Ready Ch. 07

"Then, after driving you to keep your deployment from me, just to keep the peace, I decided you had kept something from me. My angel, the one person I could always count on for the truth, had kept something from me. Well, sweetheart, you aren't an angel, you're just human, even if you are one of the nicest people I know, but still, you don't sit on a pedestal, and when pushed, you obviously push back. I'm glad you do, but I was an ass.

"And I'm still that fuckin' selfish bastard because I don't have anything to offer you but a career-crippling life in a small-time army town, and a lot of time alone. But, God, I want you with me."

"Is that what you think? You make it sound like I'm some sort of sacrificial nun gone to Calcutta to work with the world's poor! Do you really think a good life can't be made in a small town? And what about me ever screamed corporate climber? Oh, Kevin, I'm just what you said, a crazy country girl, but I've learned I can be flexible, I can adapt and even enjoy it." Just then her eyes caught the alarm clock on the nightstand.

"OH MY GOD!! Is it really eleven-thirty?" she yelled out the question.

With that she jumped off the bed and Kevin lay there blinking, wondering what the hell was going on. In a dash she was in the bathroom standing under a cold shower, years of Navy training coming out as she took a thorough but instant three-minute shower before throwing her wrinkled sundress back on.

Sprinting back into the bedroom she ran up to Kevin and gave him a quick kiss which gave him a chance to hold on and slow her down for only a second.

"Whoa, where you going?"

"Sorry," she apologized before pulling away from him to grab her sandals, hopping and stepping, trying to put them on as she made her way to her purse and the door. "I'll be back in two hours! There's stuff to eat in the fridge. I'll explain then."

With that she flew through the door and was gone.

"What the fuck?" he asked out loud but quickly realized he was talking to a closed door.

An hour later he was sitting on his couch in shorts and a t-shirt finishing a bowl of pudding when his phone rang.

"Shit." He knew who that was, he'd forgotten.

He picked up his cell phone and unplugged it from the charger. He was the only idiot he knew who paid for phone service while he was out of the country for months on end, but he got sick of shutting it down and starting it up again and dealing with the number changes.

"Hi, Momma."

"Hello, son. Deonne told me you were going to be late, but when I couldn't reach her phone just now, I thought I'd try yours. You have a good flight?" He had talked to her before they left the mid-east, so she knew he was safe and coming home.

"We got delayed, but other than that, it was good."

"Now, is that girl there? Or have you completely lost your mind and messed it up again? That little thing's been fretting over you since she got off that ship and the sooner you figure out what you've got there the better."

"She had to run out for a minute, but she's here. We're workin' it out ma."

"What's to work out? You get down on those knees and apologize and beg her to take you back! The only thing you need to work out is the wedding date so I can put it on my calendar. Get busy boy!"

"Momma," he sighed as he smiled into the phone, "I'll get to it! Give me time!"

"Listen baby, I just wanted to touch base and make sure you got in okay. Are you still planning to get some leave and come see us, or do we need to plan a trip out there?" His parents had retired from the Army near his mother's relatives in California.

"I've got some leave coming in a couple of weeks, after we get settled in."

"I expect Deonne, too, tell her we look forward to seeing her. And her ring," his mother added for emphasis. Kevin just smiled.

"Bye, Momma, love you."

"Love you too, son, love you too. Now, get busy. I need me some grandbabies."

Christ Almighty. He knew she wasn't going to let that go until it happened. Thank God he wanted her to have some. But he needed a wife first.

*****

He was just pondering his chances of hunting her down when he heard the door rattling. Looking up from sorting his dirty laundry he saw Deonne coming in juggling two armloads of groceries.

"Grab the wine bottle, will ya?" she asked over the tops of the bags.

Kevin took the bottle and a bag and turned to go into the kitchen just as Deonne stumbled over his duffle bag, flinging the entire of bag of groceries in her arm out across the room.

"Ooof!"

"Baby! Are you okay?" Kevin hurriedly set down his bag and rushed over to her.

"Damn!" She was rubbing her knee, but nothing was broken. "I think I flattened the Italian bread." She looked up at him, her eyes flashing. "Don't laugh."

From the look in her eyes he could tell he was toast if he did, or worse, he might not get to taste what she planned to feed him in a little while.

"Are you hungry? I'm starved, that's why I stopped at the store on the way back."

