DISCLAIMER: This story is based on the television series Tour of Duty which aired from 1987 through 1990, distributed by New World Entertainment. All characters belong to the creators and/or producers of the show and were brought to life by Stephen Caffrey (Lt. Goldman), Terence Knox (Sgt. Anderson) and Tony Becker (Cpl. Percell). No money is being made with this story and it may not be posted, published or archived without permission. Although care has been taken in the attention to military protocol, certain artistic licenses have been made for the sake of readability.
This story is rated : PG
Written by, Erin Coates
TOUR OF DUTY: Reunion
A yellow taxicab rolled out of the city and into the countryside. The trees on the hillsides were beginning to bud and the wind from the open window smelled like springtime. The sound of gravel crushing beneath the tires was a welcome and familiar sound. Gravel dust billowed from the rear of the vehicle as the taxi turned up the long driveway that was lined by white fences on both sides. The horse stables soon appeared and the sight of the white farmhouse sent a wave of unsure emotion through the Vietnam soldier's mind.
Specialist 4 Daniel Percell paid the taxi driver, grabbed his olive green army issued duffle bag and stepped out of the car. He looked around the yard. The grass was just beginning to grow and the clean laundry was blowing in the cool Montana breeze. In the distance the horses could be heard neighing at the new visitor. Danny walked toward his home. The paint on the white clapboards was beginning to crack. The soldier recalled watching his father spend a week in the hot summer sun scraping and repainting the house. It was the longest time Jack Percell has spent at home that summer. The soldier's memories were quickly interrupted by the creaking sound of the porch door. Danny's mother and sister ran out to greet him.
"Oh, thank you Lord! My son is home!" Jacqueline Percell appeared in the doorway dressed in faded blue jeans and her western style red and white checkered shirt. She ran across the gravel driveway and threw her arms around her only son. Danny squeezed his mother tight and kissed her on the cheek.
Lower to the ground Danny's sister stood smiling up at her older brother. "Wow Spud, you've gotten so big!" The older brother squatted down to give his 7 year-old sister a hug. Elizabeth hugged him, letting him know how much he'd been missed. A lump formed in Danny's throat as he held back an urge to cry and release all the emotion that had built up over the past year.
Jack Percell had a habit of affectionately referring to his son as Bud. Danny was the one who decided Elizabeth's nickname would be Spud, to match his own.
Daniel threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and placed the same arm around his mother. Together the newly reunited family walked into the house to catch up on over a year's worth of missed family memories.
Danny stepped into his home, nothing had changed, but everything looked smaller than he remembered. The pictures of him as a child were hung on the wall in the stairway, the crimson davenport with white doilies draped across the arms hadn't moved an inch in the living room. To his left in the dinning room his grandmother's silver tea serving set remained centered on the mahogany dining table. Danny set his duffle bag down at the foot of the stairway and followed his mother down the hall to the kitchen.
"Are you hungry darling? Supper won't be ready for a few hours, but I can make you a sandwich or peel you an apple?" Jackie Percell looked over her shoulder at how much her young son had changed. Subtle things like the way he carried himself and the unexpected confidence in his voice. It was her son's eyes though that caused her concern. Although still clear and blue, the innocence was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar sadness. Leaving no doubt that the boy she sent off to war had returned a man.
"No Mom, I'm not really hungry" Danny sat down at the kitchen table and Spud crawled up into his lap. The little sister picked at the medals on Danny's class A military uniform. He had been in the same clothes for close to two days while he waited in airports and flew on three planes to get home to Montana.
"What are all these colors for?" Spud questioned.
"Well, they tell others that I was far away fighting for my country and that I did a lot of good things while I was there." Danny paused in thought at what he told Spud. The young Vietnam Veteran didn't think he would be able to tell his sister that he shot a boy her age. Elizabeth would not learn about Eddie Bell, the 15 year old enlistment from Texas, who went drinking with the guys and later fell to his death when the team failed to keep a close watch on the boy. The colors didn't tell the story of a man who was suffering so badly from narcotics withdrawl that he hit a Nun who attempted to come between him and his desire for sin. The soldier planned to keep a lot of his life in Vietnam a secret. It may be a long time until Specialist 4 Daniel Percell would be able to see the war for the colors on his chest and not the horrors in his mind.
Ms. Percell joined her son at the table. She was unsure of what to say to him or the questions she should or shouldn't ask. Jackie had heard stories of young veterans who have returned from Vietnam and refused to speak about the war. How was her son going to react? Will he be unable to sleep or wake up screaming from nightmares?
