Chapter 19

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

Chad

I'm over the sun. I'm over the sand, and I'm over this fucking sweltering heat.

The only good coming out of this is the relationships I'm building with my unit. While patrolling a local town yesterday, I spotted two little boys out kicking an old soccer ball. I took one look at Erik, and we were both moving. We started kicking that old ball around in the dirt and sand back to the kids, reveling in the sound of their laughter. While taking a few minutes to play with the kids, I realized I wasn't worried about enemies in the area.

I knew my team had my back.

It wasn't easy forming those relationships with teammates who weren't happy with my arrival at base, but as time went on, our trust grew. I'd give my life for any one of these guys—and girls—and I know they'd do the same. That same day, other members of my unit engaged with locals, giving kids pieces of candy and always showing respect to the women and men who looked at us as outsiders, despite the fact we were there to help.

But at the end of the day, I miss my wife. I'm ready to be home with her wrapped in my arms. It's been two weeks since we've received mail. I didn't realize how much those weekly stacks of letters meant to me until I didn't receive them. Hopefully, they will get mail to us soon. I crave her words. I crave the feeling of knowing what she's up to. A few text messages here and there have gotten through, but service has been spotty at best. That might have something to do with my somber mood today. I need my Faith fix.

"Fuck, it's hot," Erik says, as we trek our way back to camp. It's been a long-ass day, and I think he's feeling the loss of mail and contact from his wife just as much as I am mine.

"Yeah," I agree. There's no point in complaining. This is what we signed up for. We knew the kinds of conditions we could potentially be working in. Regardless, it still sucks, and we're over it.

"I miss my wife," he grumbles.

"I hear ya, man. This no mail shit sucks, and cell service has been shit. The comms tent is always packed, but if I can't get her on my cell tonight, I might have to resort to that." I hate not being able to hear her voice. It's been too damn long. The comms tent offers us no privacy. There are some guys who can't get reception at all on their cell phones, even in my spot that I finally shared with them.

"Agreed. I've been thinking a lot about getting out," Erik confesses. "We want a family, and fuck me, Chad. It's hard enough being away from my wife. I can't imagine being away from my kids too. I don't want to leave her there to raise them on her own, you know?"

"I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind," I confess. "Being married changes your outlook. At least it has mine." I'm proud to serve my country, but with each passing day that I'm away from her, I'm starting to think once my term is up, I'm getting out. I want a family, too, and just like Erik, I don't want my wife left behind to pick up the pieces.

I know many do, and my Faith, she would do just fine on her own. However, I don't want that. If I'm being honest, I just can't stand to be away from her. This distance is slowly killing me and the love I have for my job. I dreamed about being a soldier and serving my country. Now, all I dream about is being hers.

Just thinking about Faith pregnant with our baby sends a thrill through me. I can picture her round belly in my mind so easily. She's going to be sexy as fuck carrying my babies. Yes, babies, and yes, they're going to be mine. There is no other outcome that I'll accept where my wife is concerned. She'll find out soon enough that this marriage wasn't just for convenience. It was because my heart belongs to her, and I don't want it back.

Ever.

There are twenty of us in our team for this deployment, and it's wearing on all of us. We've trained, and we were as ready as we could be, but this heat, it's unbearable, and the sand. I have sand in places that sand should never, ever be. It's uncomfortable, and let's not talk about my feet. We walk mile after mile each day, and my feet constantly ache.

When we make it back to camp, all I want to do is strip down, take a shower, and try to call Faith. Instead, we'll have to debrief about the day's events; we have to check our gear, then we get to shower and eat, and the rest of the night is ours. We swap days and nights so much, I'm not sure which way is up. When we get home, I'm hoping I can convince Faith to take a few days off work and stay in bed with me while I catch up on sleep. Okay, maybe we won't only be sleeping. Maybe if I'm lucky, we can start working on those babies. Or at least get in some good practice. Surely, she gets vacation time, right?

Trudging into the tent, I'm ready to grab clothes and head to the shower. However, when I make it to my bed, it's covered. There are multiple boxes and a huge stack of letters. Relief swamps me. I know that most of those items are from my wife, and I crave her words. Suddenly, my exhausting shitty day just got a hell of a lot better.

