Dear John

John lands in Raleigh, and he and Savannah are reunited. John is nervous about seeing Savannah and unsure how to act, but he forgets it all when he sees her. The pair travel to Savannah’s parents’ house in Lenoir. The first night, Savannah sneaks into John’s room, and they spend the night kissing and laughing together. The following day, they go horseback riding, and John is very sore afterward. On Sunday, after church, the couple travels back home to Savannah’s place in Chapel Hill. John offers to sleep on the couch, seeing how nervous Savannah is, but eventually, she offers to let him sleep with her. She has never slept with a man before, even just sleeping, so it’s a big step for her.

The next couple of days, they fall into a routine, with Savannah going to class and teaching and John working out and waiting for her to get off. Savannah fills their time with her friends, and eventually, John plans a romantic night out with Savannah, just the two of them. However, Savannah has made plans for them to be with her friends. John is upset, sulks through the evening, and barely speaks when they get home. The next morning, Savannah leaves without eating breakfast while John gets the paper. He keeps himself busy until Savannah’s expected return time, but she is an hour late. They begin to argue the moment she walks in the door. He realizes that she had a full life without him. John wanted to spend some time alone with her but doesn’t want to tell her he feels forgotten, so he walks out. John wanders around aimlessly, upset, and eventually returns. The pair finally can talk, and Savannah apologizes because she is trying to keep herself from being hurt once John leaves again, and if she padded her time with her friends, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. They make up and have sex for the first time. And although it is so much better than John could have ever imagined, he goes to sleep with a sense of dread that their actions were done out of desperation, trying to keep their relationship strong no matter what the future holds. 

The rest of their time together goes well. They spend the weekend with John’s father, talking about coins, and during the last week in Chapel Hill, they spend the evenings together. However, they don’t make love again because Savannah had woken up in tears after the first time. John senses that something has changed between them, but he doesn’t want to know what. The day John leaves, Savannah drives him to the airport. John only has six months left in his contract, and he says it will be over before they know it. During his deployment, John does better with writing and calls Savannah more often. In early September, they begin a countdown because he only has 100 days left. Then comes September 11.

After September 11, John reenlists. Horrified by the attack, Savannah is at first supportive, but slowly the couple realizes that John will not be returning home as planned. John looks forward to his summer leave, but shortly before, he receives the news that his father has suffered a major heart attack and is in the hospital. When John arrives, his father is weak and in and out of consciousness, but when he is awake, John sees emotions he never has in his father: fear, confusion, and gratitude. John stays by his bed, reads him the Greysheet, and researches coins on the internet. John is shocked to see how much the collection is worth.

While John’s time with his father is good for their relationship, it strains his relationship with Savannah. When she is not with them, she wishes she was, but when she is present, John wishes he could be alone with his dad. Savannah is as supportive as possible, but she cannot stay for very long because of her school responsibilities. They do get some time alone, but they spend most of it fighting. While Savannah doesn’t say it, she is distraught that John is not back for good. After his father is stable, John returns to Germany. He knows something has changed between him and Savannah. His father writes and continues to improve, walking around the block multiple times a day. Still, phone calls with Savannah are tense—if she is even home to answer—and his letters from her are fewer and farther between and subject to mail delays. In early 2002, John moves into the combat zone in the Middle East and gets his first taste of combat. After a terrifying day in the field battling the enemy, John returns to six letters from his father and one from Savannah that informs him that she has fallen in love with someone else.