Since Ty had left, they had been counting down the days until he would have a two-week leave. Only three weeks till I see you. Only two weeks and one day till I see you. Still, Elissa could hardly believe that the day was here. She had bought a white suit to wear to the train to meet him. The day was sizzling, and the blackberry bushes across the tracks bristled with the heat. Even the hemlock trees seemed to be staying still as a matter of defense. Elissa, though, paced back and forth on the platform, her red broad-brimmed hat trembling. A few other people stood in clusters waiting, too, but Ty’s family hadn’t arrived yet.

Alone, she thought of the day two months ago when she had bid Ty good-bye. For the first time, he had told her that he loved her, and she, astonished, had said, “Why! I love you, too, don’t I?”

He had grinned, and said, “I hope so,” and had given her a kiss that had made her toes curl in her shoes. All of this right in front of his parents and three older sisters, who had just laughed and nudged one another with their elbows (except for his mother, who had visibly steamed).

She couldn’t help but be reminded, too, of the time, just six months ago, when she had been waiting on this very platform for Nick. She knew that the 2nd Division was still at Camp McCoy, and she wondered if Nick had found another Northern girl to have fun with. Just the thought of it made her furious, and she paced faster. But then the train whistle blew in the distance, and she composed her face, brushed off her prim white suit, straightened her hat. When the train creaked to a stop and Ty came down the steps of the car, looking very broad-shouldered in his khaki uniform, she ran to him with a great smile, and landed happily in his arms.