AUTHOR'S NOTE

This work is intended as a miniseries-length revival of the ABC-TV series The Wonder Years, which ran from 1988 to 1993.The subtitle A Time to Kill, a Time to Heal comes, of course, from Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes, which was adapted into the lyrics of the 1965 song Turn! Turn! Turn! which was then used frequently as background music for the series. It is my hope and vision that this miniseries be aired in the Spring of 1995 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

Some friends of mine who have read shortened versions of this script raised the initial criticism that the story was "too Lyle Padilla specific" and too autobiographical lacking the universality which was the mark of the series. The majority of those criticisms were promptly retracted as those readers got into the flow of the story. To those for whom that criticism persists, I simply maintain that, like Kevin Arnold, Winnie Cooper and Paul Pfeiffer, I was born in 1956 and graduated from a suburban high school in 1974. Like Kevin, my first car was a beat-up 4-door light metallic blue mid-1960s Olds Cutlass. I think that elements of my own personal life story ought to carry as much weight and credibility as the next person's as a storyline for The Wonder Years. I understand that a great many of the series scripts were based on individual experiences.

There are many intentions behind this script, not the least of which is to offer an alternate outcome for those fans of the series who share my sense of betrayal and outrage at the way the series ended, with Kevin and Winnie failing to keep their promise to stay together, particularly with the hints that the two of them had lost their virginity together. The basic idea for this script was conceived well before the final episode aired; I had initially decided to press on with the final draft while simply ignoring the last few minutes of that last episode, but then a burst of creativity gave me the means to accommodate those last minutes in a way that I think the audience will appreciate.

As stated, the original idea for this script was conceived a long time ago; to be exact, when I saw the pilot episode of the series which ended with the death of Winnie's brother Brian. I wish at this point to remind the readers/audience that at the time The Wonder Years premiered in 1988, there was another TV series on the air which was produced by the same studio and also depicted events 20 years in the past; that series was Tour of Duty, which chronicled the experiences of an infantry platoon in Vietnam. I had always seen Tour of Duty and The Wonder Years as two sides of the same coin, i.e. the battlefront and home front of the Vietnam War. My original idea was for a combined Wonder Years/Tour of Duty script, with Tour of Duty's Lieutenant Myron Goldman (played by Stephen Caffrey) turning up as a captain and the ROTC Commandant of Cadets at the college Kevin and Winnie attend. As the story evolved in my mind, however, the background of the character of Myron Goldman became too unwieldy and incompatible with the story development, and necessitated the creation of the character of "Mad Tom" Ward in his place. I have written the story, however, with Mr. Caffrey still clearly in mind to play the part.

[As an aside, the name of Thomas Ward comes from the first and middle names of a Union Cavalry officer who was the highest decorated soldier of the Civil War, with two Medals of Honor. His accomplishments were equivalent to those of Alvin York in World War I and Audie Murphy in World War II; but his name never became a household word like Sergeant York's or Captain Murphy's largely because he lived in the shadow of his older brother, a general whose overall campaigns were constantly in the headlines and limelight. Thomas and his brother both made a career of the Regular Army, and were killed together fighting the Sioux and Cheyennes in Montana in 1876.]

Inasmuch as the characters of The Wonder Years serve as a microcosm of my generation, the idea was irresistible for a story where Winnie serves as a microcosm of America coming to terms with Vietnam and beginning the healing process. Coupled with that was my long-planned intention to someday write a story depicting what it was like being an ROTC cadet during the Vietnam War. Those concepts served as the nucleus for this script. As the news broke of the impending termination of the series, rather prematurely in the opinions of myself and many other fans, I felt that its eventual return would be greatly welcomed. It is clear, too, that such a return would not be viable without Winnie; in fact, it is clear to me that the series' greatest nose-dive in ratings, during the 91-92 season, was due to her being written out of the episodes for virtually the entire first half of that season.

As the thoughts came for expanding my basic idea into a limited-run or miniseries revival of the show, I reflected on my own life experiences following high school. My life may not have been typical or universal for my generation, but having been an ROTC cadet during the last year of the Vietnam War, and then a combat arms officer, first on Active Duty on the edge of the Iron Curtain at the height of Cold War Communist expansion, and then with a National Guard tank battalion in Third Corps during the Persian Gulf Crisis, gave me a rather insightful perspective on the historical events of the 1970s, 80s and early 90s, a perspective which would not have been lost on, and would be greatly appreciated by, the character of Kevin Arnold the Narrator. In particular, the contrast in public attitude between Vietnam and the Persian Gulf was far too ironic to be ignored. I wish to reiterate here that the story is nowhere near totally autobiographical, particularly in that the narrator rarely actually speaks for Lyle Francis Padilla. For the most part, I merely place Kevin, Winnie and Paul in situations that I was in, and have them react in ways consistent with the characters as we have come to know them. Also, so as not to hypocritically sugar coat or sentimentalize things, but with all due respect to the dead, the one person I knew who was killed in the Persian Gulf War was someone I didn't even like.

Notes on the military technical aspects of the script: the toughest thing to deal with was the way that the series took pains to avoid explicitly revealing the geographical setting of Kevin's, Winnie's and Paul's suburban home town. It is extremely awkward to mention a National Guard unit in normal dialogue without mentioning its home state, but I bit that bullet and managed to press on. (In much the same way, I was deliberately vague in mentioning how long it took to drive from Kevin's 1990 home to the Washington, DC area.) Also, under the Army's Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), there is, to the best of my knowledge, no 117th Armor. [There is a 117th Cavalry and a 102d Armor, the 3d Battalion of which is my own unit, both of which are in the New Jersey Guard and share a common lineage with the Civil War's 1st N.J. Cavalry Regiment, as well as unit crests which bear a blue stallion's head and two fleurs de lis.] By the same token, identifying a real life Guard armor brigade in Third Corps would result in naming, at least inferentially, its home state. All those brigades belong to either the two Regular divisions as "Roundout units" or the two Guard divisions in Third Corps. All Armored Divisions in the U.S. Army (except for the 1st Cavalry Division) share the common triangular shoulder patch with a silhouette of a World War I tank and a lightning bolt, with the division number at the apex; therefore, if this script ever goes to film, I suggest using the triangle patch without any number, on the uniforms of Kevin, Paul and the other members of Third Tank.

This script is dedicated to my fellow soldiers of 3d Battalion 102d Armor, New Jersey Army National Guard, who stood on the brink of war with me, and to those fellow alumni of the Air Force and Army ROTC Cadet Corps at Rutgers University who endured the spitting and anti-military epithets of the Vietnam War era with me. In the movie Heartbreak Ridge, there is a scene where Clint Eastwood's character, an old Marine gunnery sergeant, encounters a colonel to whom he seems familiar. As Eastwood puts it upon learning that he and the colonel were in the same regiment in Vietnam, "We sure as hell chewed on some of the same dirt!"

Turnersville, New Jersey

July 1993

EXT DAY- A MILITARY CEMETERY. (1968)

(Scene from Series Episode of March 22, 1988) A wide shot shows rows upon rows of neatly lined headstones. Far in the distance, a funeral is taking place.

A SERIES OF CLOSER SHOTS shows a flag-draped casket suspended over a grave, with MOURNERS gathered to one side, a CLERGYMAN at the other side, and a uniformed HONOR GUARD lined up behind the head of the casket. KEVIN ARNOLD and WINNIE COOPER, both aged 12, are among the mourners, Winnie at the side of the casket, and Kevin with his father JACK, mother NORMA, sister KAREN and brother WAYNE at the foot of the casket. The clergyman delivers a benediction.

Brian Cooper lived across the street from me, and his death changed my life forever.

We must have faith, that none of God's children die in vain....

Kevin's glance shifts from the clergyman toward Winnie, who stands blinking and fighting back tears, and briefly glances back toward Kevin.

His sister Winnie had been my childhood playmate. On the day he died, I found Winnie alone in Harper's Woods and held her while she cried in my arms, and at that moment, she went from being my playmate to becoming the one true love of my life. For many years, I watched Winnie and her parents grieve and mourn their loss, and I grieved and mourned with them.

INT DAY- A WARD IN AN ARMY EVACUATION HOSPITAL.

from a viewpoint behind the shoulder of a PATIENT in a bed with severe burns on his legs and a gunshot wound in one thigh. A cavalry TROOP COMMANDER (a captain) sits at the bedside conversing with the patient.

Captain, I'd like to put Cooper in for a DSC.

It's done. Andujar requested it. I forwarded the paperwork to Squadron before I came here. Along with a recommendation for you.

I don't deserve a damn medal, sir! It should've been me going home in a box, not Cooper!

The troop commander pats the patient on the shoulder consolingly.

Don't punish yourself! You and Cooper both went above and beyond.

Before I forget. Do you have a little sister named Gwendolyn?

No, sir. Cooper did. Why?

The troop commander pulls a plastic-laminated wallet-sized photo of Winnie Cooper, age 12, from his pocket and shows it to the patient.

