The Fire Within a Ninjago Soldier

Chapter 13: Farewells

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

In the chapter after this one, the women will get to see their men one last time...from a distance, as the men ride in the parade. But this chapter, which contains a brief flashback to Chapters 6 and 7 of The Fire Within a Ninjago Cowboy, is the last opportunity for personal interaction. Get your tissues ready...

Chapter 13 - Farewells

"McAllister's is open," Jay said to the group. "We could get a quick cup of coffee. Tea for you, my cherry blossom," he suggested to the raven-haired beauty who wore his ring and carried his child in her womb. Tea was her preferred beverage.

Nya nodded. "That sounds good to me."

The others agreed, so they retraced their steps back up the noisy street to the saloon, which was located right next door to the livery stable and across the street from the bank. As they walked, various Ninjago Town citizens were able to identify the Garmadon Ranch hands as future soldiers, thanks to the yellow hatbands they wore, and they wished the men well. In turn, the Ranch folks were able to see who else was going to Camp Goldland, and likewise greeted them with good wishes.

Whenever Kai found himself on this section of the street by the saloon, he always remembered a certain night last summer, when Sam kissed him on the cheek for the first time. She had been living in a room on the second-floor balcony of the saloon, and he had come here to find the beautiful girl that he had met only hours earlier, so that he could warn her of the sinister plan that her boss, Morro, had in store for her. That night took him from the steps of the bank (where he hid himself behind a pillar and watched her leave her room) to the back of the saloon (where he grabbed her as she exited the outhouse) to the livery stable (where he told her of the sinister plan, out of earshot of Morro's right-hand man, Archer). Unfortunately, Archer had found them and threatened them, but even though Kai had no gun with him, he defended Sam with his fists. Though Kai had to be bailed out of the fight by the other cowboys, Sam had expressed her appreciation for Kai's gallantry with a sweet token of affection from her lips.

Now, as the group from Garmadon Ranch walked into the saloon on this sunny morning, Kai squeezed the hand of that same beautiful girl, who he now proudly called his wife. Sam did not know what Kai had just been thinking, but she squeezed his hand in return and looked up at him with a warm smile.

The saloon was busy, but they found an unoccupied table that could seat up to eight. Alison, the new saloon girl with a penchant for rock candy, quickly waited on them, and soon the beverages were served.

"If I don't talk to you again before you leave," Alison said to the men, "I wish you good luck in beating those Purples!" They acknowledged her good wishes for them as she left to attend to another table.

As the beverages were consumed, the men kept the conversation light, for their time of departure was nearing, and they detected a sense of unhappiness among the women.

Zane checked his pocket watch after a short while. "Well," he said, clearing his throat, "the time is about twenty-five minutes to nine."

The unspoken message of his statement was that it was time for goodbyes. The men reached into their pockets for money to leave on the table as payment for the beverages and a little extra something for Alison. Then the group walked back out into the bright sunshine of the morning and paused on the front porch of the saloon.

"So..." Jay began, trying to break the awkward silence. "Uh, where are you ladies going to stand while you watch the parade?"

The three wives looked at each other. "How about the hotel porch?" Brooke suggested. "It's on the shady side of the street, and there are places to sit, in case Nya gets tired." Her suggestion was agreeable to her friends.

"You ladies have your yellow handkerchiefs to wave at us?" Cole asked. On Monday afternoon, Brooke had come up with the idea to sew the brightly colored squares to wave at the cavalrymen as they paraded by. The ladies sewed as the cornbread they prepared was baking in the oven.

Sam reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled hers out. "Here's mine," she said, waving it. Brooke and Nya waved theirs as well.

Sam looked down at her pocket and slowly put her handkerchief back as that darn lump in her throat came back. She looked up again, swallowed, and with all the cheeriness she could muster, said, "Well, good luck, boys!" She reached for Zane and hugged him tightly, and did the same with Jay and Cole. Nya and Brooke likewise dispensed hugs and good wishes to the men who were like brothers to their husbands.

Kai then watched Zane head down the street by himself to the tailor shop. He felt bad for the platinum-haired cowboy who had not yet found the love of a good woman.

Maybe he'll be able to meet a girl as we travel through new towns, he thought.

Kai, Cole, and Jay parted from the saloon in separate directions with their women in order to bid them a private farewell.

"Let's go over here," Kai said as he took Sam's hand and walked her into the alleyway on the side of Misako Julien's tea shop, where the noise of the street was a bit lessened and there was a bit more privacy.

When Kai reached a spot that was satisfactory to him, he stopped and turned to face Sam, taking hold of her free hand so that both of her soft smooth hands were now enveloped in his rough, calloused ones. Looking into her watery blue eyes, he forced himself to smile.

"Well," he swallowed, "I hope you have a good summer," he said, squeezing her hands.

Sam's throat was tight with emotion as she looked back at his soft brown eyes. She was afraid to speak. She felt like if she did, she'd start bawling.

From the pinched look on her face, Kai could tell what she was feeling. "Aw, don't cry, darlin'," he urged her. To get a better look at her, he pushed her sunbonnet back so that it now hung down her back, suspended by the ribbon around her neck. A loose blonde tendril fell over her forehead. He guided it behind her ear.

Sam couldn't hold in her tears anymore. She threw her arms around his waist. "I'll miss you!" she sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

"Sh, sh," he murmured, resting his cheek on her golden tresses as his own arms wrapped around her tightly. "I'll be back soon."

He breathed in her wonderful strawberry scent. How he would miss his woman while he was gone.

"You know something, Sam?" he softly said after a minute.

She lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes were bleary. "What?"

"Whenever I get lonely," he said, smiling as he cupped her chin, "I'll just close my eyes. And I'll remember last night."

She gazed into his twinkling brown eyes through her tears. A smile appeared on her face. Kai had accomplished his goal of putting it there.

"Oh, Kai," she pretended to scold him for his brashness. "Kiss me, cowboy!"

For several more minutes, the young couple held on to each other, their lips touching, each of them trying to burn the kisses into their memory, for it would be a long time before they got the chance to hold each other again.

Kai finally pulled away, reluctantly.

"I probably should go see Mr. Wu and Miss Gayle now to say goodbye before I have to report for duty." Kai was already starting to talk like a soldier.

Kai led Sam by the hand back to Main Street, where the sound level was noisier and the activity was greater. But that did not deter him from embracing her one more time.

"I love you, Sam!"

"I love you, too, Kai!"

"I'll see you soon," he assured her. One last brief kiss on the lips of his beloved wife, and he turned away quickly without looking at her. She stood there with tears running down her cheeks, watching him disappear into the crowd as he headed over to the tailor shop.

The day was warm and sunny, but with Kai no longer in her arms, the world felt dark and cold to Sam.