by Tony Lavely
She pulled a chair around and sat facing the three. “I could have ordered her out. I didn’t. That will never change.
“Lisa asked to be part of our action, cried once a dear friend committed to her he was going to do his job even if he died, and—”
“She wasn’t ready, Beckie! She didn’t know—”
“Maybe she had obnoxious boyfriends, I don’t know. Or you did a better job when you had the chance than you think. She executed the take-down as well as… well, no, not as well as it could have been done, but she’s not there with Millie because her take-down was poorly executed. She was protecting something. I’m not sure what and I haven’t asked her because I think I know and I’m not sure she really does.” She took a breath. “That sounded pretty stupid; I’m sure it made more sense in my head. Anyway…
“Mrs. Grove, what is your main concern? That I allowed Lisa to put herself at risk? That’s what she came to us two weeks ago to sign up for. I’m sorry the two of you didn’t see eye to eye then. I’ll certainly promise that if Lisa tells me she’s done, I’ll make sure she’s taken care of and not bother her again. But she’s got a place with us if she wants it.” She paused. “That’ll be Maurice, about to…” A knock on the door frame. “… knock.” She half-turned in his direction. “Is Rou still talking to him?”
“She is. They have a few possibilities; he has varied talents. She has already dismissed his concern that Lisa would affect her judgement in any way, so… well on the way, I’d posit.”
“Thanks. Will you offer drinks around again?”
“I will, and dinner for you four and Mr. Grove will be about forty-five minutes.” He took a breath. “Finally, Ms Lisa Grove is working assiduously to have Millie and Josie allow her to leave her bed. I believe they are concerned that should Ms Grove get free, we will ply her with drink and food until she can’t stand.”
“I for one would do just that! But see if you can add a note of reason to the negotiations, please. We could even take dinner over there; Wendy and Megan have to eat as well. But first, drinks here, please.” She touched his hand as he turned. “I’ll have another glass of wine, please.” Wow, don’t think I deserve that look!
“You remove all my bargaining power,” Mrs. Grove said.
“I don’t understand,” Beckie said. “I offer Lisa the same position I offered her two weeks ago. If your husband fits one of our open positions, then I will interview him, as will anyone else Rou and I deem appropriate. Neither of those is intended to put any pressure on you… though…” Beckie could see Amy blowing up in indignation. “… I guess I can agree that you could interpret them that way.”
For the next forty minutes, the three women agreed to politely disagree on all the topics Beckie considered important: that Lisa had been thrown into a situation she couldn’t deal with, that Lisa should return home, never to see the Bahamas or the Nest or Beckie Jamse again, that even the chance that Lisa’s father might be offered a job negated all the arguments her mother wanted to make. Beth said nothing, allowing Amy to make their points; she did so, well, Beckie admitted.
Boynton’s polite knock ended the conversation. “Dinner will be in five minutes, if any of you would like to freshen yourselves. The younger Ms Grove has given the doctors the slip, so to speak, and she and her sisters will also be joining us for dinner. Josie is bringing them over, and will stay.” Boynton’s face almost glowed with his smile. “I am tempted to say chaperone.”
He became more somber. “Shen advises that he has a request to land from an aircraft out of Washington. The passenger wishes to meet you and the Misses Grove, but did not specify alone. Shen will perform the immigration and customs tasks and bring him or her or them over. He expects us to have just finished dessert.”
That’s interesting. Couldn’t be anything too involved, only been a couple of days. And whoever’d have no reason to meet… Maybe it’s Eric? Should I warn them? No. Not sure enough. Besides, if it’s him, I want to see how he handles it. He damn well better throw me out of the room, is how he should handle it!
A boat appeared in the light at the dock; Boynton, this time joined by Trillian, made his way to assist Josie in landing first the wheel chair for Lisa, and then Lisa and her sisters. Beckie watched as Trillian leapt to Lisa’s lap and tried to burrow into the girl’s bandaged torso. When Boynton began to push the chair, Trillian jumped off and stalked away. Willie came from the house and assisted Boynton in lifting the chair over the threshold even as Lisa loudly protested that she could walk: “It wasn’t my legs that got in the way!”
