Our Little Love Story *NOW PUBLISHED ON AMAZON KINDLE!!*

chapter forty

The next morning, Jared had to report at six in the morning to prepare and leave for his deployment to Afghanistan. It was the saddest good bye I’d had to give him to date. I held onto him as long as I could, memorizing how his body felt against mine, how his breath in my hair felt, how his cologne flooded my nostrils captivatingly. But, too soon, it was time for him to walk out of the door. I watched him walk down our driveway and get into his truck and pull out onto the deserted street. I saw him give a wave as he pulled off. I waved back silently, tears streaming down my cheeks. 

****

I was in such a funk after he left. I stayed in our home for a week alone. The house, and California as a whole, were feeling more and more like my own personal prison. I decided that I would go home, at least until right before Jared returned from his deployment, and then we could return to Illinois again one last time, together. 

I sent him a quick email and told him that I would be leaving in the next few days for Illinois, but I would be back in California before he finished his deployment. I explained in the email that I couldn’t handle being in our home alone, surrounded by his things, but not him. It was too much of a constant reminder how far away he really was. I had made a few friends while in California, but none of them I considered to be necessarily ‘close’ friends. 

Two days later, I had my suitcases packed and my carryon bags in tow. I had called my parents just after I had sent the email to Jared and they were overjoyed that I was coming home during his deployment. I had bought my ticket the next morning early, and packed everything that I thought that I would need for the next several months the rest of that day. 

I had taken one long walk around our home, trying to memorize everything just the way it was. I left a spare key at the main office on base, and kept the other in my purse, tucked safely into an inside pocket. With a long sigh, I thought back to shutting the door behind me, knowing that when I returned, it would be to wait for Jared to return home from Afghanistan. I smiled at the thought. 

****

Sam was overjoyed when he saw me walk through the exit gate at the airport. He ran to me and wrapped his arms around my hips. 

“I missed you, Tiffy!” he exclaimed. 

“I missed you, too, Sammy,” I replied, dropping my carryon bags and hugging him tightly. He struggled to carry one of my bags for me as we walked over to where my parents were waiting, their arms around each other and identical smiles on their faces. A pang of sadness hit me when I saw them. Not only because I had missed them more than I had realized, but their stance together reminded me of Jared and myself. 

“We’ve missed you, angel,” my mother said, letting go of my father and wrapping me in her arms.

“I missed you, too, Mom,” I said into her shirt.