Hi everyone...okay we're back. I have to say a lot of planning went into this chapter. The actual phone call here was role-played by the three of us and although we are not including it as part of the chapter, since it is Letters not Phone Calls from War, I am willing to make it into a word document if any of you has a desire to be a fly on the wall and listen in on the Duke conversation that is discussed. Hope you enjoy! Ani, Elenhin and Jordyn
March 11, 1969
Dear Luke,
I should have known you would find a way to fix everything. You always do. The phone call was just what we all needed Luke. Thank you.
Thank you hardly seemed enough. It couldn't have come at a better time. To say she had been at her wits' end was an understatement. Bo had become so distant, it was like he no longer was there… and Luke… having her big brother so far away hurt. She didn't just miss him, she, like Bo, grieved for him as for one who had died because, in truth, that was how it felt to each of them. And that was why Daisy practically dropped the phone hearing the voice that her subconscious had been telling her she would never hear again.
It was so good to hear your voice Luke. Ya sounded like you were feeling okay…I sure hope that is the case. Bo's doing so much better now… still has his days…
Like we all do, she added to herself, looking out the window as the spring rain danced against the glass. It was days like this she missed Luke most So many memories played in her mind on days like this, over and over until, like now, her heart ached with longing for her cousin.
Rainy days had always been special. Both Luke and Daisy loved rain, especially light rain like now. The rain bothered Bo's asthma and he never could understand why his cousins would walk around getting cold and wet when they could read car magazines and be warm and dry. Therefore, on those days, Bo stayed home while Daisy and Luke spent time together, often just taking long walks in the rain, just the two of them. It was because of these walks and the confiding talk that came with them, that Luke and Daisy had ceased being just cousins; they became siblings and friends. Yup, it was days like this that Daisy missed him most. Tears dropped on the paper mimicking the rain drops outside.
… but he's doin' a lot better.
She couldn't help smile as she remembered seeing the realization hit Bo that Luke wasn't really dead as she held the phone to his ear in order for Bo to listen, him having refused to take the receiver at first.
I'm so glad you called Luke… really…so so glad.
I've enclosed more cookies just like ya asked. These should be enough for you and to let ya bribe a phone call again. If my cookin' helps that way, I'd bake every day so long as I could hear yer voice and see Bo smile again.
Bo had actually been smiling when he had finished talking to Luke… the Bo grin she hadn't seen in months and feared she never would again. She wiped her eyes. It was a miracle. Luke had done a miracle.
We miss you so much….
I miss you, she said in a choked whisper.
I found yer old stuffed Billy goat the other day Luke, an' ya know what? He still was wearin' my hair ribbons I tied on his horns. Now, I know ya don't care fer ribbons Luke, but I am sending ya one of em anyway. I thought maybe ya could use it fer a bookmark fer yer Bible er somethin'… an' actually the reason I am sending it is kinda two-fold. I'm keeping one-ribboned Billy in my bed with me. It helps t' think that ya have the other ribbon. It makes ya seem a little closer to me.
She wiped her wet eyes. She had thought writing would get easier, but it didn't.
I love you Luke, so much.
Love always,
Daisy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 26, 1969
Dear Daisy,
Ya make it sound as if I was some magical worker cousin, and even though I reckon it would be mighty nice at times, I am not. I'm just yer dear ol' cousin that bribed his way ta a few minutes on the phone. Might not wanna tell Uncle Jesse that though, ain't sure how he'd feel about me bribing, but that's the way it works here…
It really was the way it worked, you bribed by goods or favors. It was really because no one had to much. You got each other what you could in return of a small favor. A poor hard working clerk who never got to many cookies himself was all too happy to let Luke at the phone for some. He had known they'd like it, it had seemed to him they all needed a reminder that he was still there. Maybe far away, but he was still there, and it seemed as if especially Bo was forgetting that. He hoped it would help.
