A Valentine Message -- and a Tribute to Our Veterans
I knew it was you, when you opened the old candy box! Your mother lovingly placed me here, to wait for you, many years ago.
I have a message, for you, from your father. Not the man that you called "Dad", but from the man who is a part of you. He wanted to be here for you, more than anything! The letters that were placed with me in the box will tell you how very much he wanted to come home and be a father to you. They will tell you all about his plans for your family's life together.
Your father selected me from all of the cards at the drug store, many years ago. He was leaving for the war, you see. I cost a little more than he wanted to spend, but when he saw me he knew that I was the one. It was important to him to find just the right card for your mother.
The counterman asked him, as he opened his wallet, "When are you leaving, Bill?"
"Tomorrow," he answered. Bill. He had dark hair and twinkling eyes, and he was a good man, I could tell. The counterman liked him.
"What branch did you join?" the counterman asked.
"Army Air Corps, sir. I'm going to be a pilot!" your father answered with a twinkle. "I always liked to watch the barnstormers when I was a kid!"
"Well, take care of yourself, son! Betty will like this one!" The counterman gently stroked my ribbon, and carefully slid me into a paper bag. He gave your father the change, then handed me to him. "You be careful, over there!"
Your father took me back with him to work. He sat at his desk at the bank, and, thought for a moment. He didn't know what was ahead, but he knew what he was leaving behind. What could he say? Then, dipping his fountain pen in the ink, he carefully wrote what you see inside:
To Betty, my beloved wife. My heart is with you, until I can come home again.
Love, Bill.
Bill stopped at the candy store and bought a beautiful box of candy, the box where I have lived all these years, using the ration points carefully. They were mixed chocolate creams-- your mother's very favorite! He walked the last few blocks home, waving to his neighbors on his way, calling greetings to his friends. Your mother was waiting for him, at the door.
How pretty she looked! She was wearing her best pink dress from their honeymoon! You know which one it is-- the one in the cedar chest, with the ruffles at the neck. Wasn't she slender? She looked so pretty, with her hair softly curled and her pink lipstick! She had cooked a very special dinner for just the two of them. There were candles on the table, and she used all their points for a roast, just for your father!
Your father gave her the box of candy, kissing her and holding her tight for just a moment. "Happy Valentine's Day, Betty!" Then, he gave me to her. She sat at the table, and slowly opened my envelope, Bill leaning over the back of her chair. She read the front sentiment, commenting on my pretty ribbon that matched her dress! Then she opened me, and read what Bill had written. "To Betty, my beloved"
With tears in her eyes, she stood and quickly hugged your father. "Oh Bill, it is the perfect card! Thank you so much!"
"I'll be home soon, Betty," he said, resolutely.
You know, your parents had a great deal of courage, like you, when you left for Vietnam. They faced their coming separation with determination to see it through, and they loved each other very much.
After you father left, your mother placed me beside her bed, sitting up so that she could look at me when she was lonely. Every day, she left for her war job, glancing at me from the front door. Every night, she gently touched my ribbon, and opened me to read of your father's love. I saw your mother read your father's letters. He was going to be a co-pilot of a B24! Later, he had been posted to an airfield in England-- daylight raids in Germany.
Your mother worried, but wrote your father of cheerful things. Every night, she gently stroked my ribbon, and opened me to read my message. Then, she learned about you. You were coming! Your father's letters were filled with such joy of you! He never mentioned the many men lost; the desperation of his bombing missions; the casualty rates; the horrible cost of warhe only wrote of you and your mother, and how you would be happy after the war was over. I came to know your mother's face in its loveliness-- her hopes, her steadfast courage, and her love for you. She sat beside me, in her bedroom, and carefully sewed the baby clothes that you would wear.
One terrible day, sitting beside the bed with my brave, pink ribbon, I saw the black car come to the door. Your mother was frozen. The doorbell chimed, and she slowly walked to the door and opened it. Your father had been killed-- one of the thousands of brave men that lost their lives. Your mother was heartbroken.
Two weeks later, you were born, and thus began the second half of my message, and my mission. I was a very important witnessa testiment of the love that your father had borne for your mother, before you were born.
Your mother eventually, tearfully, placed me in the candy box from that long ago evening. She met a very good man and remarried. He reared you. She was happy, but she never forgot Bill, whom she had loved. Your stepfather was a very good man, and your mother loved him very much. He loved you like his own! All that time, I waited for you, in my candy box-- a testament to your father's love for you both.
I waited for you all these years, just to tell you how very much your father loved you and your mother. See my pink ribbon? It isn't as bright as it once was. My lace is not as crisp, and I have yellowed with age. When you open me, do you smell the sachet that your mother used? Did you see the letters tied with the pink ribbon? I am old and not as pretty as I was, but the message I carry is timeless. Time does not matter when the message is one of love.
Happy Valentine's Day, from your father.
Thanks for coming by!
Gone but not forgotten. Ever.
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I've worked on this for a couple of days, re-writing an older story. The one thing I know in life is this: Love never dies.
Thanks to all our veterans and servicemen, who are here on News Talkers, and thanks to all of you!
I may be the only one here, but I want to wish all of our servicemen and veterans a very Happy Valentine's Day!