Saying Goodbye

“Jonny,” we can’t move the rehearsal up.” Kiki brushed away a tear from her porcelain skin as she angrily glared up at her fiancée. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was weeks away from their big day. Now, he wants to move everything up? It wasn’t possible. Everything was planned, paid for, and already set into motion. You can’t do this, she thought to herself as she tried to wipe away the large tears from her eyes with no avail.

Brushing the blonde streaked hair away from Kiki’s tear stricken face, Jonny pulled her into his warm arms. “Kiki—Catherine, we need to talk about this. You know what this means to me.”

Kiki went still. Whenever he went from her nickname then back to her given name, he was serious and not going to budge. But as he was about to find out, she wasn’t going to budge either. She’d paid a massive down payment for the wedding. Johnny sent payments to help cover the cost, but since he’d been in Basic Training she’d taken the brunt. What Johnny didn’t know was if they changed the dates she would have to pay penalty fees, which she couldn’t afford.

“Jonny, look; I know you are nervous about going back overseas. Shoot, you’ll be in Iraq in less than a month, but I am nervous … petrified … you have to know that. Changing the date isn’t possible.”

Johnny’s dark green eyes were unreadable. Only the casual smile that erupted on his lips told her that everything was ok. He understood what she was saying. Didn’t he? “Kiki, things are going to be a little crazy from here on out, I just want you to know...” Johnny was stopped short by his pager going off. Giving her a fierce hug, he nodded toward the phone and turned away from her frustrated face.

Of course, answer the phone when they were in the middle of an impo...

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...ime she’d been faced with being alone. She’d been alone all her life.

“I know,” She whispered. She also knew he was going to be gone a very long time. And that wasn’t easy to deal with.

Slowly his smile erased; in its place a somber demeanor. “I hope you know how sorry I am,” swiping his hand through his tousled hair, “Look, I know Mom will help, you just have to ask her,” ignoring the doubtful look on Kiki’s face, “She really does like you. She’s just struggling with me leaving too.”

Finding the courage within, Kiki took a deep breath. “We have tonight. Let’s not think about tomorrow. Forget about the wedding, I’ll see if I can get the money back. I just wish...” how did she finish what she couldn’t even answer herself. Instead, she felt herself pulled into his warm embrace. It was in those sweet seconds, Kiki knew life was never going to be the same again.