The Five People You Meet in Heaven Page #7

Come out! I won't shoot you...

I'm a soldier...

I'm a soldier...

You remember how

you got out of there?

That bullet got you good.

Lost a lot of blood.

And them boys patched you up

as best they could.

Those planes firing.

I never...

I never saw it coming...

Everything changed after that.

I couldn't run no more.

Couldn't play baseball.

I used to swim the ocean

like a fish...

You didn't stop walking.

No, I just stopped... moving.

I sorta sat down in my life.

I ever tell you I come

from a military family?

My father was a soldier...

his father, and his father, too.

At the dinner table it was

'yes, sir, no sir.'

All I did was take orders.

Then along comes a war, and all

of a sudden, I'm giving orders.

Kids are looking at me

for answers.

They thought I could

keep 'em alive.

You did too, didn't ya?

I couldn't, of course.

I took orders

like everyone else.

But I thought...

if I couldn't keep you alive...

at least I could

keep you together.

In the middle of big war,

you grab at them little ideas.

We're going home together.

That's right.

Going home together...

meant a lot, Captain.

I hope so.

Why do you say that?

'Cause I was the one

who shot you.

Not you...

Not you...

Not you!

Get it out...

- Go ahead.

- Not you!

The story of the tragedy

at Ruby Pier...

was in the newspapers

for several days.

Then other stories

took its place.

Well, pretty tidy

for an old guy.

Are you surprised?

Don't think we'll find any

bank statements in there.

It's the same apartment

Eddie grew up in.

I don't know why

he never moved out.

You'd think he'd want

some air conditioning.

You'd think he'd want

a change of scenery.

There's the soldier boy.

Hey, Eddie.

Happy birthday, son.

Here's your cake.

Happy birthday...

Happy birthday, Eddie.

Happy birthday, Eddie.

Joe, you got matches?

Here you go...

Alright...

Good job.

You're alright, son.

So he looks pretty good, all

things considered, don't he Pop?

You look really good, son...

Really, you look good, Eddie.

You bastard!

How could you do that?

- How could you do that?

- Get it out.

My leg! My leg!

- My life!

- Get it out...

My life! Why?

- I had to.

- Why? Why?

I took your leg

to save your life.

You would have died

in that fire.

You were obsessed.

You damn near knocked

Morton unconscious.

Another second and you

woulda been so deep in...

none of us

could have gotten you.

There was nobody in that hut...

what was I thinking?

I seen it happen

a hundred times.

A soldier reaches a certain

point and he's done.

Sometimes,

in the dead of night...

a man'll just come out of his

tent just start walking...

like he lives around the corner,

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