The Promise

It had been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same; the hardwood floors had lost some of their lusters and the dust was collecting itself heavily in the corners of the grand entranceway... the once glistening chandelier above her was coated in a thick veil of spider webs. She stood at the base of the grand staircase still praying to hear the echoes of the previous grandeur...for a moment, it was as if she could smell the brandy upon his collar as she entered the ballroom. 

  There was nothing left within the crumbling cavern which once held the most splendid of events. The war took more than just her childhood home; the memories of "him" lingered throughout the shell of the manor's former glory. As she crept along the dusty floors going room to room, she took a pause as she came upon his chambers. All at once, she was transported back to a time when the magnolias perfumed the evening air and music swelled from the empty ballroom close by.

  Almost as if by magic, the strong smell of his cologne permeated around her as her hand rested on the rusted doorknob. 

"Oh, Shenandoah; I love your daughter...away you rolling river."

His voice was clear as if he was standing right behind the door.....As she pushed open the door, memories flooded back and she now stood within the room fully restored to its former glory. The red drapery was as vibrant as the day she left it; the wood-framed bed no longer had the etchings of bullets and the weathering of time...it seemed time and the ravages of war hadn't touched a beam.  As the color returned to the room, that distinct smell of brandy paraded the air around her..."Oi! Cmon Catherine; our grand entrance awaits us!"

  Quickly she turned to bolt back down the grand stairs forgetting she even climbed them. The color engulfed the entire house as her breath quickened upon reaching the ballroom once again. The once empty ballroom was now filled with specters from distant days...the music; oh how she smiled remembering its beauty! Smiling faces of friends and fellow family members. Local boys dressed in uniform twirling beautiful girls as the music kicked up. Upon glancing at herself in a nearby glass, she almost didn't recognize herself; time faded away and she was as she remembered before the nightmare began...Once again, a girl of seventeen looking for someone she missed desperately. Everything dazzled and amazed her all over again as a familiar voice called out to her.

"Is my little sister enjoying her party? After all, father arranged all this not only for you but to send his son off to fight the Germans."

Thomas...beloved older brother who gave everything for a chance to fly away from a life of privilege. When news came of his plane being shot down over some farmland, our father was never the same; yet as that thought entered her mind, he lifted her with ease twirling her where he stood. 

"Cheer up little Cat; we'll be back before long. Me and McGuire!"

That name....she hadn't been called "Cat" since the beginning of the war. It was only spoken by her father, brother, and "Him"...; then, as if by chance, she could feel a familiar touch upon her shoulder. She turned so quickly that she nearly fell when her eyes found him; a tall smiling lad no more than twenty gently looking down at her. As if by instinct, she wrapped her arms around his neck...desperately breathing in his scent. War hadn't taken him!! He was here; no longer her last memory of him is that of watching a parade of young men...seeking one last glance of him before the thought of death entered her mind...She felt his warmth again; he embraced her as if he hadn't seen her mere moments before. He must have known how dearly he would miss her and how devastated she must feel knowing they may never have another moment such as this...

"Why my lady; do not cry for this Irish rover. For I will be with thee tho war tears us apart, I shall always return to you."

Their eyes met again as she smiled sweetly. He lifted her to her feet before kissing her hand gently. All around, people smiled upon them yet...there was heartbreak in nearly every glance. Did they know something she didn't? Before she could think too hard on the topic, her fella whisked her away towards the center of the dancefloor; the smile never leaving his face.

"Friends! Fellow countrymen and family; it is the eve of battle and as much as us fellas are looking forward to some German fighting, let us never forget those we leave behind. May we never forget her gentle touch, her gleaming eyes, nor her whimsical smile. May the sweet smell of her hair keep all wretched smells at bay; may her tears fill our hearts with pride and challenge all of us to be better men so that we may return to their arms once more!"

The cheers rained down throughout the room but fell silent as he turned towards her. His hands held firmly to hers; his eyes fighting back tears...Her hand freed, found its way to his cheek. A moment shared and forever remembered long after the color faded.  "To my wonderful girl; Catherine...Cat, there are not enough words nor poems to explain my joy and heartbreak I feel at this moment...You have given this rover something he never expected; something I only dreamed of when I was but a lad. You have given me courage, strength, but most of all...you have loved me as if I were some distant prince coming to claim his princess. I promise here before your family...before all here; I vow to be faithful and true while I am away. I will never forsake my love for you and I will return to you! I swear on all that is holy; I Patrick McGuire will return to your arms, Catherine Andrews!"

The color began to fade from the room as she stood once again in the tomb of the former ballroom. She gazed upon herself once again in the glass. Time and the ravages of war had robbed her of the youth she once possessed. She had been surviving on that promise of his return...yet it seemed now standing in the shell of her memories…

  Suddenly, she could hear footsteps approaching...as they slowed, her heart began to pound. Upon turning, there stood a tall, very thin man looking upon her with tears filling his eyes.

“Sir; are you alright?”

He smiled as he placed his bag on the ground. He watched her studying his face. It had been so long since..

“Yes; I was looking for someone. You see, I made a promise to someone many years ago…”

  She looked upon him praying with every inch of her soul. “To whom did you promise?”

“I promised a young girl of seventeen who dared to love an Irish rover as if he was a distant prince. I vowed to remain faithful to only her; I vowed to never forsake our love and...to return once again to her arms. I can assure the lady that I have never been more honorable and true. Through the battles and loss of friends and even her own brother, I have remained faithful to her love. I have never spoken ill of her; I have clung to the memories of her sweet embrace during the bitter cold. By everything that is holy, I have come home to her; yet, does the lady still love this Irish rover? Has she all but forgotten me?”

Her eyes filled with tears as she approached him. Her hand found its way to his scarred cheek. Their eyes at last there; right before her he stood! “My Irish rover; come home for good.” He lifted her from where she stood clinging to every moment she was in his arms again. Her hands wrapped into his hair pulling him closer to her. 

“I’m home Cat! I have come home to find you again! If you only knew the horrors...seen what I’ve seen. Only your love and memory kept me going…”

They remained together in the shadow of their memories until the sun rose into the sky. As they sat together wrapped in each other's arms, he gazed out upon the morning, gently nudging her awake.

“Do you still love me Cat? I am but a shell of my former self...I fear I am not the man I was to you.”

She sat up and touched his face; “Patrick McGuire, you made me a promise that you so valiantly kept; I too made a promise that night. I silently said I would wait until the end of time for you to return or I shall meet you again in heaven.”

“Aye; and did you keep your word?”

“Yes. I love you now as I always have and will.”

And that was all that mattered.