A/N: Okay, I'm soooo sorry! I just couldn't resist. You all must be furious that I've started another story without finishing the other two, but I'm on a role with this one and it's not going to be as hard to write. And I'm NOT discontinuing the other stories! I'm still working on those too.
I got the idea for this story from the song Traveling Soldier by the Dixie Chicks. I usually HATE country, but my cousin made me listen to this song and I loved the plot. So this is a spin off of that song with a happier ending, for those who know the song.
The sentences in bold are lines from the song.
Sadly, I don't own Erik, Christine, or the song Traveling Soldier.
Enjoy!
Sorry, again!
Traveling Soldier
Chapter One
June 1973: Charleston, South Carolina
The sun shone through the window of the café as I took the order for some strange kids looking to horse around. I swear it's like all they want to do is bother you all the time just for the hell of it. Every one of them ordered malts… all the more sugar to stir them up. You're almost done, Christine, I told myself. My shift ended in two hours, two hours too many.
"Tony, five chocolate malts. Extra cherries," I said as I handed Tony, the King of Sweets as we called him, my order. He was a nice old man in his fifties, always impressing the customers with WWII stories. His face looked like worn leather and his kind brown eye could make you melt in seconds.
"Thank 'ya, Darlin'!" he cheered as he took my order.
"Christine! Christine! You'll never guess who just walked in!" My best friend, Cindy, abruptly attacked me while her short, blonde pigtails slapped me in the face.
"Who?" I asked curiously.
"Todd Knight!" Ugh! Todd Knight!
Todd was the quarterback at our high school. Too into himself if you ask me. I think he had dated every cheerleader on the squad, yet everyone still swooned for him. I really didn't understand it, I mean, he was a complete swinger, but I guess that was popular now.
"Why don't you go talk to him, Cindy?" I had tried to talk her out of the silly crush she was stuck in, but she would have none of it. Every time I spoke ill of him, it was the end of the world and I was the villain with the atomic bomb! It was out of my hands.
"I can't do that! Are you insane?! Besides, he's surrounded by all of those girls," she said as he head dropped in disappointment.
"How bout you take their order? I'm sure you can get a flirt or two in there." If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
"Thanks, Christine!" I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her bouncing toward the party.
I looked down at my watch and saw I had about an hour left, so I went into the bathroom to splash my face. There was nothing worse than looking like the gloomy, irritated waitress. Before heading back to push through the rest of my shift, I straightened out the red ribbon in my half ponytail, attempted to tame my curls, and smoothed down my red and white striped dress uniform.
"Christine, go help that soldier, will 'ya?" shouted Tony.
Soldier? Now, I knew the Vietnam War was going on for as long as I remembered, but I never saw a soldier up close, just on TV.
I looked around the room and spotted him in the far booth dressed in his army green. In the seat across from him sat his pack, being his only companion. His head was hanging low so I couldn't see his face, but his body language looked devastating.
Slowly but surely, I made it across the café to stand next to his booth. He lifted his head, feeling my presence, and I was helpless once he did. He was beautiful.
He had a perfect jaw, a strong chin, and high cheekbones. His lips were like two soft rose petals set under the nose of a Greek god. And his hair… What I would do to touch that raven silk! Too bad he'd have to shave it off for the Army. But nothing shocked me more than his eyes: gold, like the sun itself. They shone brighter than the sorrow in his face. I had never seen a more beautiful sight.
"Hello," said the angel. I almost fainted at the sound of his reverberating voice.
"Hi," I replied like a fool. When he didn't say anything back, I remembered I was a waitress. "I'm sorry! What can I get you?" I stuttered.
"I'll just have your double cheese burger with extra fries and a chocolate shake." He blushed, apparently embarrassed by his order. He looked kind of shy.
"Wow, you have quite an appetite there!" I tried smiling at him to make him feel more comfortable, and I saw it worked when he smiled back at me.
"I'm trying to stuff myself up. This is my last meal before I'm shipped off; I doubt army food is appetizing."
"This your first time?" I asked.
"Yes, ma'am. I turned eighteen two days ago."
"Well, then, happy birthday…" I paused asking for his name.
"Erik, Erik Devereux." Being a gentleman, he extended his had toward me.
"I'm Christine Darling." When I took his hand, electric currents shot through me like lightning to a metal pole.
"Thank you, Christine," he replied, flashing his pearly whites.
I realized I was staring and I shook my head out of my reverie. "Sorry, I'll get your order!" But before I could go, he gently grabbed my hand again.
"Wait," he said softly. "Do you mind sitting down for a while and talking to me? I'm feeling a little alone."
