T For Texas

Hey Good Lookin'

It was a rainy day. Mary Grace didn't have an umbrella to stop the rain from dripping onto her hair and clothes. Her auburn hair clung to her skin. She felt crummy. She had her purse clasped close to her chest as the bus barreled towards the bus stop.
The bus skidded to a sudden stop, and the door opened as to let the passengers into it. Mary Grace hurried onto the bus. There was only two seats in the very back. She moved quickly towards the window seat and sat down. She put her purse on the floor in front of her.
The bus door closed for a moment, but the door opened as a tall man got on. He stopped and looked around for a seat. He saw the seat beside Mary Grace. He sauntered slowly to the seat beside her. She felt rather annoyed as the man took his precious time getting to the seat. He sat down, his legs taking up the most of the space around her.
Mary Grace stared out the window as the bus made its rounds. It reached the stop before her apartment. She stood up and hurried off the bus, desperate for more space. She hurried towards her apartment. Her hair plastered itself against her face as she ran through the rain.
Mary Grace heard a shout from behind her, but she was too busy seeking shelter to pay any mind of it. She finally managed to get to the door of her apartment building. Now out of the rain she reached for her purse to get her keys. Her purse wasn't there.
Mary Grace looked around for her purse. She saw the man that had been sitting with her. He was running towards her. He had her purse hooked on his arm.
"You forgot your purse, ma'am," The man said panting as he reached the apartment building door.
Mary Grace let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much!"
The man handed Mary Grace her purse. She dug inside her purse to find her keys so they could get out of the rain. She pulled them out and fumbled to get them into the lock.
"My name's Michael Nesmith by tha way," The man said as Mary Grace opened the door, "Mike if you'd rather, I reckon."
"My name's Mary Grace Knox," Mary Grace said as Mike shut the door behind him, "an' I'm jus' Mary mos' of tha' time. That's what everyone called me back home." The door opened and they both went inside.
"Where's back home?" Mike asked.
Mary Grace shrugged. "Jus' Tennessee," She said.
Mike smiled slightly. "I shoulda known," he said.
Mary Grace walked to her apartment. She stuck her key into the lock. "Thank you again for my purse," She said opening her door. "It was very nice to meet you."
"It was a pleasure," Mike said taking off his green knit hat in a sort of gentlemanly gesture.
Mary Grace smiled as she shut the door to her apartment. She walked to the kitchen counter and dropped her purse down. It toppled over and her makeup bag and a few other odds and ends spilled out as did a small piece of paper that was folded in half.
Mary Grace picked up the note and read it. It had on it a phone number, and the words 'give me a ring' written on it.
Mary Grace smiled slightly then remembered another piece of paper somewhere in her purse. She dug out an envelope. The whole reason she was on the bus at all. She ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

Dear sweetheart,

I miss you. I know I've told you that a million times, but I feel like I must tell you again. I miss and love you Mary.
This week has been hard. I barely had the time to scribble down these words. We were attacked three times in the last two days.
Mary, I'm scared. I've been scared for two years. This place. It's hell. Mud, blood, explosions. Fire. Fire everywhere.
James. James got shot yesterday. He is dying, but none of us know what to do to save him. So much blood Mary.
When Sam died it was so quick, but James just keeps fighting. It's a hopeless fight. Like this whole damned war.
Why was I drafted? Why wasn't it one of those damn governor's sons? So they could know what it was like for them to get shot at for once.
I'm sorry for my rambling and ranting. Ever one of my letters seem to be like this. I'm sorry Mary.

Sincerely your fiancé,

Buck Whitman

Mary Grace eyes burned as hot tears dropped onto the letter being crushed in her hand. Buck. Her sweet angel in Vietnam. She felt like someone was crushing her chest. She ran to her desk and began to scribble down a letter for Buck.

Dear Buck,

I love you. You can never say I love you to me enough and I'll never be able to express my feelings for you. I miss you so much. I don't know how I'll ever be able to say it enough.
Don't feel bad about any of your letters. I don't care what you write. I just need them to go on. I want you home, but neither of us can change what is going on.
When you come home I'll bake you an apple pie like I would when we dated. We'll buy that land back home and start that farm we've been dreaming of since high school. Then we'll start having kids and get a dog and all the stuff we talked about while in high school. Just stay strong for me sweetheart. It won't be long. You'll be home with me soon.

With love,

Mary Grace

Mary Grace folded her letter and stuck it into an envelope. She put a postage stamp on it and stuck it into her purse. She decided she would get on the bus first thing in the morning to get the letter to Buck as soon as possible. After that decision she got ready for bed. It had been a long day.

(Another Monkees fanfiction! This time it is a Mike Fanfiction. This chapter went through a lot of changes towards this point, but I think I'm happy with the end product. What will happen next chapter? I haven't a clue, but I know where I'm going mostly.)