Naturally, Mrs. Baker would be making the
trip along with her husband, Reverend Baker. I figured that had more to do with
the famous golf course at Kapalua than the wedding, but I kept that thought to
myself.
After work, Sandra
and I stopped by Brentwood’s to swap the loaner for my Seville. Gotta love
having a dad in the business. The statement was marked Paid in Full. I
made a mental note to remember to thank him.
When we got home,
Sandra cooked one of her favorite Puerto Rican dishes. The house smelled
amazing, making my stomach growl as I gathered a load of laundry. I had just
started the washing machine when the phone rang.
“Hey, baby sister!”
“Jimmy! Where are
you?”
“I’m in Guam!” he
yelled over all the static. “But I’m flying out in a couple of hours. I’m
coming home, Sis!”
“Oh Jimmy, that’s great!
When will you be here?”
“What’s that?” he
yelled.
“WHEN WILL YOU BE
HERE?”
“I’m not sure,
exactly. I’m catching a hop to Millington and wondered if you could come pick
me up.”
“Where’s
Millington?”
“WHAT?” he yelled
again. I could hear engines roaring in the background.
“I SAID, WHERE’S
MILLINGTON?”
“It’s the Naval
Air Station just north of Memphis. Easy to find.”
“How’d you get a
Navy hop? You’re Army!”
“WHAT?”
“Never mind. I can’t
wait!” I squealed. “How long can you stay?”
“I don’t know yet.
We’ll see. Mom and Dad are anxious for me to get down to Birmingham, but I
figured with you so close to Millington, that would be my best bet. Hey, I’ve
gotta run. My time’s almost up on the call. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
“Sounds good,
Jimmy. Hurry home!”
Over dinner, I
could hardly contain myself as I told Sandra all about my older brother. It
felt strange, talking about him as a war veteran, especially for someone who’s
only 28. He hadn’t talked much about his experience over in Vietnam, but I knew
he’d lost a lot of friends during the war. I wondered how he would settle back
into civilian life. Would he go to school? Would he live back in Birmingham? I
wished he would move here.
“I can’t wait to
meet him,” Sandra said, taking a sip of tea. “He’s very handsome. At least as
far as I can tell from those pictures you have in your room. How tall is he?”
I looked at her,
trying to imagine the two of them together. No way. “Um, he’s 6’2”. Way
too tall for you, girlfriend.”
She scoffed
indignantly. “I beg your pardon? I like my men tall. Besides, it’s the least I
can do for my country, welcoming home the troops.” She laughed at herself.
“Hey, that’s not a
bad idea,” I said.
“That’s more like
it.”
“No, I mean
welcoming him home. We should do something really nice for him.”
“Oh! That would be
great! We could plan a huge welcome home party and have all girls come with us
to the base when he flies in! Get a bunch of red, white, and blue balloons and—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Take a breath, Sandra! Jimmy wouldn’t like the fuss. Trust me. He wouldn’t. I
was just thinking we could have a party for him or something. Invite a few
friends. Oh . . . I guess I should invite Tucker, shouldn’t I?”
She looked at me
for a moment then mumbled something in Spanish under her breath. I’d grown used
to these running commentaries, though I was never quite sure what they meant.
“Why not pull out
all the stops and greet him at the base?” she groaned playfully. “Don’t be such
a kill joy.”
“Sorry. It’s just
not something he’d like. But I know he’d enjoy meeting some of my friends.
Tucker would probably know some guys to invite. Some of his old friends.”
She tilted her
head staring at me. “Tucker, huh?”
“Well, yeah. They
were really good friends when we lived here way back when. I know Jimmy
remembers a lot of the guys from here. He was a teenager by the time we moved
away, and I know he’s kept in touch with some of them.”
“Fine.
trip along with her husband, Reverend Baker. I figured that had more to do with
the famous golf course at Kapalua than the wedding, but I kept that thought to
myself.
After work, Sandra
and I stopped by Brentwood’s to swap the loaner for my Seville. Gotta love
having a dad in the business. The statement was marked Paid in Full. I
made a mental note to remember to thank him.
When we got home,
Sandra cooked one of her favorite Puerto Rican dishes. The house smelled
amazing, making my stomach growl as I gathered a load of laundry. I had just
started the washing machine when the phone rang.
“Hey, baby sister!”
“Jimmy! Where are
you?”
“I’m in Guam!” he
yelled over all the static. “But I’m flying out in a couple of hours. I’m
coming home, Sis!”
“Oh Jimmy, that’s great!
When will you be here?”
“What’s that?” he
yelled.
“WHEN WILL YOU BE
HERE?”
“I’m not sure,
exactly. I’m catching a hop to Millington and wondered if you could come pick
me up.”
“Where’s
Millington?”
“WHAT?” he yelled
again. I could hear engines roaring in the background.
“I SAID, WHERE’S
MILLINGTON?”
“It’s the Naval
Air Station just north of Memphis. Easy to find.”
“How’d you get a
Navy hop? You’re Army!”
“WHAT?”
“Never mind. I can’t
wait!” I squealed. “How long can you stay?”
“I don’t know yet.
We’ll see. Mom and Dad are anxious for me to get down to Birmingham, but I
figured with you so close to Millington, that would be my best bet. Hey, I’ve
gotta run. My time’s almost up on the call. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
“Sounds good,
Jimmy. Hurry home!”
Over dinner, I
could hardly contain myself as I told Sandra all about my older brother. It
felt strange, talking about him as a war veteran, especially for someone who’s
only 28. He hadn’t talked much about his experience over in Vietnam, but I knew
he’d lost a lot of friends during the war. I wondered how he would settle back
into civilian life. Would he go to school? Would he live back in Birmingham? I
wished he would move here.
“I can’t wait to
meet him,” Sandra said, taking a sip of tea. “He’s very handsome. At least as
far as I can tell from those pictures you have in your room. How tall is he?”
I looked at her,
trying to imagine the two of them together. No way. “Um, he’s 6’2”. Way
too tall for you, girlfriend.”
She scoffed
indignantly. “I beg your pardon? I like my men tall. Besides, it’s the least I
can do for my country, welcoming home the troops.” She laughed at herself.
“Hey, that’s not a
bad idea,” I said.
“That’s more like
it.”
“No, I mean
welcoming him home. We should do something really nice for him.”
“Oh! That would be
great! We could plan a huge welcome home party and have all girls come with us
to the base when he flies in! Get a bunch of red, white, and blue balloons and—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Take a breath, Sandra! Jimmy wouldn’t like the fuss. Trust me. He wouldn’t. I
was just thinking we could have a party for him or something. Invite a few
friends. Oh . . . I guess I should invite Tucker, shouldn’t I?”
She looked at me
for a moment then mumbled something in Spanish under her breath. I’d grown used
to these running commentaries, though I was never quite sure what they meant.
“Why not pull out
all the stops and greet him at the base?” she groaned playfully. “Don’t be such
a kill joy.”
“Sorry. It’s just
not something he’d like. But I know he’d enjoy meeting some of my friends.
Tucker would probably know some guys to invite. Some of his old friends.”
She tilted her
head staring at me. “Tucker, huh?”
“Well, yeah. They
were really good friends when we lived here way back when. I know Jimmy
remembers a lot of the guys from here. He was a teenager by the time we moved
away, and I know he’s kept in touch with some of them.”
“Fine.
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