1970s: Promises and Lies
As the US is ramping up their exit strategi from Vietnam, Carl is becoming obsessed with Chi. It's not that he, by now, has not figured out what she is doing, but knowing does not make a difference to his heart. Not when Chi looks at him with such sadness in her eyes.
"Why do you do this?" he asks her one night.
"Have daughter and mother. Husband dead. Village no food, so I go to town, but no jobs. This is only job, so I take it and send money."
Hating what she has been forced to do, Carl starts giving her extra money, starts finding reasons to see her outside of her "work", and find himself falling deeper. "You take me to America, soldier?" she jokes when he tries to see her during the day, at first joking, then as the weeks passes more seriously.
Carl hates saying no, so he says he'll try. Then he says yes. He pretends he doesn't know deep down it's a lie. He even tries to make it happen. But his CO just laughs at him when he brings it up. "You'd have to marry her for it even to be considered, and you can't really want to marry a-"
"But what if I do?"
"Then it's still no. You've known her for what? A month? Two? And in her line of work? It's not going to happen, son, no one would approve her for relocation, and no offence, you're a nobody here. Higher ups, who were legally married for a couple of years were still told no by Uncle Sam. Besides, you can't marry without my permission, and I'm not giving you no permission."
"But, Sir-"
"I said no! Look, son, I get it, you fancy this girl, but that's no excuse for being a fool. You're how old? Still wet behind the ears. This is your first crush. But no matter how you feel, trust me, you're not the only soldier she's trying to get to promise to bring her back to US. They all want out. And who can blame them. This is a shithole, and once the commies take over, and they will, it's going to be a worse shithole. So forget it, and when you go home, forget her. Marry some cute blonde American girl who knows nothing about war and shit like this."
"Sir-"
"That's final, soldier. End of discussion."
Later that day, there is an attack on the camp. No one is hurt, but Carl distinguishes himself as he rushes to put out the fires.
Not that it helps him with his dilemma. "My hero," Chi later calls him, but he doesn't feel like one as he can't bring himself to tell her the truth of their situation. It's not that he doesn't want to be honest, it's just that it's so much easier to say nothing and pretend not saying anything isn't the same as lying.
Back in the states, Michael is busy trying to fix things with Robin. After calling her repeatedly, he decides that the only thing to do is to go and see her at her parents home. It's with his stomach in knots that he walks up to the door and knocks, not knowing what Robin has told her parents and what he is walking into.
It's Robin's father who opens the door, and to say he's not overly fond of the visit would be an understatement, but Michael talks fast, using all his mediator skills professing his love for Robin.
Reluctantly at first, Mr S agrees to let him talk to Robin. "But if she doesn't forgive you, then that's that!" he says firmly. But a chance is all Michael is asking, and he is not above begging for forgiveness.
"What I don't get is why you didn't trust me enough to tell me from the start!" Robin argues. "Without trust there cannot be a relationship."
So Micheal does the one thing he hasn't tried. He falls to his knees and proposes, promising that he'll never betray her trust again.
"Are you sure?" she asks, and while he might have wanted to wait a while before marrying, seeing how it is to live together first, he promises dearly that he's sure. All he knows at this point is that he cannot lose her again and when she says yes, and he holds her in his arms again he's certain he's made the right call.
Before any wedding can be arranged, however, Michael needs to return home for his cousins' tenth birthday. For Arthur 72 was a busy year and 73 looks to stay that way. Even as Apollo 17 marked the end of the moon landing, things are hardly slowing down at Edwards. On the contrary, between the development of the F15, which has just taken flight for the first time and Nixon's formal order to create a space shuttle, Edwards is as busy as it has ever been. But Arthur likes it that way and has no need to complain. As his little girl is turning 10, however, it's easy to stay at home to help celebrate her.
In the middle of a summer heatwave, the family settles on an informal gathering in the garden, with hamburgers and free access to the pool. Among the adults conversations ranges from the final ruling in Roe v. Wade, and what this could mean for family values and women's liberation, but for the most part, they talk of family, and try to enjoy their time together. Later at night the family gathers in the living room, for dancing and watching TV.
Cindy poses for the camera, until Beth and Ken gets a hold of it and decide to have some fun with it.
But best of all for Cathy, is the addition of a hamster in the house. Her very own pet. As the guests leave, she does her best to make sure the hamster feels at home. She hardly even wants to go to bed at night, but her parents insist.
While Cindy is obsessed with her new pet, Steven is finding an obsession of his own. Pong! Down at the strip mall, an arcade has opened up, and Steven, not yet 15 but soon, spends as much time there as he can. While his older sister and cousins hang out at the café or record shop, he get lost in the dots and dashes that move on the screen. This is the coolest thing in the world!
Following their original plan, Michael and Robin has found jobs and an apartment in San Sequoia. It's not a huge place, but more than enough for the two of them (and Michael hopes maybe a third at some point). He let's Robin decide on the decor, partly because he doesn't really care enough, but mostly because he wants to prove to her that she made the right choice in forgiving him. He has to admit, however, that he doesn't mind the result.
The spare bedroom Robin turns into an office for the two of them. They have both found work at different law firms, though Robin at a lesser position and with lower pay than Michael. Seeing how she was the one with the better grades, Robin is slightly resentful of that, but she's determined to be successful and prove herself. She'll show them that she is not just some mother-to-be who is going to become some simple house-wife. She will be a judge one day, no matter what she has to sacrifice on the way there.
As they start their lives together, they do so with very different aspirations:
"Why do you do this?" he asks her one night.
"Have daughter and mother. Husband dead. Village no food, so I go to town, but no jobs. This is only job, so I take it and send money."
Hating what she has been forced to do, Carl starts giving her extra money, starts finding reasons to see her outside of her "work", and find himself falling deeper. "You take me to America, soldier?" she jokes when he tries to see her during the day, at first joking, then as the weeks passes more seriously.
Carl hates saying no, so he says he'll try. Then he says yes. He pretends he doesn't know deep down it's a lie. He even tries to make it happen. But his CO just laughs at him when he brings it up. "You'd have to marry her for it even to be considered, and you can't really want to marry a-"
"But what if I do?"
"Then it's still no. You've known her for what? A month? Two? And in her line of work? It's not going to happen, son, no one would approve her for relocation, and no offence, you're a nobody here. Higher ups, who were legally married for a couple of years were still told no by Uncle Sam. Besides, you can't marry without my permission, and I'm not giving you no permission."
"But, Sir-"
"I said no! Look, son, I get it, you fancy this girl, but that's no excuse for being a fool. You're how old? Still wet behind the ears. This is your first crush. But no matter how you feel, trust me, you're not the only soldier she's trying to get to promise to bring her back to US. They all want out. And who can blame them. This is a shithole, and once the commies take over, and they will, it's going to be a worse shithole. So forget it, and when you go home, forget her. Marry some cute blonde American girl who knows nothing about war and shit like this."
"Sir-"
"That's final, soldier. End of discussion."
Later that day, there is an attack on the camp. No one is hurt, but Carl distinguishes himself as he rushes to put out the fires.
Not that it helps him with his dilemma. "My hero," Chi later calls him, but he doesn't feel like one as he can't bring himself to tell her the truth of their situation. It's not that he doesn't want to be honest, it's just that it's so much easier to say nothing and pretend not saying anything isn't the same as lying.
Back in the states, Michael is busy trying to fix things with Robin. After calling her repeatedly, he decides that the only thing to do is to go and see her at her parents home. It's with his stomach in knots that he walks up to the door and knocks, not knowing what Robin has told her parents and what he is walking into.
It's Robin's father who opens the door, and to say he's not overly fond of the visit would be an understatement, but Michael talks fast, using all his mediator skills professing his love for Robin.
Reluctantly at first, Mr S agrees to let him talk to Robin. "But if she doesn't forgive you, then that's that!" he says firmly. But a chance is all Michael is asking, and he is not above begging for forgiveness.
"What I don't get is why you didn't trust me enough to tell me from the start!" Robin argues. "Without trust there cannot be a relationship."
So Micheal does the one thing he hasn't tried. He falls to his knees and proposes, promising that he'll never betray her trust again.
"Are you sure?" she asks, and while he might have wanted to wait a while before marrying, seeing how it is to live together first, he promises dearly that he's sure. All he knows at this point is that he cannot lose her again and when she says yes, and he holds her in his arms again he's certain he's made the right call.
Before any wedding can be arranged, however, Michael needs to return home for his cousins' tenth birthday. For Arthur 72 was a busy year and 73 looks to stay that way. Even as Apollo 17 marked the end of the moon landing, things are hardly slowing down at Edwards. On the contrary, between the development of the F15, which has just taken flight for the first time and Nixon's formal order to create a space shuttle, Edwards is as busy as it has ever been. But Arthur likes it that way and has no need to complain. As his little girl is turning 10, however, it's easy to stay at home to help celebrate her.
In the middle of a summer heatwave, the family settles on an informal gathering in the garden, with hamburgers and free access to the pool. Among the adults conversations ranges from the final ruling in Roe v. Wade, and what this could mean for family values and women's liberation, but for the most part, they talk of family, and try to enjoy their time together. Later at night the family gathers in the living room, for dancing and watching TV.
Cindy poses for the camera, until Beth and Ken gets a hold of it and decide to have some fun with it.
But best of all for Cathy, is the addition of a hamster in the house. Her very own pet. As the guests leave, she does her best to make sure the hamster feels at home. She hardly even wants to go to bed at night, but her parents insist.
While Cindy is obsessed with her new pet, Steven is finding an obsession of his own. Pong! Down at the strip mall, an arcade has opened up, and Steven, not yet 15 but soon, spends as much time there as he can. While his older sister and cousins hang out at the café or record shop, he get lost in the dots and dashes that move on the screen. This is the coolest thing in the world!
Following their original plan, Michael and Robin has found jobs and an apartment in San Sequoia. It's not a huge place, but more than enough for the two of them (and Michael hopes maybe a third at some point). He let's Robin decide on the decor, partly because he doesn't really care enough, but mostly because he wants to prove to her that she made the right choice in forgiving him. He has to admit, however, that he doesn't mind the result.
The spare bedroom Robin turns into an office for the two of them. They have both found work at different law firms, though Robin at a lesser position and with lower pay than Michael. Seeing how she was the one with the better grades, Robin is slightly resentful of that, but she's determined to be successful and prove herself. She'll show them that she is not just some mother-to-be who is going to become some simple house-wife. She will be a judge one day, no matter what she has to sacrifice on the way there.
As they start their lives together, they do so with very different aspirations:
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