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Tuesday.
"What are you thinking about?" It was such an easy question— blurt whatever was consuming her thoughts. There was a plethora to choose from: perhaps the strenuous work she had put into for saving money, the hot, steaming burger sitting in front of her, or maybe the feeling of Dallas' hand in her own.
Virginia chewed on a French fry thoughtfully, the coating of salt making her mouth water. She hadn't eaten at all that day and Darry would rake her over the coals for eating a burger, fries, and a milkshake on an empty stomach. Her heart fluttered though, at the sight of Sam's eyes squinting at his biology textbook. His mind wasn't too far off on his studies, made more advanced now if he wanted to graduate with the rest of his class.
Graduate on Wednesday, celebrate all day and all night Friday... then he was off to Vietnam on Sunday.
"I'm wonderin' what dress I was gonna get. Cherry said she wanted to go with me so i don't end up wearin' a canvas to graduation," Virginia answered, trying her hardest not to let her worries seep through her tone.
"If it helps, you'd look mighty fine in a canvas." Sam had looked up at her and grinned, the rivet between his thick brows gone at the sight of her. "Why does a doctor have to know about the life cycle of a potato?" He shut the cover of the thick book, a most satisfying sound to Virginia's ears. A glimmer of life returned to his eyes as they set on the girl in front of him.
"Maybe if you gotta give it the kiss of life?" she joked, pulling a wet slice of tomato from below the burger bun. She scrunched her nose at its unsightliness— another minor distraction to clear the chaos in her mind. Every second she took to look at the blistering May sun was just another painful reminder of the week's events.
Sam's eyes were tender and he reached a hand out to grasp his girlfriend's. "I know you're scared. My mom is too— heck you both oughta calm your nerves. I'll be fine."
"You can't just say that," she sighed, shaking her head. Suddenly, it was like her appetite had vanished and instead, a knot of fear took place.
"And you can't be scared like this," he replied gently. It was in the most reassuring way he could say it, a way only he knew would make her feel at ease.
"Don't tell me how to feel," she mumbled under her breath and sunk lower in her booth. Only one question lingered on her tongue and it was something deeply unnerving to even bring up.
"I bought you something."
She looked up, her curiosity piqued. Sam held a flat white box in his hand that if it were any bigger, would've made her heart flutter. Virginia wouldn't consider herself a materialistic girl but at that moment, she longed to know what was in that box. He was just a bit nervous, his fingers dancing along the edge of the case and then he opened it.
Her breath was caught in her throat at the sight of the gold chain. Real or not, it gleamed under the hazy lighting of the diner with beauty. Settled on the foam pad was a circular gold pendant—not much bigger than a dime— and engraved with a flower— a bluebell, she discovered upon further examination.
