The Envelope

Chapter 2

         The door to the house opened. John held his breath while it felt like the butterflies in his stomach were doing the River Dance. The door opened to reveal an older man with a look of curiosity on his face. He was clearly not expecting anyone to be knocking on his door, but was curious as to who the visitor was. John swallowed, licked his lips and then started to speak, all the while thanking God that he was good terms with Mary’s parents.
                   “Mr. Grackman? Do you remember me Sir? I used to work at Camelot with Mary a few years ago.” He thought that his voice sounded very shakey and shallow, but Mr. Grackman didn’t show any sign sensing John’s nervousness, instead he looked at John closely. A look of recognition came to his face after a minute.
                   “Yes I do believe that I do. It’s John isn’t it? I do believe it is, since I only know of one of Mary’s friends that went off to join the Army. Come on in.” With that he walked into the house without asking John what it was that he wanted. Slightly confused he took off his beret as he stepped into the house and followed Mr. Grackman into the kitchen. When they got to the kitchen Mr. Grackman turned around to face the young man that had come to his house.
                   “So young man, what is it that I can do for you? I’m assuming that you came to see Mary, but she and her mother are out doing some errands and won’t be back for a while.”
                   “Well, Sir, I…”          
                   “Please just call me Dan, your not a kid anymore.” Interrupted Dan as John started to explain himself. Worried that he was going to be interrogated like a prisoner of war, John breathed a sigh of relief, grinned and started to talk again.
                   “I can do that Dan. Well, I stopped by because I just wanted to give Mary something before I leave.”
                   “Leave? Where are you going? I hope you don’t have to go to Iraq or anything.”
                   “I actually am getting deployed to Iraq. The Minnesota National Guard was called up for another deployment there six months ago. I’m just got back from training for the deployment last week and my plane to Kuwait leaves tomorrow at noon.”
                   “I’m sorry, aren’t you scared to go over there? I mean, I hear so much about all the young fellas that get killed over there.”
                   “I’m scared to death, but I’m also excited to do it. Yeah I might die, but I could also get killed by just driving down 35W. And I’m OK with it because I know that what I’m doing is for a good cause, its my chance to help people change their lives, help to not live in fear.”
                   “Wow, I feel for you, I really do young man. Thank you for serving and I wish you the best of luck when you get over there. I’ll pray that you and your friends make it back to the states in one piece.”
                   “Thanks Dan, that means a lot to me, it really does.”
                   “So what was it that you wanted to give to my daughter?”
                   “I wanted to give her this,” John handed him the envelope that had her name written on it. “It’s just something that I wanted her to have, something to remember me by in case I never see her again.” Dan looked in his eyes and knew what he meant, it was something to remember him by in case he was killed overseas. Dan reached over and took the envelope from him and placed it on the counter top behind him. “All I ask is that you please make sure that she gets that envelope.”
                   “Don’t worry John I will make sure that she gets it.” For the next half an hour they talked about the Army, life, Mary and John filled Dan in on the events in his life since the last time Dan had seen John, which was four years earlier. After that Dan walked John to the door and watched as he walked back to his pick up truck and drive away. The thoughts that went through his mind were the type of thoughts that only a father could have. He thought of John and his relationship with his daughter and everything that Mary had told him about the man that had all of a sudden appeared out of the blue with an envelope for her. Dan knew that John had fallen in love with his daughter many years ago, but wasn’t sure what to make of this situation.

         After dropping off the letter John drove around for nearly two hours before going back to his fathers house. He had already said goodbye to his mom and extended family. It had been a tearful good bye, with his mother nearly inconsolable. Though he reassured her that he would be back in one piece before she knew he was gone. In all twenty-three years of his he had never seen his mother look nearly so sad, and hoped he never would see her like that again and that the next time he saw her she would be happy because he made it home. He parked his truck in his dad’s driveway and met his father inside the house. He said good bye to his stepmother and his two half sisters before getting into his dads truck for the ride to the hotel in which he would be staying tonight. All of his soldiers were going to sty in the hotel the night before to ensure that everyone was there and ready to go. The ride to the hotel that was near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was quiet. When they got to the airport John said good bye to his dad and unloaded his gear. Picking up his gear he started to walk towards the hotel, but before he entered the hotel he turned around, and with his usual grin waved good bye to his dad. Never before in his life had his father been so proud of his son, and for the first time in his life started to cry as he drove away, knowing full well that that may the last time he would ever see his son.
                   After checking in at the front desk John went to his room, which he would be sharing with the other Platoon Leader in his Troop. He set all of his gear on the floor near one of the beds and looked out of the window and let his mind wander. He thought about his family, his friends, the women that had come into his life in the past and what he was about to undertake. A year, a whole year to spend in the desert. Hard to believe I’m about to go to war, even after all the training I still didn’t truly realize where I was going until today. It’s no use to worry, after all this is what I signed up to do. He looked at his watch and saw that it was now four in the afternoon. His soldiers were due to arrive at the hotel in an hour, as they were taking a bus down from the Duluth area as his Guard unit was based in the small town of Proctor which was just South of Duluth. He went out of his room and went to a vending machine and got a Pepsi. Going back to his room he once again let his mind wander while staring out of the window, soft music playing from the clock radio brought his mind to one pleasant evening a couple of years past.

