Sergio's Promise short story

Kelsey tapped her foot impatiently on the kitchen floor.

“Where is he?” She wondered aloud. It was ten past six. Sergio had sworn he would be at her house on time. He had sounded extremely upset when he had said, “I have something to tell you.”

That simple phrase had kept Kelsey on tenterhooks all day. In chemistry while the teacher was helping the class review for the upcoming final all she had been able to do was doodle absently on her binder and picture this moment in her mind. What could he possibly have to tell her? Was Sergio going to propose? Though she was only a senior in high school, graduation was in a month and Sergio was twenty-two. There was no way he was going to break up with her. They were simply too in love.

“Is that boyfriend of yours late again?” Kelsey’s mom asked sourly from the kitchen table.

“He’ll be here.” Kelsey replied confidently as she pushed her golden locks from her bright green eyes. Kelsey was well aware of the fact that her mom did not approve of Sergio. She complained that he was much too like her ex-husband who had left the house when Kelsey was three. Kelsey did not understand the comparison. Her father who she could barely remember sounded like an insensitive loser while Sergio was the exact opposite. He was humble, sweet, and always made Kelsey feel like the luckiest girl alive. He had this sensitive nature that allowed him to always know how his girlfriend was feeling. He was also extremely honest and kept all of his promises. Sometimes he would promise great things like taking Kelsey out to an amusement park the first chance he got. Other times he would swear to take her to her favorite restaurant the next day. Regardless of what it was he always followed through.

A knock at the door sent Kelsey rushing to answer it. There was Sergio on her porch dressed in nice black dress pants and a white shirt. As he smiled at her she noticed his hair had been buzzed.

“Nice haircut.” She remarked as she went up on tiptoes to kiss him briefly.

“Sorry I’m late. I was talking to my parents.” He apologized.

“It’s fine,” Kelsey waved it off, “you’re here now.”

To her surprise, Sergio decided to take Kelsey to her favorite restaurant. It was an Italian place down by the local mall. She absolutely loved the breadsticks there. Throughout dinner Kelsey could tell that though Sergio spoke animatedly, there was worry in his eyes. Tonight he was eating very little and some of his laughter seemed forced. Finally, Kelsey was fed up.

“Alright,” she said, “something’s wrong.”

Sergio looked up in surprise.

“Oh don’t give me that look. We’ve been dating for two years and I can tell when something’s bothering you. Fess up! What is it?”

She spoke so forcefully partly because she was concerned about him and partly because he hadn’t even brought up his important news. Having to wait all day to hear it had put a strain on her.

Sergio knew that the time had come. What stopped him from speaking were the images flashing in his mind of what her reaction would be. He couldn’t do this to her, and yet she needed to know because he loved her fiercely. He met her gaze.

“I’m going to war, Kelsey.”

At first Kelsey didn’t understand.

“Wha-wha-what did you say?” she stuttered.

“I leave tomorrow. I’ll be gone for two years.” Came the answer so softly it was almost inaudible.

The color drained from Kelsey’s face. She dropped her fork and stood up quickly. This couldn’t be true. It couldn’t possibly be the truth. Sergio was toying with her. He was probably going to start laughing at any second. Then it hit her. The haircut, the strange look in his eye, his fixed expression whenever he saw an ad or commercial to join the army. Then came the pain. Tears filled her eyes and she screamed at him, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?! How could you possibly do this to me?! To yourself?!”

People enjoying their dinners looked up in alarm. Sergio tried to calm her. “Babe, I-“ but before he could finish, she stormed out.

Once Kelsey was outside she threw off her heels and ran. It was a beautiful night. The moon shone brilliantly amid a dark and starry sky. There was a refreshing breeze that ruffled the orange and brown leaves of some nearby trees. Before she knew it she was running through a neighborhood. Lights shone in most of the houses on the lane and sometimes she could hear excited chattering.

‘That was me twenty minutes ago.’ She thought bitterly.

How could this have happened? Everything with her and Sergio had been going so smoothly. She wanted to grow old with him and have kids. How could she be so sure he was going to come back from the war alive? Kelsey had seen the news and knew that numerous men and women were dying in Iraq, whether it was from a roadside bomb or something else. Even if he did come home alive and safe, how could she be so sure he would still love her? War changes people, she knew that. Would Sergio end up seeing things that would make him seem twenty years older than Kelsey, rather than four?

As all of these thoughts bombarded her brain, she finally sat down on a low garden wall from exhaustion and the tears began to flow. Huge wracking sobs shook her body. A noise to her left caused her to look up quickly.

Sergio had followed her and was running toward her with anguish written all over his face. When he caught up to her he knelt quietly at her feet.

