Friday, May 12, made me nervous for one simple reason.

Hawkeye Pierce was coming to Stockton. MY Stockton. And he would be staying in my mother and father's house.

Nervous doesn't even begin to describe it.

I had called Hawkeye after talking with Calla. We ran up a pretty big phone bill (needless to say, Mother almost had a heart attack when she saw it) and arranged a visit.

That was the easy part, compared to what five A.M. on the day of Hawk's arrival brought.

"Why am I up so earlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?" Calla moaned. "I wanna sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep..." She dropped her head on the kitchen table, making Dad's coffee fly out of his cup.

"We have to clean," Mother said.

"Couldn't that wonderful blessing that's been forced upon us happen AFTER THE SUN IS UP?"

Mother shot her a piercing look. "Calla, this is your...father visiting." (She winced.) "Do you want to make a good impression on him?"

She grunted positively.

"Well, then." Mother stood up. "Jaclyn, I want you and Calla to clean the bedrooms. Elliot, the bathrooms. Your father and I will clean the downstairs, and Michelle, tidy up the front porch."

I saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

Mother shook her head, but I thought I saw a trace of a smile on her face.

As Calla and I walked upstairs, I tried to remember how we had rearranged the bedrooms. Elliot and Michelle were sleeping in my room, Calla and I were in her room (I got the joy of sleeping on a cot from 1924), Hawkeye would be in Elliot's room, and my parents would stay where they were.

"I'll clean my room," Calla said. "If I don't come out in half an hour, don't wake me." She disappeared into her room/kitchen.

I rolled my eyes and walked into Elliot and Michelle's room. The covers were in a huge pile (neither my brother nor his bride is a fan of bed making), and there were books lying all over.

"This is nice," I said as I lifted up a piece of half-eaten toast. "Very nice. Elliot!" I yelled downstairs. "You're a slob!"

"Huh?" he called.

"Never mind!"

XXX

At eight o'clock, our house was clean.

"That was fun," Calla said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to sleep. Possibly forever."

I stood up. "I'm going to go do some gardening."

Outside, we have a pretty decent-sized yard. Calla calls it "the forest", and we pity whoever gets to mow it in the summer.

Calla.

Hawkeye.

They seemed so much alike. The sarcastic comments...their hatred of mornings...the ranting...their eyes.

It was funny, after fifteen years, I remembered every detail of Hawkeye's eyes. They seemed to see right through you, into your soul.

Into your soul? I repeated mentally. Get with it, Waters. (I swear, sometimes my mind makes me want trade it in for a new model.)

I was re-planting some begonias and cursing myself for wearing a white sweater (that now had some spots of brown, thanks to the dirt) when I heard a car horn honk.

A blue Chevy pulled into our driveway.

I stood up and brushed my faded jeans off. As the door opened, I scratched my nose and got mud all over my face.

And of course, the person who emerged from the Chevy was Hawkeye.

I felt completely ridiculous.

"Jaclyn!" Hawkeye said. When he got a good glimpse of me, he burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" I cried, but began laughing too.

Hawkeye tossed me a handkerchief. "Here."

I wiped off my face. When I had made sure that I was mud-free, I asked, "How was your trip?"

"Interesting. How do you manage your roads?"

"Very poorly." I took one of Hawkeye's suitcases. "You don't have many gravel roads in Maine?"

"We have gravel roads, but are I don't think these things you have would be qualified as 'roads'."

I burst out laughing. "Don't let Mother hear you say that. She's very protective of South Dakota."

Before I opened the door to the house, I stopped. "Hawk, wait out here. I'm going to get Calla."

"If she's anything like me, she must be a wonderful human being."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be right back."

A/N: Evil place to end the chapter! More reviewsfaster updates! (Hintie-hintie.)