Chapter 20 - Dinner

" Yes, You are late!" Nancy sighed as she saw Jack's distressed face, she hugged him." Sorry Jack."

" I'm fine Mom.." He sighed as he walked into the living room, after waving to everyone who was going to get ready for the thanksgiving dinner with his family.

" No, No you aren't. Go lay down, you need it." She insisted.

" Fine Momma.." He sighed as he sat on the couch after taking his shoes off, per rules of Nancy.

Nancy walked in the room, " You went to go see them?" She sighed asking about his grandmothers.

" Yeah, They didnt even remember who I was.. They thought I was David.." He chuckled

"How? You dont even look like him."

" It's just where their mind is stuck, to them, I was still stationed in 'Nam and David hadn't....died yet, so it would have been around '72." Jack uttered as he looked at his mother who was near in tears,

"You never let his death go, did you?" Jack asked as he hugged her.

" You will never understand the pain I felt when I found out he stepped on a bomb.."

" You'll never understand the pain I've felt even 18 years after he told me he was going to die then and there; you know that if he wouldn't of heard it you would have lost both of us within a heartbeat." Jack told his Mother

" Jack-" Nancy sighed

"Mom, I love you, but you have no idea what I went through. The last screams of thousands of young men still haunt my dreams, the memories of us sitting in front of the T.V. praying to god that We wouldn't get called that night and the pain that we felt when we actually did get called. You have no idea. " Jack hissed.

"Jack, listen-" Nancy said as she sat down.

" No, I'm going outside." He sighed before he got pissed off even more.

" Alright, I love you." She sighed as she went back to the kitchen to start making the pies for dessert.

" I love you too.." Jack sighed as he went to the back porch, and sat down on a bench that his father had made. Jack looked out at the backyard, it was fenced in, with a big oak tree that was messily growing.

The memories of his childhood came back but he brushed them away since they were too painful now that the person he shared the with was now gone, forever.

Caroline came outside to talk with Jack

" Jack? What's wrong?" Caroline smiled as she sat down on the bench with him.

" Something you would never be able to understand." Jack chuckled as he looked at her.

" Try me, I just might be able to." Caroline sighed, knowing she needed to know a little more.

" Well, today is the anniversary of my older brother's death,so it's hard for me today because we were close." He told her.

" I'm sorry, Jack, What happened to him?" She asked softly.

" Well. We had both been drafted to Vietnam, and we managed to run into each other and we were walking back out to camp and-"

" 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬! 𝘙𝘶𝘯! 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦!"

" He stepped on a bomb, and had me run as fast as I could away so I wouldnt get hurt when it went off."

" But you still did get hurt.." Caroline sighed

" Yes. I did, I lost nearly all vision in my left eye and got out with a scar, I was luckier than some." He chuckled

" Do you blame yourself?"

" What?"

" You know..? for the accident?" she said as she motioned to her eye

" I have for many years..." He sighed

"It wasnt your fault though, so why do blame yourself?" She asked

" I feel responsible that I couldnt help him and save him." He explained

" I get that, I feel somewhat responsible for my dad's death, but thats besides the point." Caroline sighed

" Your Dad was very sick, it was his time, I mean, even back when he was a teenager he was sickly." Jack told her.

" I Know, but if I could have helped more I would have." She sighed

"I know you would have, but what happened, happened ,and so be it." Jack explained to her. " Now go on inside, you need to look nice for dinner." Jack smiled as he looked at the bright sun, knowing he didnt have much time in Florida left as Caroline trotted back to her room. " Oh Jesus, You would be so damn disappointed in me if you knew.." He sighed as he looked at the place where He used to play with his brother.

His Brother used to think Jack was going to be a Youth Pastor at the Local church, since he worked with Teenagers rather well compared to others or maybe A farmer of sorts but Jack went off and became a Bodyguard and Hitman for one of the most dangerous mafia

Jack sighed as he looked at his dog tags that still hung from his neck many years after the war and after he was released from the Army. He traced the letters that were engraved, out of habit, and smiled when he felt the cracked jagged edges of the rubber that was covering the sharp edges of the tags. He looked at the faded rubber and remember the first day that he got them: being so naive, so sweet, so kind, only anxious about leaving home for so long without being supervised. Now he was a cold hearted,violent,and anxious man who just wanted everything to be calm for once.

" Jack? Are you okay?" Viper called out.

" Yeah Penny, I'm fine, You look really nice."He chuckled as he looked at his best friend in her gray dress, "Have you worn that for a meeting yet?"

" Nah, I dont plan on it either, its a bit too casual for work maybe I could wear it for mass..." She joked, planning on wearing it for date night with Amelia.

" Well either way, it looks nice on you." Jack complimented as he saw his mother put the pies into the oven.

" Did she make a Blueberry pie too?" Jack asked

" Nah, She did make a quiche though." Viper chuckled, knowing that Jack despised his mother's quiche.

" Damn it.." Jack sighed tasting the sting of failure , knowing he would have to be nice and deal with it.

" I honestly love your mom's quiche, what do you got against it?"Viper chuckled

" I used to eat it so much, now, I hate it and despise the smell of it." He explained

" OH? So You did like it!" She laughed

" Yes, but that's not the point."He laughed as he rolled his eyes "Not everyone has to like the same things, but some people do.".

After a while dinner was done and people were starting to show up, and the small house got crowded quite quickly.