Lt. Arleane Yoast sat at the post-op desk at the 121 EVAC hospital catching
up on the ever neglected paperwork.
"PFC Robert C. Burton." She said to herself. "Delvynn, Indiana." She filed it, then picked up the next one. "PFC Fredrick James Martin, Alexandria, Virginia." Mindlessly, she started to file it, then stopped. "Alexandria, Virginia?" She looked through the file. Eighteen year old white male. "I'll bet he knows Bill."
She looked at the boy in bed 6. He was tall, well-built, handsome, and awake. She went over to his bed on the pretenses of checking his wounds.
"Hi son, how are you feeling?" She asked.
"Considerin' that I've got a hole in my stomach, and in my leg, I'm doing pretty good," He replied, good-naturedly.
"You're from Alexandria, Virginia, right?"
"Yes, ma'am." He smiled.
"I lived there once too," She told him. "And I'll bet you went to Hammond High."
The smile grew larger, "Yes, ma'am."
"Did you play football?"
He was positively beaming by now. "Yes, ma'am. Three year starting quarterback for Coach Yoast."
"Yeah?" She smiled. "He's a good guy, ain't he?" It had taken her far too long to realize that.
"Yes, ma'am. He bought me my letterman's jacket last year, cause my folks really couldn't afford and I wasn't going to get one. But, that was okay, because it was Sheri that ended up wearing it."
"Sheri? You dated his daughter?"
"For a couple of weeks, after she and Gerry broke up. I even took her to the prom last spring." He replied.
"She's really pretty, huh?"
"Oh, yes, ma'am," he grinned. "If I had my things handy, I'd show you a picture. She's a babe. She's got this beautiful blonde hair, and amazing legs. There wasn't a guy at Hammond who didn't know Sheridan Yoast." Then realizing how that sounded he quickly added, "Not that she tries to attract attention or anything."
Arleane laughed to herself. She wondered if he'd be telling her all this if he knew he was talking to her mother. "What about his youngest girl, Sheryl? Did you ever see her much?"
"Sheryl's a doll," he laughed. "She loves football. Always on the field. So much so most of the guys nicknamed her Coach. She probably knows more about football than Coach does, and doesn't mind telling you what you're doing wrong."
Arleane smiled. Sheryl sounded like her big sister at nine years old.
"Sheri wrote me," He continued. "When all the junk about the head coach at TC came up, that Sheryl was more upset by it than Coach was."
"TC?"
"Oh, yeah. There is no more Hammond or G.W. High schools anymore. They closed them down and made one school, T.C. Williams."
"It's integrated? In Alexandria?" That was something she never thought would come to pass.
"Yes, ma'am, and when the football teams got ready to go to camp the school board made the black coach head coach at T.C. instead of Coach Yoast, even though he was more qualified.
Arleane lost her smile. She knew how much that team had meant to Bill.
"Well, I'm sure, it'll all work out." She adjusted his covers then started to leave.
"Ma'am?"
She turned around. "Yes?"
"Will you come back and talk to me again before I leave?" He asked, shyly. "It was nice to talk about home."
She smiled, "You can count on it, son."
"Who was that?" He asked the young Red Cross girl working near him after Arleane left.
"Oh, that was Nurse Yoast," she replied. "She's one of the best."
"Thanks." Nurse Yoast. So that's why she was so interested in Coach and his girls. She was their mother. Then another thought occurred to him. One that made him blush. He had told Sheri's mom that she was a babe with great legs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Arleane was awaken by someone pounding on her door. "Yes, Corporal?" She yawned, opening up the door.
"Ma'am, PFC Martin died just a little bit ago. He had some internal bleeding and when the docs opened him up, he went into shock. I'm sorry ma'am, but he just didn't make it. Before he went into surgery, though, he said to give you this, if he didn't make it." He handed her a small black case.
She opened it. Inside were several photographs. The top one was of Sheri, dressed in a blue and gold Hammond High cheerleading uniform, with Sheryl standing beside her. Arleane teared up.
"What is it, Lt.?"
"Pictures. Pictures of my little girls," she replied. "My big girls. He was right. Sheri does have great legs." With that, she shut the door, wanting to be alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ "There's a place up ahead and I'm going, just as fast as my feet can fly. Come away, come away, come away if you're going, leave those sinking ships behind. Come on and ride the wind..."
Sheridan, Gerry, and Alan were sitting on Gerry's car, grabbing a bite to eat between school and the Herndon game. It felt good for the three of them to be together again.
When Sheri saw Coach coming towards them, she lost her appetite, her burger turning to sawdust in her mouth. She knew that look on his face and it always came with bad news.
"Gerry, son, turn down your radio," He said, softly. "I need to tell you three something."
Gerry cut the music down but didn't turn it off. "What is it, Coach?"
