On The Front Lines

6

"Thank you, Kayla," I said before hanging up. I got up to open the door' "Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Baker. It's good to see you again; please have a seat."
            "Thank you, Bailey. I just love the changes you've made to your office. Is that a de Vinci?" Mrs. Baker asked.
            "Yes ma'am," I replied as I sat down. "So, what can I do for you today?"
            "We want you film our fiftieth anniversary. We saw the film you did for the Jefferson's and we want that same quality," Mr. Baker explained.
            "I would love to," I replied with a smile.
            "Oh, we'll also be in need of your pastry services. That Berry Blitz you did to for the twins' graduation was absolutely delicious."
            "That won't be a problem. When is the party?"
            "Next month on the fourteenth. It's twenty-five hundred guests, so we'll need a lot of cake."
            "We can handle it," I told her as I put the information in the computer and printed the invoice. "Okay, all together it will be eighteen thousand, with a ninety-five hundred dollar deposit. That will cover the film, the cake, the delivery, set up and clean up, as well as insurance for losses and damages. Here is your copy," I handed Mr. Baker a folder with all the paperwork inside, "If either of you have any questions, concerns or changes you'd like to make, just give me a call or stop by and we can talk it over."
            "Trust me; we won't be making any changes. What you do is nothing short of miracles," Mr. Baker said as he stood and took out his check book. He gave me a check and helped his wife up from the chair.
            "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Baker. I'm going to send the order in to the bakery and you should be hearing from them within the next week."
            "That's perfect, thank you," Mrs. Baker said as they made their way to the door. "Oh, tell Jay Jay, when he gets back, we have a few jobs for him over at the ranch."
            "Will do; have great day," I told them as they left.

            "...and then she punched him in the nose," the girl recited the line perfectly.
            "Thank you, Zoe. I really like the emotion you put into your performance. The delivery was very clean. Have you ever heard of Tori Lashae?" I asked.
            "Of course, she the best choreographer on the planet," she replied excitedly.
            "I'm glad you're familiar with her work because you're going to be working with her the next eight months."
            She looked as if her eyes were about to pop out of her head.
            "Ar-are you serious?" She asked, on the verge of tears.
            I smiled, "Congratulations" I told her as I closed my binder and shook her hand. "Enjoy the rest of your week, Zoe. You fly out to Miami Sunday and Monday you'll meet T-Shae at her studio."
            "Thank you, so much. I promise I'll give you everything in me."
            "I hope so."

            On the way to meet everyone for lunch, I stopped home to change for my meeting after. As I was putting on my flats, the doorbell rang twice. Going downstairs, I went to the door, looked through the peep hole and saw two men in military suits.
            "Yes?" I asked as I opened the door.
            "Mrs. Hampton?" The taller man asked.
            "Yes, can I help you?"
            They looked at each other then turned back to me, "Can we come in, ma'am?"
            I nodded, stepping aside to let them in. I led them to the living room and offered them a seat. "What's this about?"
            "Mrs. Hampton, it was reported to us this morning that the unit your husband is in was ambushed late last night. There were casualties but none of which were identified as your husband," he explained.
            "So what does that mean?" I asked as my heart raced.
            "It could either mean he managed to escape or he was taken as a hostage," the other man spoke up.
            "Taken?"
            "We have three units sweeping the surrounding area of their camp for him and few others. But in the case we don't find him, it would be best advised you start to prepare funeral arrangements."
            I sat stunned. I'd just talked to him yesterday and now it's possible he could be gone. By the passing second, it was becoming harder to breathe. My worst fear was becoming my horrifying reality.
            After I let the men out, I broke down. This can't be happening. We were just on the phone, talking about the baby and how he couldn't wait to come home. He was so excited when I first told him; every time we talked about it, I could hear the smile in his voice. As much as I wanted to believe this was all a big joke, my heart was saying otherwise.

