Sara headed home as the light of day began to fade and the moon and the stars began to appear above her. She wasn't sure exactly how long she had been sitting on that bench, but it only felt like ten or twenty minutes, and according to the change in light, it had definitely been longer than that. She wondered how long it would be before he sent her a letter and what it would say. She was so lost in her thoughts still that her trip home seemed to only take seconds. She could tell that her father was home by the car in the driveway. Carefully balancing on the stepping stones in the grass, she got to her front door. She checked the handle, and it was locked, so she knocked on the door. She heard heavy footsteps rushing toward the door and it opened, revealing her father, wearing a furious expression on his face.
"Where have you been?" he yelled more than asked. Her face fell and she swallowed hard.
"I was down by the pier with a friend," she said, her heart racing, "I lost track of time. I'm sorry."
Seeing the terrified expression on her face, his own expression softened and he lowered his voice.
"You had me worried sick." he said, moving out of the doorway to allow her entrance to the house. She came in and hugged him, apologizing again for being so late. As she sat down on the couch, he asked her how her day went.
"Good" she said, not bothering to explain what had happened earlier; she knew that her father wouldn't appreciate her being romantic with someone she had just met, especially not an eighteen year old soldier.
"I'm tired, though." she lied, "I'm going to bed." He nodded and hugged her good-night. She smiled and went to her bedroom. She turned on a small lamp beside her bed and pulled her journal out from underneath the mattress. She began to write.
September 14th, 1967
Gil Grissom. For as long as I live, I will never forget the name. My mother always told me that you should never fall in love with a soldier because he'll take your heart to war; but as Gil said, when it comes to love, we are at the mercy of our biochemistry.
That night, she didn't sleep at all.