From Fellow POWS to Roommates
Ch. 2:
Who Can It Be Now?
The next morning came like a flash. As soon as Sefton woke up, the feeling of guilt returned after hearing footsteps. He knew Duke was up and about and he'd soon have to face him. The utter thought sent shivers down his spine and soon enough a series of knots formed in his stomach. 'Oh man, Duke's up! I don't know if I could show my face! I mean I did cause physical pain to him last night, so, if he is sore at me, I can't blame him because I did make him very sore! Then again, he had it coming, but, still, Sefton, two wrongs do not make a right!' Sefton contemplated staying in his room all day and avoiding any confrontation that could possibly take place.
"Sefton?" the deep gravelly voice called, making Sefton's guilt turn to anxiety because he knew darn good and well it was Duke's voice and the possibility of avoiding him was definitely out the window now.
"Sefton, you up?" Duke was beginning to grow impatient and Sefton didn't move a single muscle. 'Why is Duke calling my name? Is he mad at me? Or has he forgiven me?' Sefton had sweat trickling down his face. Before he knew it, Duke came into the doorway of his room and stood there, while he was sitting on his bed and staring at the ground. "Sefton, I've called your name two times already! Are you gonna answer me or ignore me?" Duke sounded between nervous and depressed.
Sefton, deciding to no longer hide himself, turned his head slowly and stared into the younger man's eyes. Duke, seeing the look in the older man's eyes, immediately backed up as he felt that Sefton may not be finished with him.
"Why did you back up like that?" Sefton's guilt and anxiety turned to confusion as he never once saw Duke back up like that before.
"No, reason." Duke immediately answered him and quickly looked away.
"Duke, there's a reason why you backed up like that and the reason I say that is because nobody backs up for no reason. So, what's reason?" Sefton began to feel concerned.
"Look, if you're gonna spank me again or beat me to a pulp, go right ahead." Duke sounded submissive.
Sefton didn't answer him as his concern began to intensify and thoughts started running through his mind.
"I guess I'll be waiting for you on the couch, then." Duke let out a sigh and walked out into the living room.
'Why is Duke being so submissive? He has never been that way before. I should ask him because nobody gets submissive like that and Duke never seemed to be the submissive type.' Sefton had a feeling that Duke might be hiding something behind his anger and that he must have went through something during his childhood in order to be submissive like that.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, Sefton got up from his bed and came out into the living room. As he sat down on the couch, Duke stares at him and waits for him to do something.
"Aren't you going to do it again? I'm ready this time!" Duke was standing up due to his sore backside and waited for Sefton to haul him over his lap again.
"Duke, I don't want to spank you again or unless you deserve it." Sefton's guilt returned.
"Why not? I deserved it last night! What makes today so different?" Duke was puzzled at Sefton's change of heart. He couldn't figure why the older man changed from being infuriated with him to being regrettful of his actions. 'What the hell is with Sefton? He never changes his mind! Then again, neither did dad, but, still shouldn't he have jumped on to punishing me again?' Duke was use to being hit, punished, and beaten that he was expecting it from Sefton which didn't make his guilt easier to deal with.
"Listen Duke, I'm sorry and i'm not just saying this for the hell of it, I really truly am sorry for what I did to you last night!" Sefton couldn't hold his guilt in anymore.
Duke stared at him with confusion and didn't move a single muscle, but, got nervous when Sefton patted the side next to him, signaling for Duke to sit down.
"Please don't spank me, Sefton! It really hurts back there and if anyone is to be sorry, it's me." Duke yelped as he slowly sat down next to Sefton.
"No Duke, I am the one who should be sorry and believe you me, I am truly sorry. It wasn't right for me to take out my anger like that and if you don't forgive me, I understand." Sefton told him in a monotonous yet guiltful way.
"What's there to forgive? You did what you felt needed to be done and to be honest I was never punished like that before in my life. Of course, that isn't to say other things haven't happened to me and plus, I did realize all the rotten things I did to you in barracks four and still do to you now and I just want to know if you forgive me." Duke began to feel the guilt setting in as well.
"Of course, I forgive you, Dukey! I just want to know if you forgive me and like I said, if you don't then I completely understand." Sefton immediately felt weird for calling him 'Dukey'.
"Dukey? You never called me, Dukey, before. Actually, now that I think about it, nobody has ever called me, Dukey, but, anyways I do forgive you and I have to ask, were you really furious with me and the prank I pulled was the last straw?" Duke was still wondering what suddenly made Sefton that furious because the only time he ever saw him that infuriated was the night he exposed Price as the nazi spy.
