**ONE MONTH LATER**
The nightmares had officially stopped. I no longer saw everyone I loved get murdered, no longer woke up in the middle of the night screaming and sweating, and I had told Chase about them in my last letter. When I got his response letter back, he wasn't worried or upset like I had thought he'd be. In fact, he was rather supportive and reassuring. He made me all these sweet promises and nothings, telling me that he's going to be fine. I just got another letter from him today, and have yet to open it.
"Do we have any Clamato juice?" Daisy asks, walking down stairs. I turned around to look at her with a confused and disgusted face.
"Clamato juice? Daisy, you do realize you can't have margaritas when you're four months pregnant, right?" I tell her. She rolls her eyes at me opens the fridge in search of her clam-tomato margarita juice.
"Well no shit. I'm really craving it for some reason. Like, I can smell it in my head and it sounds so good right now." She explains, not taking her eyes off of the contents of the fridge. "HA!" she says. She reaches back on the top shelf and pulls out a half full bottle of Clamato juice, the look of victory all over her face.
"I wouldn't drink a lot of it, Daisy. You're not supposed to have a lot of seafood, and that has clam juice in it." I advise her, turning back around to the mail.
"Don't worry, I'm only gonna have a sip. Just enough to satisfy my craving." She says. I turn and watch her twist off the cap and bring the bottle to her lips. She didn't even bother to get a glass for it. My face contorts in disgust as I watch her take a rather large sip of the pale red liquid, the smell of the clam juice making its way towards me. I make a gagging noise and turnaround soI don't to watch it.
"You're aren't comin' anywhere near me now. You better brush your teeth when you're done, too." I tell her. She makes a satisfied noise before putting it back in the fridge.
"Much better." she says, then walks back upstairs. I shake my head at my sister's gross pregnancy craving and take my new letter from Chase to the couch. I open it up and small rectangle shaped paper falls onto my lap. I pick up and turn it over to see it's a picture of Chase and all his buddies he's currently stationed out with. I smile when I see his handsome right int he middle. He's got both arms around two other guys, while two more guys stand behind them making funny faces. It was such a cute picture. I place it on the arm rest next to me and start reading the letter it came with.
'Dear Hayden,
I got your last letter, and you can tell Billie-Mae that no, she can't have my truck while I'm gone hahaha. I hope you're doing good, I hope the nightmares are gone for good. How's Daisy doing with the pregnancy? She getting any mood swings yet? The guys and I are finding it hard to entertain each other so don't be mad when I tell you we put bets on the gender of Daisy's baby. I know it's probably terrible, but we're bored out here! I bet that it was going to be a boy, and so did Greg, Kyle, and Franky. Cody is the only one that thinks it's gonna be a girl. Speaking of the guys, they're currently watching me write this letter to you and are making cat calls and kissing noises at me, calling me 'Love Boy' and 'Romeo'. I tell them about you all the time and showed them your pictures, and they all told me I better not piss you off because you 'look like you could kick my ass'. They all said they want to meet you some day, so I invited them over for dinner once we have all our legal stuff worked out. I figured you'd enjoy a picture since you haven't seen my ugly mug in a few months. Knowing the guys, they wouldn't let me take a picture without them being in it. They said you have to see all the options you missed out on when you married me hahaha. The guy on my right is Cody and the guy on my right is Franky. They're both from Virginia and went to basic together. The two idiots above me are Greg and Kyle, they're the biggest goofballs I ever met, but they're a lot smarter than you'd think. I hope to hear from you soon, Darling. We should be getting word about our leave time in a few days, hopefully. I promise, I'm coming home soon. I can't wait to hold you in my arms again, and be able to kiss you over and over again. I'll be home soon, Hayden. Take care of the girls. I love you so much, Darling.
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Love,
Chase
I smile and laugh as I read the letter. I looked at the picture again when he started explaining who was who, matching names to faces. Cody was probably a blonde, but his hair was buzzed so it was hard to tell for sure. Franky was a caramel colored man with a wide and very friendly smile, and seemed like a really good guy to know. Greg looked a little older than everyone else, with dark brown hair and think, defined face covered in five o'clock shadow. Kyle was buzzed as well and had a few tattoos on his arms. I keep looking at Chase standing in the middle, smiling with all the battle buddies. I feel a tear run down my cheek and wipe it away. It wasn't a tear of sorrow, but happiness. This was the first time I'm seeing Chase's face since he left four long months ago.
I grab my pen and paper and start my letter back to him.
'Dear Chase (and the guys),
Thank you for the complement guys, he knows I can kick his ass if I had to hahaha. Y'all are welcome over anytime! And you guys better get your bets ready because Daisy's gender appointment is in few days. Daisy and I think it's gonna be a girl, and Billie-Mae doesn't want to guess because she feels like we're playing favorites haha. I love the picture so much, and I hope you guys are doing well. Lady had her foul a while ago and it's a boy! He's a tan color, so I really don't know how the hell she got pregnant because none of my horses are tan. The vet guesses it's probably genetics, like red hair. I'm excited to have you home again, Chase. I miss you smell, smile, touch, and kisses. I promise to never leave your side when you're home, and I don't know if I'll be able to when you go back. I love you Chase, I'll see you soon.