I was taken aback by his question, but as I looked into his eyes, I saw the pain and isolation. This wasn't a cheap line or anything; he just wanted some company before he went to war.
"I apologize, you probably have more important things to do," he mumbled, lowering his head again.
"I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go," I said quickly. He looked at me, obviously shocked by my acceptance.
"Really?" he asked in disbelief.
"Of course! I'll go get your food, and we can leave in an hour."
"Thank you, Christine." His smile was priceless and it made me tingle.
"So?" Cindy asked me.
"So what?"
"So, how was the gorgeous man in uniform? I saw him grab your hand." She looked at me expecting me to tell her the story. I always did.
"He asked me to sit and talk to him." I said it like it was something that happened everyday, trying not to draw attention.
"What?! Did you say anything back?!" Damn, now I have her attention.
"I said I would in an hour. I'm gonna take him down to the pier." We were about a block from the ocean.
"Eww! Someone's got a smokin' soldier friend!"
"Shut up. How did the seduction of Todd go?" I asked changing the subject.
"Ugh! Failure. They all just left." I knew there was more she was hiding.
"And where were his eyes when he ordered?" I already knew the answer.
"My boobs," she mumbled.
"And why was that?"
"He's not like that all the time!" Cindy argued trying to make her situation better.
"Your whole confrontation with him just proved my point that he's a total horn dog!" I'd been telling her this constantly; she just ignored me.
"But he's so gorgeous!"
"Doesn't mean he's perfect."
"Maybe your soldier isn't so perfect, either!" Her arguments made me laugh.
"Well, then maybe I'll find out for myself. My shift is over in two minutes." Just saying it mad my heart speed up. For the past hour, Erik and I had been exchanging glanced. Whenever we made eye contact, we smiled and it was like something out of a movie.
Those were the two longest minutes I had ever experienced.
With uncertain steps, I walked over to his booth. I don't know why I was so nervous. I mean, he was the one who asked me to talk, so I had no reason to be skeptical, right? Why was I making this a big deal? He's just a guy… a rather handsome one at that.
"Ready to go?" I asked him once I finally reached my destination.
"Yes. Lead the way." He seemed a bit awkward and quiet as he followed me out of the café. I didn't blame him; our situation was bizarre.
We walked side by side down the block. His green pack was slung across his back and it seemed to weigh him down like a heavy burden. But no matter how worried he looked, I could help but notice how brave he appeared, like he was born to fight. I knew he'd survive.
After about 5 minutes of silence we reached the pier and I sat on the edge of one of docks, motioning for Erik to join me. When he sat down, he gave me a sideways glance and starred down at his lap. I didn't understand how someone so gorgeous could be so shy.
"So what do you want to talk about?" I finally asked.
"I don't really know. I guess I just wanted someone to talk to. I don't really have anyone."
"No parents?"
"I wouldn't call them parents." His face went from sad to angry within a millisecond and I have to admit that it scared me a little.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," he simply said.
"Okay," I replied just as simply. "Are you scared?"
"Terrified." His voice became rasped and small, complete contrast to his exterior.
"How are you getting there?" Maybe small talk would help.
"Bus to California and then we're shipped to Vietnam." I noticed his features completely emotionless, but his eyes made him an open book. I guess the saying was true; the eye is a window into the soul. I had never really believed it until now.
"If it makes you feel any better, I have trouble with my parents, too." I thought I could distract him with my problems.
"Alright." He almost laughed at my randomness.
"They don't let me do anything and my house has become my jail cell. I don't do anything to get them worried or anything. I'm not doing drugs or having sex like the rest of the world. One time, I was getting ready to go to the mall and my mother teased and pulled my hair until it looked too embarrassing to go out."
This time he did laugh, and I thought it was totally insensitive.
"What are you laughing at? It hurt and it was cruel!" I knew I sounded like a five year old but I was determined to look tortured.
"Oh, Darling," he chuckled my last name, "your hair's damage pales in comparison to some of the stuff I've had to put up with."
"Oh, yeah! Like what?" Immediately, I regretted my words. I forgot that he didn't want to talk about it.
"I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me. It's none of my business," I rambled.
"No, it's okay. I might as well show you, I'll probably tell you later." When he said later, my stomach fluttered at the idea of seeing him again.
His hand moved to one of the cuffs on his wrists and he undid the button. Slowly, he rolled up the sleeve, revealing a muscular forearm. But I noticed something else: the skin looked heavily scarred with white spots.
"Ouch," I said automatically.
"Yeah, ouch. I got this one just last week." He pointed to a pink circle the size of a quarter near his wrist.
"What is it?" I asked.
"That's a cigar burn. Usually my old man uses cigarettes, but he was feeling extra mean when I said I couldn't wait to obtain my rights as an adult on my birthday. My mother slapped me, but that mark faded pretty quickly."
