“You’re incorrigible.” I simply shake my head at him in disapproval even though I love the way he teases me. It’s amazing how after a night like last night, I can wake up smiling because of Alex’s presence and the easy banter we share. I’m still a bit shaken up, but I feel more at ease when he’s around.

“Oh, come on. It’s one of the things you like most about me.”

“Not hardly. I’m going to go get ready for the day.” I start to leave the room until Alex begins talking.

“Okay. I’ve got to run a few errands, but they’re sending another guy to stay with you while I’m gone.”

“Oh, how long do you think you’ll be?” He’s gone off to run errands here and there, but he doesn’t do it often. I don’t know why, but I don’t like the thought of someone else being responsible for my safety. I trust Alex and know that he would do absolutely everything in his power to keep me out of harm’s way.

“Just a couple hours. I’ll be back before Cal gets home. What’s wrong? Can’t live without me?” That damn smirk of his. I’d love to wipe it off of his face.

“Nope, just excited to have a break from you and wanted to know how much time I get to celebrate your absence.” I throw him a smirk of my own.

“Is that right?” I nod slowly with my smirk still firmly in place. Before I have time to react, Alex is out of bed and has me wrapped in his arms. He tosses me to the bed and starts tickling me. I squirm, kick and scream. When that doesn’t work, I resort to begging.

“Please, stop. Alex!” I can hardly get the words out between my fits of laughter and gulping in air.

“Say you’ll miss me,” he shouts over me.

“No!” The onslaught continues. “Stop! I have to pee!” I wiggle some more, trying to break free.

“Say it!”

“Fine! I’ll miss you!” The tickling stops and I rush out of the room before he can get to me again. His chuckles follow me down the hallway.

“Hey, Mom, how are you feeling?” I ask into the phone.

“I’m good. How are you?” She sounds so tired and it pains me that I’m not there with her. My mother might have had her faults, but she means well and always took care of me.

“I’m good. I was dancing to a Christmas song I heard on the radio yesterday and it reminded me of you and Dad, so I thought I’d call and check in.”

“Oh? Which song was it?”

“Santa Baby. I remember you and Dad dancing to it every Christmas morning. It’s actually one of my favorite memories.” A smile touches my lips just thinking about it.

“Yes, I remember, too. We still do that, you know?”

“Really? That’s funny.”

“It’s tradition. Are you and Cal making that a tradition, too?” I freeze when she says Cal’s name, especially since he’s not the man I was dancing with.

“Uh, I actually wasn’t dancing with Cal.” My leg bounces nervously as I wait for the next question to come.

“Who were you dancing with then?” There’s no judgment in her voice, only curiosity.

“Alex.” I’ve told her about him before and why he was hired.

“You have feelings for this man, don’t you?”

“Mom, it’s not like that. He’s just a friend.”

“Mmm hmm. Don’t think I don’t know you, missy. I hear the way you talk about him. There’s a happiness in your voice that hasn’t been there in quite some time.”

“Mom, it’s pointless to talk about this. I’m married to Cal.” I can’t do this with her right now. I want to confess to all the horrible things that have been going on, but stress is a trigger for MS and I won’t have my problems jeopardizing her health.

“Yes, you are, but if you’re not happy with Cal, there are ways to get out.” She just lets that sit between us for a minute before she changes topic. “Anyway, I have some news for you. I was going to wait to tell you on Christmas, but I can’t hold it in anymore.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“I went to the doctor last week.” The mention of her going to the doctor has my heart sinking. Every time she says that, it’s always followed by bad news. They found a new legion. The legions are growing. The numbness in my fingers has now advanced to my whole hand and my feet. The drug they had me on wasn’t working. “I’m in remission.” Her voice cracks on the last word. I’m speechless, not sure if I heard her correctly but terrified to ask in case I didn’t. “Did you hear me, Elizabeth?”

“Remission?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yes. Isn’t that wonderful news?” My hand covers my mouth as tears flow freely from my eyes. I’m so happy and relieved. I try to hold it in, but a sob leaves my lips.

“Oh my God, Mom. That’s fantastic news! I can’t believe it! So what now?” I wish I was with her right now so I could give her a big hug. This disease has really taken its toll on my family, and I admire the strength her and my dad have shown through it. She’s battled this for many years and it’s about time she got a break. She deserves this.

“I stop the infusions and I get to come off of the narcolepsy drug. They want me to stay on the depression medication, but that’s it.” That’s when it hits me. She won’t need Cal to pay for her treatments now. Her depression medication isn’t that expensive, so I could pay for that once I found work.

Oh, God. This is it. My chance to leave Cal. I’m lighter as the darkness that’s been surrounding me for years starts to dissipate. The one thing I’ve valued most but have had to deny myself is right in front of me.

Freedom.

It’s time I start living for me.

A COUPLE HOURS later, Alex returns and sends the other security guy home. I don’t even know his name. Whenever Alex is gone, he just sits there silently. It’s pretty awkward. As soon as I see his handsome face, a smile breaks out on my own. I can’t help it. Things finally seem to be looking up for me and I haven’t felt this light in years. It’s as if my future and all its possibilities are right in front of me and all I have to do is grab it. I’m so close to being free.

“Hey, gorgeous. What’s that smile for?” He walks in and shrugs off his coat before hanging it on the rack.

“Nothing, just happy to see you.” Butterflies take flight in my stomach as I think of how I’m going to tell him the good news.

“I thought you were celebrating my absence, remember?”

I shrug. “What makes you think I didn’t?” He chuckles and wraps his arms around me in a hug and rests his chin on top of my head.

“Let’s have a seat in the living room. I want to give you something,” he says. We walk into the other room hand in hand and have a seat on the sofa. He looks down and I’m suddenly nervous. He’s acting strange and is fidgeting. The confident man I’ve grown to love—yes, love—is replaced by this unsure person before me. My knee starts bouncing up and down as I wait for him to tell me what’s going on. He takes a deep breath as his hand runs through his hair. “So, I know Christmas is next week, but I wanted to give you your gift now while we have some privacy.” He pulls a small box out of his pocket and hands it to me.

His nervous energy radiates off of him and is absorbed by me. With shaky hands, I slowly untie the ribbon, looking up at him as I go along. Once the paper is off, I open the box. Nestled in some tissue paper is what looks like a scrap piece of gold metal. It’s not very big, but has a stem of some sort with a mangled piece on top. It almost looks like a mushroom. I grab it and pull it out of the box and notice that the stem is connected to a chain and I realize it’s a necklace. My eyes return to his waiting for some sort of explanation about what this is.

“I’ve seen a lot of dark things in my life, things I’d like to forget. When I first got out of the Army, those memories were constantly threatening to drag me down and engulf me. Consume me. I fought back, not really understanding the purpose of doing so at the time, but something told me I had to. That I couldn’t sit back and let the bad stuff in life drown me out. I know why now.” He grabs my hand and stares into my soul. “You. You’re my purpose. I believe now that you’re the reason I made it out alive and you’re the thing that’s going to keep me in the light.” He releases my hand and grabs the scrap piece of metal, holding it between his thumb and forefinger. He stares at it as he says, “This is one of the bullets they pulled out of my arm on the last mission I went on. I got so damn lucky that day whereas my guys—my brothers—didn’t. I’ve carried this in my pocket every day for two years as a reminder to be thankful for life. Because in the blink of an eye, it can all be taken away.” His focus comes back to me as he continues. “But I don’t need it anymore. You’re my reminder and I thank God every day for saving me and getting me home because it ultimately led me to you.”