Love,
Hayden'
I seal the letter in an envelope and take it to the mailbox. It was now the beginning of October, so the air was much cooler than it was during July, but it was still rather warm for North Carolina. The crops were getting ready to be harvested, and the Fall Festival was going to be coming up in a few weeks. People have already started decorating for Halloween, putting up cheap little ghosts, witches, vampires, and bat decorations all over town. Everything was pumpkin spice flavor, and everywhere I went smelled like cinnamon and cloves. Unlike the rest of the population, I actually hate pumpkin spice everything and cinnamon. It just wasn't appealing to me, and I didn't really see the big deal about it.
Halloween was Dad's favorite holiday because he loved pranking me and Daisy when we were little. When we got older, Dad started making us help him prank the hay riders that traveled down to the farm houses for candy. Every year was something different, and every year Mama yelled at dad for making little kids cry.
When I walk back into the warmth of the house, Billie-Mae hands me the house phone.
"It's your grandmother-in-law." she says calmly. Ever since Chase and I got married, the girls have been referring to the Taylor's as my in-laws. I didn't mind it, I just found it odd since we've always been calling them "the Taylor's" my whole life. I guess I still getting used to fact that I was related to them my marriage now.
"Hello Mrs. Taylor." I answer the phone.
"Hayden Blair Alistair-Taylor, you know very well that I am your grandmother now, right?" she asks with sass in her tone. I head into the kitchen to start dinner, tucking the phone between mu shoulder and ear as I pull everything out.
"Yes, I am very well aware." I say sarcastically.
"Then no more of that 'Mrs. Taylor' stuff. From now on you either call me by my first name, or just call me Gram like Chase does. You're family for real this time." she demands. I drop a chicken breast onto the chopping board and grab a cutting knife from the drawer.
"Alright, alright. Now, what is it you're calling for?" I ask, wanting her to get to the point. I start cutting the chicken into strips before tossing them into the marinade bowl.
"I was calling to ask if you were much of a baker?" she asks. I stop cutting for a second, wondering why she'd want to know.
"Well, I don't exactly wear a red and white plaid apron and a cherry dress and make a blueberry pie to let cool off on the window sill, but I've do my share. I usually just bake Mama's Christmas cookies and her cake recipes for birthdays and stuff. Why do you ask?" I ask her, carefully placing a sheet of cling-wrap on the top of the bowl before putting the chicken in the fridge.
"Well, I was about to make my pumpkin and apple pies like I normally do around this time of year. Every since Chase's dad was a little boy, I baked these pies every year. It was a tradition to pass the recipes down throughout the family, but given Chase's dad's behavior over the course of my grandson's life, I didn't give his father the recipes. And then when Chase enlisted in the Marine Corps, I still didn't get to pass them down. Although, I'm sure doesn't even know how to turn on a damn stove now that I think about it." she starts. "Anyways, I realized that since you're now married to my handsome grandson, I was wondering if you'd like the recipes?" she finally asks. I stop cutting vegetables and look up.
"Mrs.--I mean, Gram, you don't have to do that. I understand those are precious to you." I say.
"Oh I know you know, but you're my granddaughter now. And besides, I don't want to be known as the only one in my family who couldn't pass down two damn recipes for pies. It would mean an awful lot to me." She says. I can tell by the sound of her voice that she really was upset she didn't anyone to pass the pie recipes down to. I've had her apple and pumpkin pies before, and they were to die for. I really did want them, but I didn't want to take away her family tradition.
"If you're sure you want me to have them, I will gladly take them." I say into the phone. I hear her laughing on the other end and it makes me smile.
"Perfect! You can come by and get them tomorrow, if you'd like. Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow sweetheart. Bye-bye now!" And just like that, she hung up. I click the phone to end the call and continue chopping the vegetables. I was making pan fried chicken with some local produce tonight on account of Daisy getting her vitamins in for the baby. She hated it when I did this kind of stuff, but that little baby was just as important to me, too.
As II'm cooking the food, I start to daydream on what it would be like when I make dinner for Chase. I bet he'd try to help but just end up making a mess or burn something. I imagine him holding me from behind while I worked at the stove, music playing the background softly. He'd sway back and forth while he held me and peck my cheek with a kiss every now and then. I wanted to know all his favorite foods so I could make them for him when he came home. I wanted to know what kind of desserts he likes so I could make them for his birthdays, and what his favorite restaurants were so we could go there on anniversaries. I find myself smiling as my daydreams of mine and Chase's future dance around in my head. I didn't realize that I was swaying to nonexistent music and humming along to George Straight lyrics that played in my head. I found it pleasing to know that Chase was able to capture my full attention, even when he wasn't here. And it was now that I realized what Mama was talking about when she told me "Love consumes you, body, soul, and mind". Even in her grave, Mama was right.
