54. Letter
Letter
Splash,
I was there today. I went to the funeral.
I flew out the second I got a break in the schedule. I didn’t care about missing practice, and I didn’t care what excuse I had to give the team. I just knew I couldn’t let Brody be laid to rest without someone standing there for you.
The sun was blinding, Splash. It was one of those hot, bright days where the heat just radiates off the grass.
Everyone in the crowd was wearing dark sunglasses, staring straight ahead.
I had mine on too, hiding behind them so no one would look too closely at my eyes, watching them fold the flag.
Every time the rifles fired for the salute, my chest cracked open because I knew what those shots were doing to you thousands of miles away.
When everyone started leaving, I walked up to the casket.
I brought a box of the Crumb & Crust cookies—the triple chocolate ones.
I set them right on the edge of the wood, the midday sun hitting the cardboard.
I told him they were from you. I told him he did a damn good job watching your six, and that I’d take it from here. And then, Splash… Anna walked up to me.
I completely froze. I thought I was going to throw up from pure panic because we’ve never met, we’ve never heard each other’s voices, and I didn’t know how the hell to explain why a random hockey player was crying over her husband’s casket.
But she took off her sunglasses, looked at my face, and whispered my name.
Brody told her, Splash. Right before that final mission, he called her and told her everything.
He told her how much he loved you, how proud he was of you for trusting him, and how much you loved me.
She looked at the cookie box, and she just smiled through her tears.
She touched my arm and told me it was ok.
She said Brody kept your secrets, and she keeps them too.
She wishes they’d let you come home. She hates that you’re alone right now.
Listen to me, my soldier. I know you’re exhausted. I know when you close your eyes, you see him on that floor, and I know the dark is trying to swallow you whole. But Anna knows. I know. The people who truly love you see exactly who you are.
You don’t have to be strong. You don’t have to keep the armor on when you write to me. I am right here on the other side of this letter, and I am waiting to bring you home, soldier.
Jackson