A/N: So sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter to y'all! I took a bit of an unintended hiatus in April and the beginning of May because I was feeling really burned out on writing and life and that's my cue to take a break. So, I did. After a couple of mini vacations and spending time with my best friend and family, I've returned relaxed and rejuvenated and ready to write again.
Chapter 11: Missing Connection
It was early December 1990 and Elizabeth and Isabelle were out buying Christmas presents for their family and friends.
God, Elizabeth wished Henry was here.
Maura had been right when she had said that the holidays were the hardest to cope with.
Not that every day wasn't a struggle, just that the feelings of loneliness amplified itself during this time of year.
Having lost both of her parents and with Henry being deployed this Christmas, it made this time of year extra difficult.
Sure, she had the Marine wives, Isabelle, and Will, but there were still three gaping holes in her heart this time of year.
"Hey, you okay?" asked Isabelle.
"Yeah. Just missing Henry and my parents. This time of year is never easy for me and it just feels like the feeling has amplified with Henry deployed," said Elizabeth.
"How about we come up with something to get him for Christmas?" said Isabelle in an attempt to cheer up her best friend a little.
"Like what?" asked Elizabeth.
"We could go shopping for some cute lingerie for you and I could shoot the pictures," suggested Isabelle.
"He did send me a shirtless polaroid with his last letter. I guess I could return the favor," said Elizabeth.
"Exactly. Gotta keep that spark alive. Even if he is thousands of miles away right now. Especially then," Isabelle pointed out.
"You're right. Let's do it. We can shoot the photos at Henry's apartment," said Elizabeth.
"Sounds good to me. Now, we've got some serious shopping to do." said Isabelle.
"Yes, we do," replied Elizabeth.
"Do we wanna go Christmas themed or keep it simple?" asked Isabelle.
"Maybe a little of both," said Elizabeth excitedly as they headed for the Victoria's Secret in the mall.
Once they were inside, Isabelle immediately found a maroon slip dress with a white lacy border on the top and bottom with a mid-thigh slit.
"You've got to get this one. It's perfect for Christmas!" exclaimed Isabelle excitedly.
"It is pretty sexy. I think Henry would love to see me in something like that. Let's get it," said Elizabeth as she found her size and grabbed a hold of the hanger.
Elizabeth & Isabelle continued to browse the store looking for more lingerie for Elizabeth.
"This is beautiful too. What do you think?" asked Elizabeth as she held up a lace slip dress similar to the other one except it was sapphire blue with white trim.
"Oh, it's stunning. Get it," Isabelle told her.
They searched the store for more options.
"Elizabeth, what about this?" Isabelle asked as she held up a maroon lacy bra and panty set for Elizabeth to see.
"He does love me in lace," mentioned Elizabeth to her best friend.
"He better or I'll kick his ass," said Isabelle.
"I know you could, Isabelle. That's the scary part," replied Elizabeth as she patted her shoulder reassuringly.
They looked around some more and Elizabeth found a beautiful black lace bra & panty set and held it up for Isabelle to look at.
"Black is classic. Always good to have a good amount of it in your wardrobe," responded Isabelle.
"Good point," replied Elizabeth as she added it to the handful of lacy lingerie in her hands.
"Ooh! What about this? You could get one to match each piece of lingerie," Isabelle pointed out a black silk robe and showed Elizabeth the rest of the colors.
"Perfect. A little peekaboo moment," replied Elizabeth as she looked for her size and grabbed one in each color of the lingerie they had grabbed so far.
They picked out a few more lingerie pieces, paid for them, and left the store and headed towards UVA so Isabelle could grab her camera equipment first, before they headed over to Henry's apartment for Elizabeth's photoshoot.
Isabelle took lots of pictures of Elizabeth in her lingerie in varying positions.
When they were done, it was dark outside and Elizabeth put on one of Henry's Marine t-shirts and a pair of jeans she kept in the dresser and came out of the bedroom and said, "Okay. Thanks again for doing this. You're the best," said Elizabeth as she hugged her best friend.
"One of Henrys' t-shirts?" Isabelle tugged on the sleeve as she broke the hug.
"Yeah. Between that and his dog tags, it makes me feel closer to him at night," said Elizabeth.
"Aww…that's nice," said Isabelle.
"Yeah. It's definitely a comfort to me now. Wasn't so sure it would be when he first deployed though," mentioned Elizabeth.
"Well, after you take me back to UVA, I'll develop them in the photo lab. Nobody's ever in there at night," Isabelle reassured her.
"Okay. Let's go. I'll come grab them from you tomorrow after my final," Elizabeth told her.
They exited the apartment and Elizabeth locked it behind her before they walked out to the parking lot.
When Elizabeth started walking the opposite direction of her car, Isabelle said, "I thought we were taking your car."
"Nah. I don't wanna lose my visitors spot. Plus, I like to drive Henry's truck sometimes. Makes me feel like I'm closer to him. Besides, I need to put some gas in it on the way back from UVA," said Elizabeth.
"Okay," said Elizabeth as they climbed into the old green truck.
Once on their way back to UVA, Isabelle commented, "Nice truck."
"Yeah, it is. He's been restoring it since he was fifteen," Elizabeth told her.
"Wow. That must have been a lot of work," said Isabelle.
"Yeah. He's been working since he was fifteen and been in the Marines since he was eighteen. So, between those two jobs, he's saved up enough money to completely restore this truck," said Elizabeth.
