"Mom, I'm home! Mom?"
Then I heard crying from upstairs. I dashed up the stairs, two at a time, heart pounding. I found Mom in her room, a mess on the floor, a piece of paper lying in front of her. Dread filled me head to toe. "Mom?"
Mom looked up. Tears running streaming down her face, "He's dead Jackie."
"Who Mom?! Who?!"
"Your father died fighting in no man's land. He's gone!"
I sank to the floor beside my mother. Putting a hand on her shoulder, I tried to be brave. "I'll call Auntie Margaret and Uncle Philip so you don't have to."
"Thank you Jackie" Mom whispered leaning heavily on me.
"I'm so sorry for your loss Mrs. Rogers, Jackie, Steve. I can't imagine."
Yeah I'll bet, I thought to myself. Instead I said, "Thank you Mary." Mary was our next door neighbor who tried to seem nice but she was as dangerous as a German soldier.
Suddenly I saw Richard entering the room.
"Richard!" I ran to him.
"I'm so sorry Jackie"
"Thanks. You don't know how much I've heard that today but thanks."
"I know, I know," he said enveloping me in his strong arms.
"Promise me you'll never join the army. Please!"
"I promise," came the reassuring voice that had always calmed me down ever since I was a child.
I pulled away so that Steve could embrace his best friend. It was comforting to know that my brother and I could always turn to my boyfriend because he actually understood this situation since his father died on the first day of fighting.
After about two weeks things began to settle down. School and work kept up its busy pace and routine settled in. Mom worked and took care of the garden while Steve was busy juggling work and being man of the house. That's when I found out.
"Steve! Steve!" I ran after my older brother who was hurrying towards the ever busy enlisting tent.
He turned, "You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you! Hasn't Mom been through enough without you running off to war?"
"You just don't want me to go because you want to go to war someday."
"I don't want to go to get myself killed! I just want to be a nurse and help the sick and wounded."
"They probably won't even take me. Trust me, I've tried."
"You've tried?"
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Richard joined us at my side.
Turning I said, "Steve's trying to join the war and it's not the first time either!" When I turned around Steve was gone.
"Relax. Do you really think they would take him? He's too skinny. They'd never let him join."
"Richard! Wait… did you know about this?"
"Fine. I'll go get him. You go home so your mom doesn't worry."
I watched as he ran off into the enlistment tent.
When I returned home, there was no one there. I immediately panicked. Was it my brother? I ran to my neighbor's house. As soon as the door opened, "Have you seen my mom?"
"Yes. She's talking to my mom upstairs," Mary stood at the door.
"Oh. Well, may I see her anyway?" I asked harshly.
When I reached the room upstairs, it took me less than five seconds to figure out what had happened. My mother's face and everything else. Everything just screamed He's dead. Your brother is dead. Peter's gone!
