Chapter 37

“Yeah, this is great,” I said.

We helped her do the dishes and clean up the kitchen; then we went down the hallway to get ready. Kevin and I took turns in the tiny bathroom—his grandmother had bathed earlier—and stood in front of the mirror, getting our uniforms just right. We were wearing our service dress uniforms, including the Ranger tabs and berets to which we were entitled, complete with the so-called fruit salad of decorations and medals we’d earned during our various tours of duty.

As she had the night before, Mrs. Simpson was waiting for us in the living room.

“Oh, my,” she said when she saw us, “you boys look like the real thing. Silly me. Both of you were the real thing, weren’t you?”

“Grandpa was in the army,” Kevin said, “and the VFW is going to be there, so David suggested that we ought to be in uniform for this.”

“Right you are,” she said. “He would have been proud to see you like this.”

“Shall we go?” he said.

“Certainly,” she said.