“I don’t know what my friends in the Marines would say to you claiming to own me,” she said, playfully.
“They would correct my choice of pronoun: ‘we’ own you.”
Her eyes got wide. “Is that what you think?”
I nodded. “What? You don’t agree?”
She looked off toward the beach as if she were giving my question serious thought. “You mean own, like I’m your property?”
“Yeah, you’re our girl.”
She put her hands on her hips then looked back at me. “Property, huh? Not girlfriend?”
I winced and put a hand to my heart. “Owe.”
She laughed. “What? Is that word painful to hear?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it is painful. I’ve never lost sleep or fallen into despair over property. You see the distance?”
She nodded. She stuck out her hand for me to take.
I did.
“Shall we go for a walk along the beach?” she said.
I looked behind me toward the base then back at her. “Actually, Taylor and Manny are coming.”
She pulled me toward her. “They can catch up. Come on, take your property for a walk.”
We agreed that it was maybe just a question of semantics. I preferred the word property because I felt my heart could deal with that more easily. I didn’t tell her that my high school sweetheart, Aisha, was killed in a car accident the night we had agreed to spend our lives together. One day, I’d tell Gwen about her, but that afternoon on the beach wasn’t the right time.
She said she could appreciate me wanting to protect my heart. She said she had the same concerns. I didn’t press her for specifics.
I told her about the ground rules we’d come up with. “To make sure you’re treated with dignity and respect,” I said. “And to make sure there was no competition or jealousy among us; so that we could share you in a way that was sustainable, that didn’t create problems.”
“The dignity and respect part I can get on board with,” she said. “I don’t know how I feel about the ‘so you can share me’ part. I don’t know how I feel about being considered as property.”
It had seemed so clear and logical during the meeting. But talking with Gwen then it wasn’t so cut and dry.
“I’m not trying to put pressure on you,” I said. “You don’t need to decide right now. And, of course, you can always change your mind. I’m just telling you what we were talking about last night.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the honesty.”
“Honesty, that’s one of the pillars of the ground rules.”
She put her hand against my cheek. I thought she was about to pull me in for a kiss. But in the distance I saw Manny and Taylor walking our way. I pointed. “Reinforcements.”
I hadn’t gotten around to telling Gwen about our upcoming deployment. I didn’t know how. Taylor didn’t waste any time. After saying hi and giving her a kiss, he came right out with the news.
Gwen took it better than I’d expected—at least outwardly it appeared she was taking it well.
Manny softened the blow by telling her about a Halloween party he’d been invited to, that we’d all been invited to. He must have just been invited that morning because it was news to me. ‘A fancy masquerade ball this weekend,’ was how he put it.
Gwen accepted the invitation immediately. She asked if she could invite her roommate. Manny said he’d have to check with his friend, but he didn’t think it would be a problem. Unfortunately, I had to get back to the base.
I kissed Gwen goodbye. “I’ll see you soon,” I said.
“This weekend,” she replied with a smile. “At the masquerade ball.”
I jogged back to the base with the taste of her lips still lingering on my tongue and the excitement of seeing her this weekend coursing through my entire body.
13
Gwen
When Travis texted me saying Holly was welcome at the masquerade ball, I phoned her with the good news.
“When? This Saturday?” she asked.
“Yes. Please say you’ll go with me.”
“A costume party with plenty of hot guys: I’ll have to think about it,” she said.
“Well, get back to me when—”
“I’ve thought about it,” she interrupted. “I’m definitely going.”
“Great! It’s going to be so much fun. And you’ll get to meet my Marines.”
“Looking forward to it.”
As excited as I was, I still found something to worry about—old habits die hard. “We only have three days to get costumes.”
“Leave that to me,” she said.
I could practically hear her grinning over the phone.
Saturday afternoon was generally a busy time for the cafe. But with Holly leaving for Mexico soon, and with the masquerade ball that night, I decided I was going to take the weekend off. Jenny had a friend who was looking for work. Perfect timing. Business was booming. I could use another girl. I hired her sight unseen.
When Holly, late riser, finally got up that Saturday morning, she was surprised to find me in the kitchen.