Happy Homecomings

Wife gives heroes' welcome to hubby's guardian angels.

The follow up to FOND FAREWELLS and a 2023 Nude Day Story Contest entry.

If you have read Fond Farewells, you know it's only 2200 words long and gets right to the action. So, what's up with this nearly 77,000-word novella?

What can I say? Once it became a war story as well as a love and sex story, it just got out of hand. Just as sex, love, and war are wont to do.

But if you're trying to read as many National Nude Day stories as you can for the contest, here are your shortcuts for this story to stay on that path, and bless you for it.

Chapters 1 and 2 will give you the basic background to understand both the serious stuff in the first half of the story and the wild and fun stuff in the second.

A quick stop at Chapter 17 will help you understand the reasoning and logistics of the E&V weekend ahead.

Then you can jump ahead to National Nude Day Eve in Ch. 52 (out of 99 (yikes!)).

I think if you dip in for the following six or seven chapters, you'll have a feeling for if this story meets the brief for the contest. Hint: Nine chapters will get you to a topless beach and ten to a nude beach, but I know you're in a hurry and trying to read everybody's entry. ;-) So, feel free to break off as needed and come back later if I earn your interest.

In the end, thanks for taking the time to read and to vote.

Best wishes to everyone who's entered a story and special thanks to rustyoznail for shepherding this year's contest.

HAPPY HOMECOMINGS

Chapter 1

The ladies' restroom that Sunday afternoon was full of women shoulder to shoulder at the sinks, doing last-minute primping in the mirrors. They all chattered excitedly about their men finally returning to their U.S. Army base in Germany from their deployment to Iraq. They'd been told the buses from Ramstein Air Base were fifteen minutes out, which had led to this gaggle. Amber Sempels was glad she'd gone with her usual very light make-up. One quick glance over some shorter women told her she was fine and didn't have to fight for space at the mirrors.

Walking out of the Ladies', she stopped dead in her tracks as she looked across the hallway to the door of the Men's room. That was the room in this place that held much more fascination for her. It was the last place she'd fucked her husband Ray before his nation had sent him off to get involved in other peoples' problems. And nearly get him killed! She growled inside.

She swallowed that anger down again and instead thought about sneaking Ray back in there for a repeat performance, closing the circle.

Fuck that. Why in the world would she bend over a cold, porcelain john, when she should be able to get her beautiful man into their own bed in a half hour or so?

But with no audience, she chuckled to herself. They thought the restroom was empty when they scooted into the last stall a year previously, but it turned out the one next to them was occupied, by a teenaged Private First Class who was also deploying with the battalion. When the kid heard what was going on next door, he'd climbed up on his toilet seat and spied on the Sempelses. Ray and Amber had both spotted him, but instead of making them stop, it had turned a farewell quickie into a serious fuck with knee-shaking orgasms for all. She sure owed the young voyeur for that. And for much more.

Before that thought could go further, the Ladies room door opened and Amber found herself swept along with the other wives and girlfriends, down the hall and back into the post gymnasium. The same old gym where they'd all said their fond farewells and where they now waited with barely restrained anticipation for the return of their loved ones. Soon enough, excited cries of, "They're here, they're here!" rolled through the crowd.

The arrival planners had gotten this part down to a near science. They knew all these spouses and kids would be going crazy waiting for Hubby or Wifey, Daddy or Mommy, so any kind of ceremony now was wasted. Instead, they had all the soldiers do their initial redeployment paperwork over at Ramstein, before even getting on the buses to the garrison. Then they had one bus at a time offload outside the rear gym doors. The companies or platoons that were on the bus were announced so that the right family members could move up. Meanwhile, a work crew would hustle all the luggage out of the bottom of the bus and line it up outside the front entrance to the gym, so no one had to drag a duffel while trying to hug his gyrating wife or squirming children.

Chapter 2

The medical company was on the third bus to arrive and after two impossibly long minutes, Amber finally saw Raymond's handsome face coming through the gym door. Her heart leapt, but she kept her promise to herself to not rush forward screaming like one of the nine-year-old kids or nineteen-year-old rookie wives.

