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Rabb Residence
May 2, 2018
When Harm exited the master bathroom, he was surprised to see that Mac was already in bed. "Caroline must have fell asleep fast tonight," he commented as he ran the towel through his damp hair and then went to toss it in the hamper in the closet.
"She was exhausted," Mac replied as reached for a makeup wipe from her nightstand and began to remove her make up. "As much as it pains me to say it," she said it with a sigh, but her eyes were still sparkling, "I think we may have future naval aviator on our hands."
They spent Sunday afternoon at the National Air and Space Museum, which proved to be one of Caroline's favorite places. Like her father, she could study the different airplanes for hours upon hours and never get tired of it.
His chest puffed out with pride, and he flashed his signature grin. "Well, she is my child, Mac." He climbed into bed beside her.
Mac rolled her eyes jokingly. "Well, she's my child, too, and I am most definitely not a squid."
"You are not a squid. You're the prettiest jarhead I've ever met."
"You're not so bad yourself...for a squid." She said as she tossed one makeup wipe into the trash can and reached for another.
"You know, you really don't need to wear all that makeup," he said as she began to wipe the last stubborn remains of her foundation off of her skin.
She shrugged. "It evens out my skin tone and my eyelashes aren't a full as they used to be, so the mascara helps with that..." She finished as she wiped her mascara and eyeliner away.
"I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?"
"I happen to be a stubborn woman."
"I happen to be a persuasive man." He leaned over to kiss her.
She chuckled and tossed the last makeup wipe into the trash. "When I was tucking Caroline in, she asked if she could get a Cessna for her birthday."
Harm grinned. "I want a Cessna, too. They sell all kinds of kits to build models. It will be fun."
"No," Mac clarified. "She was adamant that she wants a real one."
"Of course, she was," Harm laughed.
"She said if Daddy could have a plane named "Sarah," then she could have a plane and name it "Fly" because "that's a good name for an airplane" - those were her exact words."
"Well, it is a good name for a plane."
Mac couldn't stop her laughter.
"We should take her to see "Sarah" sometime." Harm finally said, his voice cutting through the laughter.
"Slow down there, flyboy." Mac finally managed to control her laughter. "If we take her to see "Sarah" she'll want to go for a plane ride, and I still think she's a little too young for that."
"But it has been a really long time since we drove up to the farm. Maybe we should do that soon—if the doctor says it is okay for you to be sitting a car that long. There's a few more things I need to fix up around the house and since we will happen to be there, we can let Caroline at least just take a peek at "Sarah" and maybe get a picture of her in the cockpit? It would be a great picture to have on my desk at the office..."
Harm had inherited Grandma Sarah's farm a few years ago after she passed away. Due to Harm's busy work schedule, they didn't get the chance to make the trip up there often, but each time they went, Harm completed at least one project for their "second home." Someday, their plan was to move there permanently, but that day was a long time away. It definitely wouldn't happen until after Harm retired, which at this rate, would happen when he reached the mandatory retirement age. So, they had plenty of time to get the house just right. In the meantime, he moved "Sarah" and the beloved Corvette back to the farm since it was cheaper than the storage hangar they were renting in Virginia.
"Well," Mac pondered, "It has been a very long time since Caroline went to the farm. She probably doesn't even remember the last time she went."
"She was what the last time we went? Two?"
Mac nodded. Harm gave a hopeful look, and Mac sighed. "It would be a really cute picture to have..."
"So, that's a yes?"
"It's a yes."
"You're amazing, you know that?"
"You may have mentioned it once or twice."
He leaned over to kiss her again.
"You're itching to fly "Sarah" again, aren't you?"
He nodded sheepishly, knowing full well she caught on. "Yeah," he answered truthfully.
Not too long after they got married, Harm told Mac he wasn't going to perform his quals for his flight status and that he was going to switch his status to inactive. Mac was genuinely surprised. He said he knew that his flying like that caused her nightmares, and he didn't want to start married life off like that. Mac said she appreciated that, but she wanted him to switch to inactive flight status only if it was what he wanted to do. He assured her that it was, and that he knew he couldn't fly forever. He told her that as long as could fly "Sarah" he would be happy,
And he was happy. He didn't regret giving up his flight status- he wasn't even flying that much in the years before he gave it up- but he did miss it at times. This was the longest he had gone without flying in a very long time.
"I know you miss it, Harm. I can understand that. I know that moving "Sarah" to the farm made more sense financially, but that that five-hour drive to get to the farm makes it a lot harder for you to have the chance to fly when you want to."
He shrugged. "Moving "Sarah" back to the farm was the right thing to do, and flying over there is amazing. It reminds me of my dad...it's nice. The first time Dad took me flying was in Beallsville. It's one of my happiest memories of Dad."
Mac nodded, teary-eyed. She knew that he would want to make memories like that with Caroline and the new baby.
"And, besides," he continued. "We've been spending at least one Sunday a month at the Air and Space Museum. I can get my fix there... even if I can't fly those planes."
"I'm not sure if I can tell who enjoys it more – your or Caroline."
"I think it's a tie. Seriously, though, Mac, I know that it isn't really your thing, but I'm glad you come every time."
"To see you and Caroline that happy makes it worth it for me, every single time." She yawned.
He flashed another smile – the one that she swore he only used on her. "Go to sleep, Mac."
She frowned. "But I like talking to you before bed like this...I don't want it to end."
He reached over her to shut off the lamp on her nightstand and the kissed her again. "We have an eternity to talk, Mac." Then he placed a kiss on her growing belly- she was just about twenty-nine weeks along now and the baby bump was becoming more pronounced each day. "Good night, Baby Bean."
Mac sighed contently as she settled back against the pillow. "Good night, Harm."
Sleep came easy to the couple that night, but their restful slumber was short lived. It would be just past 1:30 AM when Mac would realize that something was wrong.
Very wrong.