Bill sighed. This probably could wait until after the game to be told, but he didn't want to take the chance of them accidentally overhearing it at the game. "Freddie J was killed," he said, not knowing any other way to put it. "His parents found out today."
Sheri's lower lip trembled as his words sank in.
"Come here, Precious." He pulled her into his arms. She hid her face against his shirt and sobbed as Gerry and Alan awkwardly tried to fight back their own tears and comfort her.
Soon, Coach was hugging all three of them. Freddie J had always been the fourth in their group, and now he was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ The game that night was a hard one. Not playing-wise, really. Herndon wasn't that good, but it just couldn't it together.
Julius and Gerry were at odds with each other, and without their leadership, so was almost everyone else.
Sheri really didn't feel much like cheering. She said the words, did the moves, but it wasn't her usual performance. Her heart was just gone. She had even let Precious do most of the leading. After hearing why Sheri was offering her the job for the night, Precious had just smiled sympathetically and nodded that she would.
At half-time, Sheri headed up in the bleachers to find Sheryl sitting next to Coach's lady-friend.
"Ms. Truvy!" The first real smile all night graced her lips. "You're back!"
"Yeah," Truvy Hampton smiled. "Got back today." She stood up and hugged Sheri. "How ya doing, Honey? Bill told me about your friend. Here, sit down."
Sheri sat down at Truvy's feet. "Hi, Mrs. Boone, Nikki, Karen." They were on the other side of Sheryl.
"Hi, Sheri," Carol smiled. "Nice to see you."
"You, too," she replied, then laid her head in Truvy's lap and let her comfort her.
Truvy looked at Sheri's wrist, still bruised from her run in with Ray and shook her head, but didn't say anything.
"Where's Clay?" Sheri asked.
"Spending the night with his other grandparents," Truvy answered. Her husband had died just before Clay, now four, was born. Since he would never know his dad, she tried to let him stay with his grandparents as much as possible. "You all right?"
"Yeah, just sad."
"Well, that's understandable," she replied. "Let me know if I can help you, okay?"
"I will."
Their interaction with each other really shocked Carol. Ever since Sheryl had introduced them, Carol had been betting that Sheri wouldn't be so happy to see Truvy as her baby sister had been. She figured that Sheri would be mistrustful of another woman in Bill's life, especially after the stories Carol had been hearing about the girls' mother. But, like Sheryl, Sheri had been loving and affectionate.
In an almost joyless victory, TC beat Herndon and everyone went their separate ways for that night.
"PFC Robert C. Burton." She said to herself. "Delvynn, Indiana." She filed it, then picked up the next one. "PFC Fredrick James Martin, Alexandria, Virginia." Mindlessly, she started to file it, then stopped. "Alexandria, Virginia?" She looked through the file. Eighteen year old white male. "I'll bet he knows Bill."
She looked at the boy in bed 6. He was tall, well-built, handsome, and awake. She went over to his bed on the pretenses of checking his wounds.
"Hi son, how are you feeling?" She asked.
"Considerin' that I've got a hole in my stomach, and in my leg, I'm doing pretty good," He replied, good-naturedly.
"You're from Alexandria, Virginia, right?"
"Yes, ma'am." He smiled.
"I lived there once too," She told him. "And I'll bet you went to Hammond High."
The smile grew larger, "Yes, ma'am."
"Did you play football?"
He was positively beaming by now. "Yes, ma'am. Three year starting quarterback for Coach Yoast."
"Yeah?" She smiled. "He's a good guy, ain't he?" It had taken her far too long to realize that.
"Yes, ma'am. He bought me my letterman's jacket last year, cause my folks really couldn't afford and I wasn't going to get one. But, that was okay, because it was Sheri that ended up wearing it."
"Sheri? You dated his daughter?"
"For a couple of weeks, after she and Gerry broke up. I even took her to the prom last spring." He replied.
"She's really pretty, huh?"
"Oh, yes, ma'am," he grinned. "If I had my things handy, I'd show you a picture. She's a babe. She's got this beautiful blonde hair, and amazing legs. There wasn't a guy at Hammond who didn't know Sheridan Yoast." Then realizing how that sounded he quickly added, "Not that she tries to attract attention or anything."
Arleane laughed to herself. She wondered if he'd be telling her all this if he knew he was talking to her mother. "What about his youngest girl, Sheryl? Did you ever see her much?"
"Sheryl's a doll," he laughed. "She loves football. Always on the field. So much so most of the guys nicknamed her Coach. She probably knows more about football than Coach does, and doesn't mind telling you what you're doing wrong."
Arleane smiled. Sheryl sounded like her big sister at nine years old.
"Sheri wrote me," He continued. "When all the junk about the head coach at TC came up, that Sheryl was more upset by it than Coach was."
"TC?"
