I Kept My Promise

This is the final installment in my 'Promise' stories. If you have not already read "I Made a Promise" and "Keeping My Promise" I suggest you do so before reading this one. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did in writing it.

*****

I was in the kitchen cleaning up after supper one evening when my seven year old daughter, Alison, came in carrying the last of the dishes from the dining room table and asked me a question.

"How come daddy hasn't been home for like forever to have supper with us? Is he mad at us? My friend Janet's mommy and daddy don't live together and she told me she never sees her daddy anymore."

"Oh no, sweetheart. Daddy is not mad at any of us. He has had to work late the past several weeks testing a very important experiment he and his team have been working on for the past few months." I answered, quieting her fears. "You know he loves all of us very much."

A few minutes later she was back with her twin five year old brother and sister William and Erica. "Mommy can I ask you another question?"

"My, my Alison you are full of questions tonight. What now?"

"Mommy how did you and daddy fall in love and get married?"

My other two children chimed in..."Yes, mommy tell us, tell us."

"Well it's a long story so you need to go upstairs, brush your teeth and change into your pajamas now so you can go right to bed after I finish telling it to you."

I thought to myself how lucky I was to have three such great kids and a husband who I was so deeply in love with as they scampered off to complete my request.

They soon returned and we went into the family room where I turned on the gas fireplace. "Now we can be comfy and cosy while I tell you the story. Let's see where shall I start?"

"At the beginning, mommy, at the beginning," William said.

"Okay. Once upon-a-time God created a beautiful garden. Adam and Eve lived in the garden . . . ."

"Mommy, not that far back." Erica moaned.

"Yeah, get to the important stuff. How did you and daddy meet." Alison wanted to know.

"Okay, okay. But before I tell you that I have to explain a little bit about me."

"When I was growing up I was a spoiled little girl. I got everything I wanted and when I lost interest in it I simply threw it away. As I got older I started using people the same way. Once I got tired of them I just stopped seeing them."

"My grandfather recognized this bad behavior and devised a way to try and change me. He set aside a lot of money for me. All I had to do was complete three things. I met the first part when I went to Iraq and then I received the first third of the money."

"Some very bad men broke into the school I was working at and they went from room to room shooting anyone who resisted. When they found me I was helping two young girls who had no mommy or daddy."

"I heard one of the men say that I was the one they were looking for. Their leader said that I should be worth at least ten million dollars."

"Then they tied and blindfolded all three of us. We were put into a truck and they drove us for what seemed like hours finally stopping at run down two story building. They separated us and I was placed in a room with what I assumed was the leader since he was the one giving the orders."

"He began beating me on my head. Two of his men ran into the room and one of them punched me so hard I lost consciousness. When I regained my senses my mouth was full of blood. I spit it out."

"One man came into the room, slapped me and forced me to drink a bottle of water. After some minutes I began to feel really funny. That's the last thing I remember until I regained my senses a little while later. I was in some sort of a helicopter and sitting on a man's lap. He had his arms wrapped tightly around me telling me everything was going to be okay, that I was now safe. I nestled close to him as he continued whispering that I was safe and everything would be all right into my ear."

"Was that daddy?" Alison asked.

"Yes, but I didn't know that at the time," I answered.

"When the helicopter landed I was taken to a hospital. Two days later I was visited by two men from military intelligence. I'm Major Williams and this is Captain Collins they told me."

"Captain Collins told me that I was saved from having my head cut off by a Marine sniper who shot that man and three others before they could harm me or the two other girls."

"Who was the man with me in the helicopter? I wanted to know."

"It was the same man, Ms Thornton, Gunnery Sergeant Frederick Steiger, Major Williams interjected."

"THAT'S DADDY!!" My three children shouted together clapping their hands.

"That's right. It is your daddy. Now let me finish the story."

"He came to see me several hours after I was brought to the hospital. The doctors told him I wasn't able to have any visitors until they got all the drugs out of my system."

"I asked the two men if I could meet him."

"I'll see what I can do, Captain Collins answered me and then he left the room."

