This story is dedicated in memory of Spc. Christopher J. West and all those who are serving, who have served, and will serve their country but may never make it home.
Sunny afternoons in the country were the essence of Heaven on Earth. For Bonnie Logue, the August afternoon was more so - her husband was finally returning from a long tour overseas in the war.
Bonnie lived in a small farmhouse on the edge of an equally small farming town. The home had been a wedding gift from Devon's parents, a home that had seen many Logue children through the generations. With Devon away, the open and empty house seemed like a massive mansion deserted in the middle of nowhere. Eileen helped fill the emptiness, but Bonnie missed the nightly conversations with her husband and the physical contact of another. The first few weeks after Eileen’s birth, the house seemed a prison for Bonnie, isolated from the world with very few visitors. The drawbacks to living in the country sometimes outweighed the gorgeous view and sense of freedom that came with the large plot of land.
With the house cleaned, Bonnie skipped to the wardrobe, anxious to find something to wear to impress Devon. The last time he had seen her, the day they parted, she had been two months pregnant, wearing her comfortable and baggy pajama pants and a sweatshirt, too ill from the morning sickness to dress up like the other Marine wives. Eighteen months later, she wanted his return to be more than just simply memorable.
What a homecoming Devon would have! For the first time, Eileen would see her father for real. Bonnie's heart skipped a beat at the thought of raising their precious daughter alone had something gone wrong. It was already hard enough trying to teach her that Daddy was not the computer screen, but a person beyond it on the other side of the webcam. At almost a year old, Eileen would be walking soon; another milestone Bonnie could not bear Devon missing.
Pushing the multitude of thoughts from her head, Bonnie shrugged into a pair of khakis and a fitted blouse. As she critiqued the outfit in front of the full-length mirror, Eileen cooed her approval from the playpen. Bonnie agreed with Eileen’s opinion, even though she felt she was projecting. Bonnie had been lucky - after giving birth, her body returned to her previous hourglass figure, and she even retained the larger breasts. The fitted blouse accentuated this new change as no other shirt in the wardrobe could.
The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed the hour away. Bonnie gasped - she had quite a drive ahead of her to the airport. She quickly checked Eileen's travel bag and locked up the house.
Continue on to Part Two.
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