CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

Thirteen hours later

February 6 — 6:05 P.M. MDT (8:05 P.M. EDT)

Friday evening

Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colorado

 

“How long do we wait?” Erin asked.

“Just a few more minutes until the plane arrives,” Nancy said. “We used to wait for the guys for hours sometimes. We only had an estimation of when they’d be here. Alex’s Sergeant is a wonderful gift. We never had that kind of help before.”

Erin nodded. She went back to staring in the direction of where the plane would come from. Erin and Samantha had driven with John, but he stayed in the SUV. Seeing Nancy out on the tarmac, Erin and Samantha braved the cold to stand with her. After a few minutes, Samantha began working on her Blackberry.

Another car pulled up. A young woman sat behind the driver’s wheel. She seemed to be trying to make a decision whether to get out or not.

“Oh great,” Nancy said. “Have you met Quanshay Tubman?”

Erin and Samantha shook their heads.

“She’s Chief Royce Tubman’s wife. You know the new intern?” Nancy asked.

“New intern?” Erin asked.

“If you girls are going to be Fey wives, you’d better get with the program.”

“I don’t think we’ll be wives,” Erin laughed.

Nancy shook her head at them and went to greet Quanshay. With Nancy’s encouragement, Quanshay joined the women in their cold wait.

“How long do we wait?” Quanshay asked.

Her accent was straight out of the Deep South. Her plump maroon tinted lips seemed to caress the words before they slipped from her mouth. A fit woman of medium height, she towered over tiny Erin.

“It’s my first time too,” Erin said. “I’m Erin Hargreaves. My boyfriend is Matthew Mac Clenaghan. This is my sister, Samantha. She’s here waiting for Art Rasmussen.”

Quanshay shook Erin’s extended hand. Samantha looked up from her Blackberry long enough to nod to Quanshay.

“Royce told me you were expecting your first baby,” Quanshay said.

“Erin!” Nancy hugged Erin. “Congratulations! Matthew must be thrilled.”

Beaming, Erin nodded.

“But all of this is new to me,” Erin said. “You’ve done it before. Haven’t you Quanshay?”

“My husband is in the Navy, Ms. Hargreaves.”

“Please, Erin.”

“Erin,” Quanshay said. She laughed. “He was like the wind – either present or gone. We lived with my mother because he was either on a cruise or in training. The last few years? We didn’t see him but twice. All of this is new.”

“We go through a lot,” Nancy said. “The Fey wives want to support us now. They are like a life blood to me. I know you girls will love them too.”

Unsure of what Nancy was talking about, Quanshay and Erin nodded. Samantha gave Nancy a wry look and returned to her Blackberry.

“I have to ask you,” Quanshay said to Nancy. “Your husband has worked with the LC for a long time, right?”

“For more than ten years,” Nancy said.

“I wondered,” Quanshay said. “Do you ever get… jealous? You know Royce was off with this woman in Paris, France. I know she’s his CO but…”

Nancy laughed.

“The first couple of years, I was very jealous,” Nancy said.

“Of Alex?” Erin laughed.

“I know it’s crazy,” Nancy said.

“Why is it crazy?” Quanshay asked. “I feel jealous every time he leaves the house. And you should hear the way he talks about her. The LC this and the LC that. He’s also…”

“Changing?” Nancy asked.

“Yes,” Quanshay said. “He’s lost weight. He gets a fresh haircut every single week. He’s even groomed…”

“His body hair,” Nancy laughed. “Joseph too. But I bet you guys are having more fun.”

Blushing, Quanshay nodded.

“Joseph changed,” Nancy said. “He was more available when he came home, kinder. He’d help me out around the house. He even cooked some meals.”

“Royce cooked the last time he was home,” Quanshay said. “I was out with our son. I came home and he had dinner almost ready. Not a bag of chips and soda, but a real dinner – meat, salad, potatoes, and dessert. Our daughter was bathed and reading a book out loud to him at the kitchen counter. They were having a grand time.”

“It’s like he’s possessed,” Nancy said.

“That’s exactly right,” Quanshay said. “I know my husband loves his children, but I don’t think they said three words to him the entire last assignment.”

