Chapter 6 - The Call Before the Wedding
I told Brianna that evening.
Not because I had to.
Because I wanted to.
That was new.
For years, I would have disappeared behind vague language.
Work emergency.
Unexpected travel.
Government thing.
This time I drove to her apartment and sat across from her.
Ethan was there.
One look at my face and he understood.
“You got called.”
I nodded.
Brianna looked between us.
“Called where?”
“I can’t give you the location.”
Her face fell.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“The wedding is in thirteen days.”
“I know.”
She stood.
Walked toward the window.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Old Brianna would have made it about the wedding.
Old Lauren would have expected her to.
Neither happened.
Finally she asked, “Are people in danger?”
“Yes.”
“Can someone else go?”
“Probably.”
I could see hope appear.
Then I finished.
“But they specifically requested my team.”
Hope disappeared.
She nodded slowly.
“Then you should go.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
She turned.
“You heard me.”
“I did.”
“So why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because six months ago you nearly had a nervous breakdown when the florist changed the shade of napkins.”
“That was different.”
“It was beige.”
“It was oatmeal.”
Ethan looked between us.
“I’m going to pretend those are different colors.”
“Stay out of this,” we said together.
He raised both hands.
Brianna approached me.
“I want you at my wedding.”
“I know.”
“I really want you there.”
“I know.”
“But if Ethan had been trapped somewhere three years ago and somebody told you they couldn’t go because of a wedding…”
She stopped.
Her eyes filled.
“I would have begged them to go.”
That was when I realized my sister had truly changed.
Not because she had become less glamorous.
Not because she had changed jobs.
Because she finally understood that importance had nothing to do with who was watching.
I hugged her.
“I’ll come back.”
She squeezed harder.
“You better.”
Ethan stood.
“Come back with everyone.”
The words stopped me.
Our unofficial motto.
I nodded.
“That’s the plan.”
The next morning, I deployed.
The operation lasted nine days.
Nine long days.
The weather was brutal.
Not the same as the Blizzard Mission.
No two storms are.
This time a civilian research group and two rescue personnel had become isolated after a rapid sequence of slope failures cut off ground access.
Aircraft could approach intermittently but not safely land.
We established a route.
Lost it.
Established another.
Weather closed.
Opened.
Closed again.
Nobody performed miracles.
We worked.
Hour after hour.
Decision after decision.
On day seven, we reached the isolated group.
On day eight, evacuation began.
On day nine, the final helicopter lifted away.
Everyone alive.
I looked at my watch.
The wedding was four days away.
I almost laughed.
Then the weather system grounded us.
Of course it did.
We spent eighteen hours waiting.
Then another six.
I imagined Brianna checking the forecast.
I imagined Mom panicking.
I imagined Ethan understanding exactly why nobody could promise anything.
Eventually transportation cleared.
I arrived home thirty-six hours before the wedding.
Mom opened the door.
She stared at me.
Then hugged me so hard my ribs complained.
“Careful.”
She immediately pulled back.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m sore.”
“Lauren.”
“I’m fine.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You used to get away with that sentence.”
“Used to?”
“Not anymore.”
Dad appeared.
“Blizzard girl!”
“I hate that.”
“I know.”
He hugged me too.
Then Brianna came downstairs.
She stopped halfway.
We stared at each other.
She was wearing sweatpants, no makeup, hair tied on top of her head.
I smiled.
“Very glamorous.”
She ran down the remaining stairs and hugged me.
“You came back.”
“Told you.”
“With everyone?”
I nodded.
“With everyone.”
She started crying.
Then I did too.
Mom cried because we were crying.
Dad left the room because, according to him, “There’s too much estrogen in the hallway.”
Nobody believed him.
Wedding morning arrived bright and clear.
The backyard looked different from the engagement party.
Simpler.
White chairs.
Wildflowers.
Warm lights.
Family.
Friends.
Several members of Ethan’s team.
Several members of mine.
Daniel Ruiz came with his wife and young daughter.
Admiral Mercer attended quietly.
Nobody cared who was important.
That might have been the most important change of all.
I helped Brianna dress.
Her gown was elegant but understated.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
“Do you remember what I said at the engagement party?”
“Yes.”
“Unfortunately, I remember too.”
“You don’t need to keep punishing yourself.”
“I know.”
She turned.
“I just want to say something.”
“Okay.”
“I was ashamed of something I didn’t understand.”
I listened.
“And I nearly let that make me cruel to someone I love.”
My throat tightened.
She continued.
“I don’t want to be that person again.”
“You won’t always get it right.”
“Neither will you.”
“Obviously.”
She smiled.
“But if I start acting like that again?”
“I’ll tell you.”
“Immediately?”
“With enthusiasm.”
She laughed.
Then someone knocked.
Dad.
“It’s time.”
Brianna took my hand.
We walked downstairs.
Outside, Ethan waited beneath the oak tree.
When he saw her, his face changed.
Not like the engagement party.
No shock.
No broken glass.
Just love.
Simple.
Quiet.
Certain.
The ceremony was beautiful.
When Ethan said his vows, he didn’t mention rank.
Duty.
Achievement.
He talked about Sunday mornings.
Bad coffee.
Patience.
Choosing each other when nobody applauded.
Brianna cried.
So did half the audience.
At the reception, Dad gave a speech.
This concerned everyone.
He raised his glass.
“I learned something this year.”
Mom whispered, “Oh no.”
Dad continued.
“I learned I have two remarkable daughters.”
I looked at Brianna.
She looked at me.
“One saves people from mountains.”
A few guests laughed.
“The other finally learned beige and oatmeal are apparently different colors.”
Brianna shouted, “They are!”
More laughter.
Dad smiled.
“But what makes me proud isn’t what either of them does.”
The room quieted.
“It’s who they’re becoming.”
That got me.
Dad looked at Ethan.
“And Captain Champagne—”
Everyone erupted.
Ethan closed his eyes.
“—welcome to the family.”
Later that evening, I stood beneath the string lights watching Brianna dance.
Daniel approached.
“You look uncomfortable.”
“I hate formal shoes.”
“You crossed a mountain in a blizzard.”
“Boots are comfortable.”
He laughed.
Then he handed me an envelope.
“What’s this?”
“Something Ethan asked me to give you.”
Inside was a photograph.
The old team photograph.
The one from after the Blizzard Mission.
But on the back were signatures.
Dozens.
People from the rescue.
People we rescued.
Underneath them were five handwritten words.
COME BACK WITH EVERYONE. ALWAYS.
I swallowed.
Daniel walked away before I could say anything.
I looked across the reception.
Ethan stood beside Brianna.
He raised his glass.
This time, he held onto it.
I laughed.
Then my phone vibrated.
For one terrible second, I expected another deployment.
Instead, it was a message from my director.
CALL ME MONDAY. NEW POSITION.
I stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
YOU’LL WANT TO HEAR THIS ONE.
I put the phone away.
Not tonight.
Tonight belonged to family.
May you like
But Monday morning, when I finally returned the call, I learned that my career was about to change in a way I never expected.
And this time, instead of hiding it from my family, they would be the first people I told.
