I have two endings to this story ,
So does she leave or does she stay... would be interested to know what you all think before i choose which one to publish
Hope you'll oblige ... Kazz
Angel sat and looked around the house that she would share with John in nine days from now . The days were flying by and with so much to arrange she had
not been back to the cottage for a couple of days, and now Craig had rung up to tell her that they would be away for the rest of the week, the tension was
beginning to tell .He had promised that they would be back for the wedding, but she knew it was a promise that he could only try to keep. She just hoped that they
would all keep their heads down and come home in one piece.
The front door opening broke into her thoughts.
`Hi Love , I'm home`, shouted John as he entered the room .
Angel moved to him and embraced him.
`Hey , not that I'm complaining, but what 's all this for? He asked.
`Just needed a hug`, she said and smiled at him.
`Craig and the guys are away for a few days`, she said trying to sound unconcerned. `He called me this afternoon`.
John hugged her
I'm sure they'll be fine , they all know what they're doing, and I have it on good authority that they are the best at what they do`, he said smiling.
Angel sighed, but smiled back at him.
`You're right , but that doesn't stop me worrying, they all mean a lot to me ,I guess I feel entitled to worry about them`, she said
`That makes what I have to tell you even more difficult `, said John.
Angel looked at him worriedly.
`What's wrong? She asked.
`Nothing as far as I'm concerned, but I don't quite know how you are going to feel about what I've got to tell you`, he said.
Angel felt as if she was going to be sick.
`Here`, said John as he handed her a drink.
`Well ? Asked Angel.
`I'm being transferred ,` he said `And there'll be a promotion that comes with the new job`.
Angel sighed and sipped her drink.
`Is that all? I thought something terrible had happened.` she said.
John took the drink from her and placed it on the table and then took her hands in his.
`They're sending me home,` he said, `Back to the States`,
He watched as the news registered with her.
`So far away`, she said almost to herself.
John knew immediately what was bothering her
`Sweetie they are all grown men, they can and have managed without you. If they were real soldiers you wouldn't see them for months at a time, you know that.
You have to put us first if we have any chance of making this marriage work. You have to let them go and let us build a life together`. He said.
Angel looked at him , still shocked by what he had just told her.
`I know your right, I should put us first`, she said `And I do know that they can take care of each other, they learned to rely on each other a long time ago,`
`But? He asked.
`They are my family, all of them, not just Craig. Leaving them will be so very hard, I'll miss all of them so very much`, she said sadly.
`I love you Angel, and I want to be a part of your family too, you are the most important thing in my life now. I want us to start a new life together, have a family of our own. I know that leaving them will be hard for you to do, but if you love me as much as I love you, then it's something that you will be willing to do `, he said.
Angel looked at him.
`I do love you, so very much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you`, she said.
John kissed her.
`I'm glad, he said. Because we will have to leave straight after the wedding, it will be like a honeymoon`,
`So soon? She asked.
`I have my orders, ` he said, `There is no choice`.
`All right`, she said as she rested her head against his chest. `I'll go back to the cottage tomorrow and start to pack up a few things, at least I can have them over
here so we're ready to leave`. She said.
`What do you want to do with the cottage? He asked her.
She looked at him sadly.
`Nothing. ` she said. `It's my home and Craig's too, and they need a place to run to sometimes and the cottage has always been there when they've needed it, I'll
not take it away from them`
`Okay love , I understand , You are doing the right thing , you know`, he said `You can't mother them forever , they have come to rely on you way to much, it's
about time they branched out on their own.`
Angel looked at him and smiled sadly.
`You don't understand `, she said. `Craig and I have spent the last year desperately trying to stop them doing just that, and it's not easy, they seem to find
trouble in the most unlikely places, and them branching out as you put it is the last thing we want`.
`Well I'm sure that Craig will be able to keep them out of trouble without you, it is part of his job after all, now isn't it? He asked.
Angel smiled to herself as she remembered some of the scrapes the four of them had gotten into.
`They'll be fine without you Angel`. He said.
`Yes, you're right `, sighed Angel trying hard to believe what she was being told.
`Well`, said John hugging her, `I'll just have to make sure that you're to busy to worry about them , now won't I? he asked her
Angel returned the hug, but deep inside she knew that no-matter what she did , or how busy she was , they would always have a place in her heart for all of them,
they had been a part of her life, had been there for her when she had needed them, she loved them, and she knew for certain that she would always worry about
them, and there was nothing that John or anyone else could do to stop that.
…..
Angel descended the attic ladder with yet another suitcase and sighed. She hadn't realised just how much clutter she had collected over the last years.
`Oh well only one more case to go`, she said to herself.
As she reached for the case on top of the cupboard it slipped out of her hands and caught the cupboard doors pulling them open.
Angel stood and looked at it's contents.
She hadn't opened these doors for what seemed a lifetime , and as she looked at the pile of David's clothes neatly folded on one of the shelves , she thought her
heart would break. She pulled out one of the jumpers and hugged it closely. She missed him so much, even now.
Putting the jumper aside she reached for the box at the bottom of the cupboard. Inside there were pictures that Sarah had drawn for her all neatly pasted in a book
for them to look at together when she was older. She looked at them all and then carefully replaced the book in the box. She opened the smaller box that she had also
found and smiled as she remembered lovingly tying the small pink bow around the lock of Sarah's hair. Next were the snapshots David had taken, and she smiled as
she remembered every place, every moment that had meant so much to them both. She found one of the two brothers , each one planting a kiss on Sarah's cheeks
while her daughter giggled between them. It was them that the tears slowly started. She looked around the room. This was her home, it had been so filled with love.
Would leaving alter the way she felt about this place. She would have a new home to build with John, and it would be so very different from what she had here. It
would be a home without the safety of the friends she had here, the family she had made her own, The family that she loved more than anything. She felt that taking
these things away from the cottage would be wrong somehow, they belonged here, with so many of the other precious memories she had. They should be tucked
away safely until she came back for them.
It hit her then , she would never come back. She would build a life in the States with John, so many miles away, to far to return when she felt homesick.
Loving John was easy, but leaving here , all the precious memories that were in every room , that would be the hardest thing of all to do.
As she put the things back in the cupboard she looked at her hands.
On one, the sparkling engagement ring that John had given her , a chance at a new life and a new family, with a man she knew loved her deeply. On the other a plain
gold band, also given with love. She starred at the two. She had to make a decision , and make it now.
That simple gold band had to be left behind if she was to start a new life , it was not fair to John to do anything else. Marrying him would make her his completely,
there couldn't ever be anything that would make him feel second best. She took hold of her wedding ring and slowly drew it off her finger and clasped it in her hand.
She knew that David would want nothing more than for her to be happy. She opened her hand and carefully put the ring in the small box with her daughter's lock of
hair.
She put the things back in the cupboard and locked the door. She had made the decision that she had been putting off for the last few days.
She just hoped in her heart that it was the right one.