The Plan

Chapter 3: Hazel

“I can’t believe you're only going to be an hour away from me now!” Cassandra squeals as she tapes and closes another box. This was all part of the plan. Ethan and I hadn’t told anyone about the house in Granville, Tennessee, for fear that they wouldn’t understand. A few years back, while Ethan was still in the service, he took me on a trip just the two of us to a very tiny town in east Tennessee. He pulled up in front of a house and stopped, just staring at the home with a sorrowful look in his eyes. Then he looked at me and handed me a set of keys. “I bought this place a few weeks ago,” he said. Confused, I took the keys from him and looked back at the home. It was a cute, old farmhouse on a small amount of land, just the perfect size for a tiny homestead. “Are you getting out of the army early?” I asked, trying hard to hide the excitement in my tone. “No.” “Then is this where you want to come after you do decide to call it quits and settle down?” “No.” I stared at him for a long while. Trying to figure out where exactly his head was. “Then what is this?” I asked, not entirely sure I wanted the answer. “This home is for you and the girls. This home is your fresh start if anything were to happen to me. It’s my last gift to you.” His voice broke on the last words. He continued, “Obviously, if nothing ever happens, we can sell it or maybe one day we can move out here. Grow old in porch swings out front and watch our grandkids run around the yard. I just can’t continue in my career field without having a plan for you and our girls. I can’t keep putting myself in danger every day without knowing I have done everything in my power to take care of you all. And I know you Haze, you won’t want to stay in Texas with our family. You’ll want something new, something for just you, Charlie, and little Reagan.” His hand lands on my bulging belly. We were expecting our latest addition in just three months. “Wow, Ethan. I’m not really sure what to say.” Of course, I saw his logic. But I hated it. I couldn’t imagine a life without him. It wasn’t an option for me. I didn’t want a contingency plan for him not being here. But before I could express all of that to him, he took my face in his hands. “Hazel, please let me do this. Let me have this one fail-safe. You know I can’t walk away from my career. You know me well enough to know I’d never survive that. But I don’t want you and the girls to ever suffer because of my choices. I want to take care of you all. Even from the other side.” It was hard to stay mad at him when he said things like that. He always knew how to cut me straight to the heart. “Ok,” I whispered. He took my lips then in a soul-crushing kiss filled with passion and devotion. But there was also a sadness in it that I had refused to acknowledge at the time. As if he knew this was our path. My chest tightened with the memory of that moment. One of many sweet memories that would have to keep me going until I could see him again.

I took the box from Cassandra and hauled it out to the moving truck. “I know. At least we’ll have that going for us. But it’s a little intimidating to be moving somewhere where I know absolutely no one.” Cass looks at me with pity and then pulls me into a tight hug. “It’ll be ok,” she says. “I know it's scary, but I really think this is going to be what's best. Moving somewhere where no one knows Ethan or what happened will help you move on. No memories to pine over. No “special places” to avoid…” she trails off then. Knowing that’s not really helping anything. “Uhg. At least the girls are actually excited about starting a new school this time around.” I say, slamming the back of the truck closed with the final boxes. Poor Charlie had moved so many times in her little life that she was downright livid the last few times we had to uproot her. But not this time. This time she was welcoming the change with open arms. Willing and ready to start fresh in the middle of nowhere. I turned to head back into the now-empty house when I heard a throat clear from the other side of the truck. I whipped around, not expecting anyone to be there at this time of night. Cassandra was already back in the house, and the girls were bouncing around between grandparents until we left in just 3 days. “Isaac! My goodness, I didn’t expect to see you there. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I gasped, clutching my chest. “I'm sorry, Hazel. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just came to say goodbye. I heard you were leaving in a few days.” He looks at me with worry in his eyes, though I'm not sure the reason. “Yes, the girls and I are headed to Tennessee. Looking for a fresh start.” For some reason, I’m nervous to tell him this. I don’t want him to think we're abandoning Ethan and the life we shared with him. Ethan likely didn’t tell him about the plan either. It was a secret we kept very close. “Well, I didn’t just come to say goodbye,” he continues. “I also came to…give you a heads up of sorts.” I stare at him, slightly confused. What could Isaac possibly feel he needs to warn me against? “Oh?” “Yes, you see, Ethan and I didn’t exactly work for the greatest of people…” I know this. I had always had my suspicions, and eventually, Ethan stopped trying to convince me otherwise. “What are you trying to tell me, Isaac? I knew that when he started. It wouldn’t have mattered; he would have taken it regardless.” The danger was never a factor to Ethan. “It was a dangerous job on a good day, but there were some missions that went beyond that. Well, on Ethan's last mission, we encountered some…rather unsavory individuals. It felt like they had a vendetta against Ethan. Threatening his family, saying he deserved what was coming for him. When I asked him how the hell he knew them and what the f**k was going on, he just brushed me off. Saying these were men he had encountered in the army, and they were all talk, no bite. Then…well, you know what happened next. I just don’t have a good feeling about it. It seemed really personal. I don’t know that they know about you and the girls, but I’m glad you’re getting out of here. And that not many people know where you're going. But regardless, if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, or you feel that something isn’t right, please call me. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Understood?” he finishes, giving me a stern look. I can't imagine that anyone was actually after Ethan, or even my family, for that matter. Ethan was heavily trained in interrogation tactics and never would have given up any information about us, no matter the pain it brought him. We also have always been insanely over-cautious about what we put out on the internet. Never giving a location or sharing our children's faces with anyone except those who met them in person. There was just no way anyone had any solid information on us. “Thank you for your warning and concern, Isaac, but I'm sure the contracting company, along with the military, has kept all of our information perfectly safe. I am not going to concern myself with that with everything else I have going on.” I give a slightly exasperated sigh. Why were men so over dramatic sometimes? “I’m serious, Hazel. Tell me you understand?” He gives me yet another stern look as if I'm some silly little girl smarting off to her father. “Fine, Isaac. I understand. Happy?” He stares at me with a sad look in his eyes. “No, but I'm not sure I will be for some time. Stay safe, Hazel. And give me a call if you're ever back in town.” And with that, he saunters back to his truck and drives off.