Mac, p.5
MAC, page 5
I sure as hell wasn’t going to follow in my dad’s footsteps. Watching him turn to alcohol, as his way to cope with a job he hated, or a life which didn’t go as he wanted, was not exactly enticing. Grandpa was my role model, in every way, except enlisting in the army.
Bobby, Jason and I met at the gymnasium. Like me, my buddy, Jason, was still undecided as well. The large gymnasium was like a bustling, ant farm. Tables and booths lined the perimeter and more filled the center as well. There were people from just about any job a kid could want to do, locally or in all of Sacramento. Apprenticeships, Business and Retail, Law Enforcement, Military and Reserve Officer Training Corps(ROTC), Regional Occupational Program (ROP), Utilities and Natural Resources; you name it, and there was a representative, in the gym, waiting to pitch their spiel.
Bobby tagged along with Jason and me, as we stopped at the various business’ tables. We grabbed literature, pencils, pennants, trinkets, and candy.
The kids who had already been accepted to colleges more or less had the day off. They had a stupid homework assignment to complete and turn in, so their attendance counted for the day. Most spent less than an hour in the library to get it done and then went to a party at the lake.
Bobby elbowed me in the ribs. “Look over there,” he said, shifting his eyes to the left. “Keasey’s looking at you.”
“Whatever,” I said and shrugged.
“You know, she’s into you.” Bobby didn’t let it go. “Go talk to her.” He nudged me.
“Maybe later,” I offered.
I dated Candy for a few months last year. Girls always want to meet your parents, and that’s a big problem for me. Candy bugged me to introduce her to my parents and against my better judgment I gave in, taking her home one Saturday afternoon. Mom was delighted to meet her. We sat in the dining room and enjoyed Mom’s home-baked cookies fresh from the oven. Candy was the first ‘girlfriend’ Mom had met, so she wanted to make a good impression. I was thankful Dad was napping, that was until he woke up.
He staggered into the dining room naked – I mean, stark naked. Candy gasped and covered her eyes. Mom jumped to her feet and hustled Dad back to the bedroom. We left before he could reappear with or without clothes on, and the next day, Candy broke it off.
Jason stopped at the local bank’s table and listened, while the representative talked to a classmate about a career in banking.
“Was your Dad in the military?” Jason asked Bobby.
“He was drafted into the army and did his two years, before becoming a sheriff’s deputy. “Was yours?” Bobby directed his question to Jason.
“Nope. He failed the physical because he’d accidentally cut off his fingertip when he was a kid,” Jason replied.
Both Bobby and I said, in unison, “Really?”
He shrugged. “Stupid kid stuff. He and his brother had their bicycles upside down and then attached playing cards using clothespins to make noise when they spun the wheels, using the pedals. Dad stuck his finger in, to stop the wheel and it lopped off the tip,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Ouch,” Bobby said.
I felt the pain visualizing the scene.
“Was your Dad, in the military,” Jason asked me.
“No. I don’t know how he managed to avoid it, but he did. My Grandpa was in the army, though. He was stationed in the Aleutian Islands,” I said with pride, “Whenever he talks about it, his eyes light up.”
“Where’s that?” Jason asked.
“It’s an island chain in the Bering Sea, near Alaska. The Japanese tried to overrun it in 1942. Grandpa said it was called the Forgotten Battle or Pearl Harbor of the North because it was the year after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He suffered nerve damage to his face from the extreme cold, and he has Bell’s Palsy on the left side.”
“Bell’s what?” Jason questioned, but then became distracted when he saw the air force table, “Hey, there’s the recruiter,” he steered us to the table decked out in air force signage.
“Hi Jason,” the recruiter said, as he extended his hand to shake, “Guys, I’m Tech Sergeant Sloan. Take a brochure, grab whatever you want,” he said, pointing to his table, filled with air force stuff. The recruiter acted like he and Jason were longtime friends.
