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Show in my father's house/ 324 The thought of Saul getting married sent pain through my heart. "Get married?" I knew it was only right - we had always been taught that those who didn't marry and have children would remain only angels in heaven, while those who multiplied and replenished would be blessed with eternal progression and the possibility of godhood. But I needed Saul so much - and so did the others: my mother, Danny, and my two younger brothers. And there was another reason Saul leaned toward marriage, although he had found no one special. One afternoon we saw a formation of jet planes fly overhead. "Do you know where those are going?" he asked me. I shook my head. "Vietnam. If I don't get married pretty soon, they'll probably call me up. I can't be sure that the next army doctor will be as cautious as the last one. Anyone can see I'm in good shape, even with this old wound." I scarcely heard his voice, for the word was echoing through my head as though down a network of pipes. Vietnam. "Where is it, Saul?" "The induction center?" "Vietnam." "Oh." He told me, in his careful way, about the military advisers shot down and spoke of the rapid, dangerous growth of communism. I had trouble concentrating, for a shudder traversed " ' my backbone despite the summer heat. A peculiar feeling swelled in my heart, attaching to the war-jets as they cleared the mountains. Vietnam. Suddenly I knew I would hear the word again and again, and in a |