Our medics found this on the floor of their track. They weren't sure whose it was.

The patient reaches for the photo and reads the inscription on the back: "To the coolest big brother in the world. Love, Gwendolyn."

I'll take it, sir. I'm the one going home alive. I'll see that she gets it back someday. Only... what do I say to her? How the hell do you explain the 'Nam to a little girl like this?

What none of us knew was that there were others out there to whom Brian Cooper had been a brother, and that they, too, mourned his loss, and remembered him.

INT NIGHT - CLOSE SHOT

of Winnie, now aged in her mid-30s. She is dressed in nightclothes and sits cross-legged on a bed in a bedroom, reading from a thick 3-ring loose-leaf binder she holds in her lap. She is moist eyed with tears trickling down her face, and she sniffles occasionally.

ANOTHER ANGLE over her shoulder shows the handwritten pages on lined paper. She leafs backward to the frontspiece. The camera zooms in to the frontspiece, on which is handwritten:

RUN OPENING CREDITS.

A MONTAGE OF TV NEWS FOOTAGE

depicts various events taking place in 1990.

MUSIC: Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds.

1990. I was thirty-four years old. A lot happened that year. The Berlin Wall came down. Donald and Ivana Trump got divorced. And Iraq invaded Kuwait and brought America to the brink of war. But we'll get to that.

That summer I was on vacation from my job as a History teacher at Thomas Edison High School. I lived in a nice suburban town much like the one I grew up in. I was married to a woman I'd been in love with since we were kids growing up across the street from each other. We were the proud parents of two sons and a daughter. When she wasn't busy being a mother, she had her own job as a guidance counselor at Dwight D. Eisenhower High, another school in our area. All in all, we had a very happy but pretty unremarkable life. Except for one thing....

A CLOSE SHOT- DAY

shows Kevin's face now aged 34, with a determined stare off into the distance

There! That's me. Kevin Arnold, summer of 1990.

END MUSIC.

The camera zooms back to show Kevin wearing an Army Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) with the collar insignia of an Armor Captain.

One weekend each month and two weeks during each summer, I was Captain Kevin Arnold, U.S. Army, commanding officer of Company B, Third Battalion, One hundred seventeenth Armor, Army National Guard, better known within our home state as Bravo Company, Third Tank Battalion.

As Kevin puts on a Combat Vehicle Crew (CVC) helmet, the camera continues to zoom back to reveal him standing in the commander's cupola of an M-1 Abrams tank. He puts the helmet microphone to his mouth.

Crew report!

The voices of the other crewmen on the tank sound on his helmet earphones.

Gunner ready!

Loader ready!

Driver ready!

Kevin presses the radio-intercom switch on his helmet.

Victor Four Seven, this is Bravo Six Six. Redcon One, over!

PAUL PFEIFFER'S VOICE comes over the radio.

Bravo Six Six, this is Victor Four Seven. Enemy armor reported moving through vicinity of T-R-P Three. Move out, engage and report. Out!

Battlecarry sabot, One-two hundred!

INT- THE TANK TURRET.

The LOADER shoves a blue-tipped target practice sabot round into the main gun breech as the GUNNER, seated in front of Kevin rotates a switch on the ammunition selector and dials a knob on the fire control computer.

Sabot loaded, safety on!

Sabot indexed, One-two hundred indexed!

EXT- THE TURRET.

Kevin grins and reaches over to a boom box tape player on the turret roof beside the cupola and turns it on. A recording of Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie plays loudly. He faces forward.

Driver, move out! Maintain stabe platform speed!

ANOTHER ANGLE shows the tank from the rear, moving down a gravel road on a gunnery range. After a few seconds, two plywood tank silhouettes pop up about a kilometer ahead of them, one stationary and the other moving laterally on a rail.

KEVIN reaches for the control handle and traverses the turret to point the gun tube toward the silhouettes.

Gunner! Sabot! Two tanks! Stationary tank!

INT- THE TURRET

The loader releases the safety on the main gun breech as the gunner peers through his gunsight and turns his control handle.

Up!

Identified! Lasing!

Fire!

On the way!

EXT- THE TANK

as the main gun fires, shaking the tank with its recoil. The round, with red tracer glowing, strikes the stationary silhouette and knocks it down. The turret traverses with the gun tube tracking the moving target.

Target! Moving tank!

Up!

Identified! Lasing!

Fire!

On the way!

INT- THE TURRET

as the main gun goes off, recoiling and ejecting the metal casing onto the floor.

THE MOVING SILHOUETTE is knocked down by another tracer round.

KEVIN grins excitedly.

Yeah! Target! Ceasefire!

Victor Four Seven, this is Bravo Six Six. Engaged and destroyed two enemy tanks. Continuing mission, over.

INT DAY- THE RANGE OBSERVATION TOWER.

Paul Pfeiffer, also age 34 and wearing BDUs with Armor Captain's insignia, looks at the tank through binoculars, then speaks into a radio hand microphone.

Bravo Six Six, this is Victor Four Seven. At this time, you have completed Table Eight Day Phase. Shut off your jump radio, clear and elevate all weapons, continue down the course road and stop at the safety vehicle. Break.

He glances over at the table next to him, where a SERGEANT fills in a score sheet.

And congratulations, Kev! Looks like you're pretty close to maxing it! Over!

EXT- THE TURRET.

Kevin grins again while the crewmen's voices yell "Yeah!" in unison.

Thanks, Paul. Roger, out.

He clears the machine gun mounted in front of him on the cupola. The loader steps up partly out of his own hatch to the left of the cupola and shuts off a PRC-77 portable field radio behind the hatch which is wired to the intercom system.

Main gun and coax cleared, sir. Jump radio off.

Driver, move out.

The tank continues down the road off the range as the Wagner orchestration continues to emit from the boom box.

Yeah, my two weeks' active duty for annual training was a man's world. Sixty ton steel monsters, with big guns that belched deadly supersonic projectiles, fire and smoke, emitting diesel exhaust and kicking up dust or mud, knocking down trees and anything else in the way. We slept in sleeping bags and were lucky if we had cots to put them on and tentage to put them under. We ate breakfast and dinner on cardboard trays and ate lunch-- if you could call it that-- out of sealed plastic and foil bags. It was a completely different world from the one I left behind with Winnie and the children. In fact, even though Winnie and I had always been a part of each other's lives, this was the one thing I couldn't share with her.

The tank reaches the trees at the edge of the range, and Kevin traverses the turret so the gun tube points rearward, then turns around in the cupola to face forward again.

It was understandable, of course. Winnie had this love-hate relationship with the Army. She had her obvious reasons for the hate part, even though the Army did enable us to stay together through college. But we'll get to that later.

The tank stops at a road junction in the woods where a Hummer is parked. A LIEUTENANT comes out of the Hummer, climbs up the hull front slope of the tank, looks into the loader's hatch and then inspects the chamber of the cupola machine gun. He gives Kevin a thumbs-up, slides off the front slope and returns to the Hummer.

Anyway, it worked out okay.Since we both worked for school systems and Annual Training usually took place during summer break, Winnie usually packed up the kids and went back to our old home town where her parents and my mom still lived. Gave the kids a great chance to spend time with all three of their grandparents who were still living.

Driver, make a right and move out.

The tank turns onto the intersecting road and continues down. Kevin reaches into a shirt pocket and pulls out an audio cassette, then switches it with the one in the boom box. Brown-Eyed Girl by Van Morrison comes on.

And even though this was the one part of my life I couldn't share with Winnie, she was never far from my heart.

Kevin replaces the other cassette in his pocket and then pulls out a plastic-laminated studio portrait of Winnie. He smiles lovingly at it, then turns it over. The inscription on the back reads "To the love of my life and the father of my children. Together forever. I love you. Winnie."

INT DAY- AN ARMY MESS HALL.

Kevin stands in the chow line among several other soldiers in BDUs, as a mess team serves breakfast.

The last day of Annual Training. We'd gotten the tanks and armored personnel carriers cleaned, serviced and turned in, and gotten cleaned up ourselves. All that was left was to get into our trucks, form the convoy and head home to our families.

Kevin takes his tray and steps over to a table where Paul sits with ALEX VOGEL, a second lieutenant wearing Military Intelligence branch insignia. Kevin sits.

Hey, Kev! Congratulations!

Yeah! Top Gun Crew and Top Gun Company, wasn't it, sir?

Yeah. Thanks, Alex.

You know, the other companies are starting to talk about the fix being in, between our being friends and you being Bravo Company Commander before me.

Hey, I just sat in the tower and talked on the radio. I didn't do the scoring!

Kevin starts eating while Paul reads a newspaper.

Yeah, Paul Pfeiffer and I were still the best of friends. We'd gone on to college together and kept in touch afterward. While I'd gone into the Active Army, he'd gone into the Guard while going to law school, then got me into his Guard battalion after my tour overseas was over. Turnabout was fair play. After all, I'd gotten him into the Army training pipeline to begin with. But we'll get to that later, too. Anyway, as I'd said, I'd succeeded him as commander of Bravo Company and he was now the Battalion S-2, the Intelligence Officer. The guy whose job it was to figure out the enemy's next move.

