Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Author's note: After one particular review for my story "It's all about Life and Life goes on", I got to thinking and have decided to clarify Hitch's reasons for going to Georgia after WW2 ended.

A Conversation with Hitch

By Suzie2b

It was a rainy Friday afternoon in 1949 when Hitch turned into the drive of the four-bedroom farmhouse he'd come to enjoy visiting. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed overhead as he grabbed his small suitcase and made a mad dash for the kitchen door.

Charley Pettigrew was cutting the crust off a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for four-year-old Michael and two-year-old Emily Rose to share. She looked out the window over the sink and saw Hitch running towards the house. She smiled when he quickly stepped inside and closed the door. "Afternoon, Mark. How was the drive up?"

Hitch kicked his wet shoes off and set his suitcase down. "It was dry until I hit the Kentucky border. Radio said there's a chance of tornadoes."

Charley nodded. "Yeah, we've been keeping our eyes open the past couple of days." She cut the sandwich in half and put them on plates with carrot sticks and sliced strawberries. "I wish Tully didn't have to go into town today. At least I know Ali and Hana are safe at school where there's a shelter." Another volley of lightning and thunder made the house shudder as Charley put the plates on the table. "Why don't you call Michael and Emily down for lunch?"

Hitch smiled. "Love to." He went to the bottom of the stairs and called, "There are a couple of PB&Js down here I may have to eat myself if you two little people don't get down here!"

There were two delighted shrieks as the two children appeared at the top of the stairs.

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After lunch, the two toddlers were napping upstairs and Charley and Hitch were chatting in the living room when a high-pitched siren could just be heard in the distance through the pounding storm.

Charley's eyes opened wide as she gasped, "Tornado!"

She and Hitch flew upstairs to get the children and open windows and room doors. Then they headed for the storm cellar in the basement with Oscar and Ascot on their heels. As they started down the stairs, Charley realized that Hana's horse was in the barn. "I have to turn Samira out. She'll be safer loose than in the barn."

At the bottom of the stairs, Hitch put Michael down and said, "You stay here with the kids. I'll go take care of it."

Charley set up two cots next to each other for the children and settled them there with blankets. "Everything's going to be okay. You two stay right there. I'll be right back." Michael the Emily Rose sat there holding each other while their mother hurried upstairs to open the kitchen and living room windows.

Hitch returned, grabbed Charley's hand, and ushered her into the basement. He closed the door and put the metal bar across it to secure it in case the house took a hit. "Flashlights?"

Charley pointed to a shelf. "There. I put fresh barriers in them the other day."

In the basement, surrounded by concrete, they could barely hear the raging storm outside. Charley retrieved a box of toys for Michael and Emily to play with while Hitch set up two more cots for him and Charley to sit on.

Charley looked at Hitch. "You're soaked." She got a blanket and put it around his shoulders. "And you don't have your shoes on."

Hitch looked down at his muddy socks and chuckled. "Forgot I'd taken them off."

Charley grinned. "Well, you'd better take those off. I should have something you can wear stored down here." As she started to rummage through a couple of boxes, Charley said, "You know, Mark, we've known each other a long time now."

He pulled off the dirty socks and wiped his feet with a towel that Charley handed him. "Yeah. Long enough to consider each other family."

"There's something I've wondered about since the war ended."

"Oh, what's that?"

"Why did you move to Georgia instead of back to New York where your family lives?" Hitch looked at her with raised eyebrows and Charley quickly said, "I'm sorry. It's really none of my business." She handed him a pair of thick socks.

Hitch smiled as he took the socks. "That's okay. It's no secret." He put the socks on as he continued, "I did go back to New York … for a while. My folks live in Suffolk County and I stayed with them for the first few months after I got out of the army. But something was different." Hitch thought for a few moments, then corrected himself, "No … I was different."

Charley sat down on the other cot. "Different how?"

Hitch sighed. "When the war started I was going to school at Cornell University. I was two years into a degree in mechanical engineering."

"I guess your parents couldn't have been too happy when you left school to go to war."

"Well, you have to understand my folks. I'm their only child and they're controlling. They directed pretty much everything I did while I was growing up. Best schools, best clothes, best summer camps, best of everything … they spared no expense. They even picked my friends for me. To say they weren't happy about me joining the army is an understatement."

Charley asked quietly, "What happened when you got home?"

Hitch pulled his feet up onto the cot and sat crossed-legged. "Oh, everything was great for the first few weeks. Then they started dropping not too subtle hints about me going back to Cornell to finish my degree."

"Sounds like the logical thing to do."

"But I thought … and I still do think, that after working on every kind of engine imaginable, not to mention the guns and such during my time in North Africa … I really didn't want to go back to school to learn what I already knew."

Charley smiled slightly. "I'm sure that didn't make them happy."

Hitch shook his head. "Not even a little bit. They started in on me about changing my major, and that's when I realized they didn't care so much about the education. It was a degree they wanted me to have … the prestige of their son having a diploma from Cornell University."

