Dear Santa:

For Christmas, I want my boyfriend to come home from his mission safely.

Of course, that’s what I told everyone when they asked. But deep down, I was struggling with the knowledge that I would probably never get what I truly wanted—what I craved to experience more than anything.

That was until the annual Marine Corps toy donation, where I sat in Santa’s lap and made my wish. The love of my life surprised me with his presence and even more so with his promises. I just didn’t think it would take sharing me with his best friend to achieve it.

And more than that, I certainly didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, nor to long for more.

The Devil Dogs planned to give me the best present of all time.

And I had no plans of stopping them.