Paul points to the front page of the newspaper.

There it is, guys! Our next war!

What?

Kuwait! The Iraqi Army's massing about eighty thousand troops on their border with Kuwait. They're getting ready to invade.

No way!

You did say "our next war," didn't you, Captain Pfeiffer?

Yes. Our next war.

Captain Arnold's right. No way!

That was Alex Vogel, Paul's assistant intelligence officer. Bright, twenty-two year old graduate student, a new second lieutenant fresh out of college, R-O-T-C and Military Intelligence school.

Nobody in this country even knows where Kuwait is on the map. No way we'd ever go to war over it!

In short, the guy had very little experience in the real world!

When the hell did that ever stop this country from going to war?

Yeah. I don't think even Brian knew where Vietnam was on the map when he went.

Brian?

My wife's brother. He was killed over there.

Oh.

You're right for the wrong reasons, Alex.

Well, Kev, why do you say "No way!"?

Don't you remember a couple of years ago when they reflagged the entire Kuwaiti oil tanker fleet with American flags? They did it just to give the U.S. Navy an excuse to protect the fleet from the Iranians and keep the oil flowing during the Iran-Iraq War. If we went through all that trouble just to protect some Kuwaiti ships, nobody's gonna be stupid or crazy enough to invade Kuwait. We'd kick the hell out of 'em!

Stupid and crazy. That's Saddam Hussein!

Now keep in mind, this was just before Saddam Hussein's name became a household word in this country. Still, as a History teacher, I should've known for sure who he was, so I was glad it was the young lieutenant and not me who said...

Saddam Hussein. He's the President of Iraq, right?

Right.

EXT DAY- A FREEWAY.

A convoy of various Army trucks rolls down the highway. The lead vehicle is a Hummer with a sign on the front bumper which reads "CONVOY FOLLOWS." Faintly over the truck engines, we hear Bat out of Hell by Meatloaf.

INT DAY- THE HUMMER.

Kevin sits in the front passenger seat, leaning back and relaxing and singing along with the song, which emanates from his boom box resting on the console between him and the DRIVER.

Yeah, it was definitely time to go home. Before Paul got any more crazy ideas.

EXT DAY- A SMALL NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY.

A sign on the front lawn bears a yellow shield with a blue stallion's head and two fleurs-de-lis. The sign reads:

Soldiers begin filtering out of the doors, most carrying duffel bags and other luggage to cars in the parking lot. Most of them meet wives and other relatives at the cars.

An Olds Silhouette van pulls into the parking lot and parks in the space nearest the front door, marked with a cinderblock with "CO" stenciled on it. Kevin and Paul step out the front door of the armory as Winnie gets out from the driver's seat of the van. Three children, BRIAN ARNOLD, age 10, WENDY ARNOLD, age 9 and JACK ARNOLD II, age 7, emerge from the other doors of the van. Wendy has long dark hair and looks almost exactly the same as Winnie did as a young girl. The four rush up to Kevin, smiling excitedly.

Winnie leaps off her feet into Kevin's arms, and he whirls her around, stroking her hair. They kiss as he lets her down.

And how's my best girl?

I missed you!

Yeah! I missed you, too!

He turns to Wendy. As she reaches out to hug him, he lifts her up and kisses her.

And how's my best little girl?

I'm glad you're home, Daddy!

Kevin lets her down and then gives the two boys each a hug.

Hi, guys!

Ladles and gentlemen, my family. Our oldest was Brian, ten years old. We named him after Winnie's brother, of course. Our daughter was the middle child, age nine. At my insistence, we named her Gwendolyn, just like her mother, but we call her Wendy rather than having to call her "Little Winnie." Our youngest was seven year old John Arnold the Second-- Jack-- whom we named after my Dad.

Come on, guys! Give me a hand with the baggage.

He and the two boys up duffel bags and rucksacks and carry them toward the van. Winnie picks up a helmet bag and holds Kevin's hand as they follow the boys. Wendy lags behind carrying the boom box and a cassette case. A BMW coupe pulls into the lot and stops in a space near the van.

Life is full of strange twists, and things never turn out exactly like you expect. Some things last, like the love Winnie and I had for each other, and the friendship Paul and I had. But nobody could have predicted that Winnie Cooper would ever be married to an Army officer-- even if that Army officer was me! And as for Paul Pfeiffer, life really handed all of us a strange twist!

BECKY SLATER steps out from behind the wheel of the BMW, smiling excitedly. She and Paul rush to each other and embrace with a long passionate kiss.

No, folks! You're not seeing things! The pretty blonde with the liplock on Paul was none other than...

INT DAY- A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM (1969).

(Scene from Series Episode of January 18, 1989) Becky and Kevin, both aged 12, stand facing each other, Becky with rage on her face.

Oh, yeah! Friends?

I'll give you "friends!"

She socks Kevin In the face, knocking him flat on his back.

... my old Junior High School nemesis, Becky Slater!

EXT DAY- THE COMPANY B ARMORY.

Paul and Becky hold hands as they carry his baggage to the BMW.

Becky was Winnie's friend back in Seventh Grade. Winnie had started going out with an Eighth Grader, so I went steady with Becky just to make Winnie jealous, and after it worked, Becky punched my lights out and spent the rest of Junior High School trying to get even with me for using her. When we got to High School, we travelled in different circles and I lost track of her. Until one day in 1983 when Paul found himself on his way to a big, complicated court case....

INT DAY- A HALLWAY IN A COURTHOUSE (1983).

Paul stands conversing outside a courtroom door with three other men, all in business suits and carrying briefcases. Becky comes around a corner in an attractive woman's business suit also carrying a briefcase. As she sees Paul, she stops dead in her tracks and stares at him for several seconds.

Paul? Paul Pfeiffer? Is that you?

Paul turns toward her, stares, then blinks in recognition.

Becky?

Becky nods. They laugh, drop their briefcases, then give each other a quick hug and then clutch each other's hands.

God! I haven't seen you since we graduated from McKinley!

Yeah! That's right! So what are you doing here?

I'm an associate attorney with DiDomenico and Kierniesky. I'm here on a case....

Not Marvian versus Sussex Chemical?

Uh huh.

I'm an associate with Patrick and Flynn.

You're one of the bad guys!

No, you're one of the bad guys!

Hey! What're you doing for dinner?

INT NIGHT- AN ELEGANT RESTAURANT.

Paul and Becky sit eating in a booth.

It's tough being alone and starting out in a new place with a new firm.

Tell me about it! I haven't been here that long myself. I'm not sure I'm completely settled here.

Yeah. I'm not even sure what I consider home anymore. I mean, my parents are still "back home," but ever since college, there hasn't been much else left for me back there.

I know what you mean. My Dad still has his optometry clinic there, but he and my mom sold the house after my sister got married, then bought a condo. That place definitely doesn't feel like home.

Still, it's good to see a familiar face from back there.

Paul reaches and places his hand on hers, smiling back.

Yeah. It sure is!

And there you had it. Within two months, Becky had moved in with Paul. Not that he had told us anything about it....

INT DUSK- PAUL'S CONDOMINIUM.

Paul opens the front door and lets Kevin and Winnie in. They exchange greetings.

I'll never forget the evening that Paul invited Winnie and me, completely unsuspecting, to his condo for dinner....

So. Come meet the new girl in my life!

He ushers Kevin and Winnie around the corner to the kitchen, where Becky stands before the stove. She turns toward them and smiles nonchalantly.

Hello, Winnie! Hello, Kevin!

Kevin and Winnie both gasp and stare, wide-eyed, open-mouthed and speechless. Kevin turns white in sheer terror. Finally, Winnie laughs.

Becky Slater?!?

She and Becky give each other a tight hug, both giggling girlishly, then separate.

You're the Rebecca that Paul's been talking about for the last two months?

Paul and Becky put their arms around each other, smiling brightly. Kevin continues to gape, white and speechless.

Surprise!

I told Paul not to tell you two. I just had to see the look on your faces!

I can't believe it! We haven't seen you since high school. Over nine years!

Yeah! It's great to see you! Paul's been telling me all about you two and what you've been up to. I couldn't wait to see you!

What's the matter, Kevin? You look like you're seeing a ghost!

Which I was! A ghost from the past!

Uhhh....

Becky hugs him and kisses him on the cheek. He blinks, shakes his head, then smiles and returns the hug and kiss, still bewildered.

What are you thinking? That I'm still mad at you after all these years?

Well....

Come on! Did you think I was gonna spend the rest of my life being... what was that phrase Mrs. Heimer used in English class? A vengeful harpy?

Okay, so maybe as a lawyer I've turned being a vengeful harpy into a profitable skill. But what happened between us was half our lifetimes ago! We were just babies!

