You Are On My Mind

I Don't Like This

Danny Reagan studied his girlfriend. She had been a little distant the past few weeks. Summer was about to come to a close, and they would go their separate ways. He knew she was more than a high school girlfriend; after all, they had promised to keep in touch with each other, because she was convinced it was a high school romance. "Linda, what's wrong?"
Linda looked up from her fettuccine, but not at her boyfriend. "I don't like this."
"Then order something else. I'll pay for whatever you want."
"No, not this. This." She made some very vague hand gestures.
"Honey, you're gonna have to be more specific than that."
"I don't like our plans. I don't like how I'm going to medical school, and you're getting an educated through the military. Don't get me wrong, Danny. I'm all for whatever needs to be done to achieve your dreams— so long as it's legal. But..." she sighed and tossed her short hair back. "We promised to always be friends. We're not gonna get married—"
"How do you know?"
"Oh, come on, Danny. How many people do you know that marry their high school sweetheart?"
He shrugged, "there's gotta be more than we think."
"The point is, how do I know if I'm ever gonna see you again? I'm gonna be an RN. And you're gonna be a Marine. And I just— what if you get shot? And die? And I won't even have a chance to say goodbye." She looked down at her plate, tears wanting to fall.
He frowned. "I can't promise nothing will happen. But I can promise I'll try an' do everything in my power to come home to everyone. Including you," he reached for her hand, entwining their fingers.
***********
"Danny, where are we going?" Linda smiled. She felt much better; Danny had talked to her, explained to her again why he wanted to go fight for his country. She never claimed she understood it, and never fully agreed with it, but she knew he wanted, needed, to do it.
Danny led her through the crowds at the fair. He had already been to the fair with his siblings. He was too tall for all the rides, didn't trust the big ones that were moved from place to place, and generally found it boring. The arcade like games was were would be found, tossing the ball in the jug perfectly, knocking the clown into the water, impressing all the lackeys with his impressive shooting. "I'm gonna win you prizes. Little momentos so when you're awake at night, worrying about things, one-a these little Doodads will put your mind at ease."
"I'm not sure if that's corny or incredibly sweet," Linda said as Danny paid the lackey.
"Knock all the bottles down and win a prize," the man with the wax mustache instructed.
Danny knocked the bottles down with impressive speed.
By the end of the evening, Linda had received a cute teddy bear, a Snoopy, a horsey, and a big, soft blanket. She didn't like how Danny wanted to put his life in danger, but she supported him. She was thoroughly convinced that what they had was just a high school fling. She'd be ecstatic to learn in about two years just exactly how he saw her.