Fortunate Sons

Chapter 5: A Premonition, Perhaps?

"I'm telling you Sue, it felt way too real to be just a dream," Taylor told her when they had met that morning at her uncle's café for some much needed coffee.

Sue pondered the odd occurrence from the night before, trying to find reason behind it but soon she too began to agree that this wasn't something out of the ordinary. "You know," she said. "A nun at the family monastery once said that the spirits of our ancestors and the dead often speak to us through our dreams at night. Did you know of anyone you were close with who had passed away?"

"No," Taylor said, shaking his head. "Nobody made the Irish sports pages or I would've heard about it."

Sue laughed a little but the thought still puzzled her. "Has this happened before?" she asked.

"No, this is the first time I've ever had a nightmare like that."

Sue had tried her damndest to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but there was no logical explanation for Taylor's strange dream. No matter how many times she mulled over her thoughts and turned them over, she still couldn't explain why it had happened.

Uncle came over to their table moments later through a blurry haze of cigarette smoke and the smell of freshly made pho coming from the kitchen. He was an older gentleman, grey haired, laid back and one of the hardest workers anyone had ever known. He did well for himself, but wasn't wealthy by any means which was just fine by him.

"The hell are you doing here?" He chuckled when he saw Taylor.

"I came here to beg for your niece's hand in marriage," Taylor joked.

"Over my dead body," Uncle snickered as he sat down between them and lit up a cigarette. "Let me guess you're here to take care of the cockroaches that keep sneaking around?"

"Why the hell else would we be here?" Taylor said. "Can't be any worse than most places. Last I heard Da Lat and Da Nang had it just as bad if not worse."

"You think Da Lat and Da Nang are bad you clearly haven't been here," Uncle remarked.

There was a long moment of silence before Taylor felt he should say something. "Hey Uncle, you mind if I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"You ever get the feeling that something bad is going to happen?" Taylor enquired. "I mean look at where this place is. The whole city is a prime target for the North."

"No shit," Uncle replied. "Sometimes I do get that sense but it's rare. Why? You think something bad is going to happen?"

Taylor shrugged. "I don't know, lately I've just been getting the sense that things are going to get shaky here that's all."

Uncle thought it was a bit of an odd explanation. Clearly there was more to this than Taylor was letting on, but he didn't feel it was his place to ask. Sometimes whatever was said in the confines of his shop were best left there.

"Hey I'm sure it'll pass," he assured Taylor. "These things usually do. You two hungry?"

"Starving," Sue answered.

"Yeah I'll give," Taylor said. "Better than that shit we've got to eat in the chow halls at the base."

Uncle rose from his place and disappeared behind the kitchen door only to return moments later with his wife's famous banh cuon, fresh off the stove. All of them dug right in, happy to share a few hours alone together as they tried to forget whatever ailed them.

"Hey," Uncle said to Sue. "Remember you need to go to the cemetery soon and light a few sticks for Ong Noi. I can't do it because we're packed every damn day of the week."

"When do you want me to go?"

"As soon as humanly possible," Uncle replied before taking another piece of banh cuon with his chopsticks. "Just don't go at night and remember to do it before the start of Tet."

"I understand Uncle," Sue sighed.

"You can take G.I Joe here with you too if you want," Uncle chuckled.

The three of them had a good laugh about the matter and enjoyed the rest of the day, blissfully unaware of any troubles or worries that might threaten their happiness.