“Joseph used to come home exhausted. He’d sleep a couple of days and go back to work. He started working on this team and voila. He was clean, rested, and available after missions. He lost weight and started grooming his body. It was subtle, but over time the difference was dramatic.”

“It’s like he’s having an affair,” Quanshay said.

“Exactly,” Nancy said. “Has Royce started waxing?”

“What the hell?” Quanshay asked. “Waxing! Who does that?”

Nancy laughed.

“I’ll show you some before and after pictures of Joseph,” Nancy said. “It’s a big change.”

“My friends say he’s cheating,” Quanshay said. “They tell me to pack the kids and come on home. At the same time, we’re happier than we’ve ever been. He’s home more and seems to really care about me, the kids… Last time he was home, he listened to me talk about moving to Denver. For an hour. I thought he’d fallen asleep or something. When I asked, he gave me thoughtful ideas then followed through on helping me. I felt so… loved. Of course, the kids worship him. I… What’s going on?”

“It’s Alex,” Erin said. “We grew up on Fort Bragg. Alex has specific ideas of how family should be treated. She makes sure it happens. And she has a thing about body hair. She says there’s nothing worse than a week in the jungle with hairy man. Over time, every man starts to see the benefit of groomed hair. The team has a fitness mandate. They have to get in shape.”

“Art says he was really heavy and hairy when he met Alex. He’s not that now.” Samantha looked up from her Blackberry.

“Have you seen Art?” Erin asked.

Quanshay’s eyes went big and she nodded.

“Raz is gorgeous,” Nancy said.

“What made you feel better?” Quanshay asked.

“A couple of things,” Nancy said. “For the first couple of years, I’d go to pick up Joseph. The team would leave the plane or helicopter, hug and kiss Alex goodbye then walk over to us. Alex would wait until everyone left then get back on the helicopter. Max and John lived in LA, and frankly, we thought they didn’t exist. So we’d watch our husbands hug and kiss this woman then come to us. It was not our favorite thing.

“About two years into the team, we were waiting for the guys,” Nancy said. “They got off the plane, hugged and kissed Alex, then started coming in our direction. Just like normal. Jesse picked Maria off the ground. But this time, Jesse sees something we hadn’t noticed. There was a man sitting in a car just near us. Jesse whistles to Alex. She looks up and he yells something in Spanish. She spins in place and takes off running toward us. We wives gawked at her.

“She gets close to the car and John steps out. She jumped into his arms. He catches her, spins her around then holds her in his arms. I’ve never seen so much joy between two people. We wives were stunned. We stared at them. The guys laughed.”

“You hadn’t seen Alex and John together?” Erin asked.

“No,” Nancy said. “Like I said, we thought he and Max were a fabrication to cover what was really going on.”

“Which was what?” Erin laughed.

“Hanky panky,” Quanshay said.

The women laughed at her tone.

“Okay, Art says they are close,” Samantha said.

“How do you know?” Erin asked.

“I’ve been chatting with Art,” Samantha blushed. “We have a big weekend planned.”

“I guess,” Quanshay said.

“Anyway, they’ll be here in five minutes or so.” Not wanting to seem too interested, but dying to know the answer, Samantha asked, “What was the other occasion, Nancy?”

“Peru,” Nancy said. “Maybe a year later? The team had been gone seven weeks. That was a long time for them. Maria, Jesse’s wife, called to tell us the team had been stuck in the jungle. They finally found transportation and were going to be in Peru in two days. The guys were hoping we could meet them for a long weekend. Maria booked our travel. All expenses paid. Four days in a five-star spa resort. Well, after hearing about all the great places the guys went, I wasn’t going to miss out. The other Fey wives felt the same. We were going to Peru. We found babysitters lickity split and got on that plane.

“We flew over together. By that time, John and Max were living in Denver,” Nancy said. “We knew who they were, but didn’t know them at all. While we girls gossiped, they spent the flight watching sports with Roger Whitaker. He was dating Jax, one of the medics.”

“I thought there weren’t gay people in the military,” Quanshay said.

“You’d think that,” Nancy laughed. “People are people. Anyway, the three guys ignored us, which was fine because we ignored them too. We got to the hotel and it was… amazing. Spa treatments had been booked for us that night.”

“Alex,” Samantha said. “She loves planning other people’s spa treatments.”

“She can’t sit still long enough to get them herself,” Erin laughed.

