He went and sat down beside her. He put his arm around her and he pulled her close to him again. She laid her head on his shoulder. She could feel her tears coming on strongly. Bryan wiped them away with the palm of his hand. He put his hand under her chin and pulled her lips to his. Adrian kissed him gently. She felt like her heart was breaking all over again. She had been through alot in her short life. She had been married to Ben Boykewich. And they had a baby daughter who was stillborn. Her name was Mercy. And then she lost her husband Ben in a horrible accident. And she found Bryan and she found love again and the thought of losing him and their life together was more than Adrian could bare.
"I am coming back to you sweetheart." Bryan said as he looked deep into Adrian's very sad brown eyes.
"Promise me." Adrian said after a few more minutes.
"I promise I will do my very best to stay safe and come back to you and our family. I love you honey and I never want to lose you either." Bryan said as the thought of losing her also broke his heart too.
"I love you too. I just need you to come back to me. I don't think I can survive another loss like that. I have had too many in my life already. But God forbid for some reason you don't come back I will make it. I will raise our five kids and I will make you proud of me. But I don't think I would ever marry or love another. It hurts to much to open yourself up to that. Are you all packed to go?" Adrian said as she looked over at the time on the clock.
"Yes. Adrian I just want you to know that if I don't make it back, I want you to love again and be happy. It's okay. You wouldn't be dishonoring me or our life we shared together. I hope you know that I want you to be happy sweatheart. But I hope you never have to make that choice or find out anything like that." Bryan said as he entwined his hand in hers. Adrian turned and kissed him gently as she still had Noah cradled in her other arm.
"I love you so much Bryan. I love you even more than I did when you proposed, and even more than when we got married. You are a part of me now and that feeling is very powerful and strong. I know that you feel it too. Just stay safe and come home to us, to me." Adrian said after a brief pause.
"I will try Adrian. I really will try." Bryan said as the thought of not coming back made him very sad.
They both sat there and looked around the living room of their house. The TV was in front of them and on the wall next to it was several pictures of their family and friends. On one wall was current pictures starting with Holly, Kate, Hope, and lastly new pictures of Natalie and Noah had been added. Then on another wall was their wedding picture. And a group shot of Adrian, Bryan, Amy, and Ricky in their backyard right before Bryan left after renlisting in the army. Another of Adrian, Bryan, Grace and Jack at Adrian and Bryan's wedding. Pictures of Bryan's siblings, parents, and Adrian's parents and her half brother Alejandro. So much of their lives had intertwined when they fell in love and got married.
Their children's lives had become sisters once they married, and then adopted Holly, Kate, and Hope. And then further when they added their children together Noah and Natalie. So much they shared, they loved together. And letting go of his family once again to go where it was dangerous and his chances of coming back were very slim was hard for Bryan. Adrian laid on his chest with baby Noah asleep on her own. The three of them so close yet the distance coming was so close at the same time. But they shared the last few moments that they would have together.
An hour later Bryan put his pack in the back of the minivan and shut the back door. Then he got into the driver's seat. Adrian was already seated in the passenger seat quietly waiting for him to start the two hour journey to the post where he would leave for training and eventually back to his unit in Iraq. Noah and Natalie were in the seats directly behind them. They both were buckled in their carseats fast asleep. Then in the back Holly, Kate, and Hope were all talking and laughing like little girls should be. Completely happy and oblivious that their dad was leaving them again. But when they pulled in Holly and Kate would now and Hope wasn't dumb either she knew the change in everyone around her when that moment came. But for now everyone was happy and Bryan and Adrian wanted it that way.
Bryan started the van and he backed out of their driveway and started for the highway. He reached out for Adrian's hand and found her reaching for his as well. Then they held each other's hands for a long time as if time would stop and they could just stay as they were as a family. But both knew that the moment of parting was coming very soon. The drive seemed like it was longer than two hours. Finally the post came into view and and after they where on the post Bryan drove over to the parking lot and parked the van and shut off the engine. And then he kissed Adrian's hand. Slowly he got out of the van and went to the back and opened the door and got his pack out.
