Thanks for the reviews! Thanks for the critique Edie. Coming Next: Dawn's reason for joining.
I own only my characters, not Ann Martin's. (In case her lawyers are reading this.)
Chapter 5
Dear Claudia,
Hey! I miss you! I received your letters, thanks! I'm good, except, for well, you know. The accident last month. I wish there were something I could've done. It was just too late. I tried to write their family a letter. I wanted to let them know how bad I felt. I may go visit them when I return. Sooner or later they will have to let us go home, right? I'm not really supposed to discuss what happens here in detail; I'm sure these letters may get read. I don't really know anymore.
I can't believe how big Will Jr. is! One year old already! And Claud! Seven months pregnant already! I can't wait to meet Mimi. I think that's a beautiful name for her. I bet she'll look just like you!
It really is amazing how you and Will met up again after all those years in Chicago. How's his job? How's your fashion line? Stace passed on a rumor that Bloomingdale's is looking into your fashions for expectant mothers. I cannot wait to see the other styles. Anything I'd recognize from SMS?
Well, Claud, I gotta run.
With Love, Dawn
Wow. I still can't believe it. Dawn's right, I met will again after so many years. Now he's the curator for a top art museum. And me, so pregnant that Will worries about the reunion Kristy is planning. What if I have labor pains? What if I get ill driving? I settled this by reminding him that Stoneybrook is not the sleepy town it was. There are hospitals there. I mentioned that Mallory offered to come and drive me there and back. I haven't been in touch with Mal too much, so I thought it'd be great. And we haven't had a sleepover in years! Only this time it will be at the mansion. (I remembered that in grade school we had a few going away parties for Dawn there.)
I was sorry to hear about the accident. In fact, I saved a newspaper clipping of it. It had Dawn's name and picture, listing her as a hero, among other people. See there was a car explosion. Everyone must have thought 'car bomb', but not our Dawn. According to the papers, she screamed 'Land mines! Go back! Go back' and everyone ran away from the truck that was blown up. And according to the paper, they had the Marine Bomb Techs there and they confirmed it was land mines all throughout the road. So if those trucks had kept going… I can't think about it. If Dawn didn't realize that it was more then a car bomb, people would've probably ran to it to try to pull those other soldiers out. They also quoted Dawn as saying "This is my job" and "get that camera away from here, do you want to me to make you move it?" I was so proud of Dawn for saying that! And so scared when it was first in the news and I heard Dawn's unit named as losing two soldiers. Then Mary Ann called me crying and told me it wasn't her. Then the newspaper came out.
Now I must get Junior ready for his bath before naptime.