Broken Wings (Contemporary Romance) (10 page)

Angelina had a sad look on her face as she remembered those tragic few months following the loss of Daniel.

“Thank God, you had Lucy, Angelina. I know how difficult it must have been for you, I really do. I also believe the tragedies we are forced to endure in our lives do make us stronger. How did the two of you meet?” asked Joshua.

“
We met by chance at a party Daniel and I were invited to; she was also a guest at the party. We hit it off straight away and have remained friends ever since. She is very special to me.”

“
I have not really had the chance to get to know Lucy properly, we have only met on a couple of occasions as I am not home too often and she has only been with Richard for just over a year now, I think. Although I feel like I know her as Richard has told me so much about her. They are a lovely couple and very good for each other. Oh, it looks like we are heading back towards the pier now; so are we agreed on the pizza because I really don't mind cooking for us tonight if you'd prefer?”

“
Yes, we are agreed and make it a large one. I am starving!”

As the steamer slowed down as it approached the pier, Angelina and Joshua made their way to the front.
“Thank you for organizing this trip today, it really was wonderful.” Angelina reached up and kissed Joshua tentatively on the lips and then entwined her fingers in his as they made their way off the steamer and onto the old wooden pier. They walked the short distance to Joshua's car and headed back to the lodge.

The day was cold and crisp, the silence of their surroundings welcomed and it was a moment Angelina wanted to cherish forever. It was something she had learned to do over the years. Perfect moments were few and far between and when they arrived, she always made a mental note of them as she stood still for a while to take it in and appreciate the moment. This very soon would become part of her memory bank full of moments that she treasured and could draw on any time she wished or needed too.

Joshua disappeared upstairs to change while Angelina sat on the swing on the creaky porch with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, admiring the view.

Thoughts of his deployment were playing on Joshua’s mind now as time was closing in on them. He had but a few hours left with Angelina and then over three months apart. He understood now that look in his men's eyes as they returned from leave, in a way he had never understood before. He was feeling the pull, dreading his departure, already thinking of his return. His next deployment was peace keeping in
Sierra Leone for twelve weeks. He was used to these deployments over the years; his last one had been in Kenya on a training exercise for six weeks. He had spent a lot of time in various parts of the world over the years but the one he remembered the most, for all the wrong reasons, was Afghanistan. A long deployment filled with tragedy and loss.

Joshua looked out of the window and watched Angelina as she rocked herself gently on the swing. He was undeniably in love with her and could not imagine living the rest of his life without her. He knew she was the one and nothing or no one could change that fact. He made his way onto the porch and joined her. They sat huddled on the old worn swing in silence, no words were spoken, just quiet contemplation and a knowing look passed to one another every once in a while.

“Why don't you run yourself a bath, and I will nip out and get that pizza we talked about this morning. Do you have any topping preference or should I just surprise you?” asked Joshua.

“
Anything accept Jalapeños, I really don't like them. I would rather have fresh chillies on my pizza...”

“
Hot and spicy it is then, I will see you in around thirty minutes.” Angelina watched as Joshua climbed into his car and pulled away. She smiled happily to herself as she ran upstairs and ran herself a hot bath. Sipping the last of the wine she had taken from the fridge and half submerged in the steaming hot water, her thoughts drifted to her last night ahead with Joshua. Angelina knew that their last night needed to be the most special of all, so she was going to make sure it was!

Just over thirty minutes later, Joshua came hurrying through the door with an extra-large pizza, two bottles of wine and a large box of
Thornton's chocolates. “Oh wow, that smells good!” Angelina rustled up a couple of wine glasses from the kitchen while Joshua put some music on and opened up the pizza.

“
Okay, we have spicy chicken, with extra chillies and stuffed crust, how does that sound?”

“
Yummy, I have the appetite of a horse right now!” She laughed.

“
So who is this singing, I recognize the voice but I can't put a name to it?”

“
Now this album is an all-time favourite of mine, the wonderful voice of David Gray, a singer songwriter from Manchester. He was pretty big in the 90s. Have you ever heard of his album
White Ladder
? Well it's amazing, he is a man with a guitar, what I call a real singer! No fluff, or backing singers, just a great voice and great guitar skills. I hadn't heard of him until I was out with my uncle one day and I heard it playing in his truck, I have loved his music ever since.

“
Ah, David Gray, of course it is! He's a bit before your time, isn't he,” teased Angelina.

“
Very funny, although I was only seven years old when he brought his first album out in 1993!”

As they demolished every last morsel of pizza and were well into their second bottle of wine and both feeling a tad tipsy, Angelina slipped into the kitchen without saying a word and then returned naked, sporting nothing but a beautiful smile...

“Wow, do you have any idea how truly beautiful you are?” said Joshua with a surprised look on his face.

Angelina said nothing. She walked slowly over to Joshua who was still sitting on the floor. She stood over him and knelt down in front of him, reaching for the button on his faded jeans. She slipped them off and then lifted his arms up and slipped off his sweater. She slipped her legs either side of his and wrapped them tightly around his back as she leant forward to kiss him. The next few hours were lost to them both as they were lost in each other's bodies, exploring one another wantonly, completely. Time had no meaning, the world outside had ceased to exist; it was just Angelina and Joshua for what remained of their limited time together.

