Bo lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He used to be full of life. He always had a smile on his face and he always seemed to be in a very good mood. However, that was before Luke joined the Marines.
Luke was overseas fighting in Vietnam. He's been gone now just over three years. He writes home to Uncle Jesse and Daisy and Bo every chance he gets. He tries to get at least one letter sent to each of them every month. He is more than thrilled when he gets letters from home. He likes to hear how everyone is doing. He loves reading Bo's letters. He always gets a good laugh when he's reading Bo's letters. Whenever he's reading them he sometimes starts to cry because he starts to miss Bo and Uncle Jesse and Daisy and Hazzard in general. It's really hard for Luke. He's fighting in Vietnam for his country and for his life. Most of the time he's over there he's thinking about his family. He misses them so much. They're the first thing he's thinking when he wakes up and the last thing he's thinking when he goes to sleep.
The past few years have been really hard on Bo. Luke was his best friend and Bo was finishing up high school without his best friend to help him through it. He first thought that he wasn't going to be able to make it but then before Luke left for war they made a deal. Luke promised that he would come home alive if Bo promised to do is best in school and graduate. So far each of them was keeping up their end of the deal.
Bo stared at a picture of him and Luke. It was taken about a year before Luke left for war. He remembered that it was after they got home from a day of fishing. Bo and Luke were just messing around. The picture was of Luke with Bo on his back and each of them had smiles on their faces. Bo couldn't help but smile at the picture. He started to remember that good times he had with Luke. He really missed him. He was his best friend. The only part that really scared Bo was the fact that Luke was in a danger zone. He could get killed at any moment over there. He just couldn't imagine life without Luke. He needed Luke in his life. If Luke wasn't there, part of him wasn't there.
Suddenly, Bo remembered the day that Luke left for war. Bo remembered that he was trying to avoid Luke that day. But somehow Luke cornered him in the barn and demanded to know what was bothering his cousin.
"Bo, we need to talk," Luke said.
Bo looked at Luke with sad eyes. "About what?"
"Have you been avoiding me?" Luke asked.
Bo shook his head and lied. "No."
"Bo, you're a terrible liar," Luke told him. "I know you've been avoiding me. Tell me why."
Bo really didn't want to tell Luke why he was avoiding him. Bo made a dash to try to get passed Luke but Luke was too fast. He grabbed Bo around the waist and pulled him back into the barn.
"Oh, no you don't," Luke said. "You ain't going anywhere till you tell me why you've been avoiding me."
Bo got out of Luke's grasp and backed away from Luke a little bit. Luke was a little hurt when Bo backed away from him.
"Bo, talk to me, cousin. Tell me what's wrong."
Bo sighed sadly and Luke didn't miss the tears in his baby cousin's eyes.
"I don't want you to go, Luke," Bo cried.
Luke sighed sadly as he looked at his cousin. Bo's tears finally started to fall down his cheeks like waterfalls. Luke's heart broke into a million little pieces as he heard Bo's sobs and saw his tears. Bo was just torn. He wasn't going to be able to make it without Luke.
Luke didn't want to see his cousin's tears. It just hurt him to see Bo in so much pain. Luke walked up to Bo and wrapped his arms around him in a brotherly embrace. Bo buried his head into Luke's shoulder and cried while Luke rubbed his back up and down.
"Bo, I'll promise you something if you promise me something."
Luke felt Bo nod a little bit as he felt tears hit his shoulder.
"I promise that I'll come home alive if you promise me to do good in school. I want you to graduate. Also, promise me that you won't change. I wanna come back home to the same funny blonde cousin that I have right now. Don't ever change, Bo."
Bo didn't plan on changing anytime soon. He made a promise to Luke, and, as a Duke, he planned to keep that promise. Dukes don't lie, everybody knows that.
The hardest part for the family was when the holidays came, especially Christmas. When Bo was younger he would always wake up early Christmas morning and jump on Luke's bed to wake him up. Luke always pretended to be angry when Bo woke him up early, but the truth was that he loved Christmas just as much as Bo did. Now when Christmas came Bo didn't jump on Luke's bed because Luke wasn't there to be woken up. It broke Uncle Jesse and Daisy's heart to see Bo so sad at Christmas. They were sad too, but they didn't show it. They always tried to cheer Bo up, but nothing would work. Christmas just wasn't the same without Luke. Christmas would never be the same until Luke came home alive. It's been just over three years and that's how long Bo's been down. He wanted his older cousin, his big brother, and his best friend to come home so they could cause trouble just like they used to.
