Break the Sky

The new year had arrived, and Alex was off to fight the Germans. Before stepping onto the train, he exchanged goodbyes with his friends and family. He waved farewell, and he was off again to Europe.

As Rose was on her way to the factory, Elyse tried to catch up with her. "Rose, I just wanted you to know that if you need anything, anything at all, I'm here for you." She smiled sadly.

"Thank you, Elyse." Rose returned the grin and continued down the road to the factory. Kathryn looked up from the unfinished rocket. Before she could open her mouth, Lauren rushed to her side. She led her to the side of the room.

"Rose!" Lauren pulled her off to the side. "Natalie's boyfriend...passed away a few weeks ago. The memorial service is today, and all of us are going to make sure she's all right. Will you join us?" Lauren smiled sadly. "I know you're upset at the moment, but maybe this could help you realize something."

What could another funeral possibly help me realize? Rose nodded. "I'll tag along, if you all don't mind."

"Not at all, Rose," Kathryn replied.

After welding more metal onto the frame of the iron bird as well as assembling more rockets and miscellaneous firearms, they group was off to the cemetery where the army was holding the service for more dead soldiers. Natalie's boyfriend, Private Taylor Michael Jenson, was to be buried next to his sister, Rebecca Margaret Jenson, who unfortunately died at a young age from a brain tumor. The service was awkward, standing there before another ebony case with flowers and an American flag as decorations. Rose stood there among teary-eyed women and men that stood rigid, trying their best not to shed tears of their own.

Natalie was surrounded by relatives and good friends. Lauren was off chatting with someone else, and the others from the factory were off somewhere else. Rose smiled at Natalie, who muttered a couple of words to the group surrounding her. She and Rose walked off together towards the street and out back to the diner. They walked in, no one noticing them. Rose ordered some coffee, while Natalie asked for a cup of water.

"I'm really sorry," Rose started, not knowing what else to say. "This must be really hard on you and your son."

Natalie nodded, sighing. "Taylor was always so careful. I could never imagine him...passing away in such a horrible manner." She sniffled, reaching for her handkerchief. "My parents have decided to take care of Michael for a couple of weeks until I'm less..." Natalie dabbed her cheeks. "...You know." Rose nodded. "What about you and Alexander? How are you two?" She pushed the subject onto Rose to prevent herself from breaking down.

"We're all right. Everything's wonderful at the moment." Rose smiled, patting Natalie's hand. "You'll find someone just as wonderful as Taylor. I promise."

"I don't know, Rose. I just feel as though I'm...less appealing than I was six years ago." Natalie frowned. "Taylor always told me how wonderful I looked, but to be honest..."

"Don't be so silly, Natalie. You look fantastic. You're a beautiful young woman with a son. I see men during church look over at you all the time." Rose kept the smile on her face, though she felt it falter. The young men used to look over at Natalie, but not many of them are left. The ones that still remain are rich young men like Jack.

"Rose, I'm not even sure if I want to move on." Natalie bit her lip. She was so concerned with her reputation. If she moved on too soon, the town would assume that she had been cheating on Taylor. If she did not move on, others would pity her for the rest of her life. There was no way for her to avoid hate from someone.

"Natalie, I'm sure you will move on eventually. I don't mean that you must marry someone else, but you need to let go of Taylor. His death is not your fault." Rose remembered the service for Darren, and how she blamed herself for his death. How she blamed her father for discouraging Darren. Rose gripped her coffee mug, but then relaxed her arm. Natalie couldn't possibly see her anger.

She sniffled. "Thank you, Rose. I think I should go home now." They exchanged goodbyes, and Rose decided to sit in the diner for a moment longer, to think about her father. Mr. Clive had been acting oddly serene in the past couple of months. It was strange, and yet it was so much nicer than the incredibly tense dinners they all used to share. Rose's father was finally realizing that being bitter would only make things worse.

Mrs. Clive, however, had become more flustered towards everything. Her hair shockingly had grey streaks, and she would often forget to wear a hat to church on Sunday. Rose realized that Darren's death really had affected her parents in different ways, for both the better and for the worse. Her mother needed some sort of closure, but there was no chance of that being given, aside from the dog tags that remained on her parents' bedside table.

Rose left her half-finished cup of coffee on the table, the deep red print from her lipstick on the side. The napkin near the mug was damp from her tears, and Rose decided it was time for her to leave as well. She left the money on the table, the stark-white mug with the crimson blotch holding the dollars down. She strode out of the diner with much alacrity, dodging this table and that, exiting with a small amount of attention.

"You're walking rather quickly." Jack was catching up to Rose, jogging slowly. He was in a loosened red tie and a slightly unbuttoned white shirt. His suit jacket was draped over his arm. "Care to share what's bothering you?"

"...I need to help my mother with dinner." Rose started to sprint back home, purse rattling with the erratic movements of her arms.

"But, Rose! It's only three o'clock!" Jack shouted, standing in the street, confused. "I honestly think she's losing her mind," he muttered, turning in the direction of his new home.