One Shots

I anxiously glanced once more outside. I've been waiting for this moment for a year. I've spent 365 days dreaming of this day. I've waited over 8,765 hours to be happy again. I've spent 525,948 minutes waiting for him.

Of course, I have been denied my happiness for an extra hour. Everyone around me seemed so calm, browsing through magazines and sipping on steaming cups of coffee. I was a wreck. I couldn't keep still, the three cups of the liquidized caffeine that I've consumed in the past hour probably didn't help that fact, and I couldn't concentrate on the book in my hands.

I gave up on Thoreau and closed the book. I stared into the dregs of my styrofoam cup and sighed, getting up to dispose of it. I returned to my seat and pulled my ipod from my purse. Hopefully listening to some good music will help pass the time by quickly.

"They are now fifteen minutes out," the man at the podium stated. There was a small cheer from the crowd and people began to stand closer to the open door. I let Jesse Lacey's hypnotizing voice flow through my ears for a couple more minutes before putting up my ipod and joining the group.

My heart raced as a few men in uniform began roping off the area where the formation would take place. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as the minutes ticked by, bringing me closer to bliss. The large door was rolled up, the cold January air chilling me to my bones. I hugged my arms closer to my body, preserving all the body heat I could.

"The plane is beginning its descent," the same man spoke. I leaned as far over the rope as I could to get a look outside. The foggy morning hid the sky, but I could faintly make out a small jumble of lights low in the air.

"There they are," I heard the woman next to me whisper to the small boy cradled in her arms. "There comes daddy." The congregation cheered as the plane touched ground and finally came to a stop just outside the small building we were currently occupying. By that time my heart was pounding in my chest.

Three hundred and fifty men and women filed off of the plane and fell into formation outside on the field. I watched as each one, laden with bags, jostled down the steps and onto the ground. I could no longer hide my excitement as the last of the passengers stepped onto American soil.

I clutched my jacket, trying to control my nerves, as the men and women filed into the building. I searched for my love, but failed to find him as they stood at attention.

"Would you please turn your attention to the band as they play the National Anthem," a man spoke into a microphone. I looked into the corner on the opposite side of the room as the band began the famous tune. I placed my hand over my heart and the men and women in uniform saluted the flag. As the last note reverberated throughout the silent room another man stood behind the podium.

"I'll keep this short because I know you've been waiting a long time for this day," he smiled and there was appreciative laughter from the soldiers and civilians alike. "These brave men and women have spent the past twelve months or so serving their country. They have sacrificed their lives to serve our country, to help make this world a better place. For this I am eternally grateful. To have people like this in the world keeps my hope alive. The hope that the world hasn't gone to waste, that there is still some good present in today's society," he paused to take a breath. "I only have one more thing to say: welcome home troops."

The ropes were taken down and the crowd of waiting family members and loved ones rushed to greet their soldier. I pushed my way through the crowd, searching for the face I've been dreaming about every night for the past twelve months.

Tears formed in my eyes as my anxiety got the best of me. The crowded room felt as if it was pressing down on me from all sides and I was suffocating. I gasped, trying to replenish my lungs, but to no avail. I felt light headed and my vision was blurred as even more tears overflowed in my eyes.

I stopped my search and forced my way back through the crowd to the waiting area where it was less compact. I sat on one of the hard, wooden benches and put my head between my knees, breathing in deeply. My lungs expanded as they were filled with oxygen.

"Are you okay?" I heard a male voice ask above me. I looked up and one of the soldiers was looking at me in concern.

"I just can't find my husband," I choked out.

"What's his name?"

"St-Stevenson," I stuttered. "Matthew Stevenson."

"Okay, you stay here Mrs. Stevenson and I'll go find your husband."

"Thank you so much." The man nodded his head and went back into the main part of the room. A few minutes later a voice came over the intercom asking for SPC Stevenson to report to the podium.

I observed the others around me. Weeping women clinging to their men, holding each other in a tight embrace, mothers hugging their sons or daughters, tears streaming down their faces. One man even had three young boys attached to his legs, refusing to let go as their mother tried to pry their fingers from their determined grip on their father. I smiled at the sight, wishing to hold my loved one in my arms again. To know he had returned safely home.

As the minutes ticked by I grew more nervous. What if something had happened? What if he hadn't come home with the others? I tried to calm my irrational thoughts and stood on top of the bench, looking down in the crowd.

The man who I had spoken to earlier was standing at the podium speaking with a woman in uniform. The tears I had been fighting to hold back all morning began to spill relentlessly down my flushed cheeks. I no longer had the will to hold them back.

"Found who you were looking for yet?" My breath caught in my throat at the beautiful sound of his voice. I turned around and there he was standing beside me on the bench, smiling and eyes shining.

"I think so," I whispered as more tears fell from my eyes. He pulled me into his arms and I hooked my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest. This is where I belonged, this is my home.

"I missed you so much," he whispered into my hair.

"I missed you too," I looked up into his bright blue eyes brimming with tears. "Promise me you wont leave again."

"You know I can't promise that," he frowned. "I still have four years of service left."

"I know," I sighed and buried my head in the side of his neck.

"Hey," he lifted my face to meet his warm gaze. "Whatever happens I'll always come home to you. I promised to love you until death do us part and I don't plan on dying for quite a while. We will have kids and grandkids and we'll grow old and wrinkly together."

"Will you promise to let me go first?"

"What?" he asked confused.

"I don't think I could survive without you. I demand to go first," I said in a determined tone.

"I promise you can go first Kirsten," he smiled. I couldn't control myself as I pushed his face down to mine and met his warm lips with mine, the passion and longing flowing between us.

I finally felt happy again.

Nothing in the world can bring me down as long as I am in his arms.

We are each other's worlds.

As long as we love each other we can face anything that is thrown at us, no matter the distance that separates us.