She took to passing those letters out to the other soldiers, so they’d have something to read. But she always responded to my letters even though we still talked on the phone. She’d put a little bit of sand in each one she sent me. I’d put a little dirt or a leaf in the ones I sent her.
People in town said Ginny wouldn’t have to do anything except sit around, and that’s what all of her letters made it sound like she was doing. I’d been worried about her, so those boring letters of hers made me feel a bit better. We wrote back and forth, and I set the date of my wedding far off, so she could come. And we wrote about flowers and table arrangements. All the things that had to be just so. There was a lot of planning to do, and we were going to do it right.
It was a great wedding, everyone said so. I had to ask, because I wasn’t sure. There was so much going on. I’m convinced now though, it was definitely good. Ginny was there, and she didn’t wear fancy clothes, she just dressed normal. Scott was there too, they were still together, but he hadn’t proposed. That was ok. She gave me a hug, and we had a minute together during the reception, and I asked about being abroad. She said she had missed the trees back home, and I got that. I told her that me and Marcus were flying to Italy for our honeymoon. She smiled and hugged me. She said she was happy for me, and I think she was.
I watched her some. She didn’t seem to eat much, and Scott kept his hand on her back. Just held it there. She drank a lot of wine so her lips got purple. But you might have thought it was just lipstick if you didn’t know her lips like I know them. Me and Marcus left and got on a plane and went to Italy, and it was a long flight, and I got sick at one point. I didn’t see Ginny again for a long time.
We spent a whole month in Italy. It was too long. I was ready to be home, and I wasn’t even scared of flying on the return trip, even though I knew I was going to get sick. Marcus rubbed my back through the whole flight. He’s good that way.