The Moments We Have

Kelly’s hands tremble in her lap. The news fills her with a venomous rage. She grits her teeth, and her eyes water. A tear trickles down the side of her face. A heavy pain swirls within her chest.

“Hey mom!”

The front door opens, and Damian walks inside. Water drips from his hoodie and makes a puddle on the floor. Kelly wipes the tear from her face and forces the best smile she can make. She stands from the chair and grabs Damian a towel from the cabinet above the sink.

“Take off that sweater and sit down, please.”

Damian pulls off the soaked hoodie and drapes it on the back of the chair. He sits down at the table with a look of concern on his face. Kelly’s hands tremble as she hands him the towel and sits down at the table beside him.

“Here, dry off with this.”

“Thank you.”

He smiles, dries his face and neck with the towel, but returns to a look of concern. 

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything is fine Damian. I just received some bad news, but I don’t want you to worry about that.”

“Okay.”

“How was school today?”

“It was alright. We had to do a couple of invasion drills, but other than that, it was just another day.”

“Did you get any trouble from Billy today?”

“No, he wasn’t there today, so I guess that was a plus.”

“Well, that’s good. Are you hungry?”

“Yes please, I am starving.”

“You didn’t eat lunch?”

“No, I waited in line, but by the time I was at the window, they were out of trays.”

“I’m sorry, well why don’t I make you something really special?”

Damian’s eyes widen and his frown curls into a smile. Kelly stands from the table and looks inside the cabinet to the far left. She pulls out a can of chicken noodle soup with a dent on its side. The can clacks against the table as she sets it down in front of Damian. 

Kelly grabs a chair and sets it up against the counter. Her hands shake as she stands on the chair. She opens the door to another cabinet and stretches her hand to the back of the top shelf. Her hand brushes against a velvet bag. She pulls the small bag from out of the cabinet and steps down from the chair.

“I was saving this for your birthday, but I think today will be just as good.”

“What is it?”

Kelly set the bag down in front of Damian.

“Can I open it?”

Kelly nods. She holds her hands together behind her back to stop them from shaking so much. Damian unties the white lace from the velvet bag and tosses it to the side. He opens the bag and looks inside. His smile grows wider until his dimples show.

“How did you get this?”

“I bought it from one booth downtown.”

“Mom, I appreciate it, but you shouldn’t have.”

“I thought about doing something cheaper, but your father insisted.”

Damian reaches into the bag and pulls out a small block of cheddar cheese.

“Dad really loves cheese.” Damian chuckles.

Kelly takes the cheese from Damian and grabs the can of soup. She sets them on the counter and smiles at her son. It takes every ounce of strength she can gather to not break down. Her arms and legs feel heavy. The aching pain in her body swirls faster. The muscles in her face ache as she continues to wear a smile.

She would love to drop to the floor and scream, but she doesn’t want her son to deal with that. Not at his age. He shouldn’t have to think about any of this. It’s bad enough he has to think about his father out there fighting this war, but to find out it was all for nothing. 

“Mom?”

Kelly breaks from her train of thought. Damian standing in front of her. He reaches for the stove knob. She feels the heat near her hand and hears the constant clicking sound. Damian pulls her hand off of the knob and turns down the flame.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Kelly places her hand on Damian’s shoulder. She holds back the tears the best she can. Her lips tremble as she forces a smile again.

“Yes, everything is fine. There is a lot on my mind, but I don’t want you to get yourself worked up over me. I will make us some cheesy chicken noodle soup to warm us up, and maybe we can play cards before bed.”

“Okay mom.”

Damian saunters back to the table and sits down. Kelly opens the can of soup and pours its contents into a pot. She pulls a small knife from a drawer and cuts a thin slice from the block of cheese. Her hand trembles. The air feels thin.

“Mom, you need to sit down. I got this.”

Kelly steps back as Damian takes the knife from her trembling hand. He sets it on the counter and holds onto Kelly. She saunters toward the table with his help. Her eyes flutter as a nauseating feeling grows through her body.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Stop, it’s okay. You do everything for me. I can do this.”

Damian fills a cup with water from the faucet. He sets it down in front of Kelly. She holds her head up with her hands and keeps her eyes closed. The room feels like it’s spinning. The pain inside her travels through her body. She grits her teeth and fights back the tears. Two bowls clink together against the kitchen table. Steam warms Kelly’s face. The chair scrapes as Damian sits at the table. He places his warm hand on his mother’s arm.

“C’mon mom. You need to eat a little something.”

Kelly lifts her head from her palms. A bowl full of soup sits on the table in front of her. She grabs the spoon and takes a bite. A warmth flows down into her body, but is short-lived by the swelling pain inside of her chest. Another bite taken. Damian eats his soup and watches his mother. She looks up from the soup and stares back. Her lips quiver as she forces a smile. Her eyes are dead. Damian noticed her eyes were dead from the moment he came home.

“It’s okay.”

Kelly’s mouth slips back into its emotionless state.

“What do you mean?”

“Mom, I already know. I know they are coming.”

Kelly’s eyebrows scrunch together, and her eyes water again.

“Are you serious? Who told you?”

“Well, earlier when the broadcast came through the radio, our teacher sat us down to listen.”

A tear slips from Kelly’s eye and down her cheek. She wipes it, hoping Damian doesn’t notice.

“Did they send you home after it was over?”

“No, Mr. Searle talked to us about things we might not have understood.”

“I really wish they would have let you kids come home so the parents could have talked to you about it.”

Tears drip down Kelly’s face. She throws her face back into her arms. A heavy sigh slips out. Kelly pulls her head up and looks at her son. Her wet face glistens in the light.

“I’m so sorry. I know how hard this must be for you to deal with. You’re young. You haven’t lived as much as you wanted. You don’t have to hold it in baby.”

Kelly caresses Damian’s cheek. He places his hand on hers.

“I’m okay, mom. Honestly. I don’t fully understand why this is all happening, but I know you would stop it if you could. Everything you do is for me. You put my needs before yours more times than I can count. I wouldn’t want to trade this life I’ve had for anything.”

Kelly does her best to smile.

“You’re too sweet.”

Damian removes Kelly’s hand from his cheek and holds it on the table.

“Mom, I can tell you are having a hard time. I know you want to hide it from me, but you don’t have to.”

“No baby, I’m okay.”

 Her voice cracks.

“Please, stop hiding how you feel. You are the strongest woman I know, but even the strongest people need to vent. You can’t hold it all in until the end, mom.”

Her eyes water again.

“I just…”

Her lip quivers, and her words sink back into her throat. Tears roll down her face and drip into the bowl of soup. Her head falls into her arms and knocks the bowl of soup off the table. Her crying drowns out the sound of the bowl crashing against the floor. Damian stands up and hugs Kelly.

A flash of orange and yellow breaks the pitch black night. Light shines through the kitchen windows and warms Kelly and Damian’s skin. He clenches her tighter in his arms. The ground shakes.

“I love you, mom.”

It is the last thing Kelly hears as the blast sweeps away every building for a hundred miles.

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