Johnny
The man now called John "Reese" was born John Hendricks, to a middle aged couple. His mother and father had been childhood sweethearts, and after Frank returned home safely from the Viet Nam war, he and Gloria got married. After several years of trying to have children, they finally managed to have one son, much beloved of his mother. John took after his mother in his bone structure, coloring and piercing, expressive eyes. His height and athletic abilities he inherited from his quiet, stoic father Frank, a former Army sergeant. Gloria threw herself into her long-anticipated role of motherhood, lavishing love and affection on her handsome young son, while Frank grew mystified, even more silent, and unconsciously jealous as Gloria seemed to transfer her affection from himself to Johnny.
The Hendricks home in Puyallup, Washington became a hive of activities and crafts centered around young John and his interests and education. Fortunately, his mother's attentions did not go to Johnny's head, as he was a naturally conscientious and polite child. Johnny energetically participated in all kinds of sports, excelling at basketball and swimming. As a Cub Scout and later a Boy Scout, he loved the challenge of working to earn the various merit patches and badges, particularly those that related to outdoor activities and camping. It was long before everyone, adult and child, relied upon his skills as a leader.
Johnny accumulated and dutifully tended to a houseful of animals, including a hamster, lizard, parakeet and two stray cats. He was famous in the neighborhood for rescuing any sick or wounded animals. His beloved chocolate Labrador Retriever named Beau followed John wherever he went during his investigations of the woods and hills surrounding their neighborhood. Gloria kept a shoebox full of supplies in the washroom, to help him patch up the tiny, wild things he brought home.
Johnny seemed to accumulate friends like a magnet. Troops of neighborhood children would swoop in and out of the house after school and on weekends, the screen door slamming open and shut. "Don't forget to wipe your feet!" Gloria would jokingly admonish them with her bell-like laugh, while offering them her famous homemade cupcakes, cookies and lemonade for snacks. But everyone made sure they left before Frank got home - sound of the doors slamming shut sounded too much like gunfire, sending the quiet man into fits of anger, or worse, silent brooding that could last for days.
"Mom, why doesn't Daddy like me?" asked Johnny, after one such day when Johnny was in the third grade. Gloria hugged her sweet boy close, trying and failing to hide her tears.
"Johnny, your Daddy likes you! He loves you! He'd do anything for you, sweetheart!" she said, wiping her face and Johnny's, too. "He…changed, during the war. He used to be so friendly and outgoing, just like you! He saw so much, over there - so much bloodshed and needless death. Johnny, promise me you'll never be a soldier."
"But Mom, I want to join the Army! I want to help people when I grow up, people who aren't lucky enough to be Americans, like Daddy did!"
"God help you if you do, son. God bless and help you," she said with a soft sigh, brushing back his thick black hair. She made them both a fresh glass of lemonade, to drink outside while Frank rested in the cool of their bedroom. She vowed to herself to talk to her husband, to find a way to bond with Johnny, to be part of his life before it was too late and he was all grown up.
Practically every weekend, for the rest of that summer and those afterwards, Frank would take Johnny and Beau camping where they would subsist solely on the fish and game that they could catch themselves, and any fruits or roots they might scavenge. Johnny became an expert at handling and cleaning guns and knives through his father's almost silent tutelage. Frank taught Johnny the art of silently stalking their prey through the leaf covered forest carpet of the thick forests. "Silence is your friend," Frank would say. "Don't let your enemies know you are coming." That phrase, and "Always do your duty" were the quiet man's personal mantras, and he passed them along to his boy.
In the seventh grade, Johnny became one of the star players on his Junior High School's basketball team. One day, he and his best friend Tommy, a neighbor and fellow "jock", were walking in the school hallway between classes. They were joking with each other about some of the girls who had started hanging around them, when they came upon some of the "Lumberjack Gang" bullies beating up one of the "nerds". The scared, scrawny boy was lying in the hallway with all his books and papers thrown all over the floor. He was holding his broken glasses in one hand, and the other was pressed to his bleeding nose. "Hey," shouted Johnny, as he ran toward the group surrounding the kid on the ground, "what the heck do you think you're doing?" Tommy, tugged on Johnny's arm and said, "Be careful Johnny, you know those guys will beat the heck out of you!" Johnny shrugged him off and continued jogging down the hall towards the menacing group of kids wearing plaid shirts and with snuff-box-circles showing through the back pockets of their jeans.