It was good to hear ya voice too Daisy, even sweeter then I remembered. Boy do ya know how ta make an ol' country boy feel like he's back home. I'm doing fine now so don't ya worry anymore about me. I promised ya I'd tell ya if something's wrong, an' I will. I'm glad Bo's doing better, I reckon ya know how happy that makes me. I know he'll still have off days, an' I reckon so do ya. Just take care an' hang in there.
He shielded the paper from the rain that was poring down. The had a pretty good cover at the moment but some still tried to get to them. He missed the Hazzard rains when he and Daisy would take a walk through it. Poor little Bo would opt for staying home with a car magazine, or maybe not so poor cause he would always get cookies to cheer him up when he was there alone.
He missed it cause sometimes it seemed it was the one time Daisy really confided in him. Bo would blurt out any questions any time. How you kissed a girl, how you asked them out, how you made a car go fast? He'd just ask, but Daisy was different. She often pondered her questions for a long time before she asked him. Then she did it at times such as when they were walking in the rain, and Luke would perform his duty as a big brother by helping her the best he could.
He smiled as he saw a few rough spots on the paper: either it was raining where she wrote, or she had been thinking the same as him.
It's raining here now Daisy, kinda makes it the perfect time to sit an' write me best rain-companion don't cha think? We had some nice times then, an' I was always so proud of being the one ya'd talk too. I'd like to do that again when I come home. Take a walk with ya through the rain.
He smiled, there was plenty of cookies sure enough, and this once he had sneaked off a few for just himself. There was no way to bribe a phone call again this soon, but he had given the clerk a few of them to make sure he knew it was appreciated. He had told him what Luke already knew, they'd have to wait before doing it again, but when it was possible, he would be more than happy to help.
Thanks a whole big bunch fer the cookies Daisy. I'm sorry I don't know when I will be able to call again, it might be a long time, maybe not I just don't know. We aren't allowed to make personal calls without permission from a superior, and if we get caught we get in trouble. I will call again when I can though, I promise you that. An' don't cha worry, I made good use of the extra ones. Gave some ta the clerk who let me make the call, to make sure he knew how much y'all appreciated it. He's a great guy, but he don't really have anyone ta send him cookies, so I reckon I'll be sharing wi' him at times.
He didn't say anything, but if he knew Daisy as good as he thought he did, she'd know he did get a few that he enjoyed himself, even if he also kept true to the way they always shared.
Made sure I gave some of the extra to the guys don't really get any. Seemed to make them happy enough, an' ya's now more popular than ever amongst them cousin. Half a dozen more marriage proposals than last time. If ya keep this up, soon pretty much the whole US Marine Corps will be wanting ta ask fer ya hand ya know. If nothing else makes Bo smile, ya should tell him that, an' I bet he'd be laughing…
I miss you too Daisy, so very much.
He didn't know whether he should laugh or groan, Billy, his old Billy goat. Aunt Lavinia had sewn it for him when he was young and then Daisy had started tying her hair ribbons on his horns to make him 'pretty.' Something that always made Bo claim rather fiercely that Billy was a boy, and boys were not pretty. Daisy would claim boys were cute, and Bo would argue they were not, every time Daisy tied the ribbons around the horns.
Luke never had cared all that much. If Daisy thought it was funny he let her do it. After all it was his duty as the oldest to take care of them, and it made her happy. If Bo didn't, well, the way he pouted when he argued his point made him look so very cute that Luke thought it was funny.
The fact that he never minded it was however not something he had ever told Daisy. Instead he had tried to make her think he didn't want her to, made it a game for her to sneak and do it when he wasn't paying attention. She had loved that.
Oh, poor ol' Billy, the disgrace he suffered wi' those ribbons. Well, I can keep the one ya sent, but ya had better not expect me ta wear it in my hair.
That should make her laugh.
Well, I guess having a bookmark ain't all bad huh, and I'm glad yer giving him some company. He always was a right down decent goat. Quite cuddly if a bit disgraced at times. Suppose I should be happy it at least wasn't pink ribbons. I remember how ya always liked him when ya was a kid, so I let ya have him at times. Didn't I even let ya take him on that camp? I think I did, when ya was worried about going all alone but didn't want ta bring Fred cause ya were afraid ya'd lose him. I let ya take Billy an' told ya that ya didn't have ta worry, cause if anything happened, he could find his own way home.
