CHAPTER 45 The beginning of October was familiar to Fallica. The rice paddies were all being cut down, and the few trees had already lost their leaves. The smoke from the charcoal heaters in the hootches again caused the smoke to curl from the tubes of galvanized steel the Koreans used as chimneys. A sense of melancholy enveloped him. He wanted to go home, but he knew that he would miss the world he had created for himself. Here, he had no problems. No car to cause him insurance or maintenance headaches, no problem with parents or relatives, no problems getting sex, no real problems at all. In Korea he never ran out of things to do. All of his friends worked the same hours that he did, they were always available to hang out, and everyone always was willing to share what they had with you. The idea of going back home wasn't as sweet as he had thought it would be. He didn't relish the thought of dating. He didn't want to go back and play Army. One of the first things he would miss, was his houseboy. He didn't want to shine his own boots, and iron his fatigues. He dreaded the thought of inspections, and of actually sleeping in the barracks. This and more was waiting for him when he got home. A new Staff Sergeant came on to the hill. He was a nice enough guy, and it was only natural that he would take over the crew. They gave him a week to get his shit together and to get familiar with the operations. This was fine with Patty. At least it wouldn't be Adams to take his place. Adams was scheduled to leave a month after Fallica, it wouldn't have been him anyway. One thing he really felt guilty about was that he hadn't found any one to take his place in the business. Mamasan kept asking him who she was going to deal with when he left, and he would tell her that he had it taken care of. He really didn't have a clue. The other guys on the crew had their own small connections, and none of them had the initiative to keep a bigger operation going. Murphy and Wagner had extended. Fallica had thought about it, he just never acted on it. He remembered the First Sergeant. He had thrown a yang yang. Sometimes it would just happen without warning. He was talking on the field phone to Battalion, and Granny had been asking him questions at the same time. Top went into his blank out, but instead of just coming out of it and resuming whatever it was that he was doing, he started hitting his head with the receiver. Granny had to actually throw him on the ground and wrestle the receiver out of his hand before he bashed his brains in. He had heard of other guys throwing yang yangs, it scared him. Patty's orders had come in. He was going hack to Fort Bliss. At least Tim would be there. He hoped that he wouldn't be domesticated to the degree that he couldn't hang out with him sometimes. He really missed Tim. He was like the older brother he had never had. Wagner had asked him to come down to the club. All day long Patty had been conducting business, and what he really wanted to do was go down to the Olympus and get a massage and get drunk. He hadn't been hanging out much with the guys from the crew though, and he figured that he owed it to them. He wanted to act a little more sociable than he had been acting. The kimchee cab dropped him off at the gate, and he walked into the club. He knew as soon as he walked into the club, what the deal was. The entire crew was sitting at the table nearest the bar, and when he walked in, they rose and started clapping. He saw a sign hanging on the wall that said "Goodbye Fallica". He was completely overcome. The last time he had seen anything like this, was when Tim had left. The crew came over and dragged him to their table. They put a beer into his hand and started to sing "For he's a jolly good fellow". It was so corny, but it put a lump in his throat. He watched them singing. He saw Wagner, his loyal partner on the hill. Without him, he couldn't have run the Section. He told Patty that he could, when Patty thought that he couldn't. Murphy was standing next to Wagner with his arm around him. He had his eyes closed and he sang with a contented look on his face that seemed to say 'I don't give a fuck about nothin.' Fallica knew that he didn't. He thought of the time Murph had handed him his rifle and walked out of the gate to do battle. Hot shit Murphy. Such an unlikely hero. McCoy was smashed to the gills, no doubt drinking all day. Patty knew he would miss him. He felt almost guilty about leaving him to fend for himself. Even though he was much older than Patty, he relied on Fallica like an older brother. He had to tell Wagner to watch out for him. As long as McCoy had someone to shake him once in awhile, he was the best. He could see, in his mind's eye, the look of triumph on his face when they had taken out that last target at B Battery. That was something Fallica would never forget. Maybe someday he would write a book about it. Patty thought about who wasn't there. Reeger had gone home to Kentucky. He wondered if they let hint take his AK-47 with him. God!, Patty thought, that was some day! He wished that Big O was still around. Phillips was gone. He was in California somewhere. Rope was at Fort Bliss, maybe hanging out with Tim. SSG Brown had been gone a long time. It really hurt, knowing that these guys, who were so much a part of your life, would all go