"You win," I said, throwing my arms up in surrender.
"And what's my prize?" he asked playfully. It was a wonder how easygoing he had become.
"A month of free milkshakes when you come back," I teased.
"Yum! That was one damn good milkshake, too."
"Of course it was! I delivered it!"
The mood lifted as we continued to joke and I couldn't stop starring at his smile. It was beautiful, and for the first time that evening, his eyes looked happy.
"Look, I bet you've got a boyfriend, but I don't care. I got no one to send a letter to. Would you mind if I sent one here back here to you?"
He had a way of throwing me off guard. In my head, I went through all of the things I did that might have made one hell of an impression on this angel, but I couldn't think of any.
"Why me?" I asked. I didn't say it like it was a burden he was putting on me, but like a gift sent from God I wasn't worthy of.
"Why not?" he replied. "Christine, I know we just met and you know little about me, but I feel drawn to you. I don't know how to explain it, but I know talking to you will help me through this. I understand if you don't want to."
"No!" I exclaimed before he could come to his own conclusions. "I'd love it if you wrote to me and I'd love to write back to you. I won't let you suffer alone." I'd known what that felt like. I hesitantly grabbed his hand, entwining our fingers and squeezed reassuringly. But I hadn't expected the shock of electricity between our fingers.
"Thank you, Christine." When he looked down at our hands and squeezed back, I swear I almost fainted.
The sun started to set and he looked down at his watch.
"Oh, no. Christine, will you quickly write down your address?" he asked as he handed me a pencil and a pad of paper. "My bus arrived in ten minutes."
No! I didn't want to be separated from him just yet, who knew when I would see him again. I knew he's live, but the idea of being separated by an ocean hurt more than I expected.
"Alright," I said, clearly writing the café's address. "My mother will read all my mail, so I'm giving you the café's address."
"Perfect." He threw me another brilliant grin and I melted on the spot.
"Hurry, let's not miss your bus!" I quickly stood up, grabbing his hand behind me to drag him up the hill.
Once we reached the bus stop, there were men in green everywhere, all with their families, girlfriends, or wives. I swear, I'd never seen so much making out in my life.
"How often will you write?" I asked.
"As often as possible. I'll warn you if I won't be able to." He was such a gentleman.
The bus pulled up and men started to load on.
"Goodbye, Erik." When I said his name, it was as if I'd been saying it my whole life, like I had known him my whole life.
"This isn't close to goodbye, Christine." He grinned again as he lifted one of his hands to his mouth and delicately kissed my skin. I can't remember one body part that didn't tingle.
"I suppose not," I replied.
He started to pull away from me to board the bus, and my mind raced. The next time I see him could be months from now. What was I going to do? I'll tell you what I did: one of the boldest things I've ever done and one of the stupidest. It wasn't necessarily stupid in the end, but it was a stupid idea at the time.
Before his body could make a full 180 degrees, I pulled his shoulder to spin him toward me, I swung my arms around his shoulders, and I kissed him with all the energy I had.
He was a little stiff at first, being completely caught off guard, but once it registered into his head, his arms surrounded me around my waist and he kissed me back with my same enthusiasm. His kiss made me dizzy and I was quickly losing oxygen, but I loved the lightheaded feeling. Now I knew why Cindy loved kissing so much.
We blended in with the other couples perfectly. I had only known this man for two hours, yet here I was, sharing my first kiss with him before he went off to war. A part of me smiled at the ideal romance.
"Hey, soldier! Last call!" screamed the bus driver, breaking our kiss.
"I'm sorry," I said.
"Stop apologizing," he chuckled before leaning down for one more, soft kiss. One of his hands reached up to hold my cheek.
"Hey! Time to go!" the bus driver screeched again.
"I'm coming!" Erik yelled, still holding me not breaking our eye contact.
"I'll write," he said.
"And I'll reply."
With that, he let go of me, picked up his pack, and entered the bus. Once he found a seat, he hung one of his arms and his head out of the window waving at me like the rest of the men.
"I'll be back!" he shouted as the bus got in gear.
"I'll be waiting!" I shouted back, waving with all of the other women, and I continued to do so as I watched the bus drive down a block and then turn on the corner.
That was my last glimpse of Erik's beautiful smile.
Now, I would wait. I'd wait for years if I had to, and I'd never hold the hand of another guy.
A/N: Okay, how'd you like it? Good, bad, horrible?! Please let me know so I can continue. This is my first attempt at a dramatic story longer than one chapter so I REALLY need feedback.
Thank you, everyone, for being so patient with me! I can't be a very satisfying author.
Review, please!