Two days past eighteen

He was waiting for the bus in his army green

Sat down in a booth in a cafe there

Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair

He's a little shy so she gives him a smile

And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while

And talking to me,

I'm feeling a little low

She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go

So they went down and they sat on the pier

He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care

I got no one to send a letter to

Would you mind if I sent one back here to you

I cried

Never gonna hold the hand of another guy

Too young for him they told her

Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier

Our love will never end

Waitin' for the soldier to come back again

Never more to be alone when the letter said

A soldier's coming home

So the letters came from an army camp

In California then Vietnam

And he told her of his heart

It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of

He said when it's getting kinda rough over here

I think of that day sittin' down at the pier

And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile

Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile

I cried

Never gonna hold the hand of another guy

Too young for him they told her

Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier

Our love will never end

Waitin' for the soldier to come back again

Never more to be alone when the letter said

A soldier's coming home

One Friday night at a football game

The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang

A man said folks would you bow your heads

For a list of local Vietnam dead

Crying all alone under the stands

Was a piccolo player in the marching band

And one name read but nobody really cared

But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

I cried

Never gonna hold the hand of another guy

Too young for him they told her

Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier

Our love will never end

Waitin' for the soldier to come back again

Never more to be alone when the letter said

A soldier's coming home

1985:

It was a cool fall day and I drew my coat tightly about me as I rocked on the front porch waiting for my daughter to come home. Grace came skipping up the walk, her brown curls bouncing with each hop. She skidded to a stop in front of me.

"Mommy?" she asked, her innocent 11 year-old eyes staring up at me. "Why don't I have a Daddy?"

My eyes filled with tears, this was the conversation that I had wanted to avoid for so long. Where was I to begin? Grace did have a father, but our relationship was unorthodox at best. Sighing, I motioned for her to sit beside me on the swing.

"It all began in 1974," I told her. "I was waitressing at a diner near the bus stop in town after school. I was sixteen years old…"

November, 1974:

"Rose, I just seated someone in your section," my dearest friend Alice whispered, bustling around the counter. Hal's Diner was a local establishment, serving decent food in a short amount of time. It was located directly across the street from the bus station and most customers rushed in and out to meet their ride.

"Thanks, Alice!" I shouted, twirling around to take the new man's order.

"My name's Rosalie. What can I get for you today?" I said, flipping my long blonde ponytail over my shoulder and whipping out my pad from the apron that covered my skirt.

"I'll have a burger, please," the man said.

I looked up and met the sparkling brown eyes of a young man. He was dressed in Army Green and he looked rather lonely. I smiled at him, knowing the horrors that he would soon experience.

His eyes lit up with my smile and my heart skipped a beat.

He asked, "Would you mind sittin' down for a while and talking to me, I'm feeling a little low."

I glanced at the packed restaurant and back at the soldier. I pitied him and wanted to sit with him, get to know him. But I also knew that my boss would fire me. My mother and I needed the money, even at sixteen I had to pitch in.

I said, "I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go. There's a pier down the street, meet me there."

He nodded and smiled at me again. For the next hour, I bustled around the restaurant. Normally, I fell into a working rhythm, oblivious to everything except the work at hand. But today I could feel his eyes on me wherever I went.

When the clock hit 7 I knew I was free at last. The soldier had paid his check and disappeared ten minutes before. I rushed to the back room and began to remove the apron and hair bow that were required for all waitresses to wear. I was applying red lipstick in the mirror when Alice walked in.

"Where are you going that you need to get all dolled up?" she asked, as I pulled on my skirt and adjusted my sweater.

"Nowhere really," I replied, knowing that she would never let me leave if she heard I was going on a sort-of date.

I pulled on the worn wool coat that my mother had passed on to me and practically ran from Alice and the diner to the pier.

I was breathless when I finally got there, but the soldier was there…which was a relief.

As my panting subsided, I took in his appearance. He was gargantuan, broad shouldered and tall, but his face was full of humor and kindness. His brown curls fell over his forehead and his brown eyes twinkled with good nature.

"I don't know your name," I prompted, settling down beside him and dangling my legs over the edge of the pier.

"I'm Emmett McCarty," he told me, smiling at me again. "And you're Rosalie.."

"Hale," I said, shivering slightly as a strong wind blew over us. Emmett put his arm around me, pulling me to his side. "How old are you, Emmett?"

"I just turned 18," he said. "You?"

"I'm 16," I replied.

We were both silent for a long time, watching the water beat harshly against the dock.

"I love this pier," I said at last, looking out at the churning water. "When I was little my dad would take me out here. We never had much, but he was always able to provide for us. He would take me here to teach me to swim. Mom was always afraid that the water was too rough for me, but he told her it's the challenges that teach us most. Every summer we would come out here when he came home from work." My voice caught, I never spoke of my father anymore. Tears fell down my cheeks.

"What happened to your father?" Emmett asked me, noting the tears that were now flowing freely.

Angrily, I wiped them away with my hand. "He worked in the munitions factory, he was promoted to floor manager three years ago and that made life more comfortable. One of the machines broke last year, and he knew how to fix it. They never told me what happened after that. Mom was at the hospital for a week before he died. No one let me see him, he didn't want me to see him like that."

Emmett pulled me closer to him. I cried for a few minutes before I was able to pull myself together. We spoke for a while about him, his family had died when he was young and he had been raised by a distant aunt who passed away a few months ago. He had been drafted into the army and was being sent to training camp in California. Glancing down at my watch, I gasped at the time. It was passed 8.

"Emmett, I'm really sorry but I need to get home. My mom is going to be so worried if I don't come home. When do you leave?"

"In 2 hours," he said. "Can I walk you home?"

"Sure!" I replied, a little too eagerly. He held my hand as we walked through the quiet streets.

"Rosalie?" he asked nervously, as we neared my street. "I know you probably have a boyfriend, a girl as pretty as you is obviously seeing someone else. But do you think that I could write to you? I know we don't know each other very well, but I have no one else who I can write to…"

"Emmett, I would love to write to you."

We reached my slightly dilapidated house. Its paint was chipped and the porch sagged, but it was home for me. The porch light was on and I could see my mother nervously checking the clock in the kitchen.

Emmett leaned in to kiss my cheek, just as I turned to say something. His lips met mine and what had begun as an innocent kiss deepened quickly. Pulling apart, I was slightly dazed, but I also wanted to kiss him more.

"Second window on the left," I said, not stopping to think of the consequences of my actions. "I'll meet you in there in 5 minutes."

Nodding, he kissed me lightly on the lips before walking to the side of the house. As I walked up the path to my house, I wondered what this meant for us.