Chapter 19

Jason and Mandy got out of the truck and walked up to Ray and Naima's house. When Jason had spoken to Ray the day before he'd mentioned Mandy would be away at the weekend so he suggested they bring forward dinner to the next night

Mandy fussed over her dress, pulling at the hem, "Why do you look so nervous? Mand you, we're among friends a what's got you so on-edge?"

Mandy looked embarrassed "I know… it's just, before I was just Mandy, now I'm… I don't know…Jason's Mandy"

"Jason's Mandy? I like that" he grinned looking pleased with himself and pulled her towards him. "You look beautiful, they already love you. Now calm down" and he planted a firm kiss to her lips.

Naima was there opening the door as soon as Jason lifted his hand to knock, she opened the door excitedly "Hey! I'm so happy you're here!" and she did look genuinely happy. She hugged Mandy and then Jason and gestured for them both to come inside.

"Chef is slaving over the hot grill" Naima laughed and pointed out the open back doors to the patio nodding for Jason to join Ray. "Us ladies will get the drinks and snacks, help me carry, Mandy?" Mandy nodded and followed Naima to the kitchen.

Naima didn't hang around making small talk she just jumped straight in "So, I bet this all wasn't what you expected, starting out a relationship with him disappearing to who-knows-where for 6 months?"

Mandy laughed "Not exactly what I had in mind"

"I mean I'm used to this, or I should be already, but 6 months took the breath out of my lungs, the way Ray looked at me when he told me I think he was sure I was gonna leave him or murder him" Naima laughed "So I might have let him panic for longer than I had to" she laughed harder and Mandy joined in.

They were both still laughing when Ray and Jason came in carrying trays of barbecued meat.

"You ladies best not be laughing at our expense" Ray teased

"No just yours Ray" Mandy quipped which sent Naima off laughing again.

Jason grinned "at least it's not me this time" and patted Ray on the back

"I was just telling Mandy how scared Ray looked having to tell me he was going away for possibly 6 months" Naima had managed to compose herself "Bet you were a bit scared yourself Jase, having to tell Mandy, after you two only just got yourselves together?"

Jason looked at Mandy looking a bit sheepish, "Well… it was kinda the other way round"

Naima looked between them looking confused

"Other way round how?" Ray asked looking just as confused

"Well…" Mandy decided to answer and save Jason "It turns out I'm getting sent away too, I had a job offer at base yesterday and so I was kinda read-in on the boys op a couple hours before you were, so I could make an informed decision"

Ray looked at Mandy "Your going on our op?!"

"No… different deployment. But I'll be spinning up too, possibly for about the same length of time as you guys"

Naima looked shocked "So you'll both be away? No contact?"

"Yeah…" Mandy said as she watched Jason's face

Naima and Ray just looked between the two of them. "Wow" Ray finally said "what a start to a new relationship!"

"Maybe this is actually perfect Mandy, I mean you said how much you would struggle being the one left behind waiting. This way you'll be busy working yourself, I'm sure the time will pass so much quicker" Naima squeezed her hand and smiled in her open genuine way.

Mandy gave her a squeeze back "that's what I'm hoping" she looked across at Jason. He smiled an encouraging smile, and nodded but behind it his eyes looked sad.

They chatted throughout dinner, Naima was such an amazing host, she kept bringing the conversation back round to happy memories and funny stories and didn't let anyone get too stuck on the difficulty of the situation. As they cleared the plates, Ray and Jason stepped outside onto the patio with their beers, and sensing their need for some brotherly conversation the two women took their glasses of wine to sit inside.

Ray and Jason sat down on the patio seats clinking their bottles together "cheers brother" Ray said before taking a sip.

"So we are both going, I take it?" Jason asked

"Yeah . There was never a question. I knew it. Naima knew it…" He paused to take a drink "… And you… I mean I know for you there's never a choice, but this must have been a harder decision this time?"

"To be honest Mandy made it easy, no matter what she said, that she would say no for us, there was no choice for her either, she was always gonna go and so was I" Jason looked up at the sky and enjoyed the moments of quiet between him and his best friend

After a while Ray spoke again "You worried about her? Deploying without you so soon after Africa?"

Jason turned his head to look at Ray still deep in thought "I'd be worried wherever she was, but we talked about it. She's got this, she always does. And she's on strict orders not to her herself fucking captured this time!" Jason and Ray both laughed

"You look lost in thought" Naima said as she opened the fridge for the bottle of wine to top up their glasses. "Something you can talk about?"

Mandy loved that Naima was so used to navigating the world of confidentiality with Ray and the guys and Davis, it made it so much easier.

"Yes and no…" replied Mandy "just some hypothetical ghosts of my past come back to haunt me"

Naima looked serious, she handed Mandy a fresh glass of wine as she sat herself back down next to her tucking her feet under her on the couch. "Ghosts in your personal life? Or work life?"

"Work life…. that impacts personal life"

Naima raised an eyebrow "your personal life as in you and Jason?"

Mandy nodded thinking about what she could and couldn't say. "Imagine you had a relationship through your work in the past, and you move on with your life but then find yourself years later back stuck in a new work situation with that person…"

"A romantic relationship?" Naima asks

"Let's say a person you got close to for other reasons. Someone you wouldn't have got close to unless it was required to do well in your job, maybe not such a nice person…?" Mandy said carefully

Naima took a minute, she looked worried. "And that's a hypothetical you're worried about right now? At the same time that your heading off somewhere away from Jason?"

Mandy nodded and sipped her drink.

"Have you spoken to Jason about it?"

"As much as I can in hypotheticals…" Mandy laughed but the humour didn't reach her eyes "…but yes. I know I have his support, he trusts me. But it doesn't feel good"

Naima reached for her hand "Are you going to be OK Mandy? You could say no."

"I thought about it seriously, but I'll be OK, I'm going to go. This is just one hurdle for us to jump, then we'll be back in a good place. It's only 6 months…. It might be a lot shorter even. And then we can be back working together."

Naima nodded and squeezed her hand again. "I know you'll be mainly no-contact which means you'll struggle to contact each other if it's even possible, but if you are able to call someone and you need someone to talk to, please call me OK, you can call me any time night or day"

Mandy found tears were stinging her eyes, she hadn't even thought that if she got chance to call someone that she'd have no-one to call, she was taken aback with Naima's kindness.

"I promise" she says as she clinked glasses with her friend, not just Jason's friend, but her friend too.