"Leave him alone! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" he challenged them. The leader of the group, a tall, burly blonde kid with an aggressive case of acne, squared his shoulders and said, "We're just having a little fun here! What's it to you, Jock?"
"Well, Verne", he said, stressing the sound of the Gang Leader's name, whose eyes widened slightly, "I just don't think this looks like a fair matchup to me. "I mean, there are four of you, and only one of him. But now there are three of us," he said, glancing meaningfully at Tommy, who had just arrived behind him but was looking scared.
Verne laughed and briefly looked away, then quickly made a fist and began to strike at Johnny. But Johnny's basketball training kicked in, and he easily dodged the swinging arm, weaved around the big bully and landed his own punch right into the pimply nose. Blood spurted everywhere, and the kid buckled over, holding his face, and starting to sob. The other gang members looked startled, then embarrassed, and two of them ran off, while the third grabbed the back of his Leader's shirt and dragged him down the hallway into the nearest Boy's rest room.
Johnny rubbed his hand, stunned by the force of the impact of his hit to the bully's face. But then he looked down at the kid on the ground, who despite his bloody nose and broken glasses, was bravely struggling not to cry. The boy sat up and dug into his backpack for a handkerchief, which he pressed against his nose. Then he began to one-handedly try to gather up his strewn books and papers. "Here, let us help you," Johnny said, with another glare at Tommy. They both bent down and started grabbing as many things as they could and stuffing them into the kid's backpack.
"Thanks," muttered the boy with long, curly red hair, with a blush behind his freckles. He glanced up at them shyly and said, "My name is Harvey…"
Johnny reached down to help the smaller boy up and smiled. "Sure, Harvey Ferguson – President of the Math Club!" Harvey grinned – he didn't think an important kid like Johnny would have even noticed a geek like him.
"I guess those guys don't like math, then, do they?" joked Johnny.
"No, I guess not," Harvey said with a rueful head shake. "My Mom's going to kill me about my broken glasses! But I'm really glad you came along when you did. If there's anything I can do to pay you back…"
"Hey, you know what you can do for me?" asked Johnny, as the kid stood up and faced them. "I've been having some trouble with Algebra? I just don't get it. Do you think maybe you could tutor me sometime?"
"Oh, Algebra is easy! Sure I can tutor you," said Harvey, who started to smile for the first time, wincing when his face twisted his sore nose too far. He glanced down at Johnny's hand and said, "You should wash your hands. That guy had cooties!" The boys all laughed together.
That evening at dinner, Frank noticed that Johnny was favoring his left hand and asked, "What happened son?" Gloria looked concerned and said, "Yes, what's wrong with your hand, dear?" Johnny looked sheepishly down at his plate, slightly afraid to answer his parents. He'd never hit another kid before. He glanced up and said, "Well, some bullies were picking on a kid and I had to stop them! They were beating him up! It wasn't a fair fight!" Frank said, "Well then son, you were doing your duty to protect someone who needed help." Gloria nodded and smiled, adding "We're really proud of you Johnny, aren't we Frank?" Frank gave Johnny a piercing stare, then nodded sharply, "Yes," and looked back down at his plate with the tiniest hint of a smile on his face. Johnny and Gloria looked at each other and grinned.