Yeah. I guess we were!

And speaking of babies, Paul showed me pictures of your three kids. They're all adorable! I'm so happy for both of you!

And I'm happy for you and Paul! I just... can't believe it!

You've got to bring the kids with you next time! I can't wait to see them in person!

We'd love to.

Or you guys could come over to our place!

It turned out to be a great evening! The four of us spent a good deal of time talking over old times, realizing we weren't kids anymore and laughing over what kids we had been.

EXT DAY- THE COMPANY B ARMORY (1990).

Paul and Becky have their arms around each other, while Kevin and Winnie do likewise with the three children gathered around them, all conversing cheerfully.

Paul and Becky were married not long afterward, just in time for our McKinley High School ten year reunion in '84. In fact, Winnie was matron of honor and I was best man. Becky still went by the name Slater; I guess that's pretty common for a professional woman of the 80s and 90s. Come to think of it, my sister Karen always went by her maiden name, too.

EXT DAY- KEVIN'S AND WINNIE'S HOME,

larger and in a slightly more affluent suburban neighborhood than that of his childhood home in the Series. The family van pulls into the driveway. Kevin, Winnie and the children get out, carrying his baggage to the house.

An Army Chaplain once pointed out to me that the Book of Isaiah says to beat your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks, but that the Book of Joel also says that you'd better be ready to beat your plowshares back into swords and your pruning hooks back into spears, just in case you ever have to. In the National Guard, you do both things very quickly and get used to it.

INT NIGHT- KEVIN'S AND WINNIE'S BEDROOM.

The two of them snuggle up closely in bed.

What're you thinking?

Oh, about how glad I am to have you home. About how even though we've been together almost all our lives, I still miss you every time you're away.

Yeah. I still feel the same way about you, too, Winnie.

You know, I still take out your old New York Jets Jacket and sleep with it whenever you're away.

You do?

Yeah. Even when I take the kids to my folks, I take the jacket with me. It helps remind me what you've always been to me.

I'm glad. That means a lot to me, Winnie.

They kiss.

You know what else I was thinking about? Germany.

Oh. You want to go back for a visit sometime?

Well, now that you mention it, maybe someday. We'll show Brian and Wendy where they were born. But that's not what I meant.

What then?

I was thinking about the time the Army let a group of us family members visit your outposts on the East German border. How you showed us the barbed wire and the minefields, and the Russian and East German troops on the other side. And I was thinking about how all that's gone now! Kevin, do you realize that you've just spent two weeks training to fight an army that doesn't really exist anymore?

What are you saying, Winnie? That the Guard's a waste of time?

No. Actually, I was just realizing that for the first time in sixteen years, I'm not worried about your being in the Army!

They snuggle even tighter.

I guess now's a good time to explain just how Winnie and I got to this point in our lives.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT NIGHT- A BARN (1973)

(Scene from Series Episode of May 12, 1993) Kevin and Winnie, aged 17, sit with their backs leaning against opposite sides of a stall divider. Both are soaking wet with Winnie bundled up in a horse blanket, and both are forlorn and angry at each other. A thunderstorm rages outside.

... It's not like we're kids anymore. Everybody grows up. It's not like Peter Pan or something.

But somehow I thought... we'd be together, you know.

Yeah. Together forever.

It's not going to happen, is it?

No....

They both close their eyes in anguish.

A gust of wind blows the barn door open. Kevin gets up and moves across his stall toward the door.

What was that?

A lightning bolt creates a ghostly image near the door. Kevin screams and vaults over the divider into Winnie's stall. Gasping, he slowly stands up and looks again at the door, where a horse snorts at him. He laughs, continuing to look at it.

Did you see that? It's a horse! God! It practically scared me to death! Can you believe that?

We hear Winnie sobbing. Kevin looks down to find her with her eyes shut tight, weeping. He looks open-mouthed at her.

Winnie?...

Winnie looks up at him, tears streaming.

I don't want it to end!

Kevin kneels down next to her and kisses her. She smiles, opens her horse blanket and reaches out to partially cover him with it, and they embrace with long, tender, passionate kisses.

Once upon a time, there was a girl I knew, who lived across the street, brown hair, brown eyes. When she smiled, I smiled. When she cried, I cried. Every single thing that ever happened to me that mattered, in some way had to do with her.

That day, Winnie and I promised each other that, no matter what, that we'd always be together. It was a promise full of passion. And truth. And wisdom. It was the kind of promise that can only come from the hearts of the very young.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT DAY- THE KITCHEN OF THE ARNOLD HOME (1973)

Kevin, Winnie and Paul sit at the table, filling out college admissions applications.

Winnie and I never forgot our promise. And just because we were very young, that didn't mean we weren't going to keep it. It's just that, being very young, Winnie and I hadn't even begun to learn what "no matter what" really meant.

Okay. Let's suppose everything works out, and we all get accepted everywhere we apply.

Where are we gonna go?

Well... I've really got my heart set on Ruysdael. It's almost up there with Harvard and Princeton. And it's far enough away that we're really going away to college, but close enough that we can drive home in a couple of hours whenever we have to.

Okay! Let's hope for Ruysdael, then. How about you, Paul?

Ruysdael sounds good.

Really?

Uh huh. For the same reasons you just said.

Yeah, but you've actually applied to Princeton and Harvard!

You'd actually pick Ruysdael over Harvard and Princeton, just to be with us?

Hey, don't knock Ruysdael! Just because it's closer to home doesn't mean it's not as good as the other places. Besides, except for the one semester I did at the prep school...

and the year you did at Lincoln, the three of us have been together our entire school career. Why break up such a great team just when the four most critical years of school are coming up?

Kevin and Winnie smile at him and pat him on the shoulder.

Thanks, Paul. That means a lot! To both of us!

INT DAY- A HALLWAY AT McKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL.

Kevin, Winnie and Paul converse as they walk to class.

And there you had it. We had our dreams and our plans and our hopes. All we had to do was play out the last few months of high school.

INT DAY- THE ARNOLD LIVING ROOM.

Winnie and Paul stand watching as Kevin sorts through the mail.

And keep checking the mail to see what the future held.

Kevin finds an overstuffed envelope.

This is it! A fat envelope from Ruysdael!... This looks like good news!

He opens the envelope and pulls out the cover letter, then reads it as Winnie and Paul watch anxiously.

"Dear Mr. Arnold. Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted as an incoming Freshman at Ruysdael University for the Fall 1974 semester!"

Winnie squeals delightedly and leaps into Kevin's arms. Paul puts his arm across Kevin's shoulders, laughing.

All right! Three for three! Ruysdael, here we come!

They separate and head for the kitchen.

Mom! I got accepted at Ruysdael! All three of us did!

INT NIGHT- THE ARNOLD KITCHEN.

Jack and Kevin sit at the kitchen table, looking over the family bank books and the admissions packet from the school.

But, as with everything else in life, it wasn't quite that simple!

I'm sorry, Kevin. It just doesn't add up. I can go ahead and send you to Dixon State, but if you want to go to Ruysdael, you're going to have to come up with the difference yourself.

How, Dad? I can't get a big enough student loan to cover it! I'm not eligible for any grants. I got the grades and SAT scores to get in, but not for one of their scholarships.

I know Al Pfeiffer's selling off some of his real estate to pay Paul's way in, but how's Winnie going to afford it?

Her parents put Brian's life insurance into a trust fund for her.

That's what I thought. It's a helluva way to come up with cash....

Believe me, Kev. I wish I had the cash to send you to Ruysdael. It's a damned good school, and I'm proud you got accepted. And if you can think of a way to make up the difference, I'll do what I can to help you. But if you can't, Dixon State isn't the end of the world.

INT NIGHT- KEVIN'S CAR

parked at "The Point" with Kevin and Winnie snuggling in the front seat. Eres Tu by Mocedades plays on the radio.

Kevin, Dixon State isn't the end of the world! I don't have to go to Ruysdael, you know. I'll go wherever you go! Why do you think I applied to all the same schools you did?

Kevin looks into her eyes with pain.

No, Winnie! You had your heart set on Ruysdael. You can afford to go there, so don't let me keep you from going!

To this day, I'm not sure why I said that. It was one of the hardest things I had to say. Saying yes would have been the easiest, and in my younger days, I would have. But we were older now, more mature, crossing the threshold into legal adulthood.

Kevin, it won't be you who's keeping me! It's my choice!

Winnie, if you gave up Ruysdael just to be with me, you'd always resent it deep down inside. You'd end up resenting me.

I don't know.... I'd try not to.... But maybe you're right.

It'll work out somehow.... Look, how far is it from Dixon State to Ruysdael? A half hour drive? That's less than it took me to ride my bike to your house after you moved, before we got our licenses....

Winnie blinks and frowns.

And then something weird happened. Something very, very weird.