Was he still the gentleman she worked so hard to raise, or has he lost all regard for women and his manners? "My... would you take a look at yourself, you're all grown up, my little boy is a man now."
Danny smiled "Come on Mom, knock it off. Spud was she this crazy the whole time I was gone?" He reached down and tickled his little sister in the ribs. Spud squealed and squirmed off Danny's lap. "I'm gonna go change my clothes then I want to go out and see the horses. Have you been taking good care of them Sis?"
The youngest Percell leaned against her mother. "No, mom's been taking care of the horses with James."
Danny looked at his mother and she looked away. Who was James?
The smell of the horses from the stable grew stronger as Danny and his family approached. The Percell family had seven horses that were used in rodeos for riding barrels and calf roping competitions. Four of the horses could be seen grazing in the distance. The other three were probably on the rodeo circuit with Jack. The newest litter of barn kittens scampered around in the grass chasing after bugs and the blowing grass.
Spud broke away from the adults to chase after the frisky kittens. Danny strolled over to the white plank board fence. He threw his arms up to rest on the top board and looked out into the pasture at the grazing horses. Jackie Percell pulled her jacket shut and joined her son at the fence.
"I can't spend my life alone Daniel." The mother looked at her son. "I wasted a lot of years with your father, now it's my time to be happy." The mother's words seemed as if they blew away and never reached the young man's ears.
Daniel used the quiet time to try to decide how to feel about the news of his mother's boyfriend. It had been over six months since he learned about his parent's separation and the divorce a few months after that. Jack had a girlfriend, why shouldn't his mom have a boyfriend? Doesn't she deserve to be happy too?
Danny's gaze stayed fixed on the horizon. "How long ago did you two meet?"
"We met at a barn dance five months ago. He was new to the area and he asked me to dance." A smile formed on Jacqueline's face as she recalled the moment. "We have been dating ever since. It's only been serious for the last month or so. I know you will like him"
Danny knew how lonely his mother must have felt being married to his father. She practically raised Danny on her own. Her husband was not around often. He spent most of Danny's life traveling with the rodeo and drinking in honky-tonk bars, which left little time to be at home taking care of his family.
Standing next to his mother in the cool spring air Danny recalled the time when he was thirteen years old and he had found his mother, late at night, crying in the kitchen. Jackie had her knees pulled up to her chest and her faced buried in her hands. At first she wouldn't tell the boy what made her so upset. Sitting with one slender arm around his mother and the other rested on her knee Daniel refused to leave Jackie's side. The two sat together silently on the kitchen floor. Jackie Percell knew she needed someone to talk to, so she finally confided in the only man in her life. She was pregnant again. This time the new mother felt horrible because Jack Percell had been a terrible father to Daniel and now her baby would have to go through the same misery.
Danny remained with his mother on the kitchen floor for hours and convinced Jackie the two of them would do a great job raising the new baby. They talked about the finances and all the responsibilities that would come with a new child. The eager older brother promised to help clean and feed the baby and walk the halls with the child in the middle of the night so his mother could sleep. Jackie was comforted by her son's excitement at the new arrival.
With everything the two had shared in life the mother and son were best friends, and Danny knew how desperately his mother wanted him to approve of her new companion.
Jackie stared out at the horses, a tiny smile spread across her face as she thought about James. Danny looked over at his mother, she too had changed a lot in a year. "How about Elizabeth? What does she think of James being in your life?"
"She loves him," the mother simply stated. "He has been more of a father to her in the last few months than Jack has been to her in years."
The Veteran let out a little laugh. "Well Ma, if Spud likes him he can't be all that bad"
Danny was impressed with James' ability to find his way into little Lizzy's heart, but he also knew that Jack Percell knew nothing about being a good father. "Where is old Jack at these days?"
"He stopped by to see Elizabeth for a few hours last month, then he and that woman of his left for another rodeo circuit. Lizzy wanted to go with him but I had to tell her no because she has school. She was pretty angry with me. You got home just in time, he is coming back through this weekend."
The older brother knew to well the feelings of his little sister. He had grown up with the same absentee father. Just then a black pickup truck pulled up the driveway. Spud ran down the road to greet the visitor, Danny looked towards his mother to see if she knew who was coming.
"Well son, you wanna meet James or should I send him packing?" Jackie sarcastically smiled and stared at her son waiting for his decision.
He looked down at the petite woman and gave her a crooked grin. "Nah Ma, I wanna meet the man." Danny threw his arm around his mother and together they walked along the fence to the front yard to catch up with Lizzy and James.