Well, if that's true an' I got his ribbon, then ya won't have ta worry about me either, I'll find me way home as soon as they's let me.
Have to go now Daisy, but know that I love you soooooooo much, an' then some more for good measure.
Love ya always,
Luke
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11th March, 1969
Hey Luke,
Well I'm back on my feet again and back on the football team. I ain't back in the linebacker position yet, my chest is still quite bad an' Uncle Jesse an' Coach agree still gotta take it easy. I'm the sub fer a game tonight, may not get to play but it feels good to be on the team. What makes it worse though is, if this rain don't slow up Uncle Jesse ain't gonna let me go…I hate the rain an' I know you love it an' Daisy does too….but it always just seems to restrict me from doin' somethin'…personally I think it's a bother but then again, people always said the only similarities we got is the Duke stubbornness.
Bo hoped, as he lay on the couch in front of the fire, that that would make Luke smile, bring back some memories as it had just done for him. It was a miracle that he was even sitting here writing to Luke. But then again Luke had, in his eyes, always been a hero, a miracle worker that saved him from anyone and anything. A few weeks ago, the Duke residence had had a phone call…and not just any phone call….a phone call from Luke. It had seemed impossible that it was his cousin's voice on the end of the line at the time, but his voice it had been and had pulled Bo from the darkest corners of his mind, comforting him, reassuring him by just letting Bo know he was there, demanding that he get back to his normal self before the call was over. Bo had a lot to thank Luke for according to the doctor who had come to see him upon Jesse calling him about recovering. Last he had heard, the doc had just about given up hope on him….unlike Luke who seemed to have a never ending determination to keep an unrelenting faith and hope in his baby cousin.
I'm sorry about worrying you, I guess I handle you being so far away when I'm so used to you being so close. I miss ya a lot cousin and it's hard to just let go of wanting you near me all the time so suddenly.
In fact hard just wasn't the word for it….impossible was more like it. He didn't know how long Luke was going to be out of his life for, and during that time he just knew that this feeling of emptiness was going to stay to some degree in the deep hole that had been dug into his heart, his sole. He missed his brother, missed his protector that always seemed to make things right again….just as he had done with that phone call Luke had said he managed to bribe his way into.
The phone call was what I needed; I just needed to know you were still here, still alive and coming back home like ya promised. I know that you're probably wondering what started this all off in the first place when I wasn't doing too badly in the beginning….
It was funny….just a few months ago he wouldn't have dreamed of writing this to Luke….but since the phone call, since Luke's plea for him to be him again….it had opened his mind a little more and made him see that Luke really was still Luke. He may have been far away but that didn't change the person that was writing to him.
It was just after I saw those two coffins….when they returned to Hazzard. I ran out to our place at the lake….the one I always go to when I'm upset….scared….where ya always find me and make things better. I knew ya weren't gonna come Luke but a part of me wished and hoped that ya would….
Actually a lot of him had wished that that would happen….a lot of him wished that Luke's strong arms would wrap around him again and rock him gently, whispering promises of protection and making him feel better.
When Daisy came and got me…..we went back to the farm an'…Uncle Jesse had a talk wi' me….told me that….that this might be a promise that you may not be able to keep. I freaked out….an' I guess I never really got over that….an' then when Pete tol' me what had happened…I just shut down…I'm sorry cousin but….it's hard to deal with the fact your somewhere else an' I can't make sure yer safe….like you do fer me…
Anyway, I'm back at school now an' things are goin' better. Uncle Jesse found out about the teacher….went an' gave her a right earful and they moved me to a different class. I like the new teacher, she helps me so much more an' I think I'm startin' ta get back into the swing of things now. I've put on a lot more weight now, I can't hide behind the fence posts no more an' Coach says as long as I keep up the work an' the effort then I'll be back as linebacker an' in the runnin' fer captain next year without a doubt.