The three years Luke was gone they were all getting by just fine. Their lives totally changed with Uncle Jesse got a telegram that said Luke has been MIA. Uncle Jesse and Daisy tried to keep it from Bo but that didn't work. Bo found the telegram a couple of days later. He was furious with Uncle Jesse and Daisy for not telling him about it sooner. But after some yelling, arguing, and crying, all was forgiven.
Weeks went by but there was no word about Luke. So much time had gone by that Bo started giving up. He stopped doing his homework and moped around the house. Uncle Jesse tried to talk to him but Bo wouldn't listen. He thought that since Luke broke his promise, he could break his promise too.
One night Bo grabbed his guitar and went up to the hayloft to watch the sunset. He tried everything he could think of to get his mid off of Luke. But he couldn't no matter how much he tried. So he picked up his guitar and stared at the sunset. He took a deep breath and began to play
The things we did, the things we said
Keep coming back to me and make me smile again
You showed me how to face the truth
Everything that's good in me I owe to you
Though the distance that's between us
Now may seem to be too far
It will never separate us
Deep inside I know you are
Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are
Always close, everyday
Every step along the way
Even though for now we've gotta say good-bye
I know you will be forever in my life
Never gone
No, no, no
I walk alone these empty streets
There is not a second you're not here with me
The love you gave, the grace you showed
Will always give me strength and be my cornerstone
Somehow you found a way
To see the best I have in me
As long as time goes on
I swear to you that you will be
Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are
Always close, everyday
Every step along the way
Even though for now we've gotta say good-bye
I know you will be forever in my life
Never gone from me
If there's one thing I believe
I will see you somewhere down the road again
Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are
Always close, everyday
Every step along the way
Even though for now we've gotta say good-bye
I know you will be forever in my life
Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are
Always close, everyday
Every step along the way
Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are
Bo sighed sadly and put his guitar down. As he started at the sunset tears in his eyes were threatening to fall down.
"That was great, Bo," a familiar voice said behind him.
Bo turned around to stare at the face of what he thought was a ghost. His hear started to race and his adrenaline was running. How could he be here? Or could he? It couldn't be true. The person he was looking at couldn't be who Bo thought it was.
"Luke?" Bo asked with a quiet voice.
Luke nodded. "Yeah, cuz. It's me."
BO didn't hold back any longer. He jumped up and leaped into Luke's arms. Bo was never so happy in his life. Tears fell down Bo's cheeks but he didn't know if they were sad tears or happy tears. But he had a feeling they were happy tears.
Luke immediately wrapped his arms around Bo the second he jumped into them. Luke laughed when Bo squeezed him tightly. He sighed and rubbed Bo's back up and down in order to soothe him. When Bo started to shake Luke could tell that he was crying, and Luke almost started to cry himself. He was just never so happy to see his baby cousin.
"Ssh…it's all right, Bo…I'm here, I'm alive…and I'm home."
Luke continued to talk to Bo gently until the young man calmed down. When he finally did Luke pulled away and looked at Bo. He put his hands on Bo's cheeks and wiped his tears away with his thumbs.
Bo smiled gently. "Luke, I can't believe you're here."
Luke smiled too. "Yeah, well, I'm here. And I'm home…for good."
Bo sniffled. "I thought you'd left me. When we got that telegram that said you were missing I thought it was all over. I thought you were gone and I'd never see you again."
Luke sighed sadly and brought Bo into a brotherly embrace, much like the one he gave Bo before he left for Vietnam. He held Bo close as he heard the sobs racking his body.
"Bo, I never broke a promise to you before and I don't plan on it anytime soon."
Bo nodded. "Yeah, I know."
Luke led Bo over to the hay bale he was sitting on a little bit ago. They both sat down and sighed deeply.
"Listen, Bo," Luke said. "I talked to Uncle Jesse and Daisy. They tell me you ain't doing too good in school."
Bo looked at Luke. "When'd you talk to them?"
"About twenty minutes ago. When I showed up in Hazzard I called Cooter to give me a ride out to the farm to surprise y'all. Now tell me what's going on in school."
Bo shrugged. "To be honest, Luke, I really don't know. When Uncle Jesse got that telegram that told us you were missing I couldn't seem to concentrate in school. I was so scared that you were hurt or killed that I couldn't keep my mind on my schoolwork. It was just too hard."
Luke nodded. "Well, I'm home now."
"Yeah, and now it's gonna be easier for me to concentrate."
"You better get those grades up and keep up your end of the bargain."
Bo nodded. "I will."
Luke stared at his baby cousin. Bo may have grown but it didn't seem to look like he had changed. He kept up half of his deal with Luke, and now it was time for the other half.
"I really missed you, Luke."
"I missed you too, Bo."
Bo felt so relieved to have Luke home. He realized that while Luke was gone and missing that he was still with him no matter what. Luke was truly never gone.