                   He sat in the middle of a large concert hall, uncomfortably dressed in khakis and a dress shirt with a tight tie around his neck. John was never one for dressing up for anything, but he made an exception for tonight and suffered through it, but not with out a few gripes. He had sat there for an hour now listening to various musicians giving their senior recitals so that they could graduate with their music type majors. John had no idea what the majors were called, he only knew that this was their equivalent of a senior paper project. Now it was finally time for Mary to come up and give her recital. This was the reason why he was there, because for some reason Mary had invited him to attend the concert. John couldn’t figure out why she would want him to come since it had been a few months since he had seen her last and they hadn’t talked much since that meeting, but she was a friend so he went. When she came onto the stage he lost his breath. She was absolutely beautiful. She had her hair done up all fancy, she wore large earrings and a white sleeveless dress that came down to her knees. She came onto the stage and announced what piece she was going to play, which was a song that he had never heard of before. Though that wasn’t a surprise to him since he didn’t listen to anything Classical, but he preferred Country music.
         She then sat down at a large piano and started to play. After a few measures she started to sing. To John it was the most beautiful piece of music he had ever heard before. He sat there mesmerized by the beautiful notes that came from the piano and which seemed to do an elegant dance with the words that Mary was singing. Too soon the song ended and Mary stood from away from the piano and bowed to the audience. After she bowed the audience gave a very strong ovation and she showed the biggest grin that John had ever seen on her face. After to more performers the concert was over and the audience members were allowed to go and meet with the performers that they had come to see.
         He went to go find Mary and saw her talking with her parents, little brother and some of her friends. He approached her after her friends had left to go and say hi and to congratulate her on an incredible performance. He came up behind her completely unnoticed and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around to see who it was that was behind her. When she saw John she smiled and gave him a hug.
                   “John! I’m glad you showed up! I haven’t seen you for a long time, how are you?”
                   “Good to see you to Mary! I’m doing alright, I’ve been busy but I made time to come and see you perform.”
                   “I don’t know how I performed though. I felt so nervous up there all by myself that I thought that I was going to faint.”
                   “Really? You didn’t look nervous at all while you up there to me. In fact you looked absolutely incredible and that was some of the most beautiful music that I’ve ever heard.”
                   “Thank you so much! I’m just so glad that after this I am now done with college.”
                   “That must be an incredible feeling. I don’t get to feel that one for another year.” With that he and Mary talked for a while before she had to leave to take pictures. They parted with a hug and Mary gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She turned and went with her parents to go and get the pictures taken. He watched her leave before he too turned and left the hall with a smile on his face. He got in his truck and went back to his apartment.
         
         Dan shut the door and went back into the kitchen and looked at the envelope. He then picked it up and attached it to the fridge with a magnet so that he wouldn’t forget to give it to Mary when she got home and went back to watching TV in the living room. About an hour later he heard the car pull up into the driveway and the door open. He heard his son talking to his mother and Mary coming in behind them, shutting the door. Dan got out of his chair and went to the kitchen and greeted his family. Just before he got into the kitchen he heard his son say,
                   “Marry, look! You got a letter.” He grabbed the letter and handed it to his older sister. She took it and looked at it quizzingly. There was no address on it, no return address and no postage. She figured that it certainly didn’t come in the mail.
                   “So where did this come from I wonder?” she thought aloud. Dan had stepped in the kitchen and told her what had happened while they were gone.
                   “A little less than two hours ago a young man in an Army uniform stopped by and dropped this off for you. He said that he wanted you to have this because he’s going off to Iraq tomorrow and his plane leaves at noon. The poor guy didn’t sound nervous at all, but his body language made him appear to be really nervous.”
                   “An Army uniform? Who could it have been? Oh…I think I know…Excuse me” She took the envelope and went up to her room and sat on her bed. She looked at the envelope in her hands and at her name that was written on the front, not in the best handwriting either. Slowly she turned the envelope over and opened the sealed flap. She pulled out of the envelope a couple of pages of a handwritten letter. With soft music playing from her radio, she set aside the envelope and unfolded the letter to read it. She knew who the letter came from and, as she started to read it, a flood of memories came to her with some sticking out more than others.

                   She stood in the center of the stage looking out at the audience, flashes from cameras causing spots to form in her vision. But out of the darkness she was able to pick out her family, Ryan her boyfriend since January of that year was sitting with them next to her mother. Then she saw John sitting in the middle of the hall, giving her a smile and show of support. She was relieved and happy that he had managed to make it. Ryan was also giving her a smile of encouragement. Drawing courage from her boyfriend and friend she quelled at least dome of her nerves and began to play.
         After the concert she saw her family, friends and Ryan at the reception but not John. Ryan couldn’t stay long so he gave her a quick kiss and left. After all of her friends left she felt a tapping on her shoulder and spun around to see John standing there. She gave him a hug and talked to him for a while before she had to leave to get pictures taken. After she left she couldn’t help but think about John, and all that he was responsible for. If it hadn’t been for him, she never would have been able to date Ryan. She remembered how thanks to his help, ideas and encouragement she managed to convince this guy that she had a crush on for over a year to start dating her. But she never told John that. She never told him that she was dating Ryan. She had wanted to tell him so bad, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She knew she had crushed him years ago, and she just couldn’t bring herself to do it again. Besides she’d figured that she would be able to tell him in the future.