"Looks like the mail finally came," one of the guys says. I don't register who as I take in the abundance of packages on my bed.

"Damn, Anthony, does your wife have a sister?" one of them asks. He peers down at the packages and letters littering my cot. Some of the guys have little or no family, and I do feel bad that I have such a great support system waiting for me at home.

I move forward, ignoring everyone and sifting through the madness. There are seven boxes in total. One of them has in big bold letters that I'm supposed to open it first. I move the stack of letters to the side and tear into the box. The first thing I see is a white envelope that says, Read me , so that's exactly what I do. I find the corner of the bed that's not covered, take a seat, and pull out the letter.

My dearest husband,

Surprise! I hope all the packages have reached you. There should be seven. Remember when I told you I was working on something? Well, it's turned out to be bigger than I ever could have imagined.

It all started when I went to the principal and asked if I could have my students draw pictures to send to you and your team. I thought it would be a fun project for the kids, and something that might brighten your day and the others. She said yes, but she went even further and pitched the idea to every grade level in the building.

When I told Hannah, she was on board to help. She and I spoke to someone on base who was able to give us enough addresses of deployed units that each grade level could send their own.

You get my kindergarten class, and let me tell you, they loved every minute of drawing pictures and helping pack the boxes. Hannah helped, and the outpouring of support from the community brought me to tears. Hannah took donations from her business, and other local businesses, like the diner and the pizza place, took donations as well. We split them between each grade level, and with the parents' support, I'm happy to say that each classroom was able to gather six boxes of supplies, snacks, and other fun items to send to their deployed troops.

The box you just opened, that one is just for you. Some personal supplies, some snacks, and a few other things that I thought you might like. Oh, and a couple of pictures drawn from a few of my students just for you. The other boxes are for your unit. I hope everyone enjoys the goodies. I hope that this gives all of you a little piece of home.

Speaking of home, I miss you.

All my love.

Your wife

I'm not gonna lie. I'm a little choked up at her generosity. She not only thought of me, but of every person in my unit, and the entire school pitched in. The community. I knew my wife was incredible, and this just shows the beauty that she holds inside.

And she's all mine.

"What's with all the boxes?" Timothy, one of the guys, asks.

"Care packages from my wife. Have at it. You all are welcome to anything you want. Her students drew some pictures as well. Some for each of us."

Faith didn't say that specifically, but I know my wife well enough to know she would want everyone to have one.

"Damn, you married one of the good ones, Anthony," Michaels says, as he and a few others grab a box to open them. They unpack each of them with care, placing all the items in a pile on two of the cots.

Once it's all unpacked, they take turns grabbing the things they need. The entire time, I sit on the edge of my bed. Tired, sweaty, hungry, covered in sand, my feet throbbing from the hours of walking in the desert, and a smile on my face. I'm grounded with love for the woman who holds my last name.

Suddenly, the only thing that matters is hearing her voice. Grabbing my phone, I rush out to my spot so that I can call her. It's late there, but I need to see if I can reach her. I run up the hill, and I'm panting when I dial her number. All the ailments I was just whining about in my head are long since forgotten. All I can think about is hearing her sweet voice.

"Chad?"

I sigh. "Hey, baby."

"Is everything okay?"

"It is now."

"It's good to hear your voice."

"Yeah," I agree. "I got the boxes today. I opened mine. The guys opened the others. I haven't looked through mine or read your letters, but I'm going to. I needed to call you. I needed to hear your voice and thank you. I wish you could have seen the smiles on their faces. You did that, baby. You wanted to bring us a piece of home, and you did that and so much more. Some of them, they don't get letters or packages from home. Thank you. This is an incredible surprise."

She clears her throat. "I wanted to. I'm so glad everyone liked them."

"They loved them, baby. Hell, they're asking me if my wife has a sister."

"Just a brother, and he's taken." Her laugh flows through the line.

"You're mine. Just remember that."

"Of course I am. We have the paperwork to prove it," she teases.

"You're damn right we do. We should frame it. Hang it on the wall."

"Maybe by our wedding photo."

"Did you hang one of us up in the house?" I don't know why the thought of that makes my heart race.

"Umm sure, we'll go with one." She chuckles.