No, Kevin, that's not good enough!... This may sound silly... I never told you this, I never told anyone this, but the night we spent in that barn... I had this dream. When I woke up, I was so happy to see you that I pushed it out of my mind immediately. But in this dream, for some reason, I went away to school somewhere.... I'm pretty sure it was Paris.

Kevin turns white with shock, his mouth hanging open.

And then by the time I came home years later...

I was married to someone else and had a child.

Winnie gasps and also turns white.

Oh, my God! How did you know?

Winnie, I had the exact same dream! That same night, in the barn!

They both stiffen and stare wide-eyed into each other's eyes.

This is absolutely weird!

Yeah! I mean, we've always talked about being on the same wavelength and being able to read each other's minds, but this is something entirely different.

I don't know what your dream was like, but mine was so vivid! It was like we were actually transported to the future, and back!

Yeah! Mine, too! It was like Scrooge or that Jimmy Stewart movie or something!... But Winnie, that could never be our future! I mean, you're the only girl I could ever want to be the mother of my children. Even before I knew where babies came from, as soon as I was old enough to know that every kid had a father and a mother, I've always wanted it to be you and me.

Yeah. Me, too... but that dream was so real and so scary that... in September, Mrs. Ruebner gave me a catalog and an application to the Sorbonne in Paris. I didn't even ask her for it, she just had this idea that since I studied French and with my grades and SAT scores, it might be something I'd enjoy. But, Kevin, I got so freaked out that I tore them up and threw them in the trash as soon as I left the guidance office!

 

Thanks, Winnie.

Yeah.... But ever since you told me your family couldn't afford to send you to Ruysdael...

You've been having the dream again!

You, too, huh?

Kevin nods.

But why Paris? That first time was way before Mrs. Ruebner came up with that catalog.

Kevin stares thoughtfully for several seconds, then blinks.

I think I know! Remember the first time I rode my bike to your house after you moved? When I got there, I said I felt like Charles Lindbergh...

... flying from New York to Paris!

They laugh, and then hold each other close.

Okay... but that still doesn't explain how we both had the exact same dream at the exact same time. Or why.

Kevin, maybe we'll never know how. But I think it's a warning to both of us. I guess most dreams like that are.

Okay, so it's a warning! We're just not gonna let it happen, Winnie! I don't know how yet, but somehow, some way, come Hell or high water, I'm gonna find a way to afford to go to Ruysdael!

INT DAY- THE MCKINLEY HIGH GUIDANCE OFFICE.

Kevin enters the inner office of his counselor, MRS. RUEBNER, who is seated at her desk. Next to her desk is seated SERGEANT FIRST CLASS COUSINS, an Army recruiter dressed in a Class A dress green uniform.

Or it would find me!

Kevin, this is Sergeant Cousins. I think he might be able to help you.

Kevin looks at SFC Cousins and halfheartedly shakes his hand.

Hi.

Pleased to meet you, Kevin.

Kevin sits.

So. Mrs. Ruebner tells me that you're having problems coming up with the money to attend the college of your choice.

Yeah. Thanks. But I don't think your kind of help is the kind that would be very helpful to me at this point....

Yeah! Another one of Mrs. Ruebner's brilliant ideas, like packing Winnie off to the Sorbonne!...

You sound pretty sure about that, Kevin. But hear me out! What I've got to offer just might be one of the best kept secrets in college financial aid!

No, thanks. I already know about the G.I. Bill. I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm going to enlist in the Army for three years just so I can get free college tuition after those three years are up. I need to get into college this year!

Really! Ruysdael University, right?

Yes. Now, if there were some way the Army could pay my way through college first, and then I could serve my time, I'd be more than happy to consider it!

SFC Cousins and Mrs. Ruebner smile at each other.

Bullseye!

Excuse me?

Kevin, what do you know about the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps?

R-O-T-C? Well, my Dad went through Navy R-O-T-C in college to become an officer in the Marine Corps. He was telling me I should sign up for one of the R-O-T-C programs if I got into Dixon State or Ruysdael, just for the learning experience. I mean, you don't have to actually serve unless you do the whole four years, and you can drop out any time before your junior year. Right?

That's right, but that's not all. Did you know that the Army offers a full scholarship-- tuition, room and board, books, plus a subsistence allowance-- to students who meet the qualifications? They have to sign a contract to complete the ROTCee program, then serve four years Active Duty as a commissioned officer.

A full scholarship?

A full scholarship. To any school that hosts Army ROTCee. Which includes Ruysdael. Kind of like a G.I. Bill in reverse order! Only you start your Active Duty tour as a second lieutenant instead of a private.

Bingo!

EXT DAY- A BASKETBALL COURT AT A PLAYGROUND.

Kevin and Paul play a game of one-on-one as they converse.

An Army scholarship?

Yeah. I go through the ROTCee program, serve four years as an officer after graduation, and I don't pay a cent. I won't have to take any money from my folks, dip into my savings, or take out any loans.

Have you told Winnie yet?

No. I've just put in the application for it. I still have to take some tests, take a physical, get interviewed by a board of officers. It doesn't mean I'm going to get it. Or decide to accept it if I do get it. It's just a possible option. I don't want to get Winnie's hopes up.

Yeah. Right.

What's that supposed to mean?

Don't you think Winnie might have some strong feelings about your joining the Army?

Well, yeah.... Which is why she doesn't have to know about it yet.

Kev, we're talking about Winnie here! You know, the love of your life. The girl you're planning on spending the rest of your life with.

Brian Cooper's little sister!

Hey, Paul! Vietnam's over! Didn't you hear? Nixon finally bombed the hell out of them, forced them to sign a peace treaty, then everyone went home! It was in all the papers last year!

Besides, the whole thing's made the country so isolationist, there's no way we're ever gonna get into another war any time that I'd be in. Stop worrying!

Hey! I'm not the one who might have a problem with it!

Good! Then if I get the scholarship, you can sign up for ROTCee with me!

What?!?

Kevin uses the opportunity of Paul's shock to steal the ball, go out, and make a quick drive for a basket.

Aw! Cheap trick!

No! I'm serious! You don't have to commit yourself to anything for the first two years. And I'd really appreciate having you with me when I go through it, at least at the start.

Well, I...

Come on, Paul! It can't be that tough! I mean, my Dad went through ROTCee. And the Army doesn't try to make you crazy like the Marines do!

I'll think about it....

What've you got to lose? And do you have any idea what the starting base salary is for an Army second lieutenant?

INT DAY- A MEDICAL CLINIC.

Kevin sits on an examining table as an Army doctor examines him.

And so I pressed on with it. I passed the physical, no problem.

INT DAY- A CLASSROOM.

Kevin is among several young men taking a battery of service entrance tests.

The tests turned out to be a glorified, watered-down version of the SATs. And after all, this was just one option I was exploring. There were a couple of other irons I had in the fire, other scholarships I was looking into, that summer after we graduated from McKinley High.

EXT DAY- THE COOPER HOME.

Kevin and Winnie walk from the house to his car at the curb, Kevin dressed in a blazer and tie.

Which is why I figured I didn't have to tell Winnie exactly who I was dealing with at the time.

Good luck!

Yeah. Thanks. I'll need it.

They kiss, and then he gets into the car.

INT DAY- A CONFERENCE ROOM.

An ARMY INFANTRY MAJOR, an INFANTRY CAPTAIN and an ARMOR CAPTAIN sit at one side of a table in Class A uniform. On the wall behind them is a large color photo of General George S. Patton, flanked by a U.S. flag and a Department of the Army flag. Kevin enters, wearing the same clothes as in the previous scene. He shakes hands with the three officers, and the major tells him to sit.

This was it. The board of officers. The last hurdle.

So. Mr. Arnold. Why do you want an Army R-O-T-C scholarship?

Because I'm desperate to go to the same school as my girl friend, and I need the money to do it!

Well, sir.... To be perfectly honest, the free tuition is a large part of it.

The three officers smile at each other.

Well, Mr. Arnold, I'm glad you told us that.

Kevin looks alarmed.

Uh, oh! I'd been tripped up, trying to sound too sincere and honest!

Integrity is just about the most important trait in a good officer. And let's face it. Money is inherently an important factor for anyone asking for a scholarship. I personally am suspicious of the integrity of anyone who won't admit to it.

Whew! Dodged that bullet!

Of course, there are other sources of money out there. Do you understand what the Army is all about? What our mission is, why we exist?

Now, Dad had given me an idea of the kind of questions to expect, so I wasn't unprepared.

Well, sir, the way I understand it, the Army's job is to prepare for war and to fight wars to defend the country and its interests.

And speaking of dodging bullets...

Okay, so you understand that we're in the business of fighting wars. That involves killing and getting killed. How do you know that, if the time ever comes, you'll be able to hold up mentally when people are shooting real bullets at you? Or that you'll be able to squeeze the trigger when there's a real live human being at the other end of your weapon?

Kevin glances up at the picture of General Patton.

I don't, really.... All I can say is, I'm just your average, ordinary American kid. And if the time ever comes, I've got as much potential to find it within me, as the millions of other average American kids who've fought in all our wars. Just as my father did before me in the Korean War.

