Ethereal
One
Many people consider the ending of The Great War to be when the Versailles Treaty was signed in 1919. This was the year when many of the troops who served in the war finally returned home to their homeland, reuniting with their families after the war.
Many fathers returned to their wives and their children.
All of course except for Jonathon Andrews. He unfortunately died during battle—his death, although unknown, was not in vain when the peace treaty came to be about among the countries.
His death was honorable, and he was a great asset to the United States of America.
Moreover, his death had the opposing effect on his wife, Claudia Andrews, and his only daughter, Evangeline Andrews.
Claudia Andrews waited anxiously in her home for days upon days, hoping to see him walk through the front door; she had found herself greatly missing his gentle, blue eyes, and his warm, encouraging smile. Jonathon Andrews had an aura around him everywhere he went. He could turn a gloomy room upside down. Generally Claudia was also a very bright and cheerful person, but she could feel her emotions steadily going downhill at the absence of her husband. Not only did she have to grow accustomed to not seeing him, she also had to get a job, which was also something she was not used to. Before Jonathon left, he worked and got the steady income for the family, and even though it wasn’t much, it was nevertheless something. However, when he was gone, Claudia had to find a job, and she was then forced to spend less and less time at home with her daughter. Many women had to leave the household, and Claudia wished she wouldn’t have to leave her daughter
She missed him more than anything.
She had begged him not to go to the war. Claudia was not used to running a household without a husband. But many of the men in the city had been going off to war, to fight for the country.
“I’m going,” Jonathon decided the day he had left, despite his wife’s protests. “I’m going to make this country safe for you two.” He didn’t necessarily have to go to war, since the draft issued his name, but he chose to look at the positive side of the situation instead of complaining.
He then crouched in front of Evangeline, who had been only 4 years old that day, and kissed her on the forehead before picking her up. “You’ll be good for your ma, won’t you?”
“I don’t want you to go,” Evangeline whispered, her hazel eyes growing full of thick tears.
“I know you don’t. But I’ll be back.” He promised gently, and with another kiss to his daughter’s cheek, he set her down and looked at his wife.
Evangeline watched her father as he whispered something to her mother, and her mother looked like she wanted to cry. The 4 year-old girl did not like seeing her mother so upset, and she could not understand why her father didn’t look upset at all as he pulled her mother close for a hug goodbye.
Years afterwards, Evangeline’s father sent letters to the home as much as he could. Evangeline would be so excited when her mother announced that there was another letter, and her father would dedicate portions of the letter to his wife and his daughter. He shared exciting tales of the many places he had been to in Europe. The letters her father sent her both made her happy, and they also made her very sad, because she missed him greatly.
In 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed, many men from the troops finally returned home to their families. However, for the Andrews household, their soldier never did come home. Two days afterward, the family received a letter from the United States army claiming that Jonathon Andrews died during battle, and that his death was a great asset to them.
