PART FOUR
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2008
MASTER BEDROOM
RABB RENTAL HOME
MANASSAS, VIRGINIA
0506
HARM'S POV
I woke and opened my eyes in time to get a good look at Mac's backside as she leaned forward to pluck our whimpering baby girl from her bassinet.
"We should go into the other room so that we don't wake your daddy before his alarm goes off," Mac whispers as she stands upright with Patty in her arms.
"No need to leave on my account," I say softly, not wanting to startle Mac who still has her back to me.
She turns around to look at me.
"I'm sorry that we woke you," she begins apologetically. "I'll just take her into the other room to feed her. That way, you can go back to sleep."
"Since you didn't wake me, I must not be tired anymore, but I'm not ready to get out of bed just yet. So please stay in here to feed Patty." I can see the reluctance on her face. "I'll just sit here with you, and we can talk," I know that it isn't much of an enticement to get her to stay, but I did just wake up, so I'm operating on a limited number of brain cells that are awake.
"What do you want to talk about?" she asks, seemingly uncomfortable with the idea of staying in here with me.
"I don't know...we do have six children. I'm sure that one of them has done something that we can talk about." I hate that my words have come out in a sarcastic tone because it makes my invitation even less appealing.
The tone may have been uninviting, but the topic of our children must compensate because she's moving towards the bed, and her posture is less defensive.
"Yes...you didn't say anything about Abigail's piano lesson yesterday. Did it go well?" she asks.
"Yes, as usual. However, I was surprised when her teacher told me that Abigail had already mentioned that we'd probably be moving around the first of the year. She said that she only brought it up because Abigail is progressing very well and she wanted to encourage us to see that Abigail gets lessons at our new location," I inform Mac as she gets close enough to the bed so that I can stretch out my arms to take Patty to allow her to sit and get comfortable with a little more ease.
As she passes Patty to me, she states, "You did tell her that we intend to do just that, providing that you don't get orders to some place where we can't find her a teacher, didn't you?"
"I did," I say, pleased with myself that I'd responded the way that Mac would have.
As Mac takes a seat on the bed, I change the subject.
"When Frank and I got over to the Roberts' house yesterday, Nikki and Sami took off in one direction to play, and Ty and AJ went in another. Bud was working and wasn't at home, so when Harriet left the room to get us some refreshments, Frank and I were left alone. He told me that he was glad to have a moment to speak with me because there was something that he wanted to run by me, but he hadn't wanted to bring it up in front of the children."
Mac is positioned and ready for me to give our daughter back to her.
As I hand Patty over to her mother, Mac asks, "What was it that he wanted to talk to you about?"
"It seems that he, Mom and my grandmother have been talking, trying to decide when to return to their own homes. He asked if I thought that it would be easier on us, the kids and you if they left all at once or maybe if Grandma left first since she's been here longer and was about to leave before you went into early labor. Then my parents would leave after you and Patty have your checkups at six weeks. He then added that, if it were a different time of year, they probably wouldn't be putting as much thought into it, but, with Thanksgiving and then Christmas right around the corner, it seems like a bad time to leave because they want to be here to enjoy the holidays with their grandchildren. However, they feel that they've been here for quite awhile and that maybe they should "let us have our house back" is the way he put it."
"Did you tell him that they could stay with us as long as they want to stay? The children love having them here," she replies.
"Not exactly..." I hope that I'm not going to be in trouble for the answer that I gave Frank if what she just said is what she would've told him.
"...I told him that we know that they all have interests outside of being grandparents, and though we certainly appreciated them being here and helping out, and the kids have definitely enjoyed having them around, we'd certainly understand if they were ready to get back to their friends and everyday lives. I also said that I could see the problem with deciding when to leave, being that it is so close to the holiday season, and that they should make their decision based on what was best for them. We'd understand, and though the children might not like that they're leaving, they'd be okay."
"What did Frank say to that?" Mac asks, looking panicked that I might have offended him.
