Home Away From Home

Chapter 29

Valerie ran downstairs like a kid on Christmas morning. Only her present was behind the door and it was her beautiful husband. Zack was right behind her. He had no idea what was going on. She finally reached the door. She was getting excited; she reached for the doorknob with a smile. The door opened and her smile fell when she saw who it was. She didn't know the man, but it was definitely not Nick.

"May I help you?" She asked, her voice filled with disappointment.

"Are you Mrs. Conan?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good morning ma'am, my name is Lieutenant Charles Miles-"

"So you're the famous Lieutenant that called my husband?" She folded her arms to her chest.

"Yes, that's me. Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasures mine. Now how can I help you?"

"I'm here to talk to you about your husband, Nick." He took off his hat.

"Why? Is everything okay?" Her eyebrows rose and her heart began racing.

"I'm sorry to tell you this; your husband has passed away. He was killed on his mission. He was a great soldier. I wanted to come down here personally because of how much I appreciated him..." Valerie didn't listen to anything he said after that. Her husband, the love of her life wasn't breathing anymore. She just stood there, her hand was holding tightly onto the doorknob. Memories, that's all that was going through her head. All the moments she had with him, all the memories that are now just memories. She then thought of her family. What will the twins do without their father? Tears were streaming down her face. "There's a letter that he wrote for you." Valerie looked up at the letter in his hands. With all her strength, she took the letter. "I am truly sorry for your loss. Nick was a great soldier and I know he was a great man." The Lieutenant nodded his head and walked away. Zack watched Valerie as she looked down at the closed letter with tears coming down her face. He wiped the tears off his face and grabbed her into a tight hug. Then the screams came. She began crying hysterically and Zack just held her tightly. Tears didn't stop coming down his face.

"He can't be gone! He can't be! I need him! He should be here, with us! Why isn't he here?" Zack just held her tighter. He closed the door with his foot and they stood there, hugging each other. "What am I going to do without him? My life isn't complete without him! He can't be gone." The kids started crying. They let go, and she was about to go upstairs to get them, but Zack stopped her.

"I got it." His voice was shaky and his eyes were red, but he was being strong for Valerie. She tried to smile for him, but couldn't. Zack ran upstairs into the kids' room. With all her strength, Valerie walked to the couch and sat down. She looked down at the letter on her lap, tears still coming down her face. After looking at the letter a little longer, she picked it up and started opening it. She unfolded the paper and looked at Nick's beautiful handwriting. She then started reading it.

Dear Valerie,

Their making us write this letter that they'll send if we die. It's such a complete waste of time to me because I know I'll be back to you. But I'll follow orders and be the good little soldier I am. Well, the first thing I want to say is stop crying, which is what I know you're doing right now. And I know it was extremely hard for you to open this, so I'm proud of you. Now, Valerie, I want you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You are so beautiful and perfect in every way. I don't know how you could be with a guy like me. I definitely don't deserve to be with such a warm and kind hearted person like you. You're with me every step of the way with what I'm doing. This is only my first few months here and I miss you more every day. I miss mom, too, and Zack. But I just want you in my arms. Don't tell them I said that. Zack will be grossed out and mom will be jealous. Gotta love them. Oh, and I have a secret to tell you, I'm going to ask you to marry me when I come back. I want you to be known as mine, forever mine. I want to have a family with you with beautiful kids in a big house and maybe a dog, I still haven't decided yet. I want to have a girl; I want her to be my little princess just like you're my queen. And boys, I want boys so they can protect my baby girl at all times. I'm going to be the best father ever, nothing like the crappy ones we had. I promise. I can't wait to see you. I don't know what I was thinking, leaving you for this long. By the way, I think I know now what you were scared to tell me in my bedroom that night, why you really stopped taking to me. You fell in love with me, and I was too scared to fix it because I loved you too and I was too scared to admit it. We were so stupid. Looking back, it makes you think why we were we so scared, we both loved each other but were just scared. Well I am not scared anymore. I want you and I love you. When I come back I am never leaving again. All I want now is to be home with you guys and be in love and happy with you. God, I miss you. Now, Val, if you eventually get this letter and I really am gone, I am so sorry. I am so sorry I didn't do my best. I'm sorry I let you down. I promised I'd be back to you, and if I'm not, I am so sorry. But, I don't want you to mourn over me, I want you to go out there and be happy. I want you to find love again. It's out there, I know it is. The whole world is waiting for you. I'm always going to be in your heart, always. And I'm always going to be watching over you, protecting you. You will always be my everything, always. But I'm not there anymore and I don't want you crying and not living your life. I don't want to be the cause of that. You are a beautiful woman who deserves the best the world can give. I will forgive you if you fall for someone else; I want you to be happy. I love you, Valerie. I will always love you. You will always be the best thing that has ever happened to me. I'm going to miss everything about you. But I'll still be seeing them from above. Tell mom and Zack I love them. You guys are the best people a person could ever know. Thanks for always being there for me. I'll always love you. I'll be watching.

Love always,

Nick.

Valerie's tear landed on the piece of paper. She kissed the letter. This was when everything was okay, she thought, when we were all still happy.

"I'll always love you, Nick. Always." She managed to say.