Kent Haruf - Benediction

Let’s get out of here. Come on. The two high school boys went back the way they’d come, looking around at the houses to see whether anyone was watching, and crossed the intersection and went on to the car.

John Wesley sat up and watched the Ford make a U-turn in the street and drive back toward Main. His nose was bleeding steadily. He wiped it on his shirtsleeve and lay back and looked overhead at the dripping trees. The sidewalk felt cool. He began to think of Genevieve. I fought for you. I’ll tell you about it when I see you. They were bigger than me. There were two of them. I hit one of them for you. I hurt him and then he hit me and made me bleed. You can see the blood on my shirt. My blood was spilled for you.

ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, Lorraine went next door to Berta May’s carrying an old blanket and came out with Alice, and then they walked out along the quiet empty street in the evening, heading toward Highway 34 and on to the high school football field to watch the fireworks. It was cool and fresh now after the heat of the day. Out beyond the town limits the combines were still running in the wheat fields, their lights turned on, bright in the fields, the grain carts and grain trucks parked off to the side, and above them the clouds of dust hanging in the air, carrying the smell of chaff and dust and cut wheat into Holt.

They walked to the highway and turned past Shattuck’s Café and then south at the school grounds to go out behind to the football field. There were many other people walking along in the evening. They arrived at the field and went in through the gate at the chain-link fence and crossed the white-chalked lanes of the track and went out onto the grass. The lights on the tall poles around the field were burning fiercely, making a loud hum. The grass looked very green under the lights.

Let’s go out there, Lorraine said. It’s nicer. She led Alice out to the middle of the field where they saw the Johnson women seated on a blanket. Hello, Willa called. Over here. Come join us.

They walked up to their spot and Lorraine spread the blanket she was carrying and sat down beside them while Alice stood and looked all around at the grandstands filling up with people and the man up in the announcer’s booth above the stands, a dangling lightbulb on a cord above him showing him there starkly, standing by himself, and she looked past the goalposts to the south end where the volunteer fire department was arranging the fireworks.

Do you want to sit down with us? Alene said, and Alice sat down between the Johnson women and Lorraine. Two boys her age came and sat in front of them. The boys turned to look at her and Alice saw them but pretended not to notice them. They sat with their arms wrapped around their knees. After a while the man up in the booth began to talk into the microphone.

Folks, I want to welcome you all tonight. Folks. He stopped. Is this thing on? His voice sounded loud and broken, scratchy.

Yeah, it’s on, somebody called. Go on ahead there, Bud.

All right then. I guess you can hear me. Well. Good evening, folks, and some of the people sitting on the grass said Evening back to him, and he went on. This is a good occasion here tonight. Isn’t it. We all know that. This is part of what makes us great as a country. This day, this celebration, this yearly event, commemorated here this evening. Now I’m going to start our program tonight by recognizing our armed service in this troubled time for our country. I want to request anybody here tonight who served our country to stand up. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force. National Guard. All of them. It doesn’t matter. They all count. Even the Coast Guard that in time of peace is under the auspices of the Treasury Department, folks, did you all know that? and under Defense in time of war. That’s right. Stand right up. Let us see you.

Some of the men and a few women stood up in the grandstand and there was an old man who struggled up from a lawn chair near them in the football field.

Give them all a hand why don’t you, folks, and all around them on the brightly lighted grass and in the grandstands people applauded. Alice watched Lorraine. She clapped her hands once or twice and then stopped, so she stopped too.

Now I want to make special recognition of one boy in particular here tonight, the announcer said. I won’t say out his name because he said he don’t want me to. But he’s being sent over next week to the war over there. Helping to take our democracy across to the desert to those people they got there. Yes, that’s him. I see him now. Down on the left side of the bleachers there. Stand up, will you, son? Yes, that’s right.

A boy rose and looked out at the football field without making any gesture or turning around. A young boy, in his army uniform.

Give him a warm sendoff, people. Yes, that’s the way.

Some in the grandstand stood up to applaud and some of the people out in the grass stood. The boy in uniform sat down beside a woman next to him and the man in the booth went on.

Now. We have us another treat here tonight. Big Bill Jones is going to sing a selection for us now.

Up in the booth a tall man took the microphone and began to sing “Some Gave All, All Gave Some” over an instrumental recording. When he was done singing people applauded. He had a good voice. Then the announcer said, Big Bill, wait right here if you would and get us started on “America the Beautiful.” People sang along with him and they all sang the National Anthem. For that, people stood and men took off their caps. On the football field Willa stayed seated on the blanket. It’s too hard to get up and down, she said. Never mind me. She smiled and looked around at them through her thick glasses.

They sat down again and the announcer said, Now will somebody shut off these field lights for us? They waited. Will somebody shut off these lights so we can start? Folks, we can’t get started till the lights are turned off. After a while someone pulled the switch and they all sat in the faint light of the evening, the afterglow of sunset still showing to the west but everything dark now in the east. They waited and then suddenly the first rocket shot up and it broke overhead.

There was a loud explosion and strings of light spurted out and dripped down and winked out and white smoke drifted slowly away. Then another rocket exploded. The young boys in front of them named each one as it went off. Come on, bust, they said, and then the rocket burst and they said, Comet. Chandelier. Pixie Dust. Parachute. Silver rain. Carnation. Chinese Night.

After a while, Lorraine lay back on the blanket. Then Alice did too, and presently the Johnson women stretched out on the blanket next to them and the fireworks fired up into the cool summer night and the ghostlike trails of smoke drifted away in the sky, the pure blue stars far over them, all shining, above the football field on the high plains. The boys went on with their running account. Alice slid over closer to Lorraine.

Are you doing all right, honey? Lorraine said.

The girl nodded.

Are you cold?

A little.

Lorraine pulled her closer.

I wish my mother could have seen this, Alice said.

Yes. Raise your head for a second, honey.

Lorraine laid her arm down on the blanket and Alice lay back and Lorraine pulled the loose end of the blanket up over them both. Alene looked over and watched Alice for a moment. A rocket went off and she could see the girl’s face in the shimmering light. Her eyes clear and serious. Her smooth soft girl’s cheeks. Alene’s eyes welled up with tears, looking at the girl, but immediately she wiped the tears away. Next to her, her mother went on watching the fireworks.

At the end there was a long chain of explosions with a final cannon boom that echoed across the town out into the country. Then it was dark, the smoke drifting away above them, and then the high field lights came on again. Everything seemed brighter than ever.