Over the months, the General found that the assessment of his young staff officer had been correct. Jackie conducted her affairs in an utterly professional manner.  Quietly, she served the harried commander of the army which each day drew closer to war with its enemy. She was accompanied regularly by the General's body guard, his orderly, his aide, and, thought the General, more than a little proudly, by her book. Weekly,  they inspected the troops, conducted the clandestine and sometimes open affairs of an army preparing for war. In that time, the General discovered that Jackie Small rarely engaged him in personal conversation, a fact which he found comforting.

"Jackie," he began, sliding into the car one morning and putting his brief case behind the seat, "You don't say anything to me while we're driving. I must confess I'm more than a little curious as to why you don't try to initiate conversation with me."

"General," said the woman, engaging the ignition, "You always look like you're trying to win the war all by yourself.  I figure you have enough people giving you advice.  I see your staff hovering around you, see you looking at maps and drawing lines and hear you giving orders, and I figure you need some time to just be silent."

The General nodded.  She was right.  There was so much activity around him that as the time for war drew closer, he craved the long trips spent in complete silence.  Many times he would sit in the car and rest his weary head against the seat, closing his dark brown eyes; eyes that often ached from too little sleep, or too much reading.  One day while they made a three hour trip to visit another base to assess their military readiness, Jackie detected his regular breathing.  She glanced over quickly and saw that he lay against the window, sleeping.  She did not disturb him, only kept her eye out for traffic and the enemy, and did her job.  when they arrived, the click of the disengaging key awakened him.  He rubbed his eyes and stretched.

"Did I sleep?" he asked unnecessarily.

"Yes, sir, you did."

"You should have wakened me."

"Why, sir.  You were obviously tired.  I'll be here when you return, sir."

Jackie had her friends on base, those in the motor pool, those on the General's staff.  It wasn't unusual for her while off duty to spend hours chatting with Neil, or one of the other men close to the General.  The harried commander was a bit surprised to learn that she was indeed so conversational, and he added it to her list of good qualities.  She preferred, while in his employment, when she was not called to carry equipment or accompany staff to soldier's camps or mess halls, to remain in the car and read her books.

"What are you reading now?" he asked on one occasion with more curiosity than the first time he had asked that question.

"I'm reading The memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, sir."

The General shook his head again in approval.

"Grant's memoirs are, in my opinion, the finest work on the U.S. Civil War."

"They are detailed.  I'm sure I'll be a while finishing this one."

"Jackie, don't you read anything else besides military history?"

"Some times I read other books.  I like to read military history.  I find people who plan wars fascinating.  I'm sure, sir, that I'll be reading your own version of this war  some day."

He peered out the window, took in the flat land surrounding them, glanced to see that the car following, with the body guard was at an easily reachable distance.  Momentarily, he turned his gaze back to his silent driver.

"Perhaps.  And you'll be in it.  I'll credit you for being the only one who ever gave me time to contemplate my decisions.  You'll go down in history as the one person close to me who could keep their mouth shut!"

Jackie, though interested in her books, always seemed to know what was taking place around her.  She would read for a moment, then look up, surveying her surroundings, checking for inconsistencies, changes in the scenery.  She would park her car in open areas so that she could have a good view of anyone walking within her vicinity.  One day, she looked up after reading a page,and swept the scene as usual.  She caught sight of the General walking toward the car, straight, tall, confident, followed closely by his body guard.  The three exchanged a glance,  then she got out to meet them.  She came to the General, took his bag, his papers, put them in the trunk.  The two men stood talking while she placed her book on the seat, and opened the door.  The general got in, still talking, then shut the door, and turned to Jackie.

"You saw us from a distance.  You're not only a good driver, you keep an eye out for trouble, don't you."

"You bet, sir.  My job is to take care of your car, and you, at least while you're in my sight, so I intend to keep an eye out for trouble.  We are going to war, you know."

The General spied Jackie's book lying on the seat between them. Taking it into his hands, he focused his dark gaze on the picture of the general dressed regally in the blue uniform of the United States Union Army.  He shook his head, sadly.

