Page 57 of Never Too Late

And I prepare myself for one of the most important speeches of my life.

“Hi, Alice, I’m sorry it took so long for me to introduce myself. I’m Jae, and if you didn’t know already, I’m the man in love with your son. I have been since the first moment I laid eyes on him. You’ve raised two amazing men. They are smart, passionate and they talk about you every day.” I slowly sit myself down on the bench, I know I need to get to the shop and I’m probably going to be late, but this is more important right now. “I don’t know if Dax has told you about me. I wasn’t there to protect him for a while, and I think Karma got me for it. In fact, no, I know it did. But I promise you, I’m not going to leave him again. I’m going to protect him; I’m going to make sure he’s okay. I just want you to know, I’m here. And Tyler. I’m going to protect them both.” My throat starts to get dry; I welcome the burn at the back. “Before I left for Afghanistan, I gave Dax my spare tags. I told him whenever he needed to squeeze, I was wearing the matching pair and I’d be able to take the pain away.” I slowly take the tags from my neck, giving them a final squeeze and inhaling a deep breath.

You’ve got this, soldier.

I pull the clasp at the back, opening the chain, quickly taking off the charm Idah had made me and sliding it into my jean pocket, slowly bringing the tags up close, taking a final look at the one thing that has been with me for years. Every tour, every step of the way. I bring them close to my heart, pressing them against my chest and looking up to the sky. Taking a moment for all the brothers and sisters I’ve lost on the field, who I know are looking down on me now, hopefully with Alice by their side, aiming a final salute towards them.

It’s a new chapter, I don’t need them anymore.

I’m no longer a soldier, I’m Jae.

And then I loop the chain around the back of the bench, wrapping it around the wood the plaque is on. “I think he needs you to have them more than me.” I take a step back, admiring the tags around the bench. They look as though they belonged there all along. I lean to the side, placing the bouquet in the holder, kissing my fingers once again and placing it onto the plaque

“I’ve got him, Alice. I promise. I’m not going to leave him again.”

Feeling nothing but pride and love, I walk to the car with my head held high, excited to see my love even though we’ve only been apart since this morning.

Chapter thirty-three

Dax

“It was impossible for me to love you as much as you loved me because if there’s one thing I'm certain of, I loved you more.”

The doors of the shop fly open as Frankie slowly makes his way inside. Lifting my head from the paperwork I’m currently working on; I notice an extra pair of feet padding close behind. I didn’t see Theo at first, he’s a lot shorter than his brother. He’s chosen to stay by Frankie’s side, close to the wall. Hidden. He wants to be invisible. I know the feeling too well. He doesn’t want the attention, so I turn my focus to his brother, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable.

“Wow, Is it already almost four?”

“What? No. It’s only half past two, it’s half term so school is closed for the week. Mum spoke to Tyler about it already, he knew we were coming earlier.”

“Oh. Ty must have mentioned it to me, it completely slipped my mind. That’s cool, do you need me to get you anything? We’ve got snacks and drinks in the side kitchen.” I start to stand, pushing the chair out of the way so I can move around the desk to walk to the kitchen when I hear Ty shout from the side door, “Already got it!” as he walks out with a basket full and over to the sofas in the back, both boys running over to see what he has.

I wait a few minutes, allowing the boys to get comfortable as they dig into the treats we purchased for them earlier before I pull Ty to the side. “When did their mum call? I didn’t hear the phone ring?”

“I spoke to her yesterday, she mentioned she had a meeting to attend. She was worried no one was able to look after them, so I told her to drop them off earlier. I’ll stay back with them here until she gets back too, it’s no big deal.” He glances over my shoulder at the boys. “Is everything okay, Frankie? I’ve got some more stuff in the back?”

“No, everything’s fine, thank you, Tyler and Dax.”

“No problem kid.” He beams.

We stand, watching the boys from a distance, not wanting to impose. The sound of muffled whispers comes from Frankie, and I notice Theo’s head nod and shake several times in response. His older brother does the speaking for him, we haven’t heard Theo’s voice out loud. When he’s comfortable talking, he will. We’re not in a competition for that to happen any sooner than needs be. In multiple ways, I see a lot of myself in him. The way he’s quiet and only chooses to confide in his brother in his own way, and the sketchbook he carries, popping out of his large bag, is almost similar to how I write letters.

I wonder if that’s how he chooses to communicate his feelings too.

Our aim is to make sure the boys feel comfortable. So, when we notice the boys both smiling at one another, we retreat, slowly walking back to the front of the shop when we hear Frankie shout from behind, “Theo says thank you, too.” As they both look at us with large grins on their small faces. The two of them look extremely alike, with little differences when you look at them long enough. Both have brown hair, Theo’s has more of a curl to it than Frankie, who likes to keep his hair shorter. He also wears glasses whereas Frankie doesn’t. But other than that, if you didn’t know of the three-year age difference between the two of them, you would probably assume they were twins.

“Any time,” I respond quickly. Looking at Tyler to my left, I see the tears in his eyes, noticing he’s lost for words. This is the first time Theo has spoken to us, even if it’s through Frankie. Before I say anything, he takes the back of his hand and wipes the tear away while he fakes a cough to make it look as though he wasn’t just tearing up about what we both heard.

I want to tear up.

I can’t help but frown because this is unusual for him. I’ve noticed Tyler acting strange when the boys come into the shop, but I haven’t dared to push for information.

Both of us make sure we don’t look over for too long or act any different than we normally would, ensuring we don’t make Theo feel uncomfortable. If I could run over and give him a hug I would, I know Ty would do the same.

You don’t realise how special hearing someone’s voice in one way or another can be.

It’s as though we asked for a distraction out loud. The door swings open again, this time, in walks Jae with three coffees in hand.

And I don’t know which one I’m more thankful for right now.

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