#winnie!!!

To Stretch Their Legs

²¹⁾ potted herb plants lined up on a windowsill - Rosie & Jo

When the war had ended, and Rosie and Harry had returned home, Josephine had made good on her promise to her parents and returned home. She would come back to her bedroom at her mother and fathers, across the street from Rosie and Mrs. Rosenthal until such time that they would start their life together. It was going to be an adjustment for all parties; Jean and Jo having to say goodbye to a time in their life where they kept the other afloat, a friendship that had blossomed in a time of darkness. Blossoms, growth, like a potted plant; their friendship had mimicked the Victory Garden they had planted in the Crosby’s back garden, and the day that Josephine and Jean had to say goodbye to their living arrangements and daily martinis, they both felt wilted.

“Wait, Josephine…” Jean had suddenly lit up as she remembered something, passing her son off to Harry as she hurried into the kitchen.

“Jeanie, I’ve got everything!” Jo followed her blindly, unsure of what she could have possibly left in the kitchen. “What are you- oh!”

“I potted you some of our garden,” Jean grinned, presenting a round flower pot, filled with all the herbs that they had spent a summer's day planting back in ‘44. “This way, you can keep it going until you and Rosie move into your own home.”

“Jean Crosby, haven’t I cried enough today?”

“Yes, but, this way you and I always have a bit of each other at our own homes.”

“You just try and stop me from coming by to visit you and that sweet boy,” Jo had placed the pot on the table before sweeping her friend into a hug. “Aunt Jo and Uncle Robbie will be here so much you’ll be sick of us!”

“We could never be sick of you,” Jean murmured. “Never, ever.”

Now, turning the key in the lock of her and Rosie’s new home, the first thing Josephine Rosenthal carried into the house was a round flower pot filled with herbs from a Victory Garden planted by two best friends. Quickly, she pulled the blinds in the kitchen and sat the pot upon the window sill, inspecting the yard out back for the best place to plant them once the weather warmed up.

“They’re perfect right there, you know.”

“I know, but don’t they deserve the chance to stretch their legs too?”

“I suppose they do, honey pie.”

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To Have and To Hold

³³⁾ a messy makeup vanity - Ev & Val

Every night like clockwork, Valencia Blakely could be found at the vanity in her bedroom, cold cream jar open as she methodically removed her makeup. Red lipstick wiped away, mascara as if it had never been there, cheeks a natural shade of pink. Hair pins scattered across the surface of the table. Every night, like clockwork, she would glance behind her in the mirror and find her husband standing in the entrance to their bedroom watching. Tonight was no different.

“You’re staring again,” she grinned, catching his eye in the mirror. “You do know we’re married right? That I’m not going anywhere?”

“Oh, I remember. I was there, I watched you cry when you walked down the aisle.”

“I remember,” she turned, placing the cotton ball she was using to run under her eye and remove the last bits of eyeliner. “And if I remember correctly, I wasn’t the only one crying.”

“You were not. Dougie was also a blubbering mess.”

“I did not mean him!”

Everett crossed the room, a smirk on his lips, until he was standing behind his wife. He let his hands rest on her shoulders, let them gently slide down until he reached her waist, before he pulled her to stand up. Carefully, he turned her in his arms until she was facing him.

“Hello there Mr. Blakely…”

“Hello, Mrs. Blakely,” he grinned, leaning down to capture her lips. “Happy Anniversary…”

“Not until- oh!”

The clock on the night table showed ten minutes past midnight.

“Mhmm,” he let his hands gently grip her hips before lifting her and sitting her on the vanity and scattering things everywhere.

“Everett! You’re making a mess!”

“I haven’t even started to make a mess yet…”