"He said that he thought that he'd come up with a compromise. His idea was to stay here through the holidays, but for them to get a place of their own. That way, Mom and Grandma could ease out of doing things around here, you could ease back into running your own home, and the children could get used to them not living with us, hopefully making the time when they actually do leave easier on everyone," I start to explain.
"I don't want them to move into a hotel when we have room for them here," Mac interjects.
"Frank wasn't talking about a hotel. He was talking about renting a condo. He made some calls yesterday and checked out a couple of furnished places that are close by. He said that way they'd be able to stay until after Christmas without being underfoot."
"You should tell him that there's no reason for him to go to that much trouble or expense. They can stay here!"
"Are you sure about that?" I ask.
She gives me a questioning look.
"I thought that Frank brought up a good point about them moving out. My grandmother and mother have taken over running the house. Now, I know that it started as helping out and I'm grateful that they were around to do it, but I can't remember the last time that I cooked dinner. I know that you don't particularly like to cook, but they're doing everything from the cooking and laundry to shopping and taking the kids to school. I think that, not only do they need to get back to their own lives, but they need to let you and me get back to being the parents and them being the grandparents," I explain.
"I can hear it in your voice. You don't mean that."
She's partially right.
"I do about my parents, but with my grandmother, it's different. I don't want her to do so much for us, but she turned eighty-six this year, and she just isn't getting around as well as she used to. It makes me wonder if she's up to being on the farm alone," I inform Mac, sure that, if she detected my reluctance in what I said a moment ago, my concern over my aging grandmother is coming through loud and clear to her now.
"Harm, until she came out to visit us last Christmas, she'd been doing just fine on the farm by herself. She's said herself that it's her home, and I'm sure that she misses it and her friends."
Mac sounds like she thinks that I'm overreacting.
"I'm sure that she does miss the farm and her friends, but we're her family. We could keep an eye on her if she stays here," I say, defending my view point.
"We can't make her stay if she wants to go," Mac states.
"Maybe not, but if she understands that we want her here... I'll bet that, if she isn't already in the kitchen, she'll be in there soon to start a pot of coffee. I'll go talk to her," I say, already leaning in to give Mac a quick kiss before I get out of bed to dress so that I can go have an early morning chat with my grandmother before everyone else is up for breakfast.
KITCHEN
0530
My grandmother enters the kitchen.
"Good morning, Grandma," I say with a grin.
"Good morning, Harm," she says with a yawn.
"I'm glad to see you. I was beginning to wonder if I should go check on you."
"Why would you think that you needed to check on me? Have you gotten that used to me making the coffee? Though I can smell the fact that you managed to make it this morning, if I've spoiled you by making it for you every morning, then I should start sleeping in so that you can get back in the habit of making your own coffee before I go back to the farm," she says, moving towards the counter where the coffee maker sits.
I can't believe my luck. She's given me the perfect opening to talk to her about staying.
"Not that you can't sleep in, I can make the coffee, but I was telling Mac just this morning that you need to stay here."
"The two of you don't need for me to stay on here, so I'm going back to the farm. It's just a matter of when. I can't decide if my old bones would do better leaving soon and easing into the winter along with the trees or if I should stay for the holidays, which would put me home right smack dab in the middle of winter," she states, pouring the coffee into what's become her favorite mug.
"It's your old bones that has me saying that you need to stay with us so that we can keep an eye on you."
My grandmother spins around, her hand on her hip before the first word leaves her mouth.
"Harmon Rabb, I'm not some fragile old woman. I've been taking care of myself for more years than you've been on this earth. I do not need you or anyone else to 'keep an eye on me'. I'm going back to the farm!"
"Good morning everyone," Frank says, entering the kitchen.
My grandmother grabs her coffee mug and spins around to look at Frank.
"Harm is seeing to breakfast this morning, Frank, but I'm glad that you came in. After talking with my grandson this morning, I've made a decision on when I'm going home. Since I've already told Trish and Mac that I'd make the pies, I'll be staying for Thanksgiving, but I'm leaving right after that," she informs Frank before she storms from the room, leaving me standing with my mouth hanging open, wondering what I said that sent our conversation in the wrong direction.
