Sorry for the delay :P
"Marry you?" Temperance repeated, turning around as much as she could in the small basket.
"Yes" Seeley confirmed "marry me."
"Seeley" she whispered, not trusting her voice to get any louder "I truly am, flattered and delighted by your proposal but-"
"Your saying no" he concluded.
"No, well, yes, but just hang on a minute, let me explain" she rushed out, stepped over the edge of the basket and onto the road so she could face him. "Please let me explain."
"You don't need to explain yourself" he insisted, trying to sound as unaffected by her rejection as possible.
"Yes, I do need to explain because you don't know why I said no."
"Obviously you don't feel the same way about me as I do about you." Seeley concluded, his voice stiff and uncharacteristically clinical.
"I do!" Temperance exclaimed, jumping onto the ground so she could face him completely "but how do I know that this isn't some rushed decision because you're leaving tomorrow?"
"It's not a rushed decision" he assured her, grabbing onto her hands "and I've never been so sure about anything in my life."
"You've thought through what it is for you, what position you're in, but did you ever stop to think about what position I'm in?" At his slightly confused look she continued "you're nineteen" she pointed out "I'm fifteen. You're leaving tomorrow, do you know how much of a mess I will be in if you never come back?"
Seeley paused to consider her question, giving her the opportunity to continue on "I will be so devastated, and I don't know why." Temperance's voice shook and her eyes filled with fear and confusion "I don't know why I would be so devastated if you didn't come back. I can't convey the way I'm feeling. I know I feel something for you, but it's so strong that it scares me."
"It scares me too" Seeley admitted "but I don't want to miss our moment."
"There is never one singular moment" Temperance told him "so there is no moment for us to miss."
"But, it's so perfect right here, right now." He said "all I want to do is marry you."
"I wish I could say yes" she reached a hand up and swiped away one of the tears on his cheek "I really wish I could."
"And I hope that you say yes once I come back." Seeley bent his head and pressed his lips against her forehead as she pulled him into a hug and gripped the back of his jacket.
"Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die" she mumbled over and over again into his neck "I really want you to come back."
"I'll come back" he promised, running a hand up and down her back and tunnelling the other through her hair "I'll always come back to you."
As her tears soaked through his jacket, it began to dawn on them both that Seeley was leaving in less than twenty four hours, and there was nothing either could do about it.
(Insert Line Break Here)
Temperance and Seeley walked back to the house, hand in hand, with him rolling the bike next to them. Just before they rounded the corner onto their street, a telegram boy shot by on a bike, gripping a yellow telegram in his hand.
Temperance gripped Seeley's hand tightly as she pulled him around the corner, and almost collapsed when she saw the telegram boy slow down in front of their house. He climbed off his bike, leant it against the fence and walked up the path to the front door. She stood completely frozen with shock as she watched her father open the door, and with grief written all over his face, took the telegram in his head.
Temperance pulled her and away from Seeley's and rushed inside.
"Mum, Dad?" She called as she pushed the door open. In the silent house, she could hear her mother sobbing quietly. When she looked in the living room, she saw Max with an arm wrapped around Christine's shoulder, and Jared standing not a metre from them, looking confused and upset.
"Tempe" Max breathed out, not taking his eyes off his wife.
Without a word, she picked up the telegram from the table, even though she already knew what bad news it would bring.
To Mr and Mrs ,
It is with our deepest regrets that we inform you that you're son, Private Russel Matthew Brennan, 3rd Infantry Division, Service Number 4167, has been declared Missing In Action.
Sincerely,
Commander Alex White.
.
.
.
Sorry it's short and I left you on a teeny tiny cliff hanger…but I can't write anymore cause I'm leaving for the tennis in an hour! Wooo! Our sign is sooo cool! (Well I think it is). It's big and yellow and says 'U. R. ALL ACE' and the 'C' is a tennis ball :P My Dad's creativeness amazes me. Oh and the service number, 4167 belongs to my distant relative Arthur Dalgetta Lewis, and I don't know anything about the 3rd Infantry Division, and there is no 'Commander Alex White', I don't even know if the Commander is the one who writes to the families of missing soldiers. Anyway, hope you liked it, and please feel free to leave a review on your way out.