Thursday comes and goes in the blink of an eye. She had hoped that he would be home today. His tour of duty was to have ended within the past two weeks. Instead, she sits by the phone and waits for the call to let her know that he will be here soon. She is afraid to leave the house and miss the call. She knows that he can call her cell phone, but she does not want to waste a single minute.
The clock ticks into Friday and then it is Saturday and now Sunday. She decides she can no longer wait to buy groceries. She wants to cook him his favorite meal when he gets home.
As she picks up her purse and grabs her car keys, the doorbell chimes. She sets them down on the entry table and opens the door. Outside, the two uniformed men stand solemnly on the front step.