The next morning you woke up to the sound of your cousin banging on your door. "(Name)! Wake up so we can send the boys off!" You groaned and pulled the covers up over your heading in attempt to block out anything that disturbed your slumber. But last nights events rushed through your mind making you bolt straight up. You quickly slung your covers off and rushed to open the door.
"What time do they leave?" you asked yawning while allowing your cousin to squeeze through the door and into your tiny bedroom. The girl plopped onto your bed accompanied by an orchestra of squeaks, "They leave at seven. Oh (Name), I really don't know how I feel about him leaving." Your cousin bit her lip and began ringing her invisible handkerchief. You gave her a perplexed glance before picking up the brush on your end table, "You didn't seem too bothered about it last night," you retorted while brushing your hair.
The girl snorted, "Yes, but I wasn't completely sober either." You smiled and put down the brush, "Touché." You placed an affectionate hand on your cousin shoulder stopping her mindless pacing. "I bet he will be fine. He's strong and smart; then in no time the two of you will be married and this whole war thing will be behind you," you assured.
Your cousin grinned and straightened her the pleats of her dress returning back to her normal bubbly self, "You're right! I'm too pretty to worry." You rolled your eyes and pushed your cousin out of your room so that you could get dressed. You ghosted over to your closet and roamed over the clothes hanging in your closet. You decided to go with a simple white blouse and high waisted shorts; since it was the beginning of summer you decided to put your hair up in a ponytail accompanied by a ribbon. You checked yourself over in the mirror while playing with the new object on your ring finger. It really was a beautiful piece; the ring had a ruby rose in the middle and several diamonds around it.
I need to give Alfred something, you thought to yourself. You knew exactly what to give him. You opened a drawer to your table and shuffled through it. Finally you found your favorite necklace. It was a simple silver heart on a silver chain.
"Alright I'm ready," you shouted while clamoring down the stairs. Your cousin bounced up and looped her arm around yours, "We are going to get some breakfast with the boys at that diner by the dock," your cousin stated. The walk from your house to the diner wasn't far; in fact it was your favorite place to eat in the whole town. It was an easy bike ride down the street and it was beside the beach. A few blocks away you could already see a sea of white and blue figures surrounding the docks. You gaped at the large naval ships that sat in the water. To you they looked unsinkable, but you knew all too well how destructible and deadly the ships actually were.
"There you are!" Your cousin's boyfriend waved from the crowd of men. The girl broke lose from your arm and ran towards her love, jumping into his arms and enveloping him into a hug. Meanwhile you stood there watching awkwardly from afar until you felt a tap on your shoulder. You leaned your head back to see Alfred smiling at you.
"Good morning," the American cheered, his eyes were lively and awake. He was practically radiating. "Could you turn the happiness down a couple of notches. I'm not really a morning person," you growled shading your eyes from the bright morning sun.
Alfred chuckled, "Sorry, I can't help but be happy when pancakes and bacon are just a few feet from my grasp." You rolled your eyes and drug the soldier into the diner. The small eatery was packed with loud and hungry men and a handful of girls waiting to say goodbye to their loves. You found the booth where your cousin and her boyfriend were sitting. "You don't mind if we sit with you do you?" you asked. They shook their head no and made room.
"So, what's good here? I'm starving!" Alfred cheered licking his lips while thumbing through the menu. You snickered at the blonde's enthusiasm before scanning over what you wanted to eat. It wasn't long until a middle aged woman came wadding up to your table.
"What will it be?" she asked, her voice obvious the use of tobacco products.
"I'll have a stack of pancakes, a side of eggs, two pieces of bacon, and hash browns," Alfred said before giving up his menu to the waitress. Everyone stared at him in disbelief. He just shrugged, "What? A growing boy has to eat." You scoffed, "I'll just have one pancake and chocolate milk please."
"Oh that sounds good, I'll have a chocolate milk too!"
"Seriously Alfred, you are going to get sea sick!" you argued. The American shrugged off your concerned suggestion. You narrowed your eyes at him, if he wanted to hurling chunks off the side of the boat then that was his choice.
The food finally arrived. You happily dug into your pancake, your cousin and her boyfriend talked among themselves while you and Alfred ate and listened. There wasn't much neither you nor Alfred to talk about, but the one thing that wasn't talked about at all was the most obvious one. War. Instead, you all gawked at the fact Alfred ate everything he said he would.
"How are you not fat?" your cousin questioned in amazement. You were wondering the same thing. Alfred beamed and flexed his arms, "You have to workout like crazy. That way you can eat whatever you want."
You rolled your eyes and grabbed Alfred's arm yanking him from the booth, "I better get this guy out of here before his ego explodes." Alfred whined in mocked hurt and there was some relief in the couples eyes. You knew they needed some alone time; in all honesty you also wanted to be alone with Alfred. A short walk down the beach would be nice.
You gently tugged Alfred down toward the beach and took off your shoes. He followed your lead and unlaced his polished black ones. You noticed he had a sock farmers tan, "Nice tan." Alfred blushed and rolled up his crisp white pant leg uniform to reveal pale long toes and feet, "I'm not worried about tan lines."
You smiled and laced your fingers through his, "It's ok, I still like you anyways." Alfred bent down and kissed your forehead. The two of you walked down the sandy shores swinging hand and hand, looking at seashells, and occasionally pushing each other into the cold salty water. "Hey (Name)," Alfred said, "I think one of my family members from England will be deported here soon." You raised your eyebrows in curiosity, "You have family from England?"
"Yeah, it's from my mom's side. Anyways, he's in the navy too, or air force- I can't remember, but I was wondering if he does pass by if you could talk to him," Alfred asked nonchalantly. "I guess so, just as long as he isn't a jerk," you said while wiggling your toes in the ocean foam. Alfred laughed, "He is pretty uptight, but he's not a jerk to female." You smiled and the two of you began walking towards the dock. When the two of you found your way under the dock you stood hand in hand looking out into the sea.
You sighed sadly and leaned into his arm, "I wish I had known you before all of this." Alfred sighed as well and gave your hand a squeeze, "I do too. I hate that this is the way we have to say goodbye." You could feel tear prickle your eyes and blur your vision. You held back a sob, "B-But the next time I see you it'll be a hello, right?"
Alfred kissed your hand and murmured, "I really hope so..."
The sound of feet stomping above like a herd of elephants brought you back to reality. It was time for the dreaded goodbye. You gently tugged Alfred from the shores and back onto the dock where only a few soldier remained and were giving their sweethearts one last kiss. You turned to Alfred, your hair was whipping around your face. You smiled sadly, "I guess this is goodbye for now." Alfred grabbed you unexpectedly into a bone crushing hug. "I love you so much (Name). I swear I'll come back."
You hugged back, tears were now flowing freely down your cheeks. You broke away and wiped your cheeks, "I-I have something to give to you," you hiccuped. Alfred looked at you curiously and surprised. You undid the clasp of your necklace that was hidden under your shirt and put it in his warm palm. "I wanted to give you something to remind you," you whispered without looking up. Alfred said nothing, he bent down and gave you one last hard kiss.
"I love you," he whispered. All air escaped your lungs, you couldn't squeak out the words fast enough; before you knew it he was gone. There you stood playing with the ring that meant life or death.
A/N: Ack! Writers block. But I finally got it done yay! I love you guys, thank you for all the lovely comments :*