Everyone shuffled in with a look of satisfied exhaustion.
"We saw a deer!" yelled Bryant proudly.
"We sure did," said Hope, smiling. "Michelle, it was so cute. You should have been there. We were all in awe of this beautiful doe standing there with its baby. And what does Bryant say? 'I can't wait to get back and tell Ms. Michelle.'"
Everyone laughed and Michelle held her chest with the most heartfelt smile across her face I thought that I saw tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
"Well, she is a pretty incredible lady," I said, looking at her. We shared a sweet smile. I didn't bother to hide my joy at being with her and seeing her happy. As far as I was concerned, I could tell everyone and not care a bit who knew. It would not change the way that I felt about Michelle. I knew from the moment that I saw her that I wanted to know more about her and now that I was getting the chance to see what she was really about, I was even more impressed.
"Okay, we've had our walk," said Harlow, trying to contain his mounting frustration. "Now, I think that it would be a good idea to get things ready so that we can head back. Just seeing how involved it is going for a walk, let's me know that we should probably have started packing to leave three days ago."
"We still have a little bit more time to get ready," said Monica. "But after that walk, I'm hungry. Hope, do you still have any of that amazing pie of yours?"
"Sure do. And I would love it if you guys would do me the favor of helping me get rid of them. Otherwise, we will sit here and eat and entire meal of pies. And by us, I mean Darren."
Darren smiled sheepishly.
"You know it's actually more your fault than anyone's," he said. "If your pies weren't so delicious, I might not be tempted to eat so much of them." Michelle then heads toward the cabinet to retrieve plates.
"I'll help you serve it." she says. She was so thoughtful and generous. Always thinking about other people. I loved that about her.
"Thanks," said Hope, disappearing into the pantry and emerging with two of most gorgeous pecan pies I’d ever laid eyes on. The group started "ooooo"ing and clapping, eyes fixed on the pies as Hope carried them to the counter to be cut and served.
“Whipped cream… ice cream anyone?” There were several drawn out “Yeeeeeeess’s.”
Once everyone had been served, the room quieted down with the scraping of forks and moans of satisfaction the only sounds heard.
I sensed that the trip had come to an end and I thought it would be best if I took my leave before everyone else. I hadn't thought that I would end up spending the night, but I was glad that I did because I had two more chances to be with Michelle.
"I'm going to be taking off here soon," I announced. Michelle looked at me with a look of sad panic in her eyes. I felt a jolt of sadness within me, but I knew there was no sense in prolonging the inevitable.
"What a funny surprise seeing you out here," said Harlow. "Just when you think that the world is small, you find out that it's even smaller."
"Yeah," I said, shaking my head in wonder. "It’s definitely been a memorable weekend, an adventure for sure." I stole a glance over at Michelle and saw that she was grinning from ear-to-ear.
"We have to do this again soon," said Harlow. "What are you up to these days?"
"I took a job doing some remote contract work with the military," I told him. "I wanted to be able to do something that allowed me to live in the wilderness and still be able to live comfortably. With my military background and experience, it just made sense that I would work for them. I didn't think that I would get back into military work after I left the SEALS, but it's been working out for me so far." I didn't want to go into too much detail about the work that I was doing for the military. They had me working on some classified cases that I didn't want to talk to them about. But I felt like I had answered his question without lying.
"And how have you adjusted to life after officially leaving the military?" asked Harlow, turning his head sideways to get a better look at me.
I remembered how hard it had been emotionally for me when I came home. I had spent many months talking to a therapist, trying to sort through my feelings about everything. But I didn't necessary want to share that with everyone, especially with Michelle standing there. I wasn't ready to share that part of me with her just yet.
"It's been pretty good. No complaints. I imagine that it's been similar to anyone else leaving the military, I guess."
"You'd be surprised," said Harlow, nodding slowly. "Some of us come home and struggle to get back to our lives before deployment. Sometimes, we see too much and that can affect everyone differently. That's why I started a foundation that helps soldiers coming home from the military to readjust to civilian life. It's called ‘Home Free’. I know how it can be to go from one world to the next and struggle to stay grounded and connected with life and your loved ones. It can alienate you. . I had to find ways to cope once I got home and now with the foundation, I help other soldiers who might have challenges in these areas. It's really good that you adjusted so well once you left the military because not all soldiers have that experience. But if you ever decided that you wanted to check out what the foundation does to get some extra support, I definitely suggest it. Or who knows? Maybe you could be an incredible resource to help others going through the challenges associated with adjusting back to civilian life?"
Wow, I thought, This is a different side to Harlow. I really enjoyed being around everyone and thought that maybe it might be a good idea to try to connect with more people.
"I'll definitely keep it in mind," I said. "Things have really been looking up for me lately, so I would love to come out and see if there's anything that I can do to help."
I looked over and winked and Michelle. I wanted her to know that she was a large part of the reason why I had felt more optimistic lately.
I thought about what Harlow was telling me. I realized that he was not that same reactive man that I had met all those years ago in the SEALS. I thought that his constant shots over the past few days had been coming from a place of hate, but having this conversation made me think that maybe that wasn't the case. In fact, I was starting to think that I had been completely wrong about him, really all of them. They had been very welcoming and warm, allowing me to spend time with them as if I was a long lost family member. I felt so welcomed by them. And the fact that Michelle had been here was an added bonus. Actually, she was my favorite part about the last few days.
I could see myself being friends with them now that I knew that they were actually decent guys. I tried to think of a good reason for me not to take Harlow up on his offer and couldn't think of reason not to. I had been dreading my trip ending and not being able to see Michelle anymore. Now that I’ve had time to spend with her and experience amazing love making session, I knew that I wanted more. This gave me the perfect opportunity to be around her.
"You know what, I'll do it. I'll go with you to Albuquerque and help with the foundation. I think that it would be just as good for me as it might be for others. I can always do the work that I do for the military somewhere else. And there really isn't anything keeping me in the woods. Not anymore, anyway."
I could see Michelle beaming at me out of the corner of my eye. My heart almost leapt up in my chest at the thought of being able to spend more time with Michelle and seeing what the future might hold for us.
"What a relief," said Monica. "I wasn't sure how much more orchestrating I could do before you two found a way to get together. My task is completed!" Michelle laughed loudly.
"Yes, you have definitely been on the job," said Michelle. "I'm just glad that things are working out the way that they are because I didn't want to have to think about how I was going to go about getting back into the mountains on a regular basis."
I walked over and wrapped my arms around her, glad that I could now show my affection for her publicly.
"Awwww," said Whitney, starting to tear up. "I'm really happy for you guys. And I would be lying if I didn't say how happy I am that you decided to come back with us, Elijah. To be honest, I was starting to panic a little bit as I noticed that you two were becoming closer. Michelle is the best thing that has happened to our family. Our children have flourished, and our household has been happier with her here, so I understand how you can be so taken with her. I kept imagining when she didn't come back the night of the storm that we had lost her…that she had decided she was going to stay with you and live in the mountains forever. But this is even better."
Whitney smiled brightly, rushing over to hug both of us.
"Group hug!" yelled Monica, walking over to join us.
Soon, everyone had joined us. I felt squished and uncomfortable in a web of arms. I smiled though, because it felt good to be connected to such wonderful, warm-hearted people. It almost felt like…dare I say…a family!