“You boys are welcome to join us at a barbecue on Saturday. It’s at McClellan Air Base, around eleven,” he said, “You’re going aren’t you?” as he pats Jason on his back.
“I’ll be there,” Jason replied.
There was a tap on my shoulder, and when I turned around, to see who it was, I was stunned to see Keasey.
“Hi Mac,” she said, “Are you joining the air force?”
I could hear Jason and the recruiter talking about the air force and the barbecue. In my peripheral vision, I saw Bobby smiling and staring at me. “No, I’m not joining, just hanging out. What’re you doing after graduation?” Far be it, for me, to turn down an opportunity to talk with the prettiest girl in the senior class.
“I’m going to Cosmetology School. I love to play with hair; to cut and color and give people hairstyles to complement their face structure.” She smiled and wowed me with her perfectly aligned, white teeth.
“Is the Cosmetology School in Brookfield?” I knew nothing about the career field she had chosen. But, no time like the present to learn. Anything to keep her talking. She was – hands down – the most attractive girl I’d ever seen.
“No.” She giggled. “It’s in Sacramento,” she replied.
I could hear Jason winding down his conversation with the recruiter. Other guys were squeezing in, to grab stuff from the table and ask questions about the air force.
Keasey must have felt our time talking was about to end, so she handed me a piece of paper. “Call me sometime. Maybe we could hang out, or catch a movie.” She blushed a little and gave me her million-dollar smile.
“Okay,” was the only word I could force from my mouth before I stood there like a tongue-tied idiot. Keasey turned around and walked to her friends near the door.
Bobby jabbed me with his elbow again. “Dude! You just got Keasey’s phone number!” He stuck his hand out for a high-five. “You will call her and ask her out, right?”
“Maybe,” I shrugged nonchalantly.
We left the gym and headed toward our next class.
“See you later,” I said.
“Hang on a second,” Jason asked, “Do you guys want to go to the barbecue with me, on Saturday?”
“Sure,” Bobby answered, “but I’ll need to see what Maggie might have planned for us.”
“How about you?” Jason asked me.
“Okay, I’ll need to be back in time for work. Are you serious about possibly joining the air force?” I wondered.
“Hey, it’s worth considering. I don’t want to stay in this little, shit-hole of a town, my entire life,” Jason quipped.
Chapter 11
Surprisingly, this week, Dad was more mellow and sober than usual. Maybe the failed intervention, last Saturday, didn’t completely fail, after all. Whatever the reason, I was happy to have plans away from home.
Jason drove Bobby and me to the barbecue at McClellan Air Force Base. It was about an hour’s drive from Brookfield and the first time I’d been on a military base.
We were stopped behind four or five vehicles, lined up at the main gate awaiting clearance to enter.
It was hard to see around the over-sized van in front of us. But it looked like there were three uniformed soldiers at the gate. One waved vehicles through and the other two, observed, from inside the gatehouse.
After the large van had pulled away, I saw a jeep-type, military vehicle, parked to the right, approximately forty feet inside the gate. Two soldiers were in it, one standing and the other seated behind the steering wheel. The standing soldier had an automatic weapon visible.
The soldier at the gate bent over and asked for our identification. He also wanted to know why we were there. Jason told the soldier about the barbecue and the recruiter’s name. He took our driver’s licenses, looked at each for a long few seconds, comparing our faces to our photos and then turned away to enter the gate house.
“Geez. Are you required to wear an angry look, when you’re in uniform?” I jokingly asked Jason, “And check out the guy with the assault rifle?”
“Hell if I know,” he shrugged. “This is my first time here too.”
We were given directions to the barbecue and permitted to enter the base. In the passenger side rearview mirror, I kept an eye on the guy with the machine gun who watched us until we turned a corner.
Bobby asked Jason, “Do you think you’re going to enlist?”
“I’m seriously considering it, man,” he replied. He looked at me, “I need to convince this guy to go in with me, though.”
I laughed, but Jason added, “I’m just not the College type. School’s done on Thursday, what else am I going to do? Work at a dull, gas station, mini-mart, job for the rest of my life?”
