I'll love her 'till I die

It was 1945, right after World War II.  Soldiers were happy to return home after many years.  A lot of time had passed.  Children had grown, friends had moved on with their lives, lovers had found new flames and people had passed away.  Families and friends were excited to see their heroes, they couldn't wait to hold them in their arms and return back to the way things were before they left six years before.  But what they didn't know then, was that it wasn't going to be that simple.  Nobody knew what was going to happen.

Bryan was one of those soldiers. He had just turned 23 years old, was healthy and good looking.  He was coming back to his girlfriend Shirley. She was the love of his life and the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.  He had dreamt about that moment for so long. On his ride home, he was thinking about the promises they had made to one another under the willow before he left.

"Shirley and I can't wait to start our family", he told one of the troop.

"You're a lucky guy, no girl is waiting for me", he answered.

When the bus dropped him home, Bryan thanked the driver and stepped out of the bus. He was so excited to see his girlfriend that he ran to the house with a smile on his face. Before entering the house, he took a deep breath and threw his bags on the floor. When he returned he heard the voice of his sweet girlfriend on the second floor, he went immediately up the stairs . He opened the door and there she was, lying in bed with a perfect stranger. Angry, he went straight back down the steps. Without saying a word, he took his bags and left the house on his motorcycle.

He didn't know where to go so he went back under the willow where they had made ​​a promise to build a family together. When he arrived on the scene he fell to the ground and burst into tears. All his dreams had just crumbled before him in a split second. The following days, everybody in town saw him in bars with a bottle of whiskey in his hand trying to forget what had happened. Bryan had lost his reason to smile in life.  When he was starting to feel better he thought about that day that had messed up his life. Even whiskey could no longer help him to forget. That's when he gave up and raised his bottle for the last time and pulled the trigger.

When she heard the news that Bryan died , Shirley immediately started crying and was devastated. She took her coat and headed to his place. When she arrived, she noticed the damage , the messy room and an empty whiskey bottle on the floor. She could imagine the scene, Bryan  exhausted and drunk on the couch with a bottle of whiskey in hand. When she came back to her thoughts, she found a note that said "I'll love her till I die". She immediately felt it was her fault that Bryan had ended his life . Shirley fell to the ground and started crying.

The day of the funeral , Shirley stood under the willow , where they buried him. She saw people looking at her like it was her fault. She saw the blame in their eyes. Since that day, Shirley felt guilty for the mistake she committed , Why had she slept with this man when she had her boyfriend who loved her more than anything in the world? She knew she could never forgive herself. She began to drink to try to forget. She finally drank her pain away a little at a time but she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind. She eventually drank herself to death just like him.

She was found clinging to his picture for dear life. She was buried next to Bryan under the willow. Finally life had brought them together and they found themselves among the angels. He smiled at her and held out his hand. She knew then that he had forgiven her. He pulled her towards him and they danced to a Whiskey Lullaby.