Chapter 28: When Johnny Comes
Marching Home
Reuben was different after the war . He had been home four months before he came to Jerusha’s house one evening in June of 1943. He looked the same; he had the same flashing smile, the same strong, symmetrical face framed in dark hair, the same deep violet eyes. But something about him puzzled Jerusha. It wasn’t on the outside, like his physical wounds. No, this was something else. And whatever it was, he had seemed to build a wall around it as if to hide it. But Jerusha saw it—not clearly at first, but later, when they were together more often—and she began to be troubled by it.
When Reuben had first come home, he went straight to his father’s house and asked forgiveness for the things he had done to offend the community. He said he wanted t
