What happens when you take a chance one night … make a decision that will change your life forever?
Kasey Wilson, the girl next door, had a crush on the boy next door … Joseph Mitchell was that boy.
Kasey was left with the consequences of her decision when Joseph left her behind, leaving for the Marine Corps. She never thought she would see Joseph again, leaving her to continue on with her life, moving forward.
But fate has a way of intervening …
Joseph Mitchell always lived with the regret of walking away that night, never to see Kasey again. Finally ready to settle down, he’s now engaged to someone else. But when he finds Kasey again, he learns of a secret she’s been keeping, a secret that will change both their lives forever.
Can they finally have the relationship they never had? Or will Joseph be forced to walk away again?
BONUS SCENE:
Kasey POV
I’m standing amongst a crowd of people
waiting, as I am. The minutes have turned into an hour, but in reality feel as
if they are seconds slowly ticking by. I keep silently asking myself how much
longer do we have to wait? It’s agonizing.
“Mommy, how much longer do we have to
wait?” Josephina anxiously asks, looking impatient as I feel.
Forcing a smile on my face, I tell her,
“Not much longer, sweetheart,” hoping I’m not lying. Time continues to trickle
by and within minutes I’m growing frustrated. I hear someone announce the bus
has been delayed, but the wait will soon end as they are nearing and it should
only be another couple of minutes. I’m not the only one smiling wide as we take
in the news as Josephina begins to excitedly hop up and down.
Although I’m as excited as she is, I’m
more anxious for the wait to be over. The months of separation have been harder
than I had expected and all I want is to hold Joseph again.
Within minutes we all see the buses
pulling up in the distance and my heart quickens a beat, my vision becoming
cloudy from the tears of excitement. Josephina tugs me forward as she pushes us
ahead with the crowd, trying to get as close as possible to the line they’ve
designated for us to stay behind.
The buses finally come to a stop and
one by one the Marines step off as they rush to their families. My eyes are
frantically moving back and forth between the entrances of the two buses
searching for Joseph. Wives, girlfriends, moms, children, continue to all run
to their loved ones. Hugs and kisses are exchanged, but I’m still looking for
him. The fear of not finding him is growing stronger by the minute.
“Mommy, I don’t see daddy,” Josephina
cries, my tears now matching hers as I continue whipping my head in every
direction looking for his familiar face. But, I can’t find it. It makes it
harder that the Marines all blend together due to their uniform, the
camouflaged brown become one amongst the crowd, but I’m determined not to give
up. I need to find him. I’ve waited long enough.
The minutes continue to slowly pass by
as I take notice that the final soldier has stepped off the bus and Joseph is
still nowhere in sight. My heart plummets into the depths of my stomach.
I can feel Josephina nervously tugging
at my arm, requesting we move to search amongst the crowd. I stay rooted to my
spot, hoping if I stay in one place, he’ll
find me, just like he found me that day in the crowd of people. The day I never
expected to see him again.
Everyone is slowly beginning to leave.
The hundreds of people that were once waiting are trickling down to only a
handful. It’s then the panic sets in as I continue to search, still not finding
him.
I grab onto the arm of the first
high-ranking officer I see. “I’m sorry sir, but will there be another bus
coming soon?” I nervously ask.
He’s confusedly looking back at me and
I don’t know if it’s from my question or because I look like a train wreck at
this point. The perfectly applied make-up I had put on this morning is probably
a mess, but that’s a result of standing out in the heat and crying for the last
thirty minutes. “I’m sorry ma’am, but no,” he apologetically replies. “Were you
expecting someone today?”
“My husband,” I choke out around the
tears lodged in my throat. It’s at that moment I hear the wail of the baby
awakening, forcing me to focus my attention on comforting him. My tears can’t
help but to continue to fall along with Josephina’s, who is at my side silently
crying with me.
The officer is staring at all of us
looking just as heartbroken. “Which platoon was he with?” he asks. Without
hesitating, I blurt it out, praying he has some information. “That platoon was
on the bus, are you sure he wasn’t there?”
“We’re sure. My daddy didn’t come to
us,” Josephina answers.
The officer gives me a quick short nod
before walking away, leaving us there to miserably wait. He returns minutes
later looking disappointed. “I’m sorry ma’am, there were a couple of soldiers
forced to stay behind. He may have been one of them.”
“Are they coming later?”
With a sad shake of his head, he
explains, “No ma’am, unfortunately not for another couple of months. I’m
sorry.”
Shocked, I take in his words, silently
allowing my heart to shatter as I force myself to comfort a heartbroken
Josephina. When I finally find the strength to walk again, I slowly begin to
take the steps needed to move us to the parking lot where I parked my car.
We’ve only taken a couple steps before I hear the rotors of a helicopter above
us. It’s normal for them to fly by being that it’s an airbase, so I think
nothing of it as I continue walking my family to the car. It surprises me when
it comes closer and closer to the tarmac I’m standing on.
Curiously I watch as it lands in the
far off distance. We watch as the door of the helicopter opens and a single
Marine climbs out. I should be turning around to walk away, but my heart is
telling me to stay. I feel my heart practically stop when he begins running
towards us. “Daddy!” I hear Josephina sequel before she yanks her hand from
mine, already running towards the Marine. “Josephina, come back here!” I yell
to her, already running after her with the baby in my arms thinking she’s lost
her mind. There is no way this Marine can be Joseph, but I watch him scoop down
to pick up Josephina and continue to run in my direction before taking the baby
and me next.
The feeling of him in my arms is
unreal. Without waiting I kiss him, the feeling of his lips has haunted my
dreams every night since the day he left. I kiss him, robbing us both of our
breath, and when we finally pull away, my lips feel swollen, and my chest is
rising and falling trying to take in air. “I thought you weren’t coming,” I cry
to him through my sobs. “They told me you may have had to stay back.”
“Even if they tried to keep me away I
would still come back to you,” he declares with a smile, making me cry some
more.
“I had to stay behind to do something
and got delayed. I had my buddy give me a ride,” he says, nodding his head at
the helicopter behind us. “Did you really think I wouldn’t come back?” he asks
with a chuckle.
I can only nod my head as I’m rendered
speechless that I have him standing in front of me. “I would have moved heaven
and earth to get back to you,” he declares, and from his expression I know he
truly means it.
Smiling up to him, I tell him, “I love
you,” meaning it from the bottom of my heart, feeling like the luckiest girl in
the world because my family is whole again.
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About The Author
Gabbie is a Southern California native, who currently lives in Washington with her wonderful husband, two amazing kids and a senior citizen kitty. When she’s not writing you can find her reading or sneaking off for a run. Some might say it’s a crazy life, but she wouldn’t change anything about it.
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FUN FACTS
1. I don’t have my own personal paperback
to any of my stories. I only have a proof and they’re referred to as, my “Story
Bible”. If I don’t recall a certain detail or want a quote from that particular
story, I refer to its “bible”.
2. I’m slightly addicted to Sugar Free Red
Bull’s, although I’m immune to their effect
3. I can only drink my Red Bull’s with a
bendy straw. I’m very accident-prone; they help prevent an unnecessary spill on
my clothing.
4. I prefer a plastic spoon to a metal
one, but only the spoons.
5. I like to eat my cereal in a large
coffee cup.
6. I have a thing for the number one,
especially 11 & 21, which are my favorite.
7. I prefer to use the name of people I
know for my main characters.
8. I’ve driven through 16 of the 50
continental states and I may be adding to that list soon.
9. I love the flavor Green Apple. I will
practically eat or drink anything with that flavor.
10. I prefer chucks over flip-flops,
hoodies over dressing up, and my hair is usually in a braid most days.
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