Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 10

Charles and I began moving my things from my old apartment the following week, and with the aid of the Plymouth Judy and I bought it was a breeze to move. It was all so bittersweet though. Charles was so happy and excited and so as not to dampen his mood I kept a smile on. After everything he went through over there I certainly wouldn't want to take any kind of joy that came to him. He was so excited I could see it in his eyes. Every time we walked into the house and dropped off another piece of my things his eyes would sparkle. Almost as if he saw the promise of our future every time he stepped through the door. I could see it too.

Joe gave me two weeks off to celebrate and give us somewhat of a honeymoon. Charles and I stayed holed up in our little house making adjustments and moving furniture in. Soon our parents came to visit and give us the rest of our possessions. They loved the house. I caught a glimpse of my mother eyeing the house approvingly.

"My, Charles certainly has a good eye for real estate." She murmured. I was showing her the upstairs bedrooms and was telling her of all the plans that Charles and I were wanting to make them into. "Honey, I never had the chance to speak with you before your wedding or much afterwords either, but I am so proud of you. You are a strong, beautiful and accomplished young woman."

"Thank you momma." I hugged her tightly.

"You have chosen very wisely in your choice of husband. Charles is a good man and I know he'll be an even better husband. He loves you. I can just see it in his eyes when he looks at you." She made a small chuckle, "When you were younger I would take you to a party or something for the school I would catch him looking all about the room and his eyes wouldn't rest until he saw you."

"He did? I don't remember that."

"Of course not, your head was always in the clouds. You never really noticed him around until he made himself known. I felt so bad for the poor boy. For some time I thought he would never get a chance."

"You knew? From the beginning?"

"Of course I did. Why do you think I encouraged you to be his friend so much. He was already gone on you, all he needed was a little encouragement. So once you became friends and began to talk to him I knew it was only a matter of time before he asked you."

"Mom, you sneak. Why in the world did you never tell me this? Or why didn't you say anything?"

"I knew that if I told you something you would scoff it off and tell me I was crazy. I prayed so much for God to bring you the right man. So, I knew that if he was the right man then God would make it work one way or another."

"You are amazing mom."

"I hope, I tried my best to be a good mom." Her voice caught.

"Awe, but you are you raised me well and you are just about the best mom that I could have ever asked for."

"Awe thanks baby. My little angel, you were so easy to raise. You were so obedient. . . sometimes. You had your moments and bouts of tantrums, but for the most part I never had to worry about you. I always knew you would do your best. Johnny was a bit harder to handle, but what can you expect from boys?"

"You raised us well mom."

"I like to think I did."

"Have you heard from him?"

"Not since the last letter, no."

"I'm worried."

"You and me both baby, all we can do is pray for him."

***********

It was almost a year we stayed in our small home, just the two of us. Many changes had happened in that one small year. Everything was peachy except for poor Betty who moved back home after William was KIA, killed in action. She was so heart broken when she got the call from his father. It wasn't long until she packed up all her belongings and headed back to New Mexico where her family lived. Judy and I tried to convince her to stay, but she kept shaking her head. She said she needed to leave since everything here reminded her of William and home was a good place to mend the soul.