Bonus Content
A QUESTION OF MANHOOD
PART I: Good Son, Good Soldier
Chris will be home tomorrow!
It was like a silent litany all through the house that November Tuesday, last fall. Mom was making herself a little crazy getting the house ready. It wasn’t like the place needed any extra attention, either. I mean, it’s what she does. Keep house. And she does it great. I think she just didn’t know what else to do with herself. I felt the same way, and I almost wished she’d make me do some of it. I knew better than to volunteer, though; I wouldn’t wanna get stuck forever with any household chores that didn’t already have my name on them.
What I really wanted was something I could do to make myself more presentable, to make me feel a little less like the kid brother who wasn’t old enough to do anything useful. Even though I was sixteen, I had a feeling there would seem to be more than the three years between us when I finally laid eyes on Chris.
I had this scene in my head of what it would be like when he walked through the front door. Chris would drop his duffle and brace himself for the onslaught of Mom’s hug. She’d put her whole body into it—nearly squeeze him to death. Finally she’d let go, dabbing with a tissue at her eyes, and Dad would step forward. First he’d just look, taking in the short golden hair, the two days of beard growth, the broad shoulders, the lean body proudly held. And then he’d grin. He’d take Chris’s right hand in his and clap him on the shoulder with the other.
“Son, just look at you! You’ve become quite the man. I’m so proud of you.” That’s how he’d open.
Chris would say something like, “Yeah, well, you were right, Dad. There’s not much that’ll make a man out of you faster than the army.”
“Did I say that?”
“You did.”
“Guess I was right, then. You want a beer?”
I ran through that scene in my head so many times, in the days before he arrived. The words changed a little from one take to the next, or maybe Chris had shaved, and in one take Dad actually told Chris he could start calling Dad by his first name, Andy. One thing that didn’t change? It always played out with me off to the side, worried that I was gonna look like some needy little kid if I wanted to be noticed. If I wanted a hug or even a handshake, too.
Maybe the litany itself was silent, but Dad didn’t stop talking about Chris coming home from Vietnam. He’d been on the phone with all his cronies.
“That’s right! My boy is coming home for some leave. He deserves it, too!” Almost made it sound like he had just one boy. And it wasn’t me.
From A QUESTION OF MANHOOD. Copyright © 2010 by Robin Reardon. All rights reserved. Published by arrangement with Kensington Pub Corp.
A Question of Manhood
Robin Reardon (Thinking Straight, A Secret Edge) has a real knack for evoking the adolescent experience—that important time of uncertainty that helps youngsters come to terms with who they are. This tradition continues with A Question of Manhood, the story of Paul Landon, a sixteen-year-old boy whose life is turned inside out right as he’s on the cusp of young adulthood.
It’s November 1972, and the Vietnam War is coming to a close. Paul couldn’t be more thrilled: This means Chris, his revered older brother, will be returning home for good. While Chris is back at the house for Thanksgiving vacation, he lets Paul in on a secret: He’s gay. When he’s suddenly killed in action soon after, Paul is haunted by this important fact, which he can’t share with anyone.
The burden of this secret transforms Paul into a problem child, and he’s forced to work at the family’s pet store as a disciplinary measure. Worse, he has to train the summer help: JJ O’Neil, a boy headed for Cornell in the fall. JJ is older, wiser and gay. The two boys eventually face a crisis that helps Paul understand who his brother really was—and the kind of man he one day hopes to be.
Softcover : 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp. ( September 28, 2010 )
Item #: 13-125986
ISBN: 9780758246790
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 0.72inches
Product Weight: 11.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
April 30, 2012
Kept you wanting to finish. Did not realize the ending
Reviewer: Albert W
Good story but.........
June 03, 2011
One of his better stories. I enjoyed this a lot. The characters and situation seemed believable. My only issue was he went into too much detail with some of this dog training episodes and I skimmed quickly through those.
Reviewer: Donc
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