Note from Grandma
Hey everyone. Grandma here to give you yet another short story to cuddle around the fire with. Seeing as we our great country is yet again dealing with another potential war, I figured that this story would suit the mood of the nation. Cold weather is a brewing in and I hope everyone is getting their jackets out and enjoying the colors. Hope you enjoy the next story in Grandmas Fireside story collection.
"Will There Be Peace"?
By Ruth A. Lance
Prelude
************
He screamed into the night,
began to thrash and flail his arms against the unseen demons that chased him down
the corridors of his sleeping mind, and Julie Bell vaulted out of bed and away
from her husband. She had learned a very
painful lesson.....long ago......about trying to awaken him when he was in the
throes of one of these nightmares. It
was best to leave him alone. Eventually
he would come out of it.
She plodded to the
kitchen, peering at the clock over the kitchen table. Three a.m.
She moved to flip the switch that would begin the coffee brewing, with a
hand that shook slightly. There was
never any more sleep for her after one of these episodes. Manny never asked her to stay up with him.
She just knew from experience she would never be able to leave him alone
with his memories…to let him suffer by himself. She had grown used to just
automatically having the coffee ready, and to sitting up with him.
Julie set out the coffee
cups and fixings, and thought of their son, Jasen, who would be up and around
in another three hours to get ready for school. She thought it a blue eyed miracle that he was
capable of sleeping through the noise when his daddy had one of these
attacks. But he never awakened......was
never even aware the next day that anything untoward had occurred the night
before. Sometimes she thought he could
sleep through anything!
A thump from their
bedroom told Julie that Manny was awake at last. She heard his slow footsteps as he made his
way down the hallway, and turned to him when he came into the kitchen. Groggily, he muttered, "hi, babe". She went to him, gave him a soft kiss on the
cheek, told him to sit down and she'd get him a cuppa. Involuntarily, hers eyes rested briefly on
her husband's left arm before she turned away to retrieve the coffee. She did not believe there was ever going to come a time when the sight
of it did not sicken and anger her, all at once. Such a high price he had paid......such a
cold reception he had gotten from his own country, when he returned.
She poured his coffee
and her own, and placed his before him......kissed his sweaty brow. He touched her right hand with his own briefly,
gave her a weak smile, and began to doctor the inky brew in his cup. It was going to be another long night.
Chapter 1
***********
In high school she had
been Julie Delaney, and she had met Manny in her senior year. He was a dashing, handsome young
man......team captain of the varsity basketball team, and center forward. She had been a cheerleader. Back then life had lain golden before them,
like a bright star.
Manny had asked her out
the first time to go to a dance with him at the school, and she had happily
accepted. Before long they were a
twosome, and voted the schools ‘most likely to stay together after school’
couple. Everyone was right.
Glibly, almost giddily,
their last year in school had spun by, and before they knew it they were
wearing their caps and gowns and attending their graduation ceremony. The year was 1964. It had been the hay- day years of Richie
Valley, Presley, and others like them.
Rock-n-roll was making its mark on the new generation, and predictably
driving parent’s nuts!
Julie had attended her
senior prom with Manny, had made the rounds with him to all the graduation
parties of their friends,
and they in turn attending hers
and Manny’s. There had been a huge beach party the week-end following
the senior’s graduation, and everybody that was anybody had been there. They had partied with total abandon well past
midnight, Julie....for the first and only
time in her life….getting absolutely plastered! Manny had never left her side, even when she
puked her guts out later on. He had just
held her poor, throbbing head, as she was convinced her very innards were going
to end up on the ground at her feet!
It had seemed almost
anti-climatic......almost a let down...when
things had calmed back down after that last hectic week after graduation. Julie had found herself at loose ends. She was still
pondering offers from several colleges for scholarships, she being a straight A
student. Yet, not really knowing what decision to make yet,
because she loved Manny Bell with all
her heart. Truth be known, she secretly
hoped for an engagement ring that Christmas from him. Knowing that if he asked her to marry
him.....as she hoped he was going to.....she would forego college in a heartbeat!
She had tried to tell herself how selfish she
was being, because she knew Manny, himself, had been offered a full basketball
scholarship from no less than three major universities.
That is......if the draft didn't
get him, first. The war in Nam had
escalated by then, and young men from all walks of life had found a draft
notice in their mailboxes. Several of
Manny's pal's had already been given notice, and Julie's nightly prayer was
that they would not call Manny up. The
branches of the United States services had not wasted any time in the event of
Manny's friends.
A week after their graduation, the hated and dreaded official paper hadn’t
come via the post. So far, at least,
Manny had been spared.
Christmas had of course come
around that year, and after sharing in a lovely dinner Julie's mom had put on,
Manny had asked Julie to go for a late night stroll with him. The snow had been falling softly and serenely
around them, the street lights making it glisten like a zillion diamonds before
their eyes. With her hand in his, Manny
and Julie had walked slowly along, their boots making crunching noises in the
crisp night air. As they reached the
park, Manny had swept the snow from one of the benches and they sat down, their
breath making puffy plumes of air in the silent night.
Manny had taken her hand
in his, looking into her eyes, and had told her how much he loved her. Had, in fact, declared his love to her for
all eternity. Then, despite the snow on
the ground, he’d gotten down on one knee, and reached into his coat pocket.
From it he had pulled a small,
black box. Julie's heart had leapt in
her chest, as he had popped the lid.
Nestled within the black velvet, a lovely diamond ring winked up at
her. Manny had removed it carefully from
its resting place and holding it, and Julie's heart, in his hands, he had asked
if she would marry him.
Tearfully she had told
him she would, and had slipped the glove off her left hand. Almost reverently Manny had slipped the
glittering stone into place on her ring finger.
It had been, without a single doubt, the most momentous moment in all of
Julie's life.
Manny had then taken her into
his arms tenderly, and kissed her.
As they rose from their
seat on the bench, both growing cold in the night air....as they began to
stroll back towards home....Manny shattered the fragile glass bubble of Julie's
happiness. He told her he had something
to tell her, and knew she would understand.
That, before they were married, before he could feel right in beginning
their lives together, there was something he knew in his heart he had to do. That was when the man she loved with her
whole being.......the only one she knew she could ever love........had dropped the bomb that exploded her world. Manny told her he had freely enlisted in the
Army. That he would be deployed in two
week's time.
Julie had ranted,
begged, raved, even cursed at him.....but he would not be swayed. Telling her it was his duty as an American,
and something he felt he had to do. They had come to her house by then and he had
tried to take her into his arms, but she had rudely shoved him away. Crying uncontrollably now, Julie had run for
her front door, slamming it shut behind her, leaving him standing there in the
frigid night air.
For the next two weeks
he had called her every day. But Julie
had refused his calls......refused to speak to him. The ring he had given her still encircled her
finger......she would never take it
off! But her anger at him was so great within
her for what he had done.......ripping their whole world apart like
this.....she could not find the compassion in her heart to even speak to him.
