The Items They Were Transporting Written by Tim O'Brien The Items They Were Transporting Cross, the first lieutenant, received letters from Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. letters, Lieutenant Cross stored them at the bottom of his backpack, folded in plastic, because he was hoping. After a day of marching, he would dig his foxhole in the late afternoon, wash his hands beneath a canteen, open the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and pretend for the last hour of light. He would envision romantic camping excursions in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Occasionally, he would taste the envelope flaps, aware that her tongue had touched them. He longed for Martha to love him as much he did, but the letters were primarilyas talkative and evasive when it comes to love. He was almost positive that she was a virgin. She was a Mount Sebastian English major who wrote brilliantly about her roommates, professors, and midterm exams. She also talked a...
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