Nerd and the Marine

by Grady, D. R.

  One of the boys had a powerful flashlight trained on the truck and Lainy ducked under the hood. She peered at something, muttered something else he didn't catch and then turned and lunged for another flashlight her nephew produced. When she directed the beam where she wanted it, she indicated Dustin should hold the light. She then directed the other kid.

  In the dim light the flashlights produced, Mitch saw one of the boys watching Lainy's denim encased bottom with avid interest. Feeling possessive to the extreme, his hackles rose until he realized Lainy showed no interest in the kid whatsoever. Indeed, she didn't even seem aware of his perusal. Mitch wondered what she'd think if she did know. She yanked at something and an ominous noise reverberated through the night. She wiggled something else with the same result.

  Bouncing out from under the hood she located her nephew and shook her head. “Sorry, kiddo, but that wonderful noise you just heard was the sound of your windshield wiper motor box detaching, via rust and corrosion. This truck is officially dead.” Lainy dusted her hands.

  “Aunt Lainy, I've got to take these guys home.” Dustin indicated his friends with a wave of his arm.

  “It's okay, Dustin, we can walk,” one of the guys said. The other scuffed his sneaker in the dirt beside the truck, but nodded. He'd been the one eyeing Lainy's bottom. Yeah, let him walk, Mitch thought.

  Lainy patted several of her pockets before tugging something that jangled from her front left hip pocket. “Take my truck.” She slapped the key ring into her nephew's hand.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, aghast. Mitch could almost feel his amazement.

  “Drive a real truck so you know what one feels like. We'll go shopping for a new one tomorrow.” Lainy yawned and waved goodbye to the boys before turning and making her way back to her cabin.

  The scene faded and then bright sunlight filtered through and made Mitch squint, such was the contrast. He saw a decent looking mini pickup pull up in front of Lainy’s cottage. She strode onto the front porch and watched Dustin leap from the driver’s seat. Her grandmother exited the other side in a feminine, ladylike manner.

  “Aunt Lainy, what do you think of this?” Dustin cried, and ducked under the hood he’d just popped. Lainy left the porch, clattered down the stairs, and ambled across the distance to peer under the hood with Dustin.

  She poked around, checking wires and the battery, motor and transmission. She also slid under the truck and inspected there. Her grandmother stood a pace off, her arms crossed, a happy look on her face.

  “Grandmom went with you?” Lainy questioned from her position under the truck.

  “That’s right.” Dustin hung nearly upside down to watch her.

  “This truck looks far better than your previous one.” She continued her inspection and nodded. “I’d drive this one.”

  “So, I can buy it?”

  “Yes, it’s good,” Lainy said. “Has Ed seen it?”

  “No. I can’t find him.”

  “Ah. Well that’s okay, it’s fine. Between Grandmom and me, you’re good.”

  “Awesome!” Dustin shouted and punched the air.

  “Take Granddad with you to do the actual negotiating.”

  “Yes, lovey, do take him. He’ll argue you a fair price,” Lainy’s Grandmother Morrison said contentedly.

  “Thanks for going with me, Grandmom.” Dustin hugged his great grandmother before he jumped back into the truck and tore off down the lane. Mitch hoped he went in search of his great grandfather, or whoever Lainy had recommended he take along.

  “How about a cup of tea and some cookies?” Lainy offered her grandmother.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” They hooked arms and entered the cottage.

  The screen faded to nothing.

  Mitch leaned on his cot and contemplated the video he’d seen. So Lainy knew cars, too. And apparently her brothers Will and Tom weren’t all that great with them. Mitch thought he’d read on one of the many e-mails from her rellys that Lainy’s brothers were excellent with most tools, but they didn’t know cars. But ask them to build something and they were magic.

  He moved wrong and pain splintered through his body. Mitch placed the laptop in a safe position under his bed and stretched out. While he felt much better, he still ached. Within moments he lay fast asleep. He dreamed about Lainy at the lake, and then as she froze in the bleachers watching the herd play various sports. In each of the dreams, he was there, but more like a ghost. A whisper of substance, as though a thought, but no being to speak of.