Gloria began to tiredly push herself up from her chair. "Mom, you look really worn out. Let me do the dishes tonight, ok?" asked John. "Thank you honey," said Gloria. "I am very tired. I don't know why I don't have any energy anymore. I just feel so worn out all the time." "Don't worry Mom, I'll take care of the kitchen," said Johnny. "Why don't you go to bed early tonight again. Maybe you'll feel more like yourself tomorrow after getting a good long rest." Gloria gave Johnny a big hug and kisses on both sides of his cheeks. She looked into his eyes and said, "You are the best son we could ever have. I love you so very much!" Johnny blushed and said, "Aw, Mom!" But then he hugged her back and kissed her cheek too. Frank sat quietly observing them. After Gloria went to the bedroom, Johnny began to clear the dinner table and feed the animals. Frank quietly sighed, walked over to one of his weapons caches hidden around the house, this one in the dining room dish cupboard, and sat back down at the table to begin his silent nightly ritual of gun cleaning.
So Harvey became an unlikely addition to Johnny's "pack" of friends, most of whom were either neighbors or fellow jocks. But everyone in school now knew not to tease the funny looking Math Club President, or there would be trouble.
Johnny, in his turn, benefitted from his new friendship by his rising math grades. "You know, you're smarter than you look," Harvey blurted out one day while they were sitting in John's kitchen studying together. Then his face blanched behind his freckles when he realized what he'd said. "I mean, I'm sorry Johnny, I didn't mean…"
Johnny just laughed and said, "It's ok, Harvey, I know what you meant. I just don't spend as much time on homework and studying as I should. I'd much rather be outside playing basketball! But thanks to you, Mrs. Glancey is much happier with my math assignments and quizzes. I think I'm getting a B in Algebra now!"
Then he reached down and ruffled patient Beau's neck and asked his beloved dog, "Why don't we go for a walk now and take Harvey home, huh?" Beau whined his agreement to that proposal. "Mom, can Beau and I walk Harvey home?" he asked. "Sure Johnny, just be sure to be home by 6 for dinner, or your Dad will be upset," she said tiredly. "While you're out, could you stop at Mr. White's pharmacy and buy me another bottle of aspirin, please." "No problem Mom," he agreed. He clipped on Beau's leash and the two boys and the dog strolled out into the afternoon air.
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Johnny's happy, almost idyllic life came to a screeching halt one day at the beginning of his eighth grade year. He came home from school one day to find his both his parents sitting at the kitchen table, his Mom crying and his Dad sitting quietly cleaning his guns, but stopping now and again to dab at the tears appearing in his expressively sad eyes.
"What's wrong?" asked Johnny, worriedly looking between them.
Gloria took a deep breath, dabbed at her own eyes, and said "Sit down Johnny. We need to tell you something. You know how tired and worn out I've been feeling lately? Well, your Dad took me to the doctor again today, and we got some bad news. I have something called cancer. Breast cancer. And I'm going to have to have surgery soon and then have something they call 'radiation' treatments."
"But I thought Dr. Cooper said you were just worn out, and that you needed to res t more and not to worry!" cried John. "I know, honey. Dr. Cooper thought it was just all in my head, women's complaints. That's what we all thought," she said. "But now I will need you to be an extra good boy and take care of the house and dishes and dinners as best as you can while I'm trying to get better, ok Johnny?"
"Ok Mom, I will. I promise!" He glanced at his father, who just simply continued to clean his gun, but Johnny could see tear tracks silently tracing their way down the long, chiseled, careworn face.
Frank began quietly drinking every night while he cleaned his guns. Gloria's smiles and laughs for John no longer seemed to light up her beautiful eyes. The whole family silently drove to the hospital the morning of her scheduled surgery. Frank stalked the waiting room like a caged panther during the interminable length of time the radical double mastectomy took. The other patients and family members in the waiting room eyed him with fear or tried to pretend they didn't see the wild look in his eyes.
Finally, the doctor came out to meet with them. "Mr. Hendricks, your wife is in recovery and she made it through the surgery just fine. We took out her lymph nodes as well as some muscle on either side of her chest walls. But we saw some suspicious spots on her lungs when we did the chest x-rays, so it is possible the cancer has spread. We'll just have to wait and see how well she recovers."
