Nine months. Finally, after waiting for so long, Francis was going to come home from the war and Ronnie, his wife, was beyond excited. Since his five years of service were through, Francis wouldn't have to go back to war. Soon, Ronnie, Francis,and their son Alfred would be a family again.
On the day Francis would return home, Ronnie checked the window so many times thatAlfred finally had to tell her to stop. As it began to get later and later, Alfred began to worry. Where was his father? Finally, around six in the evening a car pulled up to their house. When Alfred saw who got out of the car, though, his stomach dropped. Ronnie ran to the door, excited to see her husband after five years of only short visits. She looked out the window and realized what had happened. Ronnie fell to her knees, sobbing. Two men in Army uniforms had gotten out of the car, and Francis wasn't with them. The men walked up the sidewalk where Alfred already had the door open, awaiting what the men had to say. The look on the men's faces was enough. The men walked up to Alfred and Ronnie and handed them what was left of Francis's uniform.
"I'm sorry. Francis was killed in a bomb blast. He died bravely and went down fighting. He has been identified as dead. Here is what we could salvage of his uniform. His dog tags are included. We're sorry for your loss." The two men turned back and headed toward their car. Ronnie was on her knees sobbing harder than ever. Alfred could feel the tears running down his face, but he could do nothing. He was frozen, staring at the car that was pulling away. He had just lost his hero. Alfred was the one who was always bragging about how cool his dad was, fighting in the Army. When Alfred was younger he used to think that his dad was a superhero who was off fighting the bad guys. Francis used to play along with it, even giving Alfred the title of "Super Awesome Sidekick." Now, Alfred didn't know what to do. So, he did the only thing he could. He slid to the floor and comforted his mother as best he could until they finally fell asleep from exhaustion.