I could've checked. Could've known but didn't. Vietnam was my father's proxy war, his legacy. I was supposed to follow in the footsteps of the men in my family. But none of them were like me. So why not be different there?
"The war will make a man out of you, or you'll die. Either way, I won't have an embarrassment for a son."
The town's sheriff entered the room, and my father spun to scream at him to leave, until he noticed the dark-haired teenage boy. "He shouldn't be here. Get him out."
"He's my son, and I decide where he goes. Not you. You're using my cell, and I've been plenty cooperative. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell me how to raise my kid."
"I'm talking to a prisoner."
"No, you're yelling at him."
"He's a draft-dodging queer!"
"Don't care."
My father didn't get surprised often. Loving another man waswrongand against everything decent. How could this sheriff not see it?
My father shook his head muttering about the decline of morals in America. "Vietnam. Be a man." He turned without saying goodbye and left the room. Was this the last time I'd see him?
The sheriff's handlebar mustache twitched as he patted his son softly. The bayou ladies said the eighties would be terrible for him. Decency said to warn him of a vague upcoming tragedy, but common sense and intuition screamed it'd be a 'Very Bad Idea.'
The black, metal door opened with a long squeak. "You could run, but you'll bring attention to Whispering Hills. Peoplecanremember us with enough help, especially if there's a paper trail."
Running wasn't an option. Taking a pregnant man on the road and bringing an investigation to a shifter town would hurteveryone. My wolf wanted me to stay and protect my Omega, but for all my supernatural power, I couldn't fight our government.
I made a deal with the witches, and the sheriff promised to watch over Mike, even without me asking.
"I'll go."
"Why?" asked Wyatt. I smiled. The teenager was smart and wanted to learn. He'd make a kind sheriff one day.
'It's my duty' sounded like my father's words. "Because this helps the most people," I said. "If I can take the pain for our town, and my Omega, it's worth it."
He accepted my answer, and his dad nodded.
It was just a few seconds of practice, but I'd be a good father because I knew what not to do. The trouble was, I wouldn't be around.
***
They say Omegas are emotional, but who wouldn't cry in a jail cell if their mate went off to fight? The war couldn't last much longer; Nixon's increased campaign was supposed to force an end soon. Jokes to Mike that Vietnam would soon be America's newest state got no smiles.
"How could you, Todd? Youwantto go. You talked about it when we met. You have a family here!"
"So do other people. If I stay, it'll bring attention to them. There's pack responsibility."
"What about to your Omega? I'm pregnant." He stepped back, rumbling the open jail cell door.
"Thisislooking out for you!"
"With Henry still in town?"
"You got the bayou ladies and sheriff on our side. Penny and Mary offered without asking. All the others you've been cooking for said they'd check in."
He spoke as if he were thinking out loud. "I know about those damn talk shows on the radio. You perk up like a wolf smelling a rabbit when Nixon speaks. You're a goddamn warmonger."
He looked down but buried himself in my chest. The sheriff had the decency to leave the cell door open.
"And you're a hippie who never dressed in tie-dyes and listened to nonsense books, and I wouldn't have you any other way."