Frank staggered slightly, and Johnny watched his father's jaw tighten and fists clench. The Doctor backed up a step, and then warily said, "Mrs. Hendricks will be in the recovery room for another hour or two before we assign her to a room. I'll have one of the nurses let you know when you can visit her." And then he turned and quickly walked away. Johnny gently put his hand on his Dad's arm to steady him. Frank startled, and then looked down at his son as though he didn't even recognize him momentarily. Then he shook his head and said sadly, "Thank you son. You're a good boy." And Frank finally sat down quietly in one of the waiting room chairs until they were called back by the nurse. Johnny kept glancing at his Dad through his eyelashes, though, and could see the muscles in his cheeks twitching as he clenched his jaws.
The fall and winter of that year that year was a blur of hospital stays and Gloria's struggles with her illness. She never seemed to regain her strength or stamina, and acquired a persistent cough that no cough medicine or lozenges could quell. Her dresses hung on her like a scarecrow. One day, Johnny found her with her sitting at her vanity table with hairbrush in hand, staring a small mound of ebony curls in her lap. He ran outside, before she could say anything. He didn't come back until nightfall.
"Johnny," Gloria called to him one early spring afternoon when he came home from school. "Yes Mom?" Johnny asked as he entered her bedroom and came to her side to take her thin, pale hand. She was lying on her bed, with the two black and white cats snuggled up against her. "The basketball coach called this afternoon and said you quit the team. Why, honey? Please don't quit on my account! I know how much you love it," she said breathlessly, almost gasping for air after such a long speech.
Johnny sat down in the chair beside her bed, and Beau lay down on the floor next to them. "It's ok Mom, I don't really feel like playing basketball anymore," he said. "I'd rather come home right after school and do my studying. Basketball practice takes so long and I never have enough time to get my homework done."
"Honey, don't lie to me. I know you are doing well enough with your studies and are getting your homework done. I want you to play basketball! Plus you're not hanging around with your friends like you used to. I'm worried about you, Johnny."
Tears began to fill Johnny's crystal blue eyes. "Mom, I just want to come home after school and be with you. That's all." Gloria's own slightly yellowed eyes began to fill with tears too. "It's ok, honey. I'm just so sorry. Sorry that you have to give up one of your biggest joys because of me."
Johnny buried his head in his mother's stomach and began to sob, his shoulders shaking. "Mom, please don't die! Promise me you'll keep fighting and will try to get better!" he cried. Gloria stroked his beautiful thick hair and wiped her eyes with her other hand. "Johnny, be strong for me, ok? I'm so sorry that I'm letting you and your Dad down. But you need to be a man now and be strong for both yourself and your Dad. You know how much I love you, right? And I will always love you, no matter what or where I am. Don't ever forget that! I will always be there with you to try to light your way." The two of them stayed where they were, Gloria stroking his hair and back, while Johnny's despair gradually faded.
"Honey," Gloria finally broke the silence. "Your Dad will be coming home from work soon. Could you make dinner for us again tonight, please? I'm just so tired." "Ok mom. No problem. How does spaghetti and meatballs sound?" Johnny asked, lifting his head and squinting his eyes at the light after having buried his head against her for so long.
"That sounds delicious Johnny. And I think we have some iceburg lettuce for salad with Thousand Island dressing in the fridge for a salad," Gloria smiled. "You know that's one of your Dad's favorites." "I know Mom. Yours too. Please promise me you will try to eat something tonight?" Johnny asked, with a worried line in his brow. "I'll try, honey, I'll try." He gave his mother a kiss on her check, ruffled Beau's neck, and went into the kitchen together to start dinner.
And so the bleak, joyless days continued with all of them dreading the inevitable outcome, which finally came one beautiful April morning. Gloria was buried in a white casket holding her son's baby shoes. After the graveside service, Frank refused to move, standing like a statue at the foot of the freshly dug grave. Tommy's mother, Mrs. Kendall, tried to reason with him, but he just glared at her with his laser-like blue eyes. "It's ok Frank. Never mind. We'll take Johnny home with us, ok?" she said warily, as she steered John away and back to the cars leaving the cemetery.