"Captain Collins returned several minutes later and told me that your daddy was out on a mission and would be gone until the next day."

"The following afternoon there was a knock at my door and a young man stepped into my room. I'm Gunnery Sergeant Steiger, he said to me."

"I told him my name was Emily and he said to call him Rick."

"This was the very first time I saw your dad without his helmet and bulky body armor. My gosh, he was so very handsome. His smile lit up the room. When he spoke his voice was deep and yet soft the same as I remembered from the helicopter."

"We had a long talk about ourselves. I couldn't believe how fast time just flew by. Then he briefly told me about his life right after his daddy died. I was amazed how much he had sacrificed to keep the promise he made to his father."

"You know your daddy always keeps his promises. Right?" I told them as they nodded their heads in agreement.

"When he finally did leave I gave him a thank you kiss. As soon as he left I missed him something terrible."

"Soon after a doctor came in and told me I would be able to travel home in a couple of days. He said I would have to have someone go with me from Iraq to Germany."

"I told the doctor I would call my daddy, Grandpa Peter, with the news. When I called I asked him for a big favor and he said he would try."

"I was released from the hospital and would travel home first to Germany and then back to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Massachusetts. My father managed to do what I asked of him and your daddy was ordered to go with me part of the way to Germany. Your daddy didn't know that I had asked your grandfather to also do something else."

"When we arrived at the air base in Germany we got off the plane and walked into the terminal. We were met by a two-star general."

"There was a change in plans. The escort scheduled to accompany me back home couldn't do it. The general handed your daddy a new set of orders. Then he wished us a safe journey and left. Your daddy didn't see the big smile on my face when he read his new order instructing him to go with me all the way back to Grandpa's house."

"I grabbed your daddy's arm and said to him, looks like you are stuck with me for a few more days."

"Taking my hand he led me toward a waiting train at the railway station. We had to change trains twice. The trains were crowded and noisy so all we pretty much could do was gaze out the window at the countryside."

"As we were walking through the second railroad station toward the track the Frankfurt train would depart from a crazy man with an automatic rifle came running toward us shouting 'Allahu Akbar . . Allahu Akbar'."

"What does that mean, mommy?" William asked me.

"It means Allah, that is the Muslim name for God, is the greatest." I replied to his question.

Then I continued with my story.

"Before I knew what was happening your daddy pushed me onto the floor and threw his body on top of me."

"I heard bullets striking the ground all around us. Your father rolled off of me and asked if I was okay. Before I could answer I saw blood all over his chest. Somehow I managed to pull him to a sitting position, wrapping my arms around him and started crying hysterically."

"I never felt the hands that pried me away from his body. A blanket was wrapped around me as I watched several men put your daddy's body on a gurney and rush him away."

"One of the men yelled something in German that I didn't understand. Then another man helped me to my feet and we began running with two men pushing your daddy to a waiting ambulance. He was alive, just barely, but alive."

"When we arrived at the hospital he was rushed into surgery. I sat outside the operating room waiting for several hours while the doctors worked really hard to save his life."

"I called your Grandpa Peter and told him what had happened."

"Before your father was wheeled into the operating room they gave me his personal possessions to hold. I went through his wallet and found his mother's phone number."

"Then I made the hardest phone call I ever made in my entire life. It was the first time I ever spoke to your Grandma Barbara. I had to tell her what had happened. I told her I would stay in close contact with her when I learned more about her son's condition."

"It was over two months before your father recovered enough to be released from the hospital. I wanted to take him home to Grandma Barbara's house. But your daddy told me he had promised to see that I got safely back to my home and he wasn't going to break his promise."

"When we arrived at your grandma and grandpa's house they met your father for the first time. Both of them really, really liked him."

"Is that when daddy asked you to marry him?" Erica wanted to know.

"No. I'm afraid not," I replied. "Something happened at a party grandma and grandpa held to welcome me home.

"There was a boy there that I knew from a long time ago and he said some really nasty things to your daddy. He told him that he wasn't good enough for me. That I was way out of his class."

"Grandpa heard what he said and told Mr. George . . . ."

