Brooke also smiles at the memory. “Do you remember
me saying that I was going to knock the dividing wall out that
separates our duplex?”
“ Of course I remember
that.”
“ I wasn’t kidding,” she
says.
“ I wasn’t kidding either.
I’m certain the Army would have kicked us out for
that.”
“ That would have been hard
to explain.”
Once the wine is gone, I go into the bedroom
and get a pillow and blanket for her. I walk into the living room,
and say, “Sorry, I don’t have an extra bed in the spare room
yet.”
Brooke is standing up at the
mantel and looking at Max’s flag, his gold star, and his
medals. She looks sad and has a tear
running down her cheek. I place the blanket and pillow on the couch
and walk over to her.
“ Emma, I’m sorry. If I could
change things, I would in a minute. He was such a nice guy and he
loved you very much. James looks so much like him. He even has the
dimple in his chin, that Max had.”
I smile a sad smile, because what she said is
true. Max was a nice man and James does look a lot like him. “He
was going to be such a great dad. I feel bad for James. I at least
have memories of Max, but James only has pictures, letters, and a
couple of videos of his father. He wasn’t even old enough to
remember him.” I pick up his gold star and hold it
tightly.
After several minutes of silence, she asks,
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“ No, Max was my soul mate,
and I’m not sure how to move on without him.”
We stand there in silence, looking at Max’s
medals. “Well, let’s get to bed. We have some site-seeing to do
tomorrow,” I say, walking towards the hallway.
“ Sounds like a plan. Good
night, Boo, I love you.”
I smile before saying, “I love you, too,
forever and always.”
We take James to P.V.K., Pre-Voluntary
Kindergarten, in the morning, and Brooke and I decide to take a run
on the beach before it gets too hot. After we shower, we decide to
sort through some of the boxes marked ‘Max.’ All of Max’s clothes I
just leave in the box and put the box in Max’s closet. I’m not
ready to get rid of them yet. Brooke doesn’t agree with me, but she
doesn’t say anything either. When she loses her husband, then she
can tell me when to toss Max’s stuff out. Unless you have gone
through it, you have no idea what it feels like to lose your soul
mate.
Sorting through the boxes, I
find most of them are Max’s clothing. We open a box and in it are
letters. Unopened letters from Max from four years ago. I had no
idea these letters even existed. Max’s letters were very slow
getting to us. It took two or three weeks for mail to get to us
after it was picked up for delivery. Inside the box are letters, cards, pictures, and a calendar with
dates crossed off. The last date crossed off is June
16 th .
Max died on June 17 th . I open a letter and see that
inside is a list of things Max wanted to do when he got home. Max
wrote me every single day and sometimes I think he didn’t know what
to say, so he just wrote stupid stuff. I read the letter and
laugh.
“ What’s so funny?” Brooke
asks.
“ Max sent me a list of some
things that he wanted to do when he gets home.”
“ If they’re sexual, I don’t
want to hear them,” she says, grinning. “On second thought, maybe I
do. I want to hear what a freak Max was.”
“ Listen to this,
Brooke:
Em, another boring day in
the Middle East and I would give anything to be home with you and
James right now. It is so boring here, I have no idea why we are
even over here. The guys and I play cards and they quit after I
win. I have been thinking and when we get to Florida these are some
things I want us to do with James.
1. Go to Disney World and stay to watch the
fireworks.
2. Have a picnic at
Myakka Park and watch the alligators swim.
3. Stand under that
kissing statue and see if she is wearing panties. (I always wanted
to, but was too
me saying that I was going to knock the dividing wall out that
separates our duplex?”
“ Of course I remember
that.”
“ I wasn’t kidding,” she
says.
“ I wasn’t kidding either.
I’m certain the Army would have kicked us out for
that.”
“ That would have been hard
to explain.”
Once the wine is gone, I go into the bedroom
and get a pillow and blanket for her. I walk into the living room,
and say, “Sorry, I don’t have an extra bed in the spare room
yet.”
Brooke is standing up at the
mantel and looking at Max’s flag, his gold star, and his
medals. She looks sad and has a tear
running down her cheek. I place the blanket and pillow on the couch
and walk over to her.
“ Emma, I’m sorry. If I could
change things, I would in a minute. He was such a nice guy and he
loved you very much. James looks so much like him. He even has the
dimple in his chin, that Max had.”
I smile a sad smile, because what she said is
true. Max was a nice man and James does look a lot like him. “He
was going to be such a great dad. I feel bad for James. I at least
have memories of Max, but James only has pictures, letters, and a
couple of videos of his father. He wasn’t even old enough to
remember him.” I pick up his gold star and hold it
tightly.
After several minutes of silence, she asks,
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“ No, Max was my soul mate,
and I’m not sure how to move on without him.”
We stand there in silence, looking at Max’s
medals. “Well, let’s get to bed. We have some site-seeing to do
tomorrow,” I say, walking towards the hallway.
“ Sounds like a plan. Good
night, Boo, I love you.”
I smile before saying, “I love you, too,
forever and always.”
We take James to P.V.K., Pre-Voluntary
Kindergarten, in the morning, and Brooke and I decide to take a run
on the beach before it gets too hot. After we shower, we decide to
sort through some of the boxes marked ‘Max.’ All of Max’s clothes I
just leave in the box and put the box in Max’s closet. I’m not
ready to get rid of them yet. Brooke doesn’t agree with me, but she
doesn’t say anything either. When she loses her husband, then she
can tell me when to toss Max’s stuff out. Unless you have gone
through it, you have no idea what it feels like to lose your soul
mate.
Sorting through the boxes, I
find most of them are Max’s clothing. We open a box and in it are
letters. Unopened letters from Max from four years ago. I had no
idea these letters even existed. Max’s letters were very slow
getting to us. It took two or three weeks for mail to get to us
after it was picked up for delivery. Inside the box are letters, cards, pictures, and a calendar with
dates crossed off. The last date crossed off is June
16 th .
Max died on June 17 th . I open a letter and see that
inside is a list of things Max wanted to do when he got home. Max
wrote me every single day and sometimes I think he didn’t know what
to say, so he just wrote stupid stuff. I read the letter and
laugh.
“ What’s so funny?” Brooke
asks.
“ Max sent me a list of some
things that he wanted to do when he gets home.”
“ If they’re sexual, I don’t
want to hear them,” she says, grinning. “On second thought, maybe I
do. I want to hear what a freak Max was.”
“ Listen to this,
Brooke:
Em, another boring day in
the Middle East and I would give anything to be home with you and
James right now. It is so boring here, I have no idea why we are
even over here. The guys and I play cards and they quit after I
win. I have been thinking and when we get to Florida these are some
things I want us to do with James.
1. Go to Disney World and stay to watch the
fireworks.
2. Have a picnic at
Myakka Park and watch the alligators swim.
3. Stand under that
kissing statue and see if she is wearing panties. (I always wanted
to, but was too
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