Almost final consequences….
May 3 2019
Molly and Charles
" Oh go on, you know you want to" he was kissing her neck and running his hands under her loose cardigan "Nice bra"
"It's new and no, we can't leave Chloe in her bloody seat while we go upstairs, you'll just have to wait out" Molly was struggling to keep his wandering hands at bay while she giggled.
"Won't take long and we don't have to go upstairs"
"What a lovely offer, thanks but I'll pass, a quickie in the kitchen isn't quite what I had in mind"
"What did you have in mind?" He raised and waggled his eyebrows, trying to look suggestive.
" Go and have a shower, a cold one" She laughed at him, thoroughly enjoying herself.
"You're cruel. I'm a returning war hero" he was pulling his beseeching puppy dog face as he struggled not to laugh.
"No you're bloody not, stop pulling that face, it won't get you anywhere" Molly slapped him on the bum as she turned him round and pushed him lightly towards the door.
Molly
We've been home a couple of hours and most of the time he's been trying to get me to stop what I'm doing and do what he wants to do instead which is to go to bed. Well, actually I'm enjoying it cos I'd quite like to go to bed as well, but we both know we can't, well not till Chloe's gone to bed at least. Only another couple of hours, then I can make it up to him, and to me, for having to wait. I am so glad he's home, it's lovely to see him, I'd forgotten how bloody good looking he is, he still makes my knees go all wobbly when I see him, but he looks a bit thin, he says the food was shit and being so tall he really can't afford to lose too much weight. Hark at me I'll be talking about fattening him up soon, I sound like someone's wife, I wish he would ask me, I wonder why he doesn't?
"Do I need to go to shopping at the chemists?"
"No…..and you've got a one track mind" she laughed at the expression on his face "Didn't you have a cold shower?"
"I had a shower, just not a cold one" he laughed as he picked Chloe up "I could take her for a walk and wear her out then she could go to bed early"
"It'll wear you out, more like" Molly laughed at him "She'd probably go to sleep in the buggy and then she won't go to bed until really, really late"
"Okay, bad idea" he blew a gentle raspberry on Chloe's neck as she chuckled " You know Clo, you're a great contraceptive."
"Charlie! And don't call her Clo" Molly tried to sound shocked and failed miserably.
Charles
Molly looks amazing, seeing her standing there at Brize surrounded by the lads gave me a physical shock, she looked just like she did when I first clapped eyes on her and when we were together in Afghan, a beautiful tiny little doll with a smile that used to make my heart miss a beat and go straight to my groin when we were in that bloody FOB, the only difference now is that she's mine and I sometimes find that very hard to believe. It was fun when we shocked the guys, their faces were an absolute picture. I could never understand why no-one guessed how close we were, I always thought Dangles had sussed us when we sang together or sussed me at least, but everyone was so convinced that she was Smurf's girl that they didn't see what was right under their noses. Amazing how people see what they expect to see and nothing else. This tour was a nightmare, I've always believed that homesickness could be dealt with by keeping busy and concentrating on other things, but I know now that I have probably been less than sympathetic with people who were missing their wives or partners, missing Molly was like a physical pain, each day was like a week and each week a year and what New Years's Eve was like doesn't bear thinking about, although as Molly has reminded me more than once, it was actually New Year's Day when we got together. I have only got today and tomorrow then I have to report to barracks and will have to start thinking about where my, or I should say our, next posting will be. We are very unlikely to be able to stay here, I hope Molly realises that she is probably going to have to start all over again making local friends and I know she has set her heart on taking up a college place in September, I hope that is going to be possible wherever we go. Why are things always so complicated? One thing is definite, doesn't matter how much pressure or blackmail or whatever else Beck tries, I have just done my last active service tour, barring the outbreak of World War three, that's my lot and if I have to resign my commission I will !"Sorry, sorry" He was mortified, his male pride badly dented. He had known that it was probably going to be over very quickly, far too quickly, but her telling him she was on the pill and that he didn't need a condom hadn't exactly helped matters, this was one time when a condom might have been helpful.
"You missed me then" she giggled as she stroked the back of his head "Well, you did say it wouldn't take long"
"Are you smirking at me?"
"Just a bit" she kissed him "What's your recovery rate like d'you reckon?"
"Bloody brilliant I should think" He hoped that he wasn't fooling himself or her, as he started kissing a trail down her throat to her breasts, then remembered "Hey, how come you went on the pill?"
"The postman don't like condoms" She giggled.