Chapter Nine

The day of Joshua's departure had arrived, Angelina's heart was heavy and she was holding back her tears as Joshua made his way down the stairs with his bag. They were both silent as they closed up the lodge and climbed into Joshua's car. It was a beautiful autumn day, one that was cold but fresh and with the sun peeking through at a distance just enough to tease but not enough to warm. Angelina was going to miss him so much; three months seemed like a life time to her. She would count down the days until his return. Joshua pulled up outside Angelina's cottage and climbed out of the car.
“I have to check in at the barracks by five today so I don't have long. Come on, I will walk you inside and say goodbye properly.”

Angelina opened the door and they walked inside; she dropped her bag and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I am going to miss you so much, thank you for the best two days of my life,” she cried.

“
I am missing you already. You have helped me to re-discover my heart, the last two days have been incredible, Angelina. I love you.” Joshua leant forward and kissed her soft lips. “I promise I will write to you and you better write back! I will be back before you know it; it's just a peace-keeping deployment so you have nothing to worry about, okay? Just know this, I will be thinking of you every single minute of every single day.”

Angelina held on to the heart necklace around her neck.
“I love you, Joshua, just look after yourself out there okay, peace-keeping or not?”

Angelina waved goodbye to Joshua and watched him pull out of her driveway and did not take her eyes off his car until he was out of sight. She walked into her living room with a heavy heart and fell down onto the sofa, crying. She wondered if she was strong enough for this. How do the partners of soldiers go through this time and time again, never knowing if they would return safely? Her heart went out to the soldiers’ wives, especially those with children, who were left behind while their husbands were posted to God knows where in the world whether it be on a peace-keeping deployment, training exercise or to protect the civilians in war-torn zones around the world. Her thoughts flashed back to all the news reports she had watched in the past, all those young soldiers who never made it back alive from
Afghanistan. This had been such a regular news report over the last few years. She wondered how the families coped with their tragic losses.

Of all the men in the world, she had to fall in love with a soldier, a man whose life was constantly in danger whenever he was deployed. Angelina had lost one partner, she could not lose another. She knew she would never recover from a second loss. She wiped the tears from her eyes and called Lucy. She knew Lucy could lift her spirit and by God, it needed lifting right now. She needed bringing back down to earth and she could always rely on Lucy to help her see things clearly.

Lucy agreed to meet Angelina at the cottage after she finished work. Angelina kept herself busy, cooking a home-made curry and one of her favourites too, Aloo Paneer. Angelina never bought the jar sauce she often saw displayed in the supermarkets, she always made her own from scratch. She cut up three large onions and added a small amount of oil to the oversized frying pan; she waited until the onions had turned brown before adding some chopped tomatoes followed by a spoonful of Garam masala and Haldi. After adding a teaspoon of salt, she added some freshly chopped chilli and fresh coriander. She fried off cubes of Paneer in a separate pan before adding them to the sauce and finally dropped in a few chopped potatoes. She popped the lid on and left it to simmer for thirty five minutes. To accompany the Aloo Paneer, Angelina decided she would make some fresh chapattis when Lucy arrived as these only took a few minutes and were best served fresh and hot. Spending time preparing dinner for Lucy had helped take her mind off Joshua and already she was feeling a little less emotional and more like herself.

She flicked through her mail before running herself a bath and losing herself in a book for a while. She wanted to make the most of her last day off work before returning the following day. Her boss was not going to give her an easy time of it when she returned, however she was prepared for it and would not change the last two days for anything in the world. As she slowly submerged her body in the hot bubble filled bath, she reached for her new book,
Persuasion
by Jane Austen and lost herself in the story for over half an hour.

By six o'clock, Lucy was ringing the doorbell enthusiastically as always and greeted Angelina with a tight hug.
“Come on then. I want every last sordid detail, and don't leave anything out!” begged Lucy.

“
Lucy, it was perfect, more than perfect. I can't believe all the trouble he went to, I mean he thought of everything.” Lucy listened intently as Angelina filled her in on the events of the last two days.

“
Well, of course you know he roped Richard and I in to help him out, don't you?” Lucy said, laughing.

“
Yes, I know, and thank you so much. I can't believe you managed to keep it quiet from me!” teased Angelina.

“
Oh, don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy, I was so tempted to send you a message, but Richard knows me far too well and warned me in advance to keep my big mouth shut! “So why did you sound so down on the phone earlier?” asked Lucy.

“
Oh Lucy, I just don't know if I can cope with the goodbyes every time he has to go away. It was so hard today, especially knowing it would be three months before I see him again. How do people do it? I know there are thousands of women who have to deal with this all the time, but it can't be easy for them. I am feeling this way already and it's just the beginning for Joshua and I. I am certain he is the one and I want to be with him, Lucy. I can actually envisage a future for the two of us.”

“
Do you want my honest opinion?”

“
Yes, of course I do.”

“
Well, don't analyse all this too much, for now at least. Enjoy your new relationship and look forward to seeing him again when he returns. Just imagine how much more special it will be for the two of you when you see each other again. All that missing each other, longing, and half a dozen letters later, you will both be inseparable. It will be amazing, more so than if you are seeing each other every single day. There certainly won't be any chance of you getting bored with one another, that's for sure!”

“
Do you know, Lucy, once again you're absolutely right. My biggest problem is I always over-analyse every single situation in my life. Well, from now on, I won't. I have found something wonderful with Joshua and I am not going to let anything get in the way of that. I knew you would make me see things more positively, thanks, Lucy. Sometimes I just don't know what I would do without you.” Angelina flung her arms around her friend before they sat down to dinner.

“
Have you and Richard considered taking your relationship further? You've been together a while now,” enquired Angelina.