The collective moan was laced with some heavy descriptions of sexual activity.
Damon approached Kyle. “I’m going to call Martel before it gets too late. She’s gonna ask me how much longer we’ll be here. I’m gonna tell her a month, will that work?”
“Sounds about right.”
Damon turned to go but Kyle called out to him.
“Hey, anything going on between you and Fredo?”
“Not that I know of. I thought I was imagining things there for a bit this afternoon. I thought something might be going on at home.”
“Okay, well, keep your distance.”
“Why, what has he said?”
“I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it. He’s got a thing for kids. And, well—”
“I wasn’t there, sir because I didn’t know about it.” Damon had considered this briefly but didn’t figure it was Germain.
“Just leave him alone and don’t engage. He’ll toughen up.”
“Toughen up? What does he have to toughen up about? He’s got more kids than—”
“Watch it, Damon. Don’t go comparing yourself to others, especially on this team. It’s a dangerous occupation. If they feel you, as a newbie, need to be put down, they won’t even think twice about it. He’s senior around here, trying to make it to twenty like all the rest of the old guys here. You got four years on your first hitch. You’re still in diapers, Damon, and don’t forget it.”
Damon realized he’d just been dressed down. It happened so fast it was over before he knew what was happening. He’d heard the stories about how there were highs and lows of any SEAL team. Some teams never gelled, like Team 4 in Virginia where Andy had gone. They’d lost guys they shouldn’t have, some on training exercises, which was a total waste. But they trained with everything live and real, so it happened.
Team 3 had been spared their share of problems, and that was mainly due to the solid core of the “old guys” as Kyle said it, who held everyone in check, and who trained the tadpoles. They didn’t have any superstars or whiners. They had lots of specialists in different fields, and there was a clear hierarchy of who was senior and who was learning. Kyle let them do that, as a good LPO should. Some were more heavy-handed, and if they lacked confidence, things could erupt and fracture, or that glue would never form.
Damon hoped it was just a temporary lull that just happened sometimes. He’d heard his grandparents talk about being married for sixty years and even they had good years and bad years, they said. The team was a family, after all. From year to year not everyone loved everyone the same.
Fuck it.
Now he was starting to question himself. He’d ruled out Fredo’s mocking and correction as just that time of the month, but maybe he hadn’t been paying attention to things. Now it was going to dog him, too.
It was time to do something else. He ran up the stairs and heard Jason in the shower. He decided to call her first, so he’d have privacy and then take his shower and hit the bed.
“Damon, oh I can’t believe it. I so needed to hear your voice tonight.”
“Everything okay?”
“Well, I don’t want to talk about it, actually. You shouldn’t have to burden yourself with it. I’m getting some help. I’m not feeling all alone, so no need to worry.”
He did hear the wiggle in her voice, that part that came from the back of her throat just before she started to cry.
“Better tell me now, Martel. Otherwise, I’m going to worry about it all night long.”
“Don’t be silly. It isn’t anything I can’t handle.”
Damon felt the pressure of not having a lot of time to spend on the phone. Calls were supposed to be short, otherwise it set up a pattern in the cell towers and created curiosity, if anyone was listening. Long calls were always frowned upon anyway because there was a lot of friction created between the older guys, who never had cell phones or facetime chats from home, and all the new “spoiled” SEALs who had all this fantastic equipment. They could talk to their naked wives, speak to their kids so that when they got home, they’d recognize them, even. It had been that bad. A lot of marriages were lost due to lack of communication. So it did make some angry, resentful.
“Tell me.” He wanted to swear for emphasis.
“I think I told you I was having a parent-teacher conference because of some behavior I’d seen at school. I told you that, right?”
“Yeah, and you told me you weren’t supposed to talk to me about it, so I quit asking. And you said it went well.”
“It did. Until—”
“Until what?”
“Until they got a lawyer involved. A personal injury lawyer. And they’re doing this dance about me not keeping her safe at school. I’m the one who demanded the conference. And I’m required to report things that I see, based on my admittedly limited experience, that look not normal. It’s not just what the school wants, or I want, but the law. I could have just let Child Services go over there unannounced, or the Sheriff, but I sat them down to explain what I’d seen, and what was going to happen. I also asked them to take the advice of the professionals, get Cora some counseling, maybe the whole family.”
“What did the sheriff say? Or am I not supposed to ask that question?”
“I can’t get too much into the details, but this now is going to concern me, us, so I sort of feel obligated to tell you more than I could before.”
“Okay. Look, maybe I should call you back tomorrow.”
“You can do that.”
Martel’s voice faded, sounding like one of her students.
“Sweetheart, whatever it is, I can’t imagine it can’t be worked out. Besides, they love you there. That school is going to bend over backwards to protect you. There’s no way they’d allow you to have to do battle with these parents and their asshole attorney all by yourself. Once they see that, they’ll back off and go after someone else. An easier target. Someone who has something to hide. A secret past.”
He heard silence on the other end of the phone.
