Bzzzzzz
Lucy
jumped for her phone lying on the desk. “New E-mail” the screen
read. She sighed and set the phone down. Why hasn’t he texted me
yet? It was the first time that Steve had left to go somewhere
without her. Even though it was just more training, Lucy’s heart had
fallen when he told her had had to go. She was a constant worrier and
this trip didn’t help.
The
plane ride down had gone fine. The drive to the base had gone fine.
Even the training had gone fine. Everything had gone fine, until
today. Steve had texted her that morning up until his class had boarded
the plane. That was 12 o’clock. It was now 6 o’clock and she still
hadn’t heard anything. Maybe his mom has heard something.
She
dialed the familiar number, the one she had called so many times before.
Susan picked up on the second ring.
“Steven?
Is that you?”
“Well
that answers my question. Guess you haven’t heard anything either?”
“Oh,
Lucy, it’s you. No I haven’t heard anything. I was hoping you had.”
“You
don’t think anything is wrong do you?”
“I’m
sure everything is fine. They probably went for dinner after the plane
landed. He’ll be back soon.”
“Yeah,
you’re probably right. I’ll talk to you later.”
Lucy
felt no better than she had before when she hung up. There hadn’t been
word from Steve or anyone else on Facebook, even though the one man in his
class was constantly checking in at places. She sat back down at her desk
and booted up her computer again. The first thing that came up was her
internet browser, already opened to Facebook.
She
browsed her News Feed, looking for something to calm her nerves. She
clicked on the last post Steve had posted before getting on the plane: “Heading
home to my amazingly beautiful fiancé. Don’t worry baby, I’ll be home
soon.” Lucy smiled to herself, despite the fact that she was still
worrying. She was still getting used to that word. It had been
seven months since Steve had proposed, but it still felt like it had just
happened the day before.
“Steve!
Wait up! Geez, why are you going so fast! We’re supposed to be
taking a leisurely stroll, not running a marathon!” Lucy laughed as she
ran to catch up to him.
“I
know, but… just come on! We have to get there now!” Lucy sighed as
she continued to jog through the park. She didn’t even know what was
going on, but she had never seen Steve so excited and nervous. “We’re
almost there. I promise, just a little bit farther!”
“But
why do we have to run if it’s just a little farther?”
“Because
you took too long to get ready before we left his morning!”
“Why
do we have to be there at a certain time anyway?
“I…we…uh…you’ll
see! Hurry up!”
Lucy
shook her head but kept up. This was obviously important to him and she
was interested about it herself. In the two years that they had been
dating, Steve had always been extremely laid back. He was starting the county
police academy in two weeks, something he had dreamed of for as long as she could
remember, and he wasn’t even this excited the day he got in.
“Does
this have something to do with the academy? I’m kind of tired of academy
stuff. I just wanted to relax these next two weeks and not think about
it.”
“This
has nothing to do with the academy, I promise! Wait! Okay, stop
here! We’re here!”
Lucy
stopped abruptly and finally looked around at where they were. All around
them was gorgeous white roses. She didn’t know how she didn’t notice the
smell before she saw them.
“Steve,
where are we? What are we doing here?”
“Okay
just wait. Come here. Yes, right here. Okay just stand there
and…almost time…okay…now!”
As
Steve said “now,” thousands of butterflies flew into the air, as if they were
released from one hundred cages in a circle around them. Lucy gasped at
the sight of the beautiful creatures flying into the air. She turned,
taking in the sight. As she came full circle, she saw Steve down on one
knee, a ring box in his hand.
“Lucy,
you have stuck by me for over two years. We’ve been through so much
together, that I don’t even know where to begin. When things got rough,
you didn’t give up, even when I was the one making it rough. I love you
more than anything in this world, and I can’t imagine starting off my life with
anyone but you. Will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Lucy
could say nothing as tears formed in her eyes. She thought back to all
the wonderful things that had happened between the two of them, and all the bad
things that had happened. She thought about the fact that this was all
she had wanted since their very first date. She swallowed the lump that
had risen into her throat and spoke the word he wanted to hear.
“Yes.”
“I
don’t wanna close my eyes, I don’t wanna fall asleep cause I miss ya baby, and I
don’t wanna miss a thing.”
Lucy
snapped out of her memory, lunging for her phone lying on the desk. It
read “incoming call”, and she snapped it open before reading who it was from.
“Steve?
Steve is that you? Where have you been? Why didn’t you call me
sooner?”
“Ma’am,
I’m looking for Lucile Holloway.”
“Um,
this is her. Who is calling?”
“This
is Sergeant Frost from the Jefferson County Police Department. Are you
familiar with a Steven Polk?”
“Yes,
he is my fiancé.” Lucy tried to keep her voice steady, even as the tears
formed in her eyes and the lump rose in her throat.
“Ma’am
I’m going to need you to come to the police station right away please. We
need to sp-“
“I
know why you’re calling. Just tell me.” Tears were now streaming
down her face.
“Ma’am
I would really rather do this in person. Please if you would just come to
the station-“
“Just
tell me!”
“…Your
fiancé was aboard Southwest flight 327 to Birmingham International
Airport. From what we can tell so far, the plane hit a patch of severe thunderstorms.
It is unclear at this time what exactly happened, but unfortunately the plane
did not make it back to Birmingham. We have found the wreckage and search
crews are currently working to locate any survivors. I am sorry to have
to tell you this, but your fiancé was among the bodies already found. I’m
sorry, but your fiancé has passed.”
Lucy
dropped the phone as she dropped to the ground. She heard the Sergeant
calling to her from the speaker, but did nothing to answer him. Instead,
she stared at the picture of Steve that she had hanging on her wall from the
day they were engaged. The white roses and butterflies can be seen in the
background, but the truly beautiful thing was Steve’s smile. He was so
excited and happy, like nothing in the world could bring him down.
At
that thought, Lucy doubled over and began to sob. She pictured his
smiling face, not daring to let it leave her mind. She never wanted to
forget his face. She clutched her bulging stomach, and to the thought
that she at least had a piece of him left.
Lucy
awoke to a baby crying. Disoriented, she reached her arm over to wake up
Steve. Feeling only cold sheets, she woke up fully, realization hitting
her like a bullet to the heart. She checked the clock and saw that it
read 3 o’clock. Walking down the hallway and into the nursery, Lucy saw
the baby lying in the crib, having his regular early morning fit. She
picked him up and cradled him in her arms, rocking him to calm him down.
“Shhhh.
Its okay, sweetie. Everything’s going to be okay. Calm down, Steve.”
Black City
