“Right.”I laugh.“You know better than that.How are you, man?”I ask him.
“Good.Good.You know, working out my last three years before having to learn how to live outside of the Marine Corps.”
“It’s not so bad,” I tell him.
“How’s your mom doing?”
“She’s good.She’s fighting, and the doctors are hopeful.There’s not much more we can ask for at this point.Her spirit is high, and she’s determined to beat this shit.”
“Great news, brother.How about your girl?Have you seen her yet?”he asks.
Kip and I met in boot camp.We’ve been lucky enough to have our careers in the Marines intertwine more often than not.He heard all about my love for Ellison while we were training, and after I came home and found her living her best life, I’m embarrassed to say, I cried to him.I didn’t cry—well, not where Kip could see me, but I was devastated.That girl was my everything.
Sheismy everything.
“I’ve seen her.”
“And?You can’t be all broody and shit and say, ‘I’ve seen her,’ and not tell me how it went.It’s been too damn long since you laid eyes on her.Tell me everything.”
“She’s… beautiful.”So beautiful it almost hurts to look at her.
“I figured that.She’s ensnared my best friend for far too long not to be.Did you talk to her?”
“Yeah.”I pause.“We’ve talked,” I admit.
“Okay, what’s up with the cryptic shit?This is me, man.We tell each other what’s going on.Been that way for nearly twenty years.You’ve been with me through some shit, and I’ve done the same for you.Why are you holding back now?”
“Fine.Here it is.”I lay it all out for him.I tell him how I’m staying at the Manor, and how the guys think my mom made up the fact that the bedroom was too full for me to stay at her place.I tell him about every single moment between us since I’ve been home, including tonight.
“You should call and check on her.”
“What?”
“Call and check on her.”
“I don’t even know if she has the same number.”
“You’ll never know if you don’t try it, or even ask her for her number now.How many times have you typed out a message to her over the years?”
“Too many to count,” I grumble.
That makes him chuckle.“Copeland, I’ve seen you shy away from a woman’s touch because she wasn’t Ellison.I’ve watched you try to form a relationship with another woman, on more than one occasion, only to back away because it never felt right.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is, you still love her.You’re never going to be able to move on with your life if you don’t talk this out with her.Bare your soul.Tell her everything, and see where you end up.Maybe it’s closure you need.Maybe the two of you will find your way back to one another, and I’ll be getting a wedding invitation in the mail one day soon.”
I let his words bounce around in my head.They’re not much different from my thoughts just before he called.“I want her,” I confess.
“That’s not new news, buddy.”Kip teases with laughter.“The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
“What if it’s too late?What if too much time has passed and we can’t find our way back to one another?”
“Then you have no choice but to move on, but at least you’ll know.You’ll have answers, she’ll have answers, and then you can decide together what’s best.It might be that you both continue with your lives without the other being more than an acquaintance.”
My stomach rolls at the thought.
“However, you might find yourself in the life you always dreamed the two of you would have together, just a little later than you had planned.”
