The Maroon Beret

-Sean-
As much as I hate waking up early, I love being up before Charlie and having time to watch her sleep. She’s so beautiful, it kills me that she doesn’t think so anymore. I can’t help myself, and I lean down to pepper kisses along her jawline. She stirs, but doesn’t fully wake so I begin lightly nipping at her neck.

“You’re picking up your parents today.” She mumbles.
“And?” I ask.
“I’m pretty sure they won’t be happy if I have hickeys all over my neck the first time they meet me.” I laugh.
“My mom wants grandkids so badly, she’d probably be thrilled to know we’re active between the sheets.”

I realize what I just said at the same time as Charlie, and we both instantly connect our lips. Charlie totally hit the nail on the head when she told Kelsi I love morning sex. It really doesn’t take me much to get going. Although, to be honest, after five months of celibacy this sudden change in activity is taking a toll on my body. Four times in twenty-four hours just isn’t as natural as it was before.

I give Charlie a sweet kiss as I reach my release, buried inside her. We’re both covered in a thin layer of sweat and I realize I have to hurry to get ready if I don’t want to be late to practice. Fortunately I know there will be breakfast available at the rink, and I figure it isn’t worth showering now if I’m just going to get sweaty again in less than an hour.

“Janine said she’ll come pick me up and some of the other girls will help me start packing up the apartment.” Charlie says from bed as I pull a pair of sweatpants on. “Is there anything specific you want me to start with?”
“Maybe the stuff we need the most? Like our clothes and the kitchen stuff. We have a month left on the lease on the apartment, so we don’t have to rush to move it all. Maybe the dining room and guest bedroom too.” I respond.
“Sounds good to me.” She smiles.
“Don’t overwork yourself, please.” I say, leaning down to kiss her goodbye. “Like I said, we’ve got time. And plenty of free labor for the heavy stuff.”
“Okay!” She laughs. “Now get out of here before you’re late.”
“I’ll text you after practice when I’m heading to the airport.” I promise.
“Sounds good, baby.” She puckers her lips for another kiss. I give it to her, and hold close for a moment.
“I love you, Charlie.”
“I love you too, Sean.”
------------------
Practice seems to go by quickly, and I text Charlie as soon as I’m done. She’s still at the apartment, but the girls have left so I decide I’ll take my parents there first. She says she’ll make chicken parmesan for lunch, which makes me anxious to get home. She knows it’s my favorite, but she doesn’t know it’s also my dad’s. I know he’s going to love her recipe, which will make my mom happy too. It’s just another reason for my parents to love her.

I take my time driving to the airport, since their flight isn’t scheduled to land for another fifteen minutes. Then they’ll have to go through customs and get their luggage, so it’ll still probably be around an hour until I see them.

I get to the airport in about forty minutes and text Charlie that I’m here. I have a message from my mom that they landed and are waiting in line to get through customs. I decide to give Charlie a call while I wait, since I know she’s still a little nervous.

“Hey babe.” She answers on the third ring.
“Hello, beautiful.” I say.
“What’s up?” She asks.
“Just waiting for my parents to get through customs. Thought I’d give you a call and see how your day is going.” I smile.

“Well, my day is going pretty well so far. I woke up, had some amazing sex with my wonderful fiancee, took a shower in my gorgeous new bathroom, came to the apartment, packed up a the dining room, guest bedroom, half of the kitchen, and a good amount of both of our clothes with the help of the girls, had some girl-chat with the ladies, and now I’m making lunch for my fiancee’s parents.... who I’m meeting for the first time.”

“The sex was amazing?” I ask. She laughs out loud.
“That was all you got from that?” She asks, still chuckling.
“No, no. You love the bathroom, packed up a couple rooms in the apartment, talked with the girls, and are making lunch....” I pause. “But the sex was good too.”
“No, Sean.” She laughs. “I said the sex was amazing!”
I chuckle.
“Good.” I respond. “That mean’s you’re still going to be coming back for more.”

She’s silent for a moment, and I briefly consider checking the phone to make sure she’s still there.
“I don’t think we should tell your parents.” She finally says.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“About us trying to make a baby.” She explains. “I don’t think we should tell anyone, actually. At least not now.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. It’s not really anyone’s business, you know? Plus I don’t want everyone knowing we’re trying in case something goes wrong.” She sounds nervous.
“What would go wrong, Charlie?” I ask. She sighs.
“Look, I really didn’t want to have to tell you this over the phone. I wanted to tell you when the time was right, but we kinda jumped into things before I could.”

My palms start sweating and my heart is racing. What is she about to tell me?
“You know the scar that goes across my waistline?” She asks.
I nod my head, but then realize she can’t see me. “Yeah.” I say.
“It’s from a piece of shrapnel that somehow made its way under my vest. Dr. Gwynn said it most likely didn’t cut deep enough to cause any serious damage, but it did cut my uterus slightly. He couldn’t really tell since that’s not within his area of expertise, but he said it could potentially cause issues with future pregnancy.”