"Why don't you stay with us tonight, Johnny?" she asked. "You can stay with Tommy in his room." Tommy piped up, "Yeah John, we haven't had a sleepover in a long time!" But Johnny refused to stay with them after dinner. "My Dad needs me," he said. "Plus I've got to walk Beau and feed the rest of the animals," and he excused himself to walk back across the street to the empty house. There, he reheated one of the casseroles that the neighbor women had brought over, in case his Dad would want to eat something when he came home.
But Frank did not return to the house for two days, and when he did so he stunk of alcohol and urine. John helped him into the bathroom, silently stripped off his clothes and put him in the shower. Johnny took his father's suit and put it in the washing machine. Later, he found that his father had taken the suit and put it in the big aluminum trash can in the garage, along with the sympathy cards and flowers that friends and family had sent.
Frank's drinking continued, and he often fell asleep on the couch in the living room holding onto a pistol. Johnny's ability to move silently came in handy as he'd slip next to his sleeping father and gently slide the pistol out of his hand. He would open the barrel and removed all the bullets before slipping it back. Johnny gently removed his father's heavy work boots and picked up all the empty bottles from the floor, not wanting his father to fall and break them in his stupor the next morning.
The rest of the school year was painful for Johnny, because most of his friends and teachers either avoided him or were too effusive in their sympathies. Only Tommy and Harvey seemed to know that John just wanted their silent and constant support. They would walk to and from school and class with him silently and let him just be.
Kindhearted Mrs. Kendall constantly invited Johnny over to their house for dinner, and sometimes he would accept. But the joyous boisterous family banter at dinner sometimes only made him feel more lonely and isolated. So most evenings he would cook dinner for himself and Beau and the other animals, in the vain hope that his father would come home early and eat with Johnny, rather than going straight from work to the neighborhood bar that had become his nightly haunt.
On the warm spring weekends and after school let out in early June, Tommy volunteered to look after Johnny's other animals so that John and Beau could escape into the woods. They would camp out on their own for days at a time, only returning to the house for fresh supplies. Sometimes, Johnny's grief would overwhelm him, and Beau would patiently sit with him in the tent while Johnny sobbed into the fur of his ruff. Then Beau would lick his face, making Johnny ruefully laugh. Other times, the quiet of the natural surroundings allowed Johnny to feel very peaceful and calm, while he cleared his head of all thoughts but bare existence. He wondered, at times like this, if his mother was looking down at him from Heaven.
After about a month, Tommy did occasionally manage to convince Johnny to start playing pickup basketball again with the other neighborhood kids. Harvey sometimes came to the court too to sit with Beau, watching the game from the sidelines and doing practice math tests. Johnny would push himself as hard as he could, often wearing-out the other kids with his strenuous passing and sprinting on the court. "Relax, dude" joked Tommy, "It's just a game!" And Johnny would grimly laugh, and continue with his aggressive game plays until he and all the other boys were completely sweaty and exhausted.
One afternoon in early August, Johnny and Beau returned home from a three day long camping trip to find a "For Sale" sign sitting in the lawn of his home. Johnny ran into the house calling, "Dad! Dad!" No one was home, but Johnny immediately noticed that the cats and all the other rescue animals were gone. His stomach dropped and he began searching the house. Several suitcases were filled with his Dad's clothes, weapons and liquor bottles. In his own room, and there were two empty suitcases sitting on the bed with a note on top of that read, "Johnny, start packing your things as soon as you read this. We are moving out on Saturday. Dad"
A cold chill worked its way down Johnny's back, but he immediately began packing. He took the clothes that currently fit him (having just had another growth spurt), along with some of his most treasured sports trophies and Boy Scouts patches and badges. Suddenly, he stopped and thought for a moment, and then went into his parents' bedroom. He looked around the top shelf of their closet and spied his target, his Mother's small, rectangular wooden memory box. He took it down and quickly brought it back to his room and shut the door. He sat on the bed and opened the box to look through it. She had shown it to him once, and he remembered her telling him the stories of her treasures that it held. There were three beautiful cameos that she had said her own mother had given to her. Her filmy lace wedding veil was carefully folded in tissue paper. Underneath it all was a small packet of letters addressed to her from his Dad in Vietnam. There was also a picture of his Mom and Dad, looking much younger, leaning together and happily smiling into the camera. The last picture was of his Mom sitting and smiling while holding a laughing black haired baby in her lap, with his Dad standing solemnly behind them, with his hand on her shoulder.
