On Point (Out of Uniform 3)

“We need one more with the family too,” Camilla said as soon as the photographer was done having Ben, his dad, uncle, and brother-in-law turn this way and that. She had zero regard for any “don’t see the bride” traditions and bustled around, picking up the skirts of her white dress with purple embroidery. The dress and pale makeup made her look at least a decade younger, and when his dad smiled at her, some of Ben’s skepticism melted away. Maybe making her happy wasn’t a bad goal, and God knew that his dad had the money to spare.

He glanced over at Maddox, who had claimed one of the white folding chairs. Yeah, Ben could understand that impulse to make another person happy. Wasn’t much Ben wouldn’t do to lift whatever fog had settled over Maddox.

Never one to miss a detail, Camilla followed Ben’s gaze. “Oh yes, Maddox! Come join us for this next picture.”

A pink flush crept up Maddox’s cheeks as he waved off the invitation. “That’s all right. You keep it family. I’m good over here.”

You’re my family. The thought entered Ben’s head like an uninvited guest and refused to budge. Maddox was more than his best friend. More than a friend of the family. He was family. Ben’s family. And he deserved to be on more than just the periphery of the day. And if Maddox wasn’t so insistent on them keeping the dating thing quiet, he’d be right here where he belonged, at Ben’s side. Ben tried to tell him all that with his eyes, but he must have sucked at translating all that into a single pointed look, because Maddox just shook his head at him.

“Speaking of family...” His father spoke in a lowered voice as the photographer’s assistant arranged the taller people like them behind the rest of the family. “I invited your mother.”

“You did what?” Ben sputtered. Damn it. His father had purposefully waited until Ben was trapped, unable to make a scene, to spring this on him.

“We’re still friends,” his father said mildly. “She wishes me well.”

“Well I don’t wish her well,” Ben grumbled. “And you know she won’t come.”

“Probably not,” his father agreed. “But she also didn’t decline, and I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Be nice if she comes, okay?”

Ben forced himself to smile when the photographer asked, then turned back to his dad. “You don’t have to lecture me about not flipping out. She’s not worth the scene.”

“Of course not.” His dad clapped him on the back. “Just consider this a friendly don’t-get-drunk-before-dinner warning. She’s not an evil person, Ben. She’s really not.”

All Ben could do was shake his head. Even after all these years, he marveled at his dad’s foolish capacity for forgiveness. Willful blindness really. And he might promise no scenes, but if that woman dared to ruin Camilla’s day, Ben was going to take swift and decisive action. As he should. His dad might be all inclusive and joy-spreading today, but Ben was on red-alert for the incoming threat.

Woof. Woof. Behind them on the strip of sandy white beach, a shaggy mutt was playing Frisbee with his owner, a young shirtless guy in blue board shorts. The Ben of a few months ago would have been checking out the guy, who was all washboard abs and big smiles, but something weird had happened to Ben over the past few weeks. His hot-guy radar was distorted by all things Maddox and his gaze was more drawn to the dog than its owner.

“Oh I hope there’s no beach noise for the ceremony.” The wedding planner made a sour face as they finished what seemed to be the last of the pre-ceremony pictures.

The dog really was the least of Ben’s worries, and honestly, he wouldn’t mind switching places with the duo. Ben missed his dogs something fierce right then, missed a good long run with them, missed the chance to get out of his own stupid head. He drifted away from the others, heading toward Maddox and the chairs, needing to do something about this weird restlessness in his gut before the ceremony started.

Maddox said his lease... Ben shut that thought down. Didn’t matter how emo his mood was. He couldn’t ask a pet to wait when they were both deployed next. It wasn’t going to be much longer before Maddox got approved back for light duty, and Ben was seriously counting down the hours. Work just wasn’t the same without Maddox there. And as soon as they approved Ben to resume full duties, he wanted Maddox back at his side for that first jump. Man, he just couldn’t wait.

“Hello, Benjamin.” A wedding guest in a green and white flowing dress intercepted him.

That voice... He did a double take. Long gray hair, flowing free like a halo. Same green eyes he saw in the mirror each morning. Same placid expression he remembered from the last visit, maybe five years ago.