Virgil shut his phone off to the chorus of good-byes from his brothers. He sat for a moment, a smile on his face. Deciding a fire would be nice, he headed out the door to the woodpile, picking up several logs of well-weathered oak.

As he expertly laid the wood in the big fireplace, his Grandma came in bearing a tray with coffee and cookies. "Oh, what a nice idea! I'll just set up the card table here in front of the fire, and we'll play a few rounds of Gin."

Virgil got the fire going, and pulled up a chair to the table. "I'm feeling lucky tonight, Grandma. Deal those cards."

Ruth smiled and shuffled the cards, dealing out a hand of Gin. They had played companionably for a while when Virgil looked up at the front door, a smile on his face. Ruth glanced up when Virgil neglected to pick up a card. "What's wrong, honey?"

Smile even wider, he said cheerfully, "Nothing now."

He got up just as the door opened. Scott entered, looking sharp in his uniform. "Hey! You're still up!"

"Oh." Ruth stood up, eyes shining, holding her arms out. "Oh, you've come home!"

Scott crossed the room in three strides, sweeping the small woman up in his arms. "Yes, ma'am. Surprised?"

Virgil stood back, his face aching from the force of his grin. Ruth didn't look like she'd be letting go anytime soon, a situation that seemed to satisfy Scott eminently. Still holding her tightly, he reached out a hand which Virgil shook with pleasure. "Hey, there, Virg, lookin' good, man!"

"You too, bro. Good to have you home."

"Everyone else in bed?"

"Not so's you'd notice…"

"Oh, it is so good to have you here! Are you hungry? Have you eaten? You're so skinny, they don't feed you enough. There's some pork roast in the fridge. Let me just go heat it up."

Scott chuckled. "I ate dinner a while ago, but I wouldn't mind a snack. How about a turkey sandwich?"

"You'll have to wait a while." Virgil said dryly.

Not quite getting it, Scott smiled, "Why's that?"

Ruth raised a finger to stop Virgil from explaining. "Well, now, I decided not to do a turkey today. Your father isn't due home until tomorrow, and with Virgil not getting here until late, I decided to do the turkey tomorrow. Now with you home, we'll have an old-fashioned Thanksgiving, with all my boys here."

Ruth sniffed, tears of joy welling up in her eyes. Scott grinned. "Excellent!"

"Now you boys just have a chat, and I'll get you a hot pork sandwich. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great, Grandma."

As the elderly woman headed for the kitchen, Scott took off his coat and plopped down on the couch. "How you been, Virg?"

"I've been great. How long is your leave?"

With a huge smile, Scott said, "Five weeks."

"Five weeks! That's fabulous! You'll be here for Christmas!"

"Yes. Don't tell Grandma, but after Christmas, I'm being posted overseas. I'll be posted at Izmir for at least fifteen months."

"Izmir? Where is that?"

"Turkey."

"Oh, God."

"Keep it down, Virg… Grandma will hear you!" Scott frowned. "Listen, it's a fast track position."

"It's a combat zone."

"So? Did you think I joined the Air Force just to wear the snazzy uniforms?"

"Scott…"

"Virgil, don't say it. I'll be fine, you'll see. And I'll be a Major before I'm thirty."

Virgil bit his lip on his fears, saying instead, "So you intend to outrank Dad by forty?"

"By thirty five." Scott said with conviction.

Virgil shook his head. "I don't think the old man will be too happy about that."

"Tough shit. So, where is everybody? Out on dates?"

"No, actually, the boys are all over in Kansas City."

Scott frowned. "What the hell are they doing in Kansas City?"

"They're shopping."

"What?" Scott blinked in confusion. "What store is open on Thanksgiving?"

"None, actually. They are standing in line at Best Buys. The store opens up at five tomorrow morning, and they wanted to be first in line."

Scott stared his disbelief. "You're kidding."

"Nope. They've been over there all day."

"They left Grandma all alone on the holiday?"

"Don't even go there. Grandma practically pushed them out the door. She got a bug in her ear to have Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I think she was glad to be rid of them for the day."

"Virgil! Don't you put words into my mouth!" Ruth entered carrying a tray laden down with plates.

Scott leapt up to take the heavy tray from her. "Grandma! I said just a snack! You've got enough here to feed the entire squadron!"

Ruth cocked her head and commented wryly, "Well, you HAVE been gone a long time, haven't you?"

Perplexed, Scott replied, "Huh?"