Adrian got out of the front seat and she went by Bryan at the back and got the double stroller out. Then she set it up and she took each of the babies carseats out and made sure they snapped into place and then she got the girls out and she grabbed that diaper bag. Then they saw Amy's SUV pull up next to them shortly after they arrived. Amy got out of the driver's seat. And she grabbed Lucy out of her carseat. While Ricky got out of the passenger's seat and he helped four year old Anna and seven year old John out of the car. And then all of them walked a ways until they joined the rest of Bryan's unit and Ricky's former unit before he retired from the army. Ricky said hello to a few people he hadn't seen in a while and introduced his family.
Then the dreaded time came for everyone to say goodbye to Bryan and let him go. So he said goodbye to his friends and their family first. He wanted to leave his own family for last already dreading the looks on his daughter's faces as he said goodbye for another year or two maybe even longer. So he went up to John and Anna and gave them a hug. And then Bryan hugged Amy and gave baby Lucy a kiss on her cheek. Then he gave Ricky a handshake and then a manly hug.
"You guys have been great friends over the years. It makes me feel a hundred time better leaving my family knowing that you and Adrian's parents are close by and are helping her out with the kids. It means more than I could ever put into words. Thank you Amy and Ricky so much. " Bryan said as he had come close to this family and he felt like they were family to him.
"Your welcome Bryan. We hope you stay safe and come home as soon as you can. We will be thinking of you." Amy said choking back her tears. She knew how hard it was to let the person you love so much go and watch them walk away to a very dangerous place. She knew Adrian was trying to be strong for the girls but she knew deep inside Adrian was falling apart inside.
"Yeah. We know you would do the same for us. Bring your butt back here man or you'll have me to answer to." Ricky said with a smile but he had a serious edge to his voice.
"Yeah I got it. You guys have a safe journey home." Bryan said with a smile.
"We will do our best." Amy said.
Then Bryan went over to his oldest three daughters first. He embraced each of them as he picked them up in his arms. He loved each of them so much. He kissed each of them and he said goodbye to them and told them he would see them as soon as he could but that he would in touch soon until that time. Then he went over to the twins he kissed each of their cheeks and held onto their little hands. Then he went over to his wife. She had a few stray tears streaming down her face.
He pulled her into his close embrace. She held onto Bryan for dear life. She kissed him several times and she hugged again and again until the moment finally came for him to leave. "I love you so much Bryan. I will do my best to take care of the kids and myself. We will be here waiting for you when you get back. We all love you and are going to miss you. I love you darling." Adrian said as she kissed him deeply once more and then she let go of his hand and she watched him walk away with his pack and join the rest of his unit. And they waved as he waved back to them.
Adrian still stood there for a few minutes after Bryan and his unit had left. Amy and Ricky and their kids stood near her and they all just stood their waiting. Until finally Adrian gave a big sigh and she looked over at Amy and Ricky. "Well I guess it is time to make the long trip home again. I just wish she was coming back with us. But we will be okay." Adrian said quietly.
Amy walked over to her and she put her free arm around Adrian and pulled her close for a hug. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks and she could feel Adrian losing control of her emotions. She turned and Ricky stood holding his arms out to grab Lucy. Lucy saw her daddy and squeeled and went to him eagerly. And Ricky pushed the stroller and took all the kids alittle ways away so that they could have a private moment between friends.
"I know that I should be used to this by now but it gets harder each time to let him go towards such a dangerous place. I maybe selfish in wanting him here with me and our family but I don't care. I love him so much and I couldn't bare to lose him like Ben. That almost killed me when he died. It took everything I had to get out of bed each day. Hope was the one person who I knew depended on me so I did it for her. But now there is so much more in my life. I just didn't want to lose it in front of him or the kids." Adrian said as her tears poured over.
"It's okay Adrian. Just let it all out now before the kids come back over here. We are all here for you if you need anything. Remember that Adrian especially on those hardest days when you find yourself alone and wanting to cry. I am only a phone call away." Amy said as she held onto her dearest friend as she let her cry, and let her just get all of the fear, sadness, and emotion out. It was what Adrian needed right then and there. And she was glad to have Amy there to hold her up even though she felt like she was breaking down already and her husband hadn't even been gone from her side for a whole hour but she couldn't help the way she felt. And she knew to suppress it only made it that much worse in the end,so she let her tears fall where they did and she let her heart break just a little bit.