The morning he was due
to depart, Julie's mother had come into her bedroom where she slept, and had turned
on her bedside light, startling her awake.
Bethann Delaney had tried to keep her mouth
shut, telling herself to stay out of this.
But she was fully aware that today was the day that Manny would be
shipped out to boot camp, and she was deeply ashamed of her daughter's
treatment of him over the last two weeks.
A straight forward woman who usually spoke her mind, Mrs. Delaney did so
now, showing no mercy when she berated her daughter for how she had been
acting.
Kevin Delaney, Julie's
father, had been standing silent in her doorway, but the look of contempt on
his face cut his daughter to the core of her being. Yes, Julie had been deeply hurt by it
all. But her heart also told her that
her folks were right. Manny had done
what he felt he had to do in all
consciousness, and she had made his life a living hell because of it. At that moment, Julie Delaney's self loathing
knew no bounds.
Tears had been shed on
her part, and typical of her parents they had moved to comfort her. Finally, her mother had suggested that if she
were to see Manny off on the deportment train that was scheduled to leave the
station at eight o'clock, she had better get a move on!
When her folks had left,
Julie had flown around her room to get ready to leave, telling herself she
would not be too late to say goodbye
to him! If she had to break every speed
record known to mankind, she would be there! Glancing briefly at the clock, she had seen
she had exactly one hour to departure time.
Julie's small little
compact car had protested mightily as she had pushed it to the limits, and by
some miracle she had not been stopped for speeding. In a sliding skid she had screeched to a halt
in the depot's parking lot. On a flat
out run, knocking people rudely aside in her path, Julie had flown towards the
departure platform. She had glanced only
once at her watch.......she had exactly ten minutes to go.
Frantically, her eyes
had searched the uniformed men crowding the platform. Finally she had seen Manny's dark head.
Shoving through the men
clustered around her, not even hearing their remarks aimed at her, Julie had
bee lined towards him.
He had his back to her, when she
said breathlessly, "Manny'?
He had whipped around
then, her name on his lips, and had taken her swiftly into his strong
arms. Over and over again he kissed her
forehead, her cheeks, her eyes. Finally,
sweetly, his lips had found her own.
When he finally came up
for air, Julie's cheeks were flushed, and she laid a gentle, loving hand along
his face. "I'm so sorry,
Manny", she choked out, tears running down her cheeks. "Can you ever forgive me"?
Softly he had looked
into her eyes, and said in almost a whisper, "your here, sweetheart, that's all that matters".
He had pulled her to him
again and was kissing her like she was his very life line, when a man's voice
had barked out for all the recruits to board the train. Reluctantly he had let her go, and had
suddenly found himself jostled along in the tide of young men preparing to
board the train. His final words to her
had been,
"wait for me, Julie"! Her reply had been lost in the noise around
them. She had watched, crying, as her
beloved had climbed aboard that hated train......bound to a hell he, nor she,
could even imagine!
Chapter 2
Manny's first few letters
home to her had actually been fairly upbeat, giving her hope. She would watch the mail carefully, every
day, for an envelope that would tell her it was from him. She would then cloister herself in her room,
greedily devouring every word he wrote to her.
His first letter had come exactly two weeks from his departure date,
from boot camp.
Dearest Julie,
Well....here I
am......in boot camp! All my bunk mates
agree with me that our drill sergeant is a bastard, but we do as we're told. We all
have learned not to get on his bad side!
A day of taking one of the old goat's 'marches' makes you learn real quick.
A five mile hike, in full gear, tends to knock the stuffing
out of a man pretty fast. My own experience with this left me with
blister's on my feet the size of gulf balls, and aches and pains in places I
never knew existed. I never pushed the
envelope with the old man again, let me tell you.
What passes for food
here sucks, but we're told to enjoy it while we can, that it’s worse once we're
actually 'out in the field'.
Gee......can't wait! Which, my company is told is going to be
coming up soon.......as in another two weeks.
Then, it'll be the 'big time', I guess.
Most of us are excited, but kinda scared,
too, you know? It's a weird place to be.
Well, honey, guess if
I'm going to make the mail bag I better close this for now. Know that I dream of you every night, Julie.
Your face is in front of me
constantly, in everything I do. When I
get out of here, we're gonna have the biggest blow out wedding that little town
of ours has ever seen! Then......look
out, baby!
Cause I'm gonna love your socks off!
Till then, sweetheart, love you. Manny
Julie had reread that
first letter at least ten times, till she could have recited it by heart. She had folded it up reverently back into its
envelope, storing it in a shoe box she had kept for that purpose. That very day she had written him back, then
rushed out to the post office in their small town to mail it. Devoutly she had reassured him of her love
for him, letting him know she was awaiting his return home. Each letter from him had gone into the same
shoe box, to be kept for the rest of her life.
She had gotten exactly
one other letter from him, before Julie finally received the one she had been
dreading with all her heart.
Dearest Sweetheart,
Well.....we're
here. We were deployed exactly three
days ago to this command post. Seems, at
least so far, this is to be where our company is to be stationed for the
duration. I will try to describe it to
you, but I don't think there really are word's for how the living conditions
are here.
For one thing, it rains constantly! We haven't seen the sun since we got
here. The bugs are as big as house flies,
and are as hungry for our blood as a lion is for meat! No matter how much repellent you slather on
yourself, they seem to find an opening in your clothing to nail you.
Then, there's the so called food! It is no exaggeration when I tell you that
finding roaches in the food on your tray is common place. We just pick them out, and eat. The alternative is you die of
starvation. So, which is worse? That, or the enemy doing you in?
I find I'm almost afraid
to go to sleep at night. The Viet Cong
are everywhere here. Its common place,
I'm finding, to hear shell explosions.
They sound like their right on your doorstep, but my buddy here, Ryan,
tells me they can be as far as five miles away from our camp. Every time one goes off, it jars me out of
the thin sleep I'm capable of. I'll
probably come home to you with severe
bags under my eyes, (ha, ha)!
Listen to me....complaining like an old woman! I'm sorry, baby. Just shoot up a few prayers for me that this
will all be over soon, okay? Try not to
worry about me. I'll be home soon,
honey.
Love you with all my heart,
Manny
Julie had gone about her
life as best she could. She had, upon
her parents urging, finally accepted enrollment in their local college. She had adamantly refused to 'go away' to
school anywhere, wanting to stay in their local hometown area. Even then, she lived at home and attended classes
during the day. Evenings she worked as a
waitress in one of the local restaurants, to help out with living expenses at
home. She also tucked away a little
money every week in a savings account, towards her and Manny's wedding.
Every single afternoon,
returning from school, she'd go immediately to the pile of mail her mother left
on the end table in the hallway by the front door. Every single day, her heart sank when no
letter from Manny arrived. She wrote to
him each evening, when she got off her shift at work, even though she was so
tired she could have dropped where she stood.
She kept her letters to him upbeat, talking about the small, every day
mundane things that happened in her life without him there. She told him she was going to college,
now......taking up Social Work. That she
had elected to remain in their home town.
