This is a work of fiction. Names of characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously; any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 by Dennis Milholland – All rights reserved. Other than for private, not-for-profit use, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any form or by any means, other than that intended by the author, without written permission from the copyright holder.

Careful! This is a work of fiction containing graphic descriptions of sex between males and critiques of religion and governments. And last but not least, Nifty would like your donations.

Farewell, Uncle Ho

by Dennis Milholland

questions and comments are welcome. www.milholland.eu / dennis@milholland.eu

Chapter 107 (Tuesday., August 22,1967)

When we got back from Dalat, Gerry had to start work across Nguyen Hue at the SJA. And I had to go into permanent hiding, which I hadn’t envisioned as being so difficult. The first thing, with which I had to cope was boredom. Of course, the twins required my attention, and Yvette was good at coming up with fun educational diversions. But as soon as Auntie Yvette became Madame, the school teacher, I found myself at loose ends.

One morning, after returning from Dalat, however, I awoke with a brilliant plan. And I wanted to keep it a secret from Gerry. I had to enlist Linh’s assistance to show me the side entrance from Tu-Do Street into the Eden building. I wanted to get from the Tu-Do Street entrance to the office of the West-German ligation, which was accessible from the Nguyen-Hue entrance, but which was directly across from the Rex, the officers’ billets, where most of the lawyers of the office lived. I didn’t feel that I needed the exposure.

We’d spent virtually the entire morning, when we arrived back home, just in time for Gerry and the twins to arrive, expecting lunch. While Linh whipped up a salad and bread, he’d baked that morning, Gerry demanded to know what was going on.

“I was trying to find the way from the Tu-Do Street entrance to the German representation.” I decided that full disclosure was needed.” For some silly reason, I felt embarrassed. However, I couldn’t tell, whether the embarrassment came from our not having found our way through the building, or because my secret had been ruined.

“And why on Earth did you want to go to my ligation?” He took my hand, to the delight of the twins.

“Because,” I blushed profusely. “I wanted to find a German teacher. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Gerry had no idea exactly how strong he was. Only when my spine popped into place, did he release the pressure of the cuddles and kisses.

***

The first problem to arise out of my having been classified KIA, or killed in action, was when First Sergeant Magsaysay wanted to have my replacement legal clerk share our apartment with Gerry. And we had no plausible reason to offer against the idea. Although it hadn’t been officially announced, yet, I had to find other living arrangements, fast.

Apparently, Yvette had phoned Jules to see if he knew of anything. Monique had told her that he was busy, at the moment, and she would have him get back to her. Linh had added an invitation to dinner, since he worried about Jules’ not eating right. And that left me to invite Yvette and Wade, making the family, once again, complete.

***

When the group arrived, the general atmosphere was subdued. The twins, however, were able to cheer up everybody, other than Jules. He had been in an increasingly foul mood since Dalat.

Sadly, none of us yet knew the extent of the danger, which awaited us, out in the street.

***

As soon as Gerry explained what the First Sergeant had suggested, Jules was the first to propose a reassignment of living space, to hide me from the ever-present Military Police. He offered to open up the rooms, where he had lived with his parents and little sister, prior to their deaths.

Yvette wouldn’t loose any income, since Gerry and my replacement would still be paying the rent and I would continue paying my share until the new guy arrived. She did, however, bring up the emotional aspect of a three-way relationship.

“Who said that there would be a three-way relationship?” I wanted to know.

Glances darted around the table. Even Wade, Linh and the twins came into the dining room from the kitchen. No one was about to address the elephant in the room. Everyone knew that Jules was in love with me. And as far as I was concerned, I was willing to ignore it, until he wasn’t any longer. I wasn’t so naïve as to not want to discuss the problem with Gerry, but we did have to find somewhere else to live immediately, at least I did, and Jules was offering.

***

Since there was no furniture to be moved, and with the aid of Wade’s car, we packed everything, I owned except the uniforms that evening, which took less than an hour. Yvette seemed relieved when Gerry and I decided to leave the bottles of alcohol, stashed in the cabinet, where we had found them.

