Ethan stared at his friend in disbelief.Neither of them was good at downtime.They had to be moving, doing something active.
“Yeah, I get it.Is there anyone you can visit?”
He’d been raised in a bunch of foster homes and had no family.All his friends were in the army and due to be deployed soon.Perhaps it was a sad indication, but his life was the army.No one else had given a toss about him.No one except Chelsea… he pushed the thought away.He’d made his decision a long time ago and wouldn’t, no, didn’t, regret it.
“What about the woman you write to?”
Trust Dobby to remember the one person connected to Chelsea.“Aunt Maggie?”Not technically his aunt, but everyone called her that.She’d been the closest thing to family he’d had during his final years in foster care.A woman who had made him feel as if he was worth something.It had been spending time with her and hearing about her fiancé who had died in the Vietnam War, which had inspired him to join the army and aim for the Special Forces.
Not that she’d been happy about his choice.
He hadn’t seen her in over a year.There hadn’t been enough time between deployments, and he hadn’t written since before the accident, not wanting to admit he’d been hurt, not wanting her to worry.
When was the last time she’d written to him?He frowned.Maybe last Easter.
Perhaps he should check on her.He exhaled and brushed his hair out of his face.“All right.”
Dobby patted his back.“Keep working on the rehab.If anyone can make it back after what you went through, it’s you.”
Ethan grunted.He didn’t want to imagine a life where he couldn’t be in the army.It had been his saviour.He’d given up the one person he’d ever loved for it.His sacrifice couldn’t be for nothing.
He exhaled, his mind working on a new plan.A month.Plenty of time to head to Honeybrook and visit Aunt Maggie.She’d be getting on in age and perhaps he could help her around her beautiful garden.“Fine.Talk to you later.”
He drove home to his small apartment close to the base.His pelvis ached as he climbed the front steps.Of all the bones to break…
No point whinging about it.
Inside he took stock of his life.Almost thirty years old and he might be headed for an early retirement.After over a decade in the army he knew nothing else.The few photos he had around the place all featured his army team mates, the most recent from Squadron Six, the Special Forces SAS elite team.
Aside from that, all he had were the usual trappings of the male bachelor; huge eighty-inch television, gaming console and comfortable couch.His kitchen bench had a couple of stools underneath it, and he ate his meals there.The small balcony contained a table and chairs for when mates came over, and he had a spare bedroom where they could crash if they drank too much.
Not much, but it was all his.
After a childhood moving from foster home to foster home with only a backpack to call his own, it was a lot.
He sighed and pulled a beer from the fridge.
Why was he getting maudlin?It was like Dobby said, if anyone could pass the medical, it was him.
Perhaps it was because thoughts of Aunt Maggie dredged up thoughts of the girl he’d given up.
He opened a nearby drawer and pulled out an old, worn photograph taken at a local fair during his last summer in Honeybrook.He looked happy standing with his arm around the girl he’d fallen in love with.
Ethan squeezed his eyes closed.The day had been beautiful and warm.He and Chelsea had borrowed Aunt Maggie’s Landcruiser and driven to the neighbouring town.He’d spent time at the army stall where he’d enlisted.It was his way out, his opportunity to take control of his life.He’d get somewhere to live and could earn a living.Then he and Chelsea could get married and live happily ever after.
He snorted, shoving the photo back in the drawer and shutting it.
Still naïve despite all the shit life had thrown at him.
Reality had shoved him back where he belonged quickly enough.
Ethan wandered back into the lounge and sank onto his couch.There was no doubt in his mind he’d made the right decision by breaking up with Chelsea, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t hurt.
He shook his head, as his heart twinged.Surely he’d accepted his decision by now.
Dobby’s partner, Mila, had offered to look up Chelsea on social media for him, but he’d told her not to bother.He was too afraid he’d see she was married.Though he still hadn’t forgotten how Mila had told him he was an idiot for leaving Chelsea without telling her why.
It had made sense to him at the time.
