My Love

He cupped her face one last time, kissed her softly, and gave her a hug, "I love you" he whispered, trying to keep a straight face. She peered through her sunglasses, her vision becoming distorted as the tears began to build up in her eyes. "I will see you in a couple of weeks," she said struggling to sound positive, but the tears had begun to roll down her cheeks. He grabbed his suitcases from the trunk and gave her one last hug. She turned toward the car door that had been left ajar, "think of it like your going off to college...again," she laughed. He smiled back trying to play her game, but knowing it wasn't going to be that easy. He turned and walked towards the sliding glass doors. She got back in her car and drove out of the airport. Tears continued to drop from her eyes, pooling at the base of her sunglasses lens most of the way home. Her mind cycled through all the reasons this was a good thing, and that time will fly by between now and the end of the 8 months. As she got closer to the house, she began to feel ill knowing everything of him will be there; his dishes left in the sink from breakfast that morning, the same breakfast he requested every morning for the last three mornings, his unorganized papers thrown about, his dirty underwear on the floor, the smell of his shaving cream still lingering in the bathroom, the mark left in the unmade bed where he laid the night before, all of it would still be there like a ghost of a life that had suddenly ended.
She pulled into the garage and made her way to the house. She walked into the house, his presence was everywhere just like she had imagined, but instead of being consumed with grief she felt a small amount of joy because she knew love, real love, and how it means everything. She grabbed the kitten off the chair and kissed her head. Noticing a red blinking light coming from the answering machine, she played back the message. His voice played out like it had so many times before, "hey sweets, got on the plane, so I'll call you when I get there, love you." She smiled at hearing his voice. "I may be alone here today, but never in my heart," she thought to herself. "Love lives forever."

Larry left today after a crazy week of comings and goings. The Navy messed up his orders, so what was suppose to be a Wednesday departure ended up being a Sunday departure. I felt like I got away with something having him those extra days, but we took full advantage of the time together. I guess that is why we work so well together, we never take each other for granted. We both know that in one instance everything can change and today is all we have. It does make the trivial things of life seem so insignificant. Yes, I will be seeing him soon, and he will be coming home for the holidays, but it is not the same as him being home.

We both spent the morning wondering why we decided to do this. In the end, he wanted the experience and to spread his wings, and I love him enough to let him go. If the tables were turned, the same would be said for me. Love is not possessing, nor controlling. Love is love, it's pure and selfless and goes on forever.