I made a timeline mistake in the last chapter. In Lizzy's speech, it should be 1944 instead of forgive me. :)


"Mama, mama!"

Emma could hear Ginny's voice ring from outside. It was August of 1945, and her baby boy, Charles Benjamin, was sleeping upstairs while his two year old sister played outside with her cousins. Erin and Paul had postponed their wedding for a little while, and Mary Ellen had gone to visit Jonsey and Jim Bob at Camp Lee last week. Elizabeth was at Boatwright everyday now, working hard.

Grandma grew stronger everyday. John Curtis had started school last September, and was coming six in a couple of months. He was getting more like his father everyday, and had the perfect mix of each parents in his personality. He was straightforward and blunt like Curt, and driven and hard working like Mary Ellen.

Ginny was growing like a weed. Her red hair had grown down to her shoulders, and her blue eyes sparkled as ran about. She was just like her father, Emma thought, a troublemaker. Serena had turned twelve recently, and she was starting to take less interest in playing childish games. Nine year old Jeffery, on the other hand, was the total opposite of his sister. Olivia and John had returned from the sanitorium in January. It had felt good to have them back.

It was a strange thing to know that Emma hadn't seen her husband for over a year now.


Serena walked home from school with Mary Margaret, John Curtis and Jeffrey. Mary Margaret was going to stay the night. The two girls whispered and giggled about boys as they strolled along. Jeffrey gave them disgusted looks.

"Why do you have crushes all the time?" He demanded, folding his arms. "It's stupid!"

Mary Margaret flushed, not wanting to admit that her crush was on the very boy that had just said that he hated the idea. "I don't think so. Daddy says it was intended by God that a man and a woman should love each other,"

Serena turned her nose up at her brother. "What do you have to say now?" John Curtis skipped ahead of the group, not fully understanding what was going on.

Jeffrey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Men and Woman. We are children. Notice the difference?" He smirked cockily before grabbing John Curtis's arm and running for home with the younger boy.


Olivia peered into Emma's room, just as she was singing Charlie to sleep. Ginny was already snoring from her little trundle bed. Emma finished with her son, smiled softly, and padded outside to talk with her mother.

"How are you feeling, mama?" She asked quietly so as she didn't wake anyone up.

"Tired, weak, but overall good." Olivia's face was solumn as she uttered the next words. "Em, I just got back from Ike's. He gave me this letter. Its addressed to you."

Emma's face paled as she took the letter, her hand shaking, and opened it as slowly as she could. Tears sprang to her eyes as she read the printed words. They were so official, so impersonal. Yet, she could understand. They had to send so many letters out.

"Ben... has been taken as a Prisoner of War by the Japanese," Emma wailed, not caring about waking anybody up as she almost fell into Olivia's arms. The Japanese were well known for being cruel and ruthless, showing little mercy to anyone they took captive.