"You mean George 'the Giant', mommy?" William asked.

I had to chuckle when I answered him. "Yes, dear . . . George 'the Giant'."

"Anyway, grandpa asked Mr. George to help the nasty man leave the party. After that was over everyone had a good time especially after Grandpa Peter told all of them what daddy had done to save me."

"Then some how your daddy overheard two of my old girlfriends talking about me as they were leaving the party."

"Well he won't last long one of them said to the other. When she tires of him she'll dump him like she's done with all the rest of her boy toys. As nice as he appears, he's just not in her class."

"I didn't hear about any of this until much later after your daddy left to go back to Iraq. That's when everything came together in my mind and why your father sent me this letter."

"Let me read some of it to you."

I began reading some of what Rick had written to my children.

***************

'Dear Emily,

This is an extremely difficult letter for me to write. I want you to understand one thing. I love you and I always will love you.

But that guy Quentin and the rest of your friends were right. I am just a plain kind of guy. Nowhere near to being in your class. You deserve someone far better than me.

I want you to promise me something. I want you to go out and find someone who will love you and care about you just as much as I do.'

***************

I intentionally left some parts out, as at their age, they wouldn't have really understood all of it. When I finished reading the letter I replaced it in the envelope.

Without saying anything the three of them looked at me with tears in their eyes.

"Then what happened, mommy?" Alison asked.

Taking a deep breath I tried to compose myself before continuing.

"Well when I got that letter it made me very, very sad. So I wrote a long letter back to your daddy. In that letter I promised to love him forever and ever."

"When my letter came back marked 'UNDELIVERABLE RETURN TO SENDER' I broke down and cried and cried. I thought your daddy might have been killed. I still had his mother's, your Grandma Barbara's, phone number so I called her."

"She told me he was alive and had come back home to finish his college degree. No matter how much I cried and begged. She wouldn't tell me where he was."

"For the longest time all I did was sit in my room and cry. Then I began to think about who I really was as a person."

"I realized I had been a selfish and spoiled brat all my life, getting everything I ever wanted, without regard to anything or anyone. It finally dawned on me just how screwed up I really was."

"Your daddy had been willing to sacrifice his life for me . . . for me. What had I ever willingly sacrificed for anyone? In a word . . . NOTHING . . . not one gosh darn thing!"

"It took me a long, long time to understand how mean and nasty I had been. I promised myself I was going change."

"Then one day Grandpa came up to my room and told me there was someone who wanted to see me. I didn't want to but he convinced me I needed to go with him."

"He took me down to the parlor and closed the door behind me. The man standing there turned around."

"It was your Daddy!! I know my eyes got as big as two dinner plates and I seemed to have lost my ability to speak."

"I rushed over, threw my arms around him and burst into tears."

"He gently led me to the sofa and sat down, pulling me onto his lap. I couldn't stop crying as I held him refusing to let go."

"He had his arms wrapped around me and kept whispering in my ear. "It's okay . . . it's okay. Everything is going to be okay, sweetheart."

"Finally, after several minutes I was able to stop crying but I refused to let go of him. Kissing him over and over and over I said to him."

"I love you! . . . I love you! . . . I love you!"

"I wrote you a letter . . . ."

"I know he said pulling an envelope from his jacket pocket. Your father gave it to me the other day. It's why I came back."

"Your Grandpa Peter had fixed something for me once more."

"When your daddy said he loved me, too, it brought about another crying spell from me."

"Your daddy told me he fell in love with me in spite of feeling that 'he wasn't in my league'. He said he couldn't help himself. I fell in love with you, he whispered in my ear."

"When he told me he planned to disappear so I would be able to find someone else with which to spend the rest of my life. I stopped him right there. You were right, I told him, that's exactly what I was doing. I was using you to fill some childish, selfish desires on my part. But no more!"

"Then I made a solemn promise to your daddy. I promised to love him forever and ever."

"At breakfast the next morning I saw an open package on the table in front of your daddy. I asked him what it was and he explained he had been offered a job. This was the contract he needed to review. He told me."