their separate ways. He was shaken out of his reverie by something wet on his hand. Patty looked down to see Fred licking his fingers, couldn't believe that they had brought Fred. He looked down at the mutt, and noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and he was kind of cock eyed. Then he saw the bowl next to the table. He bent down and dipped his finger in the bowl, brought it up to his nose and smelled it. A mixture of whiskey and beer. It figured. He gave a reproachful look to the crew and they howled with laughter. "Speech!" Wagner shouted. They all took up the call. Fallica didn't know what to say. He tried to speak, but he was on the verge of crying. He kept swallowing to keep the lump out of his throat. The people in the club were silent, waiting for him to say something. "I'm going to miss you guys." Was all he could manage to say. It was enough. The crowd stood up and clapped. Harrigan walked over and gave him a bear hug spilling some of his drink on Patty. "Ginger ale." He said defensively, Patty laughed. He laughed and drank himself into oblivion. He was seeing double in less than two hours, and he had to close one eye to keep things in focus. He saw in the back round, a beautiful Korean girl that looked just like Miss Im. He grabbed Wagner's shoulder and told him about it. Wagner replied that it was Miss Im. He staggered over to the table where she was sitting. Mamasan was there with her. "Miss Im! I'm really happy that you're here!" He said drunkenly, wrapping his arms around her. "Yoy taksan stinko Farrica." She said with mock reproach, "Yes mam. I'm stinko." Patty laughed.. "You have no kiss for Mamasan you bad boy?" Patty turned and saw two Mamasans. He closed one eye, and she turned into one. "Mamasan! I know you're going to be pissed at me, but I haven't found anyone to take my place in the business." "No sweat. I got somebody. You no lookee out for Mamasan, so Mamasan find somebody." She said. "Who?" Patty asked. A familiar voice spoke up from behind Fallica. "Me." Patty turned around to see Vitamin Tim looking at him. "What the fuck? Where did you come from?" "I got in last night." Tim said. "Got my orders this morning. I'll be at work tomorrow." "You're back here?" Patty asked. "I'm back." Tim replied. This was all too much for Fallica to take. He shook his head, sat down, put his head on the table, and passed out. CHAPTER 46 Processing out was boring and seemed to Patty, to be a waste of time. Half the places he had to clear, were at K-6. He never used any of the facilities at K-6, so he wondered why he had to travel all this way to clear them. He received his plane ticket. He would be leaving via Northwest Orient. That was nice, At least he wouldn't have to take Flying Tiger or World Airways. He had heard stories about Flying Tiger. It was odd that their initials were FTA. Flying Tiger Airlines, Fuck The Army. They seemed to belong together, Tim was back and doing his thing. He had moved in with Miss Im. They were going to get married. Patty wished that he could stick around for the wedding. Tim told Patty that they would visit him when he got out of the Army. That was something to look forward to. The guys were happy for him. Wagner had told him that he was doing the right thing by not extending. He told Patty that he needed to get the hell out of Korea before he was totally corrupted. Patty figured to himself that it was already too late. The night before his flight out, Patty went out with Tim. They had dinner at the Seaman's Service, and walked over to Whiskey Mary's to say goodbye to everyone. Jimmy got all choked up. He gave Patty his leather jacket. Patty tried to refuse it, but Jimmy seemed insulted, so he kept it. The gesture really touched him. They sat in the bar and talked. Patty noticed that Tim seemed so much more alive. He talked like never before. He smiled more, and even his eyes had more life in them. He figured that now was a good time to ask him the question that had been in his mind since the day he had come back. "What happened?" "What do you mean'" He asked. "Do you mean why did I come back?" "You already told me that." Patty said. "I mean what happened to you that made you want to come back." Tim just looked at Patty with a wry smile on his face. "You ask a lot of questions, Fallica." "Were supposed to be friends." Patty replied. Tim looked uncomfortable. He picked up his beer glass and stared at it, as if it were going to give him an answer. He put it down and looked Fallica in the eyes. "I just couldn't be me." He began. "I mean, that everybody wanted me to be someone else. I just didn't fit anymore. Do you remember the girl I told you about?" Patty nodded his head. "She was really nice and everything, but she was a bitch. She wanted everything just so. She was always telling me what to do, how to act, and she was even trying to tell me how to think. She drove me nuts." Tim was shaking his head as if trying to wake up from a bad dream. "What happened to her?" "I sent her home. I just woke up one morning and told her to go home. She said I was crazy. I told her that I wasn't crazy, that I had just changed." "What did she say?" "She asked me who I was." He said. "She said I wasn't the same Tim she knew." "Did you tell her?" Patty smiled, knowing the answer already. "I told her." "Well?" "She asked me what the