Waiting for Her Soldier (8 page)

When I got to the hospital the next morning Darren was already looking much better. The color had returned to his face and he was looking strong and healthy, minus the bandaged arm of course. Dr. Williams came in for a final examination before clearing Darren for release. There were a few more papers for us to sign, and before we left Dr. Williams handed me a packet with all the instructions for his post-operational treatment, as well as the various prescriptions he’d written for Darren.

“Take care, Sergeant. Enjoy life on the outside.”

“I will. Thanks, Doc,” said Darren. And before I knew it we were exiting the elevator into the hospital parking garage.

Darren was happy to be outside, tired of breathing the stale air of the various hospitals he’d been confined to for the past several days. We got into the car and left the garage, turning left toward the exit of the hospital campus. After a few more turns, we were on the highway, heading back to my small apartment.

The drive was quiet and comforting, the poor weather of yesterday giving way to clear and sunny skies. The air was brisk, but Darren insisted on cracking a window, happy to drink in the fresh American air. I turned on one of his favorite radio stations and we just cruised for awhile. Every now and again I looked over to find him staring out the window, seemingly mesmerized by the country he saw streaming by outside.

Sometimes I’d look over to find him staring intently at me, a slight smile on his face, grateful to be home. When I noticed this, I blushed and turned my eyes back to the road. There was still so much to say, but a moment like this was too perfect to ruin with words. We’d have plenty of time to talk over the coming weeks. But if I’d thought I’d fallen for Darren before, my desire was only increased by his presence so close to me. I felt safe and at home with him, but I wanted more than just comfort and safety—I wanted him in no uncertain terms, to be both ravaged and loved by him. How long would I have to wait?

I spent the drive mulling over these thoughts, occasionally glancing at the handsome man beside me, wondering if the same things were going through his head. He was an honest man, and blunt when he needed to be, but sometimes he could be so hard to read. I was waiting for some kind of sign, something to tell me my advances wouldn’t be rejected. Before I made myself vulnerable, before I put myself out there, I needed to be positive that he felt the same.

I thought of Paul’s letter. Sure, that was a sign. But since I’d been back Darren had made no mention of those feelings for me. If he felt so strongly, wouldn’t that have been one of the first things he’d said to me? Maybe Darren was waiting for a sign too. Maybe he was afraid of being rejected himself, reluctant to put himself out there, not knowing how I felt about him. But how could he not know? Wasn’t it obvious when he saw me at the hospital?

On the other hand, maybe my care was just interpreted as the behavior of a friend. Then another thought occurred to me:
maybe he was still hung up on Jessica
. I didn’t like that idea, but I had to admit that it was a possibility. But I was sick of being the friend. I wasn’t about to nurse Darren back to health just to watch him end up with another woman. That would be a heartbreak I just didn’t have the strength to bear.

So while I should have been ecstatic to have Darren at my side, my thoughts turned more pensive on the ride home. Mired in uncertainty, a thousand different scenarios played through my mind. I did my best to put these sad thoughts out of my mind. I had already lost Darren to Jessica once before and I didn’t even want to think about the possibility of losing him again.

The next few days were quiet and uneventful. With Thanksgiving coming up, the shop was busier than ever. A few weeks earlier I’d introduced a seasonal special: a Thanksgiving sandwich with roasted herb Turkey, homemade stuffing and cranberry mayo. I even had a selection of five different homemade gravies for people to choose from. Apparently word had gotten around while I was away. On my first day back at the shop I got several calls from people asking if I would be open on Thursday or if they could get my sandwiches to go.

To be honest, I’d thought about entering the catering business before, but didn’t yet think the shop was quite ready for it. I talked it over with Betsy, my second in charge at the shop who’d been watching over things while I was away. The more we discussed it, the more it started to make sense. We could make orders of sandwiches, and also sides like mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.

We decided to call back a few of the customers and offer them our newly-created Thanksgiving catering special. They were absolutely delighted with the idea, and so were Betsy and I; if this worked out, it could end up being a real money maker and we’d finally be able to afford newer ovens for our homemade bread.

When I told Darren the good news later that night he was happy for me, but I could sense disappointment in his voice. I asked what was wrong, but as usual Darren brushed it off and kept his feelings to himself. But I knew Darren, and I knew something was bothering him, so later as we watched a movie on TV I pressed him on the question and surprisingly he answered.

“You know I’m happy for you, Lauren. I’m really glad your business is going well. I was just hoping you’d be spending Thanksgiving at home.”

“It’s only for half a day, we’ll be closing the shop by 2:30 PM at the latest. You know Betsy wants to celebrate with her family to. I’ll drop you off at your sister’s in the morning when I head into work and pick you up right when I get out. We’ll still have most of the day at home and you know I’ll cook you a phenomenal meal,” I said, smiling and nudging him at the last part.

He laughed and looked away for a second before turning his gaze back to me.

“I know that, I just don’t want to be around that piece of shit Donnie all day.”

Donnie was his sister’s unemployed boyfriend. Donnie and Darren had never gotten along.

“It’s not all day, it’s just the morning. It will be over before you know it.”

“Well, maybe I could just come to the shop with you,” said Darren.