"I don't want to be
away at school somewhere, in another state, when you finally come home,
darling", she had written in this particular letter. Tears had trickled down her cheeks as she
wrote, a few splashing unheeded on the paper.
Trying to lighten her
mood, she had told him with no uncertain pride that she was pulling all A's,
and her profs were very proud of her.
Rumor had gone around that she would be in running for the class
valedictorian. "Wouldn't that be a hoot", she had said,
hoping to make him smile when he read it.
Julie did not tell Manny
about a guy by the name of Bradley Renault, who had been pursuing her
relentlessly at college. She had, of
course, rebuffed his every advancement......even told him she was engaged to a
guy who was in Nam and was not interested in him. But Bradley was nothing if not persistent,
and all too often lately he would sit at her table with her during the lunch
period. He never what you'd call
'pushed' himself on Julie, but he made her uncomfortable, nonetheless. She refused to examine the reason why too
closely.
It had been a month
before Julie received the next letter from Manny. She had almost given up hope he would write
to her again, it had been so long, even though she never ceased sending out a
letter every day to him.
Julie had snatched the
letter up off the end table that afternoon, and had bounded up the stairs to
her room to read it in private. Her
heart in her throat, she had slit the envelope open with shaking hands, nearly
ripping the letter within. Quickly she
tore the single page from its casing, and began to read. She noticed, with fear, that there was a
definite shaky quality to the hand writing.
My Dearest Darling,
I am sorry it has taken me so
long to answer you. I have received
every one of your letters, and keep them at the bottom of my foot locker, where
they'll be safe.
Thank you, darling, for writing
about home. I almost feel like I'm there, for awhile, as I read them. God, how I miss everything back there, but none so much as you, honey. I love you with all my heart, never forget
that!
It must be nearing spring again
there......I can practically hear the birds singing. Wish I was there to take a long walk with
you in the meadow, as we used to do, remember?
If I close my eyes and concentrate hard enough, I can almost feel your hand in mine.
I don't want to have to tell you
this, baby, but I know I must.
Our unit got a not so nice
surprise yesterday, from our C.O.
Their sending us to the front
line, tomorrow morning at first light.
I'm not going to even pretend to be brave, and tell you I'm
not scared, because I am. They've held
us back, until now, but the fighting has escalated up there and casualties on
our side have been heavy. They call the
enemy 'Charlie' here, and they are a crafty bunch of bastards! Every step one of our guys takes could be his
last.
I won't go into it all,
sweetheart, it's too gruesome. Just
suffice to say that the stories our C.O. told us.....to prepare us for what
we're going to face.....well, not one man jack among us didn't have the hairs
on the back of his neck standing up, and his guts going to water.
I'm not trying to frighten you,
darling. I just want to prepare you, if
anything should happen to me. I have
instructed the Army to make you my beneficiary, in the event I don't come home.
I wish to God I didn't have to write this to you, Julie! I wish with all my heart that I was there with you.....right now......holding you in my arms. I love you so much, that at times I feel my
heart will literally explode inside
my chest!
Please say some special prayers
for me....and my buddies....tonight, sweetheart, before you lay down to
sleep. Pray the Big Guy will be with us
tomorrow. I'll write you again when I
can.
All my love forever and always,
Manny
Crumpling
the letter to her heart, Julie had cried her heart out. And, right then and there, she had gotten
down on her knees beside her bed, and had prayed for all she was worth. She had begged
God to bring her Manny home alive to her.
Never, in her young life, had Julie Delaney know such gut wrenching
despair!
Never had the night looked so dark before the dawn.
Chapter 3
As Julie had made her
way across campus to her next class, she noticed that the leaves were beginning
to show definite colors of the fall season again. It had been five months, now, since she had
heard from Manny last. Five very long,
lonely months.
And yet steadfastly she had remained faithful to him, rebuking Bradley's
overtures towards her, writing Manny every single day......that is, up until
the last few weeks.
Slowly, gradually, she
had found herself mailing only two or three letters a week off to him. She excused herself by telling herself she
had final semester exams coming up.....needed to study hard for them. It was a lie.
Julie could have taken any one
of the tests with her eyes closed.
Therefore, she did not allow herself to examine her motives too closely.
As she had approached
the commons area outside the building that held her next class, she was not really
surprised when Bradley Renault fell into step beside her. Cheerily he had asked her to join him for a
cup of coffee before class. She had
started to voice her usual decline of his invitation, but something had stopped
her today. A small voice in her head
asked her 'what could it hurt? It was just a cup of coffee! It wasn't like she was agreeing to run away with the guy'! To Bradley's total delight, she had
agreed. She had found his smile charming
as she walked beside him into the student lounge. Another voice in her head had asked, 'perhaps
a bit too charming'? She had resolutely ignored it.
The half hour Julie had
spent with Bradley, sipping coffee, talking and laughing with him, seemed to
fly by too soon.
She did, indeed, find him charming,
witty, fun to be with. His total
attention had been on her, as they sat together at a window table, the sunlight
streaming in to warm them. When at last she had happened to glance at the clock
on the wall, she had seen to her horror she had precisely five minutes to make
her class.
Grabbing up their books,
Bradley had left with Julie as she had gone on a fast walk back to the building
that housed her physiology class. Outside
its doors she had bid him a quick farewell, and gone running up the steps to
the double glass doors. She could feel
his eyes on her still, as she disappeared inside. For the first time since Manny had went away,
Julie did not feel the pull to glance down at his ring on her left hand.
After her class, as was
his habit now, Bradley had been awaiting her appearance outside the building
when she came out. As had definitely not been her habit, up till now, Julie did not gently send him on his way
with a smile. Rather, she allowed him to
walk with her as she made her way to her next class, the two of them picking up
their conversation where they'd left off earlier.
This was most definitely not lost on Bradley
Renault! Hope soared in his heart, as he
leisurely strolled beside Julie. He
thought that......given a little time......she might even consent to go on a
date with him. But he knew that was most
likely far into the future. He contented himself, for now, that she had
even agreed to walk with him.
When Julie had gotten
home that afternoon, checking the mail as usual and finding no letter from
Manny, she had simply given a shrug and continued upstairs to her room. As she entered her bedroom, unbidden,
Bradley Renault's face appeared in her mind.
As she changed her
school clothes for her work uniform, his face did not go away. Julie allowed herself to critique his looks,
in comparison to Manny. Whereas Manny
was darkly handsome, Bradley was fair.
Manny stood about five twelve.....Bradley, around six foot. Manny's family had worked hard their whole
lives for their success......Bradley came from 'old money'. His future was secure. If Julie had allowed herself to examine
Bradley's situation closely, she most likely would have come to the conclusion
that his 'station' in life was what had prevented the draft from taking him to
where Manny was now.
Her absent betrothed
tried to come into her mind, but Julie found herself, at that moment at least,
shutting that door firmly.
She would not......could not......examine herself too
closely right then. She only knew one
thing, that it had been nine lonely, heartbreaking months since Manny had gone
away.