  When he awoke later that evening, Mitch stretched and gathered his things. The date for him to leave dawned. He had some work on his desk he wanted to finish as well as other projects he needed to complete. So much for sick leave.

  Which was fine. He’d rather work. Plus, at this time of evening, most everyone should have cleared the offices, so he could work in peace.

  The sooner he finished the sooner he could hurry home to Lainy.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  To: L_Morrison@gmail.com

  From: M_Monahan@yahoo.com

  Subject: I’m leaving again

  Hello Lainy,

  Just a short message to let you know we’re leaving again. I figure we’ll be gone for about the same length of time as before.

  I imagine you’ll be busy with the holidays coming up. Eat turkey for me. I’ll miss everyone, even though I’ve never spent the holidays with you before. But, you’ll be in my heart.

  And don’t fret. As I've said before, when we’re in the field, all the days run together. We don’t know we’re missing Thanksgiving or Christmas. We’ll be off base the entire time. I imagine the guys on base will put up decorations if they have some, but my team won’t be here to appreciate them. Which is fine. Since the Fandrichs are gone, I’ve not felt much like celebrating anyway.

  Now that you’re in my life, I’m more than willing. I’ll miss you. But I’m happy you have your family to celebrate with. And I’m glad you’re busy with the kids sporting events. I suppose you’ll move into basketball and wrestling soon? At least then you won’t freeze in the bleachers.

  It's still hot and sandy here. I don’t think there’s any other type of weather. Oh, we get sand storms. Those are (not) fun. I can’t wait to see grass and flowers. I even wouldn’t mind shoveling snow. Or mowing grass. Or raking leaves. I imagine you’ll be doing that soon. Do you have trouble with the herd jumping in them? I know Bentley loves leaf piles, so you might want to be careful with him around. He’s NOT helpful with leaf raking!

  I’ve finished most of my paperwork and will leave in about an hour. Take care of yourself, and thanks for the latest batch of pictures. I just got them. I’ve put a few on my desk - those of you folks at the various sporting events.

  Do you have any aspiring actors or actresses? I wonder if you’ll go to some plays or musicals? That must be fun if you do. I believe my school had a fall and spring production, but I can’t remember, it was a long time ago. Have fun, and stay warm. Don’t overdo on the leaf raking, and again, beware of Bentley!

  Happy holidays to you, Lainy.

  I miss you already.

  Your’s,

  Mitch

  He sent the e-mail before he realized he’d put an apostrophe between the r and s in yours. Which wasn’t proper; you couldn’t do that for an English paper, but Mitch figured it said what he’d been thinking subconsciously. In the possessive.

  He’d meant it regardless of your’s being proper. He did consider himself hers. And she, his. He wondered if Lainy would even notice. But he didn’t have much time; his team was scheduled to leave in twenty minutes. He shut down his computer and grabbed his bag. He’d have to wait until he returned to see what she thought.

  *****

  Lainy stretched and finished the last of the raking in her section. She still contemplated that apostrophe Mitch had included at the end of the e-mail in his “yours”. Not proper English, but she understood. She hoped.

  It was like he
thought he belonged to her. Had he mistakenly put that in? Or deliberately? Had he truly meant it, or had that little symbol, which meant all the difference in the world, been an oversight? Was he driving himself crazy with all the thinking she was? Her newfound girlie side still wasn’t a welcome addition.

  Hanging her head, Lainy wanted to live in someone else’s life for a day. Because she certainly grew weary of being herself. Did men go through this? If so, she didn’t want to be a man, then, either. Actually, she wanted to be Bentley. Just for a day. No worries, no real duties other than ridding the yard of squirrels and since it was fall, soon he’d see a break from that.

  She hadn’t received Mitch’s last e-mail in time and only through experience realized she had to lock Bentley in the house until she finished. She’d discovered he was far worse than the herd about scattering newly piled leaves. When something that large romped through something so unstable, the big thing won. He whined and sulked, but she didn’t enjoy raking enough to be an accomplice to his fun.

