I look down at her and answer. "Kayla. And if you give her permission, she will jump in your arms and kiss you. I don't think you'll want to get your coat—"
I'm cut off by Jay as he pats his chest a few times. "Come here, Kayla!"
She leaps into his arms, her front legs over his shoulders, and starts to kiss his face. He's smiling so big and bright it's hard not to do it in return. "That's a good girl. Oh, yes, yes. Thank you."
"Alright, Kayla Girl, get down. Uncle Marco needs to get going," Rebecca calls.
Kayla nuzzles Jay one last time and hops down as gracefully as she got up. I reach down to pat her fluffy butt and rub the side of her. "Be good for your mommy. I'll see you in twelve months, baby girl." I turn to give Rebecca a hug and she squeezes me tight. "Tell Vinny I said 'bye'."
"I will. Sorry he couldn't himself. He starts work so early." He does—he works in construction and his days start at six. "You sure you got everything?"
I let her go. "Yeah. Thanks again for letting me stay here."
"Of course. You're always welcome here, baby brother."
"Thanks." I sigh and Jay takes that opportunity to step down the stoop.
"It was nice to meet you, Rebecca. I'll get him there safe."
I take the stairs down to his waiting car and turn back around to wave as Jay opens the car door and I set my bag in the backseat. We both get in the front seats, and I wave one more time as Rebecca stands at her open front door, waving back.
When Jay pulls away from the curb, he actually hands me a cup of coffee from Wawa. "I wasn't joking about the coffee. It's black, but there's a few creamers if you want them in the center console."
I grab the paper to-go cup with a thermal sleeve. "Wow. If you're not careful, I'll be promoting you to my full-time driver. I could get used to this."
"Well, consider your next pickup taken care of. I'll be there with a cheesesteak."
I inhale the heavenly aroma and chuckle. "Ooooh, talk dirty to me."
He laughs at my little joke, a bit awkwardly and immediately takes a sip of his own coffee, then clears his throat. "So, twelve months, huh? Is that normal?"
I think about that. "Kind of. It can be anywhere between twelve and eighteen months—though I don't see those long stretches as much." Jay sets his coffee in the cupholder and I watch as his hands flex and twitch over the steering wheel. "You okay, man?"
He looks over and nods. "Yeah. It's just weird. I know we don't know each other that well, but it's a strange feeling taking someone to their base so they can go to war." He huffs and his eyes widen as he stares at the road ahead. "It's not the most natural feeling."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in this situation. We can—"
"No, no, it's okay. I'll get used to it." He gives me a grin. "I'm apparently your driver now, so I have to be."
We slow down, hitting the morning rush-hour traffic. I reach down to recline the seat a little. Wanting to steer the conversation away from where it is, I ask, "So tell me what you have planned for this week. Any hot office gossip? Who's getting fired and why?"
He takes another sip and launches into some juicy details about a man who's been caught watching porn at work, a woman who's stockpiling K-cups from the communal kitchen who thinks she's being slick but everyone knows she does it and they don't care, and a litany of other petty crimes committed by employees over the years.
By the time we reach the base, our coffees are long gone and I'm laughing my ass off. Jay is such a charismatic storyteller, it's hard not to get sucked in. We step out of his SUV and he comes around to the passenger side where I'm leaning in to grab my bag from his backseat. Swinging it on my shoulder, I shut the door and lean over to give him a bro hug. He returns it, patting my back. "Alright, man, thanks again for driving. I owe you one."
"No problem. Text me when you're bored or whatever. And, um, be safe, okay?"
"I’ll do my best." I give him a short wave. "See ya, man."
"Bye."
I give him one last look and a head nod before turning and walking towards the doors of the building I need to report to. My gut drops and I have the weirdest feeling. I can't really describe it. Am I nervous? Why would I be? It's not like returning to work is something I've never done. Did I forget something? I rack my brain but I'm certain I packed everything.
Huh. Weird.
What I do know is for the first time ever, I can't wait to come home again.
Chapter 7
