Chapter 13: Home

02 June 1988 – Belchertown Road, Enfield, Massachusetts

Jeff heard his tires thump across the seam in the pavement when he crossed into his home town. He’d been gone almost a year; this was his first visit back to where he grew up. He smiled as he saw a familiar building come into view. Jeff pulled his truck into its parking lot and under the trees along the lot’s edge. He was careful to stay out of sight of the building’s service bays.

There’d been a change to the items on the wall behind the counter since he’d been away. His official photos from Basic Training, AIT, and Airborne School hung under a classroom-sized American flag jutting out from the wall. Familiar faces looked up as he entered. Jeff put his finger to his lips; the men smiled and one hooked a thumb towards the work area.

Jeff shook the hands of the mechanics before heading into the garage. He walked to a car he heard being worked on. The person doing the work was the one he was looking for. Jeff knocked on the fender of the car.

“Can I help you?” the man’s familiar voice asked in a distracted tone.

“Yeah, Dad, can you check my truck? Seven hundred miles is a long drive.”

His father’s head hit the hood of the car with a thump. A clang rang through the garage as the wrench he’d been holding hit the concrete floor. His father stepped into view holding his head. A look of wonder crossed his face as he approached Jeff. He gathered his son into a crushing hug.

“Welcome home, Jeff,” Joe said, the emotion clear in his voice.

“Glad to be home, Dad. Good to see you again, too.”

“I thought I was picking you up in Springfield tomorrow?”

“I’d rather drive those seven hundred miles back and forth to Bragg a dozen times than spend all day on a bus, Dad. Plus, I could pick my own music in my own vehicle.”

“Gotta have the music. Have you been by the house yet?”

“No, I came here first.”

“Well, show me this ‘truck’ before you go surprise your mother and sister.” Jeff led his father out to the parking lot. There the older Knox walked slowly around the vehicle. Jeff held the keys out to his father so he could start the truck. “Sounds fine.”

“Better’n it did when I bought it.” Joe raised an eyebrow at his son. “Had to replace the head gasket.” The other brow rose.

“You did a great job; I can’t even tell.”

“Someone did a pretty good job of teaching me how to fix one.” Joe threw an arm around his son’s neck, ruffling his hair as he led him back to the garage.

“Put your stuff in your sister’s car and head back to the house.”

“What’d she do to my car?” Jeff cried.

“If you want to get technical, it’s my car, Airborne; I told you it was her turn with it before you left, remember? I did a tune-up and an oil change on it this morning, that’s all.”

Jeff walked away to collect his things, shaking his head, but his father was correct. He’d never admit that out loud, though. He put what little he brought home into the car before driving it around the front of the shop. He talked to the men working for his Dad, learning that Jerry’s son would start working at the garage soon.

He parked in the driveway in front of his house. He walked to the back corner, peeking around it. His Mom and Kara sat on the back deck enjoying the late afternoon sun. Jeff backed up, then walked around the corner in a nonchalant manner, whistling and twirling the car’s keys around a finger.

“JEFF!” Kara cried as she scrambled off the deck to hug her big brother.

“Hi, sis.”

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? Did they cancel graduation or something?”

Kara swatted his arm. One of these days he’d have to address the violent tendencies the women in his life displayed.

His mother’s smile split her face while tears welled up in her eyes; this was the first time he’d been at the house since last July. Marisa began to cry as she held her son in her arms. She feared he’d never come home again.

“Hey,” Jeff said in a gentle voice. He pulled back from his mother and looked her in the eye. “It’s over. However you want to describe the first half of ‘87, it’s over. This has always been my home; you’ve always been my mother. Neither of those changed while we went through that, okay?” Marisa nodded and hugged him again.

“How’d you get here?” Kara asked. “I thought Dad was picking you up in Springfield tomorrow?”

“I drove. I left Bragg in my truck about six this morning, stopped to see Dad at the garage, then drove here in your car.”

“My car? You drove my car?”

“That’s the one, yes.” Her eyes narrowed. “Well, Dad’s checking my truck after the seven hundred mile drive I just took.”

“Wait, what ‘truck?’”

“The one I bought in March. Dad’s bringing it back tonight after work.”

“What did ya get?”

“A black ‘83 Chevy K10 4x4.”

“Sweet!”

“Jeff, do you want anything special for dinner on your first night home?” Marisa asked.

“Food? Seriously, Mom, I don’t want you to change what you were going to have at four in the afternoon. Whatever you guys are going to have is fine.”

“We were just going to have pizza.”

“Benny’s?” The women nodded. “Perfect! I’ll take a small sausage and black olive pizza.”

“That’s it?” Kara asked, a smile on her face.

“You’re right, I should get a large. I work out a lot.”

“More than you used to?”

Kara laughed as her big brother chased her around the back yard.

Marisa smiled at a familiar sight. Jeff studied at the dining room table before dinner later that evening. His books were arrayed in an arc in front of him.

“What are you working on, Jeff?”

