Lost Dreams by Jude Ouvrard Page B

repeat.
    After my workout, I called Avery and told her everything that I was allowed to repeat. Our conversation had some pretty heavy restrictions. I hated myself when I she began to cry. She was worried about us, Remy and me. She knew the realities, this was no picnic, we were in an insecure zone, doing a dangerous job. We had to be smart about our every move and for the most part we were doing a fucking good job of it.
    I promised her Remy was fine and he would contact her as soon as possible. We didn’t talk for very long because she had made plans with Megan. Apparently they were having a girly day. I had no clue what that meant, but knowing she was having fun meant the world to me. She seemed happy and a lot of the change was because of her new friend. I was appreciative of Megan in that regard.
    When we said our goodbyes, she'd stopped crying. Her emotions were under better control and I'd even heard her laugh which made me happier. She kept telling me how much she loved me and I kept trying to convince her I loved her more. We acted like teenagers but we were enjoying it.
    I was always sad to say goodbye to my wife. I missed her like I had never missed anyone before.
    ~~~*~~~
    B efore we sat down to supper, I ordered a ring for Avery online. She already had her wedding ring, but I wanted to give her an eternity ring. I found one made of white gold with purple amethysts decorating the gold. I asked Patrick if I could have the ring delivered to his house, to keep it secret from Avery. It was my Christmas present to my wife. Purple was her favorite color and had the added significance of being my birth stone. I couldn’t think of a better gift and I knew she would love it. She had tried on similar rings when we went shopping for the wedding rings.
    ''Lewis, we've got to head out now. We've got news regarding a possible attack.'' William led me towards the rest of our team. "We're heading over to the planning room.”
    We spent five hours straight, planning our mission. Our intelligence people were working on every detail. We had to keep control of the situation and make sure nobody got hurt. We were not here to hurt the Iraqi people, we wanted to protect them. Unfortunately, sometimes we had to defend ourselves from insurgents who wanted nothing more than to force us out of the country.
    My heart was pounding with excitement and adrenaline. This was why I loved my job, I never knew what was coming my way but at the end of the day, I was ready for anything we had to deal with. We had the power, will and knowledge to complete every mission successfully.
    This was my life - the Army and my wife were the two most important things. Every night, it seemed my prayers were answered as I asked for protection. I wanted to fight like I'd been trained to and make the world a better place. Most importantly, I wanted to return to my beloved wife.
    That was all I prayed for.
    I went to bed that night satisfied with myself. I was proud of who I was and who I had become. I was thankful for Remy being here with me and alive. It was one of those night where I reflected on my life and I was damn happy about it.
    Our patrol went as planned, we controlled the situation with ease. None of us were hurt and I was thankful for that small mercy.
    Nothing felt better than being proud of myself.

15.
December 15th, 2007
Avery
    I had no idea when he was coming home exactly, but I knew it would be before Christmas Eve. I had to wait another eight days or less until I could see my Carter again. I was so nervous, in a good way. I wanted his arrival to be special, to have the house perfectly decorated. I'd purchased cinnamon-scented candles which perfumed the house and I'd bought him new clothes for the holidays which complimented my new clothes. It was going to be our time together. Our first Christmas as husband and wife.
    I wanted to get back to where we had started. Our honeymoon was much too short. I'd bought massage oils and I had replaced our