            "Twin, where have you been? We've been calling you al-" Co said as she walked towards me. When she saw my face, she stopped, "What's wrong?"
            I looked up at her and opened my mouth the answer but started to cry again.
            "Is it the baby? Where are the girls; are they okay?" She asked and I shook my head.
            "It- it's Jay. They said he's missing," I managed before the next wave of emotion hit.
            She stood there stunned, just like I was. I could tell she was holding back for my sake but her emotions were all over her face.
            Half an hour later I was sitting on the sofa with Kat in silence. Co had called her when I cried myself to sleep. I watch her as she stood of the other side of the yard, looking out to the city. She'd been over there for while and had not moved an inch.
            "What time is it," I asked Kat.
            "Quarter till three."
            "I have to go get the girls from school," I sighed.
            "I'll go, they shouldn't see you like this," she offered. "Go talk to Co; the two of you need each other right now," she told me before going inside.
            I got up and walked to where she was standing. As I got closer, I hear her sniffling.
            "He loves the view; that's why we bought the house," I said as I stood next to her, looking at the sun shine over the city.
            It was quiet for a few seconds before she spoke. "I talk to him the other day. You know what we talked about," she asked turning to me, "you. He said 'Sis, she having my baby. I was so excited when she told me, I cried' and he laughed. It's funny how it went from 'sis my baby wrote a book' to 'sis she said yes' to 'sis she's having my baby'," she chuckled. "I said 'Jay-Jay, y'all go at like rabbits, you knew it was coming sooner or later' and he said 'Yeah, but it's actually happening, though' and he went on and on about all the things he was going to do if it's boy. How can somebody who has everything going right for them have this happen; I don't understand it."
            "I didn't either. We still had plans, you know. And to have it all ripped away from you just like that. To find the person you planned out the rest of your life with; the person who want your son to be like...it's hard to swallow," I shook my head, "What am I going to tell Lay? She adores him, twin. It's going to be hard trying to explain this to her; she going to be crushed.
            "We can take them tonight so you can your thoughts together before you tell her, "she offered."
            I sighed, "No, I'm going to tell them after dinner. There's no use in waiting."
            "Well think about this, what if they find him? Don't tell them just yet."
            "And what about when they're looking for his call every week? What do I tell them then?"
            "Tell them he's saving the country, simple. It's going to be alright twin. They're going to find him and he'll be home before you know it."

            The next few days were extra busy, which left no time to think about the situation. A few times I found my thoughts drift but I was immediately brought back to what I was doing. By the time Friday came, I was beyond exhausted.
            "Come in," I answered to the knock at the door.
            Kayla opened the door, "There is a Sergeant Rhymez here to see you."
            "Um, send him in," I told her as I tried to my heart from racing at the possible reasons he could be here.
            She nodded and let the man in. He thanked her before she closed the door."Good afternoon, Sergeant Rhymez, please have a seat," I gestured to the chair across from me.
            "Thank you," he sat down. "I know you're a busy woman so I won't take up too much of your time."
            "This is about my husband, everything else can wait," I told him.
He nodded, "We received a video message yesterday of the men who were captured during the ambush."
            "Is Jason on it? Do they have him?"
            "We have reason to believe so. Their faces are covered and they were stripped of their uniforms," he took his phone out ad handed it to me. "Can you identify any of the men in the video as your husband?"
            Taking the phone, I watched closely as the camera panned men kneeling on the ground with guns to the back of their heads. I was starting to get discouraged because I didn't see anything that would let me know if one of the men were Jay. Near end, the camera was turned to a man with his hands tied above his head. My hand flew to my mouth when I recognized the tattoos on his chest.
            "Jay," I whispered as tears began to fall.
            "You see him?"
            I nodded, paused the video then gave him the phone back.
            "You're positive that's him," he asked and I nodded again. He stood, "Thank for your help, Mrs. Hampton. If anything new comes up, we'll be in touch," he said and left.
            I sat there with the image of Jay basically hanging from the ceiling. His body was wet, his chest heaving, blood running from his nose and lips. Seeing him like that made me nauseous as I rushed to the bathroom and lost my lunch.
            Why is it every time these people want to talk, there's never anything good coming out of their mouths. This was beginning to be too much and the last thing I need is the extra stress.