Since he had voluntarily put himself in danger,
against her express wishes. It was not
that she had any intentions of cheating
on Manny, but she found the attentions of another male welcome at this
point. Bradley had made her feel
special. And, he was here!
Beside her. A little innocent
flirtation did not mean she was setting out to hurt Manny. She mentally shoved away any guilt by telling
herself she could easily control
herself. Control the whole situation
with Bradley. She just.....quite
simply....needed some company. Besides,
who said that he was not giving in to
any temptations 'over there'?
Julie glanced at the
bright diamond that winked at her from her finger, finding herself itching to
take it off, but she did not.
Ever so gradually, Julie
had found herself accepting Bradley's invitation's more and more to have coffee
or lunch with him. She reasoned away her
acceptance of his overtures in the light that they were perfectly innocent
outings. In full view of the entire
student body, and everyone else who cared to look! She told herself that he was just a 'friend',
much as her female friends were on campus.
Julie did not let herself dwell on the fact that she sent Manny, at the
most, two letters a week, now. That they
were, in fact, extremely short
letters.....more a 'duty' to him, than one lover writing to another.
It really did not
surprise her, then, when she accepted Bradley's invitation to dinner and a
movie. It had been, at this point,
eleven months since she had heard from Manny at all.
Hurt, confused....even
angry......she had told Bradley she would be happy to go out with him. And so, it had begun.
Their 'affair' had
flowed along for two weeks. Julie's
mother and father had not hesitated to voice their objections to what they
called her 'unseemly behavior', but she had blithely ignored them. After all, she was doing nothing wrong, just enjoying the company of one
of her friends. Her folks, however, had
not been fooled by her casualness, and yet didn't know how to make their
daughter see how wrong she was in running
around with this other man when she was engaged to Manny. Yet, no matter what they said, she went her
own way.
Julie had come home from
classes on a Tuesday, and had found her mother waiting for her at the door, a
deep frown on her face. Without a word
to her daughter, Bethann had simply thrust a battered, begrimed envelope into
Julie's hand, then spun on her heel and gone back to the kitchen. The letter had been from Manny......the first
in almost a year's time. Finding her
heart cold in her chest, Julie had made her way upstairs to her room to read
it. Almost nonchalantly she had slit the
envelope, pulling out its contents.
My Dearest, Dearest Darling,
You must think I have dropped
off the face of the earth by now!
In so very many ways, I wish I
had. But let me first assure you I have
received every single one of your
letters, sweetheart. I can understand,
when you did not hear back from me, that you didn't send as many as you used
to. Please believe me, my love, it was
nothing I could help. Let me explain.
As I write this, Julie, I am
lying in a M.A.S.H. unit, in friendly territory. Or so they tell us. We've been shelled twice since I've been air
lifted here. Now, I know you’re going to
be wondering what I'm talking about.
Please bear with me, sweetheart, as I write this. It is hard for me. If it is a little sloppy, you'll understand
more as I go along.
First of all, I have written you
every week since the last letter you
got from me. Even though I got yours, for some reason nobody can explain to me mine to you kept coming back here.
Even before everything happened, every letter I sent to you was
returned. I have no explanation,
honey.....but, I'm sorry. Okay?
I can only pray this one gets to
you.
As to why I'm here in the
M.A.S.H. unit, the surgeon's here tell me I'm 'lucky to be alive'. Imagine that! I'm lucky! Hell, I don't blame the doc's here.......they
did everything they could. My mind can't wrap around what these guys go
through, Julie. Day in, day out, they do
nothing but try their best to patch up the ripped apart bodies that are plopped
in front of them. If there is a hell, Julie, it's this…war…grown
men, mindlessly slaughtering each other for a cause that has become dim even in
the leader's minds. The goal… to win, no matter the cost, no matter how many of your own countrymen are lost, just so you win!
As to what happened to me. Our unit was, at that point, four months on the front lines. I've gotta give credit where credit is due,
Julie. None of our guy's gave up.......never
once! With a determination God, Himself, would have admired, we fought
with everything in us.
The day it happened, 'Charlie' caught us off
guard. The area around us was supposed
to be 'secured', but from out of nowhere we were under a barrage of motor shell
fire, coming in from the distant hills.
Our C.O. was barking orders, like we were ever going to be able to hear him! Everybody was running for cover. The guys in our unit were aiming the big guns
in return fire, our tanks discharging their loads at the enemy continuously.
The last thing I remember was
seeing the guy next to me actually blown in half, and his torso landing in my
lap. I'll never forget his eyes, Julie. They just sort of stared up at me in wounded
wonder. As I crouched there, in my fox
hole, I realized it was my buddy, Ryan.
I don't remember anything from
that point on, until I woke up here. The
docs told me I had lost my left arm, from the elbow down. I had taken some shell fragments in my right
leg, but they were actually miniscule.
Other than some cuts they had to stitch up, I was okay.
'Okay'? I had held my
friend's upper body in my lap, and
I'm supposed to be okay?
Honey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be unloading on you like
this. It's just so good to be able to talk to you, even if it is only by mail.
I guess I'm going to be coming
home to you less of a man than I thought, Julie. But, nothing that has happened to me here in
this hell hole can ever dim by love
for you. I just hope and pray you still
feel the same when you see me. Which
will be soon, because the Army is discharging me this week to come home.
With My Heart In Your Hands,
Love, Manny
The letter had been
dated the twelfth of October. Julie's
frantic gaze took in her calendar hanging on her wall. Manny was due home in two days!
Chastising
herself.......hating herself.....Julie
had then gone over her last conversation with Bradley earlier that day. He had asked her to go out with him that
night, and she had accepted.
The few kisses they had shared
now burned like a branding iron on her cheating lips. If someone had painted a scarlet 'S' on her
forehead, she could not have felt any worse.
Immediately, Julie ran
to the phone in her room and dialed Bradley's home number. No answer.
Hanging up, she ran over the possibilities of how to handle this
situation she had mired herself in.
'God.....what a fool I've
been', she berated herself, even as she looked up the number to the diner where
she worked.
Picking up the phone again,
Julie Delaney called in sick for the first time since she had begun working
there almost a year ago.
Then, grabbing up her purse and
car keys she ran from her room, down the stairs, and out to her little car
parked in the driveway. She had not said
a word to her mother.....had not stopped to explain.
As Julie backed out of
the drive and drove away, Bethann Delaney did something she had never done before. She went up the stairs and entered her daughter's
room, unbidden. Because something told
her that whatever had Julie so upset was in the contents of Manny's recent
letter to her, and this was one time that Bethann was bloody well going to snoop! She had abhorred
her daughter's behavior over the last month or so.......running around with
this other fellow in college, while poor Manny was over there in Nam fighting
for his country. No, this time she had no qualms for invading
Julie's privacy.
When Bethann Delaney
picked up Manny's letter and began to read, a sob tore out of her throat. And....at that wrinkle in time, at
least......she found it was entirely possible to still love your own flesh and
blood, but intensely dislike them, too.
