Morning Star by Randy Mixter Read Free Book Online

to his jeep, staring at the corral the entire time. 
    As the jeep made its way to the driveway, Tommy's arm extended into the air, his hand formed a fist, before his index finger sprang up high and straight. It stayed that way until they were out of sight.
    "Tommy's a troublemaker Mister Walker," Kenny said from behind him.
    Nate nodded his head in agreement.
    From the corral, the dark blue, almost black, horse watched the vehicle move down the driveway. He watched, not moving a muscle, until the jeep disappeared from his sight and then he turned his head back to the house, angling it up to face the second floor window. 
    And shooting stars were in his eyes.

18
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    A night as black as coal fell upon him. He tried to move but could not. The jungle had him. It held tight to his ankles and would not let go. Somewhere above him a helicopter circled, a Huey by the sound of it. He looked up into a canopy of trees, blocking the sky. He looked down. He carried an M16. He wore jungle fatigues. He was back in Vietnam, back on night patrol, walking the point. Except he wasn't walking. He couldn't walk. The jungle had him and refused to let go.
    "Problems, Calico Man?" 
    It sounded like Dave Jeffries. He recognized the voice. He remembered Jeffries from his first tour of Vietnam, the reality tour. He remembered holding his friend while he died in his arms. 
    "The picture of Rosie in my wallet. Get it out." He said then. It was sometime in August of '67. He forgot the exact date. Jeffries had been gut shot. Nothing could save him.
    He found the wallet and the picture of Rosie, Jeffries wife. He married her the day before he left for 'Nam. She wanted the ring he said. You know how women are.  
    He pulled the photograph out of the plastic. He knew where he would find it. His friend looked at that picture every day. He'd see him take out his wallet and open it. He'd see him hold it up to his eyes and look. And he'd see him put it away, always patting his pants pocket to make certain it was there.
    "Hold it up in front of me, close to my face. I can't lift my arms, Nate."
    He moved the picture of his wife in front of his best friend's eyes and he saw them focus in on her. Nate held the picture of Rosie there until he had gone and then he put it in his friend's shirt pocket. The girl who wanted the ring, now close to his heart.
    "You look stuck, Calico Man."
    Nate was the Calico Man then. That's what his buddies called him. He earned the nickname by tumbling face first into a muddy swamp one night on patrol. The mud covered his face in brown blotches, and the next morning Jeffries made a point of telling everyone that Nate bore a striking resemblance to his calico cat, Puddin'.
    "The jungle got ya, Calico Man?"
    He couldn't turn to see him. He could only look forward.
    "That you Dave?"
    "Yeah it's me. Who else you think it would be?"
    "I thought you were dead, Dave. I thought you took one in the Khai Lai Pass?" 
    "I did take one there. Bad boy got me right here. Oh, that's right, you can't move. Hold on."
    He heard a rustling behind him. 
    "That better?"
    Dave Jeffries stood in front of him looking very much alive. He wore a freshly washed set of fatigues, even his boots looked clean.
    "Got me right here," he said and pointed to his stomach.
    "I want to thank you for honoring my last request Calico Man. I took her with me because of you, at least a small part of her."
    "Took her where?"
    Dave Jeffries smiled. "It's a good place Nate." He swung his arms out. "A lot better than this dump, that's for sure."
    He leaned in closer. "You know you're having a flashback, déjà vu, whatever the hell you want to call it. You know that right?"
    "Yeah, I know that."
    "Well since you're here I've got a message for you from home." Dave Jeffries looked around. "It's not real safe here so I'll make it quick. Katy says to find the flower. She says you'll know what it looks like when you see it. She says to plant it in the garden. Hey, I know. It