In Times of War

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

   Jimmy caught me and slung me around in a circle. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and smiled. Not many people stopped to look, understanding that this was a private moment. As happy as I was that Jimmy was home, I wanted to know why he was home because the Army didn’t let you out for good behavior and it would have been practically impossible to convince Jimmy to leave. Before I could ask him, Tony had made it across the street much more cautiously than I had.

   “Firecracker, who’s this?” Tony asks an unknown emotion in his voice. What was it, sadness, irritation, jealousy? That was it, jealousy, just a hint but it was still there. Why would he be jealous, let alone of me and my brother?

   “’Firecracker’ is it now. Have you been blowing up on people again? And who is this, Mia?” Jimmy sets me down and wraps an arm around my shoulders casually. I give him a shy smile and then turn so I could make introductions.

   “Jimmy, this is my best friend Tony. Tony, this is my brother Jimmy.” I point to each of them as I say their names. Tony seems to relax when I say that Jimmy is my brother. They shake hands and exchange tense smiles. I can see in their eyes as they size each other up.

“Why are you home, did something happen, are you okay?” I start asking questions rapid-fire until Tony puts his hand over my mouth.

“Give the man some time to process the first question.” Tony laughs. I give a bashful smile and look up at Jimmy for my answers.

   “I’m going to Fort Bragg for a few weeks. I’m going to be training some new recruits and then going back to the front lines. The boat docked in Savannah and don’t have to be back until tomorrow, so I thought I’d come and see my family.”

“So, you’re okay, right?” I ask.

“Yes, Mia, I’m fine.” He assures me.

   “Then let’s go see Mama!” I grab his arm and tug him down the street, Tony following behind. Tony veers off to go his house and we continue towards ours. When we get to our house I let us both in. Mama was off today and was in the kitchen. We walked in and she asked if it was me, I said that it was and didn’t tell her about Jimmy. She notices heavier footsteps, though.

“I swear, you sound like a hoard of elephants stomping around the house.” She says from the kitchen.

   Jimmy spins her around by her waist and swings her in a circle, much like he did for me. She screams in surprise and then realizes who it is and hugs him. She asks the same questions I did, and receives the same answers I did. She immediately starts cooking lots of extra food and calls the Howells to come over; she doesn’t tell them why.

   Alex walks through the door first and gives Jimmy an awkward hug before moving back for the ladies and Dennis to attack him. Aunt Tess (Mrs. Howell) attacks him and hardly lets him go. When she does Dennis and Nancy waddle up to him. He crouches down and sweeps them into his arms.  Dennis doesn’t remember Jimmy very well but he knows everyone else is excited. Nancy thinks that Jimmy actually is her brother so she’s freaking out.

   “Hey, Monkeys! Ugh, y’all are getting big.” He pretends to fall under their weight and makes them laugh. He ends up tickling both of them until they are gasping for breath. Mama calls everyone in for dinner and we all sit at the table. Dennis sits in a high chair and Nancy sits on a pile of books. Alice comes in just as we sit down. She doesn’t seem the least bit surprised about the fact the Jimmy’s home. She just kisses his cheek and then sits down like it’s a normal family dinner and that Jimmy never left. 

   Mama says a blessing and we eat. After we eat we go into the living room and sit around the radio. We sit around and talk before the Howells leave. Mama sits with us for a little while longer before eventually retiring to her room. Jimmy and I still sit and talk just like we did when we were younger. We talked about everything. I told him about everything that had happened, except for the alley incident, because he would probably beat Tony until he couldn’t remember his own name. He told me about some of the things that he’d been through, which didn’t exactly set me at ease about his safety. He says he’s going to go to bed and I walk upstairs and go to my room, as well.