I walked up the wide front steps and entered the house. It was quiet without my grandfather and his men. Amidst the emptiness everything to hit me at once, my mother was gone. My father had died two years earlier. Now the house felt so completely empty. I couldn’t bring myself to sleep in my old room, so I returned to the guest house. It was close enough but without the constant reminders of what I had lost. It didn’t take long, and I was tired of staring at four walls I needed a distraction. Something to cheer me up a bit. I decided I needed fresh air and a fresh perspective. I could hear my mother telling me to hold my chin up and get on with it. I decided to walk downtown for a little entertainment. As luck would have it, Charlie Pickens was playing at the Ironclad. The Ironclad was home to two of my favorite things, bourbon and blues.
I went in and selected a seat in the corner. A lady never sits at the bar alone and I wasn’t looking for company of any kind. I just wanted to try and forget that I felt like an orphan at twenty-eight years old. I paid the waitress one hundred dollars to bring me bourbon until the money ran out or until I passed out. Not that I had plans to get blind drunk. But, just as a precaution I gave her Eddie’s number and told her if it looked like I couldn’t make home on my own to call that number and someone would come and get me. I promised her a huge tip if it became necessary for her to call that number. Her eyes had widened at the sight of the one-hundred-dollar bill. She looked too young to have been waitressing long and I hoped that worked in my favor. I didn’t want to give her one hundred bucks and end up in the alley out back or worse.
Things were going as planned until some guy made his way to my table and asked if he could buy me a drink.
“No thank you, I prefer to drink alone.”
“You’re too pretty to drink alone, let me keep you company.”
He was insistent. “No thanks, I’m not looking for free drinks or company.”
“Why not?” He pressed harder.
I was getting annoyed. “Does it matter? Go hassle someone else.”
“You don’t have to be such a bitch about it.” That was the moment I lost what little patience I had. I stood up and sucker punched him. You don’t get imbedded with a Marine unit without learning a thing or two. He guy landed on his back. He looked pretty angry and I thought for sure my evening was over.
“Anything I can do to help?” I looked up to see a second man standing at my table. My first reaction was of annoyance until he smiled.
I made some comment about solid waste management and he smiled even more. I felt my heart flip and then start beating again. The guy on the floor got to his feet and the second man whispered something to him. I couldn’t hear what exactly, but Mr. Romance didn’t look twice at me and scurried off. I noticed a glint of gold from a badge hanging from the second man’s belt. So, whatever he said to Mr. Romance, apparently, he could back it up.
“May I join you?” the man with the badge asked.
I shrugged then nodded. He sat down cautiously and introduced himself. His name was Ethan. That name fit him perfectly. He seemed to sense I wasn’t looking for company and new drinks arrived. There was something about him. I couldn’t explain it, but it was everything. His crooked smile. The warmth of his touch. It was like an electric spark and pulsed through my body and gave my heart a jump start.
The remaining two days in Gates Point was spent with Ethan. We sat and talked for hours. In the end I learned that he was married. I told him I wouldn’t be the cause of any break of a marriage even one on the rocks. And told him if we were meant to be together, we would meet again. I wasn’t sure if I believed that at the time. What else could I do? He wasn’t looking to have a romantic relationship and cheat on his wife. He was lonely and in need of a friend.
As I sat on the plane headed back to the Middle East and my assignment for Beatty Images, I wondered how life seemed to be going on around me without a care. Didn’t the airline crew and other passengers realize, my life had just been turned completely upside down? Both of my parents were gone, I was the new CEO of a manufacturing company, and I had just met the man of my dreams only to find out he was married? My life is nothing if not complicated.
As I arrived back in Kabul I longed for the clean breezes off the bay while I was pelted by sand of the dessert.
“Hey Kay, I’m was sorry to hear about your mom.”
“Let us know if you need anything.” Chris, Dev, Micah, and Oliver stood staring at me all nodding.
“Thank you. I’ve got everything under control.” I smiled.
These four men were my team, at least my core team anyway. I was the only female here and these four guys were the only ones that didn’t give me shit on a daily basis. Most of the men