“Exactly. Alex booked all this stuff for us,” Nancy said. “Amazing food, wine, our rooms were gorgeous. It was a dream for an Army wife. We’d been there about twelve hours when Maria called to say that the team had landed, but they are exhausted, filthy, and in bad shape. Heartbroken.

“Maria suggested we meet them in the lobby. We dressed in our nicest outfits and went down. We were lounging around the lobby when the team stumbled in the hotel. They were filthy. Joey was bad. He looked like someone had beaten his soul. He could barely stand. I tried to negotiate him back to our room. We were walking passed the lobby sitting area when I saw Alex and John sitting in an armchair. She was tucked up on his lap. Their eyes were closed. Her head was under his chin. Her hand was slipped into his shirt and he was stroking her back. They were like a picture or religious statue. They were love. We were almost past when he picked her up and carried her out of the room.

“After that moment, I never worried again. My Joseph is no competition for that kind of love.”

“Here they come,” Samantha said.

The C-130 Hercules landed. A portion under the tail dropped down to the tarmac.

“Do I get to meet John?” Quanshay asked.

“He’s in the car next to yours,” Nancy said. “He knows we girls don’t like Army husbands. So he lets us have time together.”

Carrying her duffle bag on her shoulders, Alex was the first person off the plane. The woman watched Alex run across the tarmac to John. Like all those years ago, he caught her in his arms and twirled her around.

“I see what you mean,” Quanshay said.

“I knew you would,” Nancy said. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

FFFFF

Three and a half hours later

February 6 — 10:05 P.M. MDT

Friday evening

Denver, Colorado

 

“Are you okay?” John asked.

John was standing at the door to the balcony off their bedroom. A half hour ago, Alex had left the raucous, alcohol-free party waging in their common living area. Allowing her some rare alone time, he’d waited before his natural draw to her got the better of him. Maggie barked hello to John.

“Not really,” Alex replied.

She was sitting on a beetle kill pine log bench near the chimenea on their side of the balcony. Maggie lay in front of the fire. Alex turned and smiled at him.

“No crooked smile,” he said.

She shrugged.

“May I join you?” he asked.

“Of course,” she said.

He picked up a couple of logs and tossed them into the chimenea. The fire rose to greet the new fuel.

“It’s warmer than I thought it would be,” he said.

He hesitated for a moment. When she looked up at him, he sat down next to her.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Do you ever have the feeling that something you did a long time ago set your life in motion and…”

“There’s nothing you can do to stop it?” John asked. His cobalt blue eyes stroked her face. “Every day. My entire life is based on the single choice to marry you. You’re the best choice I’ve ever made.”

She blushed and he kissed her lips. She returned to staring into the fire. Terrified she might be slipping into a depression again, he put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

“You mean something bad,” he said.

“I mean something neutral,” she said. “Not bad, not good, not anything. Just a simple choice.”

“You’re scaring me, Alex,” John said. “What’s going on?”

Without looking at him, she shook her head.

“Are you suicidal again?” John asked. “Oh God, Alex, please don’t leave me. Don’t shut me out.”

Surprised, Alex’s head jerked to look at him. Her brown eyes took in his concern and love for her. She smiled.

“I’m not suicidal,” Alex said. “I’m a little depressed but I think that’s mostly because I feel trapped and bored. Before you say it, Raz and I haven’t been able to create any mischief. We’ve been too busy with bullshit. My free time has been spent gallivanting around the country with you. I’ve loved our trips. Although we don’t see much of the city…”

“They are fun.” He smiled at her reference to his lust for her.

“I can now say I’ve been in most of the major cities on the Eastern seaboard,” Alex said.

“Been in,” John laughed. “That’s a good way of putting it!”

She gave him her crooked smile.

“There’s my girl,” John said.

They lapsed into silence. Watching the fire and the night, Alex rested her mind and body against his warm strength.

“Are you talking about Bosnia?” John asked.

Alex jerked to sitting. She spun in her seat to look at him.

“Max was upset after he went to see you,” John said. “Since he got home, he’s been working around the clock on something. I badgered and bugged him until he told me to ask you about Bosnia. I know it’s not a case because he just finished a big proceeding. I’ve been quite concerned.”

