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"This is too weird," Andy commented for at least the tenth time. He sat on the back steps of Aunt Thelma's farmhouse, Skip and Murphy on either side of him. "Almost exactly five years since J.J. died and now Tom." He shook his head at the cosmic injustice. "How long can it last, man?"
"Long enough for us, maybe?" Murphy asked with a curious glance at his cousins. "Not me!" Andy declared emphatically. "If this stupid war's still going on when I graduate, I'm headin' for Canada." "Don't let anybody in there hear you," Skip advised, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Besides the fact that you'd hurt Aunt Thelma and Uncle John's feelings, Uncle Jake would come out here and tear you apart." "I'd like to see him try," Andy challenged defiantly but he lowered his voice nonetheless. Murphy watched Andy get up and walk over to the old well. He had to admit his cousin hardly looked the military type, with his well-worn Levi's, fringed leather jacket and long blond hair, pulled back in a pony tail. A sophomore at the University of New Mexico, Andy still had a couple of years before he had to deal with the draft but Murphy knew his cousin felt very strongly about the war. He wouldn't be a bit surprised if Andy did end up in Canada. Skip was the exact opposite. A junior at the Naval Academy, Skip was an officer in training. Although Murphy knew this was mostly his older cousin's way of getting into the space program, he also knew, if duty called, Skip would go. "What about you, Murph?" Skip asked quietly. Usually carefree, he'd been subdued since his arrival for Tom's funeral three days ago. But then, he and Tom had been the same age. Maybe it had hit him harder. Murphy shrugged. "I try not to think about it," he admitted. "I guess maybe I'm hoping it'll end before I have to decide." That was true. He was nearing the end of his freshman year at USC. Life still loomed before him promisingly. He hated to dwell on unpleasant details. "What do you think Lee will do?" Andy asked. "I'm sure the Colonel wants him in the Army." Murphy shook his head. "Last letter he sent, he told me the Colonel wasn't saying anything about it. 'Course, if he keeps getting kicked out of school, he'll have to decide one way or another." They fell silent, each lost in his own thoughts. Murphy wondered if they were so introspective merely because they were here for a funeral or because of the very real possibility they might have to go to war. Probably both, he decided. It couldn't have been just the funeral. They'd barely known Tom. He was their cousin of course, but Murphy could hardly ever remember Aunt Thelma's family coming out for the reunions. Running a working dairy farm left little time for vacations. The few times they did come visiting, they didn't stay long. Tom and his little brother, Sam, had come out for a whole week once. That had been seven or eight years ago. Since then, Murphy had seen this part of his family very infrequently. "Do you remember Tom very much?" Murphy asked Skip. Skip shrugged. "Some. Mom talked to me about him a lot when we were little kids. We were in the same grade and all in school. But we lived so far away. It was hard to visit often." "We came out here a couple of times," Andy remarked. He'd walked back over to sit down on the steps again. "I remember playing basketball with him. They had a hoop over the barn door." Murphy automatically glanced over toward the big barn. He could see the iron hoop hanging there. What he also saw was a young blond boy about sixteen years old, standing there practicing free throws. "Hey, there's Sam," he pointed out. His cousins turned to look. "You guys know him at all?" Andy shook his head. "He's supposed to be some kind of brain or something." "Wasn't that him playing the piano at the funeral?" Skip asked. Murphy nodded, remembering. At the time he'd wondered how the kid could see to read the music with the tears that were running down his face. "It must be pretty hard on him, losing his brother like that," Andy commented. They watched him for a long while as he made shot after shot. "He's pretty good," Murphy noted. "I didn't think geniuses were good at sports." "You think maybe he'd want to play a game?" Andy asked. They all looked at each other without answering. "Let's go find out," Skip suggested. He got up and started toward the barn. Murphy and Andy followed him.