Читать книгу Ten Days - John Sheppard - Страница 18

After years in the military, Stephen knew how to pack for deployment. He kept most of what he would need ready. There wasn’t any reason to keep a written checklist; it now seemed to be just instinctive. Captain Trent should be knocking at his door within the next fifteen or twenty minutes.

There was the last item to pack; it had been the last item to pack throughout his military career and still was even today. He slowly ran his right index finger around the small gold-plated frame which contained Carol’s picture. She was smiling that infectious smile which first caught his attention at Stonecrest.

Stephen was late into his third year of military training at Stonecrest, and she had been a civilian secretary when their paths crossed. He was being considered for a summer training program in the USA, and had been summoned to the commandant’s office for an interview. Carol was the commandant’s secretary. In keeping with his military training, Stephen entered the commandant’s outer office in the stiff, formal style required.

When Carol greeted him with that warm smile, he struggled to keep a proper decorum. Her smile was completely disarming. Her eyes sparkled, and the expression on her face was warm, inviting, yet playful. Stephen had never met a woman who intrigued him so quickly. He had found it difficult to concentrate on the interview process because his mind kept drifting to thoughts of her.

Once the interview was over, and as he was exiting the outer office, Stephen managed to muster the courage to ask Carol to be his date for the graduating class’s military ball. She readily accepted.

While at the ball, Carol shared with Stephen that her parents were American citizens who had visited his country with her during her teen years. She fell in love with the country, and had gone to university in the capital city. To Stephen’s surprise, he also learned that she was almost four years his senior. After she graduated, Carol had decided not to return to her parents’ home, instead ending up at Stonecrest.

Stephen was chosen for the summer training program, but while in America, he couldn’t wait to get back to her. In his absence, her love for him had only deepened. They married shortly after his graduation.

Lost in his thoughts, Stephen had also lost track of time, and hadn’t heard the initial knocking at his door. Quickly, he placed Carol’s picture in his luggage, picked it up, and headed for the door.