CHAPTER 11: DRAFT DODGERS
After a couple of days, Vern and Kathy were allowed to bring Lily home, and the two of them moved into Vern's house (two minutes down the road from where he grew up). The summer went on as usual after that; Teddy had about two summer romances that lasted each half of the summer, Gordie was working on what courses to sign up for at college, Chris was leading a camp for five year old guys who wanted to be football stars like him, and Mickey? Every morning, he woke up asking when we could go to Vern's house and see the baby. When we finally did, all he did on the car ride home was ask when we could go back again.
One day, about a couple weeks before Labor Day, Dana and I were sitting on the porch of her house watching Mickey play "Cops and Robbers" with her younger twin brothers, Ricky and Tommy. "Look at the three of them," she laughed. "They actually think they're cops."
I shrugged. "Maybe we were the same way when we were their age; we just never really thought of it that way, that's all."
Dana turned to me and shook her head, the last rays of summer sun dancing on her dark brown hair. "You sure you don't want to become a psychologist at college or something like that? You'd be so good at it!"
I thought about it for a minute. Maybe I could be one if I really wanted to. I mean, I did like helping people with their problems, and I could tell really easily when something was wrong with a person.
I was about to say something, when I saw Teddy running up the drive, panting really hard. "Hey, Teddy!" Mickey yelled, but when Teddy didn't respond, I knew something was wrong. See what I mean?
At Teddy's lack of response, Mickey shrugged and said to Ricky and Tommy, "Let's go to the backyard; we've got tons more space there."
"Nice job, Mickey," I thought silently. By the look on Teddy's face, I could tell this was not for young ears. Okay, I need to stop acting like a psychologist already!
"Teddy, you okay?" I asked once he got up to the porch.
Teddy split into a grin. "Joe, you won't believe what just happened!" he said.
"What? What?" Dana asked excitedly.
Teddy's response was something neither of the two of us could have prepared for: "I just got my draft notice! When I pass my exam at the induction center, they're going to send me to boot camp, and then straight to Vietnam!"
I couldn't breathe. My head spun. "What…" I whispered, scared shitless.
Evidently, Dana couldn't believe it either, because she sank into her chair and whispered, "Jesus…"
Teddy looked totally confused. "You… you guys are happy for me, right?" he asked.
I just looked up at him, not really knowing what to say. "I…" I started, but trailed off. How could I tell him what I thought about the war?
Just so you know, the war in Vietnam was just starting at this point, and people in my age group that the older generation referred to as "hippies" were just starting to become angry that we were fighting a fight that wasn't ours to fight. I agreed with them strongly, as did Chris, Gordie and Dana. Teddy and Vern didn't really pay much attention to the national conflicts, but I knew that it had been Teddy's dream to join the army ever since we were kids. So how was I going to tell him that I didn't want him to go gently?
All I can say is this: thank God for Dana Meeks. She said, "I can't speak for Joey, but I can for myself," as she stood up. "Teddy, I'm so happy that you're getting what you want. Really, I am. It's just… I don't think it's a fair war that you're fighting."
Teddy just laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, all's fair in love and war, right?" he asked jokingly. When he saw our faces, though, he stopped laughing. "What's up with you two? I'll be okay. With my luck, all I'm gonna get to do is assemble weapons. I won't even be on the front lines!"
I finally spoke: "Teddy, any line is dangerous; you know that."
Teddy reached down and grabbed my hand. "Joe… I know. I really do. But sometimes, you have to risk your safety for the safety of others."
We were quiet for a minute, and then Dana asked, "What do the others think? Gordie and Chris and Vern, I mean."
Teddy looked down at his feet. I thought I saw him murmur, "Oh God, how am I going to say this?" Wait… if Teddy had gotten his draft letter… that meant…
"I have to go," I said hurriedly as I jumped off the porch and ran to grab Mickey. "MICKEY, COME ON, WE HAVE TO GO HOME!" I yelled across the yard.
"See you guys," Mickey said as he ran up to join me. By the time the two of us had gotten to Dad's car, I put Mickey in the front seat and turned to Teddy. "Um… sorry for not telling you myself, Joe," he said apologetically.
Dana's eyes grew wide. Apparently, she realized what I had, and she asked, "Teddy, can you watch the boys for a while?"
"Sure," he nodded.
"I'll follow you in my car!" Dana yelled as she leapt into her car. "Joe, come on, step on it!" she yelled as I floored it out of her driveway in front of her.
Poor Mickey started flipping out. "JOE, WHY ARE THE TWO OF YOU FREAKING OUT!" he finally yelled when we got to a red light.
I turned to him and let out a breath. "Mickey… Teddy got a letter telling him he could go… someplace bad, and-"
Mickey cut me off with, "Joey, I may be seven, but I'm not stupid."
Well then. "You've got a mouth on you, Michael Martin Randall," I said sternly. He wasn't going to talk to me like that!
Mickey's eyes grew wide. When I called him by his full name, he knew he was in trouble.
I sighed as the light turned green, and I told him the whole truth. "Teddy got a draft letter. He's going to go to boot camp for a couple months, and then… he's going to Vietnam."