He was actually starting to feel accepted in the team now….people were starting to understand a bit more how he was feeling now loved ones of their own were returning injured or in wooden boxes, and felt more sympathy for the way he was feeling. There were less and less jokes and therefore there were less fights, people were starting to respect him on the team, even though he was one of the youngest, and friendships were starting to be built.
Things are really starting to look up again now Luke….I's got a small group o'friends from the team and their friends but Pete's still the one I hang round with the most. It gives him more credit around school too and so his life's becoming better. He got some bad news the other day though….Steve's got hurt as well, though he has written Pete telling him. Could ya do a favour for him an' find out how bad….I mean Steve said it wasn't bad but….his letter was real short and his writin' didn't look like his at all…..
As fer me an' Cindy….well that ended pretty soon after I quit the football team…turns out she was only in it to prove that it weren't just cheerleaders that could get footballer boyfriends. But it don't matter….it's kinda weird…when I walk down the corridor I hear a noise an' I turn around and there's this group o'girls gigglin' an' wavin' at me….s'quite scary really….just think that when I next walk past 'em they's gonna jump out an' attack me or somethin'….have ya ever had that Luke?
Anyway, I gotta get movin'….got a game this afternoon hopefully if this rain lets up an' someone gets injured an' Uncle Jesse wants me well rested before I go. Love ya cousin, so much an' I hope that ya can call us again soon….I'll be okay I promise. Don't get yerself in trouble 'cause o'us.
Hope to hear from ya soon cousin.
Love,
Bo
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 25, 1969
Dear Bo,
I'm sure glad to hear that ya are doing better now cousin. Sounds like you should take it easy for a bit yeah. But don't ya worry, ya gonna be a linebacker again afore ya know it, maybe even afore ya get this. Being on the substitute bench that soon after being unwell is really good Bo, I'm proud of you. I can tell you like it on the team, and I'm glad you're there. One thing though, I still ain't seen no picture of my cousin in his uniform… any idea when that comes?
He hoped that would make his little cousin smile, but he also really wanted to see a picture of that. His little cousin as a linebacker. He was so proud. He felt sorry for Bo that it had been raining though, he really wasn't in any shape to handle too much rain.
I know ya don't like the rain Bo, an I'd agree with Uncle Jesse, don't chance it just yet. There is a time ta play it safe Bo. I always liked the rain yeah, an' to go for a walk with Daisy in it. It was just that the rain was one of the few times when I could take her with me. No offense Bo, I never loved anything more than to be with you, but those few times it was good to take a walk with Daisy, get to be her big brother the same way I was yours. I think it was the only times she ever asked me for advice on things, and it was nice.
Let me tell ya one thing though, it's been raining here for a few days now, an' I'm getting mighty tired of it. Rains more than in Hazzard, and I think I know how you feel now, I'd much rather curl up on the couch in front of the fire wi' ya reading right now. But I have patrol soon, I'll go when I finish this.
He hoped Bo would understand what he meant and not feel hurt. But it seemed as if it was time to start giving the kid more credit, Bo was growing up, and while he himself was away the boy needed to know that Luke had full trust and faith in him. He hoped telling him things like that would help.
He didn't see Bo's illness as anything but Bo having trouble to find his place, Luke himself had spoilt him in that regard. He had always protected Bo making sure he never had to face things, and suddenly there was no one there to keep him safe from it longer. It was his fault that Bo had taken ill, and he just hoped that the phone call he had made had started setting a few of those wrongs to right again.
One thing he never did thought was lose faith in Bo, his little cousin was so much stronger than everyone thought, including Bo.
Bo, I always kept ya as close to me as I could. Don't worry about you worrying me. I know how hard it is to not have anyone close after you are used to it. I miss you a lot Bo, a lot, just take care of yourself there little cousin, an' I won't be as far away as it might seem.
Something else Bo, never underestimate the impossible.