The officers glance at each other, impressed.

Okay. So you have as much potential as the next man. But is that what you really want? Do you really want to be an Army officer, and why?

Well, my parents always raised me to appreciate the good things we have in this country. All the freedom we enjoy, all the rights we're given. And they-- my Dad in particular-always reminded me of the responsibilities that came with those rights. And how all that freedom came through the sacrifices of all the men who've served and fought for our country.

And I want to say something else. There were two guys I knew really well, from my neighborhood, who went to Vietnam and fought. One of them, when he came home... well, I watched while other kids from my home town called him a murderer to his face. And the other guy... well, he never got to come home at all. I feel like I personally owe both these guys something. I want to serve.

The officers nod to each other, again impressed. They and Kevin begin conversing less formally, smiling and relaxed.

A funny thing happened that day. And I'm not sure how it happened. Like I said, Dad had given me an idea of what kind of questions to expect, so I'd started formulating the answers in my mind that I thought the officers would want to hear. But to this day, I don't know. Maybe hearing the words come from my own mouth forced me to believe them. Or maybe those beliefs were always there, deep down inside, just waiting for a moment like this to be tapped and brought to the surface. In any case, when I left that interview, I suddenly realized that I really did believe what I'd said, and that I'd spoken from the heart.

EXT DAY- KEVIN'S CAR

as it travels down a freeway with Kevin at the wheel. He sings along elatedly as Come and Get It by Badfinger plays on the radio.

Those officers didn't come out and tell me that day that I'd earned the scholarship. They said I'd get the final word in the mail. But they also told me I had plenty of reason to be optimistic. And even though it wasn't final, I felt exhilarated. I'd just gone through a major rite of passage into adulthood. I'd taken the largest step up to that point in my life toward independence. Toward manhood. All that was left was to wait for the final word. And if the news was good, to find the right moment to tell Winnie about it.

INT NIGHT- THE ARNOLD LIVING ROOM.

Kevin and Winnie snuggle up on the couch, watching Errol Flynn as George Armstrong Custer and Olivia DeHavilland as Elizabeth Custer in They Died With Their Boots On on TV. Both appear saddened.

So, did the Lambert Foundation ever tell you why they turned down your application?

No. You know they never tell you why. I guess they figure my Dad makes too much money or something.

And that was the last of the scholarships and grants you applied for?

Yeah.

The last one she knew about, anyway.

I don't know, Kevin. I'm not sure I could stand going to Ruysdael without you.

Winnie, we've already talked about this. I'll come over from Dixon State to see you. Every day, if you want! I promise!

It won't be the same.

On the TV, Olivia DeHavilland helps Errol Flynn put on his sword belt in their living quarters.

You know, I'm sure you're the first soldier that ever became a general, without letting his belt out.

Oh ho! But you wait until we get that staff job in Washington after this campaign's over. I'm gonna grow a big tummy on me...

... like General Winfield Scott, you know. HO! HO! HO!

And we'll grow fat and happy together!

Together!

And people will say, "Don't tell me that life in the Dakotas was so full of hardships. Look at General and Mrs. Custer! They certainly grew fat and happy on it!"

You... You have been happy here, haven't you, Libby?

Don't I look happy?

Kevin and Winnie look away from the TV and into each other's eyes, both blinking mistily and smiling sadly.

Oh, God! That look! Those vulnerable doe-eyes, looking to me for comfort.... It was time to tell Winnie about my application for the Army scholarship. To pull her out of her despair, to give her that one last glimmer of hope...

On the TV, Errol Flynn finds a diary in a dresser drawer and reads it.

...It wouldn't interest you. Just the silly things that seem important to a woman.

"Tomorrow, my husband leaves, and I cannot help but feel that my last happy days are ended. A premonition of disaster such as I have never known is weighing me down. I try to shut it into my heart, but this is almost unbearable. I pray God I be not asked to walk on alone."

Kevin grimaces uncomfortably.

Or maybe not!

You know, I probably wrote that or something like it every time you went away, even for a day's journey. You know how foolish women are! Every parting has its own fears and anxieties.

Of course. I often feel like that myself. But it... it has its bright side, too. The more sadness in parting, the more joy in the reunion.

Winnie forces a smile at Kevin. On the TV, a bugle sounds in the distance.

Boots and Saddles....

Goodbye .

Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland embrace.

Walking through life with you, Ma'am, has been a very gracious thing.

They embrace again, and then Olivia DeHavilland swoons as Errol Flynn leaves.

Winnie cuddles up closer to Kevin, blotting a tear on his cheek.

On TV, Errol Flynn mounts his horse and trots to the front of the Seventh Cavalry. The regiment rides out of the fort into the rising sun, to the strains of Garryowen on fife and drums.

Kevin, let's change the channel. Okay?

What? Come on, the movie's almost over. We're coming up on the big climax.

Kevin, you know how I feel about war movies.

Kevin looks uncomfortably at her, then reaches for the remote and changes the channel.

Yeah. I know. Besides, everyone knows what happened to Custer, anyway.

Uh huh. And at that moment, it wasn't just Mrs. Custer who was weighted down with a premonition of disaster!

EXT DAY- A SEACOAST HIGHWAY.

Kevin' s car speeds along with him at the wheel and Winnie next to him.

MUSIC: Beach Baby by First Class.

EXT DAY- A BEACH.

Kevin and Winnie, in swimsuits, hold hands as they run into the surf.

Now, mind you, I wasn't being insensitive as to how Winnie might feel about the whole thing, or being cavalier about not telling her about it.

The two stand in the surf, laughing playfully and splashing water at each other.

I was just simply in one of the biggest dilemmas of my life. It felt like a no-win situation. At that point, I just wanted to enjoy what I could of that summer, before the situation forced itself on us, one way or another.

Winnie leaps off her feet into Kevin's arms, and he whirls her around as he stands in the surf, but there is an underlying sadness in the eyes of both. We hear the lyrics of the song more clearly.

"Oohh, I never thought that it would end,

Oohh, and I was everybody's friend!

Long hot days, cool sea haze,

Jukebox plays, but now it's fading away...."

INT DAY- THE ARNOLD KITCHEN

Kevin sorts through a pile of mail on the kitchen table.

SLOWLY FADE OUT MUSIC.

Now, after nearly a year of filling out applications for college admissions, loans, grants and scholarships, and then awaiting responses to them, I'd learned one thing: good news never came in skinny white business envelopes.

Kevin finds a thick manila envelope addressed to him. The return address is headed: "DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY. HQ U.S. ARMY ROTC. FT BRAGG, NC." He looks at it anxiously.

The funny thing was, I was holding a fat manila envelope, and I had a pretty good idea what was in it. But at that moment, I didn't know whether I really considered it good news or not.

INT DAY-THE ARNOLD LIVING ROOM.

Jack and Norma sit on the couch watching TV as Kevin enters from the kitchen.

Mom? Dad?

Yeah, Kev?

I got a packet in the mail from the Army. They've awarded me the ROTCee scholarship. If I accept, I can go to Ruysdael, all expenses paid.

Norma smiles excitedly, gets up and embraces him.

That's great, Honey! Congratulations!

Jack shakes Kevin's hand.

Congratulations, Kev! I'm real proud of you.

They all seat themselves. Jack shuts off the TV with the remote.

Of course, that means I'd have to serve four years in the Regular Army after I graduate.

We know.

And it's okay with you?

Kev, you're a legal adult now. You're old enough to make your own decisions. And I think you could do a helluva lot worse than four years as an Army officer with a diploma from Ruysdael.

Of course, I am partial to the Marines, and to Navy ROTCee, I wish they'd had ROTCee scholarships in my day!

Now, of course, I was proud to have the scholarship! Of course I was glad to receive my parents' congratulations. I just... wasn't prepared to have the whole thing be a done deal that fast!

But I remember when Wayne tried to enlist, you tried to stop him. You called him a young dumb kid!

He was. You won't be. You'll have four years of college under your belt before you go on active duty. And you've always been more responsible than your brother.

That's not true, Dad. I'm not as responsible as you think. Like... remember the weekend the two of you went away to Cousin Iris's wedding, and the house got trashed with a wild party? You made Wayne clean up everything.

Jack and Norma nod.

That wasn't Wayne's party. That was me and my friends.

Yeah. We know.

You knew?

We sort of figured it out when we saw you washing and polishing Wayne's car afterward.

And you didn't punish me?

Well, I figured what you were doing was penance and humiliation enough. And one of the most responsible things I'd ever seen you do. And I apologized to Wayne afterward, and gave him a bonus on his allowance.

Don't sell yourself short, Kevin. You've got a good head on your shoulders.

And there you had it. My parents had given their blessing. But maybe that's not what I was looking for.

But... aren't you worried that I might have to go to war someday?