  Everywhere she looked, family and neighbors were also out raking. They had certain days, usually Saturdays, when they scheduled leaf raking. Those not up to raking manned huge cauldrons of hot chocolate and cider and still others arranged cookies and treats on large trays for those needing a break.

  Great Aunts stirred large crock pots of barbeque pork, stews, and soups. Sandwiches lined more trays and heaping bowls of chips and pretzels were popular with the kids, who also hindered the raking process.

  “Aunt Lainy, are you sure Bentley isn’t allowed outside with us?” Became the question of the day. Little faces were drawn in lines indicating intense displeasure.

  “Yes, I’m sure. He creates a lot more work. As soon as we’re finished filling the leaf bags, we can let him out again,” she explained for at least the fiftieth time. “Not a moment sooner.”

  The kid’s idea of when the bagging was finished varied from hers, so she finally had to decree she would be the one to let him out. They whined and sulked almost as much as he did, but she stood firm.

  Lainy waved to her grandparents and Destiny, who were busy working in Aunt Tilly’s backyard. Aunt Tilly would be manning the crock pot lines. She made the best barbeque ever and someone thought she’d also made Italian wedding soup, which was another popular Aunt Tilly recipe.

  The teenagers were all happy to help, because they always had fun. Inevitably, they tossed each other into the piles, which was fine, since they were perfectly willing to re-rake the leaves. The herd was not. Bentley certainly was not. Lainy turned a deaf ear to his pitiful whines in the house and kept raking.

  Destiny shook her head. “That dog is going to drive us crazy, Aunt Lainy.”

  “I know, baby, just ignore him. He’ll quiet down once he realizes he’s not coming out.”

  “Please don’t let him out until we’re done.”

  Lainy laughed. “No worries there. I’ve got him locked in. The herd can’t let him out, either. I hid all the keys. We don’t need to be out here all day.”

  The lunch bell rang and they dropped their rakes and headed for the tent pavilion where the food lines began.

  “So, is Mitch gone again?” one of the bakers asked Lainy as they progressed through the line, loading up disposable plates.

  “He is. He doesn’t expect to be back until January.”

  “Oh, that’s awful. He’ll miss the holidays,” the woman wailed.

  “Yes, I know.” Lainy tried to ignore the ache in her heart. “The good thing is he doesn’t seem to mind. He said their time in the field goes fast and they won’t know one day from the next.”

  “That doesn’t stop you from missing him,” the aunt said and Lainy swallowed the ball of pain in her throat.

  “No, I hate that he’s gone,” she croaked and bent to select a cookie she didn’t want.

  “It’s okay, love, he’ll be with us next year. And it does help that he isn’t minding. Waiting would be so much harder if he hated every minute.”

  “Yes, that’s true. He said missing the holidays isn’t that big a deal for him. He wanted me to have a good time, and not worry about him.”

  “He wants you to enjoy yourself, so do, honey.” Her great aunt tapped her arm in a comforting gesture. “Make certain you do have a good time so you can tell him all about it. Of course, you’ll miss him, but that’s okay. Enjoy every minute so you can share the family fun with him.”

  This started Lainy to thinking. Ed, the videographer from her nightmares, had a special camera he used to send DVDs to Mitch. Perhaps this time she’d make him hand the camera, or at least a version, over to her, and she’d record some of her favorite memories from this holiday season so Mitch could enjoy the time with her. That would give her something to do, other than pine for him.

  With a plan in place, Lainy selected a cookie she did want, and picked up a mug of steaming hot chocolate before strolling to a table. Locating Ed, she sat across from him.

  “I want your camera.”

  “Which one?” he asked as he simultaneously ate, cut up a child’s sandwich, un-toppled a drink, and broke up an argument between the preteens three people down.

  “The DVD one you’ve been using to send Mitch videos.”

  “You've got a digital that records movies.”

  “I want your DVD camcorder.” Lainy remained firm.

  “Ah, I figured you’d ask. I built you one. I need to finish the debugging, though. You want it for the holidays?”

