Page 124 of Haze of Obedience

"Huh. Maybe I am color blind like they told me in boot camp."

"Tinker, how many years ago were you in boot camp?" I ask.

"I'm forty-five. Joined when I was eighteen so...twenty seven years ago."

"Twenty-seven years! And you just realize they were correct now?" I shriek.

He shrugs. "You look like a hot redhead to me."

I turn to Dirk. "You can laugh. It's okay."

He holds a strand of my hair. "I told you, you're one of the only people on Earth who can pull any hair color off."

"The eighties are over."

"Retro is always in?" he offers.

"Ha. Funny."

Axel starts laughing so hard he cries, and Penelope joins him.

"Now are you going to laugh?" I ask Dirk.

"Nope." He pecks me on the lips. "Still sexy."

I rise. "Where are the contacts?"

Tinker grabs a case off the counter and hands it to me.

"I'll be back."

I return to the bathroom and put in the contacts. They are bright green, which only makes my hair look more ridiculous.

At least I don't look like myself.

When I step into the kitchen, Axel's eyes widen, and he swallows hard. Penelope covers her mouth.

Tinker whistles like he's a construction worker.

"Don't whistle at my woman," Dirk says.

He holds his hands up. "Can't help it if I appreciate a good looking woman."

I walk up to Tinker and pat his cheek. "You, my dear, have zero standards."

"I have been told that before," he winks.

I spin and sit at the table. "Well, now that I look like a freak show when are we leaving?"

"Tinker's going to contact his friends to help us with border issues. Either tonight or tomorrow, depending on when they get back."

Axel rises. "But, we're leaving now."

We all stand and exchange goodbyes. Penelope and I hug, and she tells me again how grateful she is to us.

"Just find your daughter."

She nods and blinks hard.

"I'll see you in Bermuda. I hope Millie and I can sing together when you get there."

She wipes her face. "Me too."