He’s got a valid point, I thought to myself.
“Do you plan to make pizzas for the rest of yours?” Jason asked me.
Bobby laughed from the back seat. I gave Bobby the middle finger and, in return, he slapped the back of my head. “I haven’t thought much about it. I’m focused on getting away from my parents’ house. After that, I’ll think about what I want to do with the rest of my life,” I said.
“The problem with your plan is, you’ll have to pay rent, so then you gotta have a job,” Bobby said seriously. “You need to think about what you want to do before you leave your parents’ house, so you’re not stuck cooking pizzas just to make rent money.”
Jason grinned, “Thanks, Bobby.”
“Yeah, thanks a bunch, Bobby,” I scowled, with exaggerated annoyance.
“No problem,” Bobby laughed and patted my shoulder.
When we found the barbecue location, I was quite surprised to see how many young people were there. As we walked through the crowd, I noticed almost everyone appeared to be eighteen to twenty years old. Jason spotted the recruiter and guided us toward him.
When the recruiter was at the school, he’d worn a light blue dress shirt, with his rank insignia, badges, ribbons attached, and blue tie along with blue dress-pants. Today, he was more relaxed, looking like the other soldiers, who were standing around. The recruiter wore camouflage fatigues or ‘BDU’s’ (Battle Dress Uniforms, I was told).
We all shook hands and were introduced to a few soldiers standing with the recruiter.
I asked the recruiter, “Are all the guys and girls here going into the air force, or are they already in the air force?”
“Some are just home from basic training; they’re the ones with little, to no hair,” he chuckled. “Some are getting ready to head out, and some are like Jason here, thinking about joining.”
“Tech Sergeant Sloan,” said a lanky young guy with a big smile and a booming voice. His long arm was extended out to shake.
“Hey, Durk, I’m glad you made it. When did you get back?”
“Last night.”
The two caught up, on what they’d been up to since they’d last seen each other.
Bobby and I decided it was time to find the food. We were seated at a picnic table eating burgers and potato chips, by the time Jason and the recruiter found us.
“Have you thought about joining?” the recruiter asked me.
“Not really,” I replied, as I shoved some potato chips into my mouth.
“It’s a good career,” he offered.
Bobby and Jason continued to eat.
“I want to stay in Brookfield,” I said, before I chomped down on my burger, “Thanks for the food though, the air force certainly knows how to put on a good barbecue.”
“Let me ask you a question,” he ventured.
“Okay.”
“Where was the most incredible place your family has gone on vacation?” he asked.
“We’ve never gone on a vacation,” I answered, a little embarrassed.
“Have you ever flown anywhere in an airplane?”
“Nope. I’ve never been on a plane.”
“If you could fly anywhere for free, where would you go?” he asked.
“I haven’t given it any thought.”
Bobby looked at me over the soda pop can he was guzzling from and wiggled his eyebrows.
“What would you say, if I told you, the air force would pay you to fly to many cool places? And give you thirty days of paid vacation, paid sick leave, paid medical benefits, and free housing?” he asked.
“I’d say – how much pay?” I quipped back.
Bobby and Jason laughed.
“And, you’d be paid to work out, paid to do physical training, plus do whatever job you choose to do,” he added.
Rather than respond, I shoved more potato chips into my mouth.
“Come on Mac, let’s do this,” Jason prodded me.
“Yeah, Mac, why don’t you give it some thought?” Bobby added.
“What’s this? A setup?” I joked.
Thankfully, the focus shifted to two good-looking girls who’d stopped by our table to talk with the recruiter. From what they said they were both home on leave after basic training. They made basic training sound like a summer camp.
While the girls and the recruiter talked, Jason tapped my arm. “Let’s both enlist and go to basic training at the same time. You’ll be away from your parents’ house and be paid. And you won’t have to pay rent.”
“The only reason I want to move out is because I don’t get along with my dad. I’m not in a rush to move away from Mom or Maggie,” I said, with sincerity.
