Chapter Twenty-Seven
COMING HOME
Hanging up her phone while her Mother was still talking, Gabby’s mind raced after listening to the news that her fabulous Jacque was coming home. “Coming home, coming home,” she said over and over as if not truly believing what she had just heard was true. She stared at the telephone, not quite grasping the reality of the conversation. Is he hurt, maybe even dead? No, I’m not going to think that way... he is finally coming home, she thought.
“Oh shoot!” she said out loud. She had stepped from the bathtub when the phone rang, now she was standing, dripping water into a large puddle on the floor.
Leaving the telephone she hurriedly walked followed by a trail of wet footprints, across the tile floor back to the bath where she hurriedly dried her body with a huge, fluffy, white bath towel. She couldn’t believe it had been thirteen months, twelve days and five hours since Jacque left for his assignment to Iraq, but who was counting. She wrapped the towel snuggly around her body and tucked in the loose end.
Both Jacque and she worked for the exclusively, small group of SCAR archeologists known as the ‘Bone Seekers’. After their last assignment together he left Gabby in Egypt for the war-torn country of Iraq. He had been assigned to investigate an ancient burial plot in Iraq, a site uncovered during one of America’s numerous bombing attacks. Gabby had been notified of the death of her two brothers and only sister on the Mexico flight and had been recalled to the U.S.
On her return to the U.S. and the subsequent discovery her family had not been killed she found an apartment - just a one bedroom, den and combined kitchen/dining area, but it had an enormous fifth floor window, a window which allowed for a panoramic view of the Washington skyline. From this wall size window, could be seen the National Mall and the distant Potomac River; these were breath-taking as the evening sun began to drop below the distant western horizon, especially the 555-foot marble obelisk as it cast its shadow across the stunning reflecting pool. To Gabby the shadow appeared as a giant finger pointing toward the Capitol building.
Her mind was rushing full tilt as she returned from the confines of the bathroom and again walked barefoot across the cold tiles onto the soft carpet of her living room, the towel still snuggly wrapped around her body. She sat down on the sofa, leaned back against a cushion, and mused about Jacque and his return.
She was in her den, eyes shut, the recessed lights were dimmed to a soft glow, the atmosphere was perfect for Jacque’s arrival. A mellow mix of soft Glenn Miller swing and Miles Davis jazz drifted across the room from the stereo in the corner, but a long time had passed since they parted, and she wasn’t sure how he would feel about her. Had he found someone else after Egypt? No, she thought... he has been in Iraq for the whole time, who was he going to meet? The archeological dig was in a section of the far northeastern Iraqi desert close to the border of Turkey. A region sparsely populated with a religion forbidding any premarital contact with the opposite sex and marital infidelity would result in instant death for both parties, if caught. Courtship was forbidden, and marriages were pre-arranged. She knew Jacque had the reputation of a ladies’ man, but courting a woman in this area surely wasn’t worth getting killed over.
Opening her eyes, she arose from the couch entered her dressing room, and selected her nicest outfit. She slipped on a pair of black five-inch stilettos. Shoes so high she was afraid she might not be able to walk in them.
She knew she looked stunning, but as a woman will do, she had to see for herself. A door-length mirror covered the back of the bathroom door. Standing in front admiring herself, she knew she was breathtaking. Turing to the right then the left, perfect, there was nothing more she could do. Nothing more she could put on would add to her enchanting look.
She wasn’t tall, but at five feet four, the sixty-four inches were proportioned perfectly. She had a gorgeous hourglass figure. She had always been blessed with a perfect body and a beautiful face with high cheekbones. In high school, she was a cheerleader, the homecoming queen and was voted the ‘class beauty’ for the yearbook.
Before she had more time to contemplate her outfit, she heard the,
♪bing-bing-bong♪
It was the front door chimes. Whom could this be, she thought.
Answering the door, there stood a man... not just any ole man it was... it was... her Jacque!
Stepping inside the foyer he set his duffle bag down. “Hey,” he said, “Remember me?”
Jacque was mesmerized by her dazzling looks. He could not take his eyes from her. There was something different about her tho’. Was it her figure...? No, she was just as trim and shapely as ever. Her face? No, just as beautiful as he remembered. What? What was different? Her hair! Yes, her hair that was it! It was not the same as it was when he left. No more the long, silky, honey blonde hair extending to the middle of her back, which she normally wore in a long, tapered, ponytail. Her hair was trimmed to just below her shoulders and styled in such a manner as to frame her gorgeous face and accent her deep, emerald green eyes.
“Gabby what have you done with your hair? Shortened it up a bit, huh? It looks good.”
“Yeah, it’s shorter than it used to be. Glad you like it.” She couldn’t tell by his eyes if she were still his girl. She could also not tell if there had been no one else. “It’s you,” she said, “its really you. I’m going to pinch myself. You have been gone such a long time - you don’t know how thrilled I am to see you. How long do you get to stay in Washington?”
“I’m sorry, but my next flight leaves within the hour.”
“What, Mom said you were back in Washington for another assignment. I thought you would have at least a few days.”
“Sorry, but missions change, and they changed mine. I wanted to drop in to say hello and goodbye, but the real reason was to explain in person why I have not answered your last few letters – I have found someone else. She and I are planning on getting married, and I did not want to break this to you in a letter.”
The startled look on Gabby’s face was unmistakable. Did she hear correctly? Did Jacque have another love? Was she no longer his girl?
“I’m sorry,” Jacque continued. “She was one of the international archeologists on the Iraqi dig. I was reluctant to tell you. You know you will always be special to me. I’m truly sorry - goodbye.”
As Gabby stifled her impulse to cry, Jacque picked up his duffle bag, swung it over his shoulder, and walked out the door without awaiting her response.
What? What was that? She said to herself rising from the couch and brushing the sleep from her eyes.
♪Bing-bing-bong♪
That’s the door chimes, she thought, someone’s at the front door... at this time of the night?
Answering the door, there stood a man... not just any ole man it was... it was... her Jacque! Stepping inside the foyer he set his duffle bag down. “Hey,” he said, “remember me?”
Jacque was mesmerized by her dazzling looks. He could not take his eyes from her. Here stood the most dazzling beautiful blonde. If her long, silky, honey blonde hair had not been bound up in a ponytail it would have extended to the middle of her back. Yes, Jacque thought, she is so beautiful, but why is she only wrapped in a white, fluffy bath towel...?