A few months after James left the soldier from before returned. Maggie-May knew instantly that he was here for Clifford.
"Before you say anything, I already hear nothing from my husband, I will not send you my oldest son. He's newly married with a wife to care for, it won't be long before they have children. He's needed here more than on your frontlines." she told the recruiter
"I don't mean to be impolite Mrs. Nolan, but have you asked your son whether he wants to volunteer or not?" the recruiter asked.
Maggie-May crossed her arms and looked the recruiter right in the eye. "I am his mother, I know what's best for him."
"You make him look like a coward then," the recruiter said.
Before Maggie-May could argue back, Clifford stepped out of the house. "Mother, he's right. It would be cowardly for me to stay behind."
"No, it's not," Maggie-May argued her voice growing desperate. "You have a wife, she needs you, your future kids need you."
"My family needs to be protected from our enemies. The best thing I can do is to fight for a better world, one where my future kids are safe," he said and that ended the argument, it was his life he was putting on the line after all.
However, even though his mind was made up, Maggie-May's wasn't. From that point on she decided she would convince people that fighting a war they knew little about through her writing and she even started protesting in the streets, so everyone knew the mistake they were making.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49536287182_f62a16c323_c.jpgMeanwhile, Clifford and Vickie had an uncertain future to face together. They talked about it long into the night and agreed that although Clifford would be gone, they couldn't just stop living until the war was over. The night before Clifford was set to leave they set their future into motion.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49536303107_498e645159_c.jpgTheir tender love-making also served as a goodbye with a promise that it wouldn't be the last time they saw each other; It gave Clifford a reason to try his best stay alive so he'd eventually make it home and hold the child they tried to create together.
Three weeks after Clifford joined his father on the front lines, Vickie announced that she was indeed pregnant. Maggie-May wanted to be happy for her daughter-in-law and her absent son, but she just felt hollow since there was a chance that Clifford would never meet his child. Her fears were only reinforced when late that night she was woken up by a knock on the door. Dread filled her soul, but she answered the door anyway, without even bothering to change out of her nightgown.
A military officer, grim-faced and dressed all in black handed her a letter. "I'm sorry Mrs. Nolan." He left without another word and with shaking hands, she opened it.
The letter was plain, just white with black lettering and it read:
Mrs. Nolan, we regret to inform you that your husband, Mr. James Nolan was shot today. We know it will bring a little comfort, but he died instantly and without pain.
Our sincerest regrets. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49536303102_9052a32157_c.jpgIt was not even signed by a person, but an organization. The sheer emotionless formality of it lit white-hot rage under her skin, so instead of sleeping or waking the others in the house, she put that rage to her writing. By around 4:00 am that night she'd finished an article and had every intention of editing it the next morning before sending it to the papers, hoping one of them would publish it. Everything about the war disgusted her and she wanted to comfort those who felt the same.
Besides editing, the next morning brought with it the task of informing the rest of the family that James would not return home, so she gathering them at the family table and broke the tragic news to them. The worst part was that it would take some time before they received his body, which only served to enrage Maggie-May further and devastate the rest of her family.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49535577573_77e7d8ac7c_c.jpgEventually, they did receive the body and Maggie-May hosted a funeral as soon as possible. The day of the funeral reignited her grief and rage so much that as she stood at James' grave she promised herself that neither Henry nor Abraham would see the frontlines. It was an easy promise to make for Abraham since he was still just a child, but Henry would most likely have to be convinced to stay home.
As if fate itself was against her Henry approached her in their yard just two weeks after James was buried and explained that he would join the military it just a few days' time.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49535667493_1fae44689d_c.jpg"I can't leave Clifford by himself out there, fighting for our very lives," Henry said.
Maggie-May immediately retaliated, "You have a few more months before your even old enough to join the frontlines, but even if you were I refuse to allow you to fight. Do you want to die alone in a trench as your father did?"
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49536159931_86238e38db_c.jpg"Father died a hero, protecting those he cared about," Henry argued back. "I'm sure Clifford feels the same. As for my age, all I have to do is lie about it.
Maggie-May didn't comment on the fact that he wanted to lie to the military, instead, she said, "We haven't heard from Clifford in months, what if he's dead too!" Even as the words left her mouth, Maggie-May regretted them. The pain that filled Henry's face only reinforced the fact that she should have held her tongue.
The hurt in Henry's face was replaced by more anger. "Don't even say that! Clifford was, is my best friend, and your son. Have some hope for plum's sake!" Without another word, Henry stomped back inside the house.
Maggie-May felt very tired all a sudden, so she went inside and straight to her room as Henry seemed to do since he was nowhere in sight. Her biggest regret of the argument was that she never got to apologize to Henry. He ran off in the middle of the night and joined the army.
Vickie tried to comfort her with promises that the war would surely be over by Snowflake Day, if not sooner, but Maggie-May wasn't certain that was true, and she feared too much for the safety of her sons to hope.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49536309917_5eb68dfe8c_c.jpgInstead, she dove back into her writing, determined that she'd use her writing to try and convince people that the war was a terrible idea. Action was far more effective than hope.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49535584353_a5226f0071_c.jpg