Frantically, Julie
searched every place she could think
of on campus that Bradley might be. She
found no trace of him. When she asked
around if any of the other students had seen him, she received only negative
answers. Finally she entered the student
lounge, retrieved a cup of cocoa from the counter, and sat herself down at a
window table.......until she realized it was the same table she and Bradley had
first sat down together at. Abruptly,
she stood up and moved to a different one.
As she sat sipping the
creamy chocolate liquid, Julie yelled at herself mentally once again. How could she have been so stupid....so careless? Hadn't she known
full well what Bradley's feelings
were for her? The answer was, of course,
that yes, she had. Using the excuse of
how lonely she had been just didn't wash any more, and she knew it. She had pledged her love and life to Manny
Bell, and she had betrayed him. It was as
simple as that.
She would find Bradley......somehow......before
tonight, and cancel her date with him.
Tell him she never wanted to see
him again!
Then, when Manny came home in
two days time, she would force
herself to find the courage to tell him the truth. She owed him that much, at the least. If he wanted nothing more to do with her, and
she found herself alone......well, it would be nothing more than she deserved.
Still stewing in her own
misery, she was, therefore, startled badly when she felt someone kiss her
cheek. Jerking her head up, fully
expecting to find Bradley standing there smiling at her......and equally prepared to tell him to take a
hike......Julie was stunned to see Manny
himself standing there, grinning down at her!
Quickly, her eyes took
him in. He was in full Army dress
uniform, medals pinned to his chest.
With a wrench of her heart, she saw that his left sleeve on his uniform
was pinned up at the elbow. Jerking her
eyes away from it, not wanting to embarrass him, she met his eyes. In a voice that trembled, Manny said softly,
"hello, beautiful".
"Manny", she
breathed. Suddenly, she jumped up out of
the chair where she had been sitting and flew into his waiting arms. His good arm wrapped itself tightly around
her waist, pulling her close to him. Not
caring if God and everyone around them saw them, he took her mouth with his
own, kissed her long and sweetly. When
at last he pulled away, Julie was horrified to see he was crying! Sudden guilt pierced her heart. Had he, somehow,
found out already about Bradley?
Her eyes questioning
his, her coward's heart not finding the courage to ask him this question, Julie
instead laid a gentle hand along his cheek, and whispered, "Manny”?
He had given her a
crooked grin and said, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't want to embarrass you. It's just....God....there were times I
thought I'd never see you again,
honey. To have you in front of me.....to
hold you in my arms again.....it's all I dreamed of, night and day".
Gently she put her arms
around his neck, drew him close.
Her eyes were closed to ward off her own tears as she whispered in his
ear, "I'm so thankful your home,
Manny. I missed you so much"! As he kissed her cheek and held her closer
still, Julie happened to open her eyes and look over his shoulder. Her eyes met Bradley Renault's, dead on. He gave her a smirk, then turned on his heel
and left the lounge.
Obviously, Julie didn't
keep her date with Bradley that night.
She first took Manny home to see her parents, both the Delaney's
overjoyed to see him. Bethann, in her usual
blunt style, commiserated with him over the loss of his arm. Mr. Delaney hissed, "Bethann", to her, but Manny just chuckled
and said, "no, it's alright, sir.
I'd really much prefer that people don't feel they have to walk on egg
shells around me because of it".
Turning to Julie's mom, he said, "thank you, Mrs. Delaney. It's been hard adjusting to it, but the docs
tell me I can be fitted with a prosthesis soon".
After spending another
hour with the Delaney's, Manny asked if Julie would like to go out to dinner
with him. Happily she accepted, asking
him to give her an hour to get ready.
When Manny had gone and
Julie was in her room choosing what to wear, her mother, without preamble, came
in and softly shut the door behind her.
Julie turned quickly around at the sound of the door, and the look on
her mother's face was daunting.
"Have you bothered to tell him, Julie", her
mother asked straight out.
Feigning ignorance to
her mother's question, Julie dropped her eyes to fiddle with the dress in her
hands, and asked, "what do you mean"?
In a voice of steel,
Bethann replied, "you know very well
what I mean, Julie Ann! Have you told Manny about the boy you've been
seeing in school"?
Julie's ire was steadily
rising now, and she replied with anger in her voice, "that has been kind
of hard to do so far, mom, considering
he's only been home for three hours and we haven't had two minutes alone together"!
Bethann's Irish temper
had been held in check admirably up till now, but her fair complexion tinged
pink and Julie was instantly contrite for how she'd spoken to her mother. Bethann, however, did not give Julie any
space to apologize.
"Now you listen here, young lady", she began in a
firm voice, "there's no call for you to get fresh! What you've been
doing......behind Manny's back.......is
nothing short of a disgrace!
He deserves better than that
from the woman he asked to marry him, Julie Ann! And.....whom
I might add......happily agreed to!
The very least you can do now, is tell him the truth"!
Before Julie could
reply, her mother turned on her heel and made for the bedroom door. She spun to face her daughter one more time,
and said, "I'm sorry to say this, Julie, but if Manny never wanted to see you again, it would be nothing more
than you had coming to you"! As
Julie stood in stunned silence her mother left the room, her temper making her
unable to stop from slamming it shut behind her.
Julie's lower lip
trembled as she stared at her bedroom door, even though her heart told her she
had deserved her mom's wrath. It was
just that lately it seemed everyone was ganging up on her. What, they'd
never made a mistake in their lives?
True, hers had been of great magnitude, and she knew that she was going
to hurt Manny deeply when she confessed to him about her......what exactly
would you call what had happened
between them? You couldn't really call
it an affair.....they had never gone
beyond a chaste kiss or two. Alright......a few more than that! And to call it a 'fling' made it sound so sordid.
Relationship made it sound too long term, like she and Bradley were
still together, and friendship really didn't cover it, either.
“What does it matter what you call it, Julie", she said aloud to herself. “It was wrong,
as simple as that”! With a heavy heart,
she prepared herself for her evening together with Manny.....quite possibly her
last. She looked down at the sparkling
diamond on her finger, and felt like Judas, himself.
Chapter Four
When Manny came by to
pick Julie up around seven, he stayed and talked with her folks for a bit. Julie allowed herself the luxury of looking
him over unobserved, as he was in conversation with her mom and dad.
He was dressed again in
his civilian clothes, and looked very much as he had before he went into the
Army. But, no......that wasn't strictly
true, either. There was a strange,
almost wounded look about his eyes, now, a haunting in their depths. He looked a bit gaunt, telling Julie he had
lost weight while on his tour of duty. With
what he had described their eating conditions as being, she could understand that!
As her eyes traveled over him, she winced once again at the sleeve of
his sport jacket pinned up on his left arm.
He now walked with an almost unnoticeable limp in his right leg. You wouldn't see it easily, unless you were
looking for it, but Julie knew him well.
His chances, of course, of ever pursuing a basketball scholarship now blown
away like so much chafe on the wind. So
much he had given of himself....so little he would ever get back in return.
