Three Years Later

“I hate snakes.”

I look up at the sunlight coming in through the jungle’s canopy and for the hundredth time since coming to the Amazon, I wish nature weren’t so… natural.

Henry laughs at me. “Come on. They’re not so bad.”

“Only when they’re not trying to bite you, they’re fine. But everything in this place is biting me.”

He grins and grabs my hand. “We’re close. Can you feel it?”

I nod, getting still for a second. I can feel it, he’s right. The guides are all tenser and the jungle seems quieter somehow, though still a racket of screaming birds and monkeys.

We’re following a group of local guides, men that grew up in this region all their lives and watched as the local population fell into disarray and essentially slavery. We’re here chasing a story, like we always do, and this time it’s a big one.

I spin the ring on my finger, the big diamond catching the light. It’s a nervous habit. We got married two years ago, two weeks after winning an award for our opioid short documentary. After that broke out and went viral, the police cracked down on the Strips. The audio we sent them was a big part of their case and apparently they made a lot of arrests.

As far as I know, Tom and Pat are both doing just fine. I heard from them once, right around the time that we got married. It was just a quick email from Pat, saying hello, and thanking us for what we did. I haven’t heard anything since, but I like to imagine they’re both safe. Or at least Pat is.

Ever since then, we’ve been traveling the world together, taking on assignments as they come. But this one is special. This is our last assignment together, at least for a while.

We reach the top of a hill and the guides all get down low into the brush. “Look,” the man named Manuel says. “There.” He points his machete across the jungle.

Up ahead, we spot smoke coming up through the leaves, and I can just make out some buildings. Some hidden buildings.

“That’s them?” I whisper.

“Si,” he says. “Cocaine. Lots.”

I glance at Henry and he nods. “Let’s do it.”

I reach down and touch my stomach softly as we stand. I’m not pregnant, not yet, but when we’re done here we’re going to try. We’re going to settle down and take some safer assignments for a while, ride the desk as they say. We’re going to start a family.

But first, we’re going to risk everything one last time for a big story.

We’re here investigating cocaine factories hidden deep in the Amazon jungle. Local warlords have been rounding up indigenous peoples and essentially enslaving them, forcing them to grow and manufacture the stuff. We’ve been quietly interviewing dozens of people this last week, and now we’re getting a close-up view of the actual factories.

We move silently through the jungle, down toward the buildings. We don’t get too close, but just close enough for our photographer to grab some shots. The guides are dead silent and still, and I can tell that they’re afraid. I know if we get caught, we’ll likely be killed. People don’t come look at these buildings and survive.

Henry wanted to leave me behind for this, of course, but I refused to even consider it. I’m not going to sit on the sidelines while he risks his life to get a glimpse of these buildings. If something goes bad, it goes bad for us both. We’re a team. He relented pretty fast, but I know he’d rather I were back in camp where it’s relatively safe.

We sneak around the buildings, quietly moving through the trees. The only sound is the photographer’s camera clicking and clicking. We don’t see a single person, but there are lights in the windows.

Just as we complete our circuit, something moves nearby. We drop to the ground as two men, armed to the teeth, walk past. The photographer, a crazy Australian guy names Jim, peeks up and snaps a couple pictures. I’m afraid the guys will hear, but if they do, they don’t react. They keep talking in Spanish as they walk slowly away from us.

After that, we quickly leave the area. Nobody talks until we’re a mile away from the place.

“That was intense,” Henry says. “Fuck, Jim. You almost got us killed.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he says. “But I didn’t. Got the good stuff, too.” He grins, looking at the screen on his camera.

Henry sighs, shaking his head. “You did good. Just don’t do that shit again.”

We fall back into line, walking through the jungle. It’s another hour back to camp. Henry walks next to me, holding my hand.

“What do you think?” he asks me. “Exciting enough for you?”

I nod, taking a deep breath. My heart rate hasn’t come down since Jim started taking pictures back there. “I think I might be done,” I say to him.

“I think I am too.” He leans against me, squeezing my hand. “Let’s go home. We can finish the story from there. And then… we can start our family.”

I nod and kiss him gently as we walk. “Okay,” I say. “Let’s do it.”

The smile on his face is so genuine that my entire world seems to expand. That’s how I always feel when I make Henry smile.

Truth is, he’s given me more meaning than I can even imagine. He made my life exciting and fun and intense. It’s not just the sex, which is incredible, of course, but it’s work as well. I’ve never been so satisfied with someone before, and in every single aspect of my life.

And now it’s time to make that life bigger. I’m ready to have a family. I dream about babies more and more lately, and I know he’s ready, too. This is our last outing, and now we’re done.

One last time risking my life. And now it’s time to settle down.

This is what I always pictured and wanted. I needed a life of adventure with Henry, and I know I’ll always get that from him. But now I’m realizing more and more that I want a family, something stable and beautiful to build with him. We’ll build it together, day after day, moment after moment. I want to hold him every night in our home. I want to raise a child together.

He glances at me, and I know it’s right. He makes everything expand and grow. He makes it all feel good. I squeeze his hand, pull him close and kiss him.

My husband. The one that got away and came back to get me again. He’s everything and more. And I know there won’t be a single dull moment with him, no matter where we are, no matter what.