The next stop was Murmansk. To Jeffers, Murmansk was a dull, dreary place. The ship anchored in the middle of the river and boats were used to get people back and forth to the ship. It had meant extra work for the Deck Department, but it had to be done. Then there was Helsinki, Stockholm, Gdansk and Kiel. Kiel was Jeffers’ favorite. While there, he took a few days and went to Berlin where he was able to get up with Hammond and his family.
Then Iowa pulled into Portsmouth, England. He was surprised when an officer came aboard one day with a request from Buckingham Palace. King William had meant what he said. The dinner was amazing and both he and Prince George wanted to hear about all that had happened. Jeffers could not imagine living his life in a place like that.
Shortly afterward, Iowa was ordered home. Then came the second surprise. Upon arrival in Norfolk, he had been ordered to the White House for a ceremony. There, standing with his family and some of his shipmates, the President presented him with the Medal of Honor. He remembered the look on his family’s faces. Most were in shock just to be in the White House, but when the President put the medal over his head they all looked stunned. All but Great Grandma Hattie, who just smiled and winked at him. They were also surprised later on when the President treated them like good friends instead of something he had to do for diplomatic reasons.
A few days later and Iowa was headed home. It took a week to get back to San Pedro, where the celebration lasted for three days. Mayor Hammond came aboard personally to welcome them home. A month later he received orders. He would go to Prospective Executive Officer School and afterward, become the Executive Officer aboard the John Paul Jones, a guided missile destroyer out of Norfolk.
He turned the Rolls down the street where the Chambers’ home was. The homes here were larger and much further apart. Trees lined the streets and everything felt more laid back like the horse farms nearby. Turning into the driveway, Jeffers pulled up behind two other cars and stopped. He was dressed in his white uniform and grabbed his cover and the guitar.
He was a little nervous, but it was something he wanted to do. He knocked on the door and waited. He could hear someone coming.
Jeffers’ eyes flew wide as Evan Chambers answered the door. “Well, hello,” said Chambers.
Jeffers felt his head get light. His knees buckled and he dropped the guitar case. Suddenly he felt a strong pair of arms grab him and practically drag him into the house before everything went black.
Something cool was placed on his forehead and he heard a female voice say. “Okay, come on. Wake up now.”
Jeffers’ eyes fluttered pen and he saw what he would later say was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was fair complexioned and had strawberry blond hair cut mid length so that it curled up just above her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes sparked. There was some concern on her face that changed to a radiant smile when she saw his eyes open and focus on her. Dimples appeared on either side of her mouth as she smiled. “Well, look who’s back from the dead,” she said as she turned the cloth over and dabbed it on the side of his cheeks.
Jeffers tried to sit up but she kept him down. “Sorry, but I just saw…”
“It wasn’t Evan,” she said. “It was his brother Ethan. I’m his sister, Ellen. I guess he didn’t tell you we were triplets,” she said.
“Triplets?” Jeffers asked still a little groggy.
She smiled again. “Ethan and Evan were identical twins, but I was the tag along. Evan was always a little strange talking about us. He rarely told anyone. Sorry about that,” she said.
“Is it safe to come in now?” came a familiar voice from in the kitchen.
“Sure, come on in,” she said.
She was right. They were identical, down to the curl of hair on their forehead. Ethan walked in with a smile and took Jeffers’ hand. “You must be Rod Jeffers,” he said. “Sorry about the scare.”
“No problem, it just stopped me for a second.”
“Stop you, hell, you passed clean out on me,” Ethan said as he handed over a glass of ice water.
After taking a few sips, Jeffers sat up and looked around. “I hope you don’t mind that I dropped by. I wanted to return something to you, but I see you already got it,” he said seeing the guitar sitting on the end of the couch.
“No, that’s mine,” said Ellen. She reached behind her and retrieved the guitar in its case. She opened it and looked at the guitar. There were still spots on the wood surface. “What are these?” she asked.
Jeffers swallowed. “Part of Evan. You see, I was with Evan when he died. He wanted to play together one last time. We both knew he was dying. The fire had severely damaged his lungs and they were giving up on him. As we played, he began coughing. Later on, I tried to clean the worst of it up, but the blood had seeped into the wood. I promised I would bring his guitar home,” he said sadly.
Ellen’s eyes were full of tears. She ran her hands along the strings and polished surface. “We bought these guitars together. He and I loved playing,” she said. “He told us you played with him often.”
Jeffers grinned. “Yea, whenever we could. Do you both play?” he asked.
Ethan shook his head. “No, it never interested me, just like he went to the Navy and I went into the Air Force. We kidded each other about that too,” he said. “Did you know about his award?”
Jeffers shook his head. “No, I’ve been kind of busy for a while and out of touch.”
Ethan left the room and brought back a framed photo of Evan in his uniform. The Medal of Honor was mounted at the bottom of the frame. “The President said he saved a bunch of people and helped save the ship along with another officer. It sure made Mom and Dad feel proud,” he said.
Jeffers nodded slightly. “Yea, I was the other officer,” he said as he pointed to the blue ribbon with stars on top of all the others.
Ellen’s eyes widened. “You were the one who kept the ship from crashing into another one?” she asked.
Jeffers nodded. He suddenly saw something new in her eyes, like something had suddenly turned on.
“He always said you were a big help for him. I guess you did rub off on him a bit. Mom and Dad will be so happy to meet you,” she said placing her hand on his.
Ethan left to put the photo and medal back on the wall. Ellen and Jeffers shared a moment together. Neither spoke, but her hand remained on his. Then she began to blush and took out Evan’s guitar. Checking the strings, they were pretty much in tune. She turned the guitar around and started to play. She was playing the Vivaldi.
Jeffers stared in shock. Why that piece? He watched as she played and began to see a lot of his friend in her. They played the same and had the same look on their face. Through the tears which welled up in his eyes, he grabbed her guitar and began playing the same thing he had played that fateful day long ago. One again, that look came into her eyes as she watched him accompany her with the piece. The longer they played, the more she looked at Jeffers.
When they finished, she smiled at him. “Evan and I played that since we were kids. I don’t know why I played it now, but somehow it came to mind. Your accompaniment was beautiful,” she said as she once again reached across and laid her hand on his.
The feel of her touch sent shivers through Jeffers. They stared at each other for almost a minute before he said, “The Vivaldi was what we were playing when he died. It’s almost like he was here with us,” Jeffers said.
She slipped her fingers around his. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” she said concerned.
Jeffers took her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it gently. “No, it’s okay. I liked playing with you. I was just surprised, that’s all. I’m glad we finally met,” he said.