Beckie shepherded the women into the hallway to greet Lisa, and then helped Boynton shoo them to the dining room. As they chose seating arrangements, Beckie noticed a second boat; an examination showed one of Rou’s assistants bringing Mr. Grove to the dock. She went out to hail the man and wave to Rou’s helper as he pushed off.
Finally, they were all seated. Boynton’s grilled mahi-mahi went over quite well; it tasted divine with the citrusy sauce he’d added to each plate. Beckie finished her wine and went to refill her glass—No way this evening’s over!—but stopped at half full when Amy and Boynton both followed her into the kitchen. “Will you be having regular coffee as well, Mistress Rebecca?”
Boynton’s reproachful tone brought Beckie’s head around to gape at him; she recovered and said as politely as she could, “Possibly.”
Lisa was asked to relive her experiences once more; Beckie was about to deflect that line of conversation, but Lisa did it herself, by asking her parents what they’d been doing all afternoon. When they told her that they’d been talking with Beckie, Lisa’s understanding took over. “You were trying to get Mrs. Jamse to fire me!”
“No, Lisa,” Beckie said. “They were trying to understand what happened, why you were there at all. Your position here didn’t come up at all.” Though that’s probably understating it, she acknowledged to herself. But I don’t want Lisa and her parents up in arms over this unless they push it. “They’re your parents; no one will love you as much or the way they do. They needed to understand, as best they can, how I failed to protect you.”
“But… but…”
“No buts, Lisa. That’s the discussion we had. Similarly with your mentors.” She waved at Amy and Beth, sitting beside her. “They are rightly concerned that you had very little training in preparation for action, and…” She felt a wry smile twist her lips. “… haven’t finished saying so.” Beckie finished the last sip of her wine and turned the glass over on her napkin. “If you want it, and if you don’t flunk out of the rest of your training, the position is yours.”
“Oh! Thank you! I do want it.”
Boynton waved to attract Beckie’s attention, then tipped his head toward the window as he said, “May I serve the coffee?”
“Please. I will attend the arrivals.” She looked again at the boat coming into the pool of light. “I’ll take them to the lanai. Amy, will you, Beth and Willie keep things under control here, please?”
As Beckie strolled down the crushed shell walkway to the dock, the boat landed and a pleasantly tall man debarked. As he hurried toward her, Beckie said, “Mr. Five, I presume.” When he nodded and offered his hand, she shook it. “We’ll go to the lanai and we can… you can explain your rushed visit.” As she led him, she asked, “Would you like fresh coffee? Or water, soda, or something stronger? Maurice has a wide selection.”
“Normally, I’d take a beer, but… there are important things to do tonight. Coffee would be wonderful.” Boynton, carrying a full service, entered as Five spoke. “That’s impressive service.”
Boynton nodded as Beckie said, “Indeed,” and caught herself. She took a deep breath. “But, to be honest, as he will if I’m not, I’d already asked him to bring me coffee, and he doesn’t do things halfway.”
“Would the Mistress or the gentleman enjoy some cookies? Or something more substantial, sir? It will be no difficulty, to be sure.”
Five’s stomach took that oppor
tunity to rumble and Beckie smiled. “Whether he admits it or not, something more substantial, please.” Boynton nodded in agreement and headed to the door. “Now, while we both fix our drinks, how may I help you?”
He sipped from his cup. “First, I am asked to thank you for your team’s assistance.” He reached in the small case he carried and withdrew a package, about three inches on a side and four or five tall. “From me personally, I’d like you to have this.”
She took it with a look that revealed her confusion, but as she unwrapped it, the confusion became surprise, followed by amusement and finally pleasure. She held a statuette of the letter V. Atop the right hand platform stood a miniature hawk. Or maybe it’s a falcon. Whichever, it’s a raptor. She smiled, putting all the warmth she could into it. “Thank you, but you couldn’t have thought I’d forget you? It’s wonderful and I have just the place for it. Of course, you shouldn’t have.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. But you helped me even more than by saving San Diego.”
“Oh, yeah. Was the… package… inoperative after all?”