"Dear heart, the 'entire squadron' is standing right there next to you."

Scott looked over at Virgil, who just shrugged his shoulders. "I can't help having a healthy appetite."

Both Ruth and Scott chuckled at the disarming statement, and the two men helped themselves. Watching fondly, Ruth asked, "How long is your leave, dear?"

"Well, I'm hoping you can spare a room until the twenty-ninth."

Disappointed, Ruth sighed, "Only two days? That's hardly enough to say hello."

Swallowing a bite of sandwich, Scott grinned, "The twenty-ninth of December, Grandma."

To both Scott and Virgil's surprise, Ruth brought her hand up to cover her mouth, dismay in her eyes.

Cautiously, Scott asked, "It's okay, isn't it? If you're having company or something, I could go stay with Virg… I meant to spend some time in Houston anyway…"

Ruth waved away to the comment, asking bluntly, "Where will you be posted, Scott?"

Startled, Scott replied, "Uh, excuse me?"

"Scott, look me in the eye, and tell me where you will be posted after this leave of yours." Ruth commanded.

Old habits die hard, and Scott could not lie when asked so directly. "Izmir. That's in Turkey, Grandma."

To Virgil's surprise, Ruth merely nodded, then pale-faced, left the room. Scott shook his head ruefully, "I should have known I couldn't put anything over on her."

"Nobody ever claimed she was dumb." Virgil replied, a worried frown on his face. "You think she's okay? Should we go talk to her?"

Slowly Scott shook his head. "No, she'll be fine. She's a hell of a lot tougher than we ever give her credit for."

Virgil started to get up, unconvinced, but Ruth was already returning, a small wooden box clutched in both hands as if it were something precious. At a mute gesture of her head, Virgil scooted down the couch so she could sit between her two tall grandsons.

She handed the box to Scott, who, glancing at her for permission, opened it up. With a finger he reached in and pulled out a long tarnished silver chain threaded through what looked like a child's ring. Holding it up, the dangling ring sparkled and danced in the firelight. Curious, Scott asked, "What's this, Grandma?"

Ruth grasped Scott's arm, as mesmerized by the shining trinket as the two men flanking her. "Well, you boys know my Grandma Ettie had the Sight." Both men nodded, having grown up with stories of their ancestor's gift. "The story as it was told to me goes like this: One day when Grandma Ettie was but a little girl, she woke up in a state. She wept and she wailed until her mother and father were beside themselves. Nothing would comfort her, and she grew so hysterical that her daddy bundled her up in the wagon to take her over to Garden City to the doctor. Of course in those days, it was quite a trip, and the entire time my grandma just cried and cried.

"They finally pulled up in town, and before her father knew what was what, Grandma Ettie had jumped down from the wagon and gone flying up the street until she came to the general store. Her daddy found her staring in the window at a display of rings. He tried to take her away, but she wouldn't leave, she just stared at the rings. Finally she told her daddy she had to have one of the rings. Now, her daddy wasn't much of one for nonsense, but he couldn't refuse his little girl anything, so they went in the store to buy one of the rings. And not just any of them although by all accounts they were identical. She would only have just the one she wanted. Well, her daddy bought that ring, and tried to put it on her finger, and she said no, if the ring ever slipped a finger, its power would be lost. Well, her daddy didn't know what to think, but buying the ring had calmed Grandma Ettie right down, so they went home without ever seeing the doctor, and her daddy made this little box for her to keep her ring in."

With an enchanted smile, Virgil reached over to reverently pick up the small box still sitting on Scott's knee. "This was made by my, what, great-great-great grandfather?"

Scott and Ruth both watched as Virgil inspected the box closely, examining the joins and the small carved bird on the top. Ruth smiled, "Yes, he did. He made that box, and Grandma Ettie placed the ring in it, and put it in the back of a drawer, and to all intents and purposes, it sat there forgotten for many years."

The three sat in silence for a few minutes, the two men each examining a treasure from the past. Scott eventually shook himself from his reverie and asked, "Is that all there is to the story, Grandma?"

"Oh, no, not by a long shot." Ruth said firmly. "As I said, the ring sat in the back of a drawer for many years, and Grandma Ettie grew up into a fine-looking young lady. She had many suitors back then, and one of them, of course, was Grandpa George. She favored him right from the beginning, but then the Great War, World War One came along, and Grandpa George felt it was his duty to go and fight."

"He got the Navy Cross." Scott said.

