I guess Caro had been as unlucky as me when it came to moms: hers sucked big time and hadn’t been invited.
Nicole, Jenna and Alice were there to support Caro, along with her journalist friend Marc. He turned out to be a pretty good guy. Well, he was on Caro’s side, so that was enough for me.
This was my family—my new family, my real family. It felt good.
I craned my neck when the doors opened again, and Caro walked in carrying a huge bouquet of orange and yellow tulips. She’d left her hair down, which had been my request, and it gleamed in the afternoon sunshine, curling down her back and over her shoulders. She wore a dark orange silky top that made her beautiful olive skin glow. I was so fucking proud of her.
At Shirley’s insistence, I’d dressed up fancier than I’d planned, wearing dark khaki pants, a white button down shirt and a thin black tie.
Amy said that the black tie “wasn’t appropriate”. I’d told her to go screw herself, but I said it really quietly. But then Shirley agreed with her. I nodded and smiled at whatever they said, then ignored them. Only Caro needed to like what I wore, and she already said she’d be happy if I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
When she reached my side, she took a tight hold of my hand. I could see tears in the corners of her eyes, and fuck me if I wasn’t just the same.
We stood in front of the deputy clerk at City Hall and I promised to love her every day for the rest of her life. Then she really was crying, and said she would never again let anything separate us. That was good enough for me. It always had been.
The day was cold, but the sun was shining on our small group, and I couldn’t help feeling blessed.
Despite everything we’d been through, the years apart and the decade of despair, despite my injuries, and the difficulties that were still ahead, I’d never been happier in my whole life. We were beginning again, or, perhaps, adding a new chapter to our story.
THE END
I was born on the 13th which explains a few things. I love the ocean, dogs of all shapes and size, and chocolate.
When I’m not in my writing cave, I can be found at the beach, watching surfers.
Don’t forget to look for bonus chapters on my website
More about my chosen charities
You might wonder why I’ve chosen Felix Fund and EOD Warrior Foundation to receive the profits from this book. A good friend of mine was an ATO (bomb disposal officer), so these two charities are very close to my heart.
“Felix Fund exists to support any military personnel who have conducted or assisted with Explosive Ordnance Disposal duties, and their families.
This includes ammunition technical officers, ammunition technicians, ECM operators, drivers, infantry escorts, weapons intelligence specialists, dog handlers, searchers or any other military personnel involved in EOD duties.
Our current focus is funding therapeutic normalisation breaks to help bomb disposal teams readjust to life in the UK after serving in Afghanistan.
We are also raising money for welfare and rehabilitation facilities, and building a hardship fund for all. This fund will of course support the trade’s many injured and bereaved, but also members of the wider ‘bomb disposal family’ who have otherwise fallen on hard times.”
And if you’re wondering why the charity is named ‘Felix’, think about the cartoon character ‘Felix the Cat’, who had nine lives…
www.felixfund.org.uk
I have also written a play about a former soldier’s experiences of PTSD. To find out about Later, After, click here.
“The EOD Warrior Foundation (EODWF) serves the EOD community by providing financial assistance and support to active-duty and veteran wounded, injured or ill EOD warriors, families of our wounded and fallen EOD warriors and by maintaining the EOD Memorial.
The foundation offers four pillars of support and handles each request on a case-by case basis. The immediate and ongoing assistance and resources provided by the foundation to those in the EOD community are intended to provide support above and beyond the budgetary constraints of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Emergency Financial Relief
Education
Hope and Wellness
EOD Memorial Care
Our support includes financial assistance and additional services such as morale events, peer-to-peer support, educational programs, connections to resources and sustained contact with our EOD warriors and their families.
The foundation believes that the EOD family is for life. Our ongoing mission is to disarm the challenges of the EOD family by providing our support with compassion and caring to every individual we serve.”
www.eodwarriorfoundation.org
To Kirsten Olsen, editor, de-Britisher, best friend, Army wife.
To Alana Albertson, awesome writer and Marine wife.
To fabulous author Tina Gephart for sharing the story about her husband who worked in EOD for the US Air Force—he wore his dog tags around his boots, too (see chapter 15).
To Amélie White Vahlé for the French translation (and apologies for Sebastian’s opinions on Geneva!)
To Trina Micotta for her marketing knowledge and expertise, as well as her unfailing study of the hottest models.
To Hang Le for her stunning covers and never-ending creativity.
To Michael Anthony Downs, our lovely cover photographer.
To Audrey Thunder and Dina Eidinger, for loving Sebastian and being his unfailing cheerleaders.
To Sheena Lumsden, for her friendship and all her work behind the scenes.
To Raquel Gamez who sent my books to her husband while he was serving in Afghanistan.
To all the bloggers and readers who have followed Sebastian and Caroline on their long and difficult journey. Thank you for loving them, too.
Thank you Stalking Angels. You know how much you mean to me and you never let me down.
Sheena Lumsden, Audrey Thunder, Tonya Bass Allen, Lisa Sylva, Tera Chastain, Mary Dunne, Nikki Costello, Ashley Jones, Kelly Findlay, Sarah Lintott, Lisa Smith Reid, Lily Maverick Wallis, Andrea Flaks, Kelsey Burns, Celia Ottway, Rhonda Koppenhaver, Caroline Yamashita, Lelyana Taufik, Aime Metzner, Nancy Saunders Meyhoefer, Helen Remy Grey, Heidi Keil, Bruninha Mazzali, Kirsten Papi, Gina Sanders, Gabri Canova, Melissa Parnell, Dina Farndon Eidinger, Evelyn Garcia, Nicola Barton, Jacqueline Showdog, Elle Christopher, Carly Grey, L.E. Chamberlain, Marie Mason, Trina Marie, Kim Howlett, Ellen Totten, Jen Berg, Shirley Wilkinson, Ana Kristina Rabacca, Emma Darch-Harris, Emma Wynne Williams, MJ Fryer, Drizinha Dri, Rose Hogg, Barbara Murray, Beverley Cindy, Megan Davis, Jenny Angell, Mary Rose Bermundo, Clare Norton, Andrea Jackson, Rosarita Reader, Sarah Bookhooked, Fuñny Souisa, Luiza Oioli, Megan Burgad, Lisa G. Murray Ziegler, Krista Webber, Carol Sales, Crysal Ordex-Hernandez, Dana Fiore Stusse, Jade Donaldson, Paola Cortes, Natalie Townson, Hang Le, Erin Spencer, Raquel Gamez, Nycole Griffin, Kandace Milostan, Ana Moraes, Sharen Kallenberger Marzola.
And the Fanfic readers who were there from the start.