s just because I don’t want to say the wrong ones.”
“You look... mad.”
He held out his hands. “I am mad. I’m mad that she put me in the position of having to defend myself to you. I’m mad that she caused you to look at me with that expression. Like you’re trying to decide if you can trust me.”
“Vince.” I sighed. “It’s simple. Is there something going on between you and that girl?”
“No.” He looked me straight in the eyes when he said it. His answer was firm and direct, and he made no effort to explain further.
“Okay... so what did she mean when she asked if I knew about you two?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, just like he had in the office earlier. “The first weekend I was in San Diego, I’d gone to a bar with Cooper and the recruiter I replaced. I went home with Erika that night.”
I gulped, not at all enjoying the idea of them being together. I steeled myself for the rest. “And?”
“And, we dated for about two weeks after that, but I didn’t see it going anywhere, so I ended it. I hadn’t seen her at all until yesterday.”
Feeling unsteady thanks to all the emotions flooding through me, I stepped around him and sat at our table. On the one hand, I believed him. I believed him deep in my core. There was something about the way he said it, with no excuses or elaborate explanations, that told me he was telling the truth. I felt a mixture of relief about that and also a sense of panic that I could be wrong. What if he wasn’t telling the truth? What if he’d let me leave earlier only to tell that girl to keep her mouth shut and now he was lying to me about the whole thing? My mind was racing with possible scenarios.
“Sara.” He crossed to me and kneeled down next to my chair. “I am not that guy. I am not the guy who lies and cheats. Okay?”
I allowed my eyes to roam over his face, his eyes soft as he gazed into mine. I sighed, my bottom lip quivering a bit on the exhale. “I want to believe you.”
“Then believe me. I know this is an issue for you. I know it’s harder to believe me than it is to think I’m lying. But I promise I haven’t seen Erika since the day I broke up with her. She’s joining the Marines, so she’s a contract for me, and nothing else. Okay?”
It went against all logic, but I nodded. He touched his hand to my cheek and rubbed his thumb over it, still looking in my eyes. There was no trace of deceit in them. And yet, I’d spent countless hours thinking back over my last year with Derek looking for signs of his lies and hadn’t come up with anything. My stomach turned over and over again as I thought about what I was risking by trusting him. But the sweet and sincere way
he looked at me had to count for something, right?
10
Vince
When I opened the door to my office that morning, Cooper was already in his chair and working on his calendar. It was planning day, which meant we didn’t need to hold any appointments, we just got together as a group and made sure our schedules were synced up for the month ahead. With Thanksgiving two weeks away, and plane tickets purchased for Sara and me to go home to San Francisco, I hoped we’d finally find out if we were getting the full four-day weekend we’d been promised if we made our mission for the month.
“Morning,” Cooper greeted me.
I dropped my duffel next to my desk and set my briefcase on top of it with a thud. “Morning.”
Staff Sergeant Allen came out of his office and glanced around the room. “Good, you’re all here. We’ll get started in ten. Just got word from the higher-ups, we’re working Thanksgiving weekend. If you need to cancel any travel plans you can get that squared away now before we get started.”
Anger burned hot inside me. We worked so hard every day at this job, only getting one day off a week if we were lucky, and I’d been looking forward to having a break. In more than six months as a recruiter, I hadn’t had more than one day off in a row. I clenched my fists, trying not to show any emotion in front of my boss. Cooper cursed loudly behind me, and I turned to look at him in surprise. The rest of the guys in the office exploded into similar showings of rage, so I shook off the feeling that I needed to restrain myself.
I’d heard of holiday leave getting canceled in the past, but this was the first time it had happened to me. The rest of the guys instantly started complaining and swearing about how this was typical. I couldn’t tell if their reactions made me feel better, or worse. If it was just the nature of the beast, I figured I could accept it and move on. But that also removed any hope that it would get better someday... and that thought depressed me even more.
After two hours of discussing our daily and weekly goals for the coming month, Staff Sergeant dismissed us for lunch. Usually, we all went out to eat together and took a break from talking shop, but I think everyone was still so mad about Thanksgiving that we collectively decided we needed to separate to decompress.
I left the office in a huff, then tried to settle myself before I went next door and canceled yet another thing with Sara. It seemed like it happened more and more lately. We’d make lunch plans and I’d cancel last minute so I could finish up an appointment or deal with a parent. We’d make dinner plans and I’d have to cancel because I didn’t get my admin stuff done during the day and needed to put in my numbers by a certain time that night. We’d make Sunday afternoon plans, and I’d need to cancel because that was the only day a kid’s parent could meet to sign the parental waiver for an underage enlistment. My life revolved around this job, and with every cancellation, I’d been reminding her that we’d soon be able to get away from it all for a long weekend. Now, I was about to cancel that, too.
When I entered the coffee shop, she smiled brightly at me from behind the counter of the cafe. I hooked my thumb toward the door and mouthed, “Can you take a break?”
Concern flashed briefly over her soft features, but she nodded and said something to Zack who’d been stocking more paper cups next to the register. She took off the black apron she wore to protect her bright yellow top and black capris. When she rounded the counter and headed toward me, my heart picked up speed, just as it always did when she was near. This time, however, it was with nerves, too.
I went back out the front door and held it for her. “You look pretty in yellow.”
She thanked me and kissed me briefly on the lips. “Everything okay?”