"Impressive. I'm sure that restoring something like this hasn't been cheap," commented Isabelle.
"Probably not," said Elizabeth as they pulled into the UVA visitor's lot.
"Is it weird being in the visitor's lot?" Isabelle asked her.
"Sometimes. Makes me miss Henry at times. Soon enough though, it's where we'll both be parking if we come to visit friends on campus," answered Elizabeth.
"True. I can't believe we're graduating in May. It's wild," said Isabelle.
"Totally. It's still a little surreal for me too," mentioned Elizabeth.
"Well, I'll let you go so you can go get gas and I can develop these photos for you. What time will you be by the dorm tomorrow?" Isabelle asked her.
"Probably around noon," answered Elizabeth.
"Sounds good. I should be out of my final by then, but if not, I'll leave them in your desk drawer for you before I go to class," Isabelle told Elizabeth.
"Sounds good. Goodnight," Elizabeth told Isabelle as she exited the truck with her camera equipment in hand.
"Night," replied Isabelle before she shut the door and Elizabeth watched her until she entered their dorm building before she pulled out of the parking lot.
After filling up the gas tank in Henry's truck, Elizabeth headed back to Henry's apartment.
Once she got there, she exited the truck, locked it, and then went up the stairs and down the hallway until she arrived at his apartment door.
Elizabeth unlocked the door, entered the apartment, and flipped on the lights, and then promptly locked the door behind her.
She got herself a glass of water and headed for the bedroom where she took her jeans off and threw them in the laundry basket before setting the glass of water on the nightstand and pulling out some stationary, she'd bought to write letters to Henry. She spritzed it with a little of her perfume again before she grabbed a pen out of the drawer and began writing.
It read:
Dear Henry,
As you probably saw, I decided to return the favor you did me by sending me that shirtless picture. Hope you like what you see. I sure did.
Isabelle told me it's important to keep the spark alive while you're away and she's right.
So, we went Christmas shopping first and then lingerie shopping after that. I know you'll appreciate the lace, especially the black set.
Despite all the fun we had shopping though, I still found myself missing you and my parents like crazy. Sort of was putting a damper on the day.
Something about taking and having these pictures to send you cheered me up a little bit though.
I met the Marine wives for dinner earlier this week. Ana's belly is slowly popping out now and she finds out the sex of the baby in a few weeks. I'm sure Castro will tell you all about it once they find out.
Kimberly and I also took Ana out for ice cream last week because she was craving it. Of course, we took her to Frank's place and I tried to fight him on it, but he wouldn't let me pay for any of the ice cream we got. Sometimes, I'm not sure how he stays in business doing that. So, when he wasn't looking, I left a $50 dollar bill in the tip jar. He'll probably give me an earful about it next time, but oh well. I was just supporting a local small business who supports Marines and their lady friends and apparently their lady friends' friends as well.
Maura and Sally, but really all the Marine wives, have been helping me stay sane lately. Especially during this time of year.
It's been so hard not having both you and my parents here this time of year. I miss you so much, Jarhead. Thankfully, the months seem to be going by slightly faster than they were in the beginning.
Anyways, it's getting late here and I should probably study for my final that I have to take tomorrow and then head to bed. I'm currently in one of your Marine t-shirts and will be sleeping in our bed tonight in that and the black lace lingerie set I just bought. Hope that conjures up a pleasant image for you, babe.
Tomorrow afternoon after I finish my final, I have to go pick up the photos Isabelle took and that I have included with this letter. She has a really nice camera and agreed to take the photos and develop them in the UVA photo lab tonight.
Don't worry babe, no one will see them but you, me, and Isabelle. She said that most people aren't using the photo lab at night and promised to be discreet about it. I'm still yours and only yours and my body is still for your eyes only.
Please don't let any of the guys find these pictures. I was a little self-conscious about the whole photoshoot, but wanted to do something special for you for Christmas.
I'm starting to think I may actually survive your deployment this time. This little thing with the pictures back and forth that we're doing is kind of fun. Kind of like phone sex, but in letter form. It's still not the same as having you here in this bed next to me though. That day cannot come fast enough.
By the way, you should totally send me something naughty next time. Could be a letter, a picture, etc. Feel free to get creative with it. Just something to make an impression until you get home and I can have my way with you in our bed.
Take care of yourself over there. I'm sure I'll see you in my dreams tonight. You'll be glad to know that most of the nightmares about you dying have subsided. I still get the occasional one, but mostly they're good dreams. Sometimes really good dreams.
Maybe I'll tell you about one in my next letter to you.
Until then, sweet (or not so sweet) dreams and Merry Christmas, Jarhead.
Tell the guys I say hello. Again, the pictures are for your eyes only.
I'm always with you,
Elizabeth
Once Elizabeth finished writing the letter, she set it and thelarge envelope on her nightstand until she got the pictures to include with it tomorrow. Then, she'd mail off Henry's Christmas present to him.
Elizabeth studied her linguistics textbook for a while before going to bed for the night.
She went to sleep with a smile on her face and some not so sweet dreams to cling onto.
The nightmares were nowhere in sight on this particular night either.
Thank goodness for small blessings during this time of year.
She may be missing Henry and her parents terribly, but at least she could stay connected with Henry in this special way this Christmas.
A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with me and reading this latest chapter of Soldier On. Please leave a review if you so feel inclined.