LOVE LOCKS part three

LOVE LOCKS …. part three….

They will Bind your Love – or will they?

xoxoxoxox

When Steve opened the hotel door, they both turned and gave the room one last longing look. They turned their eyes to each other, turned toward the hallway of the hotel, quietly closed the door, and walked out of the building.

As agreed, in Steve's absence, Anna lived at home with her parents. Her father had said that there was no reason to pay rent to live alone. Anna could continue living with them and the arrangements they had as she did before her wedding.

She wrote to Steve daily but only received replies once a month. Anna knew not to be upset. He’d warned her that his letters might be infrequent. She may not have liked it, but she understood it.

While he was gone, she would walk to the Penny Bridge every chance she had and gently trace her fingers over the inscribed message on their lock. Then she’d give the lock a gentle squeeze with her left hand. In her mind, she was hugging her husband.

Many months later, he called. “I’ve gotten a week’s leave. I’m coming home.”

Anna was beyond thrilled. One full week! One full week to share with her husband. She thought about his phone call. He didn’t sound too happy but why? They’d be together again. What went wrong? Instinctively, she knew something happened – something terrible.

She quickly walked to the Penny Bridge and found their lock. Once again, she held the lock and lovingly traced the inscription with her thumb. “It’ll be ok. Everything will be fine. Whatever is wrong, once he’s home, we’ll fix it.”

XOXOXOXOX XO///O///X/O / X / O / ////

Although dread filled her heart, Anna wore her best smile when she answered the door.

Steve took her hand and pulled her in for a kiss.

“Anna, let’s go for a walk. I need to tell you something.”

She felt a gut-wrenching punch of nerves in her stomach.

Instead of going to the Penny Bridge, he steered her towards the park. After finding a bench away from the prying eyes of the public and windows of the houses nearby, they sat, and he reached for her hand again.

“Anna, it just kills me to say this but I think it’s for the best if we break up. A divorce would be quick and well, oh, heck, Anna, the only way to say this is, they’re sending me to Afghanistan. I’m not even sure, at this point, if I’ll come home. I’m scared enough for both of us and I don’t want to put you through what I feel. I want …, no please don’t interrupt me. Let me get all this out … I want you to get on with your life. Go! Find someone who won’t be sent away to probably die and please be happy.”

Although his grip on her hand tightened, he couldn’t look at her. He didn’t have to. She heard the torment in his voice.

“Look! Steve. Just because they’re sending you to place that has already taken thousands of lives, doesn’t mean your name will be the next casualty. No, I absolutely will not agree to a divorce.”

“Anna, please…”

“No, Steve, I listened to you, now you’re going to listen to me! Damn it, Steve. When I pledged myself to you and said those vows in front of our family, friends, the priest, I didn’t say them lightly and because people were listening. I said them because I meant them. Oh, Steve, for God’s sake, we’re a unit! We do things together. We solve problems.”

“But ..”

She almost screamed. “I AM NOT DONE SPEAKING AND YOU WILL LISTEN!”

She rose from the bench and knelt in front of him. Her hands reached for his face and she turned him to look at her.

“I love you and even if you decide you’re done with me, I am NOT done with you and I’ll wait for you no matter what happens. I’ll be here, no matter what!”

He reached inside the pocket of the light jacket he wore and pulled out what looked to her as if it were a small course wire.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s a wire saw. I was going to saw our lock off the bridge and convince you to go.”

“And go where? Where the hell would I go without you? Don’t you understand? If I could follow you to the other end of the earth, I would. I’d be there with you every step of the way.”

He lowered his head, covered his eyes, and cried. “Oh Anna. I’ve heard so many stories about the men who go to Afghanistan. Some are lucky enough to die. Other come home without any limbs – just a torse! Some, may come home with their limbs but they’re useless. Some have been blinded while others come home completely disfigured. Yes, I know what you’re going to say, ‘some are lucky to come home without any injury’ and I agree but what about the mental scars? Men have nightmares for years to come.”

“Then we deal with all of it! Now, get off your butt, stop feeling sorry for yourself and let’s get on with our mini-vacation. We have five full days and I intend to make the most of it, because in your frame of mind, it might be my last!”

Before heading to the Long Island Expressway, they made a detour to the Penny Bridge. Steve fingered the lock and looked at Anna, “Are you really sure about this?”

She hugged him. “As sure as I was the day we locked it here.”

“Then let’s go and see what other adventures we can find.”

They walked off the bridge and headed to Steve’s car.

“Anna?”

She looked over the roof of the car, “Yes?”

“Thank you. I really need your courage and reassurance.”

Anna never told him how terrified she was. She hid it well – for his sake as well as her own.

XO XO XO XO XO

Five days later, he left for his base and prepared to be deployed to a foreign land.

Anna wrote to him every day but only mailed a stack of letters once a month. She wasn’t sure he’d get them but she tried.

Each night before she went to sleep, she would gently pick up the wedding picture that sat on the table next to her bed. As she kissed his face, she prayed for his safe return. “Just please, God, bring him home. Whatever condition he’s in, we will deal with it. Just bring him home. As long as he’s breathing, we’ll figure it out.”

Three months later, she received a one-page letter.

“Hi, my love. This are crazy here. Saw Mike get his arm blown off. Mike was one of my bunk mates. I’m not sure where they’ve taken him but at least he’s out of harm’s way recuperating. I’m still in one piece but the nightmares are horrific. Give my love to our parents. I’ll write again when and if … Love you always, S.”

It was short but to Anna, one of the sweetest messages she could have gotten.

Not too long after she’d received her treasured letter, a jeep stopped at the door of her parents’ house. As she saw two men in Army green get out of the jeep, her entire body began to shake, “Mom”, she screamed.

The women opened the front door and the Corporal and the Sargeant stood at attention. The Sargeant spoke, “Mrs. Duncan?”

“Yes, that’s me.” Anna said in what her mother thought was barely a whisper.

“We're here to tell you that your husband is missing. His and a few of his men were out on patrol when their camp was bombed. Anyone inside was instantly killed but we understand that your husband and six others were not in the camp at that time. Unfortunately, we cannot determine their location. Do you have any questions?”

“The first one that comes to mind is, are you 100% sure he was not in camp when it was attacked?”

“Yes, ma’am, of that we’re positive. The HQ which is, uh, was several miles away was notified of their last known position and it was nowhere near the base camp. As soon as we know more, we’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you for letting us know. I’ll inform his parents.”

With that, the “men in green” as Anna would later call them, turned and walked back to the jeep.

The Corporal turned and said, “We’ll also be praying for him and his unit.”

After Anna’s mother closed the door, Anna sunk to the floor. She was too numb to cry but her body still shook.

“Mom, this is what he was afraid of. I’m going to the bridge.”

“Do you want company?”

“No, but I will take our folding beach chair. I’ll be there for a while.”

XO XO XO XO XO

It was dark before Anna returned to her parents’ house.

“Are you alright?” her mother asked.