SQUAD ROOM
DETECTIVES UNIT
CITY POLICE HQ
WASHINGTON, DC
0930
"It's been more than twenty-four hours since Chissom disappeared without a ransom demand. Do you think that we'd be safe to put in our report to the captain that we've ruled out kidnapping?" Chandler asked as he started to fill out their status report for their captain's review.
"I don't feel comfortable with telling him that we've eliminated it completely. Even though his parents told us yesterday that there have been no threats against him or his wife, I think that our report to the captain should leave the door open - just in case we're wrong. It should state that we believe that it's unlikely that he was kidnapped."
"That makes sense." He paused. "If we're including all the possibilities, should I also mention the 'ghost got him theory' in case that turns out to be what happened?" Chandler asked with a chuckle.
"Don't you dare put that crazy theory in the report," Tanner said firmly, but the smile breaking out across his partner's face told him that he'd said it only to get a reaction from him.
"Funny," Tanner said before looking back down at the file on the missing midshipman.
KRENNICK RESIDENCE
ARLINGTON, VA
1230
Allison Krennick had so much military bearing that even her gait as she made her way to the ringing phone on the table in her living room was more like a march than that of a person relaxing in their home on the weekend.
She even answered the phone using military protocol.
"Admiral Krennick," she spoke into the handset.
"Alllie..."
That one word rocked Krennick's stance, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Bill?" she said questioningly, though she could think of no one else who it could be. Bill had been the only man who'd ever dared to call her by a nickname.
"Yes, Allie, I know that it's been a few years, but it's me."
The shock of hearing his voice was quickly replaced by hurt and anger, and she regained her military bearing.
"Not a few years, twenty years!" she hissed.
"Allie, I need to talk to you. Meet with me today." His words came out as a plea.
Only Bill could weaken her armor with just a few words, and though more vulnerable than most would suspect that it was possible for her to be, she didn't intend to meet him.
She had her pride, so she firmed up her resolve.
However, being human, the call from him after all these years had her wondering: 'It's been two decades since I last saw him. Now he calls out of the blue. Why?'
"You're still married to her, aren't you?" she asked.
"Yes, but -"
She wouldn't get involved with a married man and risk her career, nor would she risk tainting the office that she'd just been sworn into last week. It wouldn't happen...not on her watch - not even for the man who'd once had her heart. He'd made his choice twenty years ago and he was going to have to live with it.
"Then we have no reason to see each other, do we?" she said firmly, her military bearing returning in full force.
"Allie, please meet with me." Now he sounded like he was begging. "You may be the only one who can help me."
So what he wanted wasn't personal but professional, she quickly assessed from his last statement.
Sworn into the office for only a week, and someone already wanted to take advantage of her new position.
She shouldn't be surprised, she thought. She also thought that she might as well get used to saying no now.
She would not misuse her new position.
The hallowed halls of the Capitol wouldn't be citing the name of Allison Krennick as an example of why there shouldn't be a second female appointed to the position.
"If you got yourself into trouble, you can get yourself out of it. I can't help you," she said firmly.
"It isn't me. It's my son, and I don't know if he is in trouble...I don't even know if he's alive."
Now she heard fear in his voice.
"We have to meet in some public place," Allison said, deciding that, if a life could be hanging in the balance, she should meet with him.
"The Jefferson Memorial..."
"That's fine."
"Can you meet me in an hour?"
"I'll be there."
JEFFERSON MEMORIAL
1330
Before she could see his face, she knew that it was William "Bill" Chissom approaching her, and her anticipation changed to nervous apprehension.
'Had it been a mistake to meet him?'
"Allie," he said as he came near.
His hair had grayed around the temples, but time had left few signs of age on his face.
'He looks as handsome as ever,' she thought as she returned his greeting, "Hello, Bill."
"You look as beautiful as ever," he said, and she made note that he sounded sincere.
As his arms came around her in an embrace, she felt herself tense up.
Sensing her discomfort at the close contact after all the years that had passed, he quickly released her.
"I'm sorry, Allie. I'm just so glad to see you and thankful that you agreed to meet with me."
