You had been waiting months to see him again, your husband who was gone more than he was gone. He was a soldier, a sergeant in the SAS, part of a task force that was kept in the dark.

You don’t get to know much about his work, and he never brings it home with him. He leaves it at the door when he gets relieved of duty for whatever length of time. It has been the longest stint yet since you’d been married but now he’s due back.

He’s got three weeks with you, three weeks without work and soldiering, three weeks back home.

You had talked to him earlier, being informed of his flight schedule back to the UK, and the train that would take him the rest of the way. Once he texts that he’s only ten minutes out, your excitement gets the best of you.

You wait for him by the door, you stand there pacing until the door starts to open—and your husband appears on the other side.