He loved her before he met her. She was the woman who haunted his dreams and consumed his every waking thought for the year it took him to gather up the courage to speak to her. Long, silky black hair, pale skin and a smile that melted his heart every time. Her green eyes taunted him, daring him to say hello and when he finally did, Nick knew he was done for. It was over, he had found the woman he was born to love. Alisa had been loved before, but never with the kind of slow resolve that Nick gave to her. He was the knight in shining armor she had read stories about as a child. Instead of defending a castle, he defended the United States of America. He had joined the Army after graduating from college to pursue his life long dream of becoming a fighter pilot. Alisa knew without a shadow of a doubt that Nick was the man God had made just for her, and so when he asked her to marry him six short months later she ecstatically said yes. There’s nothing quite as romantic as the wedding of an officer in the military. The groom looks like a prince in his dress uniform, and the bride looks just like a fairy tale princess in her wedding gown. Nick and Alisa’s wedding was something straight from a story book. There were tears of happiness, knowing smiles passed among wedding guests, and a feeling shared by everyone who attended that something incredible had happened that sweet spring day. It wasn’t just a wedding, it wasn’t just a joining of two families. There was an absolute merging of two souls. It’s not often that two people who are so right for each other can find one another, but Nick and Alisa had. God had meant the two of them for one another, and to every person who was a witness, faith in Him had been strengthened by these two young lovers. It was no surprise when an announcement came a few months later that Nick and Alisa were expecting a bundle of joy. When that perfect little boy was born, everyone rejoiced and marveled at God’s goodness. Casey became the focus of their lives. Alisa quit her job to stay at home with the baby and Nick thanked God everyday for allowing all of his dreams to come true. He had a job he loved, a wife who was truly his other half, and a beautiful boy who had his mother’s dark hair and his own smoky grey eyes. When the war continued to escalate in Iraq, Nick was told that he should be prepared to deploy at a moment’s notice. It broke his heart to have to hold his sobbing wife that night when he told her the news. “What if something happens to you?” she cried into his chest, “How will I take care of Casey without you? How could I possibly breathe knowing you weren’t coming home?” He stroked her hair to calm his own fears as much as hers. “I will always come back to you. I will Always come home,” he whispered, “Always.” They made love that night with a fierceness that neither of them could deny. That act of love repeated itself every night until he was called to deploy two weeks later. As they said goodbye Alisa held back her tears, and Casey smiled at his daddy. Nick hugged them both once more and told his son that he had to be mommy’s big helper while Daddy was at work. To Alisa he smiled, with tears that threatened to spill from the grey eyes that provided her with so much comfort, and kissed her softly. “Always,” he said, and then he turned to walk away. In the months since Nick had left, Alisa found herself a part-time job to help keep her busy. She had enrolled Casey in a young preschooler’s program with other children of deployed soldiers, and she watched proudly as he flourished. Every night she wrote to Nick after Casey was asleep and some nights she was lucky enough to get a phone call from him. She always tried to sound upbeat when they spoke, and even though Nick never told her so, Alisa knew that he was afraid. Casey helped his mom make care packages to send to Nick, and when he received those homemade cookies he always shared with the other guys in his unit. Nick proudly showed off the pictures of his beautiful wife and growing son to anyone who would look, and he would write them both letters to say thank you. Every letter to Alisa was signed, “ALWAYS. Nick”. The holiday season came quickly and it was the first for Alisa and Casey without Nick at home. They did all of the normal Christmas activities, but it just wasn’t the same. Casey missed his Daddy, and Alisa missed her husband. On Christmas Eve, after a long night of baking cookies for Santa, singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer about one hundred times, and getting her parents sent on their way to her aunt’s house, Alisa finally got Casey to sleep. She sat down in the living room to write her nightly letter to Nick, but she couldn’t concentrate. The lights from the Christmas tree danced in the room, and every time she put her pen to the paper they distracted her. Her hand refused to budge. She put on her coat over her pajamas and stepped outside into the backyard. The cold air bit at her face, but the peacefulness of the night soothed her. She gazed up into the heavens, losing herself in the beauty of the stars on such a clear night. “Baby please come home,” she said to no one, “I miss you.” She walked back into the house and turned off the lights on the Christmas tree. She took off her coat and tossed it over the arm of the couch. Alisa double checked the locks, and then walked down the hallways to her bedroom. As she snuggled into the bed she shared with her husband, tears began to stain her pillow and for the first time since Nick had left eight months ago she felt completely alone. Her last waking thought was a simple prayer. “Bring him home to me,” and then she slept. She didn’t know what had woken her up, but Alisa bolted upright in bed. It was dark, definitely not morning. She looked at the clock and saw that it was just after midnight, it was Christmas day. She got out of bed and tiptoed down the hallway to check on Casey. She opened his door and saw that he was sound asleep. Alisa walked over to his bed, pulled the covers tightly around his little body and kissed his forehead. As she shut his bedroom door, Alisa was startled. There was soft light coming from the living room. The lights on the Christmas tree had been turned on. Alisa thought to herself that she had turned them off before she went to bed and her heart began to race. She walked silently down the hall towards the living room, and when she got