Love letters straight from the heart
Keep us so near while apart
I'm not alone in the night
When I can have all the love you can write
A small, square house sat on a long, straight street in Mill Valley, California. Outside the weater was black and wet, with rain pounding against the windows and the roof in a rat-tat-tat that somehow might remind one of a sharp drum cadence. One could hardly go about the Hunnicutt house without thinking of such things. Ruddy firelight glowed inside, gleaming against the wet glass windows and throwing itself at the dark, surly masses of cloud with all the bravery of a fine soldier.
A soldier. Like her BJ. He was the most important kind of soldier.
With her back to the window in an attempt to keep the stormy weather that was all around her out of her heart, Peg Hunnicutt read and re-read the letter to herself. As with every other letter she received it was precious to her, full of love from her BJ. She carried every detail of BJ's life over there. His life was hers, and hers was his, or at least it seemed that way. When she was making breakfast for Erin, she thought of the not-so-affectionate names that the doctors had for their food. Everytime she picked up a knife, blood poured into her thoughts and she quickly put it down, hiding her eyes with one hand.
I memorize every line
And kiss the name that you sign
And darling then, I read again
From the start
Love letters straight from your heart
The heat was so pressing that it had BJ gasping to breathe. Staggering into the Swamp two seconds after his ravenhaired bunkmate, who was also covered in the blood of young men, he stripped down to his shorts and dropped his dead weight into his cot, right on top of the mail. For a minute he just lay there, wondering whether or not it was important... and finally decided against saturating his letters. With much laboring and struggling to breathe through the mugginess that he was sure would be the death of him, BJ sat up and sorted the mail straight off his chest, leaving an ink stain with each envelope he peeled off his sweaty skin. If he hadn't been so hot, it would have been funny.
There was one that immediately caught his eye.
Even though the envelope was a bit damp, the handwriting registered instantly in his mind. Mail had been slow lately and his letters from Peg were just starting to get there, in spite of the Army's haphazard postal service. He opened it slowly, pulling out the letter with care and struggling, as he did more with each passing day, to remember the beautiful city, and the even more beautiful woman from which this little piece of paper had come.
BJ's eyes went over the words again and again and they pulled at his heart. Relaxing and even managing to forget the heat for one blissful moment, the realization of just how much Peg loved him washed over his tired, worn body like a cool rain.
I memorize every line
And I kiss the name that you sigh
And darling then, I read again
From the start
Love letters straight from your heart
As each read their letter from very different places, in very different situations, but with love that was strong and everlasting, BJ and Peg realized that love really could endure all. It could endure blistering heat, freezing cold, stormy nights and sunny days. And it survived through their letters.