Hearts of Despair

Chapter One: The Beginning

*Incessant beeping* 3 new messages.

"What time are you going to be out of work tonight?

Early. One of the sgts is having a cookout at his house that we all have to go to.

Seriously? Why can't they ever tell us this shit ahead of time?

Idk babe. Will you be ready to leave around 1630?

Yeah.

Ok. I love you Ky.

I love you too, A."

And that's it. My husband's job is notorious for telling him things last minute.. and on my birthday of all days.

It's not the end of the world I guess.. at least maybe now I'll be able yo relax and drink a little.. that is if they don't mind a 19 year old drinking at their house.. shit.

Oh well, I'll just DD for Adrian like I always do.. ya know, since he's legally allowed to drink. This blows..

...

"Hey babe, how was work?" I ask him this question everyday (not ever around the same time because the military loves to deprive me of quality time with my husband..).

"It was alright, you almost ready to head out?" I wasn't expecting us to leave the second you changed into civvies, but yeah I guess so.. "Uh yeah, let me grab my purse."

...

"Do you know where we are supposed to be going?" He acts like he does, but he's not talking so he's definitely trying to concentrate. "For the most part. He told me which subdivision to turn into and then just gave me the street name, nothing else.."

Of course.. I hope we can get there soon, then the sooner we can leave and I can enjoy my birthday.. "Hey Ky.. I'm sorry we have to be going here instead of out celebrating."

I'm shocked by his apology. Adrian is the sweetest man I've ever met, but he doesn't usually say things like that. He's more of an "It is what it is" type of guy.

"It's okay, we'll just have to celebrate later." I nudge him a little and he smiles. He knows what I mean. It's been a little while since we were last intimate, his job has him working nights and I'm at school during the days.

"I think we're here. That's Sergeant Dunn's car in the drive." I take in a breath and tell myself to have a good time while we are here. There's no point in making the night miserable for everyone else.

We walk into the house and immediately I see a lot of men that I recognize, but can't remember their names. They all know who I am of course, because of Adrian, so I give cautious hellos to all of them as we pass by. Making our way through the home, Adrian catches eyes with who I presume is Sgt Dunn.

"Good evening, Sgt. This is my wife, Kiley." ~ "Dennis, how many times do I have to tell you. It's Will outside of the shop. *chuckle* Hi Kiley, it's nice to meet you. This is my wife Stephanie, and our littlest, well younger one Tyler." He wasn't joking, that is the cutest baby boy I have every seen.

"Hi.." After several seconds of awkward silence on my part, Will tells us that burgers and hot dogs will be ready in a few minutes and that we are welcome to walk around. I smile at Tyler as we walk away; he peeks over Stephanie's arm and grins the chubbiest little grin at me. I have to hold that baby..

Adrian ushers me over to his group of coworkers that I can actually recognize and name. "What's up, Cole?" Cole is a tall and thick guy with amazing eyebrows. He goes and gets his done more often than I do. "Nothing much, man. You ready for that PFT on Monday?" Great, already talking about work.. That's when I decide to tune everyone out and look for something to sip on. I find a solo cup and fill it with water.