Love, Zoey

Chapter One

What would you ask for if you knew the answer was yes?

Would you ask for a shiny car? Or for a million bucks?

I would ask for just one more minute.

I could have changed everything with just one more minute.

***

"Your plane leaves at 5:30 and you need to get there early because you have no idea what the security will be like and it wouldn't be good to be the last person jumping on the plane. Who knows if your seat will be easy to find." He had spent his entire life floating from one state to another, definitely didn't need me dishing out reminders but they fell out of my mouth anyway.

"Z, I got it." He laughed and hugged me tighter than ever before. "I have already done pre-check and I am TSA pre so security won't be a problem either. Are you sure you're going to be okay here?"

"Beckett, I am perfectly fine getting back to my car and leaving."

"Are you sure? Do I need to write your desired destination on your hand so you can remember?" He always went back to my inability to stay on task as his punchline.

I laughed slightly, more to humor him than actually enjoying his dreadful jokes that had surprisingly never gotten better than the knock knocks from kindergarten. "I'll be fine. Now go before you miss your flight."

Beck yanked me close to him one last time before walking away. "I love you Zoey Andrews."

The words flew through the airport and heads turned. "I love you too Beckett James!"

He continued walking as if I had said nothing. His long lanky body towered over most of those in line and making everyone else feel small.

"Good luck Beck." I whispered softly to myself, I pressed a soft kiss to the cross around my neck as I watched my best friend become a marine before my very eyes.

"He your soldier?" A voice asked beside me.

The woman barely stood over four feet tall. Her skin had been deepened by the son and was wrinkled to show her age.

"Depends on what you mean by my soldier." As soon as the words left my mouth I hated myself. I should have just said yes and walked away, there hadn't been even a need for anything else. She would have thanked me for his service or commented how brave he was and then we would have been free to go our separate ways.

She gave me a blank look as if I had spoken in Spanish. "Will you pray for him?"

I nodded slowly, not understanding where she was going with this. "Yes, ma'am."

"Then he's your soldier." She made it sound so simple, as if just getting down on my knees to speak with God qualified him as my soldier.

As if I had claim over him.

"Don't you go worrying about your soldier dear girl, he knows you are waiting for him and only a fool would pass up a love like the one the two of you share."

I didn't bother telling her that we weren't together and the closest we had ever been to being together was a seventh graders game of spin the bottle, instead of telling the truth I thanked her and left.

***

"So he's off?" She had told me before how hard it would be to see him leave again, but she didn't stop him.

Beck's Mom stood in front of me, leaning against the doorway with her granddaughter resting securely on her hip. "I waited to make sure he went through security."

America James broke down in tears. "Security is the least of his worries!" The little girl, just barely one, didn't know what was happening, but rested her head against America's shoulder as if she knew the woman needed comforting.

"He actually texted me when he was boarding telling me that I better be in my car." I laughed slightly, shaking my head at the thought. "He knows me just a little too well."

"He knows us all too well. He left a diet coke next to my bed with a note saying it was for the nerves."

The little girl reached out her arms for me to take her and I happily obliged. Her soft carmel curls were messy and her brown eyes tired, they looked just as Beck's had this morning.

"Do you miss your daddy sweet pea?" I asked her knowing she couldn't respond. "He loves you. He's doing this all for you so we need to be really good at remembering pictures and videos. Do you think you can remind me?"

She gave me a confused look before grabbing onto my necklace, pulling on the chain.

Lilly had been a huge surprise for Beck junior year. It was before we were even best friends, before Lilly we were only friends because of social clichés.

She had only been two weeks old when I had gotten the call that changed my life. I had been spending all day studying for finals, the house was completely empty allowing me to get some serious work done.

Beck had called out of nowhere, startling me with his frantic shouts of distress. He kept telling me that a girl wouldn't stop crying and he didn't know why. I had immediately rushed over as quickly as I could to find him trying to calm a screaming baby to rest.

I had been the first person to even know he had a daughter let alone that she was living with him. Beck had gone into independent study just a week later so that he could get a job. He worked as a cashier for the local grocery store, but when the Marines had come marching through he was quick to sign up, saying it was the best way to get a job on only a high school diploma.

I have been studying at the community college just down the block from our house and was at the James' house more often than I was at my own.

Lilly fussed slightly alerting me that she was still there. "Hello miss fussy butt." I laughed and tickled her tummy.

She yawned loudly and laid her head on my shoulder. "When did she wake up?" I asked America.

She pulled her hands out of the soapy water to check her watch. "She was up the moment the door shut behind you." She plunged her hands back into the task of dirty dishes. "Four hours or so. She's probably due for a nap, waking up at four is hard on her little body."

Lilly was inactive, had fallen into a deep sleep on my shoulder so I took a seat, resting her bum on my lap to keep her centered. She would have to get used to sleeping alone now that Beck was gone, but I didn't want to be the first to let her go.