The love she already had for him pleased her but anything stronger would break her heart. Living in fear that her friend would suddenly die was painful enough but if she had to feel that fear for someone she had fallen in love with, it would certainly be too much to bear. She begged his forgiveness throughout the rest of the letter.

            As the letter ended, Weston felt a surge of loneliness travel through his body. The woman he loved had just given up hope. In an instant, he realized where he was; alone on foreign soil. The sound of a soft drizzle pecking the outside of his tent hid the sounds of his breaking heart.

            In desperation, two letters were sent to his fair Nora, begging her to reconsider her choice, but they sailed away each time with no returning answer. Despite the burning in his heart, he had a war to fight and, little by little, he let go of the idea of Nora Parker.

            The crowd cheered loudly as the Mayor of Weber finished his eternity-filling speech. Weston gazed into the crowd of his friends and neighbors with a smile. He reached for his wife’s hand, and without hesitation, she grasped his with faithful support.

            The aged couple helped each other to the edge of the stage and down the small wooden steps. Into the sea of townspeople, the brave couple traveled. They shook hands with one person after another and greeted others with hugs. The ceremony had become a full celebration.

            As the crowd parted, a familiar, albeit weathered, face emerged. Nora’s beautiful, sparkling eyes stayed the same through the years. Her smile still had the power to melt the grown man’s heart.

            “All this for a simple man,” she cooed with a playful grin. “I heard this little town was giving its due to a hero so, of course, I had to travel back here to see what all the fuss was about.”

            Nora, now a widow, took a seat next to Weston and Rena at the picnic table and served herself a piece of Mrs. Picket’s cherry pie. She told Weston all about her life with her late husband, Ian. Before Weston had returned from the war, she moved miles away craving a brand new start. There, she met the love her life, Ian, who gave her three beautiful children.

            Through her story, Weston’s thoughts ran away with him once again. Nora sat in front of him, the same as he’d left her. Her voice still had an air of adventure despite her age and her laugh rang true to his memories. He gave in to human impulses and wondered what life would have been like if he’d been able to save his friendship with her. Would he have found a way to make it grow? If he had not gone to war, would he have been able to keep Nora, or would destiny have surprised him with Rena?

            The questions rolled over and over in his mind, one after the other, as he stuffed himself full of pie and laughed at a few of Nora’s stories.

            By the time the sun set that day, he’d made a very important decision. Questions never helped a matter. He could not go back in time to change what had been, nor did he have the desire to. Life led him down a beautiful, winding road and had just given him one more beautiful gift – a long overdue reunion.