She is beautiful. Never in my life have I seen a woman so gorgeous. I stare at her like I'm in a trance. I must be, because it's impossible to look away. Her red lips. Her soft closed eyes. He long blonde hair. Her hips. Her hands in the red sparkly...
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The echo of her voice fades out. There's a moment of silence. I stand up from my seat and start clapping, the rest quickly follow. I can feel tears well up in my eyes, but I quickly push them down. Just seeing her in that dress makes my heart go wild. She looks just like the first time I saw her. Beautiful. Real. Her lyrics hit me hard too. It's like she made that song just for us and I'll cherish it in my heart till the end of time. She's a damn musical genius, that's for sure.
Sergeant Thompson raises his glass. "To you gentlemen and to the place we call home" he says in that deep voice of his we've associated with orders and not toasts. Everyone raises their glass for what is the last time for some of us. I raise my glass before putting it to my lips and drinking what might be the last good alcohol I'll ever taste.
Feet scrambles across the wooden floor as soldiers grab their backpacks. Sergeant Thompson is already outside, making sure the cars are running. I put my backpack on, it's heavier now. I look over my shoulder, back at Ashley. She's standing in front of the stage; her hands held in front of her. I can see her knuckles turn white from how hard she's holding her hands together. Her eyes are sharp, but it isn't the sharpness I've associated with her. There's something else in her gaze too, something I can't put my finger on.
I look around to make sure no one is watching before I walk over to her. I stop right in front of her. For a moment we just look at each other, like our eyes can say more than words. Then we both take a step closer and before I know it my arms are around her like I'm a human shield. I press my face into her hair and breathe in that familiar scent. Her hands are holding so tightly onto my back that I think I might break.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry" I whisper into her hair as tears fall from my eyes onto her head. She shakes her head softly, pressing herself even closer against me like my body could drown out everything around us. "Don't be. Just come back alive. If you die, I will kill you" she whispers, her voice muffled against my chest. I let out a small chuckle at her words and nod my head. We stay silent for a long moment until we finally pull away from each other even though it kills me. I've never felt something more painful than letting go of Ashley and knowing I might not come back.
She reaches out, her hands trembling as she gently grabs my hand. Her fingers are soft like rose pedals. She opens my hand, holding hers under it. Her right hand gently drops something into mine. It's a necklace. A simple one. Just a silver chain but there's a ring on it. A beautiful golden ring made like a rose. There are even small golden leaves attached to the band. It's beautiful, just like her. I look back up at Ashley and open my mouth to speak but she cuts me off.
"I wear that ring a lot. I thought you might want a piece of me with you" she mumbles, looking down almost embarrassed. Her hand is adjusting her blonde hair in a nervous way. Is Ashely shy? The Ashley who sings in front of so many people every day is shy?
"Thank you" I manage to whisper without my voice breaking which is a miracle. I can hear the other soldiers getting into the car. I look behind me to confirm. I quickly turn back to her and gently take her hand. I press a quick kiss to her knuckles before I put the necklace on, squeezing her hand. "I love you and I promise I'll come back alive" I say quickly and I mean it. I won't die when she's waiting for me like this. I let go of her hand and turn around to walk away but quickly turn back and press a kiss to her cheek. I just couldn't help myself. I needed to feel that soft skin under my lips one last time.
"Come on Michael!" I hear James yell behind me. I look at Ashely one last time. Her eyes are full of sorrow but also love, a love I'll never forget. I turn around and walk out of the club, my feet heavy, like I could fall through the floor at any moment. It feels like the world is falling apart around me. Almost like I left my heart with Ashley. I swallow the lump in my throat and keep walking while the wind plays with my hair. James takes my hand and helps me into the car right before it starts moving. He pats my back like it's just a casual Tuesday and I didn't just leave the love of my life. I look over my shoulder and see Ashley standing there in the middle of the road, locking eyes with me. I can see the way she's biting her tongue almost like she's suppressing the urge to cry. She's getting smaller and smaller. I want to jump off and run back to her, but I can't. My hand reaches up and touches the ring around my neck. I feel like I can't even breathe properly anymore.
Days passed in a blur. Most of the time spent on transportation. I stayed with James and Steven. Things were hard but at least we had each other. Before I knew it, we were already on a boat sailing over the pacific ocean. The space was cramped and Steven got seasick a lot. I couldn't sleep in my bunk at night. The thought of German submarines kept me awake. I think we all prayed the war would end before we even got there.
We stayed in England for a while. The citizens were really nice, welcoming us like they knew we were going to save them. A young boy kept looking at me with admiration, it was adorable. Even though we were busy with our training I couldn't get Ashley's face out of my mind. Her beautiful voice ringed in my ears, and her red lips smiled at me when I closed my eyes. When I tried to sleep at night, I could almost feel the weight of head on my chest and her blonde her tickling my nose. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of coming back to her, of feeling her in my arms again. Every night I prayed to the lord, asking for the war to end and for my survival so I could get back to my lover. My beautiful Ashley. But only silence followed when I whispered "Amen."
The mission was called operation overlord, but James called it the big show. The attack split between five beaches of Normandy. Utah beach, Omaha beach, Gold beach, Juno beach, and Sword beach. America was responsible for Utah and Omaha while the brits took care of Gold and Sword and Canada had Juno. We hadn't been assigned a beach yet.
One day, after training, I met a Dane named Peter. I was confused because Denmark was currently under Germany. Peter was a sailor and explained to me that he was out at sea when the Germans invaded Denmark. He and his crew decided to just sail to England instead of returning to Denmark. Peter was going to take part in operation overlord along with 800 other Danes to help free his country. I admired his dedication and his courage but that wasn't the only thing Peter said. He'd been on the beaches in Normandy with his family before the war. He'd seen the beaches in real life. He put his hand on my shoulder and told me: "Pray you don't get Omaha" in his broken English. I asked him what he meant and he explained that they were going to bomb the beaches before the soldiers sat foot there to take care of German bunkers. Apparently Omaha beach had large cliffs the bunkers were built into. Peter predicted the bombs wouldn't do much with the cliffs protected the bunkers. In other words, Omaha beach was going to be a meat grinder.
I couldn't stop my hands from trembling when we were assigned to a beach. Peter's words echoed in my mind. There was a 50% chance I and my friends were sentenced to the meat grinder and that we would all die. I pressed my eyes tightly together but then I heard it. "Utah beach." I could practically feel my jaw hit the ground. My breathing turned fast with relief. I wanted to burst out crying right there but I didn't. I actually had a chance to make it out alive and back to Ashley.
On June 3rd and 4th, we boarded. The weather turned foul. We sat offshore for what felt like days, though it was barely over twenty-four hours. The officers kept saying, "Stand by," and the old timers muttered that the whole thing might be called off. But on June 5th, we finally got the word:
