Heaven & Earth Page #5

- What happened?

- They overran the base!

NVA! Get over here!

Don't separate!

Come on!

- Come on! Get everybody!

- Wait! Jimmy!

It's all right!

- Wait! Our things!

- There's no time! Get up there!

Take that, okay? Goodbye.

We've got to go!

Get the f*** out of here!

- This is the end of the line.

- But Saigon!

- You're getting out of here.

- You say you take us Saigon!

No, come on! Go!

You son-of-a-b*tch! F*** you!

Get out of here!

My family was now blown

to the four winds.

But on the road out of Qui Nhon

I realized I was not alone.

My whole country was collapsing.

Be calm.

Butler! Butler!

Steven J?

I'm sorry. He's listed as missing in action.

You'll have to come back tomorrow.

Ticket, American plane, $2,000.

You come with me,

American man give beaucoup greenback.

For dollars. I got 10,000 piastres.

Look! It's Daddy!

It was everything I dreamed of.

America.

Big skies, and giant people

crushed me in their arms.

And best of all was my husband,

Steve Butler.

Marine Sergeant Butler.

Here it is. The dream begins.

In his big craggy face was everything...

... I loved about America.

Played football with the guy

that lived in that house.

My first girlfriend's house.

She was a real dog.

You make me happy.

You make me very happy.

He's here! They're early!

She's so cute.

Like a little China doll.

I just want to hug you to pieces!

And the kids!

I'll just eat you up!

Hi, honey!

Home port. Lock and load! There's Ma.

- My baby!

- How are you?

You can sure tell which is Steve's.

That's Le Ly.

Hello.

I'm so happy to meet you, honey.

The boys.

Come on in.

Look at this!

Not bad, huh? It's ranch-style.

We'll be here for a little while.

But soon we'll get our own place.

When you'd get back?

Last night, we got a C-130 out of...

- How was the flight?

- Long, you know.

Was it terrible there?

We don't want to talk about that now.

We'll talk about that later.

I've got steak and baked potatoes

all planned, sweetie...

...just like you like it.

And chocolate ice cream.

Do you eat that too?

Please, I prepare some tea

if you show me kitchen.

No, I'm supposed to do that.

You're the guest.

This way.

You hungry, Ly?

You mind if I call you Ly for short?

For dinner we have...

...steak, potatoes...

...peas.

For dessert:
strawberries.

We'll have you back to normal in no time.

The meat'll take more work,

but we've got that under control.

Magic.

"Bless us, O Lord, for these gifts

which we are about to receive.

"In the name of the Father,

the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen."

Were the bugs bad?

- What about drugs?

- Some guys got involved...

...some guys didn't.

My Steve wouldn't do anything bad.

No way.

Johnny got killed.

Le Ly, you got such pretty hair.

Then we got another R and R in Australia.

You should see those beaches.

- Was the money as good as they say?

- $14,000...

...I socked away.

Combat pay, no tax, overseas pay,

the best. I'd go for another year, if I could.

I guess it's over, though.

Beverly's been calling.

I'm sure she wants it all, too.

Three more years.

Then I'm in fat city.

How are the kids?

Great. You must call them.

John's having trouble in school.

Jerry...

I'll do it, okay?

Can we just relax here?

I'm sure Lee Lay's really jet-lagged out.

Aren't you, honey?

You drank too much.

You forgot my name.

I'm sorry, Le Ly.

Steve was always slow in school.

Just think of it as a Saigon taxi.

Just a rental.

My personal car's in the shop.

You know I understand about money.

You in Marines a long time...

...but you live with your mother.

The problem is Beverly.

She gets half my paycheck.

Plus child support and she's still pissed.

I'm in debt to the credit union...

...for the loan they made me in '67.

I'm practically bankrupt.

I got three more years,

I'll get out with a good pension.

Then I have a good job waiting for me.

Big bucks.

Just you and me.

We're going to be back in the Far East.

Indonesia.

Singapore.

I'll be making $65,000 a year, guaranteed.

Promised to me.

What's this job?

I can't tell you. Not yet. It's confidential.

But I guarantee it'll work out.

We need to go back to Aisle 3

where that cute guy is.

- He'd make a cute snack.

- Yeah, what buns on him!

Pick one.

Uncle Ben, I think.

Uncle trusted man.

We're not feeding the village.

Bernice doesn't even like this stuff.

This is America, baby.

Store stays open 24 hours.

You don't need money in America.

You just give this piece of paper

to the bank and the bank pays.

They don't get it.

I do.

We'll lick them together.

We'll lick them together.

Thank you, Lord,

for watching over us all this year...

...and for these things

for which we are grateful.

I met her on a Danang street corner.

Her girlfriend tried to rip me off.

I had one like that in Okinawa.

She had thighs as plump as that turkey,

cracked coconuts with them.

Wait, it's not what you think.

I chased her like a starving ARVN

hunting for a grain of rice.

Horseshit.

Don't run off with your dirty mind.

Don't get a headache.

You and me are peas in a pod.

Oriental women...

...will tell you anything you want to hear.

But if you believe it,

I'll be the first to salute you.

What are you saying?

Oriental women are very loyal.

Have a drink. All I'm trying to say is,

more power to you, buddy.

Come on, Ly, it's Thanksgiving.

You can eat.

Think of the starving children in Vietnam.

Leave her alone.

She always eats like a sparrow.

Rice and fish, fish and rice...

...that's all the kids ever get.

They're starving for meat and potatoes.

Give her a break. She can't eat

for her whole damn country.

I want her to know we're being generous.

I want her to be grateful.

Grateful. Let me tell you about grateful.

We'd go to villages and the first thing

old men and women would say to us was:

"Please, sir, don't kill me."

In Danang, we'd drive past hospitals...

...past people our bombs had blown to bits.

And they'd wave.

Boys and girls with no arms, no legs...

...waving at us like tourist

going to the beach.

Why?

Because they're happy to be alive

and glad to see us.

We put them where they were.

And there's 20 of them dead or mutilated

for every one of us.

So don't expect Ly to do handstands

over your turkey.

She knows exactly what she's got

and what she's left behind.

- Well, excuse me, baby brother.

- Steve is right.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Butler.

Goddamn.

It's time the kids slept in their own bed.

They more loving when they stay with us.

Who's going to protect them

from evil spirits?

Look, it ain't Vietnam in this bedroom.

It's California.

How can I even see you

across all these bodies?

Kids sleep alone.

Makes them more independent.

You Le Ly's hero.

Tonight, you protect Le Ly.

You good man.

Just too much whiskey.

I want to go work. I want make money.

I want get out of here.

I think your family like their dogs

better than our boys.

What will you do, anyway?

Work factory. Restaurant.

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