A Minnesota PBS Initiative
One Vietnam Era Story (1971) Morris, MN
The delivery was complete with a healthy mom and baby. I just needed to clean up a few odds and ends in the delivery room before I could go back out onto the inpatient unit and care for my other surgical patients.
Suddenly, one of the staff came in, delighted to tell me there was a very handsome man in military uniform waiting outside the door, and he’d asked to talk to me. My heart sank to my feet.
Whaaaat? It’s 9:30 PM. Visiting hours are long over. Why was someone allowed to wait outside the delivery room door? In military uniform? I don’t want to go out there. A life is just beginning in this room. Will mine end right here if I step out that door? I don’t want to know, don’t tell me.
“What does he look like?,” I asked.
“Oh, just a friendly guy who wants to talk to you,” was the response.
Slowly, I finished up the few urgent items I needed to complete before I left the room, put on my suit of emotional numbness, and walked out the door.
I was greeted by a soldier who introduced himself to me as one of my husband’s college friends.
“I just got back from Nam,” he said, “and I unexpectedly ran into your husband there, a couple of weeks ago! Isn’t that a coincidence? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I saw him, he said to say hello to you, and he looks like he’s doing alright - and, yes, I’m home for good!” he grinned.
That’s it, that’s all.
I finished my shift and drove 17 miles across the prairie to my parent’s home to live for a few more months, ready to hope again that we newlyweds would have a future together.
Story Themes: Home Front, Newlyweds, Relationships, Waiting