Rambo didn’t find out that Mary’s father, otherwise known as Jorgenson’s wife, was an important person till he was actually in the US
Important? Hell yeah.
Mary’s father was a Goddamn’ general.
What’s more, on that afternoon at Jorgenson’s house, the grandparents were visiting too. All of them, that is, as in both sets. The entire family was there.
As one could expect, there was a brand new baby girl too.
It was a big and white house, and the table was set with a lavish feast, Thanksgiving Day-like.
After the introductions, Mary’s father – the General – brought Rambo to the side.
“Can I share a few words with you in private, son?”
“Yes, Sir,” answered Rambo instinctively, yet embarrassed nevertheless.
The two of them went into the living room where they could be alone.
The General, who was a little taller than Rambo, talked to him the way someone would talk to a son.
*
“I know what happened to the two of you in Vietnam.”
Rambo must have made an expression clearly revealing his how stunned he was by the comment.
“I have a six-level clearance,” said Williams.
Then he smiled.
“I am a General, son.”
“Yessir” Rambo replied now feeling like an idiot for not having thought of that.
“I know you have been mentioned for the Medal of Honour twice even if the chances you’ll receive it are low seeing as you’re still SOG.
Rambo swallowed while the General pointed towards Jorgenson.
“And if you did it for him, I’m certain you’d do it for my daughter and my niece as well.”
The General pulled out his hand and Rambo shook it tight without hesitating, despite being more embarrassed than before.
“You see son...
When my daughter decided to come together with this Carl, I was against it. Humble origins, a jar-head, no stripes.
Then he decided to join the green berets to get a better salary and I thought... Jesus Christ... this is only going to get worse. After all, you know better than I do that if you’re always on the field – the way green berets always are – there odds of having a successful career are low. Consequently, as I didn’t approve beforehand, I was pissed off even more after that.”
The general paused.
“But I was wrong. I was wrong about everything.”
The General smiled again.
“Now, I have a wonderful niece, son. My daughter has a splendid home and her husband, well, her husband is a hero.”
Rambo didn’t know what to say.
He was speechless.
“The truth is that I spent so much time behind the scenes that I had forgot what really happens in the field. I mean... Out there, in Vietnam, in the mud, it’s complicated. Having a career that’s too successful sometimes makes you forget who the heroes really are. The two of you helped me remember again. What you did for Carl, my daughter can’t and must not know.”
The whole thing moved Rambo certainly, and he let himself be, although he still had doubts.
He couldn’t understand why the General was telling him these things a rather than tell Carl.
Maybe he'd already told him, or maybe never would given how few military men were willing to admit their own mistakes. Especially the bigwigs, and in particular, the generals. Rambo had to get rid of that doubt, and now.
So he asked:
The General gave him another smile and nodded patiently, as if he were a child.
“Yes, son, and Lord knows it was hard, yet I did. The thing is, I wanted to tell you this too because I am not sure that you will ever get the medal you deserve for having saved my son-in-law. That’s all.”
Rambo lost himself in that man’s smile, which, considering his age, could easily have been his father.
Lucky for Rambo however, he wasn’t.
“Thank you Sir,” he said to the General, after all.
“Okay, but let’s go back in there now. Do you know what the only thing better than a wonderful home is? The smell of the roast coming from the kitchen, that’s what. There’s nothing better in the whole world, I swear.”
The whole family was gathered in front of the dining room and they were all standing around the baby cradle simply adoring her.
Rambo moved forward until he reached them and he did so slowly, as almost trance-like.
He stopped in front of the cradle to look at his friend Carl’s daughter, the same way they all were.
The little creature’s eyes were moving around fast and she was smiling.
The little girl was perfectly aware she was the centre of everyone’s attention, and was loving it. It excited her. As a matter of fact she was whirling her little arms around with joy.
It was thanks to Rambo that that little girl still had a father.
Suddenly, Rambo felt sick.
A pain around his heart that was sharp and hit hard. The scene in front of him was breaking his heart.
“She is wonderful, Carl,” said Rambo, in an attempt to keep up appearances.
Jorgenson smiled back at him.
Mary picked her up out of the cradle and held the little one in her arms.
“Come to mommy, sweetie.”
Mary was beautiful too. The kind of beauty that took your breath away.
She had jet-black hair, skin as white as porcelain and she was holding her baby tight because she was obviously the most important and precious thing in the world to her.
Rambo learned something right then and there.
Something he had never thought of before then.
Rambo understood that there were things that could give your life purpose. It hadn’t happened to him yet, but for others, it had, and was real. Things like watching your wife embracing your son. Or better, witnessing the joy in your little baby girl’s eyes, at that age when everything is still unknown and you have a mother who loves you, and protects you, and to who you are very important.
A caress and a sweet word were enough to transform tears into peace and tranquillity.
It was priceless.
That was something worth killing for, dying for, or whatever necessary to protect things like that.
Rambo wouldn’t hesitate for a creature like that if it had been his.
“You have a wonderful family Carl,” Rambo told him, but he almost couldn’t finish the sentence.
He had never felt this way before. Not once his entire life.
That was the kind of family he never had the pleasure or fortune of having. A family full of love, where one lived for the other’s happiness, but it wasn’t only that. There was more to it than that.
There was strength too.
For those people, whatever the future had in store, they would face it together.
None of them would have left the other, under any circumstance, not at any cost and all because they truly loved one another.
John didn't get anything except a lump in his throat from all of it.
“I need to use the restroom,” he said quietly.
“It’s here” General Williams replied.
“I’ll show you.”
“It’s no problem, thanks,” Rambo assured him and immediately looked away trying to hide his teary eyes.
“You sure, John?”
Rambo stopped to put his hand on the door handle when he felt both his legs shaking.
“Everything’s fine son,” said the General.
“It’s okay. Take all the time you need. We are right over there if you need anything.”
Rambo nodded without turning and locked himself in the restroom as fast as he could. Once alone, he leaned over the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
He burst into tears.
There wasn’t anything as good or even comparable in his life. He hadn’t had anything similar as a child nor did he now as an adult.
There was the risk he never would either, especially if he continued living the way he was.
Rambo covered his eyes with one hand and cried quietly, hoping no one would hear him.
He needed a few minutes to calm down.
When he had, he washed has face and checked to be sure there weren’t any signs he'd cried.
He realized however, that he couldn’t go out just yet.
He washed his face again, but this this time with much colder water, then he dried himself meticulously.
Once he felt confident that no one would be able to tell, he finally went back.