There. No harm done. Hopefully. Mickey asked, "Where's Vietnam, again?"
"It's a little country in Asia. It's south of China."
"Why are we there?" Mickey asked incredulously.
I shrugged. "Because the northern half of Vietnam is Communist, and the southern half isn't. The northern half is trying to bring Communism to the southern half, and the Americans don't think that should happen, so we're trying to stop the Northern Vietnamese."
We passed the time in silence for a minute, and then Mickey asked, "That's why you were freaking out? Because Teddy has to go fight in another country?"
"That's part of it," I said gently. "The rest of it is… we're afraid that Vern, Gordie and Chris might have gotten one too, so we're going to find out."
Mickey nodded. Finally, we came to the Blue Point Diner, the one place where I knew we could find at least two of the boys. I got myself out of the car, and was getting Mickey when the tires of Dana's car screeched, and she ran up to me. "You sure they're here?" she asked nervously.
"Pretty sure," I tried to reassure her.
Mickey said firmly, "I want to come in."
I was about to protest, but thought better of it. Since I had told him everything in the car, it wouldn't be fair to keep him out of finding out.
Dana, Mickey and I scanned the diner, and found all the boys (with the exception of Teddy, of course) sitting at a small table in the corner. Gordie looked up, saw Dana, and immediately came over to us. "Teddy told you, didn't he?" he asked knowingly.
"Did you get yours?" Dana asked, so scared that you wouldn't believe.
Gordie sighed. "Sit down with us, and we'll tell you, okay?"
Dana whimpered, but she allowed herself to be led by Gordie. Chris came up to me and hugged me tightly.
I pulled away after a while and asked, "That supposed to mean something?"
Chris didn't say a word. Now, I was REALLY freaking out. My palms were starting to sweat as I sat between Chris and Mickey.
"Gordie-" Dana began.
"We did," Gordie said. "We all got them except for Vern, since he's his family's only source of income; we have to report to an induction center in a week for a health exam."
Oh my God. No. No. No. No. No. No. "No," I whispered as I stared at the linoleum on the diner table. I cursed the hot tears that started to spring up in my eyes.
Dana didn't cry like me; she just said, "You'll have to find a way out of it."
"What way is there?" Chris asked, helplessly.
"Well… track marks!" she yelled, as if she'd just discovered radium. "The army won't take a junkie, will they? Just jab your arm with a sewing needle and you're golden."
Chris tensed up. I remembered his fear of needles as he said, "Maybe something a little less… self-mutilating, if you know what I mean."
Vern shrugged. "Why not say you're gay? They don't take gays."
Mickey asked me, "What's a gay?"
"A person who likes the same sex as them," I whispered numbly.
When I spoke, everyone else stopped talking. "Gordo… I can drive you home if you want," Dana suggested. "We can go over some more plans there."
"Yeah," Gordie whispered. The two of them got up to leave, but Gordie touched my arm gently and said, "I'll see you at home, Joey, okay?"
"I'd better go home. Kathy will need help with Lil," Vern said hurriedly as he left.
Finally (and unexpectedly), Mickey noticed a friend from school named Harry and ran over to hang out with him. Chris and I were alone.
"Joey?" he asked as he sat across from me. "Baby, look at me," he said gently.
I obliged and held back my tears. "I hate this just as much as you," he said.
"Just as much? I'm surprised you don't hate it more," I answered truthfully.
Chris smiled a shadow of a smile and said, "It's bad enough having to be away from you anyway; I don't want to do it in some faraway jungle where I'm ducking bullets every five minutes." He sighed. "Look, I don't have to pretend to be gay. Maybe I can… I don't know… maybe I can say I have flat feet. Eyeball did that, and they rejected him."
"Sure," I went along with him. Personally, I didn't even have enough energy to try and find out a way to keep Chris at home; all I wanted was for it to be some sort of bad dream.
Chris took my face in his hand and lightly stroked the scar on my cheek that Ace had given me the summer when we were 13. "Joey… I want you to know that no matter what happens, army or no army…" he held my hand and turned his class ring over on it, "you're always going to be my girl. And I'll never stop thinking about you, not for a single minute."
That did it. I just started crying. "I don't want to lose you, Chris," I whispered. "Not after everything we've been through."
"And you won't," he reassured me as he swept me into an embrace. "Because I'll always be with you. No matter what separates us; backyards, state lines, war or even…" he paused, not wanting to suggest that he might actually die over there.
Just then, Mickey came over to me. "Um… Joey? Can-Can I go over to Harry's house and play some catch?"
Chris and I broke apart, and I nodded. "Chris and I'll drive you, okay?"
Just then, Harry's mother came up behind the two of them. "I can take them, Johanna. If you'd like."
"Okay, then," I said. I straightened up Mickey and said, "I'll pick you up at 4:30, okay? I'll take you home… and we'll tell Dad."
Mickey nodded, and left the diner. Chris turned my face to his and asked, "Want to get out of here?"
I shrugged. "Sure, but… where would we go?"
Chris smiled (oh, that smile) and said, "I know a place."
