Page 9 of Decorated

His superior’s voice and the knock on his office door shook Alfie out of his increasingly heated fantasies about what he wanted to do with Blaine. He jerked, sat straighter, noticed the time, and stood abruptly to salute.

“Group Captain Parker,” he said, then lowered his hand.

“Morning,” Parker greeted him less formally. “How’s everything going with this year’s toy drive?”

Alfie shuffled a bit and glanced at his clock again. “Actually, sir, I just noticed the time. I’m supposed to meet up with a member of Hawthorne House’s staff to pick up a few supplies for the Christmas party.”

Parker laughed. “It’s all about supplies with you, Spears, isn’t it.”

“That’s my job, sir,” Alfie answered with a friendly half-smile. He was on good terms with Parker and respected the man.

“Your job is exactly what I want to talk to you about today,” Parker said, moving closer to the desk.

Heat seemed to prickle across Alfie’s skin. He knew what was coming. He’d heard whispers of it for weeks now, as he got closer to his last day.

“You know we don’t want to lose you, Spears, right?” Parker asked.

“I’m glad that I’ve been a valued officer,” Alfie replied.

“But you’re now three weeks away from leaving,” Parker said.

“I am.” Alfie nodded. He definitely knew where this was going, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to face it.

Parker hesitated for a moment before asking, “What if I told you there was a promotion and a commission waiting for you if you changed your mind and stayed?”

Alfie sucked in a breath. He’d been expecting Parker to ask him to reconsider leaving, but offering him a commission was a surprise. The RAF wanted him to stay on board badly enough tomake him a commissioned officer. That brought a pay rise with it, but also a huge increase in prestige. And a return to active duty.

Alfie wasn’t sure that was what he wanted anymore. He thought of the kids who had been scared and crying during the evacuation, the kids who had been caught in the crossfire when skirmishes had broken out before that, the girl he’d carried to safety. He also thought of the smiling, awed kids he’d seen at Hawthorne House.

“I’m not sure, sir,” he said, being as honest as he could.

Parker frowned slightly. “Not sure if you’d take a promotion?”

“Not sure what I want to do next, if I’m honest,” Alfie said with surprising candor.

He glanced at the clock again as Parker hummed and rubbed his chin. Parker glanced at the clock as well.

“It looks like you’re anxious to get where you’re going, so why don’t we circle back to this later?” Parker finally said.

Alfie breathed a little easier. “Yes, sir. That would be best.”

He stepped around his desk to grab his coat. Parker accompanied him when he left his office.

“I want you to start thinking about it,” Parker said. “It’s not too late to change your mind about staying on here. You’ve done everything right, and if there’s any turbulence, I can pave the way for you. I think we have just the commission for you, though.”

“Thank you for considering me,” Alfie said as they reached the lift. “I look forward to hearing more.”

Parker let him get into the lift but didn’t come with him. It was a relief. For years, Alfie had hoped for a promotion to commissioned officer. Almost no one from his sort of background was offered the chance to rise like that. He had no idea what sort of specifics Parker had in mind, but the man he’dbeen five years ago would have been champing at the bit to make a lifelong career in the military.

Then the fighting and evacuation had happened and he’d seen another side of life entirely.

He didn’t dislike the military and he was proud of his service and what they did around the world, he just wanted…more. And less, to be honest.

That more and less rattled around his brain as he drove out to Hawthorne House. He weighed the pros and cons of taking a commission and spending the rest of his life working his way up the ranks. He had no idea what he’d do if he left the military.

Maybe something with kids.

That idea hit him as he pulled into the parking lot for Hawthorne House just as one of the buses was leaving. He made a face of consideration instead of rejecting the idea right away as silly.

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