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Snow floated down from the dark gray clouds, white and pure
and swaying in the slight southern wind. It collected uneasily on the ground,
wavering between solid and liquid. She pulled a handkerchief from her handbag
and dusted away the soft snow on the park bench. It soaked through the thin
fabric, and she stood staring down at the bench undecided. She didn’t really
want to get her new green coat wet, but it could be a long wait.
“Evelyn!” She spun
around as Michael rushed to meet her, his loafers sliding slightly in the slush
of the park path.
“Mikey!” She squeaked, as he lifted her up and spun her
around. His grip was tight around her waist, and she mused that the war had
done him one favor at least.
“How have you been?” His hair was parted on the side,
sweeping over his forehead, with the cowlick right where she remembered. His
voice was deeper, though. She had to remember, this was not the same Michael
she had said goodbye to all those years ago. She wanted to ignore that. Pick up
where they left off.
“Aw, I’ve been fine! It’s been boring without all you fellas
here. I took up a job as a secretary down town. It’s swell and the boss travels
a lot so we girls are always having a gas at the office!” She laughed softly,
grasping his hand between both of hers, the mottled gray of her rabbit fur
cuffs enveloping both their hands like a muff. “Gee Mikey it’s been so long
since I’ve seen ya! You look good!”
He grinned. “Let’s walk.”
She didn’t let go of his hand as they walked. She smiled
straight ahead, and she realized suddenly that she wasn’t the same girl he left
behind either. She felt stronger, more capable, more alive…more independent.
Suddenly he stopped, staring up a tree still clinging to its
late October leaves. It was an early snow, and it clung to the leaves and
weighed them down. “Evelyn, your letters, they” he stopped, and the breeze
pushed his hair from his face. He looked over at her. “Hey that’s a swell
coat.” She smiled, not wanting to push him to finish his thoughts before he was
ready. He raised his finger and flicked the rabbit fur pom pom in the middle of
her breast. He smiled. “Real swell.” Suddenly, his finger paused and his eyes
lost focus. He stared for a minute over her shoulder.
“Mikey” she said softly.
“Hm?” He snapped back to focus. “Sorry Evelyn…I was off in
the hinterland.”
She smiled at him, her round face and gentle curls putting
him at ease. He smiled back, a lopsided smile. “Evelyn I got a lot of memories
over there. Most of them weren’t great. But your letters, every time one of
your letters arrived… Well, you got me through the war. Just tellin’ me of your
day to day life, silly stuff you were up to, what you had for dinner and what
you was doin’ with the girls. It kept me rooted. It brought me home.”
She squeezed his hand, looking down. She didn’t even blush.
She was definitely a different girl. The 16 year old girl he left behind
wouldn’t have taken his hand first, would have been pink in the face and
wouldn’t have dreamed of being alone in the park with a man. But she wasn’t
that girl anymore. She was a woman, one who bought a bright green coat to
welcome back her soldier, one who had waited for so, so long. She looked up,
and met his eyes.
She knew then, for sure. She had hoped of course, but she
knew. They were both different, both changed, both with their own demons, but
they were still meant to be together. In a flash she saw it all – the farm they
would buy after a few more years of work, the golden retriever named Mac they
would get from a fellow at Christmas, the evenings with friends, the kids, the
everything.
She squeezed his hand once more and smiled, blushing a
little this time. “Let’s keep walking” she said.