"Yes, Jackie, I know."

In the days prior to the commencement of war, the General went to the different troop deployments, shaking hands, talking to soldiers, confirming orders to commanders, making sure his army was ready, and knew its job.  The outlay of emotion and energy exhausted him.  As he slid quietly into the car for the trip back to headquarters, he grew listless and often wearily rubbed his temples.  Jackie slid his bags into the trunk and came around to her side of the car.  She noticed his distress.

"General?  You look like you have a headache."

"I do.  It's an awful, sick headache.  I'm so damned tired.  These men are honed to a fighting edge, one that we haven't seen since the last great war. I think it is the stress.  I'll be alright."

Jackie pulled into traffic and kept quiet.  Occasionally she glanced over to see him sitting in discomfort, putting his hands to his head in anguish. Jackie glanced at the gas gauge and saw that the tank was almost empty.  She looked to see the general half asleep and said quietly, "I need to fill the tank, sir.  I'll get the can out of the trunk."

He grunted, closed his eyes, tried to rest.

She pulled out of traffic, got out, went to the trunk.  Fishing around in the trunk, she found a bottle of water, some aspirin, and the gasoline can. She filled the tank, and came to the General's side of the car.  She knocked on the window.  He looked up, slid it down.  She handed him the water and the aspirin.

"You look as if you could use this, General."

He sat, stunned, grateful for her act of kindness.  He opened the small bottle, swallowed a few of the tablets with the aide of some water.

"Thank you."

She looked straight ahead.  She nodded.

Finally, the day came when the General's enemy commenced the attack against a shared supply line.  It was unfortunate that last minute peace efforts had failed.  Now, the slow attrition of enemy forces began, severely restricting the General's movements. He buried himself in his command post with Neil and the rest of his staff, keeping track of troop movement and talking by radio to his tactical commanders.  Christmas came.  A watch was posted around the General's headquarters.  The two armies made a truce.  Neither would fire a shot till the day after Christmas.  The General held a Christmas party.  He found Jackie in deep conversation with Neal Jackson, holding a glass, smiling.  Jackie looked up as the General approached their table.

"Are you going to join us?" asked the young officer, beckoning for the General to sit with them.

The General sat down, reached for a glass which a waiter handed him.

"Not for long.  I have to make the rounds, you know."

He glanced around the table, smiled a little more easily than he had in recent days.

"Jackie?  No book today?"

"It's in my room.  Later on tonight I'll become a sack rat.  Now, it's time for friends."

He chatted with them for a while, showed them some pictures.

"This is your wife?" asked Jackie, looking at a medium-build woman with brown hair and lively, blue eyes.  "She is very beautiful.  I know you miss her."

The General sobered. "Yes, I do miss her.  Especially tonight."

Inspired by the moment, Jackie pulled out some pictures.  She showed the two men her mother and father, her sister.

"You're not married?"

"No.  Not yet."

She smiled.

"One man told me once I was the only woman he knew who could recite the names of German generals.  I suppose that might scare a few prospects."

"Are you looking?"

"Not in a hurry, General," she said. "I don't want to get married during a war.  Emotions are high and sometimes people make bad decisions. I'd rather wait.  I'm really happy with serving and reading."

The General nodded.  He was surprised and yet admired her straight forward attitude.  How many people did he know who had made the wrong decision?  Too many, he thought sadly, as he gathered his pictures and his glass and prepared to go to another table.

As the general turned away, Neal spoke.

"He likes you.  You do him good, Jackie.  I think those silences help him. You don't know how desperately he needs them. If you sat in on a strategy session with all our allies and saw the grief it sometimes gives him, you would know just how much your silence helps. Only one thing, Jackie," admonished the General's right-hand man.

"Yes?"

"Don't mention his wife.  They're a very close couple.  He misses her terribly.  Sometimes I come into his office and find him surrounded with his pictures and her letters.  Our General is a very competent and clearheaded man, but there's just something about his family that gets to him.  He really misses them."

Conclusion—»