Kim wasn’t inside when Gerald got home. She spent the last week sleeping over, so he grew accustomed to seeing her the moment he walked in. “Kim?!” He went through the mail, and sighed when he saw all the bills. “I hate being so grown up,” he muttered. “Kim! Are you upstairs?” He still had three other envelopes in his hands, and casually walked upstairs.

But he stopped when he saw the last one. The symbol of the yellow-striped eagle sitting on top of the globe said it all. He was being called back for duty.

Gerald walked across the hall and knocked on Marissa’s door. He needed to find Kim.

Jake was the one who opened the door. His tiny body in his overalls greeted Gerald with a killer smile that could melt the world. Gerald bent down and scooped in his arms. “What are you doing opening the door? Where’s Mama?” He asked, closing the door behind him.

Gerald looked around the living room and saw exactly who he was looking for. Kim was sitting on a tiny toy chair and Emma was putting lipstick all over her lips, including the skin around.

“Are you sure I look pretty?” Kim asked, sitting patiently.

“Yes. Tito Gerald is going to like you a lot,” Emma answered, moving onto eye shadow. “You need to close your eyes.”

Kim obeyed and let Emma do all the [messy] work. When she opened her eyes she saw Gerald standing there watching her. She laughed. “How do I look?”

“You look like…Emma.” He joked, kissing Emma on the forehead. “Em, where’s your Mama?”

Emma started to put things back in the case. “She’s making dinner. Tito, does Ate Kim look pretty?”

“She looks very pretty,” he grabbed Emma around her stomach and carried her away so he could kiss Kim.

“Gerald!” Marissa walked in from the kitchen holding a pitcher of iced tea. “Okay babies, in the kitchen now. Ge, put them down, it’s dinner time.” She kissed Gerald on the cheek and poured him a glass. “You guys want to stay for dinner?”

Kim shrugged when Gerald looked at her. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll talk to you guys later.” He shut the door and then opened his. “Do I want to know what exactly happened?” He sat on the couch.

Kim shook her head and then straddled her lap. “What can I say? I’m a likeable person.”

He pushed her hair away from her face and shoved it all on one side. Gerald leaned forward and kissed her. “Yes, you are. All I kept thinking about was last night.” He smiled.

But there was something different. She noticed this. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Ge, I’ve lived with you for almost a year, I know your looks. And right now you have that I’m-upset-but-don’t-worry-her look.” She moved off of him and curled her legs underneath her beside him. “I’m no longer pregnant. What’s wrong?”

He looked deep into her eyes, and realized how much he’d miss her once he left. He pictured waking up in a tent full of strangers, and not being able to look deep into her eyes; not being able to hold her, or kiss her. He took her hand and brought her upstairs. If this was going to be the last time, he was going to make it right.

In the morning, they shared a shower, and Kim got dressed. Her first day was coming up and she needed to go shopping for all new supplies. She went into the top of his desk drawer to get her wallet and keys but paused when she saw a stack of letters.

Kim turned around and saw clearance. She took out her wallet but then her curiosity overwhelmed her. She took them all in her hand. Most of them were opened, but they all had the same symbol on the top left. She opened the one on the top and read the date - yesterday. She put it down and then read each of them one by one. They were calling him back. There were probably ten to fifteen. The first one was dated on April; when she was still pregnant.

“Morning. Want to get some breakfast? I got a couple of hours to kill before work,” he said pulling his shirt on.

“What the hell is this?” She asked holding up the numerous envelopes. “The Marine letters?”

He took them from her hand. “It’s nothing. They’re recent.”

“April is recent? Gerald, when were you going to tell me they called you back?”

“I’m still thinking about it. Look, in April, you were pregnant. I couldn’t leave you.”

“And now? You can’t not go. This is the marines we’re talking about.”

He nodded, “So why are talking about this? Are you mad?”

“You didn’t tell me. Is that what last night was about? You making love to me as a sign of goodbye? What? Were you just planning on waiting until I left the apartment and then writing me a note?” Her voice cracked. “Gerald, I thought we were being honest with each other. Maybe you couldn’t tell me when I was having a baby, but what about after?”

“You were so sad and upset over your loss that I didn’t want to spring it up on you.”

“What about us? I mean, after we got together, don’t you think you should’ve told me that you were going to get up and leave one day? The letters are all here, Gerald! They’ve been piling up, and that should’ve been your clue on letting me know your little secret. I’m not mad that you got called back, it’s your duty, I get it. But when were you going to tell me?” He couldn’t answer. “How long are we talking about here?”

“Five years,” he answered in a whisper.

Kim felt the sting in her eyes. “Gerald we’re talking about Marines, here. You’re not just sent to the next city, you’re sent somewhere in the world for five years! There is no way of getting out. There is no saying no to national security. By not telling me, you haven’t given up years of your life, Gerald; you’re giving up years of mine.”

“I’m so sorry.” It was all e could say. Never in a million years would he think he would’ve ended up with Kim, let alone last this long after the death of her child. Every time he was with her, he did forget about the letters, or at least shoved in the back of his mind. But because he did that, he never really thought about what he was giving up, or what he was making her give up. Sure, joining the Marines was his decision, and he needed to live with it for the next five years; but he never really thought about how it’d affect Kim. If they got through this fight, she would give up five years waiting for him. She would spend the next five years wondering if he was alive, wondering if he would ever come. And then he would spend the next five years if he had something to come back home to. “I’m sorry.”

She grabbed her things and looked at him. “Well, if you have your decision made, then do yourself a favor and tell me. I’ll be staying at my apartment tonight.” She walked away and slammed the door behind her.