Finally, at the bottom of the memory box, he found a sealed envelope with his name written on it in his mother's handwriting. The envelope contained something lumpy, and when he opened it he found a letter and his Mom's wedding ring. The ring had gotten too large for during her illness and kept falling off her finger. At the funeral home during her viewing, he remembered briefly wondering why his mother wasn't wearing her ring, but had promptly forgotten that detail in the midst of all the overwhelming grief and shock. He gently held the ring and started at the little diamond, then unfolded the letter, which read, "Dear Johnny. I want you to keep this ring as a sign of my eternal love for you and your Dad. If you are lucky enough to find the right woman to love when you grow up, maybe you would like to pass this on to her as your future bride. Love always, Mom."
John sat and started at the ring and letter for a long time, then carefully refolded all the letters and wedding veil, repacking all the treasures into the box. He placed the box in one of his suitcases, nestled in between two of his softest t-shirts. Everything he wanted to take with him fit into the one large suitcase. The other empty suitcase he set aside, and went to the kitchen to feed himself and Beau.
The next morning, his father returned home looking haggard and hung over. He grunted at Johnny and went to into his bedroom take a shower and change. When he came back into the kitchen, Johnny handed him a plate of pancakes he had just made. Frank began picking at his food. They ate together silently, as usual. Then Frank finally looked up at Johnny and spoke, saying "We're leaving tomorrow morning. I can't stay here anymore. Too many memories. Besides, I got fired from my job at the lumber mill. I'm gonna head either to Texas or Alaska, to see if I can get a job in the oil fields. And you can't stay with me until I get settled. School will be starting soon, so I'm taking you east, to the Valley Forge Military Academy. Plebe week starts on Tuesday. You can get a good education there and they'll help you become a real man now. I've given them the money from your Mom's life insurance, so you can stay there until you graduate. Then maybe you can get a scholarship to go to college. You Mother would have liked that. Or you can join up with the military. Maybe you can make something of your life. Better than ours," he said, his eyes beginning to shine with unshed tears.
Johnny sat quietly staring, unsure what to think after the longest speech he had ever heard directed toward him by his father. Finally his mind began to work again, and he asked, "But what about Christmas and Easter and next summer? Can I come stay with you then?" His Dad shrugged and said, "Probably not for the holidays. Don't know where I'll be. They said you can stay at the Academy 'cause there's live-in staff always there. Maybe I'll be settled by summer. I'll let you know."
Then Johnny thought with a shock of something else. "What did you do with the animals Dad? Where are they? And what about Beau? Can I take him with me?" Frank shook his head. "Sorry son. You can't take any animals there. I called the animal shelter and they came and got the cats and the other animals. They said they'd try to get them good homes. You'll have to find someone to take Beau or we can drop him off at the shelter tomorrow morning on our way out of town."
John's belly went cold with anger and sadness. "Dad! How could you? I would have tried to find homes for the animals! And they can't have Beau! I want to take him with me," he shouted.
"Son! Don't you ever raise your voice to me, young man!" his father shouted back. John immediately stopped his ranting and took a deep breath, heart beating fast and adrenaline pumping, but knowing he had to control himself for Beau's sake. He realized that his Dad might just take Beau away to the shelter immediately. He began to think. He could leave Beau with Tommy. But Tommy's family already had a dog, plus with 6 kids in their family he wasn't sure Mr. and Mrs. Kendall would let Beau stay with them. They already had too many mouths to feed.