Oh, that was something new, Bo was opening up to him, and that was good. Not only because it allowed him to understand what was wrong, it also gave him a chance to help and showed him that Bo was starting to deal with it. He just wanted to scope up his cousin and hug him when he read it, he couldn't, but he'd do what he could to help him.
I'm sorry ya had to see that Bo. I'm really sorry because believe me I know how hard it would be. I have seen those boys here when they put them in the box, and everyone is always wondering if the next time it will be them.
I know Uncle Jesse would tell you there was no way I could keep my promise the way I made it Bo, he's worried about me hurting ya more by promising. Well, I'm gonna be honest with you Bo. When the shrapnel hit me I was scared, not because it hurt thought I'd have to admit it did if I wasn't gonna lie. I was scared because I was afraid it would break my promise for me. I'm still here though, and I've still kept it, and I intend to do. I know it's hard to think that a promise means all that much when you are somewhere where they shoot at ya Bo, but ya know me, do ya really think a piece of lead will be enough ta make me break my word to ya?
Only way it could is it ya think so, if ya keep faith in me, I'll keep it.
He hoped that Bo would see what he meant, he hoped Bo was ready for it, but he had a feeling he was. Bo was ready, he just didn't know he was yet.
Glad Uncle Jesse had a talk with that teacher, sure does sound like she deserved it, and I am so very glad you're getting more help now. Can't hide behind the fencepost anymore? Sounds we need to try an' find ya a new hiding place for hide an' seek then, or we can't play it when I get back. Thought I reckon there will always be plenty o' space fer ya behind Uncle Jesse….
I'm glad it's starting to work out Bo, I reckon it gets easier when people start figuring out what it's like for ya. I admire ya Bo, sometimes I think it's easier for me to be here than it's for you to be back home. I'm proud of ya cousin, very proud.
He smiled at the mentioning of Pete. Steve and Pete were brothers and very closed. Steve was Luke's age and they had always been good friends, the same as Pete and Bo. It was a comfort to know that Bo had Pete who understood exactly how it felt.
Ya can tell Pete not ta worry Bo, I've asked around. Steve got hit in the shoulder an' it wasn't really bad at all. The reason I reckon he didn't write much an' that it looked strange was he tore up his hand a bit on some barbed wire. Now, we all know about that from the farm work, so don't worry, an tell Pete that Steve's doing fine. I hear he's healed up ta even better than before.
He chuckled to himself, so the girls had noticed Bo, now that was something to make you smile any day of the week.
I'm sorry to hear about Cindy, an' I reckon you've already heard it. But if she only dated you cause ya were on the team, then you're better off without her. Girls giggle Bo, think of it the way the she-animals signals to each others they've found someone they like. Don't be scared, all it means is that when ya don't have ya big cousin around ta scare them off, they's starting to wonder if they can make a go fer ya. It means they think yer' a nice catch Bo. An' I reckon they's right.
Try smile at them, I bet ya won't be disappointed.
Yeah, ya had better rest up good if ya got a chance to play. Remember I wanna hear about it, either way it goes yer playing or not I wanna know.
He had something else, he had thought about ways to let Bo feel as if he was helping. He was helping so much, but he wanted Bo to know it. In the end he had decided that maybe Bo needed some physical evidence that he was helping Luke out, and it was easy to think of ways to do that.
One more thing Bo, I want to ask you a favor. Could ya get me an harmonica an' send me? Now I Know we' both have the ones Uncle Jesse gave us when we's kids, but chances are pretty big I's gonna lose it sooner or later, and I'd rather not lose that one. See, the thing is I kinda miss me guitar here, but that is out of the question, an harmonica ya can keep in ya pocket so that works. Think you could get one? It would make my evenings a lot nicer, both mines and my fellow soldiers actually. They're just so hard to come by here an' that's why I figured I'd ask ya.
Well, I have to go out on patrol now, you take care now cousin, I can't wait to hear from you again.
I love ya so much my brother,
Love always,
Luke
