A story about the wives that wait at home for their husbands.
Cold. So cold. Those words filled the room as I shivered in the chilly living room. Cannons and gunfire were going on in the night which at first were terrifying, but soon became the lullaby that the USA slept to. With the house as my only protection, I fervently prayed that Xavier would come home soon from the war that raged outside. It had been about four years since Xavier promised to marry me the second he came back. Since then, it has been a long bloody four years as the North and South continued to fight. Annie was also waiting for her husband Ben to return from the warfront. She was eager to show him the son she had given birth to soon after he had been deployed. I chuckled softly, Ben was the exact opposite of Xavier, he married Annie the second he heard about the war. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he sees his son.
"Mackenzie! Mackenzie!" a voice cried out from my front door as another cannon was shot in the distance. Startled, I shot up from my spot on the couch and ran to the door. Through the small peephole through the door, I saw a lone figure which I immediately recognized. "Annie! What are you doing in here! It's past curfew! Come in! Come in!" I exclaimed frantically as I flung open the door. The small brunette that I call my sister clutched her child tightly to her shivering body. A sudden gunshot sent Annie flying into my arms bawling her eyes out. "Annie? What are you doing here? You know you're suppose to stay home during the bombing. And why is Max here?"
She let out a small whimper and slowly knelt on the ground. Max, her four year old child, was bawling his eyes out. "Here, let's get you and Max dry first." I said gently as I tucked a long strand of her brown hair behind her ear like I use to do when we were children. She nodded and I quietly led her to the bathroom. I waited outside the door, not knowing what she was doing here. Annie, strong Annie, I couldn't help but wonder what sent her into a state like this. A small tremor shook the house, probably another cannon. I wonder if he's... I shook my head; Xavier is not here. He should be fighting somewhere in the south.
Annie came out of the bathroom with a sleeping Max in her arms. She still looked tired, but she stopped shivering. I led her to the small cozy living room and put a blanket over her shoulders. A small fire sputtered sparks in the fireplace. "So what are you here for?" I asked after a few minutes. After a few eternities of silence later, small voice filled the room "It's Ben. I'm scared." The sound of her husbands name chilled the room about twenty degrees. "Remember? Xavier promised to take care of him when they were stationed in the South." I whispered as I tried to calm her down.
"This damn war! The damn South! I just want him to come home!" Annie shouted. Another cannon accompanied her anger and a loud rumble answered her call. Max started crying again and he clung to his mother like a life line. "I want him home just as much as I want Xavier home too you know." I began, "But they promised to come back." Annie held back another sob and clutched Max tighter.
"I'm just glad-" I started before Annie cut me off. "Glad for what? The South breaking away? Ben and Xavier going to fight? Xavier promising to marry you IF he comes back alive?" She choked out. I flinched at her words; we both knew how Xavier didn't want the war to affect us too much so he held off our wedding until after the war. "I don't want you to suffer as much as Annie will when Ben leaves. I want you to be happy even if I die. But if I come back, I'll marry you." Xavier's words echoed in my head. My heart leapt to my throat as I chocked back a sob.
"It's been four years and this war is still going on. I think we should-" Annie let out a strangled yelp as the lights went out. Everything plunged into darkness; the only light source was the small fire that seemed to be dimming from the despair in the room. "Annie calm down. They're not dead." I reassured her and myself. "Remember when you thought Dad wasn't going to let you marry Ben?" I said trying to conjure up a happy memory to lighten the tension.
Annie cracked a small smile. "Yeah, and Ben snuck me out of the house to announce his undying love to me." I smiled as the memory flowed into my mind. Ben would do anything for my sister, though I was the one that gave him the idea. "Dad was furious wasn't he?" I chuckled.
"He eventually accepted it." Annie argued, "At least I didn't have to almost drown to meet Ben"
I giggled. Ben had accidentally pushed me in the lake a couple of years ago and I didn't know how to swim back then. Xavier was luckily passing by and rescued me, since then he has been my knight in shining armor. But Mom wasn't too happy about Xavier since he was a sailor's son.
As we talked about the happy memories about Xavier and Ben, there was a loud rap on the door. Silence filled the room as Annie and I stopped talking. Another series of knocking was heard followed a set of footsteps. "Mackenzie, stay behind me." Annie ordered quietly, being the older one she always tried to protect me. I nodded and we slowly crept up to the door. Annie shakily looked through the peephole and after a brief amount of time, gave a cry of joy. Flinging open the door, she rushed out as if she was a caged animal that had found escape. "Annie!" I scolded as I walked out after her. "You're not suppose to-" I froze. A tall man stood before me with his face covered by a hat. He was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time; the man had multiple bandages around his leg and a clean cut navy uniform. He awkwardly took a step forward and gave a bow. "Mackenzie Smith?" the man addressed me with respect.
"That is not my last name. " I answered with confusion as fear slowly put its cold fingers around my mind. The man gave a stunning smile and looked up. Bright familiar green eyes bore into me with a long scar under one of them. "It will be soon." he said softly. My hands flew to my mouth as tears of joy rolled down my face.
"Welcome home." I chocked out with the biggest smile in the world. Xavier lifted me up and spun me around with the biggest grin on his face. The world faded around me as he said the two words that meant the world to me.
"I'm home."
*
Dear readers,
Yay a happy story! finally! Ben and Xavier came home!! I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you in the next chapter.
~frostninja
