Searching for Tomorrow (Tomorrows) (19 page)

The smell of salty breezes, accompanied by fingers lazily running through my hair, greeted my sleepy senses. As I stretched, my foot encountered a warm leg, and the arms wrapped around my stomach gave a small squeeze. Small kisses rained down on my shoulder and slowly made their way up my neck. Gentle nibbles on my earlobe sent chill bumps racing down my body. “Good morning, Mrs. Tidwell,” a deep sleepy voice rumbled in my ear.

“M
mmmm. Good morning, Mr. Tidwell.” I gave another small stretch, and as I turned my head to receive my very first good morning kiss, the minty smell of toothpaste hits my nose. I quickly turned back, and pulling the sheet tighter around me, I tried to stand from the bed, but Tripp’s strong arms prevented my escape.

“Not exactly the reaction I was looking for.” Tripp rolled me to my back,
and carefully climbing on top of me, trapped my arms down by my sides. “Let’s try this again.”

The sparkle in his eyes told me that he understood exactly what I was thinking. As he drew closer to kiss me, I turned my head to the side. “Tripp! Yuck! I’ve got morning breath. Please, pretty please, let me go
brush my teeth and use the bathroom?”

As I strained my head away from him, my neck presented itself, and unable to resist the temptation, Tripp bent and pressed a line of kisses that made me squirm. “Babe, I’ve waited for
this morning for a long time.” His teeth scraped my jaw. “Do you really think that something like morning breath is going to deter me?” His hand came between the bed and my cheek, and gently turning my face up to his, he tenderly placed his lips to mine.
Good morning!

After a slow, leisurely wake
up call, Tripp and I talked about our plans for the day. While this was our first trip to Charleston, we knew that it was also our last two weeks together before he left for Basic Training and we didn’t want to spend a minute apart. All hints of sadness over our pending separation exploded into pieces when Tripp wiggled his eyebrows and suggested we take all our showers together to save water. I couldn’t help but laugh, but after a few more minutes, he had
thoroughly
convinced me that his idea of water conservation had merit. When yet another hour had passed, I managed to persuade him to order breakfast from the local delivery service, and while we waited for it to get there, we finally took that shower.

Nana and Papa had found us the cutest little cottage on Folly Beach
to stay in for our honeymoon. It was close enough to Charleston that we could visit the historical sites and restaurants, but secluded enough that we could enjoy our time together without interruption.

We spent quiet
mornings growing closer, and sharing our hopes and dreams for the future. We talked about my setting up our home during his upcoming training. While we were honeymooning, Dad and Liam were converting the basement of the summer retreat into an apartment for Nana and Papa to stay in when they visited us in Highlands. They had essentially given us the house as a wedding present because, no matter where the Army took Tripp, they always wanted him to have a permanent place to call home. Overwhelmed by their love and generosity, I had only been able to cry when they told us about this at the reception, and explained that we were the only family they had left.

We lazed away
most afternoons relaxing on the beach and playing in the surf, and our shell collection grew with every walk we took at sunset. Other times, we headed into the city and took in the various historical sites, shopped at the Historic Charleston City Market that was once a slave market, or toured the grounds of former plantations.

The old saying ‘Time flies when you’re having fun’ couldn’t have been more true, and before it seemed I’d barely blinked twice, the morning of ou
r last full day dawned with the skies weeping. It was almost as if Mother Nature was toying with my happiness. By this time, I knew better than to try to escape to the bathroom first thing, knowing full well that Tripp would quite effectively prevent my leaving.

With visions of our humble abode
dancing in our heads, we set out in the pouring rain, heading to the market and other shops around downtown Charleston. Our excitement was so strong that no amount of cloudbursts could bring us down. When we crossed over the massive bridge into the heart of Charleston, the sun broke through the darkened skies and cast a beautiful rainbow over the Charleston Harbor, bringing with it rays of hope for the days to come.

Tripp maneuvered the truck through the midday traffic, looking to find a parking space close to our destination. When that plan
proved unsuccessful, he headed over toward Battery Park. Sure enough, there were only a few people crazy enough to park that far away from everything in the rain. Tripp turned to help me out of the truck, and instead of placing my feet on the ground, he lifted me high in the air. Bringing me close to his body, he started singing in his off-key voice and twirled me around the parking lot to the beautiful lyrics of
our
song, “Amazed” by Lonestar. As the heavy mist sank into our clothes, my husband looked deep into my eyes as the words flowed between us, pouring out every emotion the two of us shared. When he came to the end of the melody, he gathered me close, his kiss warding off the chills from the damp air surrounding us.

We stood, lost in our own world, hearts beating in sync until light applause sounded from behind me. Startled from the intimacy we’d carved out of the void, my face heated and blushed bright red as I
turned, looking for our audience. Beside an aging Ford sedan stood a little old man and woman, the beaming smiles splitting their faces and hiding in the wrinkled layers of aging skin. After the gentleman helped his lady into the car, and moved around to his door, he said, “Love her like that always, and you’ll never lose your beautiful bride.” With a wink, he got in the car.

