Letters

Bad Days, Brighter Nights

"That will be five dollars miss." Willow frowned and glanced at the two bags of groceries. They weren't even completely filled. How did they cost five dollars? "Do hurry we have a line." The women at the cashier said gesturing towards the other people. Willow glanced at the weary mothers and women in line behind her and quickly dug out the five dollars to pay for her things.

"Thank you." Willow said lightly, taking up her bags. While she did have the money for groceries, a lot of people did, they were in short supply since a lot of the food was being shipped overseas to the men in the military. Willow found that hard to believe ever since Bucky had stated the meals haven't been the fanciest he's ever had. Maybe it's changed though because if they're not getting the food, who is?

The walk back to her apartment seemed longer than usual. It may have been because she was tired or because she missed Steve and Bucky. Willow sighed and her shoulders slumped a little at the thought. There hadn't been a letter from either of them for a a while now and while she knew Bucky was in a war and Steve was traveling, she just wished there was some other way to contact them.

Willow took the stairs to the apartment two at a time and pulled the key from the small pocket of her dress out. Fitting it into the lock, she twisted it and opened the door. She pulled the key out and nudged the door with her foot so it would open a bit wider. Putting both plastic bags into one hand she then closed the door.

Willow placed the bags down on the kitchen counter and slowly removed her jacket. She had to go down and grab her mail for today but she wanted to get started on dinner first. Besides, if there wasn't a letter from Steve, it would only put a damper on her mood.

Willow supposed her bad day could have started when she was at work earlier that day. John had made things awkward between them by no longer bothering with her. It was like he was acting as if she didn't exist. It frustrated Willow since she had done nothing wrong and because John was acting more like a child than a man.

Willow had explained to Betty what happened after she left and Betty sympathized with her. "A lot of men think women are just up for the taking but what a lot of them don't understand is that we have men fighting in a war. Our hearts are taken. We just have to try to explain things to them gently." Betty had laughed a little. "It's like we're fighting our own battles but instead of wielding guns we're holding men's hearts." Willow had felt a little better after that but not by much.

Later, as she was working, there was news about Bucky's unit, the 107th. They had recaptured a village and there were some grimy photos sent in. One of them clearly had Bucky in it and Willow smiled to herself knowing Bucky had probably made them send all the information to her newspaper specifically so Willow could see that he was okay and to bring in more money for them.

The knowledge of knowing the photos were taken two weeks back though didn't settle right with Willow. So much could have happened to Bucky in that time and just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach. Willow powered through lunch because of it, despite her friends best efforts to get her away from her desk.

"I'm fine, really. You all go on." Willow had assured them with a winning smile. Her friends finally let up and popped out for a bite to eat.

Willow left earlier than usual that day and Wilson let her, surprisingly. He commemorated her for being such a hard worker and needing a break so he let her off the hook. Being in the grocery store is where Willow hit her low point though.

There was a man there in uniform. He was talking to, Willow assumed, a girlfriend or a wife maybe. She was crying in the breakfast aisle. He had probably told her he was shipping out soon. The man was trying to calm her down and Willow slipped down the aisle quietly, giving him a small, sad smile.

If that wasn't enough, every thing in the store was promoting the war, and how you could help in the effort to win. Willow, much like Steve, didn't know how she'd be much help collecting scrape metal to put bullets in barrels of guns to kill other men. She had shuddered a little.

Thinking about the war, got Willow thinking about Steve. She was worried about him, worried about the dancers he was going to be with for months. What if he stopped liking her and moved on to one of them? Willow knew Steve wasn't that kind of guy but she still fretted over it. That's why she was so distracted at the store.

The blaring whistle of the kettle brought her out of her stupor. Jumping into action, Willow turned off the heat and brought the one boiling her soup down to a simmer. Smoothing back a lock of her hair, Willow headed to the door. It was time to get the mail.

----

A letter from Steve. A letter from Steve! A letter from Steve!! Willow ran up the stairs excitedly, holding the crisp white envelope in one hand and the rest of the mail in the other. She didn't care what else was in the pile, all that mattered was the letter from Steve.

Upon opening the letter, Willow was immediately greeted by three photos. She smiled. He had kept his promise. She scanned the photos slowly, admiring Steve's handiwork with the camera before moving on to the letter. She read it once, twice, five times or more. That's when she smelled the soup.

Heading back to the kitchen, she turned off the stove and was happy to find that her dinner hadn't burned. She quickly got a bowl out and filled it to the brim with the spoon from the pot. Then she brought it back to the table with the letter. She was careful not to spill any and pushed the letter to the far corner of the table. She ate half of the soup quietly, gazing at the pictures, imaging  she was there with Steve when he took them. Halfway through her dinner, Willow began her letter.

March 20th, 1943

Dear Steven,

The photos are beautiful Steve. You've never worked a camera before and you've done marvelously. Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm going to start collecting the photos and news articles involving you and put them in a special book. I hope you don't think that's funny or anything because I really like the idea myself and Bucky will be in it too. I received not too long ago, or rather my newspaper company, an account of a town Bucky and the 107th recaptured. He's in one of the photos and I got to keep the originals.

You'll get the hang of it eventually Steve. Soon, saying those lines will take nothing at all. You'll be saying them like a pro. Just keep at it.

Doesn't it say somewhere in the bible to never want what another man has? You're a man of faith, you should know better. Yes, selling bail bonds isn't ideal but it's good work Steven. You're doing good, somehow, someway. Just remember what the senator said, you'll be in charge your own unit soon enough.

Nevertheless, I'm still worried. I worry about you and you're just traveling Steve. It's my job to worry about the both of you. I hope to hear from Bucky again soon and you really should write to him. He's your best friend and he should know about heats going on in your life. Including your.. Condition as you called it.

No surprises with your next gig. I'm happy for you. Don't let being a big, hot shot, movie star get to your head. When filming starts, tell me what it's like and if you meet any celebrities. I want to know who Steven Rogers is brushing elbows with.

John, while a nice man seems to want to forget that I exist. He is avoiding me at the office now. It's made things awkward since we used to work with each other a bit. The other girls have assured me that I did nothing wrong, I am not at fault. And while I know that, I still feel bad. Tell me more about Callie. What is she like?

I'm glad you're having a good time though. I can't wait to hear from you again. I love you.

Love,
Willow Peterson