  “That’s correct, which isn’t all that far away.”

  “Right.” He caught an airborne drink and attempted to sprinkle salt in one of his daughter's drinks. She giggled and thrust his hand away before trying to return the favor.

  *****

  Thanksgiving rolled around and Lainy felt comfortable with the video camera Ed finally delivered. She practiced on Bentley, as she had with her new digital camera, and now had shots of him cavorting with the herd, and chasing leaves, since the squirrels were scarce.

  She felt confident she’d be able to capture a Morrison family Thanksgiving for Mitch. Lainy was happy she’d be behind the camera this time and not in front of it. She planned to narrate, which she hoped he’d like.

  Most men didn’t get involved in the chaos the kitchen became before the big meal, but since she’d be in the midst of the preparations, Mitch would have to be, too. They always ate at her parents, who had a huge, rambling old house big enough to contain their still growing family. Kids chased dogs and other kids as nowhere was off limits. Adults and teenagers occupied all the other spaces.

  “If you want privacy in the bathroom, you lock the door. If you don’t mind ten kids playing in the bathtub, or climbing into your lap or chasing a dog through, you neglect to lock the door. There is no place in this house that's off limits. No such thing as privacy,” she warned Mitch via the video.

  Lainy needed to prepare Mitch, but she didn’t want to scare him, either. Because she’d probably be able to do that, too. She instructed Ed to tape the football game for Mitch as that would give him some time with the Morrison men. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about what Ed’s camera recorded. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t built yet another camera and hidden it somewhere in the house, but she at least had some control over what Mitch would witness.

  Ben wouldn’t be at his folk’s house, since he was overseas somewhere. So she decided she’d make a copy for him, too. He’d still get to enjoy the day that way. This wasn’t the first holiday Ben missed, and she doubted it’d be the last. Hopefully it would be Mitch’s only Thanksgiving away.

  She taped the huge amount of food being prepared in the kitchen. Eight children, six of whom were married, while Max brought K.C. and her son, and four whose in-laws and siblings were present, amounted to much food. There were at least ten teenagers, and easily as many preteens.

  Her mother had baked pies all week and Lainy trained the camera on them. Two of her sisters had also baked cookies and Rachel made the best pumpkin rol
ls ever. She'd brought about ten of her specialty. Treeny, who was also present, had helped her. Lainy decided to make sure she got some footage of Treeny for Ben. The desserts alone took up the entire kitchen table - which seated ten. Lainy snagged a cookie as she took Mitch around to the stove. She showed him the plentiful amounts of food there.

  By the time they’d sliced, mashed, heated, and dished everything up, Lainy figured Mitch would have some idea of how a huge family gathering worked. The living room and dining rooms opened into each other, which was good. They shoved all the furniture against the walls and opened the table to its fullest extent, which seated thirty people. Another table ran parallel to the first, also seating as many.

  Kids ended up on parent’s laps and still others were seated at smaller tables clustered around both rooms. Dogs were penned in the study, much to their dismay. Lainy took shots of the tables, heaping with food and the eager faces of those present. Viewing the gathering through Mitch’s eyes gave her a fresh appreciation of the holiday so she told him. Lainy didn’t say anything mushy, since he might share the DVD with the other men on base.

  Finally with everyone seated, the celebration began. A blessing and thanks said, and then the dishes passed and were refilled and passed again. Since she ended up being one of the re-fillers, Lainy set the camera on a nearby bookshelf.

  The family talked about everything and her brothers informed Mitch and Ben they missed out on a great meal. The family toasted both men and the ladies promised to send treats.

  The food disappeared fast and chaos reigned as adults stood to assist kids at nearby tables. Her mother almost forgot the rolls, but a grandson asked about them, and she nearly fell over herself running to retrieve them.

  By the time dessert came, Lainy was full, but not so much she didn’t intend to sample the sweet provisions. They didn’t waste time clearing the tables and set pies, cookies, and pumpkin rolls out. A few cakes showed up, and Lainy groaned. By the time she’d taken samples of the items she wanted to try, her plate was full again.