Eventually Manny asked
Julie if she were ready, telling her he had made reservations at Fredrico’s for
eight thirty and if they didn't want to lose their table they better get
going. Part of her wanted so very much
to be alone with him again......the other
half, however, didn't really want to face the music she knew was coming sooner
or later tonight. Plastering a bright smile
on her face she told him yes, she was ready.
She refused to meet her folk's accusing eyes as they went out the door.
Manny had made their
reservations at the swankiest place in town, and Julie was glad she had dressed
up. When they came through the curtained
doorway, led by the Hostess, Manny didn't seem aware of the curious, outright
stares of other people when they looked at his arm. Julie, however, was livid on his behalf.
Did people have nothing better
to do than stare? Manny wasn't a freak! If they wanted that,
let them go to a circus and pay to see a side show! She found herself glaring at the idiots,
staring them down until they looked away, red faced.
The woman led them to a
back table, where the ambiance was dim lighting and a burning candle in the
center of the table.
As Manny seated Julie, then
himself, the hostess smiled at them and told them their server would be with
them shortly.
When Julie looked back
from watching the girl depart, she found Manny's eyes on her. There was no smile on his lips, just a
strange, piercing look to his eyes. She tried
for a smile, and asked, "what"?
From out of left field,
he asked her, "care to tell me about it, babe"?
Feigning ignorance, he
had so taken her by surprise with his question, she said lightly, "tell
you about what, Manny"?
An almost injured look
came over his face as he gently took her left hand in his right atop the
table. His gaze steady, he said,
"we promised we'd always be honest with each other, Julie. Promised no secrets, remember”? When she nodded, he continued. "I.....I know about Bradley Renault,
Julie", he finished quietly.
"When were you planning on telling me"?
Julie's face lost its
color, as she stared at him in horror.
How? "Manny......I", was all she could
squeak out. Her look implored him to
understand without words, but she knew that was foolish. How could
he ever understand that his future bride had run around on him, while he, himself, was putting his very life on
the line for his country? Deep shame
made her drop her eyes from his, and a sheen of tears filmed them, because she
knew very well she could have written to him....prepared him before hand for
what she had done. Begged his
forgiveness, but she had been too cowardly.
Manny released her hand,
and put his fingers under her chin, making her look up at him again. "He came to see me today, Julie, at home.
He told me he was in love with you, and that you felt the same about him.
He let me know, Julie, that he wasn't going to give you up so easily, in
his words, 'just because you came
back, Bell' ”! He took her hand once
again and said with evident pain in his voice, "all I want to know, honey,
is do you love him"? She jerked back slightly at his question, but
he kept her gaze locked to his as he said, "because, if you do, Julie, I really will
understand. He's a whole man, no parts
missing. His family has
money......you'll never want for anything.
What I'm trying to say, honey, is I won't stand in your way if he is
what you really and truly want. I'd
never do that, Julie. I've too much pride
to try to force a woman to stay with me out of some misguided sense of
obligation".
Julie broke down crying,
right where she sat. Putting her hands
to her face she bolted up out of her chair and quite literally ran from the restaurant, nearly knocking
an elderly couple off their feet. She
bolted through the door from the restaurant, her feet flying beneath her, even
as she heard Manny somewhere behind her pleading for her to stop. Still, she ran......ran until her breath was
gasping in her throat, until her legs finally gave out on her, and her feet
entangled themselves, and she went sprawling
on the ground. She heard the fabric of her dress rip at the
waist, felt the sting when her hands and knees were scrapped. She welcomed the pain......didn't think anything could ever give her enough hurt
to wipe out the shame and humiliation she felt.
As she lay there on the
ground, great heaving sobs escaping her throat, she felt a gentle hand on her
shoulder. Manny's voice, winded as much
as her own, said softly, "Julie?
Are you okay, honey"?
His concern over
her......that he could actually still care...tore
her heart from her chest. When she
raised her head, he was kneeling beside her, worry writ across his handsome
face.
Tears streaking unheeded down
her face, she reached trembling arms up to him and cried, "Manny"! Without hesitation, he pulled her up into his
embrace with his good arm, holding her shaking form to him as he rocked her,
much like a child. He made quiet
shushing sounds, kissing the top of her head.
When she had finally quieted, he helped her to her feet. When she still kept her eyes cast down, he
did not force her to look at him again.
"I guess I handled
that very badly, Julie. It's just I love
you with all my heart, and I only ever want your happiness, honey. Even", and here his voice caught,
"if it means away from me".
Julie met his beautiful
eyes then, looked deeply into them.
Yes, she found she had been
right about the haunted look in them.
She longed to wipe that look away......to reassure him she could never
love another man as she did him. And so,
she said to him, "Manny, you’re the only man I've ever loved. Bradley Renault was a…
distraction". Then, although she
knew this was going to hurt him, she determined she would not lie.....would not
try to cover up the truth of what she had done.
Casting her eyes down to look at the ground, she said,
"I.....we......he did kiss me,
Manny….a few times". She looked
back up at him quickly, and saw the pain she had inflicted with her words. Yet, his eyes never left hers as she went
on. "It meant nothing, Manny! If he took it to mean more, well, that's his problem. But, even if", and her voice broke
slightly. She cleared her throat and
forced the words out. "Even if it means you never want to see
me again, I'm telling you right now that there will never be anything between Bradley Renault and me".
He looked deeply into
her eyes.......must have seen the truth of her words in their depths, because a
crooked grin lifted his mouth, and he said shakily, "does this mean you
and I can begin to plan that big 'blow out' wedding"?
Totally unable to
believe the depth of this man's love
for her, Julie's eyes filled with tears once again, and throwing herself into
his arms, she cried, "oh, Manny.......what did I ever do to deserve you"?
Chapter 5
"Girl, if you don't
get a move on, the shops will be closed"! Julie smiled at her mother's usual
impatience, grabbing up her purse and keys and descending the stairs quickly.
Today was the day they
would be shopping for her wedding dress, and both women were in high
spirits. When Julie came clamoring down
the stairs, she was grateful to see the happy light in her mom's eyes. Gone was the condemning and shameful look she
had seen too much of lately. Linking her
arm through her mom's, she laughingly pulled her towards the door. Bethann, however, stopped her just short of
the door, and pulled her daughter into a quick hug, kissing her cheek. Her eyes told Julie all she needed to know,
and with a big smile, Julie opened the door and made a sweeping bow, escorting
her mother outside first. They were both
laughing as they made their way to Julie's car.
Two dress shops and ten
dresses later, they had found 'the one'!
When her daughter stepped out of the dressing room, the attendant
smiling hugely as she fluffed the skirt here and there, Bethann Delaney's
breath caught in her throat. Her eyes
misted as she beheld her only child, looking like someone out of a fairy tale. She put one hand to her throat, as she stood
and slowly circled her daughter, taking in every detail of the gown.
