Soldier from Heaven (9781629021911) (2 page)

Now, Mary was still being molded at that time, but she was a very happy girl. I would compare her to a doll. She would giggle and coo, making everyone around comment on her cuteness. She went to bed with a smile and woke up with an even bigger one. Mary enjoyed her meals with the family making it look like she was eating everything. But I knew about half was on the floor and a fourth on her face. Her brothers were her heroes. In the morning, she would look for them before she did anything else. And every time she saw them, she would smile the biggest grin I had ever seen. They were her joy, and they loved her very much.

Jacob had taken an even bigger interest in her. When she was born, he was at the age where he loved babies and wanted a baby sister. When he was just three years old, he enjoyed finding money and then putting it into any charity jar that had to do with helping babies. Mary was like the answer to a prayer. He immediately became very attentive to her every need and loved helping out with her. He was so proud of every little thing she did. Ben loved her as well but would rather cling to me than play with her. Ben was, thankfully, beyond the jealous and possessive stage, so he was able to love her and not feel as if he was in competition for the baby spot. But Jacob, oh, how he loved on Mary.

While on leave, Pete made up for his time away from his children. He played baseball with his boys and horsey with Mary. I often found myself just staring at the interactions and thanking God for such a wonderful life. I knew how lucky I was to have found such a wonderful man to have as a life partner.
I couldn’t live without him
, I often thought. And as I watched him with the children upon our return from the Bahamas, I was thinking those thoughts again.

Pete and I felt guilty for vacationing without the children, but we needed it. To make sure the whole family had fun together, we went to Disney World a week before he had to leave again. Since we lived in Palm Beach, it was only a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Orlando. We would often take little family weekend trips there, but this time we spent five days. Thankfully, Pete’s business was doing great, and his brother was managing it flawlessly. Pete trusted him with everything and paid him well to oversee the operations during his time in Iraq and leaves with us. Pete’s priority was his family, and it was evident in the way he cared for us. So with the success of his business, we were able to stay at a lovely resort. Animal Kingdom Lodge was the boys’ favorite hotel on the property, so we splurged.

On our first day, we relaxed and had a wonderful time by the pool. We all splashed down the water slide, raced each other in the pool, and played tag. Even Mary tried to get in on the action. We all had permanent grins painted on our faces that day and every day of our trip. We had lunch by the pool and reminisced about our other Disney trips.

“Remember when you videotaped Jacob on Tower of Terror?” asked Ben.

“Be quiet,” replied Jacob trying to hide the grin on his face.

“Yes, I remember,” I said. “Your faces were classic Jacob. ‘No no no no, ahhh.’ You were hysterical. We could’ve won ten thousand dollars on AFV if you didn’t delete it. Don’t worry; I’ll try to tape you again.”

We all laughed. I admit, although very protective and nurturing, I had a dark side. I forced my children on the rides if they met the height requirement. While other parents walked out of line with their children, I kept my children in line as they cried. Pete and I loved rides, and we didn’t want our children to fear the unknown so much that they missed out on fun. And after many forced rides, my boys had come out loving them. It may have taken a few times, but in the end they begged us to go on. So, I wasn’t so bad after all.

We wrapped up our lunch, played a few hours more in the pool, and then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. We headed out to Medieval Times for a wonderful dinner show. As we enjoyed our food by eating with our hands, we watched as our green knight jousted on his horse in the arena. With our green crowns on and our flags waving, we cheered on our knight throughout the tournament. Much to our dismay, he turned out to be the malicious knight. In the end, he lost. But at least Mary had a rose tossed to her during the performance.

The day was exhausting, but we couldn’t resist relaxing a bit by the fire pit before turning in. Jacob rocked contently in the chair next to me as Ben lay sleeping cuddled in my arms. Pete had Mary sleeping on his shoulder, and we all rocked in our chairs by the fire.

“Did you have fun today, Jacob?”

“Yeah. But I wish our knight won. You should have taken his place, Dad.”

“That would have been a sight. My knight in shining armor.” I gave Pete a wink.

“So what should we do tomorrow, Jacob?” asked Pete.

“I don’t know. Maybe go to Hollywood Studios so we can ride Rockin’ Rollercoaster!”

“And Tower of Terror?” I added.

“I’m not afraid of that anymore, Mom. Just don’t tape me this time.”

“Oh, come on. Maybe we can win ten thousand dollars. I’d buy you whatever Lego set you want if we won.”

“Fine. But don’t show anyone else the video.”

We sat for some time after that in silence, just enjoying being together. I know Pete and I were thinking the same thoughts. We were very lucky. We wished those moments could last forever. We wanted nothing to change. But we both knew that wasn’t possible.