As they drove away, I twisted back to Tripp
, and it only took a second before our surprise turned to laughter. With our amusement in check, Tripp locked the truck, placed his arm over my shoulder, and tucking me close to his side, we walked toward the heart of Charleston.

After spending several ho
urs looking at all the unusual items offered at the market, our clothes were finally dry, the sun was warmly shining, and our stomachs were letting us know they were empty. After a quick look at a tourist map, we headed back down Market Street to look for a place to eat. When I saw the sign for Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, I tugged on Tripp’s arm and dragged him towards it. We played the part of true tourists and had someone take our picture under the big sign. Anyone who’d ever seen the movie
Forrest Gump
and heard the famous saying ‘Run, Forrest, Run’ would appreciate where the name of the restaurant came from.

As we devoured several pounds of shrimp and crab legs, Tripp
mentioned several times that he had a surprise planned. I couldn’t help but notice that he kept looking at his watch as if we were on some kind of schedule. As soon as he’d paid our bill, we all but ran out of the restaurant. Whatever the surprise was, Tripp’s excitement was contagious.

After a few minutes of fast paced walking, I stopped Tripp and reminded him that he was making me run on a full stomach. Instead of that slowing him down, he turned his back, bent at the knees, and said, “Hop on.”
My silly man then proceeded to carry me through the busy downtown streets on his back, stopping only when we reached our destination. In front of us was a big, red barn.

“
Uhm, Tripp, why did you bring me to see a barn? Am I missing something here?”

“Give it
a sec, babe. You’ll see.” And boy did I. The huge double doors opened, and out came two gorgeous white Arabians pulling a beautiful white carriage behind them. On the driver’s bench was a gentleman decked out in evening finery. The driver halted the horses, and then jumped off his seat, gallantly opening the landau door for us to step in. Waiting inside was a bottle of sparkling cider, two champagne flutes, and a small giftwrapped box.

Tripp leaned back in the seat
, and when I went to sit beside him, he pulled me onto his lap. As the carriage began to move, I relaxed against him, nestled safely in his arms, and enjoyed the sounds and sights of the beautiful old city, and the steady beat of his heart. When the carriage stopped, we were back at Battery Park. The driver jumped out and spread a blanket on the grass under the live oaks, while Tripp slipped the box in his pocket.

As I stepped down, he swept me
off my feet and carried me to the blanket, gently laying me down on my side. As he settled beside me, he handed me the gift, and motioned for me to unwrap it. My man of many flowery words was being awful quiet about this gift. As I tore the paper from it, he drew me to him for a kiss. Distracted from my purpose, I sank into him and pushed the kiss even further. Drawing back, he shook his head and laughed, and once again gestured for me to continue.

When I took the top off the box, a silver
heart-shaped locket on a delicate filigree chain lay cushioned inside. As I went to open the locket, Tripp’s hands stilled my movements. He gently turned it over so that I could see the words inscribed on the back.
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
He said the words he wanted without even opening his mouth. I looked at the quote of one of my favorite verses from Jeremiah, thought of his deep abiding love for me, and knew that our tomorrows would bring us much joy and happiness.

“Tripp, did you see that pack of white socks that I bought for you? I can’t find them anywhere.”
I stood in the bedroom door, yelling down the hall. We’d been home from Charleston for almost two weeks, and I was trying not to panic, but he needed those socks for Basic. The list of things he could bring with him was few and far between, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him not having the essentials.

“Babe, i
t’s socks.” He sat on the living room floor, going through a few of the boxes that we’d moved from my parents’ house. He held up a kitchen gadget, and with a confused look asked, “What the heck is this? And this?” He started pilfering around in the box, pulled several different items out, and closely inspected them.

As I walked towards him, I couldn’t hold back my chuckle. He looked so cute sitting there
with his legs crossed, wearing a baffled look. It looked like I had finally found his Kryptonite… kitchen supplies. “This is a cherry pitter, and this takes corn off the cob. Now, that one, I don’t have the foggiest idea. I’ll have to ask Mom.”

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay with your parents while I’m gone? I’d really feel better
if I knew you were there, especially with Liam leaving for college in a few weeks.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me down onto his lap.

This topic was the only thing we had argued about since we
’d gotten married. During OSUT (One Station Unit Training), Tripp would be at Fort Benning in Georgia for at least sixteen weeks. We still weren’t sure if I would be allowed to come see him any during that time, and even though my parents were only minutes away, he worried about me staying all by myself for the four months he would be gone. After enlisting, he had decided that he wanted to attempt acceptance into the Ranger Indoctrination Program (RIP) in Fort Benning. The plus side of that was that he could possibly be permanently stationed no more than six hours from Highlands, making travel to see family easier. The downside, his training could take him all over for a while.