Boynton stepped onto the lanai with a tray on which he’d placed a complete dinner from the evening’s repast. Five’s jaw dropped. “I expected maybe a ham sandwich. This is beyond the call of duty, sir, thank you very much.”
“Enjoy, please. You may need your strength.”
Beckie looked at Five, and they both looked at Boynton, who was walking off the lanai, ignoring them. They laughed.
“Okay,” Beckie said as Five pushed the plate away, “this…” She touched the hawk’s wingtip. “… lovely and enigmatic as it is, isn’t why you’re here, unless you’ve… No. You’re here to see Lisa…” She watched his eyes. “… and Wendy, right?”
“Yes. May I?”
“Certainly. First, though, unless you want to also have a burley, overprotective nurse named Josie here also, allow me to explain. Lisa has a bullet wound under her left arm, exiting near her collar bone and nicking her jaw. She also has a deep knife wound running through her right breast and up to her left shoulder. She’s in a wheelchair to help keep the stitches from being stressed. I’m telling you so you don’t grab her or hug her or… You get the picture.
“I’ve watched her as she talked about you… She loves you. Watching your face, you don’t love her the same way. Wendy?”
He nodded. “They are both great. Hell, Megan is, too. After what happened to Wendy… and Megan and Kylie… I’d fallen for Wendy before that, even, but I was so much older than she… Well—”
“I don’t need to know any more. I hope you’ve finally come to your senses. My husband was almost twice my age when we met, so I can understand some of your worries. Shall I bring them both out? That would be my recommendation.”
He nodded. “Will she be okay? I don’t want to hurt her.”
“No matter what you do, at least one of them will be hurt, I’ll bet. Can you stay friends with her? I think that would help.”
He said nothing, just got up and went to the lanai rail.
Beckie went in and wheeled Lisa out, catching Wendy’s hand to accompany them.
Five muttered, “Maybe I shouldn’t do this—”
“Too late.”
He spun to see them. Beckie had her hands on Lisa’s shoulders to prevent her trying to jump and run to the man, but no one could have stopped Wendy. Her squeal must have been audible in Nassau, as she ran to throw herself into his embrace. While Lisa had made a token attempt to rise, Beckie held her in the chair. Beckie leaned over so her face was beside Lisa’s; she could see the girl’s muscles working, holding some emotion back. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered.
Lisa jumped a little at the breath on her ear, then turned to stare. “Will it?” Her hand came up to cut off any response.
The other two had disengaged and Five came to kneel beside Lisa’s knee. “I hope this is okay?” he said as he laid an arm across her legs. When she nodded, he continued, “For you, Miss Grove, though it may not be what you wish, I offer our country’s thanks in bringing a terrorist to face justice. I believe that Mrs. Jamse will have a more tangible reward for you in a day or so. From me, a very personal thank you…” He delved in his bag again, this time removing a long thin box. Beckie watched as Lisa took it, almost fumbling but making a good recovery, and gently prised the top off.
When she unfolded the tissue paper, on a velvet background lay a twined hearts necklace. Beckie approved, but wondered if Lisa would interpret it as Five intended.
Lisa stared for a second, silent. Tears overflowed her lids as she looked into his face. “It’s beautiful. But… shouldn’t Wendy…” Her sob caught, Beckie wondered at the force of will Lisa made to prevent the breakdown she obviously was fighting.
Five moved to touch Lisa’s cheek, gently, avoiding her dressings, not making any promises he wouldn’t keep. “This…” He took the necklace from her hand and reached to fasten it; Beckie assisted by guiding his hand behind her neck and adjusting her collar. “This is for you, to symbolize the feelings I have for you in bringing Wendy and I together.”
Am I the only one who heard that little gasp? Beckie glanced at Wendy, who stood statue still, her hands clasped before her. Tears were running down her cheeks.
Lisa made an abortive motion, attempting to bend at the waist. She gave it up. “Eric, please… I can’t bend down, so will you bring your head up here and kiss me?” After a very long minute, she broke his touch. “I’ve known forever, Eric. Since the first time you kissed us both on the cheek all those years ago. But now, you better take excellent care… brilliant care! of her. And maybe explain to her what the two of us already know. She’s being her usual, lovable, oblivious self.”