Of course. And I'm glad you're thinking about it. It's the young dumb kids who get sucked in by the security and the benefits and the promise of seeing the world. The ones who lose sight of the fact that the Army and the Marines exist only to go to war. They're the ones who lose it when the bullets start flying for real.

Mom?

Honey, no mother wants to see her son go to war. But I watched your father go to war in Korea years before you were born. It wouldn't be something I haven't had some kind of experience with.

There is a moment of silence as Jack and Norma look knowingly at each other.

Kev, isn't there someone else you should be talking to about this?

Huh?

The real reason you're so hell-bent on going to Ruysdael in the first place!

Oh. Yeah.

You know, Honey, if you don't want to accept the scholarship, there are a few other choices. I've talked to Mrs. Cooper about it, and she thinks that Winnie would go to Dixon State with you, if you asked her to.

I know. But how would Mr. and Mrs. Cooper feel about that?

Well, they do think that Ruysdael is a much better school, with a much more prestigious reputation. But they would give Winnie the freedom to make that decision herself. All of us know how you and Winnie feel about each other. We've always known. We know that it's no longer just puppy love, that it's a real love and that it's very important to the two of you. And that you're planning on a future together.

Well, I could never ask Winnie to give up a chance to go to Ruysdael. Especially now that I've got a chance to go there with her. Ruysdael was my first choice, too.

We just want to make sure you're making the decision for the right reasons. Like I said, you could do a lot worse than four years as an Army officer. But the way you and Winnie feel about each other, this isn't the kind of commitment you should make without talking with her first. You owe her that much.

I know, Dad.

You know, Kev. Having said what I just said about having a good head on your shoulders, you have done a few dumb things that have ended up hurting that little girl. And you've been lucky in that she's always managed to forgive you for them. Don't press your luck.

I know.

Yeah, I knew what I had to do, all right.

INT NIGHT- WINNIE'S DORMITORY ROOM AT RUYSDAEL.

Kevin and Paul help Winnie unpack her things while her roommate, MAUREEN, arranges her own things. Winnie becomes more and more forlorn as they approach completion. We hear I Honestly Love You by Olivia Newton-John coming from Maureen's stereo.

Winnie arranges three framed photos on her chest of drawers: a studio portrait of her parents, a Senior Prom photo of herself and Kevin, and a photo of herself at age 12 with glasses and her hair in pigtails, with her brother Brian. Maureen steps over and studies the photos.

Who's he? Your brother?

Uh huh.

Hey, he's cute! When do I get to meet him?

He's dead.

Maureen turns bright red.

Oh.

He... he died in Vietnam. Six years ago last week, as a matter of fact.

Maureen nods sympathetically. Kevin glances uncomfortably toward Paul, who stares back meaningfully at him.

Well, I guess it's time to go.

Yeah, me too. I've gotta get settled in, too.

Winnie takes Kevin's hand as they step toward the door. She casts her head downward.

It was nice meeting you, Kevin.

It was nice meeting you, too, Maureen.

Hey, smile, Winnie! I don't want to see you frowning like this.

I miss you already.

We're going to be all right! Hey, we survived your moving across town back in Ninth Grade, we're gonna survive this!

We didn't exactly survive my moving.... We broke up.

And then we found each other again! We've always found our way back to each other, Winnie. You and I have been through too much together not to make it this time. Hey! It's not like Ninth Grade. We're a lot older, and I've got wheels! I'm gonna be a lot closer than you think!

Yeah....

Hey! At least this isn't Paris, right?

No, it's not.

I'll be back before you know it! I promise!

They embrace tightly. She blots a tear on his cheek, and then they separate very slowly.

I'll see you.

Hey, Winnie. Just remember I'm just two flights downstairs. In fact, come by my room in the morning and I'll walk over with you for Freshman Orientation.

Sure. Thanks, Paul.

INT DAY- A DORMITORY HALLWAY.

Winnie stands holding a notebook before a door with a sticker on it which reads, "Paul Pfeiffer '78." She remains forlorn as she knocks on the door. Paul opens it and steps out in the hall.

Hi, Winnie. How you feeling?

Hi. I'm okay, I guess.

You sleep well last night?

No, not really. How about you?

Okay, I guess.

Has your roommate moved in yet? I notice yours is the only name on the door.

Yeah, he's inside. In fact, he's going to Freshman Orientation with us.

Is he nice?

I think you'll like him. He's real easy to get used to!

Kevin opens the door with a mischievous grin, sticks a sticker below Paul's name which reads "Kevin Arnold '78," then smiles at Winnie. She gasps in disbelief.

Come on! We're gonna be late for Freshman Orientation!

Kevin!

She throws her arms around him, and they hold each other tight.

See! I told you I'd be a lot closer than you thought!

She kisses him, and then after hugging him a little longer, elatedly strokes his face as she draws away.

What are you doing here?

I told you! We're gonna be late for Freshman Orientation!

You're really going to school here?

Kevin closes the door, pulls a key from his pocket to lock the deadbolt, then takes Winnie's notebook and cradles it under his arm. They hold hands as they follow Paul toward the stairwell.

Uh huh. I'm here to stay! You're stuck with me for four more years. At least!

She looks dreamily at him.

Then all that stuff about not being able to afford coming here. You just made it all up to surprise me?

No, no! That was all true. But I got a scholarship at the last minute. I did want to surprise you. And I didn't want to get your hopes up.

Paul glances back at them and then rolls back his eyes.

You're really here! I mean... I'm not going to wake up any second now and find myself back upstairs with you on your way to Dixon State?

It's no dream, Winnie! I'm really here.

Well, whoever gave you that scholarship, I owe them my undying gratitude!

Which was exactly what I was hoping she'd say. Hey! There was a method to my madness! Okay, Winnie. just remember that thought when I tell you the rest of the story!

INT DUSK- THE DINING HALL AT RUYSDAEL.

Kevin and Winnie eat at a table facing each other with Paul next to Kevin. Winnie gets up and goes toward the food line.

How long do you think you can keep this up?

Keep what up?

You know we have our first Military Science class tomorrow. What're you gonna do? Spend the next four years hiding from her whenever you have to wear a uniform? And then what happens after we graduate? No, don't tell me! You're gonna marry her and then leave for work every morning in a suit and then change into a uniform in the car!

Okay! I'll tell her.

Yeah! That's what you've been saying ever since you first talked to the recruiter!

I'll tell her tonight. Now.

They silence abruptly as Winnie returns to her seat. Paul glares impatiently at Kevin.

EXT DUSK- THE RUYSDAEL CAMPUS.

Kevin, Winnie and Paul exit the dining hall, Paul continuing his impatient glare toward Kevin.

Winnie. You... want to go for a walk?

Sure

I'm gonna head back to the dorm. I'll see you guys back there.

Paul walks off toward the dorm.Kevin places his arm around Winnie's shoulders as they walk.

ANOTHER ANGLE shows Kevin and Winnie walking up onto the campus green, a large expanse of well-trimmed grass and shade trees running between the rows of ivy-covered academic buildings. She rests her head on his shoulder and squeezes him tight around the waist.

Isn't this a beautiful campus?

Yeah.

It's gonna be great here! Everything's so perfect! You and I...

You know, Kevin, you never did tell me who it was who gave you your scholarship.

Kevin blinks, then looks at her.

And there it was. The inevitable.

Winnie...

Which is not to say that the inevitable can't be presented in the best possible light!

You know, they didn't just give me a scholarship. They guaranteed me a job after graduation, working for them.

Really?

With a starting salary of over twelve thousand a year.

Winnie looks at him in amazement as they stop walking.

Twelve thousand a year?

Yeah. Isn't that great? I mean, even if you don't work, the two of us could live very comfortably on that alone!

Which was true. Remember, it was 1974, before years of double-digit inflation. A three-bedroom house cost less back then than most cars do today.

Kevin, this sounds too good to be true!

It's true, Winnie.

Winnie hugs him, smiling and closing her eyes.

Then everything is perfect.

Yeah.

He looks at her guiltily. She looks back at him, and her ecstasy fades.

Well, I'd taken the best possible light as far as it would go. And now the look on my face told both of us that it was time.

So. Who are "they"?

The... the government.

Winnie turns pale, her heart sinking rapidly.

What exactly do you mean, "the government"?

The U.S. Army.

Winnie flinches, almost as though punched in the stomach.

And the job after graduation?

I... I go through the R-O-T-C program here at Ruysdael. And after graduation, I serve four years as an officer, starting as a second lieutenant.

Winnie grimaces in anguish, then turns her back to him and puts her face in her hands. Kevin looks at her helplessly for several seconds, placing his hand on her shoulder.

And I guess I knew there was one more inevitable question coming.

Winnie wipes her eyes and slowly turns back toward Kevin, then looks hurtfully at him.

Kevin, why didn't you tell me about this first?

I... I was afraid to, Winnie. I was afraid you'd talk me out of it. Afraid you'd insist on going to Dixon State with me. Or worse, my being stuck at Dixon State, with you up here...

