Chapter 6
Sunday, 18 May 2003
1800 EST
Roberts' Home
Falls Church, Virginia
That evening the adult guests to young AJ's party arrived, the ones that did not children of their own. The night was filled with laughter and good times. Even the Admiral didn't seem to mind when George told the new arrivals about his defeat at the wading pool. After everyone finished eating, came the part of the party that the guest of honor had waited for all day long. Because it was now, that he would finally be allowed to open his presents!
Meanwhile on the other side of town, Sturgis Turner arrived home more tired then he could remember being in a very long time. The only bright spots of his trip were when he managed to find a bit of time each day to IRC with Francesca.
His answering machine was blinking madly when he checked it. There twenty-one messages, two were from his father trying to confirm plans for the Memorial Day picnic, two were from Harm to see if he was home and going to be at AJ Roberts' birthday party, and the other seventeen were from Bobbi Latham. She was angry that he had stood her up for lunch the day he left, and that he hadn't called her while he was gone to explain, or let her know when he would be back. All the calls from her just reinforced his need to let her know that he didn't want to see her anymore.
But he knew that as tired as he was, it wouldn't be a good idea to try and deal with her tonight. He would contact her tomorrow morning and ask her to lunch. Francesca had an all day fashion shoot tomorrow, and could not meet him on line for their lunch time chat, so that would be a perfect opportunity. Sturgis fell into bed and knew nothing more until his alarm went off in the morning.
Monday, 19 May 2003
0900 EST
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Sturgis dropped his brief case and cover in his office and then headed to the Admiral's office to file his report on his trip. As AJ read over his findings, Sturgis wondered how his CO would react when he discovered that his daughter was about to start dating one of his lawyers. Sturgis hoped that the Admiral would be okay with it, because he was pretty sure that Francesca was the one that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But right now the next thing that he needed to do was clear things up with Bobbi.
Knowing that she liked Italian food, Sturgis suggested that they have lunch at Callisto's, when he called Bobbi, after returning from the Admiral's office. She agreed to meet him, but sounded grudging at best when they talked. It was clear that she was not yet ready to forgive him, and Sturgis hoped that this would help to make the break up that much easier. He also thought that in a public place she would be less likely to make a scene.
Monday, 19 May 2003
1200 EST
Callisto's Restaurant
Falls Church, Virginia
He couldn't have been more wrong! They had driven separate cars to the restaurant because they were coming from the opposite sides of town. Sturgis was waiting for her at the hostess desk when Bobbi arrived fifteen minutes late.
Her beauty always struck him after having not seen her for a while. She carried herself with an elegance and grace that spoke of being a fashion model rather than a Congresswoman. Her skin was the smooth creamy color of toffee and she was always flawlessly dressed. Today she wore a lemon yellow spring suit with a coffee colored silk blouse that was so close to her skin tone that it looked at first glance not to be there. Creamy pearls in her ears and around her neck set off the outfit to perfection. The only thing that marred the perfect look was the vexed look on her face.
To be continued…..