"Oh, yeah. There is no more Hammond or G.W. High schools anymore. They closed them down and made one school, T.C. Williams."
"It's integrated? In Alexandria?" That was something she never thought would come to pass.
"Yes, ma'am, and when the football teams got ready to go to camp the school board made the black coach head coach at T.C. instead of Coach Yoast, even though he was more qualified.
Arleane lost her smile. She knew how much that team had meant to Bill.
"Well, I'm sure, it'll all work out." She adjusted his covers then started to leave.
"Ma'am?"
She turned around. "Yes?"
"Will you come back and talk to me again before I leave?" He asked, shyly. "It was nice to talk about home."
She smiled, "You can count on it, son."
"Who was that?" He asked the young Red Cross girl working near him after Arleane left.
"Oh, that was Nurse Yoast," she replied. "She's one of the best."
"Thanks." Nurse Yoast. So that's why she was so interested in Coach and his girls. She was their mother. Then another thought occurred to him. One that made him blush. He had told Sheri's mom that she was a babe with great legs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Arleane was awaken by someone pounding on her door. "Yes, Corporal?" She yawned, opening up the door.
"Ma'am, PFC Martin died just a little bit ago. He had some internal bleeding and when the docs opened him up, he went into shock. I'm sorry ma'am, but he just didn't make it. Before he went into surgery, though, he said to give you this, if he didn't make it." He handed her a small black case.
She opened it. Inside were several photographs. The top one was of Sheri, dressed in a blue and gold Hammond High cheerleading uniform, with Sheryl standing beside her. Arleane teared up.
"What is it, Lt.?"
"Pictures. Pictures of my little girls," she replied. "My big girls. He was right. Sheri does have great legs." With that, she shut the door, wanting to be alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ "There's a place up ahead and I'm going, just as fast as my feet can fly. Come away, come away, come away if you're going, leave those sinking ships behind. Come on and ride the wind..."
Sheridan, Gerry, and Alan were sitting on Gerry's car, grabbing a bite to eat between school and the Herndon game. It felt good for the three of them to be together again.
When Sheri saw Coach coming towards them, she lost her appetite, her burger turning to sawdust in her mouth. She knew that look on his face and it always came with bad news.
"Gerry, son, turn down your radio," He said, softly. "I need to tell you three something."
Gerry cut the music down but didn't turn it off. "What is it, Coach?"
Bill sighed. This probably could wait until after the game to be told, but he didn't want to take the chance of them accidentally overhearing it at the game. "Freddie J was killed," he said, not knowing any other way to put it. "His parents found out today."
Sheri's lower lip trembled as his words sank in.
"Come here, Precious." He pulled her into his arms. She hid her face against his shirt and sobbed as Gerry and Alan awkwardly tried to fight back their own tears and comfort her.
Soon, Coach was hugging all three of them. Freddie J had always been the fourth in their group, and now he was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ The game that night was a hard one. Not playing-wise, really. Herndon wasn't that good, but it just couldn't it together.
Julius and Gerry were at odds with each other, and without their leadership, so was almost everyone else.
Sheri really didn't feel much like cheering. She said the words, did the moves, but it wasn't her usual performance. Her heart was just gone. She had even let Precious do most of the leading. After hearing why Sheri was offering her the job for the night, Precious had just smiled sympathetically and nodded that she would.
At half-time, Sheri headed up in the bleachers to find Sheryl sitting next to Coach's lady-friend.
"Ms. Truvy!" The first real smile all night graced her lips. "You're back!"
"Yeah," Truvy Hampton smiled. "Got back today." She stood up and hugged Sheri. "How ya doing, Honey? Bill told me about your friend. Here, sit down."
Sheri sat down at Truvy's feet. "Hi, Mrs. Boone, Nikki, Karen." They were on the other side of Sheryl.
"Hi, Sheri," Carol smiled. "Nice to see you."
"You, too," she replied, then laid her head in Truvy's lap and let her comfort her.
Truvy looked at Sheri's wrist, still bruised from her run in with Ray and shook her head, but didn't say anything.
"Where's Clay?" Sheri asked.
"Spending the night with his other grandparents," Truvy answered. Her husband had died just before Clay, now four, was born. Since he would never know his dad, she tried to let him stay with his grandparents as much as possible. "You all right?"
"Yeah, just sad."
"Well, that's understandable," she replied. "Let me know if I can help you, okay?"
"I will."
Their interaction with each other really shocked Carol. Ever since Sheryl had introduced them, Carol had been betting that Sheri wouldn't be so happy to see Truvy as her baby sister had been. She figured that Sheri would be mistrustful of another woman in Bill's life, especially after the stories Carol had been hearing about the girls' mother. But, like Sheryl, Sheri had been loving and affectionate.
In an almost joyless victory, TC beat Herndon and everyone went their separate ways for that night.