"Well, Duke, to be honest, the prank was the last straw because of your hostility towards me, but, after seeing you cry like you did, I suddenly realized that maybe I went a little too hard on you, but, what I still ask is, what made you think to spill that slop all over me?" Sefton began to be at ease with his guilt.
"Well, Sefton, I thought you'd find it funny since you do pull pranks on me, but, I guess maybe that wasn't the best strategy in the world." Duke shrugged.
"Apparently, I wasn't a good sport about it now knowing it was just harmless fun, but, then again, you're not a good sport either, Duke." Sefton chuckled as he felt the guilt seemingly go away.
"Oh, what the hell, let's face it, neither of us were good sports and that's something we'll have to learn, but, Sefton, do you have any other reason why you spanked me other than what I did to you in barracks four?" Duke got a smirk on his face only for it to disappear immediately.
"Well, you will find this silly and weird, but, I have been trying to be your friend as I thought we were on good terms, but, with you being hostile it was impossible." Sefton's remorse was showing now more than it did before.
"You said that last night and is that true? You want to be friends with me?" Duke had a puzzled look on his face.
"Yes, Duke, it's true that all this we could have been friends if you weren't so hostile and let me ask you this, why are you so hostile?" Sefton asked.
"Why am I so hostile? I wish I had a dollar every time someone asked me that and same thing goes for when people ask me what do I want." Duke stared at the ground with a solemn look on his face and continued with, "If I told you the reason behind my hostility you wouldn't understand or at least you wouldn't try to or even care to.".
"I'll try to understand, Duke. Just tell me." Sefton put his hand on Duke's shoulder.
"Well, the reason behind my hostility is because me and my old man aren't on the best of terms. I mean I don't talk to him at all and really don't care to." Duke sounded sad.
"What happened between you and your old man?" Sefton suddenly felt sympathetic more than guilty.
"He was abusive to me during my childhood and he said my hopes and dreams were stupid!" Duke's fury began to rise as he remembered how his father was towards him.
"Damn, Duke! I'm so sorry your father was like that and if you don't mind me asking, what type of abuse did he subject you to?" Sefton's sympathy began to intensify.
Duke did not answer him as his eyes began to glaze over.
"Duke, was he verbally abusive to you?" Sefton asked.
"Not only verbally. He-" Duke's voice broke and he began quietly sobbing in his arms.
"You were physically abused, huh?" Sefton's voice had a comforting tone to it.
Duke, who is crying in his arms, nods his head. Sefton, feeling extremely sorry for him, put a comforting hand on Duke's back and rubbed it.
"Duke, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry that happened to you. Now, I can see why you're hot-headed at times." Sefton continued rubbing Duke's back.
"Well, that's the (sniff) r-reason, Sefton. I'm so angry with my father and I know I shouldn't have taken my anger out, but, sometimes it just comes out and I'm sorry for accusing you the night Manfredi and Johnson were killed." Duke began crying hard.
Sefton pulled the younger man into a hug, allowing him to cry into his chest as he continued to try to comfort him.
"It's ok Duke, I already told you that I forgave you." Sefton began rubbing the back of Duke's head and continued with, "You know something, I can relate to you a bit.".
"You can?" Duke's cries began to soften.
"Yeah, you see me and my old man are not on the best of terms either. He was verbally abusive to me, not that he was worse than your old man, but, he always put me down and said that I would amount to nothing and that is part of the reason for my robbing the bunk mates blind besides wanting luxuries for myself." Sefton told him.
"So, basically, when you robbed us blind in the barracks you got the thought of your father and it drove you to do it other than your desire to have small luxuries?" Duke asked him.
"Yeah, but, if it wasn't getting verbally abused by my dad and his calling me "the loser of the Sefton family", it was him and my mother using me to get back at each other before she hightailed it out of my life and joined the socialites. After that, my hate grew for the wealthy people and that's why I said all of those things to Dunbar since he did come from a well off family." Sefton told him.
"Whatever, (sniff) came of Dunbar?" Duke was curious.
"Eh, he and I went our separate ways. Last I heard, he was in a relationship with a woman named Kay Jones. I tried to get with his sister, Becky, but, the one discrepency was that she's way too young for me, like she's 15, but, looks 26. So, I decided to keep away from women, at least for now. If you don't mind me asking, what the hell did your mom do when your old man was like that to you?" Sefton asked him.
"My mom is dead. She died when I was 8 years old." Duke told him.
"Gee, brother, I'm sorry." Sefton hugged him tighter and continued with, "So, I guess we do have something in common.".
