The Soldiers

“I have to confess that I am glad to see you back safe and sound,” Wally spouted. “A father’s place is with his family.”

“Thank you, Wally,” Salinas accepted. “That means a lot.”

“Well, then, good night,” The father-in-law tried to be polite.

“Good night,” the son-in-law obliged in kind as he grabbed a small juice cup from the cupboard and let the water from the faucet run cold.

As he stood there with just the illumination of the cabinet night light, listening to the heavy footsteps reach the top of the stoop and then fade off into the bedroom on the left, the relieved soldier lost himself in the coolness of the tap that ran against his finger. The water from Francisco’s cistern was lukewarm and left a thin layer of silt on the tongue. The Rio itself was almost frigid in the deep of the night as it motivated him to march on further across the dry and rocky landscape to warm him from the inside out. The steam of the hot shower above the rising heat of the bakery ovens renewed his vigor, and now he was back in his comfortable life of sweet luxury, waiting for the deep, refreshing cold that promptly waited at the tips of his fingers for his beck and call. Running water, ice, even air conditioning were all what he thought he deserved once upon a time. Who could possibly blame him for that? He had been so burdened with the yoke of the materialistic, individualistic, and self-fulfilling worldview. How could he have been so blind?

His thoughts shuffled through his memory until that soft, gentle pitter-patter coming down from above distracted his attention. He pulled down the lever to stop the cooling flow and just listened and delighted in what now consumed him. The intricately placed steps grew closer to the kitchen, raising the response of his heartbeats in time.

“Anna,” he whispered towards the shadow that stopped just at the doorway.

“I, I just couldn’t sleep,” she answered back.

Salinas walked towards his precious wife, her head lowered as if crossing that line of intimacy for the first time with him. Knowing how to love her fully, he reached for her hand and pulled her close to him. “Oh, Anna, I’ve missed you so,” he vowed, pulling her tighter around her waist, insisting that their bodies unite while pushing back her long, beautiful locks from her face.

“Art,” she wanted to confess. “I want to be with you. I want to go back downstairs.”

Her voice sounded embarrassed to be so forward, but her face revealed how much she had healed from his painful blows. As he studied her eyes, seeing the surrendered vulnerability in them, it made him want to swoop her up, boldly carry her down, and love her fully. The lonely husband wanted to touch every part of her, kiss every soft place of the magnificent gift that had been entrusted to his care, and recommit to the carefully knit bond with her that would never be separated again. Salinas had painfully waited for this moment, clinging to the strength of the Lord with every ounce of himself, and now it had come full circle, freely given to him and blessed by the Father.

Yet, he could not take it, not like this. Like so many times before, he surrendered his passionate drive, reined in the emotions although they would not bring condemnation this time, and instead pulled his breathtaking bride through the family room and out onto the back deck. The humility of her offer had grown into defeated panic at his seeming refusal, and the tears that formed he knew were from tender pain.

“Anna, I can’t let you come down there,” he began, the look on her face growing more distraught. “Please hear me out.” He fully intended for his distance to be a sign of respect, yet he could see that he was losing her and fast. “I need to tell you something first, before you make that choice,” Salinas continued, seeing that his attempt at softening the blow was falling flat. “No, please, it is not bad. It is actually good, or at least, I hope and pray that you see it that way!”

Her eyes rose to grasp to any straw of redeeming hope that she had placed in him.

“The Lord brought me safely back to you, oh my dear Anna.” He marched on as he cupped her hands together and fiercely held them next to his chest. “But he brought me here for one reason, and you must know it before we go any further.”