Chapter 14
It was late, but Martel didn’t want to sit around the house tonight, especially alone. Her best friend, Kaitlyn, was nearing her seventh month, and would be getting a sub for the remainder of the school year very soon. She had forgotten to tell her the reason for Martel’s missing office hours, and the sub.
But it was nearly nine o’clock and Kaitlyn had told her that she often went to bed early these days because she was so big. She could call Aimee Carr, but that felt like she was going outside the school chain of command and might be a little sticky.
So, it was Kaitlyn she called.
“Hey kiddo. I was wondering if you’d gotten back. How was it? Did you get to meet her?”
“I did. She’s beautiful, Kate. Big blue eyes just like Damon’s. Has his build. She looks like a snickerdoodle with all the little brown freckles over the bridge of her nose and upper cheeks.”
“Said by a true mother Even ugly babies have fans.”
They both laughed.
“So, how was she to talk to?”
“Well, I think it’s a lot to take in all at once. She was a little angry. There was some resentment there I didn’t expect. Of course, that could be just my lack of experience. There are a couple of guys on Team 3 who were adopted, and Damon has told me some stories, but I think it’s different for a girl and a guy. Or maybe I’m just making excuses.”
“Sounds perfectly normal to me. I know I would be very sensitive to it. All these grownups making decisions that affected my life. Thank goodness the adoptive parents are nice.”
“They’re perfect. She’s just like her dad, and most people they don’t bother to tell because she looks and acts just like a clone of him. They’re very close. So, yes, I made a lot of poor choices in getting pregnant in the first place but placing her with these people was a good choice. One of the best ones I’ve ever made.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Kaitlyn must have figured she had something on
her mind because she let Martel speak next. That was one of the things Martel enjoyed so much about their friendship. They didn’t push, pry or judge.
“I was wondering if I could come over.”
“Okay, this sounds serious. Things okay with Damon?”
“Yes,” she lied. “He’s on deployment right now, and I’m not supposed to say where, but you know what my favorite drink is, so…”
“Indeed. Strawberry margarita. I get it. I thought you said he was going later?”
“This is a temporary duty, an emergency.”
“Okay, well, I hope it doesn’t interfere with the timing of the wedding.”
“It is what it is.” Martel wasn’t sure it was such a good idea to see her tonight. “You know, on second thought, maybe I should just take a bath, read a book and go to bed, try to get some sleep. I really didn’t sleep much Friday or Saturday nights, nor after I got home last night.”
“And maybe that’s why you think you need to have a talk. You could be just tired, Martel.”
“You’re probably right.”
“They do know you’re leaving at the end of the year.”
“Yes. Mr. Green knows. I haven’t said much to the other staff or teachers. Why?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure. This morning, Green asked me if there had been anything bothering you, like, why did you fly back to San Diego for just a couple of days and fly all the way back. He wondered what the rush was and why you didn’t take more time off.”
“I don’t think he’s ever paid attention when I’ve asked for time off before. But did he ask you anything else, or say anything?”
“Well, he said that he didn’t think you’d been your easy-going self lately. He wondered if you were having some kind of personal problems.”
“Oh dear. What did you say?”
“I knew you’d told him about the wedding, and I figured you’d told him about leaving at the end of the year. But I wasn’t sure, so I just said you were anxious to see Damon and go over the wedding plans.”
“And you didn’t say anything about Ainsley?”
“Oh God, no. I would never do that.”
“As far as you know, he doesn’t know about her, are you sure?”
“Oh, I’d remember if I’d told him that. Trust me, I would never talk about that. It’s your story, not mine to tell. That would be unforgiveable.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“So now you’ve got my brain going all haywire. How come you wanted to know about what he asked me? Is there some issue about you finishing out the school year?”
“Absolutely not.”
“I saw your car today, but you weren’t in class or in the office. Where were you?”
Martel had two choices. If she told Kaitlyn about today’s meeting, their phone call would take an hour or more. She might as well go over to their house. If she didn’t discuss it, she might not have an easy time falling asleep.
It wasn’t hard to make her decision.
“I’ll tell you what, let’s go to dinner tomorrow night. Maybe catch an early one?”
“Greg’s in bed, but I’ll check with him and let you know tomorrow at class? Or are you going to class?”
“No, they’ve got a sub for me. I’m helping with some things for the district, a special project. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow. In the meantime, don’t mention it to anybody. And please don’t mention Ainsley to anybody, and particularly anybody at school, okay?”
“You got it.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. But Martel, I’m genuinely worried about you. We’ve got the spare bedroom here, or you can stay up and watch TV all night. Don’t be alone. Promise me you’ll not stew about any of this?”
“I promise. I’ll be fine. Thanks so much, Kate. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
It was nearly nine-thirty, and she was meeting Karmody tomorrow morning for breakfast. She threw one of her mother’s quilts over her shoulders, and without changing her clothes, slipped off her pumps and walked barefoot out toward the surf. It was a full moon, with a smudgy warm cream-colored glow commanding the whole sky. She could imagine it was a piece of vanilla cotton candy with a nightlight in the middle of it.