The twins were over the moon, when Jules showed them to their room. It had been his little sister’s, and he had left it just like it was. All of the rooms needed a basic cleaning, since they were covered with two years of dust. Jules had just shut the doors and left everything as it was. This, of course meant that all the Teddy bears, toys and other belongings were just as they had been on the tragic day in June of 1965. Bu and Hao went wild with excitement.

Linh was just as excited. The kitchen and pantries were identically furnished as the ones at the villa in Dalat. Linh’s bedroom and bathroom were upstairs with ours. This, of course, meant that he couldn’t keep anyone from raiding the refrigerator, at night. But as a trade-off, he was also glad to be able to watch Jules’ diet, to make sure that he ate balanced meals.

The huge surprise of the evening was that Urs and another Swiss Specialist Officer, showed up in a limousine from Hôtel du Parc. And without even as much as greeting us properly, Linh showed them where to change out of their uniforms and proceeded to put them to work, shifting dust.

Other than Linh, Gerry was the first of us to come across Urs and his buddy, Klaus, a Specialist Officer from Canton Zürich, which meant that he was also German Swiss and as cute as a button. Like Urs, Klaus was slightly stocky but in excellent shape. Unlike Urs, he had dark-brown hair and a noticeable, five-o’clock shadow. His round face had bright-red cheeks and a permanent smile. And his eyes twinkled as if they were battery-powered.

Although not quite as hairy as Marv Brandstifter, he ran Marv a close second, to judge by the hair on his arms. My first thought was that it must be uncomfortable in this heat. And of course, the first thing that Bu and Hao had to do was to touch. The twins were, however, very careful, almost as if afraid the hair could fall off upon contact.

Before supper, the cleaning effort was concentrated on the dining room and kitchen, while Linh and the twins had gone shopping for dinner and to stock the pantry. For tonight, Linh was planning paella with mango sauces and fresh fruit in heavy cream and Cointreau for dessert It was a meal, that went well with the heat and humidity.

At dinner, a group effort, Urs explained that since he and Klaus had worked during the week of of August the first, the Swiss National Day. they had now been given the entire week, plus next Monday off.

We were just finishing dessert, when Jules’s private telephone line rang. He looked puzzled, since virtually everyone, who would call that number was seated at the table. He approached the telephone cautiously, and lifted the receiver carefully.

“Oui?” He listened. “A l’appareille.” Jules motioned quickly to Gerry, once he heard the American Overseas Operator.

I whispered to Gerry that it could be a trap. And no matter what, he was to stick to our story.

He nodded that he understood and took the receiver. “Hello? Oh hi, Gordon. Guess you’ heard, huh?”

There was a pause. “They just sent the telegram through the mail?” He broke for confirmation. “The fuckers didn’t even bother to send anyone to the house?”

“They didn’t give me so much as a handful of dirt from the crash site.” Gerry paused for Gordon, or possibly Ju-Long to comment from the extension in the kitchen before he actually did break down emotionally.

I was holding his back and petting him soothingly as soon as he shed the first tear, after hanging up. “It’s okay, mein Schatz, I’m here. I didn’t die in the crash.”

“But you could have.” He wiped his eyes. “But it’s not just that.” He tried to chuckle through the tears. “I hate lying.”

This statement of fact, of which I was well aware, since he had trouble leading people to believe that he was straight, made my blood run cold. For the first time, I considered it possible that Gerry might blow my cover, albeit inadvertently.

***

In the background, Urs was filling Klaus in on the story of my helicopter accident, or so I imagined, since I couldn’t understand them. But Urs kept gesturing toward Gerry and me, and Klaus kept glancing in our direction, which made me nervous.

“Can you tell what our Swiss friends are talking about?” I whispered into Gerry’s ear.

The question seemed to brighten Gerry’s mood. He chuckled, “Yeah, us.”

“And what about us?” I pressed him.

He paused to listen. “That we’re sexy as hell and good in bed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty much.” He laughed quietly and kissed my ear.