“Yes,” he said. “If we lived near them, my mom would love to keep the baby while you work. She kept Arie for Ani and Bram while Ani was still working.”

“So that’s a mark in the pro column,” I murmured to myself.

“You want me to get out of the Army?” he asked, setting his controller down. “I need to make the decision soon.”

“I’m not making that decision for you,” I replied.

“But you’re making pro/con lists?”

“Just a running tally in my head,” I confessed.

“Well, let’s hear it.”

I looked at him closely, making sure he really wanted to hear it before I spoke.

“Cons,” I said, saving my work and then closing my laptop. “You have really good health insurance. You’ve been in the Army for a long time already, and it would be a shame to stop now when the retirement benefits are so good.”

“I’m only about halfway to retirement,” he said. “That’s a long time to be a military wife.”

I nodded in agreement. “Also, if you get out now, you’ll still be living in Missouri until I graduate, and we can’t survive on one income.” I’d barely been surviving on my single income; there was no way I could pay his bills, too. “Plus, your health insurance is so much better than mine.”

“I’m not staying home while you work,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll find something. What are your pros?”

“Pros are that you wouldn’t deploy.” I sighed. “We could move near your family. You could work in your family business with your brother, which I know you’ll love.”

“I don’t know about that,” Alex joked. “Bram’s a pain in the ass.”

“Your mom could keep the baby while I work,” I continued. “We could buy a house. We wouldn’t have to move from place to place.”

“Are you worried about that?” he asked softly.

“Not yet,” I replied. “But eventually the baby will be in school and making friends.”

“Lots of military kids do just fine,” he said.

“And we’ll make it work, of course,” I replied quickly. “These are just on the pro/con list.”

“Fair enough.”

“There are arguments for both decisions,” I said, setting my laptop down on the coffee table so I could scoot into the spot next to him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me against his side. “It needs to be your decision. What do you want to do?”

He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I want to get out.”

“Really?” I glanced up at his face to see if there was any indecision in his expression, but found a smile.