This is Prompt No. 5-Love
Mitchie was ridiculously happy for the next few weeks as she began preparing for her wedding. Her mother flittered around, happier than Mitchie had ever seen her before, twittering away at how excited she was about having a son in the army. Mitchie winced, knowing the barb underneath the excited words was meant for her brother, the one that had refused to foolishly fight.
However, not even the cruel thoughts about her brother could dampen Mitchie's excitement. When Shane would visit her, under Louisa's "watchful" eye, he would laugh as he watched her talk animatedly, even using her hands to express her feelings. "You've done this once before," he told her. "Why are you so excited?"
Mitchie turned away from the window that she had blissfully been staring out of and said, "I'm excited because getting married is an exciting step." She sat down next to him and explained. "When we got married, it was wonderful, and no matter how amazing this wedding is, my favorite will always be the one at the base, but this wedding is special in a different way."
Shane frowned. "How so?" he asked.
Mitchie smirked. "Now, the whole world will know that you're mine."
Shane snorted, his eyes shining as he glanced at his wife. "Possessive are we?" he teased.
"Hey!" Mitchie cried, defending herself, "I can't help it if I don't like it when some young girl from around town starts trying to bat her eyelashes at you." She grinned again. "You're mine already, but everyone will know after this wedding."
Shane raised an eyebrow, going along with her teasing. "And this makes you happy, how?"
"Because," Mitchie explained, her voice sounding as though she was explaining this idea to a young child, "the girls will be disappointed. Years from now, they'll be sitting on their verandas talking about past loves, and they'll recall that handsome young soldier. They'll ask each other whatever became of him, and someone will respond, 'Oh he married Mitchie Torres.'" Mitchie ended her narrative, looking pleased with herself. "And they'll all wish that they'd gotten to you sooner."
Shane laughed, pulling Mitchie closer. "You, my dear, are too devious for your own good." He grinned and bent to kiss her, then pulled away, shocked.
"What?" Mitchie asked, confused.
Shane looked at her carefully and asked, "Your eyes are green."
Mitchie sat still for a moment, unable to comprehend the teasing. Then, she slapped his shoulder and snuggled into his lap. "That's my line," she rebuffed him. "You can't use it."
Shane didn't argue, but asked instead, "When's the wedding?"
Mitchie rolled her eyes and sat up. "Have you not been paying attention?"
Shane grinned wickedly. "No. I've been trying to tune everything out."
"Why?" Mitchie asked.
"Because I've been thinking about getting home safely to see my daughter," he responded. He added a wink and said, "And I've been thinking about my wedding night."
Mitchie rolled her eyes and then said, "You've already had one of those. I think another one might be too much for you to handle. Plus, if you can't get excited, or at least pretend to be excited about the wedding, I see no reason to continue on to the wedding night."
Shane clutched his throat in mock dismay and fell to his knees in front of Mitchie, hands clasped together in the traditional begging fashion. "Please don't say that," he begged. "I'll be the most excited groom you've ever seen!"
Mitchie laughed. "Oh get up!" she cried, laughing again as he refused to budge. "Very well. I'll hold you to that!"
Shane laughed and stood, sitting next to Mitchie once more. "What have I gotten myself into?" he asked aloud to no one in particular.
"In all seriousness," Mitchie said carefully, immediately bringing the teasing mood to a halt, "the wedding's next week. How long do we have to wait until we can go home?"
Shane realized that her anxiousness stemmed from missing their daughter and their family, so he promptly said, "I've spoken with one of the agents in the camp. He has the power to reassign me to a different camp. He's willing to "lose" the paperwork, so we can go back to the base as soon as that."
"When will that be?" Mitchie asked.
Shane rubbed his chin. "I could ask him if he'll refer me in the next couple of days."
"Okay," Mitchie said slowly. "How will you tell us though?"
Shane grinned and Mitchie saw that mischievous smirk reappear on his face. "I have a couple of ideas."
Two nights later, Mitchie was seated in the sitting room with her parents, stitching a tea towel for her hope chest, a chest that she had been filling with household items for the time when she married, when there was an insistent tapping at the front door.
Louisa scurried to answer the door, and Shane bounded in, waving his hat around. "It's happened!" he cried. "It's happened!"
Mitchie stared at him in shock, her needle halfway through the cloth and dangerously close to pricking her. She didn't even make a sound as he picked her up and whirled her around, still exclaiming that "it" had happened. Finally, she found her voice, and her blush. Her cheeks turned red and she pounded on his shoulders lightly. "Put me down!" she commanded. "Put me down and tell us what's happened."
Shane set Mitchie down, gathering his breath back, and turned to Mitchie's parents, who were seated in the exact same spot they had been in before Shane had made his sudden burst through the door. "Forgive me," he begged them, "for coming in like that, unannounced, but I was so excited that I fear I lost my head."
"What's happened?" Mitchie pressed.
"One of the commanders in my division has promoted me!" Shane exclaimed with glee.
"Oh, Shane, that's wonderful!" Mrs. Torres exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Your accomplishments in the army make me so proud."
Mitchie tried not to wince as her mother spoke those words. She sincerely wished that her mother's eyes could be opened to what was truly going on. She would've been proud of Mitchell as well as Shane. But of course, Mitchie said nothing on the subject. "That's wonderful!" she gushed. She smiled at her mother. "You'll have quite the handsome gentleman in your family coming to call, mother."
Shane, for the first time that night, sobered. "I'm afraid that such visits won't be very often, darling," he told Mitchie.
Mitchie played the confusion perfectly. "What do you mean?" she asked.
Shane shifted from one foot to the other. "I mean that my post has been moved out of state, Michelle." In front of her parents, Shane always called her Michelle. "We'll have to move away."
Mitchie's mouth dropped open. "W-what?" she stuttered. "But, we can't move," she objected. "Mother and father are-"
"Oh don't be so silly!" her mother chided. "If you must move, then you must. You can't stay around Virginia forever, Michelle. You've got to learn to live on your own."
Mitchie blushed at the chastisement, but said nothing. "Very well," she said softly. "When will we have to leave?"
"After the wedding," Shane told her, looking regretful. "I'm so sorry. I would've asked to stay longer, but this position wouldn't have been open if we had waited."
Mitchie shook her head. "It would've been foolish to let this chance slip by," she assured him softly, glancing back down at the tea towel that had been carelessly thrown on the couch. "I'll be ready," she promised him.
No one could see the smile on her face as she bent to retrieve her needlework. Oh, yes, she would be ready, ready and waiting. She could hardly wait to get home.
A/N: Hope you liked it! :D Please review!