fuck was a Vitaman!" They both laughed hysterically. Tim laughing because he had saved himself from bondage, Patty laughing at what he knew would be the future. They decided to drink up and get back to Miss Im's place before curfew. Miss Im had made Patty a bed on the floor in the main room. He found it hard to fall asleep. His suitcases lined up against the wall didn't let him forget that this was his last night in fantasyland. He thought about Lydia. He wondered if she remembered that this was his last night in Korea. He had the felling that she did. He fell asleep thinking of her. Fallica awoke to Tim shaking his shoulder. "Time to get up." He said. "You've got a long way to go today. Patty rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and asked Tim what time it was. Tim told him it was eight thirty. He had two and a half hours left before his plane left. They drank coffee that Im had made, and Patty washed his face and combed his hair. "Do you think we have time to stop by the Battery so that I can say goodbye to the crew?" He asked Tim. "No time. Anyway, you already said goodbye." He said while grabbing a suitcase. They walked out of the building and the driver shoved the luggage into the trunk. Patty, Tim and Miss Im sat in the back seat. "Deja Vu." Fatty remarked. "Yeah, but this time it's your turn." Tim replied. Miss Im was telling Patty how much she would miss him. She held his hand all the way to the airport. Patty didn't talk much because of the lump in his throat. He was going to miss these two. He wondered if he would ever care as much for anyone as he did them. He felt like this was his family. The airport was directly ahead of them. The driver brought them up to the entrance and stopped. Tim got out and he and the driver pulled out the suitcases. He was surprised when they Miss Im paid the driver and he drove off. He didn't expect them to stay with him until his flight. He still had forty five minutes. They walked inside and he checked in. The clerk took his bags, and they found a table at the small restaurant, "One more O.K?" Tim asked. "Why not?" Patty ordered two O.B.'s. They were drinking their beers, not saying much of anything, when they heard a commotion in the lobby. Patty looked in the direction of the noise. Over by the counter a group of people were yelling at the clerk. He had his hands up as if to signal that he couldn't answer their questions. It was the old moohlah gesture. He pointed toward the restaurant and the crowd turned towards his direction. It was the crew. Patty rose from his seat and hurried to them. They surrounded Fallica and they all started to talk at once. "Trying to sneak away Fallica?" Wagner asked. "What's the matter, we aren't good enough for you?" Murphy shouted. "Take me with you!" McCoy pleaded. Patty looked at the guys surrounding him. He felt the tears running down his face, but he didn't care. These were the best guys he had ever known. He hugged each and every one of them. He told them he would never forget them. Wagner pressed something into his hand. Patty looked down, it was Fred's collar. He looked up and saw Tim pointing at his watch. It was time to leave. Tim walked over and hugged him. "Goodbye Fallica." He said. "You taught me never to say goodbye Tim, I'll just see you later." He whispered through the tightness in his throat. Miss Im gave him a handkerchief. He wiped away the tears and blew his nose. He gave the handkerchief back to her. She hugged him. "You be happy Farrica." She said. "You take care of Tim." He told her. Patty looked at them one more time. He turned and walked toward the gate on rubbery legs. Before he walked down the ramp he called out to Tim. "Don't fuck things up!" Tim turned to Im. "What did he say?" He asked her. She pulled him close and whispered in his ear. He smiled. "I know." He said gently. The End EPILOGUE Patty walked down the aisle and looked for his seat. "Over here Fallica!" He heard a booming voice call out. Patty looked in the direction of the caller. Smokey Joe stood out like a giant among the elves. "Joe!" Patty called to him. He walked over to him, and saw that his seat was next to Joe's. "I asked if you were on this flight. When the guy told me you were, I got this seat." He said in explanation. Patty sat down. "How you doing'" Joe asked. "Good. How about you" "Great. Have a good tour?" "The best Joe, the best." Patty said. "I saw them saying goodbye to you. I didn't want to interrupt." He told Patty. "I guess you're kind of upset right now. "Kind of." Patty replied. "Then it was a good tour." Joe said simply. Patty looked at the window and saw the crew and Miss Im waving at the plane through the airport window. He waved back, but he didn't think that they could see him. The plane moved out of it's spot and made it's way top the runway, where it waited for a moment. Patty heard the engines start to rev and the plane started to move, gaining speed until the nose pulled upwards and the plane became airborne. He looked through the window down at the countryside below. The rice paddies were like a patchwork quilt. The hootches in the farmland had smoke curling from the chimneys. He saw the kimchee buses and cars on the highway below. "Stay just the way you are Korea, cause I like you that way." He whispered.

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