Chapter 9 - The Final Briefing
Daniel walked out onto the porch carrying a stack of blueprints, wrapping one arm around my waist and leaning down to kiss my neck.
"Was that my mother?" Daniel asked, pulling up a chair beside me.
"It was," I nodded. "She invited us to dinner on Sunday. I told her we’d choose the place."
Daniel laughed, shaking his head in quiet wonder. "You know, to this day, I still don't fully understand what happened between you two during that wedding weekend. She went from being an overbearing, controlling matriarch to treating you like the President of the United States."
I looked at my husband—his clear eyes, his brilliant mind, his unburdened spirit.
Some truths are meant to be deployed on the battlefield, and some are meant to be kept in the vault to protect the people you love. Daniel didn't need to know the ugly details of his mother's initial cruelty or the economic warfare I had waged to protect our future. He only needed to enjoy the peace that had been secured.
"Military secret, husband," I said, reaching over to adjust his collar, just like his mother used to do—except when I did it, it was with pure love.
May you like
"Are you ever going to tell me?" Daniel grinned, leaning in close.
"Maybe on our fifty-year anniversary," I smiled. "When you're old enough to handle the classified files."
