Soldier Boy

Epilogue

18 years later

Timothy Levi Langford was leaving for college. Specifically Duke University in North Carolina. He would be moving four hours away from his family.

Logan gave his little brother a hug and whispered, "Stay safe out there."

Timmy nodded, meeting his brother's sad gaze. "You too." On the second hug, he hugged him a little tighter and ruffled his hair.

Just last month, the family had gotten a call that Logan's squadron was being deployed to Afghanistan. He was leaving tonight. Timothy never had a desire to join the military, but honored his brother's want to join. Logan was in the marines, just like their dad had been.

Logan had a wife back home, which was only two hours away. He didn't have any kids, but his family couldn't imagine if he never came back home. Timmy didn't want to imagine losing his best buddy.

"You'll call, right?" Mackenzie, the youngest Langford sibling at twelve years old, asked. She was Timmy's best friend, and couldn't bear to see him leave her, not when she was starting junior high school in the morning. She jumped into his arms and gave him a squeeze, giggling when he started tickling her.

"Of course I'll call, Mackey,"  he replied, and she laughed.

"You have to send us photos of the campus, your dorms, your classes, your breakfast..." she replied.

Timmy laughed and kissed her head. "Of course. Anything for my special girl. You be good and mind mom and dad."

She nodded and Logan gave him a goofy grin before loading his brother's bags in the trunk of his car and shutting it closed. He hugged him and leaned into his ear, saying, "Don't forget to tell mom and dad bye."

Timmy hugged his parents goodbye, choosing to ignore his mom's sobbing, and drove off down the road. He took a left turn at the stop sign of their neighborhood and headed out of town.

His Aunt Julie called him while he was driving, saying, "There's one rule that you have to follow. No drinking and driving."

Timmy laughed and bid her goodbye and kept driving, smiling slightly four hours later when he reached Duke University's campus.

His girlfriend, Gina, waited for him to park his car and get his suitcase and duffel bag before jumping into his arms and kissing his lips.

"I've missed you!" She declared and smiled up at him. He brushed a stray red hair out of her freckled face and beamed at her.

"Me too," he said, sighing as they embraced each other, neither one wanting to let go.

"How was orientation?" He asked.

"Well, if you'd been here an hour earlier, you'd know," Gina teased and he laughed. "It wasn't anything major. Just Dean Hawkins rambling on about expectations for us to meet and what rules to obey and which ones not to break. I dunno, half of the freshman class was asleep."

Timmy slung his arm around her and kissed her head as they made their way to the elevators. She kicked their dorm room door open with her foot and a wide smile marked her face as she squeezed his arm.

"We have our own place! You know, until we can afford an apartment together. Like, there's enough room for my makeup stuff on the vanity and you can set your guitar over in the corner and play me some of your songs."

Timmy smiled and kissed his girlfriend. He was majoring in the fine arts and in musical studies so he could become a famous singer and go on tour. He'd been working on Gina touring with him.

"I could do that," he nodded his head. She smiled at him and plopped down on the queen-sized bed.

A rap on the open door sent them both looking at Gina's sister Marie.

"I'm throwing a party tonight at Blake's, wanted to see if you could come and hang," Marie said.

"Blake's supply isn't low?" Timmy asked.

Blake was Marie's boyfriend and also the lead singer of a local band that Timmy wanted to join. He was known for throwing and attending awesome parties and also for buying the most expensive beer in bulk.

"No, he restocked yesterday. Oh, Timmy, he's asked if you could sing tonight. He said something about his vocal cords being messed up and isn't feeling up to performing. He'll pay you," she smiled.

Timmy nodded his head. "Great, yeah. Sounds like a plan." He nodded towards Gina who gave him a smile.

"Go get ready, then," Marie said and clapped him on the back.

"You'd think that people would leave us alone for today to let us get settled," Gina smiled against the pillow and let out a sigh.

Timmy laughed and kissed her cheek. "We have years to get settled."

She smiled and walked off to get ready for her sister's party.

Timmy watched her walk away, smiling softly at the thought of her. He was going to propose tonight. Better late than never.

That night, as Timmy proposed, Logan left for Afghanistan. Minutes afterward, his wife found out she was pregnant.

A year later, Timmy and Gina were married and living in newlywed bliss. But even though they were happy, they were grieving.

Logan Samuel Langford never made it back home. There was a raid on his team and they all died. His daughter never got to meet her dad.

The End.