“Let’s take a walk.” I took her hand and placed my white Marine Corps cover securely on my head, since we had to wear a hat whenever we were outside in uniform. Marine recruiters wore the short-sleeved dress uniform on a regular basis, only wearing cammies for certain PT events.
“The command canceled our holiday leave. We can’t go to San Francisco.” I looked out into the parking lot, afraid to look at her face. “Our individual office made our mission for the month, but the San Diego area as a whole didn’t.”
Sara squeezed my hand, and I could tell she was processing this disappointment without reacting too harshly. “So, are they hoping you’ll recruit however many people you need in order to make mission that weekend, then?”
“I wish. Mission for this month will already be closed by the twentieth, so by the time Thanksgiving weekend comes, it’ll be technically the start of the new month. Anyone we recruit during that weekend will count for December.”
“I’m confused, so you can’t have the weekend off for Thanksgiving... as a punishment for not making mission?”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
She swallowed hard. “That’s... cruel. I don’t know anything about recruiting, but do they think taking away any time for rest and relaxation will keep you from missing mission?”
“Mission over everything, Sara. They can’t miss mission two months in a row, so they’re not going to give us four days off during a time of year when numbers are already low because of the holidays.”
Sara pulled me to a stop and forced me to look at her. “Vince, that’s ridiculous. Numbers are low because kids are busy enjoying their holidays with their families. They’re going to take away the same thing from you guys and make you work harder to make up for it? Why don’t they just have a lower mission during this time?”
I shrugged. “It is lower. But it’s not zero. The wheel has to keep turning.”
The pit in my stomach felt like a meteor crater. I hated the disappointment written all over her face, and I hated that she felt bad for me. Recruiting was a nasty beast, and there was nothing anyone could do to make it better. From what I’d heard, the divorce rate on recruiting duty was something like forty percent higher than the rest of the Marine Corps. Judging by the stress it had already put on my relationship, I could see why. I couldn’t imagine if we were married with kids. The only reason we consistently saw each other now was because she worked right next door and I went there to work late at night. If she were home with our children, I’d likely never see them. Depression washed over me at the hopelessness of it all, the only silver lining being that she did work right next door and we didn’t have any children. At least we had our nightly coffee dates.
Sara squared her shoulders as if she’d made a decision. “Okay, what’s the deal with Christmas and New Years?”
“Uh, the normal Marine Corps would have a ninety-six for both holidays.” Referring to what we call four consecutive days off.
“If you make mission for December will you get to have your ninety-six then?”
I smiled. “Hopefully. But I wouldn’t count on it.”
“Well, let’s be positive and hope for it. I know you booked the tickets on Southwest, so change the dates to Christmas since they have no change fees. And if Christmas doesn’t work, we’ll try for New Years. But either way, we’ll just keep trying for whenever they let you go, okay? I want to meet your mom and nonna. I’m disappointed about Thanksgiving, but I think this job could literally break someone if they didn’t have hope, so I’m going to be the optimistic one for the both of us.”
If someone had a gun to my head, I wouldn’t have been able to speak in that moment. She was the most incredible thing that could have happened to me on recruiting duty. And she was right, as she stood there in that bright yellow shirt, her very presence in my life was a ray of sunshine in a very dark situation. I reached out and took her hand, enjoying the warm feeling that washed over me at the feel of her skin on mine.
“Can I tell you something?”
She nodded, stepped closer and wrapping her arms around my waist. “Please do.”
“Promise you won’t freak out?”
Sara chuckled lightly. “Is it more surprising than canceling our trip?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m ready.�
��
“I love you.”
Her eyes flashed in shock, and if she hadn’t smiled, I would have tried to take it back out of embarrassment.
“I love you, too,” she said, sealing her lips over mine.
11
Sara
I didn’t have much experience dating a Marine Corps recruiter, but the little experience I had told me not to get my hopes up about Christmas in San Francisco until we were on the plane. As we handed our tickets to the gate agent and crossed onto the jetway, Vince beamed at me with what I could only describe as being childlike joy.
“I can’t believe we made it,” I exclaimed, taking his hand while we slowly made our way onto the plane.
Vince looked over his shoulder nervously. “Don’t jinx us. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sergeant Major running through the airport yelling ‘we changed our minds, get back to work!’”
I laughed at the image of the stern older Marine running in his dress uniform. I’d served him and the other higher-ups coffee several times when they came to Vince’s office to check in on them. They were always perfectly polite and tipped well, but I knew from listening to Vince and the guys talk that the seasoned Marines could flip on a dime and go from nice to unreasonable if missing mission was on the line.
“Well, you can relax, because I highly doubt that’s going to happen. Now, tell me who I’m going to meet this weekend.” I squeezed his hand, hoping that directing his attention off the threat of returning to work and onto his large family would put him at ease.
“Ah, yes. Get ready, it’s a long list.” He adjusted the strap of his duffel that now held a long weekend’s worth of clothes and toiletries rather than his usual change of clothes for work. “My mom always hosts Christmas Eve dinner. She and my nonna cook seafood that night. It’s an Italian tradition to do seafood on Christmas Eve. Then, Uncle Rick hosts Christmas Day at his house. That’ll be a lot more people though. Usually, we do close family on Christmas Eve, and then everybody and their mother at Uncle Rick’s. That’ll be your classic Italian food. Meatballs, red sauce, sausage and mushrooms, eggplant parmigiana, chicken parmigiana, lasagna, baked ziti, and spaghetti, obviously.”
Forever With You Page 6