There was no way that she was going to admit how good it felt to be in his arms again, so, with her resolve firmly set, she spoke, "There's no reason to be sorry. I just think that one of us needs to keep a level head. We're both in powerful positions now, and being seen embracing in public could lead to speculation that neither one of us wants, Senator."
"I'm happy to hear that you haven't changed. I need a level-headed and objective person to give me some advice. Well, it's more than advice that I want. I want...I need your help, Allie."
"You said on the phone that this was about your son. How can I be of any help there?" she asked, confused since she would assume that the boy's mother would be better at giving him advice concerning his son instead of her.
"Have you seen or read the news about the Annapolis midshipman who's missing?" he asked.
"Yes," she got out before he began to speak again.
"They haven't released his name to the press, though I'm not sure if that's part of the investigative process or a courtesy or precaution because he's a Senator's son ... my son. That's why I need your help. The police haven't come up with anything, and though I don't know a lot about these things, I have to wonder if they're doing everything that they can to find him. I thought that you could advise me on whether or not I should go public ... offer a reward for information leading to his safe return. I also thought that you might even be able to look over what the police have and get some idea of what happened to him."
"I think that our previous relationship, though many years ago and not inappropriate, makes me a bad choice for the job as your advisor. I also don't see how I can put a military angle on it to make it a JAGman investigation and put my people on it since your son isn't in the Navy yet, even though he attends the Naval Academy and you're retired from the Navy."
"So, you won't help me?" he asked, sounding as if he'd just been wounded.
"I can't help you, but I know someone who I'd call if I were in your position. He's an excellent investigator and probably a better lawyer than I am, but if you ever had feelings for me, you can't tell him that I said that."
"I loved you, Allie, very much," he said, brushing the backs of his fingers over her cheek. "You were just more in love with your career than you were with me. I was ready for a family. I would've waited if I'd thought that you would ever have been ready, but we both know that you weren't going to be. I stayed as long as I could." He paused. "Was I wrong? Have you ever married?" he asked, gazing into her eyes.
"No, never have," she answered without regret.
"This person who you have in mind...will he help me if you ask him?" he asked, knowing that, if she said that the person who she had in mind would, he'd wonder if it was her current lover, and even after all these years, the idea of that caused him to feel a slight twinge of jealousy.
"He's a fine officer, a good man and a father himself. He'd probably do it no matter who asked him. However, I'm not sure if he'll have time. He isn't on my staff, so I can't order him to work with you, and he'll have to work it around his current duties."
"Where is he stationed?"
"He's the legal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy at the Pentagon."
"What's his name?"
"Captain Harmon Rabb, Jr."
LIVING ROOM
RABB RENTAL HOME
MANASSAS, VIRGINIA
1625
HARM'S POV
"So, Kevin, what is it that you wanted to talk to us about?" I ask.
"I just wanted to know if the two of you would be willing to let me interview you for a school project that I'm doing for my film class," Kevin informs us.
"Is that what you're going to major in, film production?" Mac asks.
"No, Ma'am. I wanted to, but my mother said that I needed to study something more realistic and pick a major that would get me a job that would pay enough for me to eat regularly. So, I'm majoring in business, but I'm going to minor in film production. I may not be able to do it as a job, but I hope to keep making films, and you never know. One of them might make it into the right hands, and I'll become the next big thing. Then my business management degree will come in handy when I'm running my own production company."
"I think that it's great that you've found a way to keep your mother from worrying about your future without giving up your dream," Mac tells him. "Now, what kind of project are you doing that you'd like to interview us?"
"It's a documentary on military life, not about the war, but about the families of servicemen and women ... what it's like to be separated for deployments, move every so many years, that sort of thing. I thought since you've served and are now a spouse, Mrs. Rabb, you'd have a unique perspective from both sides, the one being shipped out and as a spouse as well. Plus, Mattie told me about the time that Captain Rabb was missing for a period of time. I'd like to talk to you about that experience, if it's okay with you, Ma'am, and you, too, Sir. I'll want to start filming next weekend if possible."
