We all stared in shock at this guy under the table, shaking, freaked out.
“It’s okay,” Janet said, trying to calm him down. Most of us were into our fifth or six beer at this festive barbecue on a Silver Lake hilltop home when, hearing the explosive sounds nearby, the most macho dude of the bunch suddenly dove for cover, on instinct, reliving another time.
“They’re just fireworks from Dodger Stadium, across the canyon. They do that after the game.” He started whimpering, full of shame, Janet holding him.
She turned to me, mouthing the words, “He was in ‘Nam.”
© Copyright 2016 Stephen R. Wolcott. All rights reserved.
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Stephen R. Wolcott is an award-winning writer producer, whose credits include 5 Star Trek Specials, hundreds of DVD/Blu-Ray documentaries, and a few bits of fiction on this site.