This Lifetime. | Edward Heffron

IX.

"He left just like that?" she asked, crossing her legs and leaning on her palms, "Why were you so upset anyway?"

Her grandmother shrugged, "I was young and selfish. I realized after that the world needed him more than I did." Amelia nodded silently, and her grandmother continued, "But at that time, I told myself: Eleanor, if you ignore him, he won't go. I was wrong, of course. He still had to go."

She raced through the train station, weaving through the multitudes of people. Nearly a hundred of them stood there, hugging their mothers and kissing their lovers goodbye. Boys she had grown up with, had gone to school with, now looked like men preparing for the unknown.

She didn't care about any of them. She needed to find Babe.

A streak of red, and Eleanor turned— A woman in a red coat. A flash of crimson— A backpack filled with clothes. Bright red hair— Babe.

Eleanor ran towards him, screaming his name. He turned to her, his face showing surprise, sadness, but most importantly, love. She threw her arms around him and Babe lifted her from the ground. They held each other for what felt like an eternity.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, sobs escaping her lips, "I love you, I'm sorry." Eleanor was crying, she realized she had a week with him, and instead of being with him, she had pretended he did not exist. "I promised I would never ignore you."

Babe buried his head in her hair, inhaling so hard in an attempt to remember what she felt like."I'll wait for you for as long as you want me to," Eleanor whispered into his chest, holding onto him so tight in fear that the world would take him away, "I have faith you'll come back to me."

"I promise I'll come back for you," he said, holding her head in his hands and planting a kiss on her forehead, "Promise me you'll be waiting."

"I'll have a dozen eggs waiting for you."