31.
~ Four days was all they had. They never left the small apartment in that time. Arthur reluctant to sleep as he was aware of the time ticking away. Like some kind of execution, she would be leaving.
She was the girl he dreamed into life, the girl who followed him to the front, the girl in the field of dying summer flowers, the girl who danced on his feet. How could he let her go?
Still he had to let her go. His hands had only so much longer to feel her skin. To smell her hair and have her sleeping safely next to him.
She seemed to sense their time coming to a close as well. Her mood becoming darker as she tried hard not to cry as dawn broke on their last day.
~ "Did you sleep at all last night?" She asked as she attempted to make pancakes for them. She had never been a very good cook. But as a newlywed, she wanted to cook for him this last day.
"Not very much." Arthur said looking sad as he stood behind her. He was so afraid she would fall now that she insisted on walking with a cane. Her tolerance for the wheelchair had run thin.
He was soaking up every detail of his bride. The way she looked in the mornings with blurry eyes and messed up hair. The way her skin was so clear and her clothes were casual and free for him to take off.
"You need sleep." Ariadne said handing him a plate.
"I couldn't sleep." He grumbled as he followed her to their little kitchen table.
She picked up her sewing again. Her stitching careful and tight as she fixed a hole in his pocket. Hemmed an unraveled seem.
She had to stay busy. Had to find something to do. It was almost 9 o'clock. Her plane to London would leave at noon.
She looked at the clock, then wished she hadn't.
"Are your things packed?" Arthur asked as he ate.
"Yes." She said feebly. "I only have the one bag."
He nodded.
"Did you eat something?" He asked.
"Not hungry." She whispered.
He said nothing.
"I'll most likely be back at my old hospital. If I can't get passage onto a ship right away. You know how crazy it is right now." She sighed.
"Colonel Burch had a man drop off you new passport and traveling papers. You shouldn't have any problem." He told her numbly.
She nodded.
"Their in my bag." She said stiffly as she tied the sewing off and neatly folded her husband's shirt.
"You have the money I gave you?" He asked. "I don't want you going anywhere without money."
"Yes. It's all in my bag." She told him.
"If you have any problems, you call the American embassy. Tell them I'm your husband and your an American citizen. If they still give your trouble, I want you to call my parents. My dad's a lawyer, he can help." Arthur told her. "You have the number? I wrote it down."
"I won't have any trouble." She said. A creeping feeling of dread coming over her.
"I know." He whispered.
~ The clock ticked relentlessly as she packed her husband's bag and went to get dressed. It was in the same blue dress she had gotten married in that she wore as he drove her to the airport. A small plane was waiting for them. Ready to load the wounded and take them to England.
"Remember to stay warm." He instructed her as he fastened her coat tighter. "England's very cold."
"I know." She said fighting tears that wouldn't stop surfacing.
She couldn't cry. She had to be strong. She was an officer's wife now, and had to act a certain way.
"It won't be too much longer. Then I'll be back." He whispered as the sounds of the engines roared. The last of the wounded being carried on board.
"Right." She said. She steeled her spine and tried to be brave.
Her major took a deep breath and looked at the waiting plane.
"I think it's time." He said soberly. His face lined with that angry scowl.
She couldn't stop herself. Her arms were around his neck and she could feel his warm breath with hers.
"Come back to me, Major." She cried softly in his ear. "I couldn't bare it if I lost you." She whispered.
Her husband nodded as she pulled away from him. Tears falling shamefully out of his eyes.
"Yes, Ma'am." He said not looking at her.
She watched him try his best to compose himself. His hard exterior cracking a little.
"You better get on the plane. I'll see you soon." He said.
She nodded and took her small bag. Her gait slow as she was still walking with her broken leg and her cane.
She watched her Major from her seat on the plane. Her palm on the window so he would know where she was sitting.
She watched him as the plane turned around on the runway, became airborne, and he was gone.