"I've been eating cookies and pudding for almost three hours, but some real food would be wonderful."

"Good."

They gathered up her mess and Deonne got to work making a simple meal.

"Everyone else gets spaghetti, I get linguine with clam sauce. Damn." He smiled at her. "Now, if I could just get you to try cooking me some chitterlings and hog maws, I would know I was in heaven."

Her eyes grew wide at the thought and she looked at him like he's lost his mind.

"Sure, just as soon as you try some of my grandma's rice with milk and sugar," she fired back and smiled sweetly at him.

"That's sick."

"Wimp."

"So, where were you while I was cooling my heels, missin' my baby?"

"Class. Do you know how embarrassing it was walking in there like a sorority sister doing the Walk of Shame? I'm the instructor!" She gave him a pained expression and pointed the wooden spoon at herself.

He had no idea what she was talking about, but he decided to practice patience. He figured it would come in handy over time.

"When I got off the ship, my time was almost over, so I out-processed, packed my stuff up and moved here. All or nothing, I decided.

"When I was at the college learning what I needed to do to get a teaching credential I saw the job openings for developmental teachers. You only need a bachelor's at that level. I wasn't sure my engineering degree would work, but I guess they're pretty desperate, at least for the summer, so I got a part-time job teaching beginning algebra on post.

"I actually really love it and changed my mind, I don't want to torture junior high kids anymore, which had been my plan coming here. I really like working with the returning adults and I guess the schedule can be pretty flexible each semester from what I hear from the regular instructors.

"I hope they pick me up again in the fall. I've also signed up for grad classes, but instead of education, I've changed to math." Chuckling, she added, "It'll probably be easier for me!"

"Where's your stuff? None of it's here."

"That's because, buster, it's in my apartment across town, closer to the college," she explained before sliding the mangled loaf of bread, a small bowl of garlic butter she had mixed up and a knife his direction. "See what you can do with that."

He just smiled at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't know what you were going to do when you saw me. I could be sitting on my sofa right now crying my eyes out, once and for all truly dumped! Aaand, I don't shack up." She looked up at him expecting a fight, but he just returned her look.

"I know you don't, babe."

Kevin cut off the mashed part, then sliced the remaining bread lengthwise and remarked casually, "I talked to my mom. I think she wants us to buy a house."

"What?" Deonne gave him a concerned look, like maybe she heard him wrong.

"Well, she just insinuated it," he explained while trying to keep a straight, mild face. Deonne's face changed to one of inquiry before turning to drain the clams.

"She told me to get her some grandbabies. And grandbabies need bedrooms and a yard full of toys, right?"

Deonne stood holding the empty clam jar as she stared, unseeing, into the sink. She realized she had stopped breathing. Finally, she turned her face to look at him on the other side of the kitchen counter.

"What do you mean?" she whispered, fighting for breath.

"Marry me."

Deonne just stood there, blinking. Kevin tried to move around the counter into the kitchen, but he found that fear had him rooted to the floor, he couldn't read her face.

"Are you asking?" she asked uncertainly, still looking shocked.

Kevin smiled and gave a short laugh.

"More like begging."

"You're not just asking me because I won't shack up with you?"

"Damn, Dee, you're making this hard on a man. No! It's not because you won't shack up with me! Fuck!"

"Well, it's not the most romantic proposal a girl's ever gotten." Unwanted tears flooded her eyes and she blinked to wipe them away before turning to the finished pasta. Picking up the pot she dumped the contents into the strainer.

Deonne felt his hands on her shoulders as he turned her around. Taking the pot from her hands and setting it on the counter he tilted her face up to his.

"You're right. I'm sorry. It was a shitty proposal. And I don't even have a ring to give you. Deonne, I love you. This isn't just about sex and convenience; it's about a lifetime and a family. If you'll have me, I'd be honored to have you as my wife. I can't imagine going through the rest of it like I have been these past eighteen months. Please say yes. Please marry me."

He stopped and watched her face, but she kept looking down and swallowing, blinking back tears.

"No," she whispered.

*

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to post, but after taking to heart valuable feedback, I realized my story needed a re-work. Studying and struggling over plot have slowed things down. Thanks for taking time to read, and for the encouraging comments. Lit writers live for those comments! Thanks to AsylumSeeker for editing.