Chapter I. All My Loving
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you
All my loving, I will send to you
All my loving, darling I'll be true
(All My Loving)
Bedford, NY. 1963.
"I don't get it Grantaire." Enjolras sprawled out on the bed with hands behind his neck. "For as long as we've known each other, you have never once believed in anything. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love you…"
"Oh do you?" Grantaire looked up from the shirt he was folding and arched an eyebrow.
"You know I do." The young blond looked at the sulky brunette, his stare serious and concerned. "And now you tell me you volunteered to join in the war?"
"Figured for once I'd do something worthy of my time." Grantaire put the folded shirt into the suitcase before snapping it close.
"But I don't want you to die." Enjolras folded his arms. "When will you be back?"
"It's just gonna be for a couple of months and I'll be back. I promise." Grantaire slid in next to Enjolras. Their fingers entwined as Enjolras put his head on Grantaire's shoulder.
"I still don't understand why you have to do this." Enjolras sighed.
"I just…" Grantaire pondered. "All my life Enjolras, I have been a good for nothing. It's clear that my parents are never letting me pursue art school. So I say, why bother going to college. At least I can fight honorably and when I get back, maybe they'll think twice about sending me to Harvard law."
"That's a stupid reason to volunteer."
"At least I'll feel proud of who I am for once."
"I'll always be proud of you." Enjolras murmured. "Promise to write?"
"Every day."
Saigon, South Vietnam. November 2 1963.
"Wake up, Éponine. Wake up. Wake. Up!"
Éponine opened her heavy eyelids, her head clouded by sleep. She lifted her head from the feather pillow.
"Mum?" Éponine asked, while looking over to the bracket clock on the bedside drawer. The clock said 2 a.m. "What's the matter?"
"You have to go now Éponine." Her mom whispered to her urgently. "I packed your clothes and your paper. There's a car waiting for you outside. Get on that car, the driver will drive you to the airport. Then he will lead you to a small plane. It's not safe to be here anymore. You have to go."
"But why?"
"President Diem and his brother have just been murdered. The government has been upthrown. You know your father has been heavily involved with the Ngo Dinh Diem family. It'll only be a matter of time before they come here and execute us all."
Éponine quickly got up and threw on the daytime dress lying near her bed. She jumped into the car with her mother, carrying a small suitcase that her mother hastily prepared for her. She noticed that the driver especially avoided main streets, instead chose to drive on roads that led outside the city.
"So what now?" Éponine asked, confused. She opened the outside pocket of the suitcase and found her passport with a bunch of papers she did not recognize nor understand. Inside her passport was a picture of her face, however with a different name plastered under it. Perhaps it was to ensure her security.
"Éponine Jondrette." She whispered. Jon. Drette. Each syllable felt funny on her tongue as she pronounced them for the first time. "Strange last name you've got me there Mom."
"I want you to listen to me, you're Jondrette now." Her mother looked her in the eyes, and Éponine understood that from now on, she would only be remembered by her new name. She did not like this new change, it sounded odd when her own mother called her with a strange name like that, but she guess she'd have to accept. "You are extremely lucky that your father is such an important man. Henry Lodge has agreed to take you to America and take guardianship of you there. You will stay there as a political refugee, until this war is over and you can safely return home. You behave yourself and be a good girl, you hear me Éponine? Don't do anything to make them send you home."
"But what about you and Dad?" she furrowed her brows. What is going on? What is all this talk about politic? Éponine Thenardier, apparently now Éponine Jondrette knew nothing. Yesterday morning she was still a schoolgirl, eating ice cream and gossiping with her classmates in the front yard. She might be the daughter of the commander-in-chief of Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces, as fancy as it might sound, but Éponine had kept herself intact with her dad's job. They didn't talk about it during dinner – the only time of the day she could see dad – and she specifically did not want to talk about anything politic-related.
"They will keep Dad alive to extract information from him." The way her mom said extract stirred up an uneasy feeling in Éponine's stomach, but she kept her mouth shut. "As for me, I'm only a woman. I'm his stupid wife. I'll just deny everything and hopefully they wouldn't do anything to me."
"Why can't you come along Mom?" Éponine's voice began to fill with panic. What was she going to do in a country half a globe away? Her mom could not be serious.
"They have filled their quota." Her mom smiled sadly. "I have been fighting to get a spot for you for months. It's extremely hard to get a seat on that plane, and I don't want to waste it on an old woman like me."
The car stopped and her mom pushed her out of the car. Two armed soldiers grabbed her arms and led her towards a small plane parking nearby. She turned around and called out her mom's name, urging her mom to come with her, she did not understand, why couldn't her mom come along, she was sure it wouldn't be too much of a hassle. The men kept pushing her violently like she was a prisoner, and Éponine had to restrain herself from elbowing one of them. Her mom just stood there with tears in her eyes, she did not move an inch. Every fiber of Éponine screamed out in protest, to break out from the men's grasp and to run back to her mom, but she knew her mom would scold her if she were to do that.
"Be safe, and take care of yourself Éponine." Her mom yelled out when Éponine was climbing the staircase. "I love you."
Before she could reply, Éponine was abruptly pushed inside the plane. The two armed men shut the door and she stumbled in clumsily.
"I love you too Mom." Éponine whispered as she settled down on a seat near the window. She could taste the salty water running down her cheeks.
"Why are you crying little girl?" said a heavy-weighted white man sitting next to her on the plane. "You're going to America, you'll be safe there. Besides it's better in America than here anyway."
He lowered his voice. "I know who you are. Your dad sacrificed a lot for you to be on this plane tonight. Be strong for him, okay?"
She nodded and managed to wipe her worst part was, somehow, deep inside, she knew this would be the last time for her to be home. Éponine closed her eyes and made a cross with her fingers.
Nothing's gonna change my world, she sang quietly. Nothing's gonna change my world.