Then he thought of Harvey. He looked down at Beau, and Beau lovingly looked up at him, panting and smiling as always. 'Yes,' he thought to himself sadly, 'Harvey needs Beau. And Beau needs Harvey.' He schooled his features, and said "Ok Dad. I'm sorry. Can I go over to Harvey's house and see if he'll take Beau?" Frank said, "Sure Johnny, just make sure you don't go out camping again afterwards. We're leaving at oh-six-hundred tomorrow morning. Have your stuff packed and be ready."
"Yes sir. I already packed my suitcase, Dad, so I'm pretty much ready to go. I'll be back later after I drop off Beau." Johnny went back to this bedroom to get the other empty suitcase and began packing Beau's things into it: his blanket, his personalized food and water bowls, his squeaky toy, and a half-empty bag of food. When he was finished, he clipped Beau's leash on and led him across the street to first give Tommy and the Kendall's the news.
"Johnny! We saw the For Sale sign! What's going on?" asked Mrs. Kendall when he came to the door. So Johnny explained everything to them. Her eyes filled with tears and she hugged Johnny quickly but tightly to her ample chest. "I'm so sorry Johnny! We will miss you so much." "Yeah, dude," said Tommy, looking like he was struggling not to cry. Johnny's eyes were stinging and his throat was tight, but he managed to croak out "Thanks." He cleared his throat and then said, "Hey Tommy, can you come with me over to Harvey's house? I need to say goodbye to him too." "Sure," said Tommy.
So the two of them set out down the sidewalk with Beau happily frisking along ahead of them, stopping now and again to sniff and pee. Johnny was having trouble seeing because his eyes were filling up so fast, watching Beau enjoying their walk so much. Their last walk together.
Finally, he cleared his throat again and managed to tell Tommy about his plan to leave Beau with Harvey. "I hope you don't mind, Tommy. I would have liked to leave Beau with you, but I really think they need each other. And I'm not sure your Mom would let Beau stay with you guys." "Yeah, it's ok. I get it," said Tommy. "Maybe Harvey'll let me come over to help take Beau on walks." Johnny said, "Thanks, that's a good idea. Plus, I need you to keep an eye on Harvey at school for me anyway, ok Tommy?" "Ok dude. Don't worry," replied Tommy. "I kinda like that funny kid, so you don't have to worry about us." And Tommy bumped Johnny's arm with his elbow, pushing him off the sidewalk into the grass. They both laughed, and Johnny pushed him back with a big grin on his face, while Beau jumped and barked, joining in on their horseplay.
They all sobered as they approached the Ferguson house. Harvey had been reading at the desk in his room, in front of the window facing the street, so he saw them approaching and came downstairs to greet them. "Hi guys, how are you doing?" Johnny and Tommy looked at each other, and then Johnny hesitantly began to tell Harvey the whole story, pausing and taking a deep breath before he asked about Harvey keeping Beau. "Wow Johnny! I'd love to keep Beau! Come on, let's go ask my Mom and Dad."
Harvey got permission from his parents to keep the dog, so they begin unpacking all of Beau's things from the suitcase. Harvey placed the dog blanket and squeaky toy in his bedroom. Then he set up the bowls in the kitchen, preparing Beau a fresh bowl of food and water. They all stood quietly, sadly, watching the dog eat.
Harvey turned and looked up at Johnny, his green eyes wet and wide behind his glasses and said "I'm really sorry you're leaving Johnny. I'll miss you a lot. And I promise I'll take really good care of Beau for you." Johnny struggled to paste a smile onto his lips, and ruffled the top of Harvey's unruly red hair. "I know you will. He's in really good hands. I'll miss you too," his voice cracked.
Johnny quickly turned and started for the front door, Tommy and Harvey and Beau trailing along behind. He practically ran down the front steps and onto the sidewalk, then turned, looked up at the sky, and took another deep breath. He looked down spoke sharply to Beau. "Stay!" and turned again to go. Beau barked and started after him, jumping up on his legs from behind. Johnny's legs buckled, not from the impact, but from his stored up grief, and he crumpled to his knees, crying, while Beau licked his face and panted. Tommy and Harvey stood helplessly, and embarrassed but also silently crying as they watched their friend throw his arms around his beloved dog and sob into his soft, brown fur. Finally, Johnny whispered quietly into his dog's ear, "I love you Beau. Don't ever forget that. Take good care of Harvey."
