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He followed her down the hallway past what looked to be a modest living room to the kitchen. It was old with laminate countertops and cabinets that looked to have been painted several times over. Along one wall was a small table with three chairs. It wasn’t overly stylish, but it had a homey feel to it.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.
“I’m good. Thank you.”
She glanced around before lowering herself into one of the wooden chairs.
Alexander pulled out a chair and sat down, making sure not to crowd her. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable. “My apologies for not calling ahead of time, but I didn’t have a working phone number for you.”
Grace averted her eyes and swallowed. “That’s because I don’t have one.”
He leaned closer out of pure instinct. “You don’t have a phone?”
She looked down. “Not a landline. I have a cell phone for emergencies.”
Alexander relaxed a little. He knew her family was from here, but a woman living alone should at least have a phone, some way to call for help should she need it. Maybe that sounded old-fashioned, but he didn’t much care. He was who he was.
A heavy silence filled the air for several moments as he searched for how to start. While Kurt had talked about his wife, Alexander didn’t really know her and she didn’t know him. He and Kurt had gotten to know each other during their time overseas when Kurt had been injured a few days after Alexander’s arrival at the base. They’d bonded over their love of baseball and good pizza. Of course, they’d had differing opinions on both.
She met Alexander’s gaze for a second, and then looked away again. “I’m okay.”
The corners of his mouth lifted despite the seriousness of the situation. She obviously knew her husband well. Kurt had been a protector, just as Alexander was. It was probably another reason why they’d gotten along so well. “Kurt talked about you a lot.”
Grace nodded. “He mentioned you in a couple of his emails. He said... he said you were a good friend.”
“He was a good friend to me as well.” Alexander paused. “He asked me to come see you. To find you should anything happen to him.”
Alexander saw the moisture well up in her eyes and his heart broke. The urge to reach out to her was strong, but he held back. He didn’t want her to be in pain, but he also knew it was inevitable. The letter Kurt asked him to deliver most likely contained his last goodbyes. Alexander didn’t know how he’d handle seeing her break down in front of him, but he would do it for his friend. He owed Kurt that much.
“Were you there?” she asked, her voice barely loud enough for him to hear even sitting so close.
He felt the muscles in his throat constrict. “Yes.”
She gripped the edge of the table, her fingers turning white under the pressure. “The men who came... they wouldn’t tell me anything. Just that he... that he died in combat.” She glanced up at him then, her eyes pleading.
As much as he didn’t want to talk about that day, he would. He’d answer whatever questions she had. For Kurt. For her.
***
Grace’s heart felt as if it would beat out of her chest as she waited for her guest to answer. Once his name had registered, she recalled Kurt talking about Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Greco several times. Her husband trusted him, which was what had led her to inviting him inside. If Kurt had trusted him, then she knew she could, too.
“We were in a village when we came under fire. There were explosions all around us.” He paused and she held her breath waiting for him to go on. “It all happened very quickly.”
Quickly. She closed her eyes as her chest constricted. It had happened quickly. He hadn’t lain there and suffered. “Thank you.”
The pressure of a hand on hers caused her to open her eyes. “I have something for you.”
She looked at him, confused. The men who’d come to tell her that her husband had died in combat had given her Kurt’s personal effects.
“Your husband gave me a letter. He asked that I deliver it personally.”
Grace resisted the urge to touch her collar—the one Kurt had placed around her neck before his last deployment. It had been her only comfort the day the soldiers had knocked on her door in full dress uniform to inform her that her husband was dead. She’d lain in bed for two days before a neighbor and fellow Army wife had come to check on her. It would be so easy to sink back into that black hole. She’d been tempted several times since that day. It was only her family that had stopped her.
She’d been so lost in her thoughts, her memories, that she almost missed the envelope Alexander held in his hand. He seemed to hesitate and then held it out to her.
Reluctantly, Grace took it and placed it in her lap. With a single finger, she outlined her name written in her husband’s chicken scratch. A smile tugged at her lips but was swiftly followed by a gut-wrenching ache deep in her chest. She’d always teased him about his handwriting. She’d never...
“Kurt asked me to make sure you weren’t alone when you read it, but I can go in the other room if you’d like some privacy.” His words were soft, comforting.