there her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. He felt her before he saw her. He had been kneeling by the Christmas tree holding a small ornament that Alisa had given him for their first Christmas together. As he stood to face her, tears fell freely down Nick’s face. Alisa ran to him and he wrapped his arms around his wife in a melting embrace. After what seemed like an eternity he moved her to arm’s length so eh could look at her. She was wearing silly red and green Christmas pajamas that his sister had given her the year before as a gift. Her hair was piled on top of her head, her face free of makeup, and he knew that he had never seen anyone more perfect in his life. Alisa couldn’t believe Nick was standing in their living room. He looked too thin, but his handsome face was the same. His grey eyes burned into her, and when his thumb wiped away a tear that had unknowingly slipped down her cheek, Alisa knew her prayer had been answered. “You’re really here,” she said with a shaky voice, “I prayed for you to be home, and you’re here.” He tipped her face up to his and memorized her eyes. He pulled her close to him once more and whispered, “Always,” as he leaned down to touch his lips to hers. Alisa responded to Nick timidly at first, as though their months apart had made her unsure, but he deepened their kiss until she pressed her body into his with no reservation. They were a flurry of movement, clothing was abandoned as they lay down on the floor by the Christmas tree. She looked into Nick’s eyes as he entered her and the words she spoke rang true. “Welcome home,” she whispered. And he was. Sometime later, after they had made love again, Nick and Alisa were lying in their bed completely wrapped in each other. They talked about Casey, and he began to tell her about Iraq. “It’s getting worse over there,” he told her “I didn’t think it was possible, but it’s getting more dangerous by the day.” Alisa stroked his chest as he spoke to her, and she noticed what looked to be fresh wounds on his body. He flinched as she touched them and she wanted to know how he got them, but instead she asked, “How long will you be home?” Nick’s eyes turned dark as he held his wife. He kissed her forehead and said, “I don’t know exactly, not long.” Alisa nodded and then moved her body on top of his. They made love once more, drawing it out leisurely, and ending it with a soul destroying urgency that only comes from complete trust and absolute love for another person. As they drifted off to sleep Nick whispered, “I love you Alisa.” She simply responded, “Always.” She was already fast asleep when he said, “Take good care of Casey, and this new life inside of you.” Alisa awoke to a winter sun shining through her bedroom window. She smiled and closed her eyes again. Her thoughts returned to the night before, and she remembered how shocked she had been to find Nick at home. She remembered the urgency with which he had consumed her on the living room floor, and then the sweetness that followed again and again in their bedroom. She put her hand on her belly, and somehow she knew that last night Nick had succeeded in giving Casey a baby brother or sister. Nick wasn’t in bed with her. Alisa got dressed quickly so she could wake up their son and the three of them could unwrap presents from Santa together. Alisa looked in the bathroom for Nick, but he wasn’t there. She noticed that Casey’s door was open, but when she glanced in his room she didn’t see Nick. Casey was still out like a light. Alisa’s heart began to race and her chest tightened. A feeling of dread washed over her, and by the time she reached the living room only to see Nick’s bag wasn’t sitting by the front door the tears had already come. Nick was gone. She collapsed on the couch and began to sob. Had she dreamed last night? Was Nick even here? “No,” she almost shouted. He had been there. Her husband had been there. There was sand by the front door from his bag. The ornament she had given him was sitting on the desk where he set it down when she ran to him. Her lips were bruised from his kisses and her body ached from his gentle persistence. He had been there, and now he was gone. Alisa shook as she cried. She hated that she didn’t get to say goodbye to him, but she thought maybe it was easier for him that way. Leaving on a good note was something he believed in. She continued to cry out of her own selfish need, and only looked up when a small hand touched her knee. Casey hugged his mom with all the strength his three year old body could muster. Alisa pulled her son close to her and then said as cheerfully as she could, “Merry Christmas Casey!” Her sweet boy grinned at her in a way that made him look just like his father. He gave her a conspiratorial glance and said, “Mommy, guess what!” “What?” she asked excitedly. Casey took her breath away with what he said. “Daddy came to see me last night!” Alisa was shocked. She didn’t know that Nick had seen their son. Casey continued, “He told me stories and gave me hugs. He told me to make sure Mommy wasn’t sad when he left.” Alisa stared at her son, unsure of how to respond. “He said he loves me, and you Mommy, and that when the new baby comes I have to be a good big brother.” Alisa smiled, knowing that Nick had felt it too. They had made a new life together and she couldn’t wait for this deployment to be over so they could all be together as a family again. Alisa reminded Casey that Santa had come to visit the night before too, and he had presents to open. They giggled as he opened his gifts and enjoyed the rest of their Christmas day with family. Somewhere in the desert outside of Baghdad on a temporary military base, Captain Michael Bradley gathered his soldiers together. Everyone was quiet, the somberness of the occasion tearing at their insides. “It’s Christmas Day,” Captain Bradley began “and last night we lost one of our own. First Lieutenant Nicholas Makenna was killed in action while flying a combat mission. His aircraft was shot down by enemy forces. He leaves behind his wife Alisa, and his young son Casey Makenna. Lets have a moment of silence in rememberence of Nick, and a prayer for his family. It’s Christmas, and they’re about to have their world shattered.” The soldiers stood quietly as Captain Bradley said a prayer for Nick’s family. “…Godspeed Nick. You were a good man and a fine soldier. May you rest in peace. Always.” | 
