You Promised

Chapter One

I step through the old wooden gate, and I struggle not to step on the marigolds that are sprinkled around the path that leads to the door. The rose bushes seem to glow in the sunlight and the tulips slowly dance in the slight breeze that makes the bottom of my skirt float gracefully about my ankles.
Three trees stand tall and proud beside the open windows of the upstairs rooms, their branches and leaves floating in the morning air. The sun hits the roof and turns the rusting slates golden. The fuchsias reach onto the path as if to touch my feet. Everything about this home is welcoming. The only thing to be seen in the sky above the shining roof is the occasional fluffy cloud flying lazily through the heavens.
I lift my basket up over the gate and it closes with a loud creak behind me. I hold the basket carefully trying not to break it's delicate contents. I wander up the old cobbled path to the door, stopping to lean down and smell the lavender that gathers along the walkway.
Suddenly, the front door flies open and out leaps a little girl of ten years. Lily bounces over to me, her ringlets jiggling as she says;
'Ami-where have you been?? You haven't been to visit for days now!'
She is totally out of breath which makes me wonder what mischief she was getting up to before my arrival caused such a stir.
'Calm down, little one!' I say laughing. 'I come as often as I can.'
Lily is jumping about me now, trying to peek into the basket. I glance away into the garden to see if anyone else is home and she slips her tiny hand into the basket.
'Oh no' I say pulling her hand out of the basket. 'Wait for lunch.'
'Ami!!' She whines. 'Can I not have a little bit now?'
'Certainly not' I say with mock sternness. 'Is your mother in?'
She sulkily nods her agreement and, laughing, I head inside.
The inside is just as well cared for as the garden, and I can smell the roast lamb cooking in the kitchen. I peep through the door and, to my delight I see that Mrs. Green has been very busy preparing a wonderful feast for dinner with at least four pots on the stove at once as well as the table being set with the finest silver.
'Where did I put the carving knife?' She mumbles to herself. ' Oh there it is...now where is my apron??'
'Here it is' I say holding it up for her.
'Oh bless you dear' she says to me, bustling around the table to give me a hug. 'Its been too long. How is your dear mother? And your father and brother too??'
'They are all quite well thank you Mrs. Green' I say. 'Is...erm...Adam here??'
She smiles knowingly. 'Yes dear, he's in the garden. Go and say hello if you wish.' She says winking at me.
I roll my eyes and smile at her, offering my assistance should she need it. Then I go outside into the fresh air.
I walk out onto the lawn, I bend down and take off my shoes. It feels like a mortal sin not to relax on a glorious day like this. I saunter down the lawn admiring Mr. Greens handiwork with the flower arrangements. Lily, my brother and I spend hours every year, dead-heading the daffodils. It's tough work, but it pays off the next year in the stunning floral beds. Buzzing around me are the striped honeybees that bounce gently from flower to flower.
As I turn around a particularly large topiary, I see a young man lying on his back on the grass. He is a little older than my age and has strong arms that are wrapped around his beautiful face. His brown hair isn't brushed but falls in lines around his sweet face. I desperately want to speak to him, but I do not want to disrupt his small sanctuary.
'Adam.' I say quietly.
He looks up at me and his sapphire eyes light up. 'Ami' he says, the way his gentle voice says my pet name makes me feel like I'm royalty.
'You act like you haven't seen me in years' I say as I sit beside him on the warm grass.
'Well, it feels like forever' he says smiling at me as he pulls me down to lie beside him on the lawn. He wraps his arms around me I feel like I could stay here forever. I breathe in and exhale loudly.
'Even these few days have been too long.' He murmurs in my ear, the way his lips brush my ear sends shivers down my spine.
'Shouldn't you be inside helping your mother?' I say teasingly.
'I tried to help her.' He says sounding exasperated. 'But she never lets me!'
I nod laughing at his mother's kind ways. 'Where is your father?'
Adam shrugs his shoulders in a how-would-I-know gesture and stares down the garden.
A butterfly flaps slowly over us and lands on Adam's arm. We stay still so as not to disturb it, but as I breathe, it flies away into the clear sky.
'That's the effect you have on animals.' Adam whispers to me and he is given a light punch in the arm for his trouble. His loud laugh rings through the air as we descend into a play fight, rolling around the grass.
We collapse beside each other, arms entangled and foreheads touching. 'I love you Adam.' I remind him for the thousandth time.
He pulls me close and stares into my eyes. His fingers trace my lips as he stares at my face like it was the most precious thing in the world. 'You know I love you Ami.' He says gently, his finger bopping my nose playfully.
I giggle happily and nuzzle into his neck, purposefully tickling him. He chuckles, pushing me away lightly.
He sits up. 'Ami' he says, suddenly serious. 'The soldiers came by today.'
I sit up to join him. 'Not again?' I ask, concern tinging my voice as I struggle not to sound worried. 'What did they want?'
He sighs and looks away from me. 'They wanted me to enlist.'
My breath catches in my throat and I swallow hard to keep from screaming.
He laughs dryly. 'Don't worry love.' He tells me in a vain effort to calm me down. 'I haven't joined and besides, we aren't even in the war yet.' His long, slender fingers stroke my cheek.
'Yet.' I say with contempt for the evil men out there, trying to take him away from me. His hand falls to his side.
'Do you trust me?' He asks and seeing me nod he adds 'I promise that I will never leave you.'
I sigh to myself. I pull myself off the grass and hold out my hand to help him up. His warm hand grasps mine and he stands beside me. He turns to walk inside but he refuses to let go of my hand. We walk in together silently lost in our own thoughts. I feel concerned. I had never really believed that the prospect of fighting could touch my small world here, in our little village just outside Oxford. I hold onto his hand and I feel like need to hold onto him. That if I let go, he'll just fade away into Europe and I might never see him again.
I shake my head in an attempt to remind myself that he's still here. I have not lost him yet and I never plan to.

The dinner had been brilliant. I sat beside Adam and let the flow of wine and conversation cleanse my mind of my many worries. I eventually give Lily the present from the basket- a chocolate egg. The egg that had cost me three long weeks of working with my rather demanding and perfectionist, boss in the local bakery.
'It's wonderful!' Lily cries, already with a ring of melting chocolate around her face. 'Thank you Ami!!'
'Anything for you sweetie' I say with a smile. Adam laughs and puts his arm around the back of my chair.
Adam says with a warning 'I did, of course warn you Ami, that if you feed her she will keep coming back.'
Lily glares at him before returning to her chocolate. She says something that was inaudible through a mouthful of what remains of the egg.
I glance at the old grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the room. I see that it's already 4 o'clock and it's time I was going home. I stand up, thank Mrs. Green and Mr. Green for their hospitality to which Mr. Green grunts through the screen of smoke from his cigar that constantly seems to hover about his face.
Adam stands up and walks me out to the gate. I close the gate behind me and turn to him. He runs his hand down the side of my face and I close my eyes. 'Thank you. For a fantastic afternoon.' I whisper to him.
He smiles. 'You know you are always welcome.' He whispers back to me before slowly leaning in to me.
'Kiss her!!' Comes a shout from somewhere within the house, the voice unmistakably Lily's.
Adam and I back away from each other in embarrassment. We hear Mrs. Green shoving Lily away from the window and giving us an apologetic look.
'Well?' I ask him.
His cobalt-blue eyes gaze into mine and he obliges. I sink into the moment, then I remember that my father needs me at home, I slowly detach myself from his embrace and turn away.
'I love you' he tells me.
I turn back to him and fall into his arms. 'I love you too' I say into his chest. Then I step away and head off down the dusty street.