Page 4 of Moon's Promise

While he hadn’t seen them more than six times over the last two years, he had taken the part-time job at the grocery store to pay for their cell phone so he could talk to them every night before going to bed. He remembered the last time he talked to them. He had promised to be at all of Eric’s baseball games when they started in a month and read a bedtime story to Riley despite having an English paper due the next morning. After he finished, he’d ended the call the same way he always did.

“Love you. I miss you.”

“Love you back,” they had told him sleepily.

Hearing their voices in his head, Devon felt as if the switch inside of him had been turned back on, bringing with it a rush of emotions that had his shoulders shaking as the painful sense of loss struck him. He didn’t know how long he sat there, crying, his head on the steering wheel, before he could gather himself and drive home, leaving the tender part of him behind that had been ripped from him.

At home, his mother hugged him, crying out her grief into his arms. He made no attempt to hug her back, making an excuse to go to his room, where he sat on the side of the bed and stared out the window, the moon shining down on him.

Envying the moon being untouchable from the cruelty people could commit on each other, he promised himself never to let anyone take anyone he loved from him again.

A Year and Two Months Later…

Devon took another glance around his bedroom, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. Then he picked up his duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder before heading into the living room, where his mother was sitting on the couch.

As she lifted her composed face, Devon saw she was fighting back tears.

“Did you forget anything?” she asked.

“No, I double-checked.” Dropping the duffle bag onto the ground, he went to the couch to pull his mother to her feet.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m sure, Mom. I’ve always told you I was going into the military when I graduated high school, just like Dad.”

“Yeah … and how great did that turn out for him?” Tearfully, she stared up at him, her eyes pleading for him to reconsider.

Devon gave her a cheeky smile. “He met you, didn’t he?” Laughing at her glare, he gave her a tight hug before releasing her to pick up the duffle bag. “I have to go. I called for a taxi.”

“I was going to drive you,” she protested.

“No, I don’t want you driving back home upset. It’s better this way.”

The sound of a horn honking from outside had him going to the door.

“I’ll call when I can.”

“You better,” she threatened tenderly, and then her expression grew serious. “I’ll write to you about what’s going on with Vance’s trial.”

“Do that,” he said offhandedly. “Love you, Mom.”

“Love you back.”

Hearing the familiar words, and the sound of the horn again, he walked away from her.

He got into the taxi and rolled the window down to wave at his mother as the car moved away.

“You heading to the airport?”

Devon glanced at his watch. “I need to make a quick stop first.” He gave him the address of the grocery store where he had worked until graduation, then reached for the money he had tucked into his jacket pocket. He leaned forward when the taxi came to a stop in front of the store and handed it to the driver. “I’ll be about fifteen minutes. Wait for me.”

“I can’t wait. Call the dispatch when …” When Devon started peeling apart the bills, his eyes widened. “I’ll wait.”

Leaving his duffle bag behind, Devon stepped out of the taxi.

He waved at the cashier who had replaced him on his way to the manager’s office. After knocking on the door, he went in and closed it behind him.

Joel rose from his desk, went to the window, and opened it. Sticking his head out, he then quickly pulled his head back inside before giving him a nod.

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