Falling for the Enemy

Coming to an End

                                                                                        Henry

Lying in bed once more after being close to her, I feel like I need to tell her how I am feeling.  She is on my chest again and she seems to fit perfectly there like she was designed for me.  I am gently caressing her back and I have to let her know how I feel.  

“Catherine, I need to tell you something.”  

Catherine sits up on her elbow looking me in the eye.  She is playing with my chest with one hand and the other is massaging my scalp.  

“Catherine, I love you,” I say staring straight into her eyes.  

Catherine smiles, and her eyes seem brighter than usual.  

“I love you to Henry.  More than I ever knew I could love someone. “ She says leaning up to kiss me.  

“Catherine.. what about Nathan?”  Her face becomes more serious. 

“Nathan is a good man and he doesn’t deserve this but I cannot change the way I feel Henry.  I love you and only you. I will always love you for as long as there is a breath in my body.  I am yours if you will have me.”  Catherine softly kisses my chest, then moves to my neck, and then we meet each other at our lips.  

“Catherine, I wouldn’t let you go even if you asked me to.  You are a part of me and I don’t think it would be possible for me to live without knowing that you are mine. If you will have me, I would like to be your husband after this war is done.  I don’t know what will happen.  I don’t know where we’ll go but as long as we are together we can do anything.”  

“Henry, did you just ask me to marry you?”  

Smiling “Yes, I did.  What is your answer?” Placing her entire body on top of mine she says “Of course, I will marry you and only you.  It will only be you for as long as I live.” And again we are lost in one another.

                                                                                    Catherine

 So much has changed since the night I spent with Henry.  I now know that Henry loves me just as I love him, and he wants to marry me after the is over.  There is nothing I want more in this world than to be Henry’s wife.  I never knew I could feel so deeply about someone.  I can no longer imagine my life without him in it. However, I also know that I have an ex-fiancé with who I need to end things. Nathan asked for my hand in marriage prior to leaving for battle. 

At the time I knew nothing about love.  Nathan and I were very compatible and I viewed our union as the next obvious step in our relationship.  I care for Nathan and wish him no harm but I now know what real love is and I am not willing to sacrifice real love for a naive promise I made.  I know that I have betrayed Nathan.  I have turned my back on my vow to him but I never planned on meeting Henry.  I didn’t know I was capable of the type of emotions I am feeling.  What I have with Henry is so much bigger than any other emotion I have ever felt.  

Staring out the window lying next to Henry I am confused about the whole situation.  I feel guilt, happiness, sadness, and an immense amount of love.  My feelings have never been so jumbled before.  The only thing I am sure of is that I love Henry with all of my being and I plan on spending the rest of my life with him. The rising sun begins the last full day I will be with Henry before he returns to New Bern.  I can’t believe I am losing him when I just found him.  I have been watching him sleep for the last few hours, thoughts wandering through my mind, and praying that the sun would never rise.  

However, the sun is here now, and Henry is one morning closer to leaving.  Staring at the shadows the sun is creating on Henry’s face I notice that he hasn’t shaved recently and his hair needs to be trimmed.  My mother used to help my father trim his hair and shave.  It always seemed like a very intimate moment that they were sharing together and I always felt like an intruder when I would watch them.  I would like to share this moment with Henry.  Henry is my future husband and I want to be able to share a moment like my parents shared so many times throughout their life, at least once with Henry before he leaves.  

Gently, sliding from under the covers, being ever so careful not to wake Henry, I wrap the afghan from my bed around my shoulders.  Tiptoeing out of the room I begin gathering everything I will need in order to give Henry a shave and trim when he awakes.  The entire house is silent and still.  I assume Samuel and his family are still sleeping because the sun has just risen high enough in the sky to begin chasing the night clouds away.  Silently, I gather everything I will need for Henry’s trim and shave and return to Mary’s room, which is where I have been sleeping with Henry for the last few nights.  Upon entering the room, I can see that Henry is still asleep, and this makes me happy to see him still resting.  He needs and deserves as much rest as possible prior to rejoining the war.  

Opening the veranda doors, I quietly carry the chair from outside into the room.  Lying down next to Henry I simply watch him sleep and study his face praying that he will come back to me.  A few hours later I am still vigilantly watching Henry when his eyes finally blink open.  Smiling I kiss him on the lips.  

“Good Morning.  I have been waiting for you to awake.”  Returning my kiss and placing his hand on my face Henry whispers in between kisses “You know you can always wake me up.  There is always something else we can be doing other than sleeping.”  

Looking into Henry’s chocolate eyes, I jokingly tell him “He needs a shave”  Henry feels his face with his hand. 

“I guess you are right.  Do you not like my stubble?” he asks playfully rubbing his cheek against mine.  

“Oh, I love everything about you but I can’t have my future husband going to war looking like a scoundrel. What would people think?” I say laughing and playfully pushing him away.  

“I will just have to give you a shave and a haircut. I don’t want people thinking that the Cooney family did not take good care of you.”  

Standing up I gesture for Henry to sit down.  

“Oh, so you had this planned.  Already trying to change me and we aren’t even married yet” he says playfully and walks behind me to hold me in an embrace.  

“Isn’t that what women are for?” 

“Alright if I know one thing it is that the woman is always right.  So if you say I need a shave and trim, then I do.  I’ll be back!”  

Moving towards the door to leave I jump on Henry’s bareback wrapping my arms around him.  

“Oh no, you don’t.  I am not letting you out of my sight today.  I will be giving you a shave and trim today.” 

Surprised and amused Henry asks “Have you done this before?” I shake my head no and suddenly Henry doesn’t look so sure about the situation.  

“You have to be gentle with me, I have very sensitive skin,” he says jokingly while rubbing his cheek.  

“I will be as gentle with you as I would be with a baby.  Since you are acting like one right now”  I am joking with him and poking him in his abdomen which is as hard as granite.  I like being with him like this. Relaxed. Happy. Alive.  

“Well just remember you still need me around I haven’t properly married you yet.” He says sitting down in the chair and smiling.  I don’t remember laughing and smiling as much as I have in the last few days with Henry since before the war started.  “Trust me,” I say and kiss him on the forehead.  “Always” he replies.