“What’s a boonierat?” she asked laughing.
“Just an infantry soldier.” Rufus smiled. “A grunt.”
“A grunt?”
“Well, more than a grunt. Marines are grunts. Soldiers from the Big Red One are grunts. We’re boonierats. We live in the boonies, we don’t just visit. The jungle is our home.”
“Let’s not talk about Vietnam,” Lila said. “Let’s talk about Hawaii and about you and me.”
I’m nothing right now but Vietnam, he thought. “All right,” Rufus said. “Hey,” he said cheerfully, loudly, “let’s order a bottle of champagne. I’d love a f*****g bottle of champagne.” The word f*****g had come out so easily, so naturally, he had not even noticed it until he saw the appalled look on Lila’s face and the side-glance of the waiter. Well f**k them, he thought bitterly.
After eating they took a taxi to a se
