Under Normal Circumstances

Raw End of the Deal

The hospital had to keep Hank longer than me since he needed every vaccine since 1942, but I didn't want to leave him alone until I absolutely had to. I was the only familiar face he knew on this continent. It was only an extra day and it gave my fever a chance to break, also breaking up the flying which gets exhausting.

I thought I'd be dying to get home, but I wasn't. It was almost like it didn't matter where I was, things just were what they were. Maybe I wasn't too keen on getting back because I was too scared of seeing Grace, finaling finding out how she was doing. I guess once I was finally home that meant things were over and I'd have to start adjusting to life instead of moving from one thing to the next like I had been. Being in my own bed would be nice, but it wouldn't stop the nightmares. Running water and proper housing would never be taken for granted again, but they wouldn't keep out the memories of those monsters. Jack wouldn't be there. Slivko wouldn't be there. I couldn't be 100% truthful with my family about what happened on that island, the things I had seen and been through. That was going to be the hardest part.

When they finally set the discharge time for Hank the military set us up with flights home leaving around the same time. Hank and I would go to the airport together and then part ways. Once I knew when I'd be getting home I called Mom and Dad. They didn't answer and I figured they were with Grace. As I didn't have the to guts to call there, I tried my aunt Elizabeth who did answer.

"Oh Maybelle!" She'd cried. "You poor dear!"

After hearing her blubber her sympathies I finally requested that she let Mom and Dad know when I'd be at the airport. Not trusting her at all, however, I also asked Mr Washburn to inform the base down there too. He assured me that he already did and MP's would be there to, at the very least, verify my safe arrival. When it was time for Hank and I to go, Darrel and another MP showed up to be our escorts. They took us down to a car instead of a jeep which was welcome indeed.

That day it was raining in Washington. It fit my mood quite well, but did nothing to dull Hank's cheer. He looked around wide eyed at everything, pointing out things that had changed and things that hadn't. Darrel was happy to converse with him on these subjects while I was unusually quiet. But I listened to every word, committing Hank and his happy face to memory.

I suddenly knew a handful of truly remarkable people. Most people in my life till now had been considerably nondescript. Now I knew San Lin the brilliant biologist, Houston Brooks the genius geologist, Mason Weaver the antiwar photographer, James Conrad the former British Special Air Service Captain turned tracker, Slivko the mechanic and chopper pilot, and Hank Marlow the man lost in time. I certainly wouldn't forget them, and I didn't want to. It was amazing how a group of such diverse people were thrown together and, through a shared experience, became oddly bound to each other for life.

I felt worse and worse the closer we got to the airport. I wore Reles cap and Slivko's shirt with my best pair of bell bottoms and my now beat to death tennis shoes. I carried the back pack of Jack's things while Darrel carried the other two bags for me through the airport. I tried to stay close to Hank while every step made me want to drop to the floor and just cry. His flight would leave before mine so I got to see him off at his gate first. I liked that better than leaving him behind, but I still wished I wasn't going to be left alone.

We sat by each other in those squeaky airport seats and suddenly couldn't think of anything to say. When we were down to the last 10 minutes and anxiety was twisting my insides, Hank finally spoke up.

"Maybelle," he began softly. "Thanks for staying with me. I couldn't have done this without you."

"You survived on that island for 28 years, you didn't need me for anything," I chuckled while wiping tears away.