"Can I sit with you while you go over everything? I'll be as quiet as a mouse, really I will. We can we use the library."

"As we sat at a table he pulled the contract from the package. As he studied the fine print of the contract I picked up a bound project description file."

"What is an EMP? I asked him."

"An EMP is an electromagnetic pulse. It is a short burst of electromagnetic energy. It can be caused by natural occurrences such as lightning or solar flares from the sun. Or it could be caused by, man-made ones, like a nuclear explosion. EMP interference is extremely disruptive and damaging to all electronic equipment."

"Do you want me to explain how?"

"I told him, no. I didn't think I would understand a word he said."

"Then I picked up his contract and looked at it."

"One more question and then I'll be quiet, I promise. What is this Re-location Bonus?"

"Your daddy sighed and told me that the company would pay him to move Florida."

"The only thing I could think of to say was oh no. You just got back and you'll be leaving so soon again."

"Your father told me that it wouldn't be right away. He said he wanted to stay with me as long as possible."

"Is that when he asked you to marry him?" William asked.

"No. He didn't ask me right then."

"Well, when did he ask you?" The three of them asked in unison.

"I'm getting to that part. Daddy wanted to go home and see your Grandma Barbara, your Aunt Robin and Aunt Linda. I asked to go with him and he said yes."

"When we got to Grandma Barbara's house Aunt Robin and Aunt Linda took me into Aunt Robin's room right after dinner."

"When's the wedding? Aunt Robin asked me. We want to be bridesmaids."

"Wedding? Your brother hasn't even asked me to marry him. And now he's moving away to Florida."

"You know, Emily, Aunt Linda said to me. Our brother is the smartest person we know. But he is absolutely clueless when it comes to dealing with girls."

"We need a plan to wake him up."

"So the two of them hatched a really sneaky plan. It was so sneaky I can't even remember it now. They were going to put their little plan to work that very evening."

"Your Aunt Robin began but before she could get two words out of her mouth Aunt Linda jumped up and blurted out."

"Robin and I want to be bridesmaids at your wedding to Emily. When are you going to get off your butt and ask her to marry you?"

"As soon as she realized what she said she clamped her hand over her mouth and abruptly sat down. Robin shook her head and gave her a 'way-to-go' look. My face turned beet red with embarrassment and I couldn't look at anyone. Your Daddy and Grandmother just burst out laughing at the three of us."

"Then your daddy got down in front of me on one knee and said . . . Emily Marie Thornton, I fell in love with you the very first day I saw you. That love has only grown stronger and deeper over the years. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

"YES!! YES!! OH, MY GOSH!! YES!! I was so excited."

"I threw my arms around him and whispered in his ear. I promise to love you forever and ever."

"I don't think any of the four of us got a wink of sleep that night." And speaking of sleep it's way past your bedtime. So off to bed with you. I'll be up in a minute to tuck you in.

I went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea to drink when I returned from tucking my three wonderful children in for the night when I heard the opener for the garage door. A moment later Rick walked in, threw his arms around me and announced it's finally finished.

He explained that the project that had kept him out late for so many weeks was completed and they were now ready to send it out for field trials. No more late nights away from home.

Where are the kids he asked? I told him that they just now went up to bed.

"So late?" He questioned looking at his watch.

"Yeah. It is late but they wanted to hear the story of how we fell in love and got married. So I told them."

"Everything?" He questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

"No. I gave them the G-rated version. I didn't think they needed to hear about their mommy biting off the penis of that terrorist who kidnapped me. I, also, left out the parts of the horrible dreams I had. But then I pretty much told them the entire story."

"Oh, and Rick, Alison told me that one of her friend's parents are divorced. She's worried that is why you haven't been home for supper the past several weeks."

"I told her that you still loved all of us. I think I got through to her, Rick."

"Okay, Emily. Let's go upstairs, tuck them in and I'll talk with Alison."

We first went into William's room and he was already fast asleep. I watched Rick pull the covers back over him and kiss his forehead good-night. We found Erica fast asleep as well. Rick put her teddy bear in her arms before kissing her good-night.