"Yeah, (sniff) to me it sounds like your old man and my old man could go out for coffee! They'd have something common!" Duke tried to comfort Sefton, but, found it impossible due to his sobbing.
"What would they have in common, Duke?" Sefton got a bit confused.
"Their hatred towards us. I mean I don't know if your old man did, but, my old man was also a drinker and if he wasn't using me as a ""stress reliever"" he'd either be drunk all the time or off having a rendezvous." Duke told him.
"In that case you're right." Sefton agreed with Duke on that and continued with, "Hey, Duke, you know this may sound weird, but, I like you.".
"What do you mean by that?" Duke immediately took his head out of Sefton's chest and scooted away from him.
"Well, I mean we could be more than-" Sefton was immediately cut off.
"More than what?! What are you getting at?!" Duke's eyes widened.
"Well, I really care about you this way." Sefton shrugged.
"Oh my GOD!" Duke got up and went to run to his room, but, is stopped when Sefton grabbed his arm.
"Wait a minute! Why were you about to run to your room?" Sefton looked confused.
"Because I had a feeling you were in the closet this whole time!" Duke barked.
"In the closet?!" Sefton was bug-eyed.
"Why else would you tell me that you like me and care about me a certain way?" Duke asked.
"Duke, wait a minute, I think you misinterpreted what I said and meant by it." Sefton tried to convince him.
"No, Sefton, when a guy says that to another guy, it usually means that." Duke shook his head.
"No, it doesn't, Duke." Sefton rebuked what Duke is saying.
"Oh, Sefton, gimme a break, because, it usually does and-" Duke was immediately muffled when Sefton put his hand on his mouth.
"Now, listen, Duke, you misunderstood what I meant by it all because what I did mean by it all, I meant that I like and care about you as if you were my younger brother. I know I said that last night, but, I truly mean it and I cannot believe you had the nerve to think that I meant it in a weird way!" Sefton was a bit agitated that Duke thought that.
Duke said something, but, it was muffled.
"What? Oh, yeah, I forgot I had my hand over your mouth." Sefton released his hand from Duke's mouth and continued, "Now, what was that you said?".
"I said, you really care about me that way?" Duke had a smile beginning to form.
"Yes, Duke, I really do care about you like a brother. Maybe more than care. Maybe the brother feeling is deeper than that. I-I-I love you. Not like-not in a romantic way, but, I love you like an older brother loves his younger brother, despite the verbal spats and physical fights. I mean yes, we did say hurtful things to each other during our years in Stalag 17, but, at the same time I liked having somebody like a younger brother to bounce off of and to me, you're it." Sefton got a smile on his face.
"Thanks, Sefton and to be honest, I kind of like having an older brother and authority figure around to keep me in line, because, that's more love I've gotten from a friend than I ever got from my own father." Duke smiled.
"What are you, a fruitcake? That's what friends are supposed to...Duke, you consider me a friend?" Sefton surprised to hear the word "friend" echo Duke's lips.
"Well, yes I do, Sefton. I mean what else would I consider you as?" Duke shrugged.
"I don't know...an embarrassment, a way to rebel against your parents, a cry for help some of the time, a traitor, a disappointment...the list is endless." Sefton shrugged and turned his head.
"Let's just stick with friend and brother." Duke smiled and pat Sefton on the shoulder.
Sefton turned around, hugged Duke, and pat him on the back as those words touched him. Then, without saying another word, Sefton grabbed his switchblade and clicked the blade open.
"Why do you have your switchblade out?" asked Duke.
"Well, since we view each other as brothers, I figured that maybe we could make the bond closer." Sefton held the blade in front of his face.
"How would we do that?" Duke raised an eyebrow.
"Like this." Sefton put the blade on the palm of his hand and began to make an incision. Duke flinched and his eyes widened just watching Sefton do that.
"There. Now, give me your right hand." Sefton was ready to slit Duke's hand.
"Please be gentle and make it quick!" Duke gave Sefton his hand and looked away. Sefton then drew the blade onto Duke's hand and began to make an incision, again. Duke yelped and gritted his teeth as he tried not to move.
"Now, let's shake on it." Sefton put the bloody blade onto a table. He and Duke shook hands as they let the drops of blood flow in each other's incisions.
"Oh God, that stung!" Sefton released his hand from Duke's.
"Stung doesn't begin it, brother. More like painful is the word because that was painful and now, I have a flap of skin just hangin' there." Duke went into the bathroom or "latrine" as they called it, in order to get gauze bandage and betadine. He then returned to the living room with the stuff.
"What do you have there?" Sefton asked.
"Gauze bandages and betadine." Duke replied.
