Razor pointed toward the side of the room. “Airman’s widow, asshole. Big difference.”
“Yeah, still,” I said with a sigh. “Not worth even the…”
And then I saw where he was pointing. Or to be more precise, who he was pointing at.
It was her; the beautiful amber haired angel from the rose stand at the BX.
The day before, I’d left with one of her exquisite creations wrapped in tissue paper. Back in my room, I’d poured the whisky down the drain and listened for her.
Nothing.
The room darkened around me, and still I sat in silence.
“Rachel,” I begged. “Please talk to me again.”
In the empty room, there was nothing but harsh silence. She was gone. But what was also gone was my craving to end it all and fly away to her. Clearly she wanted me earthbound a little bit longer.
I’d fallen asleep in my boots that night, the copper rose wrapped in my hands. Maybe she wanted a real rose – yellow, her favorite. But I knew better. My darling Rachel sent me straight to Hannah Green that day.
For the first time since the day I saw her mangled body in the carnage of her SUV, I slept without nightmares. I’d never forgive myself for her death, but maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t done.
“Hey, Whaler, back to earth. Should I go hit on her?”
“What?”
“Gee buddy, what exactly are you on?”
“Eh, just tired I guess. She’s the bartender?”
“Slow on the uptake. Yes, the freaking bartender. She’s not my normal type.” He made a curvy sign with both hands. “But she’s cute. I could deal with an A-cup for a night or two.”
“Uh, that’s Hannah Green. I met her the other day, Bro. We sorta had a connection. Give me dibs on that one.”
He shook his head, bewildered. “You haven?
??t looked at a woman other than…” He paused, unable to speak of her. Razor lived around the corner from us during fighter training, and he’d adored her, too. Rachel and her epic southern cooking had always been popular with my buddies.
“No, she was the only one for me. But this girl,” I gestured toward Hannah, who was serving a round of shots to some unruly flight students. “Something between us just connected.”
He shook his head. “Wow. I did not expect that. I’ll give you two weeks then I’m moving in.”
“Two weeks, mighty kind of you. I think, however, there’s no time like the present.” I set my beer glass on the sticky table and walked toward the bar.
She looked at me from the cash register, her face draining of color as if she’d seen a ghost. “It’s you,” she said in a whisper.
“It’s me.”
We just stared at each other, the chemistry between us like the crackle of static electricity.
“Well, uh,” she glanced toward the nametag on my flight suit. “Thanks for being so generous the other day, Major Jones.”
“Jonah.”
She nodded. “Jonah.”
“Listen Hannah,” I said. “Do you think we could talk? I know it’s crazy, but I just feel like…”
“Like you should go home to your wife?”