Flinging open the door of her car, she entered and hurriedly pushed the start button and got the hell out of dodge. Seeing the center in her rear-view mirror made it a little easier to breathe.
An email alert over her phone caused her heart to jump. Could it be Patrick? Lord, she was tempted to check her mail while going down the road. But that was too dangerous. So, she refrained and waited until she had run her errands and driven the few miles to her sanctuary. Today was the first time she wished for a security gate. Savannah couldn’t imagine Fred following her home, but the possibility gave her pause.
As soon as she was in her back door, Savannah put the safety latch on and breathed a little easier. Perhaps she shouldn’t sleep with the windows open tonight. Another ding caught her attention – more mail! Making her way to the kitchen, she pulled her shoes off along the way and headed straight to the coffee pot. Recently she had given herself a gift, one of those coffeemakers that made one cup of fragrant brew at a time. Her favorite was pumpkin spice, and right now she needed it. When she finally had the caffeine laden drink in hand, she sank down at the kitchen table and took her laptop from the carryall. Opening it up, she held her breath until she saw his name. Yay!! Patrick had emaile her.
Hey Gorgeous! It was so good to hear from you. I’m in the desert wasteland now and we don’t always have the most perfect internet service. I sure do hope you get this email all right. I’ll hold my breath till I hear back from you. The last one you sent me made me smile. I can guarantee that I will give you all the kisses you want. So you think I’m sexy? I must admit that made me hard. You’ll have to tell me how far I can go in these emails. I don’t want to offend you with my frank comments.
As far as you cooking me dinner when I come home, I accept your invitation. I wish I could tell you exactly where I’m going and what I’m going to be doing, but I can’t. When I leave base camp, I won’t be able to contact you until I return. But you keep praying for me, I’m counting on that.
We didn’t get to talk about a whole lot of things when we were together, so I think we should use this time to get to know one another better. Guess what? I have a dog. My teammate Jayco found her wondering outside base camp. I rescued her and named her Ciara. I think we’re going to be best pals. I’m bringing her with me when I come home. Could I bring her to dinner? Would you mind? Let’s see, what else can I tell you about myself? Oh yeah, I’m thirty years old. My best friend’s name is Revel Lee. He lives in Baton Rouge, not too far from you. Revel was in the Corp too, but he’s out now. I can’t wait for you to meet him. We’ve been friends since elementary school. I love to read and Homer is my weakness, the Illiad and the Odyssey are timeless. And my favorite music is jazz. Oh, and don’t be shocked, but I’m somewhat of an artist. I sketch and I weld metal sculptures. Someday I’m going to try and get them in a gallery. I’ve done mostly wildlife; full-size alligators, cranes, whitetail deer – even a buffalo. And I’ve done more abstract pieces, too. It makes me feel free when I create them and I know I’m leaving something of myself behind. I would write more but I have a meeting to go to. Wish me luck, there’s some really screwy things going on over here.
Let me hear from you soon. When you get ready to tell me that important secret, you know that I’m waiting to hear it. I just want you to know that I can’t even begin to imagine you telling me anything that will make me feel any differently toward you than I do. And yes, God, yes, I want a picture of you.
Patrick
Savannah reread the email a dozen times. Finding out more about Patrick was wonderful. She couldn’t wait to see some of his metal sculptures. He was smart, sweet and kind. There wasn’t a thing wrong with Patrick O’Rourke that she could see. He was perfect. And she would tell him so. Now, to worry about something really important - - which picture would she send? Immediately shbegan to wish for glamour shots, but she didn’t have any. Finally she decided on a candid shot that Tammany had taken. It wasn’t sexy, but her face and hair were decent and she didn’t look too chubby. What she wouldn’t give to be taller. And blonde. Oh well.
How glad she was to have something concrete to send him about his research. But mostly, she just wanted to talk to him.
Dear Patrick
I loved all the insight you gave me into your life. You are a renaissance man! I can’t wait to see your metal sculptures. They sound amazing, especially the cranes.
Please send a photo of Ciara. I love dogs. And knowing that you rescued her just warms my heart. And of course you can bring her to my house; I look forward to meeting an Iraqi puppy. What breed is she? Will you have trouble getting her back to the states? I hope not.
Oh yeah - I have attached a photo. It’s nothing special, but neither am I. I’ve also attached what I’ve found out about the LaVerdures. You may be related to the Melancon family. It was an unusual quirk in history where the sons took their
