Ezra and Eve *Animals MC book 4*

Chapter Three.

If the picture works it is of Sister Mary.

Author Note; I know this chapter is short, but it is integral to the plotline and I felt that it needed to have it's own little chapter rather than risk losing it in a larger chapter.

On the fourth day of his volunteer work, Ezra decided to pull all the weeds and stray trees that were growing along the inside of the fence. He was pulling weeds near the chapel when he saw Sister Mary, she was sitting on a hidden bench, she was double over and obviously crying. An old letter clutched in one hand.

"Sister Mary, are you alright?"

"Oh! Ezra, I didn't know you were here already."

She quickly wiped her eyes and shoved the letter back under her robes. He moved closer, taking in her appearance.

"Is everything okay?"

"You caught me, pining for a past life."

"Before....before you were a nun?"

"I was a woman....once upon a time," She teased.

"No, I didn't mean...."

"It's okay, sit down. I'll tell you a story," She motioned to the bench beside her.

He moved, stripping off his gardening gloves and taking a seat next to the old nun, she smiled and took a deep breath.

"I was.....twenty three years old. I was in love with a man from our church, he was a farmers son. Nobody important but....oh, he meant the world to me. We dated, for a few months and those were the happiest months of my life. We were good, church going, God fearing people so.....it never went too far."

"He sounds terrific," Ezra said.

"He was, then the war came up.....and he was one of the first people drafted."

"Vietnam?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah, Vietnam. I begged him not to go, I cried and screamed and cursed him seven ways to Sunday and he said to me.. ' Mary, I gotta go and you know that'...I wanted to get married first. I begged him to marry be but....he didn't want me to be a young widow and what if I got pregnant? Then what? So, we didn't."

She fell silent for a minute and Ezra wasn't sure she was going to continue. He reached over to lightly place a hand on top of hers and she squeezed it tight.

"He deployed, he was a helicopter pilot and I was angry at first but....I was so proud of him. He wrote to me, told me that he was scared but he was doing good work, he was saving lives. He promised me as soon as the war ended he'd come back and we'd get married.....'soon as this war is over Mary'....that's what he'd say every letter. Then one day....it was."

"And...he?" Ezra pressed just a little.

"He didn't come, all the neighborhood boys....some came home in bags, some came home missing limbs but.....Danny....he didn't come....no more letters either.....I wrote to the generals, the Sergeants...someone had to know where my Danny was. I finally heard back nearly a year later, he was last scene going to pick up soldiers from a hot spot, they can only assume he was shot down and killed."

"I'm so sorry Sister."

"So....I waited, the war was over....he was coming, I knew he was and.....it's been forty one years now....and....no Danny. So, When I was Twenty Eight I gave my life to God but......I just...today was his birthday and sometimes, I like to pretend he's going to walk through that gate. In his army uniform, looking just like he did the day he left."

"Maybe some day he will," Ezra said.

"Someday, the good Lord will call me home and I'll see Danny then."

"No offense Sister Mary but...I hope not for awhile."

"Doesn't rightly matter to me.""

"Well it does to the people here who love you, like Sister Eve and Sister Ruth."

"Promise me you won't tell them, about Danny? He's.....he's my secret."

"I won't say a word."

She gave him a warm smile, she sat on the bench a little longer before patting his hand and standing she began to walk away.

"Sister Mary?"

"Yes?" She turned to him.

"Danny...what was his last name?" He asked with a shrug.

"March...Daniel March," She said, a certain fondness on her face.

She turned and walked away, Ezra waited for a minute before sighing and pulling on his gloves. He went back to work in the summer sun, he had worked for a few hours when Sister Eve came out of the nuns residence.

"I...uhm....I brought you some water," She said softly, handing him a glass.

"Thank you," He took it and greedily drank down the cold contents.

"Don't make yourself sick," She said.

"I appreciate it."

"Yeah, well it's a hot day today."

"It certainly is," He handed her the glass and lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face.

When he lowered his shirt she was purposely looking the other way, he chuckled a little to himself, he wasn't used to the innocence.

"If I wanted information on someone, from a long time ago. Where would I go?" He asked, leaning on the rake he was using.

"I would try the Library or the courthouse first, why?"

"I just wondered, I was thinking of looking for a friend."

"You have friends?" she teased.

"Sister Eve, was that sarcasm I heard from that pretty mouth?" He teased back.

"Maybe, I'm a nun....not an idiot, I do know how to make jokes."

"Until yesterday sweetheart I didn't even know you spoke English," he said, going back to raking.

"Well I'm sorry about that, and don't call me names." She said turning to walk towards the house.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart." He called.

She shook her head but kept walking, not looking back at him. He liked the easiness that he fit in here, the Sisters, the kids, Father David, They all fit into their own little world and had kindly let him into it. No questions, no judgments, it was easy, it was nice, it was something he wasn't used too.

When he left the church he rode his motorcycle straight to the library, he jogged up the steps into the massive building and walked up to the desk.

The stares and judgmental looks he got made him want to crawl out of his skin, it made him want to go back to the church and hide. He was tired of the stares and the whispers, he used to like being the bad guy now all he wanted was just once to be a good man.

"Can I help you?" the young librarian asked, seeming wary of him.

"I need all the information you have on Daniel March, mostly about him being a pilot in Vietnam."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."