"Must remember to thank him next time I see him"
Molly
His recovery rate turned out to be bloody spectacular. What is it with blokes that they think they've got something to prove or it's like someone's going to give them a score or something, to me it wasn't important, it just didn't matter, but he obviously didn't see it like that. I started kissing him from his scar downwards, just to help things along a bit, but he wouldn't let me, said that if I carried on like that we was gonna get an action replay of round one, which I thought was quite funny, but I'm not so sure he was joking. I don't think I understand blokes. After, we was laying there just cuddling, not talking, just being quiet together, actually I'm quite tired, it's been a long day and Chloe will be up by six, when suddenly Charlie started to talk about what might have been and how this was how we was always meant to be and how it was a shame that we had wasted so much time. I wish he wouldn't, I still feel guilty about what happened, after all it was all my fault, I was the one who behaved like a muppet, not him. I was trying really hard not to get all upset cos I know he doesn't blame me and that he thinks that what happened with us was mainly his fault, not mine, but I still feel bad about what I did to Bashira and her family, even worse now that I've got Chloe. I don't think I will ever be able to forgive myself totally or forget what happened, but I can't go back and change it so I have to learn how to live with it, but sometimes it's hard.
I need to talk to Charlie about his mum, but I think I'll leave it till tomorrow in case he doesn't like what I'm gonna say.
May 4 2019
Charles
I wasn't entirely sure where I was when I first woke up this morning. It's always difficult waking up in my own bed after a long tour and then I get this real feeling of warmth and safety and a sort of relief that I've made it home, but the feeling this morning was unbeatable. I was still on Iraqi time so I was the only person awake in the house, it was very still and quiet and cool, even Chloe was still asleep and Molly says she wakes up really early, the sun was just coming up and the person I love most in the world and who loves me just as much, was curled up next to me fast asleep and I was filled with this feeling of everything being right, I would say perfect but Molly says she doesn't do perfect, she's wrong of course. I put my arm round her waist and cupped her breasts, just rubbing my thumb really lightly over her nipples, feeling her respond to me as she pressed her beautiful bum back into my groin, I wasn't trying to wake her up, well not trying very hard, but I managed it anyway.
Afterwards we could hear Chloe chattering away to herself and then starting to whimper so I said I would get her up. Molly said I'd have to change her bum so I got all macho and said no problem. How the bloody hell do you put one of these nappies on a baby who is intent on rolling over and crawling away from you? And she was laughing while she did it. Molly had to come and rescue me and once again I felt a real pang of guilt and sort of loss, because I never once changed Sam's bum, that was Rebecca's department. I would have described myself as a good dad, but now I'm beginning to wonder.
We had a long chat this morning about my mum. Molly reckons she is lonely and that's why she is such a pain in the arse. Apparently she made a fucking nuisance of herself while I was away, had a huge row with Molly's Nan, although Molly reckons her Nan probably started it, and was in and out of here like a yo-yo, never phoning first and taking over all the time without being asked. Molly says we should try and look at things from her point of view, my dad is great but not the best at making her feel important, she hasn't got many friends, if any, or a job, or a hobby so we're all she's got, that's me and Sam and now Chloe and no-one else. When I said she should add herself to the list Molly told me not to push it.
Mum's always been brilliant with Sam, helped me look after him when I split from Rebecca and I had him for the day, and she was also brilliant when I was injured, I would have been in real trouble without her and she was probably totally aware of what went down when Molly dumped me and I was a mess, so when you think about it, it was hardly surprising that she didn't exactly welcome Molly into my life with open arms. None of that excuses the way she's been but I think Molly's right, it explains it a bit and her spending pots of money is just her way of trying to buy our approval so that she could still feel that she is important in our lives, or my life really. Poor mum. I feel so guilty, she's my mum and she's been pretty good to me and I've shut her out. She's been especially good about bringing Sam over to spend time with Molly and Chloe and now that Rebecca has found some other poor sucker to entertain her it's important that Sam feels part of our family. I have had my settlement from the house, as I expected Rebecca's dad bought me out, so money is suddenly not an issue at all and I have forgone the furniture and stuff, Molly says she would rather go to Ikea or even a 'Pound Shop' and buy new than have the stuff that Rebecca chose.
Molly and Charles
"Catterick, bleeding Catterick? That's bandit country isn't it? And it's full of trees and shit, why do we have to go to Catterick?"
"Well we're lucky it's there and not 6 months with the UN in Cyprus"
"I quite fancy Cyprus"
"Cyprus is unaccompanied, you would have had to have stayed behind and Catterick's not so bad, 2 section, well what's left of them, are there and Jackie, and we could buy you a car "
"Are you trying to bribe me?"
"Yeah, is it working?"
"Dunno yet, keep going"
"We'll go up in a couple of weeks, have a look at houses, see where we want to live, might even see one we want to buy and we'll get mum and dad to look after Chloe, it'll make mum's day, and we can have a few days holiday while we're at it, yes?"
"Okay, it's working"
Authors notes: This is the penultimate chapter of a story that has been an enormous amount of fun to write, but I do have a little twist in the tale to end the story. Thanks for all your on-going support, you've all been great. I am sure I speak for other authors as well as myself when I say that we all need reviews so that we know that you are reading and enjoying as it is the only feed-back we get, and your reviews stop us developing low self esteem, we're all as bad as Molly really!
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