His face beamed as he closed the distance between them and she was certain hers was a mirror image. Except. His skin was darker than she'd ever seen it from months in the desert sun. It made a series of small pale dots on his right cheek and a long, pink line across his right temple really stand out.

"Oh, baby," she said in a near moan as she took his face in her hands and turned it so she could kiss the new scar. "Oh, baby, oh, baby—"

"Baby, oh baby is right," he laughed as he gripped her shoulders and pried her away. "Listen, if you want to kiss a little boo boo and make it feel better, my lips have been really chapped."

"A little boo boo?" she said, her voice rising as the anger and terror at what had happened to him threatened to come bubbling back out of her.

He shut her up with a hard kiss on the lips. The strong hands that had pushed her away, now pulled her in tight. The power and urgency she had missed all these months quickly overwhelmed her and she melted into his grip, melted into his kiss.

"Um, Captain? Sir?" The familiar voice of Master Sergeant Jerome Jefferson at his ear brought Ray back from Heaven. He was really hating J.J. right then. "What is it First Sergeant?"

"The next bus is arriving."

Ray looked around. The rest of his bus's riders had moved on, making their way to the exits and home. Only he and Amber were still standing in front of the entry door, blocking the way for the next group eager to reunite.

He gave J.J. a wry smile, put an arm around Amber and led her through the crowd, until they reached Jefferson's wife, LaTisha.

The beautiful Creole woman's eyes went to his scar as if unable to resist. "Welcome home, Raymond," she said in her melodic accent, before kissing him on the cheek.

He returned the cheek kiss. "Thank you, LaTisha. It's good to be back."

"It sure is," said Jerome. His white teeth shone from his dark face with a happy smile as he reached out and pulled LaTisha to him. "Damned good to be home."

The tall Black sergeant and his honey-colored wife turned toward the exit, but stopped when they noticed the captain's wife turning back the other way. Her head was scanning the crowd and peering through the bus entrance door.

Ray knew who she was looking for and asked the Master Sergeant if he knew when the Security Company bus would be arriving.

"Most of them won't be coming here," said J.J. "Are you looking for a single person or a married one?"

Amber spun and looked at him questioningly.

"The security guys have to escort all the weapons back to the armory," explained J.J. "Back at Ramstein, I heard the single soldiers volunteer to go with the weapons so that the married guys could come here to meet their families."

Amber's face fell. Clement Evans, the young private who had peeked over the top of a bathroom stall divider to watch Amber give Ray that very special farewell last year was indeed single. She'd really wanted to be there to welcome him home. She owed that young voyeur a lot. Maybe her whole life.

The sergeant looked at the captain, clearly wondering why a medical staffer's wife was so interested in security troops. But when Captain Sempels subtly raised a finger to his new scar, the penny dropped for Jefferson.

"I was talking to their first sergeant," said J.J. "and it sounded like he plans on having all of them at the welcome home barbecue next weekend."

"Good," said Ray. "I owe those guys a bunch of beers, it'll be good to be able to take care of them all at once."

Jefferson laughed. "Especially since the beer will be free."

Ray laughed back, then looked at his wife. "Beer and barbecue on Saturday?"

Amber's face lit up the way it had earlier. "Beer and barbecue."

The four of them walked out of the gym, each couple holding hands tightly.

Chapter 3

All the returning soldiers had been given a 48-hour pass, independent of any other leave requests they might have made, so they had that Monday and Tuesday after they arrived off. While it was a terrible time for Amber to be away from her job, her boss hadn't balked at letting her take those days off as well.

The newly reunited Mr. and Mrs. Sempels spent a great portion of that time partially or completely naked. They'd basically attacked each other as soon as their front door closed behind them on Sunday afternoon and hadn't stopped until exhaustion finally took them early Monday morning for a few hours' sleep. After that, the frantic fucking was interspersed with sessions of languid lovemaking as the long-separated couple reacquainted themselves with each other's beloved body.

