"No Bert! You can't go!" Mary said as she clung to her husband for dear life.
"Mary, please, I 'ave to go sign up today, let me go." Bert said as he tried to get her to let go.
"No, please no." Mary said as she pushed her head harder on his shoulder and began crying harder.
"Mary, I will be back in about an hour. I promise." Bert finally got her to let go, and he did what he promised, he came back, but Mary would not talk to him, she just stared out the window and played with her ring on her finger.
Bert had to leave the next morning, so, as Mary played with her ring, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.
"I promise I will come back." He kissed her one last time, and then walked out the door.
Tears began falling down her cheeks as she watched him get in the back of a truck with more soliders, she was afraid he wouldn't come home, and wouldn't know how she would handle herself if he didn't.
Bert wrote to her everyday, and she would write back, until one day, he stopped writing. Mary began to get nervous, and it made her sick.
Bert was in France, in a medical ward. He had been shot in the arm, but somehow, it wasn't a bad a wound as he had thought, what was keeping him from getting hurt? His friend since he was 12, had been killed not but two days before, he wished he could talk to Mary again, but, no one had enough time to write a letter for him. He wondered how she was everyday, even when he had to go back into combat again.
Mary was sitting at the window playing with her ring, when the phone rang. She jumped up quickly and nearly broke it off when she answered it.
"Hello?" Mary said as she ran her hand over her hair, getting her bangs out of her face.
"Mrs. Alfred? This is Sergeant Murry, your husband, Bert, I'm afraid, he is missing." In a minute, Mary's life had fallen apart.
"W-what?" She asked.
"He is missing, we're trying to find him, I will call back if we do, but, don't get any hopes up." There was a click and then no noise. Mary covered her mouth and started crying, she ran upstairs, and into their bedroom. She hugged his pillow tight and cried into it, trying to picture him again.
The war ended a few months later and the troops were due home on Christmas Day. Mary waited at the deployment gate, to see if Bert would come off. She prayed silently to herself he would, she didn't see him. When she was about to turn around and go home, someone said her name.
"Mary?" She looked up and saw Bert, with a long scratch on his forehead, but Mary didn't care. She nearly knocked him over when she jumped into his arms and hugged him. She kissed him many times, and she pulled away, someone was tugging on her dress.
"Oh, right, I sorry sweetie." She said. Bert looked and saw a little girl standing behind her, hiding and holding onto her dress, she was about four years old and had dark brown sparkling eyes, and dark brown, almost black hair.
"Ello there, wot's your name?" He asked getting down on one knee and looking at her, she hid behind Mary and they both laughed.
"Who does she belong to?" He asked as he stood up again.
"You." Mary said smiling. Bert furrowed his eyebrows and leaned his head to the left, then he got it.
"Sh-she's mine? I mean, ours?" He asked.
"Mhm, it's her fourth birthday today, I told her I would let her meet her daddy for her Christmas slash Birthday present." She smiled.
Bert couldn't think of anything else to do, but kiss her.
"Mommy." The little girl said.
"Wot did you name 'er?" Bert asked.
"Well, I knew you liked the name Katy, and I gave her my mother's first name as a middle name, her name is Katy Marie." She said as she put her hand on the little girl's head.
Bert looked around her, and Katy looked up at him, and she blushed when he smiled at her.
He got down on one knee again and held out his hand for her to take. She was timid, but soon she took it, and smiled at him. He pulled her close and hugged her, and she hugged him back.
"Truly, this is the perfect Christmas." Mary said as she watched as her daughter and her husband hugged for the first time.
I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you
Short, yes I know, hope you enjoy it, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanakuaa, Happy Kwanza, OOFDA!