"hesaidquietly,asifrememberingsomethinghehadtriedtoforget。
"Wantsomewine?
"shesaid。Hesmiledandtookaswig。Hethankedherandretreatedagainintohissilence。Afterawhile,shewentbacktotheothers,andVingonoddedinslee。
Inthemorning,theyawokeoutsideanotherHowardJohnsons,andthistimeVingowentin。Thegirlinsistedthathejointhem。Heseemedveryshy,andorderedblackcoffeeandsmokednervouslyastheyoungeolechatteredaboutsleeingonbeaches。Whentheyreturnedtothebus,thegirlsatwithVingoagain,andafterawhile,slowlyandainfully,hetoldhisstory。HehadbeeninjailinNewYorkfortheastfouryears,andnowhewasgoinghome。
"Areyoumarried?
"
"Idontknow。
"
"Youdontknow?
"shesaid。
"Well,whenIwasinthecanIwrotetomywife,
"hesaid,
"ItoldherthatIwasgoingtobeawayalongtime,andthatifshecouldntstandit,ifthekidsketaskingquestions,ifithurttoomuch,well,shecouldjustforgetme。Idunderstand。Getanewguy,Isaid—shesawonderfulwoman,reallysomething—andforgetaboutme。Itoldhershedidnthavetowriteme。Andshedidnt。Notforthreeandahalfyears。
"
"Andyouregoinghomenow,notknowing?
"
"Yeah,
"hesaidshyly,
"well,lastweek,whenIwassurethearolewascomingthrough,Iwroteheragain。WeusedtoliveinBrunswick,justbeforeJacksonville,andtheresabigoaktreejustasyoucomeintotown。Itoldherthatifshedtakemeback,sheshouldutayellowhandkerchiefinthetree,andIdgetoffandcomehome。Ifshedidntwantme,forgetit—nohandkerchiefandIdgoonthrough。
"
"Wow,
"thegirlsaid,
"wow。
"
Shetoldtheothers,andsoonallofthemwereinit,caughtuinthearoachofBrunswick,lookingattheictureVingoshowedthemofhiswifeandthreechildren—thewomanhandsomeinalainway,thechildrenstillunformedinthecracked,much-handledsnashots。
Nowtheywere20milesfromBrunswick,andtheyoungeoletookoverwindowseatsontherightside,waitingforthearoachofthegreatoaktree。Thebusacquiredadark,hushedmood,fullofthesilenceofabsenceandlostyears。Vingostoedlooking,tighteninghisfaceintotheex-consmask,asiffortifyinghimselfagainststillanotherdisaointment。
ThenBrunswickwastenmiles,andthenfive。Then,suddenly,alloftheyoungeolewereuoutoftheirseats,screamingandshoutingandcrying,doingsmalldancesofexultation。AllexcetVingo。
Vingosattherestunned,lookingattheoaktree。Itwascoveredwithyellowhandkerchiefs—20ofthem,30ofthem,maybehundreds,atreethatstoodlikeabannerofwelcomebillowinginthewind。Astheyoungeoleshouted,theoldconrosefromhisseatandmadehiswaytothefrontofthebustogohome。