Chapter Fifty Marion
fifty MARION
We made it,” Daniel said, smiling broadly. As the plane rolled to a stop at the terminal, he stood and faced his three friends. “Welcome home, boys.”
Marion had thought the trip would wear her down so much that she wouldn’t have anything left for celebrating their arrival, but she was wrong. Hearing the men’s eagerness, she couldn’t wait to disembark and get back to real life. But first, she was dying to rush through the airport, dragging Joey with her, then present him to Sassy. Sassy had promised she and Tom would be there to pick them up, and Marion couldn’t wait to see the reunion. She missed her friend with an urgency, and she had to make a conscious effort not to push people out of her way as the four of them went for luggage. Joey, Stu, and Hal didn’t have much, but they weren’t about to leave Daniel. While he watched for bags, the other three stood off to the side, exhausted but in high spirits.
Marion stayed beside Daniel and willed her courage back into place. It had been hours since they had discussed their plans. “So… I think I know where you’re sleeping tonight. Am I right in thinking…?”
Daniel’s expression sent a thrill through her. “I was hoping you hadn’t changed your mind.”
“I didn’t,” she said, pushing through the nerves. “Now I have another question. I’m sure Sassy will bring Joey to her apartment tonight, but what about the other two? There’s no room in my apartment.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that. I really don’t know.”
“Maybe I can pay for a hotel room for a night or two, and we can try to figure out things while that’s happening.”
He looked surprised. “You’d do that?”
“I flew to Vietnam for these guys. I’m not going to just dump them.”
His smile faltered. “What are you going to tell Joey? You know. About his dad.”
“It’s not up to me,” she said. “I have to leave it to Sassy. If she wants my help, I’ll be there, of course.”
He looked away, pretending to search for the bags, but she saw his pained expression.
“What’s the matter?”
“After everything Joey’s been through, now he’s gonna find out about his dad. And you know what he’ll think? That it was his fault.”
“Yes. I thought about that. So many layers to work through. But you and I managed.”
He let the reality of that sink in, then he bent his head and kissed her. “You saved my life,” he reminded her.
“You saved your own life. I was just there to offer assistance.” She raised an eyebrow. “On the other hand, you actually did save my life when you dragged me out of that river.”
“Oh yeah? What about your sharpshooting?”
“We’ll have to call that one a draw, since we saved each other that day.” She drew him back for another kiss. “All I know is that you saved my life, but more than that, you changed it.”
He slid his mouth to her ear, making her shiver. “Let’s call that one a draw, too.”
The bags arrived, so they went to collect the other three men. They had been cornered by a group of young men. Daniel and Marion rushed over, seeing Joey’s face dark with anger.
“You got no right to say that,” he seethed, pushing his face into one of the hippy’s faces. “Freaking dove. What have you done to—”
“Baby killer!” one man hissed, and Daniel stepped in, ready to defend. The others might be weakened by where they’d been, but Daniel was healthy and strong, and his presence changed the attackers’ mood. They stepped back, and Daniel moved with them, creating space.
“Get outta here. You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
“Sure we do,” one tried. “Bunch of cowards. Killing innocent people, raping women, destroying homes…”
“We were sent to do a job, and we did it,” Daniel informed them, steely-eyed. “We offered our lives for yours, and that’s what you get out of it?” He scanned the young man up and down, curling his lip with disgust. “We did our job,” he repeated. “Looking at you, I doubt you know what a job is.”
Marion glanced at the others, who looked ready to jump on the hippies and make this a very real situation. She had no doubt they would, given the opportunity.
“Daniel,” she murmured for only him to hear.
He huffed violently, but he got her message. “Let’s go home, boys.” He hiked both their bags over one shoulder and shoved through the hippies. Stu and Hal followed quietly, but Joey stood his ground. As Daniel had done, he went almost nose to nose with one of the men.
“You wanna know what a coward is?” Joey growled through clenched teeth. He shoved him back a few steps, rolling his sleeves up as he went. “Look in the goddamn mirror.”
Marion swooped in and took Joey’s hand, leading him out of reach. “Let’s go see Sassy.”
He was hot with anger, but he let her lead him out of the jungle, a little calmer with every step.
“That won’t be the last of it,” Daniel told his friends. “People don’t like us much.”
