Until Then

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Quinn

I wake up thinking about my dream and the way it had felt so real. I long for my mother and the chance to see my father again, but most of all I can't wait to wrap my arms around the woman who raised me and who I have been missing like crazy. I want to know if I've made her proud and I want to tell her that taking care of her were some of the most important months of my life.

I find Kenneth waiting in my kitchen, his face a mixture of relief and grief and I'm not sure where he was as I dreamed last night, but I know wherever it was he'd wrestled something just as deep and meaningful as I had.

"Good morning," I say as I step past him and reach for a bottle of water to wash down the pain pills I'll need to get moving and make my appointment. He's silent as he watches me. Once the task is finished he exhales a large breath and takes off his hat as if he was finally at ease enough to stay a while.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?" His voice is tight and rough. It reminds me of a man of this world who hadn't slept days, one who had been awake with worry and unfinished business. I couldn't help but tip my head in wonder of what he'd done while I slept away this time we had left together.

"I dreamed of my mom," I confess.

"Did she tell you how much time you have?" he asks.

I shake my head no. "Not much, I gather. I'm here for one more thing and then I'll be called home."

"Seems our parents aren't big on details, huh?" he says. His smile is warm and inviting. I can't help but reach up with my palm and rest it softly on his cheek. His eyes fall shut as if my touch sooths the night he's had and somehow when he lifts his hand and covers mine I feel peace wash over me too.

"Do you think meeting each other was big enough to be that thing? Do you think it could be our purpose?" I ask. I could die today and not have any regrets. All the people I care about are on the other side.

Kenneth leans forward and presses his lips to my forehead, his hand still holding mine to his cheek. When he pulls back he moves so that he's holding my hand between us. "If that were it, then why would we both still be here?"

"I don't know," I answer. "Maybe it's something you have to do."

His expression falls for a second and he looks down to our joined hands. "My friends are all taken care of. My death was fast, but the wound it left will take a long time to heal." He looks up into my eyes. "I needed to see they were going to be OK. I needed to know in my heart that my last mission wasn't the end of their 'normal.' I needed them to pick up their pieces and keep marching. It took some of them longer than others to fall back into formation, but they all did it. And my sister and mom," he smiles, but I can see the pain in his eyes, "they survived another folded flag."

"I'm so sorry," I tell him honestly as I wrap my arms around him. His strong ones pull me closer and I can feel them and their strength as they cradle me to his steady form.

"Me too," he says as he holds me. "Me too."