Five gave Lisa another kiss, then stood and faced Wendy, still statute still, still with tears streaming. He knelt and took her hand with his left, scrabbling in a pocket with his right. “Wendy Grove, I love you. I learned this past weekend that I don’t want to live without you. Imagine my distress when I appeared at your apartment and your roommate said you were away with your sister. But it’s all right now. Wendy Grove, will you do me the honor of being my forever partner in marriage?”
Beckie backed Lisa’s chair away in case Wendy collapsed, since she looked to be on the verge of doing so. But instead, she hiked up her now too narrow skirt and dropped to embrace Five with all her energy. While Beckie was sure the words blasted and echoed in Lisa’s ears, Wendy’s “Yes! Yes. If you’ll be mine,” was barely loud enough to hear.
Before Wendy’s skirt could pose more of a problem, Beckie stepped around and touched both their shoulders. Five lifted Wendy as he stood.
“Would you like dessert with that?” Beckie teased, then called, “Maurice! A little help here.” When he popped his head into view, she said, “The future Mr. and Mrs. Five would like some privacy. Knowing it is ideal, how about the Bright Room?”
“It will be perfect, I’m sure.” Boynton led the couple into the house.
As Beckie pulled a chair over to sit at Lisa’s knee, the girl said, “That’s not the room I was in?”
“Not a chance. That room’s next to mine and I need to get some sleep! No, it’s at the east end, and is noted for having full furnishings. They won’t have to use the bed if they’re not ready; with a sofa and four or five chairs along with a card table, an antique harpsichord and a guitar… They can bond however they wish. Until morning, anyway. The sun lights it like… like a bonfire!”
Lisa gave a faint laugh. “They won’t even notice.” She rubbed her cheek. “What about me?”
“What about you?” Beckie leaned over to take her hand. “You’ve just had something confirmed that you suspected all along; you still have a chance at what you think is your dream work… Or are you rethinking that choice?”
“No! Absolutely not! Even just the weekend with Amy and Beth… And then, though I couldn’t do anything beside get myself shot and sliced, to just be with you and Sam and the others. I’d kill myself if I flunk out n
ow… well, no, I wouldn’t do that…” She must be reacting to my expression. “But, what kinda guy’s going to want me, now?” She waved her hand along the path the knife had taken. “With my ‘open here’ scar and my split breast?”
“Yeah,” Beckie retorted. “Not nearly so attractive as my bullet holes and six puncture marks…” She rubbed her arm. “… or the heavy make-up parts of my face. If you want to feel sorry for someone, since my scars are, honestly, not all that much, ask Sue to exhibit hers for you. When she does, remember, she managed to snare Rich, even with… Well, you should talk to her tomorrow.
“We’ve talked to your surgeon; your breast will work, both for milk when the time comes, and for pleasure before and after that, even with the scar he worked very hard to minimize. Don’t forget, I’ve seen you; anyone not physically attracted to you has other problems, believe me. Now. Would you like to go back to the dining room, or should Josie and Megan take you back to the hospital?”
“Yeah… yeah, that’s best, I think. I don’t want to be telling on Wendy and Eric. They should talk to Mom and Dad themselves.”
Beckie nodded and Boynton, just back from the Bright Room, went back inside.
As she watched Mr. Grove push his daughter’s wheelchair, accompanied by his wife and Megan, and Josie of course, someone rustled the fabric of the sofa behind her. When she turned, Amy sat on the couch; Beth had taken a chair.
Beckie smiled… I’ll bet I know where this is going… and took her seat at end of the sofa away from Amy, who immediately slid over til their legs nearly touched.
“Good work,” Amy said. “How much did you pay him to interrupt just then?”
“What? You can’t believe… That is just so…” It’s perfectly reasonable, Beckie thought but refused to voice. “I had nothing to do with it. Seriously!” she retorted when raised eyebrows from both women greeted her statement.
“Well, it was certainly… fortuitous, then,” Beth said. Beckie allowed her small smile to show; Beth’s humor couldn’t go unchallenged.