"Baby, I don't care if it's a shrine to the day you became mine. I'm good with it."

"You might change your mind when you see it."

"Nah, not ever." I want her to make the house our home. I want her invested. I want the idea of her leaving to be devastating. She belongs there with me. "Hey, I was thinking. We should set up a time where I can call you while you're in class. I can wrangle a few people together in the comms tent and we can call in and thank your students for the pictures and all of the goodies."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"That's the least that we can do. I'll look at the schedule of when I'll be available while you're teaching and text it to you. It'll be fun. Besides, I'll get to see Mrs. Anthony in action with her students."

"Chad, they'll love that. They've asked so many questions about who the letters were going to. To be able to see some of you, you're going to make their day. Mine too."

"I'll take care of it. I'll text you as soon as I know something. Hopefully, service doesn't flake out on us again."

"Whenever. It doesn't have to be right away. Thank you. I'm so excited."

I can feel my face stretch with my smile. "Anything for my wife and her students."

"How was your day?"

I go on to tell her, trying not to complain too much, but still describing the heat, the sand, and the long-ass days on our feet. "I still need to shower and grab some dinner."

"Oh, I'll let you go."

"I needed to talk to you before I did anything else. I was missing you. Two weeks with no letters or calls… that's more than I ever want to do again."

"It was rough for me, too, but you'll be home soon."

"Do you get vacation time?" I ask her.

"I do. I only get four days since this is my first year, but yeah. Why?"

"I have this vision of coming home and us staying in bed for as long as possible."

Her breath hitches. Surely, she understands how much I want her in my arms, right?

"You'd want that?"

"More than anything." It's hard to convince her when I'm not there to touch her. To prove with my actions as well as my words that she's it for me.

"I'll see what I can do. You just worry about coming home safe."

"I will. I should go." I really don't want to end the call, but we only have so much time to eat before everything is cleaned up, and I really do need a shower.

"Chad?"

"Yeah?"

"Love you."

My heart expands in my chest. "I love you too, baby." I end the call because I know I'll want to spend the rest of my night talking to her, and I can't do that. Shoving my phone into my pocket, I head to the mess tent to grab some food before showering. Then I have a box and a huge stack of letters to keep me company the rest of the night. Basically, I get to spend the evening with my wife. It might just be her words, but it's the best I've got right now.

When I make it back to the tent, almost everyone has showered, and they're all eating something that came in the care packages.

"Hey," I say, gaining everyone's attention. "I was hoping we could find a time for a few of you to join me on a call. I want to call in to my wife's classroom, her kindergarten class, and thank the students for the drawings and the goodies. Any takers?"

I'm shocked when everyone in the room calls out that they're in. "All of you?"

"This is huge," Mike speaks up.

"Erik's wife helped," I tell them. Not wanting Hannah to not also get the recognition she deserves.

"Sister?" Tim asks hopefully.

"Nope."

"Damn. You assholes hit the jackpot," Stephens says, munching on a Cheeto.

"What about a brother?" Jamie speaks up.

"Faith has a brother, but he's engaged to my cousin."

"The good ones are always taken," Jamie mumbles.

"Hey," Stephens says, as if he's offended.

Jamie rolls her eyes. "I rest my case." The room erupts in laughter.

My wife and her big heart lifted the spirits of this entire unit tonight. It's been almost three months of living life beneath the desert sun and getting a little taste of home was exactly what we all needed to be revived. Our job here has been going well. I'm hopeful that we're out in a few weeks.

That would put us home before Christmas. I would give just about anything to be able to be with my wife to celebrate our first Christmas together. Regardless, I need to figure out a plan. If I can't be there, I still need to make sure she has presents under the tree.

"Hey, Erik. When you talk to Hannah, can you ask her if she's willing to help me with gifts for Faith? If we're not home by Christmas, I need for her to have something from me. I'm sure Faith would be happy to do the same for you."

"She'll be all over that. My in-laws are coming into town. I've already got my mother-in-law working on it for me. Just in case."

"Smart man. I'm learning," I tell him with a laugh.

"Nah, you've got this." He grabs his notebook to write a letter, and I know I need to do the same. However, I have a box to sift through and a big stack of letters to read. It's time to immerse myself in my wife's world until I fall asleep.