Missing You

Tristian (Chapter 2)

"Hey man, how ya holding up?" Tristian looked up at his best friend of over twenty years and put on a brave face, which he knew Jay could see right through.

"It's a tough deployment. Not sure why, because nothing is different from previous deployments, yet something is weighing me down." He was heartsick. That's what the problem was. Being the spouse of someone who had gone off to war was hell. Being the husband, whose wife had gone, meant that it limited his resources. When all the wives back on base got together for bingo night with wine and books, he felt a little out of place. Which was why he had come back home to be with his family.

He and Jenny hadn't had children yet, and the dogs were movable, so it was nothing to pack up and go. Their house was on base, and paid for, which made leaving for an extended time even easier. There was no reason for him to stay.

All the important people knew where to find him if something happened. So, whether he rode this year out on base or at home, it didn't matter. He would be found if needed, though he hoped like hell they never needed to seek him out personally. Nothing good ever came from uniformed officers coming to your doorstep.

"So, let's do something about it," Jay commented without a hesitation. He was a good guy who was dangerously smart and tended to make rash decisions. High school was hell for the last two years. To be fair, though, none of them ever said no.

"Like what?"

"Where's Jenny stationed this time?"

"Some undisclosed location in the Middle East." Whatever Jay was thinking was not going to work. Yet, Tristian was curious to see where his best friends train of thought was going.

"You still have your passport?"

"Yeah. We have to keep them up to date."

"Perfect. Now, we need to make a plan." Jay ordered a few beers, some appetizers, and pulled out his phone.

Tristian knew that with drinks and food ordered, they would be there for a while.

And he wasn't wrong. After three hours of sitting in a sticky seat while eating more that he should have, he had before him the craziest plan that had even been constructed. "This isn't going to work," he muttered as he read through the details once again.

"Yes, it is. Go home, make some calls and do some emails. First thing is to get those Marines on your side. We can still pull this off, even if they decide to be complete jerks, but it would be easier with them. I've got a call to make myself."

"Thank you," Tristian said in a whisper while trying not to get choked up.

"Do not get emotional on me, because if you do all bets are off." Jay put his hand on Tristen's shoulder and gave him a firm squeeze. "Let's get your stupid lovesick ass back to your wife, before I change mind."

"You're just as lovesick as I am, you asshole. Tell the wife I said hi and that I look forward to poker night next month."

"I swear she loves you more than she loves me."

"That's because I'm not an asshole."

"Good point."

"Thanks Jay, seriously."

"Thank me by giving me a niece or nephew one day. It will get the wife off my back and lord knows our little one will need a stable friend, since we all know I'm not."

"Ain't that the God's honest truth."

Tristian and Jay gave each other a shoulder bump hug and went to their cars. Neither would drive if they had had more to drink, but as it was, one beer three hours ago had long since worn off.

When he got back to his parents' house, the dogs all greeted him like it had been months since he had left. His two fur babies, plus his parents two, and his sister's one, plus all her children. Which meant that not long after the dogs were jumping all over him, the kids came running out to join the fun.

Hugging the little monsters, he shooed them back to wherever it was they were playing and went to his room to fire up the computer. It wasn't the end of the week and he knew there was a slim chance of an email or a call from Jenny. It didn't stop him from checking anyway.

Nothing.

Aside from the normal communications from base.

Sitting back in his chair, he closed his eyes and locked his hands behind his head. What he and Jay had come up with was insane and damn near impossible. The more he thought about it, the idea he would get to see Jenny, even if it was only a weekend, overrode all common sense.

"You look tired," Chrissy, his sister, said as she came in with a baby on her hip, sitting down on the bed he had had his entire life. It was nice to have a place to come back to, one that was so familiar, no matter his age.

"Long day," he muttered, not bothering to change positions. Not until he felt a small human on his lap and immediately sat up, cradling his youngest niece.

"Not that kind of tired. Plus, it couldn't have been that long. You were at the bar with Jay for hours." He looked at Chrissy who smiled and gave him a wink. Damn small towns. Gossip never got old here.

"You know being around Jay is a tiring nightmare sometimes."

"Yeah but, not today, huh? What are you planning?"

"There are days when I don't miss this small town. At all."

"Oh, shut up, you miss the hell out of this place."

Tristian snorted a laugh and heard a small giggle from his arms. "You don't listen to your mother; she has the mouth of a sailor and the opinions of a politician." The baby laughed again while drooling all over his shirt and hers.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood due to my impending day of freedom tomorrow. And stop trying to change the subject. What are you and Jay planning?" Sisters may annoy, and his no different, but beyond the annoying was an intuition that even his wife didn't have.

He sighed and pulled out all the napkins he and Jay had written on and handed them over. Chrissy was silent for a few minutes, her face showing no sign that she thought he was bat shit nuts or not.

When she raised her gaze, her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "All right, what can I do to help?"

Holy shit. It looked like he was going on a trip halfway across the globe.