LOST INTO THE VINE (BWWM)

CHAPTER 10

She had been waiting for the arrival of her fiancée
anxiously. She was excited. Apart from the number of
times they spoke through email, they hadn't had any
communication between them in three months. He had
told her he loved her and couldn't wait to come home
and finally stay because that would be his last
deployment.
She was tidying up the place when she heard a knock on
the door. She wasn't sure who was coming by. After all.
Matthew had the key to the apartment, it was his after
all. She peeped through the peep hole and on the other
side of the closed door was four men in uniform.
The heart was beating in her chest wildly as she twisted
the door knob. "We are looking for Miss Mapenzi?" one
buff guy asked, he had a couple of badges on him, so she
assumed he was some important person in the SEAL.
"This is she, what can I do for you sirs?" she asked,
crossing her hands over herself and let them in. They
were shaking. Trembling.

Looking over all of them, she recognized one of the men.
Barely. It was Bradley, Matthew's best partner and best
friend. They had met quite a number of times during the
time they were off deployment It was him. But with scars
all over his face. He was hideous.
She focused on him, her lips dry and trembling, "Brad,
what is going on here? Why are these people here? Why
are you here? Where is my fiancée?"
He looked away, his hands in his pockets.
The man who had addressed her, coughed, he looked
uncomfortable, "I'm Chief Thomson. I'm sorry, on
behalf of the president of the US and the secretary
general we're here to deliver our deepest condolences.
Matthew Tyler, private first class, he was killed in a
bombing three days ago in Iraq."
Her hand flew to her growing bump, "No, sir. I – I think
you're mistaken. My Matthew is coming home..."
Bradley wrapped her in his arms, "Brad..."
"I'm so sorry Nala. He was a good man," he whispered
in my ear.
"You're lying. You all are," she pushed him away. "He
has to come back. He has to.... He can't leave me. He
can't leave us. His. His baby needs him."
"I'm so sorry miss," the men said, tilted their caps and
walked out. Her legs gave out and she was on her knees,
her hands on her tummy, "I can't do this on my own. I
can't do this... I can't. I need him. He promised me he'd
come back. He said he'd come back. He lied to me."
Bradley wrapped her in his arms again before the door
flew open and a woman looking much like Matthew,
except she had wrinkles on her face, "Ma!" she
unwrapped herself from the man and crawled to her feet.
"He's gone... he's dead" she choked.
The woman wrapped her in her arms and hugged her,
both of them crying, "I know. I know."
"I can't live without him," she sobbed.
Bradley cleared his throat, choking down his own tears
and handed her an envelope, "he had me give this to
you," his voice rasped, thick with unshed tears.
With shaking hands she had taken the letter and tore it
open. She knew what it was. They all did. "Nala, you
don't have to do this right now," Mathew's mom
suggested.
She shakes her head no and said this would only confirm
if he really was not coming back.
She wiped away her tears, even though they didn't stop falling.

Nala, sweet love,
You actually reading this only means one thing. That
I'm not coming back. I'm sorry that this makes me a liar. And I'm sorry that doing what I
believe in was at the expense of your feelings getting
hurt. I'm sorry to have caused you so much pain. The
last thing I ever wanted was to hurt you in any way.
I wish I had known if we really had an addition to the
family. The suspense is killing me. Pun intended. I just
wish I was there to be everything of a father our
children would have wanted, needed even.
Nala, I have loved everything about you since the first
time I met you, do you remember? You've always been a goofball, my goofball. I love your laugh, your smile when you would look at me when you think I am not aware because i am always aware of everything when it comes to you, how your eyes light up when I talk about the things I care about. I love your kind heart filled with the purest intentions. I love you. I love absolutely everything
about you, even that snorty laugh you hate so much that
comes out when you are really happy. I love you.
Always have. And always will.
You will always be in my heart, mind and soul. Even in
the afterlife.

Yours forever,
Matt "your one shujaa"