Violets are Blue and True

Daklin Sullivan is a man, but some perceived him as a unicorn with a movie-charmed life. At age twenty-three he possessed a college degree admittedly from no place of special prestige but nothing to scoff at either, especially in the early 1940’s. Daklin earned a managerial job with the company of Kirkland and Associates- a fast-rising construction company, credited with building everything, in the small town of Overland Park, Kansas.
Daklin’s fast paced career kept him busy on most nights but he always made it home for dinner with his fiancé, Evelyn. Like most couples in Overland, Daklin and Evelyn (friends called her Eve) were high school sweethearts. Eve is what you would call drop dead gorgeous. All the boys tried at least once or twice to take her to the movies but she only had eyes for Daklin. Eve spent her days working at a local bookstore but planned to be a stay at home mom once they wedded in December.
Having the wedding during winter made the most sense for the couple because the house that Daklin was building should be completed by Thanksgiving and they wanted a Dr. Zhivagoesque wedding. Also they could begin practicing for the children they have always wanted without feeling guilty.
“You’re home early,” said Eve.
This is not the first time Daklin ever came home early from work (usually to “practice”) but today Eve recognized that it was different. Daklin just walked into the living room where Eve was folding laundry and handed her a note.
“Dear Mr. Daklin Sullivan you have been summoned by the United States Military of Defense to defend and uphold freedom from tyrannical forces. You must respond to the telegram and report to the address below no later than October 1st.”
Daklin still trying to comprehend the letter did not have too many words; Eve had plenty. “I don’t understand why they have to draft you. You have a good job, a family…a future!” said Eve, who began crying hysterically. Daklin certainly felt the same way but knew that complaining would not solve anything.
Daklin’s family decided to make the best out of an unfortunate situation and focus on the bright side. “You won’t have trouble finding a job as a war veteran, or adding stuff to your journal,” said Dalkin’s younger brother. (Daklin had a journal but never wrote in it because he said he was too busy living his life to actually write it all down). That night Daklin, surrounded by his friends and family recalled stories and actually forgot that he was leaving his comfort life in small town Kansas to storm the beaches of Normandy. Before the night’s conclusion Eve and Georgina, Daklin’s mother, had a few words.
“Daklin, we don’t care about a purple heart, we just want your heart to be alive. And don’t try to be a hero out there just do what you’re told and come back to us safely,” tearfully said Daklin’s mother and fiancé.
The first few months into his service, Daklin was doing as well as expected. He had earned the position he wanted of repairing weapons and drawing maps for captains and generals. He told Eve to tell the others all about his war efforts in weekly letters. Eve did her part and would respond every week with updates about the house (which needed a new faucet) and the expansion of his former company.
Seven months into his tour of duty, Daklin earned an assignment which would grant him an immediate release from the army and finally re-achieve his dream of holding Eve in his arms. Daklin, then stationed in Italy, wrote his usual letter saying one sentence, “I’m coming to America and I learned a lot out here so when I get back we need to practice. PS: Forgive the run-on.”
As Daklin wrote the letter it occurred to him that Eve’s letters had diminished considerably in the past five months. Daklin, without question surprised at the lack of mail he was receiving, chalked most of it to the fact that he had been moving to and from different platoons and countries.
Sure enough Daklin completed his mission, earned his exit papers, and boarded the fastest transportation there was to bring him closer to Eve.
Daklin landed in Overland and ran towards Evelyn’s home faster than a child runs downstairs on Christmas morning. He didn’t even stop to catch his breath; but he did stop at a local flower shop to pick some of her favorite roses. He calmly knocked on the door to surprise her, but Daklin was the one in for the surprise.
“Hello?” Asked an older woman, who couldn’t have been Eve’s mother due to the fact that she was too old and he had met her parents several times.
“Sorry to trouble you, my name is Daklin Sullivan and I am looking for my fiancée, Evenly “Eve” Martin. We live here. This is actually my home.
“Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with those names, but my husband and I moved into this town just recently. If you’d like, I can give you the name of the realtor who sold it to us.”
With a puzzled, confused and saddened look on his face Daklin thanked the woman and went to his parents’ house not only for a greeting, but to inquire about Eve.
He entered a warm home and received the exact reception that he was expecting from Eve (well not exactly).
“It’s great to see everybody, but earlier today I went to my old house and this older woman is living there,” said Daklin.
“Christ, I was hoping to avoid this until after supper,” replied Georgina.
Daklin didn’t even need to say one word, he just gave a look on his face and Georgina knew exactly what the look meant as she hesitantly walked to a nearby room and returned with a stuffed box. The box contained a keychain Daklin had won on their first date as well as other precious mementos the two shared. He recognized everything in the box, with the exception of a card that stood atop the possessions, he knew exactly what the card represented, but needed to read it for himself.
“Dearest Daks,
I am afraid to inform you that your worst nightmare happened. While you were fighting the good fight, another man wasn’t. I told him about you, but he didn’t care. I agreed to go out with him just to show him a bad time and that I wasn’t right for him, well, it backfired and the relationship continued, matured, and eventually grew. I moved away and please, do not come searching for me. I am terribly sorry and I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness, therefore, I will not ask. I realize that you are the one for me; the one who will provide the most fulfillment to my life and I ruined it, and I will go to my grave knowing that.