It was constructed of
white satin, the sleeves pushed off the shoulders. It had a sweetheart neckline, which showed
just a hint of cleavage. The dress
fitted closely to the waist, and from there flowed in billowing yards of the
same material. The entire bodice was
overlaid with glittering sequins and tiny white pearls, the same pattern
studding the entire skirt. A train flowed out behind her, at least three feet
in length, with again the sequin and pearl pattern gracing its entire length and breadth. The back was cut low, to the small of the
waist. A pert, white satin bow graced
the spot where the zipper ended on the top.
It, too, glittered in the lights of the store with the sequins and
pearls.
"Darling, it’s beautiful", said Mrs. Delaney to
her daughter, tears now running unashamedly down her cheeks.
Julie looked happily at
her reflection in the multiple mirrors.
"Do you think so, mom? Do
you think Manny will like it"?
Bethann sniffed, and said
almost gruffly, "well, if he doesn't,
he's blind as a bat"!
That did it! Julie's case of the jitters left her
immediately at her mom's remark, and she cracked up laughing. Even the salesgirl
found herself chuckling. Giving her
mother a happy hug, Julie told the girl they would take the gown, still smiling
as she returned to the dressing room to change.
When she came back out
to where her mother sat waiting, Bethann said, "now, what of a head piece,
Julie"?
Groaning, Julie realized
their shopping expedition was far
from over! If she knew her mom......and
she did.....no detail was too small
to be over looked. By the time they left
the shop, they not only had the dress and head piece.....but the blue garter,
(for something blue), the guest book, the cake knife, the bride and groom toast
glasses, Julie's shoes, and, finally, a mother-of-the-bride's dress for
Bethann. Julie refused to let her eyes
fall on the check her mother wrote out at the end of it all!
When the two finally got
home that evening, Julie's dad was sitting in the living room, reading the
paper. He smiled at them when they came
through the door, leaden down in packages.
"So", he
quipped, "how poor am I, ladies"?
Smiling at her husband,
Bethann said, "you don't want to know, honey, trust me"!
He chuckled in good
humor, then said, "so, does your poor old dad......left here all alone all afternoon.....get to see
you model your dress, princess"?
Laughing gaily, Julie
had hurried to kiss his cheek, and assured him he was going to be the first to see it! She then checked herself with, "well,
next to mom, of course".
As she grabbed up the
large boxes that held her dress and head piece, his humorous chuckle followed
her up the stairs.
Julie's mother had
trailed her upstairs, and as she carefully changed into her wedding ensemble,
her mother did up the zipper, fastening the hook and eye that held the pretty
little bow in place at the top of the zipper.
As Bethann carefully placed the elaborate headdress atop her daughter's
head, she did something that was so totally uncharacteristic of her, it took
Julie by surprise.
Not meeting Julie's
eyes, fussing with the veil here and there, fluffing the skirt of the dress,
Bethann Delaney said quietly,
"I want to tell you I'm
sorry, Julie......for the way I spoke to you.
It was not my place. It is your life, and you should be free to
live it as you so choose".
"But, momma",
Julie said quickly, reverting to the name she had called her mother as a child,
"you were right"! Turning to face her mother, Julie said
softly, "I acted like a fool,
momma.
I let my head be turned by a man
who was paying 'attention' to me. I
know, now, it was because in my heart
I was still so angry at Manny for
choosing to go into the service, rather than staying home and marrying me right
away". She let her gaze drop from
her mother's, as she finished, "I love Manny, momma. I don't deserve him.....but I'm going to make
him the best wife I can"!
A soft look came into
Julie's mother's eyes, and she put a gentle hand under her daughter's chin, so
she would meet her eyes again. In a soft
voice, Bethann said, "I'm more than proud of you, Julie, and I love you
with all my heart".
As her mother hugged
her, Julie said in a muffled voice against her shoulder, "I love you, too,
momma".
The chapel bells rang
out loudly over their small town the day
Manny Ralph Bell and Julie Ann Delaney were wed. The sound carried near and far, telling
everyone the blessed day had finally arrived.
The month was June, the year 1967.
The weather seemed made especially for them by the Angels in Heaven, so
fair was it. In ones, twos, groups and
couples, people filed into the big white church on the corner to witness a
marriage many had said would not be.
But, Manny and Julie had gone the gauntlet, proving the doubting
Thomas's wrong.
In her dressing room,
Julie was surrounded by women. Her mom,
of course......but there was also her Maid of Honor, Tiffany, who was her best
friend, then her two other bridesmaids, Kathy and Brenda, also friends from
school. Her little five year old
neighbor, Cindy, was her flower girl. As
the women helped her dress, giggling when she slipped on the blue garter, she
thought of Manny's entourage in his own changing room. Tommy, his good friend from school, was his Best
Man. His two other groomsmen were Frank
and Levi, two other pals. His ring
bearer was his sister's son, Emanuel.
Their wedding colors were deep blue and gray, and her bouquet picked
these colors up. Manny had chosen a white
tux, with a gray vest. The flowers in
his lapel would be a deep blue flower with a white rose.
Now Tiffany had the
honor of placing Julie's head piece on her head, and everyone in the room
looked on in delight. She truly was a
vision, the long veil trailing to the floor in back, a single filmy shield of
the veil covering her face in the front.
The crown of the head piece looked nothing short of royalty, picking up
the sequins and pearls from her gown.
Every way she turned, she glittered and shone in the lights.
Julie's mother came up
to her then and, as everyone watched, she took something from folded tissue
paper in her hand. Julie's eyes widened
in wonder at what she saw, and then they flew to her mother's face. Bethann's chin wobbled slightly, as she said
in a not so steady voice, "you've never seen these, darling. I wore them at my wedding to your daddy, and
my mother wore them before me, and hers before her. I've kept them for you, Julie, to wear on your
own wedding day. There yours now, to
keep. Perhaps, one day, your own daughter will wear them".
Bethann turned Julie to
look in the mirror again, and moved around behind her. Carefully, she draped the necklace in place
and fastened it. Everyone in the room
gasped in shock! For against Julie's
breast lay the most exquisite diamond
creation Julie had ever seen. Tiny,
winking diamonds ran up the length of the chain to her shoulders. The center of the piece was a solid cluster
of large and small diamonds, with one large one that dangled from the bottom in
a perfect tear drop shape. Bethann then
handed Julie the earrings, and she put them on.
They, too, were a cluster of bright diamonds, with a smaller, lone
replica of the tear drop dangling from each one.
Her mom put her arm
around Julie's shoulder, gave her a squeeze, kissed her cheek gently. "This is your 'something old',
darling. Take good care of them". Julie found she could only nod her head as
she met her mother's eyes in the mirror.
If she had tried to speak, she would have broken down. As it was, her eyes were misting over.
Tiffany broke the
spell. Giving a sniff, she cleared her
throat and said, "although it certainly can't compete with that, Jules", and everyone
chuckled. Grinning, she went on,
"but I wanted to give you your something borrowed".