I looked at Bobby for some support, but he shrugged his shoulders. “What can I tell you? I’m alone at the Sheriff’s Academy. From what Dad tells me the Academy is a lot like basic training in the military. It would be cool if I had a friend going through it with me at the same time. I’m with Jason on this one.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me,” I said.
“Not at all, brother,” Bobby assured me, “I want what’s best for you. From what you’ve got going on, this could be a good thing. I’d miss you something terrible, though,” he added, “And if your sister knew I was saying this she’d kick me in the balls.”
“You only have to commit to four years. After four years you get out and find a job doing what you were trained for, based on whatever field you chose,” Jason added.
“Will you both shut up, if I agree to think about it?” I asked.
“Yes!” they said in unison.
“Fine then, I’ll think about it.”
Chapter 12
Mom tapped my shoulder to wake me. I’d fallen asleep hard and fast, after a busy night at the restaurant. For a minute I thought it was Keasey tapping me on the shoulder at Career Day.
“Cole, Grandpa passed away. Wake up,” she said. Emotion filled her voice.
My eyes popped open, and I sat straight up.
“Did you say Grandpa passed away?”
“Yes.”
“He was fine yesterday when I saw him before I left for the barbecue.”
The hall light shone brightly into my room. Dad paced in the hallway, mumbling as he walked one way, then the other, and then back again.
“He’s gone, sweetheart. Do you want to say goodbye before the coroner arrives to take him away?” Mom began to sob. “I don’t know how to live without my dad. He was my best friend.”
“You have Maggie and me. We’ll help you learn to live without Grandpa,” I assured her and then thought, I don’t know how I’m going to live without Grandpa either, he’s my best friend too.
“Have you told Maggie?” I asked.
“Not yet.” Her voice was now a low, raspy whisper.
“I’ll wake her. And then I’ll meet you in Grandpa’s room,” I said.
Mom said nothing, just nodded, stood, and left my room, closing the door on her way out.
I dressed in record time. From my doorway, I took a few seconds to observe Dad’s behavior. He looked sober. When he passed by me, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look at me. He seemed a bit out of it.
Maggie had somehow slept through the doors opening and closing, Dad’s pacing, and Mom’s weeping. The bright overhead light from the hall led the path to Maggie’s bed. Her room looked like a bomb, filled with clothes and shoes had exploded.
“Maggie. Wake up!” Unlike the gentle touch Mom had used to wake me, I shook her hard. She jerked awake.
“Go away,” she groaned, before rolling over.
“Maggie, get up. Grandpa died.”
She rolled over to face me; tears quickly pooled in her eyes.
Dad’s shadow disrupted the light shining in from the hall. He looked into Maggie’s room but said nothing. We looked at him, but after a long minute, he turned and resumed his pacing.
“Meet Mom and me in Grandpa’s room, to say goodbye,” I said in a low voice.
She had a strange look on her face that I couldn’t understand. “What happens to him now?”
“The coroner will pick up his body. Do you want me to call Bobby and ask him to come over?”
She nodded.
My call woke Bobby’s parents. After I had explained what had happened, his mother expressed her condolences and said she’d wake him and tell him he needed to be with Maggie.
In Grandpa’s doorway, I stood for a few seconds, to ready myself for the reality Grandpa had died. He looked at peace. He wasn’t curled in a fetal position, on his side, anymore; he lay flat on his back. No drool dribbled from his mouth and no look of discomfort, as he’d had on his face lately while sleeping. And his eye no longer wept. Mom leaned on the bed, from her chair and rested her head next to Grandpa’s head, on his pillow. She was lost in her thoughts and didn’t appear to have heard me enter the room.
This time, it was my gentle hand on her shoulder, to let her know I was there.
There were questions I wanted answers to, but I knew now wasn’t the right time. Still, those questions nagged at me. My mind snapped back to the present when Maggie burst into the room sobbing. Mom and Maggie consoled each other in a way only girls can do.