"Yes, he did." Ruth nodded. "But before he left for training, he came to say goodbye to Grandma Ettie. He came with a ring to propose." Ruth's hand went to the wedding ring on her finger.

"Is that the ring he proposed with?" Virgil asked curiously.

"Yes, honey. He was just a wheat farmer, and he had no money of his own, but his own dear mother gave him her mother's ring. Anyway, he came and asked for Grandma Ettie's hand, and she, of course, said yes. Then he told her he was shipping out. Well, she went into a trance right then and there, and went into her bedroom and came back out with the box that her daddy had carved all those years before. She pulled out the ring, and told Grandpa George that if he would wear the ring on a chain around his neck and never put it on his finger, he would return safely to her."

Both Virgil and Scott's eyebrows raised up on their foreheads. Scott started warily, "Grandma…"

"Now, hear me out. My Grandpa George was as hard-headed a wheat farmer as Kansas ever produced, and he took no stock in what Grandma Ettie said, but he loved her so much that he promised to wear it. As you boys know, Grandpa George fought under General Harbord at Belleau Wood. The first day of that battle, half of his platoon died, and most of the rest were wounded, but Grandpa George survived without a scratch. He fought in several other battles, but he returned to Grandma Ettie with nothing more than a scar on his cheek. When he got home, Grandma Ettie took back the ring and put it back in its box."

"So, you think the ring had something to do with Grandpa George coming home?" Scott asked doubtfully.

Virgil had his own question. "Grandma, I thought Grandma Ettie was just a water witch?"

"She was. I remember watching her do it when I was just a little girl. She could pick up any old stick of wood so long as it was willow, and use it to dowse water. She saved many a farm around here."

"I never heard of a water witch dowsing magic rings." Scott said skeptically.

"Well, now, understand, I'm not saying the ring is magic, or anything like that. What I will say is, Grandma Ettie brought it out again when my daddy joined the marines like his daddy before him, and went off to fight the Japanese, and he survived a horrific battle without a scratch."

Scott looked more interested. "What battle, Grandma?"

"My father fought in the Battle of Tarawa." Ruth said with considerable pride.

Scott's jaw dropped. Virgil frowned. "I don't think I ever heard of that one."

"The marines lost over 3,000 men in two days." Scott said. "Grandma, you never told me he fought at Tarawa."

Ruth ducked her head. "Dad never would speak of it, but it haunted him all of his life. It must have been a terrible sight, all of those fine young men struck down. But the point is, he wore the ring and survived, as did my Grant in Viet Nam, and your own father in the Gulf War. Here, give me the box, Virgil."

Virgil handed over the box, and Ruth reached in, pulling a tiny tab. The bottom of the box proved to be false, coming out easily when the tab was pulled. As the two brothers watched in fascination, Ruth reached in and pulled a handful of small metal pieces. "These are the dog tags."

Scott reached over and took the handful. With awe, he held them up. "This is Dad's! And Grandpa's!"

"Yes, they're all there, back to Grandpa George. You hold the history and honor of the Sampson and Tracy families in your hand. Some day, your own tags will join them." Ruth's voice was gentle with pride and love. She took back the small handful and carefully replaced them in the box, sealing up the false bottom. "Scott, honey, please, I'll sleep better if you'll wear this ring around your neck, but never on your finger."

Without another word, Scott lifted the loop of chain over his head, tucking the ring under his tee shirt. Ruth smiled, and caressed her grandson's cheek. "Thank you. Now, I'd better be heading up to bed. I've got a big meal to fix tomorrow. Don't you boys stay up too late."

"We won't, Grandma," Scott avowed. The brothers watched their grandmother climb the stairs then settled back on the couch, Scott pulling the ring out from under his shirt.

The two men sat, heads bowed over the ring, inspecting it closely. "So, what do you think? Is it magic?" Virgil asked quietly.

With a shake of his head, Scott put the ring back under his shirt. "I don't know what to think. Water witching is one thing, but this? I'll tell you, Virg, all I can say for sure is it will keep Grandma from worrying and that's good enough for me. I'm heading for bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay, Scott. Good night." Virgil stayed where he was watching his brother leave, a thoughtful look on his face. After a moment, he once again examined the small carved box by the light of the dying fire, pulling out the false bottom and reading each of the tags of his ancestors. With due reverence, he replaced them in the box and closed it up, setting it on the table. Sighing he got up, and with a poker, settled the fire for the night and headed for bed.