The Marine's Wife {On Hold}

Chapter 1:

"The sun has rose, so open your eyes!" June cooed as she opened the door to her daughters room. Her daughter, Rachel, poked her head out from under the blankets to glance out the window.

"No, it hasn't. So my eyes are staying shut!" Rachel commented at the still darkened sky. It was six a.m. and time to get ready for school.

"Honey..." June said as she sat down on the end of the bed, drawing the blankets away from her daughter's face. "Come on..."

Rachel looked at the circles engraved around her mother's eyes and thought of all the pain their family has gone through and changed in the past year. With her father , Aaron, being gone, everything had broken and fallen to pieces. Which left her mother to pick them up and glue them back together. She was doing the best she could.

Rachel, not wanting to bring any more trouble, sighed and rolled out of bed to proceed getting ready for school.

"Thanks, Sweetie. Breakfast will be ready when you come down." June said, and she left the room.

Rachel waited until her mother's footsteps died away before she walked to her bedside drawer and pulled out an old brown box. She peeled the top off of the box and sat back down on her bed, pulling out the cube's contents. Laying on the very top was a photograph. The caption underneath read "Daddy-Day Before" Rachel remembered scrawling that the day before her father left for the marines. Oh, how she missed him. She traced her fingers around the edges of the picture, taking in all of the details of her father. She feared she would forget him, some how.

"Rachel!" June hollered up the stairs, breaking Rachel from her memories.

"Be right down!" She said back, and changed clothes, fixed her hair a little, grabbed her book bag, and scrambled down stairs.

"The bus will b--" June started to say, but the giant yellow bus had already begun it's slow descent down the hill towards their house. Rachel, without skipping a beat, grabbed the toast from her mothers hand, kissed her on the check, and flew out of the door to make it to the bus. Just like that, she was gone.

June sighed and sat down at the worn brown dinner table. She put her head in her hands and released a few precious tears from her eyes. She tried not to cry around Rachel. She knew how hard this was all ready. She hated that he left. She hated she was alone. She most especially hated when people left, even if it was only for a few hours...which meant every time Rachel left for school, it took a bit of her heart away. A part of her feared something would happen and her loved ones would never return. Whether it was her husband at war, or her daughter at school. She was paranoid.

She brushed the tears from her blushed cheeks and re-read her husband's latest letter. She hadn't yet wrote a reply, so she figured now would be a good time to do so. Even though she knew there were chances he wouldn't receive it, any thing was worth a try to talk to her love.

She grabbed a wooden pencil and scrap notebook paper and wrote.

I can bet you I miss you more, my love. Every word you say is precious to me, whenever you do manage to write is fine enough for me. I only wish I could have you in person, right here, right now. And forever. I enjoy the peace.Not so much the "thrill." Aren't you afraid of death? Aren't you afraid of never returning? Do you even think about how your family fears for you?

June stopped, and took a deep breath. She wasn't angry at him. She was angry at the situation and her sadness. She took a minute to regain herself so she could write more calmly and lovingly.

I will always worry for you, and I pray to God every night for a safe return home for you and your team. Soon enough is not now, but I will take what I can get.I miss you terribly. I know Rachel does, too. She has just left for her first day of school. I will see if she wants to write as well. We both miss you. Everyone misses you.

Rachel is well. She will be starting Soccer, too. I have no information about her friends, nor if she has a boyfriend. Dear God, I hope not! She is beautiful though. No, no, She has eyes that shine like her father's.

I'm not mad that you're gone. I'm only angry because I miss you, but mostly I am sad. My paranoia often gets the better of me, and it's very hard holding together without The Man of the house here.

Still the sweetest Aaron,always will be. I love you so much.

Whenever you can, my hero.

Your loving adoring wife,

June.