Billy - 3. Chapter 3

It seems that this was going to be a long process to get Billy back to somewhere close to normality. I wonder where he slept while he was in the park. “Billy, did you sleep in the park?”

He thought a while, then shock his head no. He took my hand and led me to a small church, walking around the back, he opened a door leading to steps going down into what appeared as a basement. In one corner, he showed me a mat and a small box. Picking up the small box, he handed it to me.

I opened the box and I was amazed at what was in the box, a Distinguished Service medal. There were discharge papers and now I knew his full name. Taking the box, “Billy, let’s go home.”

He just smiled as we left the church and headed back to our home.

When we arrived at home, it was too early to start supper. I checked the TV guide and saw that the Phantom of the Opera was playing on Netflix. I turned the TV on, selected the appropriate channel and sat on the sofa. Billy sat beside me as we watched the movie. Whenever I looked at Billy, he was smiling.

“Billy, dinner won't be ready for a while, how about a light snack?”

He just smile, I paused the program, got us each a small bowl of chocolate ice cream. When I returned, I gave him a bowl, he smiled and patted me on my arm. I smiled back, restarted the program, enjoying my ice cream.

We watch the movie until it was finished, I asked Billy if he liked the movie, he just smiled. Flipping through the channels, a war movie came on the screen, Billy became very agitated. I turn the TV off and noticed he had tears in his eyes. I needed to find out exactly what happened to him and how he earned that medal.

The next morning, Billy and I walked to work, it became a pattern for us. I picked up a newspaper at the corner and headed to the office. Billy followed, I gave him the newspaper to hold, actually I was hoping he’d read it.

Nancy gave Billy a hug, he smiled. “Nancy, may I see you in my office please?”

Nancy came in, Billy took the newspaper and began to read. “Nancy, I want you to get on the net and find out all of the information you can on Billy. This is his name, he was also awarded a medal for distinguished service, so a good place to start would be the military.”

Nancy went to her desk, I heard her tell Billy she needed to sit at her desk. Billy picked up paper and not knowing where to sit, came into my office. “Billy, you can sit on the sofa and read your newspaper.”

I became involved in my work, reviewing accounts, checking ledgers. I was so busy I didn't notice that Billy had finished with the paper and was sitting there looking at me. I checked the time and it was passed our normal lunch time. “You hungry Billy?” He just smiled. “Nancy, we’re going to lunch, we’ll be back shortly.”

Lunch wasn't far, Russo’s cafe was on the first floor of my office building. Billy smiled when we headed for Russo’s. Since I met Billy, all of his emotions were conveyed with his smile. That bothered me because I knew he could talk. I also knew that a traumatic experience couldn't cause a person to withdraw into himself. I had a feeling if I kept talking to Billy, that eventually, he'll talk back to me.

Russo was glad to see us, we chatted a little, he asked Billy how he was feeling, Billy smiled. For the next two weeks my life became routine. It was always a routine, but now, there was Billy.

Nancy found Billy's war record. He was honorably discharged, however he was diagnosed with PTS that resulted in his inability to speak. That I didn't understand. Nancy kept digging and eventually the whole story of Billy became known. Billy served in the Gulf War, his platoon was under attack, his buddy from his hometown was hit. Billy kept calling for a medic, but none came and his friend died. Billy was so angry, he stood up and began firing. He wiped out the nest of enemies, received a wound and was sent home.

He was sent to the veteran’s hospital. After his wound was healed, he was scheduled for psychiatric evaluation when he walked out of the hospital. He end up in our town, found the door to the church open and set up sleeping quarters. He liked to sit in the park because of the quiet and fresh air.

With this information, Nancy then searched for next of kin. She found a cousin and when she contacted her, she told Nancy that Billy's parents were killed in an automobile accident on their way to the veterans hospital. Billy was the only child so he inherited everything. Since they couldn't find him, his parent's lawyers put everything into storage and sold the home. The money was put into a trust fund for Billy. Nancy promised to stay in touch with Billy's cousin.

Over the next several weeks, a routine was established. Slowly, Billy began to do more around the house. It wasn't unusual for me to walk into the kitchen to find that Billy had made coffee. He would smile as he poured me a cup, I took this as a sign of an improvement in Billy, although Billy hadn’t begun to speak.

Summer and fall pass, winter was just around the corner when Billy begin getting agitated at the early signs of winter. One night it was cold enough for a fire in the fireplace, as I lit the fire, something triggered a response in Billy. “Billy what’s wrong?” Just as I said that the sound of the wood burning made a loud crackling sound. Billy grabbed me and pulled me behind the sofa next to him. I was confused until there was another sound of the wood crackling, Billy pulled me down to the floor, covering my body with his.

“Billy that isn't gunfire, that's the sound of dry wood burning. Look we're home and there's no one here but you and I.” When I booked at Billy, he was crying.

Billy looked at me with tears flowing down his cheeks, ”Friend”. That was the second time Billy ever spoke in my presence. Knowing a little bit about Billy’s war record, I pulled Billy into my arms, saying ‘friend’, I sat on the floor holding Billy who kept saying ‘friend’.

As I rocked Billy in my arms, I noticed that Billy began to relax. “Come on Billy, let's get a cup of tea and then we can snuggle on the sofa.” I gently pulled Billy up and led him to the kitchen, Billy sat at the table while I made the tea.

Drinking our tea, “Billy, I know what happened to you in the Gulf War. I know you lost your friend and you were traumatized by it. The war is over and you are home. Your friend wouldn’t want you to forget him, he loved you and would want you to be happy. You aren’t happy being this way, are you?”

Billy looked at me and more tears were running down his cheeks. “Friend”

“Yes, Billy I am your friend.”

Billy finished his tea and went to bed. It was early but I left him do it, maybe sleep will help.

I worked on some of my clients accounts I didn't realize it was so late. I went to bed not knowing what tomorrow would bring with Billy