During the down times between orgasms, they talked. About everything from garrison gossip that hadn't filtered its way downrange, all the way to their long-held plans to start a family. But one topic remained off the table during those first three days, through unspoken desire (by Ray) and unspoken consent (by Amber).

On Wednesday, Ray put in a half-day at the post clinic, while Amber went to the American High School where she was Vice Principal. Both were focused on getting soldiers or students back into the groove following the return of the brigade.

As a Physician's Assistant or P.A., some people thought of Ray as a glorified nurse, or felt cheated at being treated by an almost-doctor, rather than the real thing. But the soldiers in the brigade, especially those in 2^nd Battalion with whom he had deployed, knew they had a skilled provider they could trust. He was their "Doc".

Since Ray had done extra psychology and counseling courses and rotations as part of his training and duties, he was now a key leader in evaluating the mental health of the returning soldiers. This was also one of the reasons his command had asked him to delay his own post-deployment leave, so that he could help the younger troops make a healthy transition back into their regular lives. Of course, many civilians would likely count Ray himself as a younger person, since he was only 33. But in the military, he was middle aged. On the other hand, even in the Army he was still young to have the degree of responsibility he carried.

The same was even more true for his wife, who was 13 months younger than Ray. Amber was by far the youngest Vice Principal among the DoDDS schools in Europe. All her other Department of Defense Dependent School colleagues were in their 40's or 50's. But no one who'd seen either of the Sempels in action begrudged their early advancement, because they consistently showed it was deserved through their job performance.

Beyond both having the smarts, drive, and confidence to succeed, the lovers also shared a synchronicity in their jobs. Ray had been given a large mental health role in his portfolio, while over at the high school, the school counselors and psychologist reported to Amber, giving her an important role in the mental health of the students. The carryover from her 18-year-old graduates to his 18-year-old recruits was pretty easy to see, and Amber and Ray often compared notes to help each other provide the best support possible to their charges.

Chapter 4

When Amber returned home that Wednesday afternoon, she was hoping to find Ray finally ready to talk about one particular young recruit and one particular event.

He was in the kitchen, stretching cling wrap over a bowl of what looked like chicken breasts in a marinade.

"Mm, looks good," she said as she stepped up for a kiss. "You must have been reading my mind. Only, I meant to make you a home cooked meal. At last."

She added the last with a self-deprecating smirk that acknowledged they'd spent the last three days living off of restaurant deliveries and the groceries she'd picked up before his return. Since then, they'd been too busy screwing and cuddling to do much in the kitchen beyond turning on the coffee maker and the microwave.

"I just had the urge," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, before putting the bowl into the refrigerator. Then he pulled a different covered plate out. When he put it on the counter, she saw it was raw vegetables and cheese cubes. A small bowl of ranch dressing sat in the middle of the plate. "Something to tide us over till dinner," he said.

"I knew there was a reason I was missing you," she said, before giving him another, longer kiss. "I'm going to change into something more comfortable, okay?"

"You are a bit overdressed," he said, eyeing her staid blouse-trouser combo.

"Maybe it's you who's underdressed," she replied, taking in his own long basketball shorts and t-shirt with a raised eyebrow. She leaned in and sniffed. "Well, at least they seem clean." He swatted her ass and she squealed as she took off for their bedroom.

When she returned, she was wearing a gym outfit like him, only much, much sexier since it consisted of form-fitting yoga pants and a very loose halter top. From her flat belly and firm ass, it was obvious she hadn't let herself go during their year apart.

"Looks delicious," she said, taking in the snack platter with its assortment of fresh veggies alongside cubes of aged cheeses.

"Exactly what I was thinking," he moaned, staring blatantly at the side boob that showed when she bent forward to dip a carrot stick into the Ranch dressing.

"And wine," she said, pretending to ignore him, though the corner of her mouth curled up. They'd purposefully followed his own medical advice to the returning troops and avoided alcohol those first few days. Drinking after being dry for a year in a war zone was an easy way to spark a crisis. But now there were two glasses of chilled white wine alongside their small plates.

"I think we've passed the alcohol danger zone," he said lightly.

They each picked up a glass. "Welcome home, baby," she said as they toasted one another.