As Julie turned around
to watch her friend, Tiffany moved to her purse lying on a bench in the
room. She extricated a small blue box,
and from within its velvet lining she removed a very fine, gold link
chain. From it dangled one single charm,
a filigree heart. As she knelt at
Julie's feet, she told her to lift her skirts for a moment and fastened the
chain around her right ankle.
As Julie turned her
ankle, admiring the bracelet, Tiffany said, "it was my graduation present
from my daddy, Jules. It means the world
to me. There isn't anybody else I'd
allow to borrow it but you". When
her friend stood up again, Julie hugged her warmly and said, "I'll take
very good care of it, Tif. Thank
you".
Thus it was that Julie's
heart was full to bursting with the love she felt for the people in that
room. She had to grab the reins of her
emotions with both hands, therefore, when the music began that signaled her
attendants to begin their walk. Her
heart took a leap in her chest........in just a little over an hour, she would
become Mrs. Manuel Ralph Bell!
Julie kissed her
mother's cheek and hugged her, as she was first to leave the room. Her dad's brother, Henry, escorted her mom to
her seat at the front of the church.
Then, one by one, her girls met the guy they would walk the aisle with,
and made their slow way to the altar to take their places. Julie had moved out of the room to meet her
father, who took her hands in his and told her that, next to her mother, he had
never in his life seen a more beautiful bride.
Suddenly, the beginning strains of the well loved 'Wedding March' began
to fill the air of the church. Holding
out his left arm to her, her daddy asked, "ready, sweetheart"?
Her legs trembling, she smiled
nervously at him and nodded, slipping her arm through his.
When they appeared in
the doorway, no bride had ever had a more enthusiastic reception. Ohh's and ahh's came from every side.....even
a few 'Wow's'! Julie blushed prettily at their guests
responses, and then her eyes met and held Manny's, waiting for her at the
altar. All the love in the world was
apparent in his gaze, and soon everyone else in the large church ceased to
exist for Julie but the man she was about to marry.
She had almost made it
to the front on her daddy's arm...was, in fact, only two steps away from
Manny....when it happened.
Chapter 6
The windows were open to
allow a cross breeze of the beautiful summer day. Suddenly, from what sounded like it was
coming from directly underneath one of the windows, an explosion rent the
air! The organist abruptly stopped
playing, actually throwing herself off her bench to the floor with a screech. Guests screamed, and Julie's father pulled
her down beside him to the floor. But,
the worst reaction came from Manny, himself.
Instantly, he had thrown
himself down on his stomach on the altar floor, and began screaming out orders
to imaginary fellow soldiers. "It's Charlie.......it's Charlie", he
yelled, "get down!
Damn it......get down"! There was true panic
within the church's body of people now, and they began to charge the doorway,
practically stampeding in their mindless flight. All the while, Pastor Sampson was trying to
yell over the noise to, “be calm, people!
It's alright! Please.....be calm”! No one paid him any heed.
There was now a crush of
bodies against the double doors of the church, and so mindless was their panic
that nobody could actually move enough to get out of the doors. Suddenly Frank was wading in among the
guests, forcefully shoving them back, yelling at them to, 'get back! Damn it, get back! Stop it, now'!
Gradually the panic lessened,
and reason came back into the eyes of the people. They looked around themselves as if stunned,
and one little girl was crying in her father's arms.
When they had quieted
except for the mumbled conversation, Levi came forward, shoving a man before
him. He had a tight grip on the man's
arms from behind. Julie had come out the
doorway from the front of the church with a now somewhat sheepish looking Manny
and her father, and when she saw who Levi held prisoner, she gasped, "Bradley"!
He said nothing in
return, just kept his eyes pinned on Manny.
His look was murderous, his mouth curled into a horrid looking
sneer. Levi spoke up and said,
"this jerk off is the one who did it!
Thought it would be real cute to set off a firecracker under one of the
windows"!
"Think what your marrying, Julie", Bradley
spat out in contempt. "Think what
you’re life is going to be like! Any little noise, and Mr. Wonderful here is
going to freak"!
Before anyone could move
or say anything in return, Julie quickly covered the distance between her and
Bradley. To everyone's surprise, (and if
the truth be told, their delight as
well, but none so more than Manny, himself), she drew back and absolutely round housed Bradley in the jaw! The force of the blow actually snapped his
head back, almost hitting Levi behind him.
"Get this creep out of here", she hissed. Levi said, "you bet, honey. We've already called the cops. They'll be here any second".
Bradley's eyes were still
dazed looking as two officers came, took statements, and hauled him away. Julie looked down at her right hand......it
was swollen and red, and it hurt like the dickens!
Manny had come up to her side,
and he took the hand and kissed it, then whispered to her, "remind me to never tick you off, beautiful"!
Julie giggled, and the
tension was broken. Pastor Sampson said
jovially, "well......a bit
unorthodox, I admit! But, who's ready to
have a wedding"?!
An hour later, Manny was
lifting Julie's veil reverently, and he took her in his arms and kissed her
deeply. Wolf whistles and cat calls went
up, and when he finally released her, Julie's face was tinged a becoming
pink. As they turned to finally face their guests, Pastor
Sampson could not resist one last crack.
"Well", he said happily. "It took some doing, but may I now have the privilege....finally....of introducing to you, Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Bell"!
Thunderous clapping and
cheers went up from their guests, and Julie noticed her folks were both crying
happily. Manny's own mother was weeping,
also, and his father looked suspiciously bright eyed. As the bride and groom led the procession
back down the aisle, Manny squeezed her hand gently and said, "we finally made it, sweetheart! You’re finally
mine, forever"!
Her face shining
radiantly, Julie's smile was just for him.
'Yes', she thought to herself,
'it's been a long, hard row to hoe,
but we finally made it'!
A Final Word
*************
Thus it was that Julie
now sat in her tidy little kitchen with her Manny, at three in the morning, both
of them sipping coffee.
His bouts of these flash back's
were fewer now, although he would most likely never be rid of them. Julie understood......knew that no man who
had witnessed the horrors of a war like Nam could ever be expected to come out
of it unscathed. She thanked her God
each and every day that He had brought Manny back alive. Even though he had lost a limb, he was still
her Manny, his heart as big as all outdoors.
Now she took his good
hand in her own, and he raised his eyes questioningly to look at her. Grinning, she knew that now was the time to
spring her 'surprise' on him!
"I've got something
to tell you........daddy"! At first he looked puzzled, then realization
dawned in his eyes and they lit up like a Christmas tree. "You mean your......your....", he
sputtered, pointing to her stomach.
Laughing, she nodded, and asked, "are you happy, Manny"?
In answer, he let out a
loud whoop and pulled her to her feet, then one armed he twirled her around a
couple of times, before setting her gently on her feet again, laughing all the
while.
Finally his eyes softened, and
he pulled her to him and kissed her.
When the kiss had ended, he
gazed into her eyes and said, "have I told you lately how very much I love
you, Mrs. Bell'?
Giggling, she said,
"only about three times a day. But,
you can never tell me too often,
Manny. I love you, too".