"If it'll help, I don't see why I can't participate," Mac answered. "How about you, Harm? Are you willing to help, too?"
"Count me in," I say with a shrug since I can't think of any reason not to help the young man.
"Thank you," Kevin says before a blank look comes over his face.
"Was there something else, Kevin?" I ask.
"Yes, Sir," he says before he looks at Mac. "No, Sir." He pauses. "I'll let you know when I'll be here next weekend to film. Is that okay?"
Mac looks at me, and I can see it in her eyes. She thinks that there's something else on his mind, too.
"I need to go check on Patty and then see if there's anything that I can do to help with dinner," Mac says, excusing herself so that Kevin can talk to me alone.
Kevin smiles widely. "Thank you again for helping me with the project, Ma'am."
Mac gives him a smile and says, "You're welcome" before leaving the room.
With Mac out of the room, I ask, "What is it, Kevin?
"I'm worried about Mattie, Sir."
"Why's that?"
"Did she tell you that she met a guy at the party last Friday night?"
"She mentioned it, but then I took Abigail to her piano lesson. However, I got the highlights from Mac. His name is Kyle, right?"
"That's right, Kyle Chamberlain, and you need to tell Mattie to stay away from him, Sir."
"Why should I do that?" I ask, wondering if he's going to confess to wanting to date her himself.
"Well, Sir, he's the kind of guy ... you know, Sir ... he has a reputation on campus."
Kevin seems to be struggling with being straightforward with me.
"Do you know what a player is, Sir?" Kevin asks, finally making eye contact with me.
"A guy who doesn't have just one girlfriend and is after only one thing," I respond.
He lets out a sigh of relief that I understand and he didn't have to use the word sex in our conversation.
"Yes, Sir. That's the kind of guy that Kyle is. He's a locker room talker about his conquests. I tried to talk to Mattie to warn her, but she wouldn't listen, and we got into a big argument, and now she's barely speaking to me. I don't want her to get hurt or make a mistake, Sir. I think that Mattie was taken in by his English accent and his line of I'm good looking and sensitive, too, shit." Realizing that he'd just cursed in front of me, he quickly adds, "Sorry for my language, Sir."
"Kevin, I appreciate that you're trying to look out for Mattie. She may very well be making a mistake, but it's her life and her mistake to make. I can't order her to stay away from him because she'd do the exact opposite just to exercise her independence."
"But he's all wrong for her, Sir!" Kevin interjects adamantly.
"That's very possible," I say before leaning back against the cushions on the couch.
"Look, Kevin, it's obvious to me that you care about Mattie, but telling her what to do is never going to work. You're going to have to let her go out with him or anyone else who she chooses to -"
"There's got to be another way!" he says, cutting me off.
"That's up to you." He gives me a quizzical look. "You can either be her friend and be there for her when she makes a mistake or gets hurt as she dates whoever she chooses, or you can tell her how you feel about her and see where it goes from there."
Kevin's looking at me like he's the deer and I'm the headlights.
I guess that he wasn't prepared for me to be so blunt.
After a moment, he breaks out of the daze that my words had induced and says, "Thanks for the advice, Sir. I'll call to set a time to interview you and Mrs. Rabb next weekend. Tell Mattie that I said hi, okay?"
"I thought that you were staying for dinner?" I inquire.
"I was, Sir, but I think that I should go home. I've got something that I've got to work on," he says before scurrying to the door like his pants are on fire.
I wonder if he's going to work on how he's going to deal with watching Mattie date someone else or how he's going to tell my daughter that he's in love with her.
Wait a minute!
Did I just advise a boy to pursue my daughter? What was I thinking?
Suddenly, I feel some of the color drain from my face, not only because I think that I just encouraged a boy to begin a relationship with my daughter, but that I gave advice that I should've heeded myself when it dawns on me that my concern and love for my grandmother this morning probably came out sounding like I was telling her that she couldn't go home.
I think that I'll just sit here a little while longer to figure out how I should word my apology so that my grandmother won't only accept it, but the invitation to stay with us through at least Christmas, as well.
