Signs
……as they lie in bed together on her final weekend, he whispered "I love you, Courtney." With the warmth that only that phrase can cause inside, she snuggled closer to him, clutching his dog tag against her heart. Wishing she could utter those three words, she kissed his chest lightly and they slipped into a restless sleep, the weight of her separation holding them from pleasant dreams.
A final kiss and a promise to call him as soon as she settled in, she was gone. As the weeks continued, their relationship grew stronger. Her spirits lifted every time her phone sang out his ring tone, talking to one another for hours, until one or the other fell asleep, and she awoke every morning following his call with a smile.
His dog tag, the only material she had of his, stayed with her at all times, if not around her neck, then in her pocket. She had never been given a gift from boyfriends or even from the one fiancé before and shed never had someone that had cared so much for her, nor had she ever had someone that she cared for equally as much. Of course she'd had all those other boys and had wonder throughout the relationships if she loved them or not, but she had never said those three little words before. The only time that she ever had before was with the man who had proposed to her (even without a ring). But fate works strangely and they separated from each other. This one thing that she had of his, small as it was, meant worlds to her.
One night, after his call, she rolled over, holding that small stamped piece of aluminum in her hand, she closed her eyes and felt her heart soar as it always did after talking to him. She grabbed her phone, knowing how stupid she had been to think that she did not and called him again. Answering the phone, the sound of sleep hanging on his voice, he asked her what was wrong. No hello, no explanation, she said simply "I love you, too, Thomas."
As time went on, they continued their relationship. Though they fought with each other, love riddled still. States being the only separation from each other they struggled on, wishing for each other, missing the other's touch but knowing they'd be together again. One fateful Saturday, she and few friends went out to the beach. As always, she slipped his dog tag into her pocket, the only way she could have him at the beach with her. For hours they stayed out there, just bathing in the sun or playing soccer in the sand. As the day went on, she would run out to the waters edge, writing messages in the sand to her love and sending him the picture message. As the night crept forward, they left for home, leaving behind the messages for the waves to erase.
The next morning, she awoke in panic. His dog tag wasn't around her neck or on the nightstand. She looked throughout the apartment, tearing it inside and out in search for the piece of cheap metal. Tears welling, she realized they had fallen from her pocket while she'd been at the beach. Hugging her knees to her chest, she mourned the loss of his tag. A thought occurred to her, and with a laugh, she flipped the gods a finger and went on with the day with no sadness.
She'd realized their fate was sealed and that this was her sign that he was truly meant for her. The tags, one her information, the other his, held together by a length of chain had been swept into the ocean by the high tide. Fitting as it was with them both being in the Navy, those tags would travel the 4 oceans, carried by the current from one body of water to the next, together through every danger the sea held, just as the two of them would throughout their own relationship.