“Kelsey, I’m sorry.”

She wouldn’t look at him. Though she felt he was at fault, the thought of him seeing her like this brought on shame.

“Kelsey, please. I’ve wanted to join all my life and lately I’ve felt that the only good thing I’ve got going in my life is you. I mean, that’s great buy my job isn’t going anywhere and you know I’m not the college type. Look, this would open doors for me and give me good experience.”

When she didn’t reply, he lowered his voice and was almost pleading.

“I love you. I didn’t know what love was until I met you. I would die for you.”

Kelsey looked up, fearful.

“No, no, look, I won’t die out there. I can’t while you’re alive. I will come back to you. I promise that I will not be killed in this war.” He said solemnly.

At last, Kelsey responded, “Sergio, I love you too and I know you are the most honest person I’ve ever met and have never broken a promise, but you can’t promise me something like that.” Tears welled up in her eyes again as she continued.

“There are other men out there and you can’t control what they do. They want you to die and will kill you without a second’s hesitation. It’s war, Sergio, and the promise you just made is not like taking me to a restaurant or promising to buy me my favorite candy bar. It’s not something on your agency, but on everyone elses, and you can’t control man’s agency.”

Sergio shook his head slowly. “I’ll return safely, and stand by my promise.”

Slowly, Kelsey put her arms around him and kissed him gently. Sergio looked at her suddenly hopeful.

“I will wait for you.” She whispered.

* * *

The first four months were horrible. Life without Sergio was almost unbearable. It was almost like it had lost its savor. Kelsey stopped hanging out with her friends and went directly home to do homework the first month. Graduation came and went. The festivities were nothing but tedious to Kelsey. Everyday she checked the news or the newspaper to see if anyone had been killed in Iraq and who it was. If the victims were unidentified she would shut herself in her room and refuse to come out until she received another letter from Sergio. The longest she held out was five days. Her mother brought her meals. Though her mother helped her out, she was extremely sorrowful. She tried everything to get Kelsey’s mind off of Sergio, but nothing seemed to work. This all changed once Kelsey left for college.

She had been accepted to a college in Oklahoma. Going there and attending classes helped to distract her from Sergio’s absence. Her roommates helped a great deal also. Every Friday night they would go out and sometimes do crazy things such as push each other around in an abandoned shopping cart. When she did have her bad days, they would try their best to comfort her and most of the time buy her favorite ice cream to make her feel better. Letters continued to come from Sergio and she just kept living. She studied hard and had to turn down many dates. This had nothing to do with homework. She was keeping her promise to Sergio. Though she still worried about him, the idea of him being in Iraq became almost natural and she stopped reading the newspaper and watching the news altogether. Before she knew it, the two years were up and she was twenty.

* * *

As she drove down the familiar street to Sergio’s house, Kelsey could barely contain her excitement. Loud music blasted from her radio and she bobbed rhythmically to the beat. Although she was acting juvenile now, she had grown up quite a bit in the last two years.

Because Sergio had so many visitors and family over, she had to park about three hundred yards from his home. He checked her reflection in the mirror and stepped out of the car swiftly. The moon was a brilliant yellowish orb in the sky. A light breeze filled the evening. Cringing, Kelsey recognized the similarities between this night and the night Sergio had told her the news.

She forced those dreary thoughts from her mind and focused on the beautiful present. Sergio was home! Miraculously beyond all of her wildest dreams he had kept his promise, the promise she had scorned two years earlier. Kelsey smiled as she tried to picture how Sergio would look. They had written to each other faithfully the whole two years and at times unless she was imagining things, he had hinted at marriage and children. She saw the lights from Sergio’s house and heard the sounds of happy people. Only two hundred yards away, she couldn’t believe this moment had come!

Suddenly, a noise in front of her broke her thoughts of gleeful anticipation. A dark figure came pounding toward her. Almost simultaneously a black car came screeching down the street. Everything happened so fast Kelsey didn’t have time to think, let alone react. The person and the car seemed to pass her at the same time. She saw dimly a dark object sticking out of the window and then two loud bangs echoed off the pavement. The figure and the car left as fast as they had come, leaving Kelsey bleeding on the sidewalk.

* * *

Hearing the gunshots, Sergio rushed outside quickly, not at all concerned for his own welfare. He knew that Kelsey was supposed to arrive at any moment.

‘She’s not hurt’ he thought desperately, ‘Maybe she’s not even here yet.’

He sprinted down the sidewalk, only to have all of his worst fears come crashing down on him, stifling the quick beating of his heart.

As he knelt over Kelsey’s cold, limp, and unmoving form, the case bearing an engagement ring dropped from his fingers.