The water hadn’t caught up to the temperatures of the warm spring air, so it was jarring at first, but didn’t take long to get used to it. She could barely make out a couple sitting in the sand just far enough from the surf so that they wouldn’t get wet. Someone else was walking their dog, which was illegal on this beach, but at this time of night, wasn’t patrolled. At her back, the glowing interiors of the beach houses began to make objects and the waves visible as her eyes adjusted.
She sat, watching the moon spread its magic over the whole scene.
Leaning against her legs, she rested the side of her face on her forearms piled onto her knees and kept that crouching position until she felt the warmth of her body filling up the air space inside her quilt bubble. She inhaled the moist cool air and breathed in tandem with the waves.
She hoped she was making the right decision moving back to California. Aimee had convinced Andy to switch to an east coast team, but Martel knew Damon didn’t want to do that. He liked Florida, but California was where he felt most comfortable. Andy had grown up on a farm in the central valley and didn’t have the same allegiance.
But that wasn’t it, she mused. She would be closer to Ainsley, although at this point in time, she wasn’t sure whether she’d be invited back to the Newberg home. Everything was so up in the air. Now her job was perhaps at stake. Certainly, her reputation was. There were so many things coming at her she felt like she was just in a reactive mode all the time. Not in a well-planned out execution, like one of her lesson plans. She was the slowest person on the track team, and everyone needed her to hurry up so they wouldn’t lose. And she didn’t have the speed or the training the others had, so she was desperately trying to catch up.
She missed her mother, who was courage under fire. She’d know what to do and how to handle this overload. Her mother could have run a whole platoon all by herself.
She missed laughing with Phyllis, Kate’s mother, who was probably up there dancing in Heaven with the jazz saxophonist—her fantasy love. The lady who told her to go find her daughter, to find that missing piece of her.
Confronting her past, dealing with a challenge in her present, and planning her flawless future, it was the women in her life that she missed. The ladies who bore their disappointments proudly, who did the best they could do, and didn’t worry about the rest. Martel wished her mother had met Ainsley, but she had a firm hand in Ainsley’s life, even though her daughter might never know. It didn’t make the gift of her love any less.
“Is this seat taken?” came a familiar male voice next to her. It was Carl Frame, her new neighbor.
“Oh, I was just going to go inside. So, yes, the beach is all yours.”
His voice was pleasant. His face was handsome. He smelled good, especially for this hour of the night. Maybe that’s what bothered her. He was trying too hard to be someone she really didn’t need.
She began to scramble to her feet.
“Wait just a minute. Don’t go.”
If he came close to touching her, she’d scream. If he actually did touch her, she’d scream louder. “I’m not interested in striking up a conversation, Mr. Frame.”
“Call me Carl.”
She winced at that, closing one eye. “No, I’m afraid it has to be Mr. Frame. This place is very friendly, but not at nearly ten o’clock at night. It’s not appropriate, so I’m leaving.”
“You just looked so sad. I spotted you from my living room window, that’s all. You looked like you could use some company. I was only trying to help.”
“Well, I suppose anyone would look sad at this hour, shivering in the night air, on an abandoned beach, when they could go inside. But far from being sad, I was thinking. And I can’t think when I’m talking, so I’m afraid I must insist that you leave me
alone and let me get back to my place.”
“Walk you safely there?”
The guy wouldn’t quit. That set off the bells and alarms, made the hair at the back of her neck stiffen. The quilt draped around her shoulders would be no defense. She needed a weapon. She inhaled, and as loudly as she could, shouted, “Go away and leave me alone!”
A couple of dogs barked, and two porch lights came on. She was prepared to yell again if she even heard him following her. She ran all the way to her back door, which she’d left open, the last time she would do that, whirled around and locked it. Then she ran to the front door and locked it as well. She turned off all the lights in the house and peered out her kitchen window to see if he was still out there.
She didn’t see anyone on the beach, or her patio. But she did hear a sliding glass door shut and click locked.
She closed every blind and window covering she could find, closed her bedroom door and locked it from within, put the water on in the shower and then undressed, leaving her suit draped over her chair and her underwear where they lay on the bathroom floor. She found a long flannel nightgown that always managed to make her feel cozy, spreading it out on the bed.
The shower was heavenly. Even though she didn’t have time to dry her hair, she still washed it and would deal with the tangles and odd cowlicks in the morning with some hairspray. She applied a facial scrub and then rewashed it with her scented gel face wash, used the lavender shower gel to make her skin squeaky clean, shedding all the negativity of the day. She was baptized in the heavenly lathers and scents, washing away all her sins and becoming fresh and new, just like the Easter Sunday when she’d gotten dunked and joined the church. This was the reset to her life she needed right now.
She loved the towel warmers the owner had installed, and tonight, as she wrapped and patted herself, they were nearly orgasmic. It felt good to stretch down and touch her toes, drying her lower legs, her thighs, and finally her upper thighs between her legs.
The towel came back light pink, one small stain that was unmistakable. Her belly didn’t feel like it was going to erupt and release the monthly blood and fluid it automatically stored twelve months out of the year.
Second Chance Reunion Page 11