An army wife never cries while waving off her husband goodbye

Distance doesn't always make the heart grow fonder. My husband is in the Indian Army. I had a vague idea of what I was getting into when I got married to him, but had romantic notions of running into his arms at the airport or railway station, each time he would come home from his field location. But the first time he went out to the field for 2 weeks, left me craving for him to get back home as soon as possible. I used to enjoy staying on my own earlier during my single days, but now I don't like being alone. It is too quiet, disconcerting. Ever since my husband left, I felt uncomfortable being on my own.
He came back and in less than a week, he had to go again today... this time for a little over a month and to a place where there is no mobile network coverage. The last 5 days seemed as if we were living on borrowed time. Each minute was precious... especially, in the last 24 hours. We were trying to spend maximum time together, getting pending tasks completed in the midst of his work and my ladies' meet and family welfare programmes. We managed to watch a movie together, dined out, went out shopping and even opened up a joint account. Last night we hardly slept for a couple of hours. I helped him pack his bags, reminding him of the small knick-knacks that I knew he would miss out on if I didn't, that he would be needing to stay out for a month.
Early morning today the vehicle reached and as the 'batman' (or 'buddy' as my husband calls him) rang the doorbell and started loading husband's bags into the vehicle while I made breakfast and he got dressed, my heart started growing heavy. After breakfast as husband gave me a big hug and a goodbye kiss, proceeding towards the vehicle, the jawans stood there saluting and opening the vehicle door for him, cheering loudly JAI HIND, SAAB (may the victory be India's, sir), I felt very proud to be married to a man of such honour. But as I waved him goodbye and saw the vehicle soon getting away out of sight, my heart was filled with a sudden loneliness... as if it was going to swallow me up.
The house suddenly seemed so huge and empty again. Every nook and corner of the house seemed to remind me of him somehow or the other. The civilian t-shirt and track-pants that he wore last and had left for washing... his safety boots on the shoe-rack... our joint-photo framed on the bedside table...
I took out our wedding album and slowly looked at all our wedding snaps all over again. I burried my face into his still warm t-shirt and just couldn't fight back my tears. Quickly I brushed off the tears from my eyes that was streaming down both my cheeks, remembering that an army wife must never cry when her husband leaves.
Maybe distance does make the heart grow fonder, after all...