Page 16 of The Lies We Leave Behind

16

William

Seattle 2003

“That must’ve been hard ,” Selene said. “Being in love while in a war.”

“It was terrifying is what it was,” I said, meeting her gaze and taking a sip of my water. “And stupid. But worth every second.”

She grinned and something in my chest hitched. It was somehow a familiar grin and I wondered, as I had the moment I’d seen her standing at my front door, how she knew my Kate. There was the whisper of something in her face I recognized but couldn’t put my finger on. Were they related somehow? A distant cousin?

“William?” Selene said.

“Sorry.” I ran a hand over the stack of letters again, a memory filling my mind. “The Army provided us with bicycles,” I said. “When I was able but still healing, on Kate’s days off we’d get up early and take long rides through the countryside. She’d pack a picnic and we’d stop at some point and sit and stare at the view. She loved all the sheep. Said they reminded her of summers at her parents’ country home. I used to tease her, telling her I’d steal a couple and bring them back to where she was staying so she could have them as pets.”

Selene laughed.

“Other days we’d ride into one of the neighboring towns, have a watered-down pint and some chips, and listen to the locals gossip. It was idyllic. Summertime in the English countryside.” I smiled, remembering the smell of the air, the sound of the wind brushing against the blades of grass in the fields, the ever-present buzz of airplanes in the distance.

“She lived in a mansion,” I continued. “Did you know that? That’s where her living quarters were.”

Selene shook her head, her eyes widening.

“I always imagined her in one of those low-roofed, one-story buildings,” she said.

“Like you see in pictures?”

She nodded.

“I mean, that was the typical living situation. Something that could be built fast and then torn down when the war was over. But depending on where you were stationed, there were homes that had been vacated and taken over by soldiers. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, if you happened to live in an area occupied by the enemy. But the squadron she was with got lucky. About a mile away from base was a beautiful mansion they got to live in while they served, riding their bicycles to and from base for work. In fact, she snuck me in a couple of times when no one was around.”

“She did?” Selene asked and I felt my face warm as I was once again lost in a memory of twenty-seven-year-old me waiting outside for the last woman to leave before Kate appeared and waved me inside, taking my hand and pulling me up the staircase to her room where she shut the door and let her nightgown fall to the floor.

I cleared my throat and took another sip of beer.

“She knew having access to a long, hot shower was basically a fantasy on base and offered to let me use one of theirs. It was incredible. Best showers of my life.” I didn’t mention that Kate had joined me, or how I could still remember, all these years later, the way her hair had looked, wet and streaming down her back, her long, lean body strong from the physical work she did every day.

“Were you two able to go anywhere else? Did you ever go to London?”

“We talked about it. Catching a train, spending a weekend...” I shook my head. “But we never did. We liked our quiet bike rides, visiting towns...becoming familiar faces to the locals. We had a small group of friends back on base who we spent time with some evenings. And there was a favorite spot we’d go to, a tree we sat beneath, talking about the future. Our hopes and dreams.” I chuckled. “The usual stuff the young and in love talk about. Sometimes we’d read a book we’d found in one of the town’s bookshops. There was a book of poetry I picked up one day. I was never much for poems, but there was something about the poet’s words that struck me. They were full of hope and promise. They reminded me of Kate.”

Selene quietly reached for her bag, pulling it onto her lap. A moment later she placed a navy blue leather-bound book between us on the table.

The smile left my face and a lump formed in my throat. I didn’t ask for permission. I picked it up, the feel of the cover beneath my fingertips bringing back a cascade of memories. As if pulled by an invisible force, I held the book vertical between my palms and then moved them apart, letting it fall open as I’d done so long ago. The pages parted and when I looked down, my eyes filled with tears. Stuck between the pages was a braided chain made of long blades of grass.

Kate.