Page 2 of Love Finds Home
I stand and we shake hands. When I get to the door, he says something that makes a shiver run up my spine.
“Jon, just remember, things might seem perfect from afar, but when you get too close, the illusion shatters. Go into everything with a clear head and open eyes, son.”
I turn to look at him one more time and nod. Walking back to my makeshift bunk, I’m in a daze. I need to get home. That’s all I can focus on.
“Everything alright?” Allen asks. Daniel Allen joined two years after me. He’s a good guy, and a hell of a Ranger.
“Vanessa’s pregnant.”
“Wow. Fuck.” He blinks his eyes, a stunned look on his face. Probably the same one on mine. “Congrats, man.”
“Yeah,” I chuckle humorlessly. “Thanks. Waters is getting me emergency leave. I’m out on the next plane.”
“Enjoy the clear air while you can. You’ll be back here soon enough, playing in the sand with us.”
“Yeah.” My vocabulary seems to have taken a hit.
“Cross, wheels up in three hours. Pack your shit!” Colonel Waters yells from his office.
“Help me pack?” I ask Allen. “And make sure someone watches Joker’s six. Lord knows the fucker needs it.”
Twenty-four hours. That’s how long it’s taken me to get from the desert to Georgia. Luckily, I’ve been trained to sleep anywhere at any time and I was able to get some shut-eye. Now that I’m on the ground again, my nerves are kicking up. A baby. Vanessa and I are going to have a baby. It’s been years. Every time I’ve been stateside, she’s come to visit me and we’ve tried to get pregnant. She is my first and only love. Married two weeks after we graduated high school, and I shipped out to boot camp two weeks after that. It’s been a stressful life, but she’s stuck with me, and now there’s going to be a baby.
I can’t stop thinking about what the Colonel said. I don’t know what my options are. I’m just over six years away from retirement. I wonder if there’s a training program I could lead on base here that would let me stay in and provide for my family? So many things to think about, but I won’t make any decisions without Vanessa. We’re a team, it’s what we do. I thinkmy family should also have a say as a baby will impact them as well, right? They’ve been begging us for years to give them a grandchild and my brother isn’t in any way, shape, or form out to have a kid or get married.
The taxi drops me off in front of the house and there aren’t any lights on. Vanessa must be out with some friends. Great. That gives me time to shower and wash the travel off of me and maybe even catch a few minutes of sleep on the couch.
I’m not sure what time it is when I hear voices outside.
“Don’t worry about it,” I hear Vanessa say. “You really think Jonny could make it back here without me knowing about it? Please. Stop being so paranoid.”
And just like that, I’m wide awake.
“Nes, it’s just not right. We’ve never come back to your home. This is why we go to mine,” a male voice that sounds familiar replies to her.
“Oh, my God, Jeremy. Stop your fucking whining. Get in there and fuck me. I’m going to be all big and fat soon and thenhe’llbe here and we won’t be able to.”
“I still hate that we have to say that baby is his.”
Jeremy? Fucking?Say that baby is his?It takes everything in me not to go through the door and kill them both. All I see is a red haze of anger and hurt. How could she? How the fuck could he?
“It’s just until the kid is old enough to make sure we get half his pension. You know he won’t leave his precious Rangers. He’ll pop home from time to time and play perfect family man and daddy and then run off to play soldier again. Now come inside and fuck me. I’m horny, Jer.”
I’m standing in the dark living room, keys to my bike and bag in one hand, my phone recording their conversation for proof in the other. I’ve seen how these things play out, and having evidence of her wrongdoing will help me in the long run. Plus, I want them to see me. I need them to know they’ve been caught. And then I’m out of here.
The door opens and the two people I loved the most in this world tumble through the door, their lips locked and their hands on each other, giving everyone across the street and my phone a show. She’s almost naked when she looks up and sees me.
“Jeremy!” she squeaks. “Jer! There’s someone here!”
“What?” he asks, not taking his eyes off her tits.
“Someone’s here!” she yells, pointing in my direction.
Jeremy finally focuses on what she’s saying and whips his head in my direction. “Who’s there?”
I don’t say a word. My phone still aimed in their direction, catching everything.
When the light switches on, my eyes focus quickly. I’ve been trained for this shit. Vanessa squints into the light and gasps when she realizes it’s me.