My heart drops and suddenly I feel like crying.
“What kind of issues?” I ask in a small voice.
“He didn’t really go into detail. He told me to check with my gynecologist when I got home. I honestly didn’t even remember about it until just now.”
“Can we make an appointment right away?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’ll do it as soon as we hang up.” She responds. “Seriously, Sean. Dr. Gwynn didn’t seem to think it was really going to be a problem since it wasn’t that deep. It only nicked it a little. He just suggested I be aware of it.”

Her voice sounds confident and I can feel that she doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal. But I understand why she wouldn’t want to tell anyone just yet.

“We won’t tell anyone about it.” I promise. “And we’ll make an appointment with the doctor right away to make sure that you can carry my babies without any problems.”
“Okay.” She says.

My phone vibrates against my ear and I see that my mom has texted me saying that they’re through customs and picking up their luggage now.

“I have to go, baby. My parents are here.” I say.
“Okay. I’ll see you in a little while.” She says.
“I can’t wait. I miss you.” I admit.
“You silly boy, you just saw me four hours ago.” She laughs.
“It’s not my fault you’re just so perfect.”

“I love you, Sean. Drive safe.”
“I love you too, Charlie.”

We hang up just as I spot my parents coming out of the doors. I quickly hop out of my car and rush over to greet them. My mom, of course, pulls me into a big hug and begins fawning over me like she always has. When she’s done, I pull away and give my dad a brief hug before grabbing my mom’s bag from her. We head back to my car and load their stuff into it. When we’re all situated in our seats, I head out of the airport.

“I can’t wait to see this house!” My mom says.
“We’re actually going to the apartment first.” I explain. “Charlie had some of the girls over to help her start packing things up for the move, and was still there when I told her I was picking you up. Since we don’t really have any food in the house, she decided to make lunch there instead.”
“That sounds perfect.” My dad says.
“What’s she making?” My mom asks.
“Chicken Parm.” I respond. I see my dad’s eyes light up and chuckle.
“I hope it’s good!” My mom exclaims.
“Charlie is a fantastic cook.” I say. “It’ll be delicious.”

Since they know just about everything about Charlie already, the rest of the car ride is spent talking about their trip. Their flight was pretty good, except for the crying baby. Fortunately it was far enough away from them that they could ignore it. Before I know it, I’m pulling into my parking spot next to Charlie’s car at the apartment.

“Unless there’s anything you think you’ll need, we can leave your bags in the car.” I say.
“Is that safe?” My mom asks.
“Yeah, there’s a gate to get in here so no one will come by and steal anything.” I assure her.
“Okay. I’m good with my purse.” She says with a smile. “Let’s go meet the woman who stole my little boy’s heart.”
I push the button for the elevator and realize I’m fidgeting with my hands.
“Charlie’s a little nervous.” I admit as we step through the doors. “She said she knows it’s silly, but she’s still worried you guys might not like her.”
“Sean, don’t worry about her.” My dad says. “You know we already love her like she’s our daughter. Hell, she might as well already be our daughter. She will be soon.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
“I know. I just thought I should warn you.”

We ride up to our floor and trek down the long hallway to our door. Charlie told me she left it unlocked, so I swing open the door. The first thing I smell is the amazing aroma of my favorite meal, and I instantly smile.

“Babe? We’re here.” I call out.
“Perfect timing! I’m taking the chicken out now.” She calls from the kitchen.
I lead my parents to her and can’t help but marvel at her beauty as soon as she comes into my vision. She’s wearing her newest pair of jeans that are slim at her thighs and flare out a little below the knee. She says they’re the easiest to put on with the prosthetic, and they definitely make her legs and ass look incredibly sexy. She’s also wearing a plain black short-sleeved shirt that clings in the right places, teasing her womanly curves without revealing too much. She places the pan of chicken on the stove and turns to face the three of us.
“Charlie, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you.” My dad says, moving forward to hug her.
“Likewise, Sylvain.” Charlie responds with a smile.
My mom follows suit and whispers something in Charlie’s ear that makes her laugh.

“Okay, so lunch is all ready. It just needs to be served up.” Charlie says, just as her phone starts ringing. I start to grab plates from the cabinet, but pause when I see a frown cross her face.
“What is it?” I ask.
“International call.” She responds.
“Drew?”

“He isn’t supposed to call until next week.”
“Answer it.” My mom encourages her. “We can set the table and serve the food.”

Charlie leaves the room and I can’t help but want to go with her. I just have a bad feeling about this.

“So her brother is also deployed, right?” My dad asks.
“Yeah, Drew is in Japan right now.” I respond.
“How long is he going to be there?” My mom asks.
“He’s supposed to be there until February.” I say.
“What does he do?”
We continue to discuss Drew as we set the table and serve the food up. Charlie still isn’t back yet, which makes me nervous.
“Go check on her.” My dad says.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Honey, we can sit here by ourselves for a couple minutes.” My mom says.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I respond.

I head back to our bedroom where I push open the door. Charlie is sitting on the bed and I can tell she’s holding back tears.

“Baby?” I call. “What’s wrong?”
She sniffles.
“He’s missing.” She says. “Drew’s missing.”