"Betadine? That stuff burns!" Sefton's eyes widened, again.
"Well, that ain't my fault my for buying it, now is it?" Duke asked in a sarcastic tone.
"If I would have known that it burned, I would have never bought it." Sefton said in his usual wisecracking tone.
"Moron, you still bought it and I think everybody knows betadine burns." Duke gave him the "really?" look.
"Well, I'll take it back, but, there's one problem." Sefton told him.
"What's that?" Duke asked.
"I lost the receipt." Sefton told him.
"So, how the hell do you expect to take it back without the receipt?!" Duke had a confused look on his face.
"I'm thinking about it." Sefton replied.
"Oh, you're thinking?! That's a first." Duke was beginning to get annoyed.
"Hey! Watch it, Duke or you'll be over my knee, again!" Sefton gave him a seemingly warning look.
"You wouldn't dare! My backside is too sore for that!" Duke replied while giving him the "you wouldn't dare" look.
"Don't test me, Duke o'l boy. Sore or not, it could still happen." Sefton seemingly sounded a bit serious.
"Sefton, you're bluffing! I know you are, because, I sometimes catch your bluff." snarked Duke.
"Really? Then, why didn't you call it last night?" Sefton's voice had a bit of sass in it.
"Because, you came at me without a warning. Like, you pulled me out from under that table real fast and obviously, you weren't bluffing." Duke snapped.
"Look, Duke, I-Oh my God! Look at us! We're blood brothers and already we are having a petty argument." Sefton's eyes grew big as he came to realize that.
"Blood Brothers? More like typical!" Duke told him.
"You know what, Duke? I think we just adopted each other as brothers." Sefton told him.
"Ain't that the truth." Duke replied while rolling his eyes.
Then, before either of them could say anything, there was a knock at the door.
"Who the hell could that be?" asked Sefton.
"I don't know! I'm not God!" Duke's eyes widened as well.
Sefton went up to the door and answered it. "Yes? Can I help you?" Sefton asked.
"Hi, I'm looking for my son." a man said.
"Which one?" Sefton asked as his voice suddenly had a solemn tone to it.
"John Joseph Sefton." the man said.
"Oh my God! D-Dad?" Sefton was dumbfounded that his own father didn't recognize him.
"Son?" Sefton's father asked.
"Yes, it's me. Who'd you expect?!" Sefton's voice sounded serious now.
"For you to have a better attitude." Sefton's father barked.
"Sefton, who is it?" Duke asked.
"It's my father. Who the hell did you think it was?" Sefton asked.
"Hi there, Mr. Sefton." Duke extended his hand out for a handshake.
Sefton's father stared at him then gave Sefton a seemingly look of disapproval.
"Dad, he's offering a handshake, can you be decent for once?!" Sefton was annoyed at his father's rude behavior.
His father reluctantly shook Duke's hand before stepping into the house and shutting the door.
"Why are you here?!" Sefton demanded an answer.
"Why do you think, son?" Sefton's father asked.
"Oh, I don't know...to put me down more, to tell me how I am the "loser" of the family, or how much it is my fault that mom walked away. Which is it?!" Sefton shrugged.
"Oh John, how could you think of me so low?" Sefton's father asked.
"How could I think of you that way? I'll tell you how, because you have said those things to me before and I never forget!" Sefton replied.
"Look young man, I have come a long way to try to make peace and apologize, but, with this attitude of yours, it seems impossible. I mean I thought that you'd want that because of your kind hearted nature and all." Sefton's father told him.
"Kind hearted nature? You have a lot of nerve coming down here and thinking that I'll simply take you back as if nothing ever happened! Well, I won't because you can't come down here and try to con your way into my life when you never once cared to be in my life before! Plus, you can't expect me to warm up to you and act like nothing happened!" Sefton told him.
Then, before anybody could say anything, there was another knock at the door.
"Who can it be now?" Duke asked.
"I'll go see." Sefton told him.
He went to the door and answered it, again.
"Can I help you?" Sefton asked.
"Yes, I'm looking for a son of mine." a man said.
Sefton opened the door wider and got bug-eyed since he instantly knew whose father this man was.
"Duke?" the man called out.
A loud crack came from his neck when Duke turned his head into the direction of that voice and his eyes widened. Sefton could not help, but, stand there with an eyebrow raised and almost knew that it was bad news with Duke and his own father being in the same room. Duke and his own father continued their intense stand-off.
What was about to happen next? Will Sefton and Duke make peace with their fathers? Or not? Will Sefton and Duke's fathers apologize?
To Be Continued...