The children were sleeping but she couldn’t sleep. Her eyes were wet from crying. She stared out of the plane window, her mind miles away–back to the morning when she and James were together before he left for North Africa. She had tried to be brave and to keep the tears at bay.
He had looked so handsome in his uniform. If only he didn’t have to go away. The war which had seemed so far away had now intruded in their lives. It was close to home now. America was in the war and her husband was going to fight. She dared not think about him not returning to her and their children.
“I’ll be fine, Jane,” he assured her. “Generals usually don’t fight.”
“They don’t?”
“Well, if we’re attacked while moving around the battlefield, everyone fights, even a General. If I find myself in a dangerous situation I would have to fight it out. But, don’t worry, darling. I promise I will be all right.”
“Oh, James, I wish you didn’t have to go.”
“I wish I didn’t either but I have no choice. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and Germany and Italy declared war against the United States, we had no other choice but to enter the war. The time for being neutral is over. We must fight and win.”
She had to hold on to her faith and believe that God would watch over him and protect him. “I pray that God will with you and that He will bring you safely back to me and the children when the war is over.”
James had smiled at her. “He will,” he assured her before he kissed her.
They hugged tightly as the train pulled into the station and then, he was boarding it. She stood on the platform, her eyes swimming with tears, smiling and waving. The train pulled out of the station and she stood there waving at him until he was gone. It never dawned on her that she was going to lose her husband–not to the war but to another woman.
Jane pressed her hand against her mouth to stifle the sob now as she thought to herself, Losing him to the war would have been less painful than losing him to that nurse.
Sources: Britannica; Quora
Notes to Women 