the gratitude of the King of the Belgians toward our modest hero is nothing like that of my parents. You are really going to have a good time in Florida, Marj, basking in the reflected glory of our Jacques.”
“He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Stanleyville,” Marjorie said.
“I heard whispers about that, come to think of it,” Geoff said. “But it’s no longer a problem. All is forgiven, so to speak.”
“And I can’t go to Florida,” Marjorie said.
“Why not?” Jack asked, shocked. “I want you to meet my parents. ”
“Well, I have a job, for one thing.”
“Screw the job. Let’s get married.”
Geoff Craig laughed.
“That will certainly rank high on the list of never-to-be-forgotten romantic proposals,” he said. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Sergeant, but I think you are supposed to make propositions of that nature on your knees.”
“Let’s get married, Marjorie,” Jack repeated. “As soon as we can.”
She looked at him but didn’t say anything.
“Oh, Jesus,” he said. “Okay.”
He got up from the table and dropped to his knees.
Marjorie, sobbing, fled the room. Patricia Hanrahan chased after her.
“Somehow, Jack, I get the feeling you didn’t handle that very well,” General Hanrahan said.
[ FOUR ]
Office of the Commanding General
The Army Aviation Center
Fort Rucker, Alabama
1545 3 December 1964
Captain Richard Hornsby, a rather good-looking, very natty young man of twenty-five, who was wearing for the first time the insignia—a shield bearing two stars on his lapels, and an aiguillette hanging from his epaulette—identifying him as the aide-de-camp of a major general, looked up from his desk, first with idle curiosity and then with greater interest as a sergeant wearing fatigues entered his office.
For one thing, the sergeant had a large bandage covering his nose. For another, he was a Green Beret, and there were no Green Berets, as far as Hornsby knew, stationed on Fort Rucker.
“Can I help you, Sergeant?” Captain Hornsby asked.
“Sir, I’d hoped to see Captain Oliver,” the sergeant said.
“Captain Oliver has been reassigned,” Hornsby said. “How can I help you?”
“I’d like to see General Bellmon, please, sir.”
Captain Hornsby’s last instructions in that regard, that very morning, were “Dick, an important, very important part of your job will be to shield me from people who want to see me who really don’t have to. You’ll be astonished at the number of idiots who want to waste my time.”
The sergeant didn’t look like an idiot, but the odds were, whatever he wanted, Hornsby could do it, and without disturbing General Bellmon.
“The general’s tied up at the moment, Sergeant. Perhaps I can help. What’s on your mind?”
“It’s a personal matter, Captain,” the sergeant said, a little uncomfortably. “I think if you tell him I’m out here—my name is Portet—he’ll see me.”
“Think of me as the guardian of the portals, Sergeant,” Captain Hornsby said, not unkindly. “I have the duty of deciding who can have some of the general’s time, and as I’m sure you can understand, there’s a hell of a demand for his time.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But whatever it is, Sergeant, I think it’s even money that I could be of some help.”
The sergeant didn’t respond for a moment, and then he shrugged.
“Captain, would you believe me if I told you that if I told him I came to see him and you wouldn’t let me in, he would be pissed?”
“No, Sergeant, I don’t think I would,” Captain Hornsby said, just a little testily.
Sergeant Portet opened his mouth as if to say something else.
The door to General Bellmon’s office opened and General Bellmon came through, holding a sheaf of paper in his hands. Only after a moment did he raise his eyes and see the sergeant.
“Can I have a couple of minutes, General?” Sergeant Portet asked.
“Sir, I explained to the sergeant that you’re tied up,” Captain Hornsby said.
“Go on in,” General Bellmon said, nodding with his head toward his office. He handed the sheaf of paper to Hornsby and added, “We’ll get to this in a minute, Dick,” then went into his office, closing the door behind him.
“Welcome home, Jack,” General Bellmon said, offering his hand.
“Thank you, sir.”
“We saw your picture in the paper,” Bellmon said. “What happened to your nose? Is it serious?”
“Not serious. I took a dive off a truck in Stanleyville,” Jack said. “General, I want to marry Marjorie.”
“Actually, Marjorie saw it first. She said, ‘That’s my Jack, and that’s his sister.’ It was on the front page of every newspaper in the country.”