“The shop? What are you going to do there for six hours?”

“I don’t know. What did you do during my surgery?”

“Nothing. I just sat and worried about you.”

“Well, you’ve got a TV right?”

“Yes,” I said hesitantly, not sure what he was getting at.

“Alright, then. I’ll watch the damn Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and then football when it comes on at noon.”

“And you won’t be bored with that?”

“Not so long as you make me a few sandwiches along the way,” he said with a wink.

“Alright, soldier,” I laughed. “Don’t complain to me when you get what you asked for. But it’s Thanksgiving, you have to see your sister
sometime
during the day.”

“I know, I know. We’ll stop over and have a drink with her and Donnie on our way home from the shop.”

“Ok, that works I guess. Your sister won’t be mad?”

“Mad? Nope, she doesn’t care. We’ll stop by for an hour, have a drink or two; that will be more than enough.”

So that was our plan for Thanksgiving Day. Darren would join me at the shop and hang out while Betsy and I worked. Then we’d head to his sister’s and finally back home for our own separate celebration. It sounded nice and I was greatly looking forward to it. Little did I know that it wouldn’t turn out quite as planned.

The morning of Thanksgiving started off well enough. It began as most mornings did that entire week. Darren and I would wake up, he’d take his medicine and I’d cook breakfast, then I would go grab a coffee and head into the shop. The only difference today was that Darren had joined me in the car. I knew I had a particularly busy day ahead, since we’d be catering orders for over five hundred sandwiches for the day.

Because of the big order, Betsy and I had to call in some of the other girls for the day, but we were paying them overtime, so they couldn’t really complain. We’d also made an executive decision to close the doors to walk-in traffic. So while the shop was technically closed, on the inside it would be busier than ever.

I was happy to have Darren with me. I hadn’t actually brought him to the shop since he’d been home. It’s not like he wasn’t interested, but he needed to stay home and rest in the mornings. And he couldn’t exactly stop by in the afternoon since he only had one good arm, which made driving a near impossibility.

Having him there for emotional support would be nice. Besides, I kind of wanted to show him off to the girls at the shop; they’d heard me talk about him enough, after all. Betsy, for one, was absolutely dying to meet him.

When we got to the shop, Betsy was waiting outside. As it turned out, she’d forgotten her set of keys at home and only realized once she’d walked three blocks from where she’d parked her car, so she’d been waiting in the cold for us to let her in. About half hour later, all the other girls showed up and we set to work.

I had bread baking in the oven, and was now working to mash what amounted to a few hundred potatoes. Betsy was making stuffing, while the girls made green bean casserole in mass quantities. After the potatoes I’d move onto slicing up turkey for all the sandwiches.

I watched as the two younger girls stared at Darren and whispered to each other, periodically breaking out into fits of giggles. Darren for his part just winked and shot over a heart-breakers grin. And truthfully, I couldn’t blame the girls, I knew exactly how they felt because I’d been there a thousand times before. There was no denying the intrinsic charm in the way Darren carried himself, let alone the fact that he was obviously physically gorgeous, with big tan arms and his ruggedly handsome face with the perfect amount of scruff.

“Looks like someone’s got a fan club,” said Betsy, poking me as she passed behind me to put the first round of stuffing in the oven.

“Oh, yes,” I said laughing. “He’s certainly easy on the eyes. Hopefully they just keep working while they steal glances.”

“You know, Lauren, if we do well today we’re gonna have to expand,” said Betsy. “The business is doing well. I think we can afford it.”

“I know, trust me. I was just thinking today that we barely have the oven capacity to get this done. Thank goodness we at least baked some of the bread ahead of time.”

“Oh, yes. No question we’d be SOL if we hadn’t. Both you and I definitely wouldn’t be leaving here anytime soon.”

“I like the idea of expanding, but where would we go? I don’t think there is any other place with more space that’s in quite as good of a location.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I just make the food. Chris is the businessman, let him figure it out.”

After that things got so busy that most of the conversation revolved purely around the logistics of getting all those orders out to our customers. When it was time to start making our first deliveries, Darren decided to ride with me while the rest of the girls stayed in the shop working on the other orders.

Inside the car, I turned on the engine then looked over to find Darren staring at me intently.

“I’m proud of you, Lauren.”

I blushed. “Thank you.”

“No, really. I mean it. Now that I’ve seen you working I can tell the business is going to work out for you. You know how?”

“No. How?”

“Because you enjoy what you do. I can see it while you’re working. And all your girls like working for you, they respect you. It’s easy to see now that I’ve been there in person.”

“Well, if you’re so perceptive, can you tell how much they like you?”

Darren laughed. “Ah, yes, I must admit I picked up on that a bit too.”

“Well, I don’t know that I can blame them too much. It’s not hard to do.”

I went white as the blood drained from my face. I’d meant that comment to come out as a joke, but the tone of my voice made it sound serious. I looked away out the window, but suddenly felt Darren gently pressing my hand. I looked over and gave him a slight smile, then put the car in drive and headed toward the first customer’s house. Inadvertently, I’d made the first move, giving Darren the first real signal that I was interested. Now the ball was in his court.