“You are a kind man,” She leaned forward to kiss his lips.

Hoping he’d let it drop, she leaned back against him. They sat in silence for a few minutes before he said, “Alex…”

“John,” Alex said.

“What decision did you make in Bosnia that set your life in motion?” John asked. “Everyone talks about ‘that trouble you had in Bosnia.’ I never thought to ask what it was. I mean, there was an awful civil war in Bosnia. You were a UN peacekeeper. It makes sense there would be some trouble. And… I guess it didn’t matter to me. I’d certainly had a lot of trouble before I met you.”

Alex didn’t respond. She knew he was trying to lure her into telling him something he needed to know. She just hadn’t decided if she needed to tell him.

She should have known Max would say something. As angry as she was at Max, she couldn’t really blame him. If the roles were reversed and Max was upset, she would have said more to John.

Maybe Max did. Her eyes flicked across John trying to figure out he knew. She saw only confusion in his eyes. Max had kept his twin swear. She smiled.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Alex said. “Let’s see. Bosnia. Jesse and I were assigned there after boot camp. Cathy Sue was supposed to go with us but she got pregnant. She got out on a medical discharge. I’ve heard they don’t do that anymore.”

“Do what?”

“Discharge women for being pregnant,” Alex said.

Leaning against him, she said a silent prayer that he would let the entire matter drop. They sat in silence. He leaned forward to tend the fire and got up to get more wood. When he sat down, he sighed. She closed her eyes and chanted, ‘Please let it go’ over and over again.

“So that’s it?” John asked. “That’s all you’re going to say.”

Alex kept chanting her prayer.

“Praying I’ll let it drop?” John asked.

He knew her too well. She opened her eyes.

“It must be bad,” he said. “State secrets?”

She shrugged.

“Alex secrets,” John said. “You’ll tell me eventually. I just have to wait a decade or so.”

He kissed the top of her head.

“The UN is paying for us to find one of their agents,” Alex said. “We’re a team for hire now. Like the A-Team.”

“You mean I could pay you to tell me?” John asked. “Can I pay in physical pleasure?”

Alex laughed.

“I mean Raz and Trece are arguing over who gets to play B. A. Baracus.”

John laughed.

“Will you drop this?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “When you came home from Walter Reed, I let too many things go. I trusted you would talk to me when you were ready. I relied on a therapist to help you because surely a professional knew more than just the husband. The result was that you got more and more depressed. I see you crawling inside yourself and I… I won’t let it happen again.”

“How about just for tonight?” Alex asked.

“Is this the reason you’re not really all right?” John asked.

“It’s some of it,” Alex said. “Mostly, I don’t know what’s going to happen next. We’re off this weekend because we’ll probably leave for a trip next week. After a month in Washington DC, I wanted to be at home. I never thought my career would collide so much with my life.”

“I feel like that,” John said. “I’m finally a doctor. I finally made it through college, med school, eight years of training and…”

He shrugged.

“We make meaning in our life,” he said. “My beautiful wife taught me that.”

“Did she tell you what to do when you’re trapped by someone else’s ego?” she asked.

“Not play?” he laughed.

“Oh,” Alex said. “Let’s play!”

He laughed and kissed her.

“Do you want a condo in the Fey Vert building?” John asked. “Max is thinking we could rent the Paris apartment to Frederec and build a place big enough for all of us in the new building.”

“Does Frederec want the apartment?” Alex asked.

“He started his own line of men’s clothing,” John said. “It’s quite good. He’s had almost immediate success. Of course, he piggy backed on his mother’s fame.”

“Sure,” Alex said.

“He’d like to move out of Ben and Claire’s home,” John said. “Ben’s home full time now and I think that’s hard for his son.”

“He’s not eighteen yet,” Alex said.

“Age of consequence is seventeen in Europe,” John said. “Plus, ‘Alex was in the military by the time she was my age.’ That’s what he says.”

“Talk to Frederec much?” Alex asked.

“Helene told me,” John said. “She misses you and has been hanging around here more.”

“I need to see her this weekend,” Alex said.

“You do,” John said. “And you need to tell me about Bosnia.”

She smiled her crooked smile.

“But first, let’s play,” he said. “Come on, Maggie.”

Taking her hand, they followed Maggie into their bedroom.

F