The rest of the week was fantastic. I was so happy to see that Jacob wasn’t without a smile the whole time. It was as if God wanted this to be the perfect family vacation for us. And it was. We created wonderful memories that we would never forget. And the enormous amount of pictures we took would keep that trip fresh in Mary’s mind for years to come. It was pretty much the most precious trip we had taken as a family and would prove to be the most important.

Two days after returning from Disney, it was that dreaded time. Pete had to go back to Iraq. I had hoped this would be the last time his unit had to serve, and then life would resume with him home where he belonged. But life would actually change drastically. We lay awake in bed as we always did before starting a new day. With tears welling up, I stared into my husband’s ice-blue eyes.

“Can’t you just quit? I don’t want you to go. Jacob is developing a new attitude, and he thinks he’s an adult now. Do you know he will not stop bugging me for a cell phone? I tell him it just isn’t necessary, but he seems to think that all twelve-year-olds have to have one. I tell you, he must think that when you are away, I will cave in, and he will end up with one.”

“Can you blame him for trying? He is almost thirteen, and he’s starting to think of himself as an adult. Puberty does change a guy.”

“Oh, please, I don’t even want to hear that word. When I hear it, I think of sex, and I just can’t think of sex and Jacob in the same thought. See, I need you to help me through this. I don’t know anything about boys and sex”

“I beg to differ, darling. You know everything about boys and sex.” Pete winked. I giggled, and then he grabbed me in his arms, and we made love for the last time before he left.

The children had all finally woken up, and while Pete tended to Mary I made his favorite breakfast, bacon and eggs over easy with cheese on a bagel. The boys were playing the Wii, waiting to eat, and for some reason, I found myself savoring that moment as if it was Christmas Day. Ben and Jacob played the Wii almost every weekend morning and argued a lot while doing it. I constantly told Jacob to stop bossing his brother around and told Ben to stop whining. But that morning was different. I smiled to myself as they bickered, and when I heard Pete making Mary giggle in the other room, I thanked God for my family. I felt truly blessed at that moment as I realized I was very fortunate to have such a perfect family. Even my bickering boys were normal, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Pete emerged from the bedroom with Mary, and I announced breakfast was ready. As we ate together, I kept pushing the thoughts about Pete leaving out of my mind. I just wanted to enjoy and take in this lovely family moment. It was a beautiful sight. Because Pete had been away so much, I made the most of our days together.

Breakfast was over and Pete, in his camo, was ready to head out. The children jumped to him and smothered him with kisses. I looked on, trying to hold back the tears with a smile on my face. Pete knelt down to his children and held them in his arms.

“Well, my precious little angels, I have to go now. I will miss you very much. Just keep saying your prayers each night that things get better over in Iraq, so that all daddies can go home to their families. Jacob, you are getting older now. Help Mommy take care of things here, okay? And that means making things as easy for her as possible. That means, do as you are told, don’t give her any trouble, and help with the chores. Remember, Mommies should not have to take out the garbage.”

Jacob replied, “I hate the trash. Can I make Ben do it?”

“Nice try, buddy, but no,” Pete firmly stated with a smile. “Ben, you are getting to be a big boy so make sure you listen to Mommy. She will need your help too. And be nice to your sister, okay?”

“I’m going to miss you, Daddy. Can’t you stay longer? I want you to help me finish the airplane model.”

“I wish I could, Ben. But I have a duty to fulfill. And it’s an important one. Of course, you guys are the most important thing to me, and what I am doing will help you even though you can’t quite understand it yet. I promise you the next time I see you, the first thing I will do is finish the model with you. Okay, buddy?”

“Okay, Daddy,” said Ben feeling reassured.

“Oh, my sweet Mary, don’t grow too much, okay. Don’t walk until I get back.” Pete tickled Mary’s belly, and she started to laugh.

Pete then locked eyes with me and rose to walk towards me.

“Hey angel.”

“Hey.”

“It doesn’t matter how far away I am from you, you know I am always with you.”

I smiled but couldn’t help but let a tear fall down my face as he embraced me. I was just so sad, again feeling the dread of being alone. I needed him so badly to get through life. Every decision I made, I first consulted with him. He was the head of the house, and I depended on him to support us and lead us. He was my protector, my lover, and my everything. When we became one, it was as if I completely abandoned my own sense of self. But I didn’t care. I loved how he led our family. I knew no matter what, I was safe with him. When he was away, I just felt lost.

“Don’t cry, my love. This isn’t goodbye, not really. I’ll call every chance I get, and we will see each other often thanks to technology.”