Adam wanted nothing more than to drown in a bottle of Hennessy while immersed in ‘Walker, Texas Ranger.’ At twenty-eight his life seemed to be the American dream. Career wise, he harnessed an eight-year career in the Navy and a shot at a Sergeant position in the police force. He had met the love of his life, Lorelei, a few years before he left and he knew she would be a keeper. It really should have been considered a stroke of luck. Adam had been waiting for over a half hour for his shipmate to pick him up. Pacing outside a closed Denny’s, he began angrily muttering to himself about his dick of a friend. Then she appeared.

“Are you okay?” A young lady asked him.

He was taken aback, “ ... Oh, um, yeah ... I guess I look a little crazy talking to myself.”

“No more crazy than me waiting over an hour for my friend to pick me up,” she almost scoffed thinking about it.

“You too huh? Yeah I’m waiting for a friend to get his fuckin’ ass over here.” Seeing her polite smile he quickly apologized. “Oh, geez, sorry, I didn’t mean to swear ... it’s kind of a habit.”

She blushed, “Oh it’s okay, I’m just not used to it I guess.”

He looked at her with a puzzled face. “How did I not see you before? I’ve been out here for at least forty-five minutes.”

She paused, “ ... You know? I don’t know. Quite honestly I didn’t see you either.”

There was a moment of silence as they looked around for their respective friends.

It started to rain.

The lady began crossing her arms and hunching her shoulders. Adam looked up and shrugged. Just my luck he thought. Looking back down he saw her starting to shiver and immediately took off his jacket and slung it around her. She paused again. “Thank you,” she said with a smile. “No problem,” Adam said returning the expression. He then gave a look like you would when that idea of the person in your vision might be ... more than a just a person. “What?” she asked. Sweetly smiling he said, “Nothing ... you’re just really pretty.” She blushed and laughed a shy laugh, “Thanks.” Just then her ride showed up and she jogged to get in.

Adam followed asking when she got in the passenger side, “Hey what’s your name?”

“What’s yours?”

“Adam.”

“Well Adam,” grabbing a pen and his wrist she wrote an address on his hand, “come to this address tomorrow ... and I’ll tell you.” This time her smile was coy.

About two minutes later his ride showed up. He hopped in, his friend asking where his jacket was. Adam looked at his hand thinking just my luck with a chuckle. Roughly twenty hours later he got his jacket back and the rest is history.

Adam had had his fair share of pusseys during his service, but Lorelei wasn’t just another pussey to be slammed on a shore leave. She was funny. She was smart. She was beautiful.

She was the one.

They got married on a sunny day in June. Or at least it was supposed to be sunny. Their memorable day became a falsely predicted weather forecast during the ceremony. Family members and guests ran under the giant tent reserved for the dinner and cake and dancing. Adam and Lorelei began running for the tent too. But about ten feet away Lorelei stopped and grabbed his wrist. When asking what was wrong she grabbed his face, and together they reminisced about the first time they met. He smiled and took off his tuxedo jacket and slung it around her. Everyone was watching as they kissed, applauding when they finished. At that moment Adam realized that Lorelei was definitely more than just a person.

She was everything.

But that was then. Before he began drinking heavily. Before he became depressed.

Before the accident.

Two minutes. Two fucking minutes and Lorelei would have been safely in his arms again. Damn drunk driver. Adam never drove after he drank from the bottle. But that never stopped him from grabbing the bottle. He beat his fists into the floor that night. That night his buddies from the precinct came to his door with solemn looks on their faces. He screamed at the top of his lungs that night.

He hid his problems from his closest friends and family. He hated it when people meddled in his business. On this night he decided to stow away the Jack Daniel’s and take a walk. He ended up at the local watering hole anyway. One beer and two shots of vodka later he was approached by a young woman in a tight dress and high heels. He glanced sideways, noticing a gold necklace hanging above her tits that were swinging freely beneath the fabric.

“Hey big boy,” she began, trying to seduce him, “you look a little lonely downing all those drinks ... how about some company?” She smiled, but it wasn’t sincere.

“No thanks,” Adam said without turning his head.

“Oh come one,” she moved closer putting a hand on his arm and whispering in his ear, “It’ll be fun.”