He leaned in for a light kiss and they both sipped.

"So," she said as they sat and began moving veggies and cheese from the platter to their plates. "How was first day back in clinic? How are the boys and girls doing?"

He laughed. "At first it seemed so alien. Everything felt so smooth to the touch. Where was all the sand?" She laughed with him.

"But in the end, it was a good, easy day. You know we'd already identified the soldiers who'd probably need in-depth counseling when we got back, so all of those people were already set up with our psychologist or with someone at the Landstuhl hospital. I was just doing the required reintegration visits with all our people." He chuckled. "We're certainly a much more sensitive army than the one I grew up in with my dad."

Amber said, "I know your dad jokes about the Army going all soft and everything these days, but I really am glad things are better in those areas. I bet it did those young troops good to be able to speak openly about what they'd been through. Especially with someone who could really empathize."

There was no attempt to disguise the leading question in the last part of her comment and Ray nodded thoughtfully before taking another drink of wine.

Chapter 5

"I think so too," said Ray. "And although my job was to listen rather than talk today, it still felt good for me too. Especially when it was appropriate to share some little bit from my own experience."

"I'm really glad," she said, reaching across the table to stroke the top of his hand.

"And guess who got himself onto my schedule on the first day back?"

"Who?"

"A certain young fella you met on Farewell Day."

"No! Really?" The 'young fella' was Private First Class Clement Evans, although of course she hadn't known that on Farewell Day. That day he'd been an anonymous, cute, young guy spying on her and Ray having sex in a men's room stall.

"How is he? Did you make sure he'd be at the barbecue so I can thank him in person? Hell, so I can actually, officially meet him in person?"

Ray laughed. "It seems like he's doing great and he's very much looking forward to seeing you too. Of course, every time we talk it seems to get around to seeing you again. Something about you holding up your end of the bargain and a repeat performance?"

Amber's eyes bugged. She'd replayed the men's room encounter so many times over the ensuing months that she had no problem pulling up the memory.

Her kissing the tall, young, and then-unknown man on the cheek and saying, 'You be careful down there and keep an eye out for my man and maybe we'll have a replay when you boys get home.' He had replied with, 'I will guard him with my life.'

And then he had done just that.

Amber felt a confusing tangle of emotions. Remembering that day, how exciting it had been to be watched while being so dirty, had led to some tremendous solo orgasms while Ray was away. Consequently, she'd also wondered about doing something public like that again. That idea regularly set off low-level quivers in her cock quiver. But the reality of it? She knew they'd actually gotten away with something way too risky for an Army officer and a high school administrator to be indulging in. And now it seemed like one of the possible negative outcomes was coming around to bite them.

"You never told me that," she said sadly. "Has he really been bugging you for a repeat of our farewell performance? Oh, my God! Has he been spreading the story around?"

"No and no," Ray replied quickly and firmly. Then he smiled and held his thumb and forefinger a half-inch apart. "I may have exaggerated a little about how often the topic came up." Then he closed the gap. "In fact, I may even have inferred it more than he ever actually said anything about it."

Amber gave him a dirty look.

"And I'm pretty sure he's told only one person about what happened," Ray continued. "But still hasn't told her who it was with."

"Her? You mean, Her?"

"Yes, Specialist Hue Lan Pham, the soldier riding shotgun with him on THAT DAY."

THAT DAY had been the day of terror that he had put off talking about so far. It was the day that had left Ray with the fresh scar on his temple. THAT DAY when Ray had been leading a medical outreach mission to an area that everybody thought was calm and quiet, with people who didn't hate the Americans.

Fortunately, the area had at least been quiet enough that the ambush they ran into was against only a few, apparently ill-prepared men. They hadn't used an IED, the Improvised Explosive Device that had become the bane of Iraq and Afghanistan, but they had managed to put an RPG, a Rocket-Propelled Grenade, into the left front wheel well of the Humvee that Ray was riding in. The M1114 HMMWV, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, had done a good job absorbing the blast, but it had still been disabled and the sergeant who'd been driving had taken heavy shrapnel in his left foot and calf.