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“He’s so hot and dreamy…”
“He’s insane about his wife and very happily married.”
“Y’all… Ewww? Just no,” Giselle shuddered, setting down her tray. “He’s intimidating sometimes, and I’ve seen him seriously yell at some people before. I would rather stay on the good side than get on the bad one.”
“Sometimes I wish I hadn’t divorced my ex, but then he will contact me, and I remember exactly why I did.”
“Not me. I’m not ready for the hassle of it all.”
“My man is waiting on orders to come open to see if he can get assigned out here – or I can get assigned there. What about you, Giselle? Do you have a guy? You never say anything…”
“Sure, I have a guy,” she sputtered nervously, wanting to fit in. “He’s nice.”
“Is he back home in Wichita Falls?”
“He’s active duty…”
“Oh? Where’s he stationed?”
Giselle winced. She knew that was coming and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Langley.”
“Langley… Air Force Base? Your guy is in the Air Force?”
“Yes.”
“Wow…” Donna said, raising her eyebrows. “You go for the ones with the egos, the attitudes, and the checkbooks, huh?”
“Wow… that was pretty derogatory,” Giselle muttered, surprised. “I mean, can’t a guy be ‘nice’if he’s in the Air Force? You can’t believe the hype and stereotypes… or people would think we are a bunch of angry people that fight all day long. Let’s be honest, unless trouble shows up on our doorstep? We do a lot of paperwork and prep-work for when that day comes.”
“She’s got you there, Donna…”
“True that, girl…”
“I, for one, hope it never comes,” Giselle admitted, raising a spoonful of cherry cobbler and ice-cream up. “Let’s stick with Band-Aids, dehydration, sprains, and broken noses.”
“Amen, sister!” they said easily, each lifting their spoon in a mock toast.
* * *
A few hours later,Giselle was running down the path, looking for Austin in the distance and fully aware they were both waiting for it to get a little darker out. Fewer people, less visibility, and a whole lot fewer questions…
Glancing up, she saw him standing towards the back half of the fence, waiting. Jogging forward, she gulped in air and let out an out-of-breath ‘Hey’ in greeting.
“Evenin’ paladin…” he smiled easily, tilting his head to the side. “How was your day?”
“Fine,” she began and handed a bottle of water through the fence, speaking distractedly. “Just busy work today and a few visits for headaches, dehydration, and one accident with a box knife.”
“Ouch.”
“Yup. What about you? How was your day?”
“Meetings,” he admitted. “Going over maps, discussing flight plans, and lots of boring stuff.”
“Stuff we aren’t supposed to discuss,” she smiled, guessing.
“Stuff we shouldn’t discuss,” he agreed, matching her smile. “H.I.P.P.A.”
“Exactly, but I didn’t tell you a name or describe the person.”
