The Measure of a Man

Jill and Mike went into town on their day off. They had laundry to do and wanted to spend some time alone together. At the camp, there was a strict no PDA (public displays of affection) rule in place for the adults. Everyone was serious about making the camp time all about the kids. So when Mike and Jill found time to be alone away from camp, they made the most of it.

They had just put their laundry in the washers and were window shopping. It was too early to eat yet so they were just enjoying the day and being together. Something caught Mike's eye however and he turned to Jill "hey, would you like something to drink? I'm kinda thirsty." When Jill agreed they headed into a café and Mike ordered them each a drink, as well as two cheeseburgers with the works, a large order of fries and a third drink. Jill was surprised when he came back to their table with their drinks, plus all the food.

"I thought we were going to wait a bit to eat," Jill said. Mike looked a bit sheepish. "Well, this isn't really for us. I'll be right back." And he left his drink with Jill and took the meal outside. This piqued Jill's curiosity so she followed him at a distance. Mike headed down the sidewalk, the way they'd just come, and then ducked into an alley. He walked up to a guy in an army jacket who was digging through the trash. Mike made noise as he approached the man, which surprised Jill, since Mike was usually pretty quiet. Mike said "excuse me" in a loud voice as he approached the man. Even so, the man turned swiftly and looked like he was either going to fight or run.

Mike held out the bag with the food and the drink and said "I bought too much to eat and wondered if you'd like it." The man looked like he hadn't had a good meal in days and he eagerly reached for the food. From there, Jill could no longer hear their conversation since Mike switched to his normal, conversational voice. He motioned towards the ground and the two men sat down in the alley. After about five minutes, Mike reached out with both hands and shook the man's hand. Then he patted him on the shoulder and stood up. Jill didn't even think about trying to hide the fact that she'd been observing and just waited at the mouth of the alley for Mike.

As Mike walked towards her, he spared a backwards glance at the man still sitting on the ground eating. Jill handed Mike his drink and then looped her arm through his and they started walking along the sidewalk again. She figured she'd just wait for Mike to talk about it when he was ready.

After two blocks of walking in silence, they came to a small park and Mike led them over to a bench where they sat down. Mike didn't turn towards her to speak, though. He sat, resting his arms on his thighs, holding his drink in both hands. "I'm in the Air Force, Jill. I've served two tours of duty in Viet Nam as a helicopter pilot. I'm on furlough this summer."

Jill was quiet, digesting this bit of news. She had wondered about Mike's past. "Okay. Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

Mike snorted in disgust and stood up to walk a few steps away. "It hasn't worked in my favor to let people know. When I got back at the beginning of summer, my Mother wanted me to wear my uniform to a party at the Club. I didn't want to disappoint her so I wore it. Their house is close enough to walk so we did. On the way, some punks started up with me. They were just talking trash until they asked my Mother if she knew her son was a 'baby killer' and a 'rapist'."

Mike was telling Jill all of this without looking at her. He was afraid of what he'd see in her eyes. If he'd bothered to look, he would have seen love and compassion and sadness.

"Then one of the guys picked up some mud and threw it at us. But there was a rock in it and it hit my Mother. That's when I'd had enough." Mike paused, not sure Jill needed to hear more. "So, I don't advertise that I'm in the military or that I've served in Viet Nam."

"And was that man in the alley a veteran?" Jill asked.

"Yeah. I know that, there but for the grace of God, it could be me in that situation. There's not many who understand. I wanted him to know that I did."

Jill got up and walked over to hug Mike, which he gratefully returned. They held each other for a bit and then Jill said, "Oh Sweetheart. I'm so sorry."

Mike pulled back in surprise and asked "What?"

"I said 'I'm sorry'. Even if I didn't do anything wrong, I'm sorry that you've had to deal with this."

Mike shook his head. "No, what did you say before 'I'm sorry'?"

Jill was a little shy then. This was the first time she'd ever called him "sweetheart" and she knew some men didn't like terms of endearment so she rushed into her explanation. "Oh, I called you 'sweetheart'. I hope you don't mi.." and then she was cut off by Mike's kiss.

After he had well and thoroughly kissed her, he smiled and said "no, I don't mind. I love it."