This Is Life

Planning the Tour

(February 1946)

I sat at home and there was a knock on the door. I went to answer it knowing it was Donny as he was coming for dinner tonight. It was indeed him and the moment I closed the door behind us, Donny put his arms around me and pulled me into a kiss. I kissed him back and smiled against his lips. "I've missed you." He said as he pulled back.

"It's not even been 24 hours Donny." I chuckled.

"I know. But I still missed you." We walked into the living room and we sat on the couch together. He put his arm around my waist and I leant against him. "So. I've been super busy today and I've started finally planning our first tour."

"That's amazing." I smiled.

"Yeah. Obviously as soon as we got home we were bombarded with calls wanting bookings and so as you know I kept all the numbers and didn't book anything there and then and I've spent the day calling places to book gigs. We are of course starting right here in Cleveland, playing at the Ohio theatre again." Donny continued to tell me about the tour.

"It sounds incredible. Have you told the boys?"

"Yes and no, I told them the dates I was going to try and book the tour during. So those back to working regular jobs know to take all of May off. But they don't yet know where we are going and which dates we are in which state."

"Well it's going to be the most amazing month ever."

"I agree, and some places are offering a lot. Some are paying for our travel and accommodation while there, and then paying us for the gig on top of that."

"That's incredible Donny." I said kissing his cheek. "If you ever need any help organising stuff do ask. I still haven't found myself a new job so days are kinda boring and lonely. I mean I have Ma, but there's only so much we can do. I miss having a regular job."

"I would say I understand, but I don't. I've never had a job job. Before the war all I did was play gigs. But I was playing everywhere. Each night I was at a different venue. I had a schedule I just worked in the evening essentially rather than during the day."

"It's okay Donny." I smiled. "And I'm sure something will come up soon. But as long as I have you. That's all I need." Donny turned and looked directly at me. "I love you Donny Novitski."

"I love you too Julia Trojan." I smiled and we mutually leaned in for a kiss. It was deep and passionate and I quickly pulled away when I heard the door opening. Donny still held me close though, which I loved. Being in his arms was the best. Ma stood there, a smile on her face as she looked at us.

"Dinner is ready love birds." I chuckled and thanked her. We both stood up and held hands to walk to the kitchen. Ma had gotten better at cooking normal food, which she was actually good a cooking, whenever Donny was here rather than trying to do something fancy. We ate and talked about the tour a little and then Donny and I cleared up despite Ma's protests.

"Thanks again for dinner Mrs Adams. It was delicious as always."

"Thank you Donny. And you're welcome to come for dinner any time. And thank you for all you've done for Julia. Seeing her happy again is wonderful. I truly thought she'd never go back to her usual self after receiving the news of Michaels death almost two years ago."

"Ma please." I said not wanting to think of Michael. In a few weeks it would be two years since his death. It was still hard on both Donny and I to talk about him.

"No Julia, it's fine." Donny said softly. "Even I've enjoyed watching you change for the better over the last six months from when I first saw you. And now look at us. It's important we don't forget about Michael, he was an important part of both of our lives."

"I know. I just don't like you being compared to him. Or people saying how happy I've become since I met you all because of his death. You are both very different people, and I love you both for different reasons and I love you both equally. I know I was a grieving mess, but that's to be expected when your husband dies at war. I know had he come home you and I would either have never met or we'd have just been friends. I love you so much Donny. I'm just still struggling with the thoughts that people think I've just moved on. Because I certainly haven't just moved on from Michael. I still talk to him occasionally and I think about him all the time. That's why sometimes when we kiss I pull away suddenly because I have this horrible feeling of betrayal and guilt in my stomach. And I know I shouldn't feel that way. I have every right to be allowed to love another man after losing Michael. But I still feel like I've betrayed him occasionally." I looked down at my hands in my lap and Donny stood up and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Thank you for telling me. That means a lot and I'm sure that was probably quite hard to admit all of that to me." He kissed the top of my head. 
"I feel that same feeling of betrayal too. He's tragically gone and I've just come home and fallen in love with his wife. I have such bad survivors guilt as you know and sometimes it is even worse when I remember that you're his wife. But I try to put that past me because I know we both deserve happiness. And us dating and being in love makes us happy."

"It sure does. I'm the happiest when I'm with you." I stood up and just hugged Donny. My head buried into the crook of his neck. He held me gently and rubbed my back. I finally relaxed into his arms and calmed down a little. I pulled back and little and rested my forehead against Donny's. I looked into his eyes and began to speak to Michael. "We love you Michael. We both do. Thank you for being the greatest husband and best friend the two of us could have asked for. And I hope you're happy for us in our newfound love for one another. And that you are watching us from above, and I hope you feel proud of us." I whispered before Donny kissed my forehead.

"He's proud of you." Donny said softly. "He's so proud of you for all you've achieved."

"And of you Donny. While he may have not come home, you did. You did exactly what the two of you wanted. You went and made it big in New York and now we're going on a US tour. We sang welcome home not only for ourselves. But we did it for all the US veterans who did make it home. And we did it for all of those that didn't. And as Ma always says. Everything happens for a reason. I didn't want to believe her at first. But I think I do now. Losing Michael taught me a lot, but it also led me to you. And you are just as perfect for me as he was." I smiled softly and pressed my lips to his gently. "I love you Donny Novitski."

"I love you too Julia Trojan." He said as we kissed again. I felt safe in Donny's arms, the same feeling of safety as I used to feel when Michael held me. I felt loved and cared for. While they were very different, things were going back to how they were before.