"That's a shame. I sometimes wish I would've gone to college."

"Why didn't you?"

Charley shrugged. "Don't know really. I guess I just put it off too long. The war started and I felt I could do something more useful with my life."

Hitch nodded his understanding. "I knew I had to move on with my life … which meant moving out of my parents' house. I went into the city thinking I could get a job and an apartment. I soon found out that I wasn't a city boy anymore."

"Oh? How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"In the desert, despite the war, it was quiet … especially at night. The people, with a few exceptions, were genuinely friendly. I discovered how to survive with nothing but the clothes on my back and a box of K-Rations. I was ecstatic when I had a full canteen of warm water. I found out that money really doesn't buy happiness." Hitch smiled wistfully. "I had friends then. Real friends. You, Tully, sarge, Jack, and everyone else I met out there, never cared a bit about how much money my parents had."

The house shuddered and the lights went out. Hitch turned on a flashlight and handed it to Michael so the two kids could continue playing. Michael shined it on his mother and asked, "We okay, mama?"

Charley smiled. "Everything's fine, son." She settled her attention back on Hitch. "We still are your friends, Mark. We're like family. You couldn't get rid of us for anything."

He smiled. "I know. When I got back to New York, I realized that I never had 'real' friends until I joined the army and went to North Africa."

"So, why Georgia?"

Hitch said, "I went to boot camp at Fort Benning. I didn't get a chance to see a lot of the state, but when I was sitting alone in my room one night I remembered that what I had seen of Georgia was nice—comparatively quiet and the people I met off base were nice enough. I had already made my decision to leave New York." He shrugged. "I figured Georgia was as good a place as any to start a new life. At least I wanted to give it a try."

Charley asked, "And the garage?"

"Well, I finally stopped … or rather ran out of gas just outside Perry, Georgia. I had to walk a couple miles to get to town and then all the way through town to get to their only gas station. Next to the gas station was the garage and there was a for sale sign on it. After I got a ride back to my car, I drove on into town and got a room in an inn across the street from that gas station. After two days of staring at it, I went over and asked if I could look inside. It turned out to be a fully loaded mechanic's dream."

Charley giggled softly.

Hitch grinned. "Found out from Chuck, the owner of the gas station, that the garage and station had belonged to him and his father. After his dad passed away, Chuck decided to sell the garage. I called my mom and asked for the money." He shrugged. "In all my life my mother never questioned me when I asked for money. Dad would've been another story and he never would've approved of my idea of making a life in Georgia. Luckily, Chuck helped me get started, since I had no idea how to run a business. There was an apartment upstairs, so I moved in … and the rest is history."

Charley smiled, "How did your parents feel about you becoming a mechanic in a small town in Georgia?"

Hitch chuckled. "At first they were totally 'appalled'—as my father said. Mom and dad thought their lives would be ruined if their friends found out their only son was a 'grease monkey' in what dad considered a 'hodunk' little town."

"And were there lives ruined?"

"Much to their chagrin it didn't happen. They didn't speak to me for two months, but we're okay now."

Charley asked, "You're happy?"

Hitch grinned. "Very."

With mock seriousness Charley said, "Good. Now, let's have a talk about you still being single."

Hitch laughed. "I'll find the right girl eventually. I'm happy playing the field right now. You'll know when it's serious when I bring her to meet you, Tully, and the kids."

There was suddenly a lot of banging on the cellar door and they heard Tully yell, "Charley! Hitch! You down there? Open up!"

Hitch ran up and unbarred the door. Tully pulled it open. "You all okay?"

Hitch nodded. "We're fine."

Charley picked up Emily Rose and Michael followed her up the stairs. Tully enveloped her in a hug and said, "I was so worried. I tried to get back, but I ended up with the colonel in his storm cellar." He kissed Emily and picked up Michael. "I saw the mess when I drove up and…"

Charley put Emily down and put a hand on her husband's chest. "Calm down, love. We got downstairs with time to spare."

"I'm just glad Hitch was here with you."

Hitch went to the kitchen door and whistled softly. "You weren't kidding when you said there's a mess."

Half of the barn roof had been torn off, the wooden enclosure was destroyed, as well as Hana's practice ring. There was litter everywhere, and Hitch's car was on its side. With the exception of a few shingles the house was intact, but the wind had made a mess of things inside.

Samira wandered into the middle of the yard, snorting nervously. Charley went to her to calm her down while Tully went for a halter and lead. After checking the horse over, Charley was relieved to announce, "A few minor cuts and scratches. Nothing serious."

Tully put the halter on Samira and led her to a post where he could secure the lead. He returned to his family and friend. "Sorry about your visit, Hitch."

"Don't be. I'll be here all weekend to help with the clean-up and repairs … longer if need be."

"Thanks. Really appreciate it."

Hitch put one arm around Tully's shoulders and the other around Charley's as he watched Michael and Emily Rose run through the wrecked yard. "That's what family does."