Out to Sea

December, 1975

As she neared her 23rd birthday, Brandy prepared herself for the best gift she could ever receive, seeing the man she loved as he came back to celebrate her birthday. The last time they had seen each other, he held her under the moonlight and promised her, once again, that he would come back. At this point, she had no doubt in her mind he would keep that promise. Any day now he would walk through that door, claiming her heart and soul once more and making her feel like she was the only person in the world that gave his life meaning. Only, time was a fickle thing, with the last 300-and-something days moving by slower and slower as if, at some point, it would just stop all together. No matter how much she willed the days to move by faster, each second dragged on until Brandy had nearly driven herself mad.

On December 3rd, two days before her birthday, time seemed to have all but stopped, with Brandy growing nervous that he may not come. She kept reminding herself that Andrew would not break his promise, he had never given her reason to believe otherwise. This, though, made her fear that something may have happened to him. Every single scenario ran through her mind, with half of them ending in her beloved being lost at sea, or worse, dead. She knew it did no good to let her thoughts spiral, but the fear of never seeing her lover again made her want nothing more than for the ground beneath her to give way, pulling her down and swallowing her whole.

As the day went on, she had nearly worried herself sick over the Irishman's well-being, wishing with every part of her being that he would waltz through those doors and pull her into a tight embrace. It wasn't long before the bar was closing, though, and her hopes of seeing Andrew that day diminished greatly as she turned out the lights and locked the door to that old tavern before making her way home. She had tried so hard not to cry as she walked down the streets towards her small house, but her emotions had exhausted her to the point where she could not fight them any longer. As the cloudy sky gave way to the rain it had been harboring all day, she held herself as her salty tears mixed with the droplets from the sky. She cursed whatever god had made her yearn so deeply for the love of a man who could not give her everything she had been told she deserved. If only her mother could see her now, soaked from the rain and all but sobbing as she thought about the man that had stolen her heart.

As she rounded the corner to the street she lived on, her eyes focused on the silhouette of someone sitting on her front step. Brandy blinked once, twice, three times before she recognized the, albeit soaked from the rain, mess of curls she had run her fingers through countless times in both real life and her dreams. She suddenly felt foolish for thinking he would abandon her. He had promised he would see her for her birthday, after all. He had never given her reason not to believe him, but the gut-wrenching fear of her mother's words being true about the man Brandy loved had made her question everything. However, as she saw the man that infiltrated her thoughts daily and dreams nightly, she knew that fear had no place in her heart.

She ran to him, the puddles of water being kicked up onto her pant legs as she moved closer to him. As if he could sense her presence, he looked up to see her nearly sprinting towards him, his muddy green eyes meeting those beautiful brown ones that he saw every time he closed his eyes. Andrew stood, not even taking the time to dust off his pants as he matched her pace, meeting her halfway. As they met at the beginning of the pathway to her home, Andrew wrapped his arms around her, picking Brandy up and spinning her as he kissed her with every bit of his soul. She felt dizzy at the contact, his presence relieving every tense muscle in her body. He slowly let her back down onto her feet, breaking the kiss only to hold her in a warm embrace. He whispered sweet nothings into her hair, stroking her back as she held onto him for dear life.

They pulled away, looking into each other's eyes as if silently trying to tell the other just how much they missed them. Concern settled on his features as he studied her more closely in the dim light that came from a street lamp not too far away. "Have you been crying, honey?" Andrew wiped away drops of water that sat on her cheeks below her slightly puffy eyes as he spoke.

"I didn't kn-know if you would make it this time. I-I was worried something happened to you. I kept trying to remind my-myself you wouldn't break your promise, but I didn't know if something bad could have hap-happened," she stuttered, the remnants of her crying affecting her speech as she tried to calm herself down, clinging to him tightly as if he would disappear.

Andrew simply nodded, a small frown settling onto his face as he pulled her back into him. They stood like that for a few minutes before he realized she must be freezing in those soaked clothes. He himself felt a shiver run up his spine, his achy fingers telling him it was more likely due to the temperature than the feeling of her fingertips pressed into his back as she held him fiercely. He ushered her toward the door, letting her unlock before pulling her back to him as they walked inside.

"How long will you be here this time?" Brandy asked as she walked back into the living room after changing her clothes, holding a towel to her hair to try to remove some of the excess moisture.

Andrew turned to her from the fire he had been stoking in the fire place, "At least tonight. The schedule says we should be leaving tomorrow afternoon, but I'm trying to give them reason to extend it."

She simply nodded as she sat on the couch, reaching out for him to sit next to her. As he dropped down next to her, she quickly settled into him, her smaller frame fitting perfectly into his side as she sling an arm around his torso. They sat like that for hours, taking in each other's company. Eventually, Brandy fell asleep as he sung softly to her, the melody of his voice lulling her into a sense of security and peace. She only stirred to feel him picking her up, placing her in her bed moments later before sliding in next to her. He pulled her into him, holding her as he, too, fell asleep.

As the sun rose that morning, so did the two lovers, eager to spend as much time together as possible before he would inevitably leave once again. Andrew had to step away for an hour early in the day to handle his duties at the port, but he had come right back to her to be with her as much as possible. He had, unfortunately, been unable to convince his senior that they should stay at port for one more day, meaning they would have to make their short time together count. They had decided to stay in, taking in each other's presence as much as possible. They sat and talked and laughed as they cuddled on the couch for hours before the time came to say goodbye.

As he pulled her into a tight embrace, Andrew couldn't help but notice the sadness that had been etched into Brandy's features. "Do not be sad, my love," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair in a soothing motion.

Brandy didn't say anything, too worried she would start crying if she did. Their goodbyes were always what broke her heart the most, the uncertainty of his safety until he returned to her making her feel like someone was gripping at her heart. He pulled away, whispering a final goodbye before kissing her one last time.

As he walked out the door and disappeared down the street, so did her heart until the next time he would see her. Only, she couldn't help but wonder, why didn't he promise he would come back this time?