Breaking Reality (pt2)

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.

Return to Part One.





Battle scars. She knew he had been injured, he received an honorable discharge, but she was not prepared for the scars. They had kept in touch through webcam conversations once a week, even through his stay in the infirmary. His only visible injury was a burn across the right side of his face, but she knew he had worse injuries. Knowing and seeing were two completely different things, however, and Bonnie could not help but to cry out when Devon limped out of the terminal, leaning heavily on his uniformed escort.

His uniform was stretched and distorted over the full length cast encasing his right leg, and his right shoe had been replaced by a cast-boot to allow him to avoid sitting in the wheelchair being pushed by an airline attendant. His right arm lay hidden in a sling underneath his dress jacket while his left arm wrapped around a fellow Marine. Despite the obvious pain, Devon was smiling and joking with those surrounding him. The right side of his face was stiff and contorted with healing burns, and his brown wavy hair no longer peaked out from under his hat; Bonnie guessed it had been completely shaved to match what lay under the bandages creeping from beneath his hat.

When he spotted Bonnie by the door, holding his little girl in her arms, the laughter died in his throat. His escorts followed his gaze when he suddenly stopped. The airline attendant motioned Bonnie forward.

Time slowed to a crawl for Bonnie; the short distance between her and Devon seemed to take forever to cross. Somewhere beneath the distorted and crisp skin existed the man she knew, the man she married, the man she loved. The right side of his body was ruined, she reminded herself once again of what he had told her. It was hard to believe as she saw him standing in front of her. They stood staring at each other, the airport and escorts nonexistent. His homecoming is supposed to be a happy affair, Bonnie thought, but she was having a hard time smiling to prove it.

The couple stared at each other in silence, neither could figure out what to say. Eileen broke the silence with a coo, shifting on Bonnie's hip to reach out to Devon.