“I’m finishing up my history class on America from the Revolution to the Civil War. This is the last of the work I need to finish for sophomore year.”

“You were still able to complete the year, then?”

“Yeah. Now that I understand how the school’s system works along with our duty cycles, I think I can be a quarter of the way into my senior year by this time next year.”

Marisa tried to ruffle Jeff’s hair as she did in high school, but the short, airborne-approved cut he sported hardly moved.

“Mom! The ladies!”

“Dad will be home with the pizza in ten minutes, Romeo.”

“Thanks for driving me in early,” Kara said.

Smiling at her, Jeff replied, “Of course. Plus it’ll give Mom and Dad more time to get ready.”

“Are you wearing your uniform today?”

“Yep,” he replied, hooking a thumb at the garment bag behind him.

“I’m proud you’re in the Army. I don’t understand the desire to serve per se, but I want a picture of you I can put right out in the open in my room at college next year.”

“Well, we’d better make sure that someone gets a good picture of the two of us today, then,” he stated, smiling at his little sister. Jeff pulled into the school parking lot. Given that the ceremony wouldn’t start until noon, he found a spot without a problem.

“What are you going to do until noon?” she asked.

“The same thing I told Mom and Dad: I’m gonna see if I can use the weight room like I used to, then shave, shower, and get dressed before noon. If I can’t work out, I’ve got some school work I can do. Come on, you’ve gotta get in there for the practice session.”

Jeff escorted his younger sister into the school. Her class would practice for the next two hours then they would line up for graduation. Jeff peeled off towards the gym while Kara continued towards the auditorium where graduation would take place.

He found the weight room where he left it last year. He also found his copy of the key for it still on his keychain; Coach Kessler gave him the key his freshman year. The noise from his workout attracted the coach, who greeted Jeff warmly. Jeff assured him that he’d return the key when he was done. Coach Kessler waved it off.

“What are you going to do?” he asked Jeff. “Steal the weights?”

Jeff headed down to the locker room at the end of his workout. He prepared his uniform and checked the shine on his boots, then shaved and showered. He was ready well before noon. He checked himself in the mirror; his Class-A uniform was in order.

Guests for graduation were directed to the auditorium’s outside entrances. He stepped through the outside door from the locker room, and found himself right in the middle of the Class of 1988 as they lined up outside. Everyone recognized him. Chris Micklicz came over to shake his hand.

“Look at you,” Chris said while they shook hands. “Every girl’s crazy about a sharp dressed man! And one in uniform! Hey, you’re a PFC already?” Chris was knowledgeable about the military’s structure even though he wouldn’t serve himself.

“I did well in Basic Training, and the training that came after,” Jeff shrugged. “They gave me an early promotion then, and my lieutenant told me about this one just before I came up here. I was able to get the stripes sewn on before I came home.”

“You know Pauline’s upset that you haven’t written to her since before Christmas, right?”

“Your sister and I parted as friends,” he reminded Chris. “I knew she’d find someone when she got to Amherst. I’ll never forget the time I spent with her, but I’ve also accepted that I wasn’t going to be her one and only. I didn’t want to cause her any trouble once I found out about her new beau. Is he a good guy?”

“He is,” Chris admitted. “He treats her very well, like you did. As well-matched as you and Pauline were, they seem to be even more so; I wouldn’t be surprised if Frank is her one and only.”

“I’m happy for Pauline, as long as she’s happy. I’m happy that you guys are happy, too. I’m also pleased that you guys were able to win another state championship in hockey this year.”

“Nothing like book-ending your high school hockey career with state championships, that’s for sure. I hope I can be part of a national championship while I’m at Michigan State.”

Jeff shook hands again with Chris, letting him get back in line. The ceremony was about to start and he had to find a place to sit, or maybe stand given how many people were arriving for the ceremony. He got a wink from Charlie Flaherty when he passed her; he waved to the faculty members he remembered. He entered the hall and saw his parents had saved him a seat.

The ceremony was standard fare, and was over in due time. He filed out of the hall along with his parents to find his sister. The school offered a lunch for the graduates and their families in the cafeteria; Jeff felt a hand on his shoulder while waiting to be seated. He turned to find Pauline standing behind him, accompanied by Chris, their parents, and another young man he guessed was Frank. Pauline gathered the young private in a firm hug and kissed him on the cheek.

“You look beautiful as always, Pauline,” he told her when they broke their hug. She blushed at the compliment.

“I’m mad at you, you know?” she replied, glaring at him.

“You didn’t need to be getting letters from me, not while you were starting a new relationship,” Jeff answered.

“Is there anything wrong with two friends keeping touch?”

“No, but I didn’t want to cause you any trouble, either.”

“She can cause her own trouble, as I’m sure you know,” the other young man said. Pauline took exception to his remark; she squawked in outrage while she swatted at the other man’s arm. The young man introduced himself as Frank McGahn.

“It’s good to finally meet you,” Frank said. “Pauline’s mentioned you more than a few times over the past six months.”