Long Walk to Forever
By taking Catharine, his boyhood friend, and now Henry¡¯s fianc¨¦e, for a walk a week before the wedding, Newt changes everyone¡¯s future. Read on to see how this happened.
They had grown up next door to each other, on the outer edge of a city, near fields and woods and orchards, within sight of a lovely bell tower that belonged to a school for the blind.
Now they were twenty, had not seen each other for nearly a year. There had always been playful,
comfortable warmth between them, but never any talk of love.
His name was Newt. Her name was Catharine. In the early afternoon, Newt knocked on Catharine¡¯s front door.
Catharine came to the door. She was carrying a fat, glossy magazine she had been reading. The magazine was devoted entirely to brides. ¡°Newt!¡± she said. She was surprised to see him.
¡°Could you come for a walk?¡± he said. He was a shy person, even with Catharine. He covered
his shyness by speaking absently, as though he were a secret agent pausing briefly on a mission
between beautiful, distant, and dangerous points. This manner of speaking had always
been Newt¡¯s style, even in matters that concerned him desperately.
¡°A walk?¡± said Catharine.
¡°One foot in front of the other,¡± said Newt, ¡°Through leaves, over bridges¡ª¡±
¡°I had no idea you were in town,¡± she said.
¡°Just this minute got in.¡± he said.
¡°Still in the Army, I see,¡± she said.
¡°Seven more months to go,¡± he said. He was a private first class in the Artillery.
His uniform was rumpled. His shoes were dusty. He needed a shave. He held out his hand
for the magazine. ¡°Let¡¯s see the pretty book,¡± he said.
She gave it to him. ¡°I¡¯m getting married, Newt,¡± she said.
¡°I know,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s go for a walk.¡±
¡°I¡¯m awfully busy, Newt,¡± she said. ¡°The wedding is only a week away.¡±
¡°If we go for a walk,¡± he said, ¡°it will make you rosy. It will make you a rosy bride.¡± He turned the pages of the magazine. ¡° A rosy bride like her¡ªlike her¡ªlike her,¡± he said, showing her rosy brides.
Catharine turned rosy, thinking about rosy brides.
¡°That will be my present to Henry Stewart Chasens,¡± said Newt. ¡°By taking you for a walk, I¡¯ll be giving him a rosy bride.¡±
¡°You know his name?¡± said Catharine.
¡°Mother wrote,¡± he said. ¡°From Pittsburgh?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯d like him.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± he said.
¡°Can¡ªcan you come to the wedding, Newt?¡± she said.
¡°That I doubt,¡± he said.
¡°Your furlough isn¡¯t for long enough?¡± she said.
¡°Furlough?¡± said Newt. He was studying a twopage ad for flat silver.
¡°I¡¯m not on furlough,¡± he said.
¡°Oh?¡± she said.
¡°I¡¯m what they call A.W.O.L.,¡± said Newt.
¡°Oh, Newt! You¡¯re not!¡±she said.
¡°Sure I am,¡± he said, still looking at the magazine.
¡°Why, Newt?¡± she said.
¡°I had to find out what your silver pattern is,¡± he said. ¡°I plan to give you and your husband a spoon,¡± he said.
¡°Newt, Newt¡ªtell me really,¡± she said.
¡°I want to go for a walk,¡± he said.
¡°Oh, Newt¡ªyou¡¯re fooling me about being A.W.O.L.,¡± she said.
Newt imitated a police siren softly, raised his eyebrows.
¡°Where¡ªwhere from?¡± she said.
¡°Fort Bragg,¡± he said.
¡°North Carolina?¡± she said.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°Near Fayetteville¡ªwhere Scarlet O¡¯Hara went to school.¡±
¡°How did you get here, Newt?¡± she said.
He raised his thumb, jerked it in a hitchhike gesture. ¡°Two days,¡± he said.
¡°Does your mother know?¡± she said.
¡°I didn¡¯t come to see my mother,¡± he told her.
¡°Who did you come to see?¡± she said.
¡°You,¡± he said.
¡°Why me?¡± she said.
¡°Because I love you,¡± he said. ¡°Now can we take a walk?¡± he said. ¡°One foot in front of the other¡ªthrough leaves, over bridges¡ª¡±
They were taking the walk now, were in a woods with a brown-leaf floor.
Catharine was angry and rattled, close to tears. ¡°Newt,¡± she said, ¡° this is absolutely crazy.¡±
¡°How so?¡± said Newt.
¡°What a crazy time to tell me you love me,¡± she said. ¡°You never talked that way before.¡± She stopped walking.
¡°Let¡¯s keep walking.¡± he said.
¡°No,¡± she said. ¡° So far, no farther. I shouldn¡¯t have come out with you at all,¡± she said.
¡°You did,¡± he said.
¡°To get you out of the house,¡± she said. ¡°If somebody walked in and heard you talking to me that way, a week before the wedding¡ª¡±
¡°What would they think?¡± he said.
¡°They¡¯d think you were crazy,¡± she said.
¡°Why?¡± he said.
Catharine took a deep breath, made a speech. ¡°Let me say that I¡¯m deeply honored by this crazy thing you¡¯ve done,¡± she said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re really A.W.O.L., but maybe you are. I can¡¯t believe you really love me, but maybe you do, But¡ª¡±
¡°I do,¡± said Newt.
¡°Well. I¡¯m deeply honored,¡± said Catharine, ¡°and I¡¯m very fond of you as a friend, Newt, extremely fond¡ªbut it¡¯s just too late.¡± She took a step away from him. ¡°You¡¯ve never even kissed me,¡± she said, and she protected herself with her hands. ¡°I don¡¯t mean you should do it now. I just mean this is all so unexpected. I haven¡¯t got the remotest idea of how to respond.¡±
¡°Just walk some more,¡± he said. ¡°Have a nice time.¡±
They started walking again.
¡°How did you expect me to react?¡± she said.
¡°How would I know what to expect?¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything like this before.¡±
¡°Did you think I would throw myself into your arms?¡± she said.
¡°Maybe,¡± he said.
¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you,¡± she said.
¡°I¡¯m not disappointed,¡± he said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t counting on it. This is very nice, just walking.¡±
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