Then he stood and walked back over to Harvey, with Beau beside him. "Sit. Stay Beau," he commanded gently but firmly. Beau cocked his head, but sat down next to Harvey. Then Johnny turned and walked away with Tommy. He did not look back, even though he could hear Beau whining quietly in his throat.
The rest of the walk back to their homes was quiet except for occasional sniffles and surreptitious wiping of eyes and noses with shirt sleeves. On the sidewalk in front of Tommy's house, they turned and looked at each other, but had nothing else to say. Then they awkwardly grabbed each other for a quick embarrassed hug, thumped each other on the back, and broke apart . "Bye Tommy." "By Johnny. Good luck, dude." Johnny nodded, then walked slowly back to his house and went straight to his room without speaking to his dad, who was sitting on the couch drinking.
Johnny woke up early and cooked up a quick breakfast, using the last of the eggs, milk and bread left in the refrigerator. They ate together in the tense, empty quiet of the house. When finished, his father rose from the table and said, "Let's go." "What about the dishes and the rest of the furniture and stuff?" asked Johnny. "Leave it. The realtor will take care of it," his father replied, as he strode back out into the living room to grab full two duffel bags. Johnny followed, quickly picked up his suitcase from the bedroom and rushed out to the driveway. His dad loaded their bags into the back of the old green station wagon as Johnny got into the front seat.
As they backed out of the driveway, Johnny took a long last look at the little craftsman-style home he had grown up in. He wondered if he would ever see it again. He decided it was better not to think at all, so he just sat gazing out the window trying to clear his mind of all thoughts.
Finally, after four long, deadly dull days, the long exhausting trip across the country came to a close as they arrived in the Philadelphia area on Monday night. As was usual, they found a liquor store so Frank could stock up before locating a fleabag motel. His Dad blocked the door by jamming the back of a chair underneath the doorknob. Then he unpacked his weapons from the duffle bag and stashed them around the room, putting a pistol underneath his pillow and the rifle at arm's reach underneath the bed. Finally, he lay down with the evening news on, drinking until he passed out. Johnny lay in his bed staring at the ceiling, trying not to think or feel anything, until he fell asleep.
The next morning, they arrived at the Valley Forge Military Academy, where Johnny was swept up by the school's the efficient Cadet "inprocessing" system. As Frank completed the paperwork with the Admissions Office; Johnny received a physical and his head shaving at the Health Center. They purchased Johnny's entire kit of required clothing and equipment from the Cadet Store, and a Cadet Officer escorted them to Johnny's assigned room in the Barracks Hall. He unpacked and stowed his new gear, plus the few personal items from his suitcase. Johnny changed into his shining new Cadet uniform. The Cadet Officer then escorted them back to the Regimental Hall to attend a buffet luncheon, while they listened to the welcoming speech and orientation by the Commandant. Johnny stood, tall and handsome, with the other Plebe Cadets at the front of the Hall and took part in the formal Cadet Oath Ceremony. Afterwards, all the parents applauded and cheered, then broke into small groups to hug and take pictures of their newly sworn in Cadet sons before the assigned departure time.
Frank and Johnny walked outside into the hot August afternoon, and stood awkwardly next to each other. Finally, Frank turned and faced his son, glancing at the other happy families surrounding their little island of misery. "Well, Johnny, I'm moving out. Do your duty and do well here."
Johnny squared his shoulders, looked into his father's eyes and said, "Thanks Dad. But I'm not Johnny anymore. I'm John. And yes, I promise do my best to do my duty."
Frank nodded sharply. "That's what's most important John. You are all you will ever have. And you've got to hope that you're good enough. Because in the end we're all alone, and no one's coming to save you." He saluted his son, then turned and walked away.
John watched his father go. There was still a tiny part of him, a legacy from his mother, that hoped his father was wrong.