“B-but we’re vets,” Hal said. “We’re supposed to be heroes.”
Daniel nodded. “No heroes in this war, my friend. Everybody here hates the Vietnam War, and we’re the face of it. I’ve been spat on, shoved, cursed…” He held Joey’s gaze. “But you gotta hold back the demons, Joey. The police will lock you up, vet or not. It’s not worth it.”
“That’s FUBAR, man,” Joey muttered. “Guy’s begging for it. I’ll take them all.”
“You’ll learn,” Daniel said. “It’s a war here, too. Just different. Over here, we’re the enemy.”
They continued down the echoing corridor without a word, until Marion gave them a grin. “At least you’re all home. Let’s figure that out first.”
“Joey!” Sassy’s shout shattered the quiet, and Marion saw her struggling against a security guard, needing to get past. “Joey!”
All the anger dropped from Joey’s face, and he ran. “Sass!”
By the time Marion reached them, they were hugging each other, crying and laughing, oblivious to the rest of the world. Sassy’s sheer joy over seeing her brother again filled Marion’s heart to overflowing. After a moment, she left her brother’s arms and hugged Marion, still crying.
“I missed you!” she exclaimed. “Oh, we have so much wine to drink to go with your stories. Those short little postcards you sent only whet my appetite.” She snuck a glance behind Marion, and when she looked back, she was batting her eyelashes. “Tom and I… Gah! I have so much to tell you! But not here. Come on. So many people want to say hello.”
Taking their hands, Sassy dragged Marion and Joey toward the waiting room and a familiar-looking crowd of people. Tom stood at the back, holding up a handwritten banner that said Welcome home! and Marion laughed out loud.
“Mrs. Levin? Mr. Romano?” She took in the group of friends. “I can’t believe you’re all here! This is such a wonderful surprise!”
“It’s everyone from Isabella, see?” Sassy leaned in conspiratorially. “Even that guy with the scars. I’ll tell you all about him later.”
“I can’t believe you did all this,” Marion said, hugging Sassy again.
“This is just the beginning. Mrs. Romano wants everyone to come for dinner tonight.” She winked. “We’ll see. I have something else up my sleeve.”
“What are you—”
“Dad?”
Marion stepped back, startled by Daniel’s exclamation. A man and a woman had appeared at the side of the group, and right away Marion knew the man was his father. The resemblance was unmistakable. She saw the split second when his father took in the eye patch, but he was quick to recover.
“Dad? What are you… Mom?” His voice cracked. “How did—”
“Daniel!” his mother cried, rushing to him. Daniel buried his face in her hair, holding her tight, then he looked up, his eye glassy with emotion as his father approached.
“Welcome home, son,” he said.
The love in his parents’ gaze was so intense, Marion had to look away. She faced Sassy instead, tears welling up in her eyes. “What did you do? He hasn’t seen his parents since he shipped out. He’s been afraid to call them.”
“Yeah, his mom told me he probably felt that way. She’s cool, Marion. She totally wanted to come, but I didn’t think they’d make it. Flights aren’t cheap. This is out of sight, meeting them in person.”
“Marion?” Daniel took her arm and faced her toward his parents. “I’d like you to meet my parents, Adam and Grace Neumann. They flew in from Halifax. Mom, Dad, this is Marion Hart.” He met her gaze, and she blushed, wondering what he was about to say. “She was my doctor. Now she’s the love of my life.”
“I’m very happy to meet you both,” she said, “You have a wonderful son.”
His mother, Grace, was beautiful, with pitch-black hair and eyes like her son’s. She gave Marion a warm embrace. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Marion. I hear you did some heroic things over there. You’ll have to tell us all about it.”
“I think a few family nights will have to be arranged before you fly back. Mrs. Neumann, these are my parents, Marcus and Cindy Hart, and my sister, Pat.”
Sassy seemed glued to Joey’s side. “Your face is going to hurt tomorrow,” Marion teased. “So much smiling.”
“I can’t believe you brought him back. That’s some kinda miracle,” Sassy replied.
Tom gave Sassy a nudge. “Time?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
Marion grinned, seeing Tom take her friend’s hand, then Sassy caught her attention again. She looked like she was ready to burst. “Everyone, may I have your attention, please?”