The time had come when she had to report back to her unit. He was staying behind, holding down the fort at home, his right leg still recovering after being shattered in March. He was pretty proud of his hobbling abilities with a cane. They embraced hard at the end of the drive. Mila had run off in tears to the back fields when her mother broke the news.
Finally, she gently pushed away, head down and began walking the half mile to the pick up point near town. He just stood there, watching the back of her head, hair in a bun topped with an olive green beret, rising above the straps of her weapon. He was close to tears when she quickly whirled around, still walking backward, and placed her hand on her heart, looking at him intently, eyes welling up, then turning back. He smiled and waved.
This was all seen by Mila, who had returned from the fields and come around the side of the house. "For now at least," she thought, "I still have two parents and this is all that matters." Her father's smile broadened as she walked up and gave him a hug. Together, arm in arm, they watched their mother/wife disappearing around the bend by the field of sunflowers.
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