I lifted my head from my desk. I had a mountain of paperwork that I was trying to work through. My goal was to spend as much of the evening with Savannah and Aiden as I could before I had to get to sleep early.
How much my life had changed in the span of a few months. Work had always been my priority. Ever since Savannah left, I made being a pilot and the Air Force my entire identity.
Even after moving back to Harlington, I spent time with my brothers and Joel, but my job remained number one in my life. That was because the family of my own I’d envisioned always had my wife attached to it. With her gone, no matter how much I achieved in my career, something inside of me felt empty.
That was all different now.
Though, maybe I hadn’t convinced her of that yet. Possibly, that was what made her hesitant to call off the divorce. Being the spouse of an officer in the military was not an easy job.
We were often gone for long periods, had odd hours, and moved from one place to another every few years.
Maybe Savannah took one look at my life as it was now and decided it wasn’t for her. Or Aiden.
I ran my hand through my hair, trying to figure out how to convince her that with me was where they both belonged.
“Captain Townsend?”
I shook loose my previous thoughts and peered up at the new office administrator who’d replaced Tricia.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Commander Caldwell needs to speak with you, sir.”
I stood and wondered what this was about. I nodded and thanked the new guy. I was still surprised they’d found someone to replace the witch so quickly.
The last thing I heard about Tricia from Micah was that she had packed up her shit and moved to Alaska with her child’s father.
Good riddance.
“Sir,” I said as I entered my Commander’s office. I saluted him. “You needed to speak with me?”
“Yes, close the door.”
For the next twenty minutes, Commander Caldwell gave me the news that I’d secretly been wishing to hear. He granted me new orders. I wouldn’t be shipping out to Germany after all.
“How’s your wife doing, sir?” I asked.
My Commander let out a grateful smile and nodded. “She’s doing very well.” He nodded. “She’s doing some rehab and we’re constantly monitoring her but her doctor thinks she’s on the road to a full recovery.”
I pushed out a sigh of relief. “Great news, Sir.”
“Please thank your wife for me, again. The doctors in the ER said because of the information she relayed to the 9-11 operator, they were able to be ready for her as soon as the ambulance arrived. It allowed them to treat her that much faster.”
“I will let Savannah know, Sir.” She had asked about the condition of Commander Caldwell’s wife since the night of the ball. I was glad to report to her that the woman was doing well.
When I emerged from his office, there was only one person I wanted to tell. But I had to finish out my workday.
The news traveled quickly. Many of the guys in my squadron came up to me to pat me on the back. Though this meant I wouldn’t be leaving with them, it did mean that I got the assignment I’d wanted. They were happy for me.
At the end of the day, as I exited the building that housed my office, I pulled out my phone to call Savannah, but it rang with a different number instead.
“Micah, what’s up?”
“Hey, are you busy?”
“Just getting out of work. Got some good news and was headed home to tell Savannah. I’m not transferring overseas, after all.”
“That’s great,” he said, but there was something in his voice that told me all wasn’t well.
