Dear Jace | U.S. Army

Epilogue

Jace's P.O.V

Two years.

It's already been two years since Clarise and I tied the knot. Two years since I've been shot. Two years since I came back from Afganistan. Two years since everything came back to normal. And two years since Clarise gave me her journal, the same journal that I read practically everyday whenever I can. The pages are now worn, the binding loose, and the leather casing curled around the edges.

It's not really that different to be honest. We live in the same house, we both have jobs, and we're doing alright I guess you could say. Clarise works as a nurse and I on the other hand is an instructor for the ROTC program. I might not be able to fight anymore, but I'm sure as hell not going to abandon what I love.

However, Clarise's mom died in the middle of last year, and it was really hard for her, just as hard as it would be for any other person. Heart attack. Right in the grocery store, the and the thing is, she was only 67. Clarise spent two weeks moping around and acting all miserable but that phase didn't last forever. Grieving is just a phase. That's all it is. So one afternoon when I took her out to eat a a fancy restaurant to celebrate our one year anniversary, she let her old self out. Laughing, telling jokes, the memorable Clairse that I know.

But she needs me.

She'll need me as long as our forever lasts.

Without me, she might still be locked up in her little box doing who knows what.

And I'll need her as long as my infinity lasts. Then again, forever doesn't last forever because of there's a beginning, there's an end, it's inevitable. But the end is just the beginning. We're only in our mid-twenties, so I don't even know what I'm worrying about it, I just am. I can't help it, my mind just wanders too much. But I'm happy, happy that we're still going strong, happy that we are finally getting on the right track now that I'm home. And for now, life is treating us pretty good. And I know I'll love Clarise until the day I die.