Sincerely, Evelyn. PS: Don’t wear the blue striped shirt it conflicts with you eyes.”
Daklin, never one to hide his emotions, became angry. Not towards anyone in specific but in general, an overall mean spirit. In actuality, it was towards someone specific.
He decided to kill himself. Slight joke just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Now where were we?
Daklin became infuriated about everything; why she signed off using the word “sincerely,” how she profited from the house he built, literally. His negative attitude started to affect his work leading to termination from the company. Which in effect was a double whammy because he needed work to keep his mind off of you know who. His parents as sympathetic as they were reached a deal with their son that he would do all the house repairs and home maintenance as they would work more hours until Daklin got his life back on track.
A month into his new stay-at-home dad painfully minus the dad, Daklin was having trouble focusing on the patio he was building. He was always fond of inspiration stories and quotes, so he checked out a poetry book from the library. Somewhere in between installing the deck and the rail he discovered a poem written by a previous user of the book and struck a cord within Daklin.
“I have always seen life for what it really is.
Not as happy ending but brutal realism.Ever since I was a child growing up, hard times are all I know. As a 10-year-old girl I had to watch my mother die in my arms. Nothing ever came easy. Life is like a newborn baby struggling to come out of its mother's womb,Life is nothing but a big struggle, but just keep the faith and focus on your goals. Don't let life beat you or you will be walking around like republicans. Keep on pushing, keep on trying; life can be whatever you make it to be. I see life as a bowl of cherries with whip cream and apple pie. I say this again; life is what you make of it. You can achieve or conquer anything it throws at you, you can't quit or give up, you have got to keep on working, look higher some way, some how you are going to make it.”
Daklin astonished at how much the poem applied and affected his life that he set out to search for the woman and write a proper thank-you letter.
“Dear Miss Danielle Spears, I read a poem you wrote and presumably forgot in the book ‘Motivation is Inspiration’ it touched my heart on a profound level. I had given up on hope and everyday I woke up hoping, even praying, that it’d be my last, but I no longer think like that and it’s because of your words you wrote. ‘I will not quit or give up’. I hope you read this and take solace in your life because of you I can now try to regain mine.”
Daklin continued working on the patio and remained focused when he received a little extra encouragement; it was a letter from Danielle thanking Daklin for the thank you letter and the kind words he wrote. Sure enough Daklin responded with another thank you letter, writing about hardships with love, work, and the war but mainly about Eve. Danielle replied about her horror stories of pressure in life. The two exchanged letters for over sixteen months everyday writing a letter. Truth be told, it was the highlight of both of their days, walking to the mailbox and reading each other’s thoughts and feelings. Each were consumed with work; Daklin working at construction company for over a year and Danielle a chef at one of the best restaurants in Chicago (her words not mine) especially rare for a female at the time. After two years of exchanging letters the two progressed to the telephone and began talking on the phone every night into the wee hours. The two continued sharing dialogue on the phone for a year until the 28-year-old Daklin built up the courage to take the next step.
“Danielle we have been in constant communication for close to three years and it has been the best three years of my life; I would love to take our relationship to the next level, in other words can we meet?”
Danielle hesitantly responded, “I feel it might be too soon, not to sound shallow but what if you find me hideous? Or observe something that might not be ‘normal’?”
“In all our letters or phone conversations have I ever asked about finances, looks, clothing, anything superficial or material? I love you! Who you are. I will be dressed in my army uniform and I would prefer you to wear a white dress holding a rose. Meet at the train station tomorrow at 5:45pm” said Daklin.
“Alright, however I’ll be carrying a violet; I’m not a big fan of roses.”
The big day had arrived and surprisingly Daklin was not the least bit nervous. He was dressed from head to toe in army apparel and even bought in a bouquet of violets. Patiently waiting at the train station, when out of nowhere a breathtakingly beautiful woman dressed in a white dress with long golden brown locks, wearing exquisite butterfly earrings gracefully walked out of a train (or perhaps fell from Heaven) and Daklin was certain that it was Danielle but regretfully observed no violet. He thought to himself “why would a knockout like that be so scared to see me or, was she, perhaps scared to meet me? Was she the superficial one?”
Daklin politely asked the women of so many of his fantasies if she was here meeting anyone special.
“No…the goddess replied…but now that you mention it, I have a stopover into California and it’s not for a few more hours. Would it be too much trouble for you to keep me company while I wait?”
Sure enough as soon as the sweet angel completed the sentence out of the corner of his eye, Daklin saw a lady strolling on a wheelchair, again regretfully unattractive dressed in a white dress, and carrying a violet with a look on her face as if she was expecting someone.
“I am sorry there is someone I am supposed to meet and I think I have just spotted her but believe me, you won’t have any trouble finding someone to keep you company,” responded Daklin to the traveling woman.
As he walked to other woman, he gently tapped her on her shoulder and asked, “Excuse me miss, are you carrying this rose because you are meeting someone special?”
“No” said the woman “the lady with the butterfly earrings asked me to hold it.”
As it turns out, Daklin has the life fit for a perfect Hollywood ending.