THE RECRUIT
By; Gerald A. Polley
When he got back to the house it was full of officers. His wife
seemed to be arguing with one, and he wondered what was going on. A few
minutes later they entered his bedroom.
"I just
wanted to come in and give my greetings," the man announced. "I'm
Daniel Churchill. I'm taking over command of the base. Your wife,
or, your wife to be, has another assignment. I think you might know
what it is. She'll probably be doing a lot of her work right
here. Do get on your feet. I think we're going to need you!
Oh, you have two personnel here that have not really completed their
training. I wish you to take charge of them as an acting Damon,
and see that they report as is required. Your most charming
daughter brought this matter to my attention and I agree with her
fully! That besides their other duties they, too, should know how
to properly defend her. I understand that you're Muslim, so I
would be honored."
The man extended his hand and
Imal took it strongly. "Thank you!" he snapped. "I am
treated like a person of importance and I don't even have any rank!"
The officer smiled. "You are treated according to what you do!" he
answered. "That is what we pay attention to, not traditions, not
protocol, but what a person can do. As The First Speaker says,
we're great opportunists. We take everyone we can get. I'd
better get busy. Today's little incident has made quite a few
problems."
The new activity in the house did not
effect Imal's routine much. Though now he went to class by
himself, though, he knew that all along his route there were people
watching. And if he had any difficulty someone would be there
quickly. However, they let him make his own way. That was
The Children's way, and with each passing day Imal wondered how long it
would be before he would be one of them. Though he liked being a
Muslim, and that was highly respected. That reminded him, he hadn't
been to prayer in ages He'd better start remedying that.
That evening he caught the bus to the base's mosque. He was
warmly greeted. No mention was made of his absence. He was
given a place of honor sitting with the older men. They insisted that
he not bow down for a little while. None of them wanted to
explain to the doctor how her fine work had been disturbed! Imal
understood perfectly! When he got home there were strangers in
the house. His wife to be ushered him into the diningroom.
"Muhammed Imal," she began, "this is my father and my mother.
They wish to greet you!" After that there was such a
display of emotion that even Imal was taken back. There were
hugs, kisses, tears but it was all joyous! Finally, the mother
said "Well! We can surely see that you can now stand. It's
about time we made this situation acceptable! We can only stay a
few days. Would Friday be all right?"
Imal
looked to Sabrina. "It will be excellent!" she answered.
"The whole damned base has got the damn thing planned! We're not
gonna be able to make it some little affair. Everybody wants to
be a part of it!"
Her father roared with laughter. "Then everybody WILL be!" he managed.
"One moment!" Imal put in. He opened a door and hollered
"Roseanne! Raphael!" The two quickly came to the door.
"Yes sir?" they both snapped.
"I believe the Spiritist ceremonies require I have a male and female
witness to sign the wedding contract. I would be honored."
"No sir!" Roseanne snapped, "We will be honored! We will be greatly honored! Thank you, sir!"
"So it's set!" Imal snapped. Everyone roared with laughter but it
was set! Friday! Friday!
As they were going to bed his wife to be moaned. "What?" Imal asked.
"The town mayor, the one closest to us. He asked me if we could
come by for supper tomorrow night. I suppose with what has
happened, I could bow out. But we want to keep on good terms."
"Then, we should go!" Imal insisted. "I don't see why we can't
squeeze it in! They've probably just got some young girl that wants to
meet the hero."
"That better be all she wants!" his wife to be groaned.
Imal laughed and they went off to sleep. During the night there
was a severe storm. He got up to go to the bathroom. When
he came back he saw that Tabitha's door was open. He glanced in
and in the dim night light he could see Tabitha was in bed with
Raphael. Raphael quietly motioned him forward.
"She's having nightmares," he whispered. "The bombing. She
keeps waking up crying 'The shells are coming! The shells are
coming!' I'm going to need some professional help."
"You'll get it!" Imal promised. "We'll inquire about it tomorrow.
Don't worry. Everybody knows there's nothing improper."
Raphael smiled, and Imal went to bed. "Damn!" he moaned, "I want
these God damned bastards! They've frightened my daughter.
I want this trash!" He managed to get back to sleep.
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