Location: Beverly Hills, California
Date: September 29th, 1950
Name: Eleanor Hazel Curtis
Age: twenty-four
It wasn't supposed to end this way. Dale was supposed to come home and they would have children and be even more in love. She only had him for eight months and now she'd never see him again.
She wanted to have faith and believe that her Dale was still alive, but it was too hard. Too disappointing.
Eleanor stopped walking and looked out at the waves. Her eyes closed and a memory of Dale came to mind.
They were swaying on the sand. Her head rested on his chest and she could still remember how fast his heart was beating. It was precious.
"And when I see you smile, my mind starts racing. I want to figure out how can I see you smile like that every day. That Christmas, that day I normally ignore, when I found out how much you loved it, I would've dressed up as Santa Claus just to see you smile. Don't you understand?"
Dale's voice rang in her mind making tears fall. She would never forget that day, he made her heart fly like a butterfly. He only wanted her to be happy.
He wanted to buy her a car.
"Dale," She sobbed brokenly. Nothing could heal her heart.
After crying for a while, she walked to her car and drove home. A good nap would help her forget for a while.
Her eyes opened at the sound of rapid knocking at the door. Clark didn't bark, which was strange.
Eleanor dragged herself off the couch and walked to the door.
As she opened the door, her heart jumped. It couldn't be. No. "Dale!" She cried happily and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"My Dale! Oh, I've missed you so much! I-i didn't believe it when they came, oh, I can't believe that you're back!" She rambled with tears in her eyes.
It was a dream come true!
Dale pulled away from her and smiled. He was so handsome.
She lifted her hand and touched his daringly handsome face. "No!" She screamed as her Dale faded away.
Her eyes shot open and she looked around.
It was all just a dream. Another nightmare. Another trick to play with her broken heart.
"I-i can't do this anymore," Eleanor screamed and kicked the pillows off the couch.
She ran to the backyard and thunder crackled. "Why did you do this to me? I just can't be happy for one second!" She yelled angrily and sobbed in her hands. "I-i just wanted to love him. T-they were right," She said lowly.
Those awful men told her that she couldn't be loved. And now the only man who ever loved her is dead. "Why God?" She screamed and rain started pouring from the sky.
She kicked a potted plant and it shattered. Just like her heart. Her body shook as she sobbed and she lay on the grass. "I-i need you," An image of Dale's face took over her mind. "I'm not fit to be alone!" She needed her husband. Her best friend. He was wonderful to her and she needed him.
The rain poured down on her, but she didn't care enough to get up. Dale was her motivation, getting his letters, knowing he was alive.
"J-just one look at you, m-my heart grows t-tipsy in me," She croaked and imagined the lovely feeling of Dale's arms around her waist. The day he proposed they were dancing to that song and she said, 'I love you,'
Memories are all she has left.
Thunder grumbled and lightning struck, but she just stayed on the ground. Her heart was broken.
-
Two months passed and Eleanor's heart was still the same. Broken and disappointed.
To get by she would reread the letters he sent to her and daydream of her short, yet fulfilling time with her Dale.
Today was no different.
She walked out of the kitchen and looked at her display case. Dale was wonderful to make it for her. "I guess I can clean it," She decided quickly. She needed to cherish it and keep it in good shape.
She walked into the kitchen and wet a washcloth. "That ought to work," She hummed, almost happily. She wasn't happy. She just loved Dale and this display case was an extension of him.
She walked back to the hall and opened the top of the case. "What's this?"
It was a letter folded neatly. She was amazed how it went unnoticed for five months, but she was going to read it now.
'You did it, princess!
I know without a doubt that you will succeed in whatever you decide to do.
No matter what you decide, I will always support you. You're my entire world, Eleanor.
Remember that as life goes on I love you, beautiful.
Your charming and handsome husband, Dale'
Eleanor's hands shook in surprise and she couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her mouth.
Surely her heart was broken, but Dale would've wanted her to go on. She sobbed and walked to her bedroom.
After showering and washing her face, Eleanor fixed her hair and put on a yellow dress.
She was going to live now. Yes, she was broken and she longed for Dale's presence, but she needed to go on.
"Clark! Let's go for a walk!" It was the first time since losing Dale that Eleanor was taking Clark out. It was too hard for her to leave the house with him. Dale trained him to help her and she hated being reminded of that.
Clark ran to the front door and Eleanor's heart felt a little happy for the first time in forever.
Her sweet dog was happy to go out. "I love you, boy." She kneeled down and kissed his head. "Come on, we'll go to the fountains,"
She opened the door and felt the autumn breeze. Nothing had changed. She still felt broken, but for Dale, she would live her life.
She would never love again. She couldn't fathom the idea of being with a man who wasn't Dale. She would live though.
-
"Mrs. Curtis, happy Christmas!" One of Eleanor's students, Jessica said with a smile and shoved a gift to her.
Eleanor smiled at Jessica and pinched her cheek. "Thank you, darling."
She was now a teacher at the neighborhood elementary school. It had been a month since she decided to live for Dale and now in his honor, she was a teacher.
Dale was the greatest teacher in the world, she just wanted to live up to his name.
The rest of her students left the room and she grabbed her bag and locked the door behind her.
It always hurt to hear the students call her Mrs. Curtis, but she embraced it. She was Dale's wife.
Wiping the stray tear that had fallen from her eye, Eleanor took a deep breath and made her way home.
