I completely forgot about him being in bh for six months, but that works out perfectly for what I pictured. I'm at work right now, so I can't really go into too much detail, but I was thinking that when they were younger, having her look up to him was VERY important to him, so instead of spiraling down a dangerous path, which he seen himself doing, he enrolled in the military. after getting shot in the leg, he got honorably discharged. (he walks with a slight limp) he wound up in Maine because it was her birthday and instead of the usual phone call, he decided to show up at her door with a bouquet of red roses