Chapter 11: With A Little Help From My Friends

22 October 1987 – West Meighan Boulevard, Gadsden, Alabama

“TC, I can’t say thanks enough...” Jeff told his friend.

The bus they rode pulled into the bus terminal in TC’s hometown. The two met in July at Basic Training. They and one other soldier from Basic were together through their Advanced Individual Training and Airborne School, though they hadn’t formed as close a friendship with the other man.

“I know, Jeff. You’ve thanked me a hundred times since I mentioned the idea. Mom and Dad agreed with me when I asked them, so don’t worry about it. Just relax, okay? We’ve only got a few weeks before we report to Bragg, so let’s enjoy it.”

Jeff nodded and took a deep breath as the bus pulled into its assigned parking space. Before walking into the terminal, they claimed their duffel bags from the storage area under the bus without incident. Jeff scanned his surroundings, taking in the sights of a new place.

Nothing too unique about a bus terminal, he thought. We could still be in Columbus, for all I know.

Two women rushed up to TC. An older version of TC followed at a slower pace. The two women hugged TC while his father walked over to Jeff and held out his hand.

“Jeff, good to see you again!” Dr. Thomas Clayton Pelley, Jr., said as they shook hands. His friend TC was better known as Thomas Clayton Pelley the Third.

“It’s very nice to see you again, too, Sir,” Jeff replied. Jeff met TC’s parents when they traveled to Fort Benning to see their oldest graduate from AIT.

“We’re glad you could come,” he said, clapping Jeff on the shoulder. By this time, TC’s mother and sister had released him, allowing his father to welcome him home. Mrs. Pelley and TC’s sister, Miranda, came over to greet Jeff. Jean Pelley surprised him by grabbing him into a firm hug.

“Jeff, you’re looking good. It’s nice to have you here with us before you boys head to Fort Bragg.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Jeff said. “And thank you to your whole family for allowing me to impose on you like this.”

“Oh, hush,” she said, swatting his arm. “We’re glad Tommy has made such a good friend in the Army already.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Pelley,” Jeff replied. Turning to the young lady with Mrs. Pelley, Jeff said, “It’s good to see you again. How have you been, Miss Miranda?”

The bespectacled blonde girl blushed, looking down and smiling with a closed mouth. Jeff saw the stunning beauty she would soon become when they first met. She was Allison redux.

Jeff gently took Miranda’s outstretched hand, turned it over, bowed low, and kissed the back of it. Miranda’s braces showed for a moment when she smiled. This was before she covered her mouth with her other hand and giggled at Jeff’s antics.

“Hey, you puttin’ the moves on my little sister?” TC demanded in mock indignation. “I’m standin’ right here!”

“You told me she doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Jeff said. “I know I’m just a damnyankee, but there must be a lot of stupid boys around here.” Miranda blushed and smiled, covering her mouth again. Jeff turned back to Miranda and asked, “When did TC say you were getting your braces off?”

“Saturday,” Miranda responded in her lyrical, accented voice.

“I used to have them in high school, too,” Jeff replied. “I smiled the same way until my girlfriend at the time convinced me that it shouldn’t be my problem that other people had a problem with them.” Encouraged by his words, Miranda smiled back, this time without covering her mouth. “Wow! You’ll have to chase the boys off with a stick when those braces come off!”

Miranda blushed again at Jeff’s antics.

“Ready to go?” Dr. Pelley asked.

TC and Jeff nodded and slung their duffels over their left shoulders, leaving their right hands free to salute if necessary. Both young men wore their Class-A uniforms as they were traveling under orders. The uniforms drew curious looks in an America only twelve years removed from Vietnam.

They drove to the Pelley’s home in the southern section of Gadsden, Alabama. Miranda sat in the middle of the rear seat next to Jeff, allowing them to chat. Miranda had accompanied her parents to Benning in September when he and TC ‘turned blue’ at the end of AIT, but they hadn’t gotten to know each other then.

Jeff discovered that Miranda was even more intelligent than her brother had hinted. He also learned that a school dance was scheduled for Saturday. That same afternoon, Miranda would get her braces off. She hadn’t been asked to the dance, and she didn’t want to go with her braces on.

Miranda was not told that her braces would come off earlier this week. She believed she wouldn’t find someone to go with her on such short notice, so Jeff filed that information for later. When Miranda went to bed that evening, Jeff presented his idea to TC and his parents.

“You ARE putting the moves on my sister!” TC exclaimed.

“Look, you told me more about this dance after Miranda brought it up. She feels like she’s missed her chance at going. I also think that she feels she didn’t shine at her debut last year. Am I right?”

“You’re very perceptive, Jeff,” Mrs. Pelley remarked. “You’ve read my daughter’s mood very well.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Pelley. Now the dance is in two days? This Saturday?” The three Pelleys nodded. “I propose that Saturday morning, Mrs. Pelley, you take her to get a dress appropriate for the dance. Maybe under the guise of getting one ‘for a nice dinner out to celebrate getting her braces off?’

“After that, take her to get her hair done. I’ll get the tickets and a corsage for her, and I’ll be ready to surprise her with the news that we’re actually going to the dance when you return.”