Battle Hymns Read Online Free PDF

“I’m proud of you, son. No
matter what happens, you’re a hero, both to our country and to me.”
Mr. Adler embraced Nick and patted his cheek as he pulled away.
    Mrs. Adler threw her arms around Nick, crying into
her handkerchief over his shoulder. Nick hugged her. “Mom, I’ll be
fine. I’ll come back safe and sound, and you’ll think you were
being silly for crying so much right now.”
    “I love you, my sweet boy.” Mrs. Adler pulled away
and ran her hand over Nick’s forehead. “Don’t do anything stupid.
You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. Be sure to use it.”
    Nick nodded. “I will, and I love you, too. I promise
I’ll write.”
    Mr. Adler draped an arm over his wife’s shoulders.
“Charlotte, we’ll leave you to say your good-byes. We’ll wait for
you at the entrance.”
    He paused. “Nick, be safe.”
    Nick raised a hand in farewell, and his parents
disappeared into the crowd.
    Charlotte took Nick’s hands in hers. Tears fell down
her face. “You have to come home to me. Promise.”
    “I will. Sweetheart, I want to return home to you
more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my entire life. I’ll do my
damnedest to get back to you.”
    “I’ll be here when you get back, waiting for
you.”
    “I love you so much. I’ll look at this ring and
always think of you. I’ll also have your picture, your letters, and
the amazing memory of last night to get me through.”
    She nodded eagerly. “And I will always love you.
Always.”
    Nick pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her
waist. She linked her hands behind his neck, and their lips met
desperately. She threw all of her might into the kiss, blocking her
anxieties and fears, all thoughts of the other people in the
station, all thoughts of anything but Nick.
    Much too soon, the train whistle sounded and a man
yelled, “All aboard!”
    Charlotte held him tighter, unwilling to let go.
    “I have to leave.” Nick looked at her through moist
eyes. “I love you, sweetheart.”
    Reluctantly, she released him. Nick hitched the bag
further onto his shoulder and stepped toward the train car, ticket
in hand. She followed. She kept her hand on his arm until he stood
right at the entrance.
    “Charlotte, I have to go.”
    She nodded and gathered enough strength to pull her
hand away. She grasped her pocketbook with both hands so she
wouldn’t reach for him. The whistle on the train sounded again, and
the locomotive crawled out of the station.
    Nick stepped onto the train and stood in the doorway,
facing Charlotte. She walked along the platform as the train rolled
out, excusing herself as she ducked past countless strangers who
waved their good-byes. She reached the end of the platform and
gazed up at him. He looked at her with teary eyes, his lips flat.
That expression couldn’t be the last one she remembered.
    “Smile for me!” she shouted as he moved farther
away.
    He obliged, giving her that grin she fell in love
with so long ago. “I love you.”
    Charlotte matched his smile and waved him off. “I
love you, too.”
    Nick grew smaller and smaller until Charlotte
strained to see him. As the crowd around her dispersed, she wiped
tears from her eyes and exhaled a deep breath. The moment she had
dreaded for weeks was upon her: Nick was now at war.

 
     
    Four
     
     
    E verything reminded
Charlotte of Nick. She wore his ring on her finger. She had a
picture of the two of them from last summer framed on her bedside
table. And everything else, from the radio and the newspapers to
her father’s Army uniform, reminded her of the war for which he
trained.
    Her body ached for his touch and his kisses. Even the
sight of him would have sufficed. Sometimes at night, she lay in
bed and thought of Christmas night when they made love. Her stomach
flipped and her cheeks flushed as she recalled the feeling of his
hands on her body. Three days after he left, she went to the store
and bought several tins of peppermint Altoids, just so she