The pain in Winnie's eyes gradually, subtly shirts from that of anger to that of empathy.

...instead of what we have now. I was afraid of our being apart. Afraid of... of Paris.

Oh.

You know, Winnie, nothing's really changed from a minute ago, when you were saying how perfect everything was. It's just a job. A good-paying job that'll support both of us. And it won't be like when...

... like back in 'Sixty-Eight. Vietnam's over. And because of what happened, there's no way we're gonna get into another war anytime I'll be in. And after the four years are up, we're free to do whatever you want.

Winnie looks at him, still showing pain.

I'd prepared myself for any possible reaction from her. A cry. A scream. A slap in the face. Walking out of my life forever. But what I got was...

I'd like to go back to my room now.

Are you okay? Are you mad at me?

I don't know! I don't know how I feel, Kevin. I'm just too... too overwhelmed right now....

She starts walking back toward the dormitory area. He walks with her, placing his arm around her shoulders, then leans over and kisses her on the eyebrow, but she stares blankly, neither rejecting nor reciprocating his affection.

EXT DAY- A MONTAGE OF SCENES

of the Ruysdael campus. It is springtime.

MUSIC: Life is a Rock by Reunion.

Things were kind of touch-and-go for the next couple of months, but by Thanksgiving break, Winnie's and my relationship was pretty much back to normal. By the Spring of 1975, Paul, Winnie and I had settled into our new lives at Ruysdael and were getting ready to wrap up our Freshman year.

INT DAY- A CROWDED DINING HALL.

Kevin, Winnie, Paul and Maureen eat and banter together.

In a lot of ways, it was like the old days when the three of us lived on the same block and went to the same school. We were maturing and making new friends, but we still did everything together.

INT DAY- A LARGE LECTURE HALL.

Kevin, Winnie and Paul sit together, taking notes as a PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR, with a beard and dressed in jeans, a plaid flannel shirt and workboots, lectures on Freud's defense mechanisms.

We had a lot of classes together.

EXT DAY- THE COOPER HOME.

Kevin's car is at the curb. Kevin puts a suitcase in the trunk as Winnie embraces MR. & MRS. COOPER on the doorstep. She and Kevin get in the car, waving.

INT DAY-KEVIN'S CAR AS IT MOVES DOWN A HIGHWAY

with Kevin driving, Winnie next to him and Paul in the back seat, again bantering and laughing.

Of course, we went home and came back together.

INT NIGHT- CLOSE SHOT

of Kevin and Winnie reading from the same textbook.

And we did our homework and studied together.

The camera zooms back to show the interior of Kevin's and Paul's dorm room, Paul sitting on his bed, Kevin and Winnie on his, all three very casually dressed.

One thing Winnie and I both loved was that great innovation of the 1970s, the co-ed dormitory.

INT- THE DORMITORY LAUNDROMAT.

Winnie helps Kevin sort his laundry. She grimaces briefly as she holds up a military olive green fatigue shirt with the name tape ARNOLD and U.S. ARMY above the pockets.

And I guess, if Winnie wasn't too thrilled about my ROTCee scholarship, at least she had accepted that it was the only way for us to keep our promise to stay together.

END MUSIC.

EXT NIGHT- A WOODED AREA.

The camera pans across the woods to show several Army two-man shelters set up in bivouac. At one end of the bivouac area, Kevin and Paul lie prone among some bushes on a slight rise overlooking an open field. Both are dressed in fatigues and field jackets, with camouflage cloth-covered "steel pot" helmets and web gear, and each holds an M-16 rifle with a blank adaptor.

March, 1975. Paul and I had just celebrated our nineteenth birthdays and were on our first field exercise with the cadet corps at Ruysdael.

So, are you sorry I talked you into signing up with me?

No, this isn't bad at all. Besides, I can drop out anytime I want to, no strings attached, no questions asked. Or go in the Guard or Reserves after I finish the program. I haven't signed my life away yet! And I still can't believe you didn't talk to Winnie about it first.

Okay, I was a craven coward! But what I kept telling myself-and everyone else-- was...

Hey! I wanted to surprise her! And don't think I didn't appreciate your playing along with it!

Yeah, you surprised her, all right!

That look on her face! She was on Cloud Nine for days... and I don't think she took the news too badly. Considering.

Uh huh.

It could've been a lot worse. She could have walked out of my life and never spoken to me again. I knew she'd come around after a while.

You really think she's accepted it?

I think she realizes that she and I would both be pretty miserable right now if I'd ended up at Dixon State.

I just hope that being together here is worth four years in the Regular Army.

Paul, will you quit making it sound like I've sold my soul? You seem to be enjoying this grunt stuff more than I am! Besides, I think what sold Winnie on this whole deal was my having a guaranteed job after graduation. How many other Freshmen can say that? Hell, we're set! In fact, right now I can't think of too many reasons why we can't get married sometime before graduation!

Have you actually talked to her about getting married since you told her about the scholarship?

Well... not really....

I mean, hey! I figured ever since were little, Winnie and I had always known deep down, without ever talking much about it, that marriage was waiting for us somewhere down the road. We'd been more or less engaged to be engaged since the summer after Tenth Grade.

Kev, is Winnie prepared to spend at least four years being married to an Army officer?

Paul, we're still Freshmen! She's got the next three years to get ready for it....

Yeah, when you're nineteen and in love, that's the way you think!

Let me rephrase that. Is Winnie prepared for you to spend four years in the Army? I mean, it wouldn't be any big deal for almost any other girl. But Winnie...

Paul, it's been almost seven years since... Well, Vietnam's been over for over two years now.

Uh huh. That's more or less what I'd said to him, and to Winnie, when I first told each of them about the scholarship. But by March of 1975, something had changed.

I don't think the Vietnamese on either side think it's over. Neither does the media.

There's no American troops left in 'Nam except advisors and Embassy guards. It's not our fight anymore. The South Vietnamese are on their own.

Yeah, well, try explaining that to Walter Cronkite. Or to all those weirdo radicals who spit on our uniforms and put graffiti on our building!

You heard right, folks. Our building. Paul and I had kind of found a home away from home in Army ROTCee.

Kevin and Paul hear footsteps and rustling sounds in the brush behind them. Kevin glances over his shoulder while Paul quickly rolls over from the prone position and sits up, leveling his M-16 at the source of the noise.

Halt! Who's there?

FRANKIE MOLINA and GARY ROBBINS, two other Freshman cadets, appear as shadowy outlines in the darkness.

It's me, Paul. Gary. And Frankie's with me.

What's the password?

Aw, come on, Pfeiffer! You know it's us!

And you know the procedure!

What's the password?

There is a brief silence.

Hey, Frankie! What's the password again?

Donkey! What's the countersign?

Impact.

You are relieved.

Kevin and Paul stand as Frankie and Gary come up to them, also with field gear, helmets and M-16s.Frankie is a swarthy, muscular youth with a thin moustache, while Gary is tall and lanky with a wisp of blond hair protruding from the front of his helmet.

So how you guys doin'?

Okay. We had a pretty quiet shift.

Yeah. We didn't hear or see anything.

Good.

Gary drops to the prone position and lays his M-16 in front of him. Frankie takes a few steps with Kevin and Paul as they head toward their shelter.

"Come on, Pfeiffer, you know it's us!"? God, what did I do to get paired up with this doofus? He thinks a kill zone is pizza dough stuffed with ricotta cheese!

Have fun, Frankie.

Paul pats Frankie on the shoulder, and then Kevin and Paul continue across the bivouac area while Frankie returns to the Observation Post.

Kevin and Paul come up to their two-man shelter. Paul deftly removes the magazine from his M-16, clears the chamber, catches the blank cartridge as it ejects, reinserts the cartridge into the magazine and places the magazine in the pouch on his web belt.

Hey, don't forget to clear your weapon! I'd hate to have you roll over in your sleep and end up busting our eardrums!

Kevin starts fumbling with his M-16.

It was amazing! I'd dragged Paul into the Army ROTCee program with me, practically kicking and screaming, and now he'd turned into Sergeant York and Audie Murphy rolled into one!

How do you do this again?

He follows Paul's directions as Paul speaks.

It's the button on the right side forward of the trigger. Take out the magazine, then pull back the charging handle. And be ready to catch...

Kevin clears the chamber of his M-16, sending the cartridge tumbling onto the grass at their feet.

Uh, I lost it!

They both kneel down and pull their GI flashlights from their suspenders, then shine the red-filtered lights on the ground around them. Kevin finds the cartridge and picks it up.

Maybe you should go into artillery or armor when you graduate. Their bullets are a lot harder to lose!

INT NIGHT- THE TWO-MAN SHELTER.

Two sleeping bags are laid out side by side on inflated air mattresses. Kevin and Paul crawl inside, then lay their M-16s, helmets and web gear between the sleeping bags, then lie down.

Isn't this great? Just like the good old days! You know, like in my back yard when we were kids?

Only more fun!

Yeah. Better toys to play with. And a bigger yard!