She checked the mail, a habit that she hadn't broken yet, and saw a letter from Grover Curtis.
"What's he sending me a letter for?" She was in shock. That man hated her. She hoped it wasn't hate mail. "Wait, how did he get our address?"
She was a little scared now, but also a little curious to see what was inside the letter.
She unlocked the door and Clark came running to her. "Hi, baby!" She kissed his head and they walked to the living room.
She patted the spot on the couch next to her and Clark jumped up.
'To Eleanor Curtis,
I know that I have no right to send you a letter, but I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry for being a miserable jerk to you, it's not much for what I've said and done, but I am sorry.
I hate that it took the death of Dale to open my eyes, but I know now that I can't live this way. Life is too short.
When I was a boy, my father ruined my family by having an affair with a colored woman and marrying her. My mother told me forever that coloreds were the devil's friends and that they were beneath us. I never told anyone about it, but Dale knew.
One day when Dale was a boy, he was in the house when my father came with his new wife. He wanted to make amends with me. I didn't know at the time that Dale heard everything that was said that day, but he did.
I've held my father's mistake against coloreds and him for over fifty years, but I know now that no one is to blame other than my father.
I'm sorry.
You don't have to forgive me or even accept my apology, I just needed to apologize and try to make things right. I have no right to ask for forgiveness because of how disgusting I was, but I want to change.
I also offer my sincerest apologies for the loss of Dale. He was my first son, but your husband. I'm sorry, Eleanor.
I've reached out to Patrick and apologized as well. He's the only son I have left.
Again, I'm sorry.
Grover Curtis.'
Eleanor folded the letter and looked at the pictures Grover put inside the envelope.
"Aww," She murmured with tears welling in her eyes. It was Dale as a teenager and a toddler. He looked mean, but he was a cute boy.
She wanted to burn the pictures but also frame them.
Her heart ached at the sight of Dale in his youth. She would never get to have kids with him. He promised to come home and give her all the babies they could have.
She had to have hope.
She bit her lip and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "God, please help my faith. I want to believe that my Dale is still alive, I don't have reason to, but I can't just accept that he's gone. Help me to forgive Grover and pray more. It's been hard living without Dale, but You've been here all along," As she prayed something within her heart shifted. "I didn't think You'd answer that quickly, but thank You." She tried laughing off the feeling, but it was something unshakeable.
"And God, please watch over my Dale. Keep him safe in Your hand. In Jesus's name, Amen." She said in faith and laid back on the couch. That took a lot out of her to believe even in her biggest moment of unbelief.
As she got comfortable, the phone started to ring. "Ugh," She groaned and walked to the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi! It's Francesca, I got your new number from your dad. I've been praying for you, oh and I had my baby boy! He's handsome just like Harold,"
Eleanor's heart dropped. Since Dale passed, it was easy for her to get upset, but hearing about her friend having a baby and her husband around really broke her heart.
"Oh, thank you for the prayers. You're blessed for sure," Eleanor said half-heartedly. She didn't have it in her to be truly excited.
"Thank you! So Timmy got drafted and Michael never showed up for the bus ride, and he got arrested."
Eleanor laughed. Michael deserved to be arrested.
"How's Dale been doing?" Francesca asked once their laughter died down.
Eleanor shut her eyes and tried to force her tears away. "H-he, he passed away in September." She choked out. "Saved his squad from a bomb by sacrificing himself," She finished with tears rushing down her face. She hated the way life worked.
Francesca gasped. "I'm so sorry, Eleanor. I-i didn't even think that he would be drafted due to his age. I'm sorry for not calling sooner," She said sympathetically, but Eleanor scoffed lowly.
Francesca had everything that she wanted.
Her husband, a child, and love.
"Dale," Eleanor sobbed painfully and hung up the phone.
Life wasn't fair. Everyone has their husband and she just wants hers.
She slid down the wall as sobs left her mouth. Oh, her heart was crushed even more now.
Dale could've given her a baby. He could've been with her right now. But he wasn't.
Clark came running to her and licked her tears away. He placed his paw on her lap and stared at her.
"I-i want Dale," Seeing Clark comfort her made things worse. It only reminds her of the fact that Dale knew he had to leave. "My Dale," She needed Dale. Life didn't make sense without him.
Clark whined and laid down next to her.
She just wanted Dale home with her. Safe and sound. "God, please hear my heart's cry. I-i won't be able to make it alone,"
God knew that she needed Dale. He knew that. She prayed that He would bring back her Dale.
"P-please," She cried.
-
Authors Note
So that chapter is overrrr
Only two more chapters of Loving Eleanor! Woah!
Our poor gal had another dream about Dale. I hate that! I cried a little while writing the part about never getting to be happy. That hit home...God's got me and I have Eleanor.
Anyway, Grover told his secret to Eleanor. His dad cheated on his mom with a black woman and then married her! I left out that he now has siblings from the new marriage. Annie-Mae doesn't even know... I was going to make his secret something awful, but I changed my mind.
Eleanor's a teacher now! We're in December of 1950 at the end of this chapter, poor Eleanor has to deal with Christmas all by herself.
Oh, so I hope this chapter was sad. Y'all expressed your emotions last chapter and it made me happy. I didn't think that the last chapter was sad, only because I'm the author and I know everything.
Well, I know that you guys couldn't give any predictions for the last chapter, but if you can tell me what you think is happening next!
That's all for now! See you on Sunday!
Bye!