iSeek Advice
The next week progressed without incident. The girls went on to school without incident. For the first time in years, it seemed that the twins were behaving like sisters, rather than sniping at each other, even half-heartedly. It allowed Carly to go back to her daily routine. Sam, for her part, played her cards close to the vest. Regardless of how cool she was on the outside, on the inside, Mama had issues.
The girls were fast asleep as Sam, ninja-like, exited the master bedroom. She had rocked Carly's world essentially every night this week. Carly deserved it. Sam felt like a heel for ignoring her wife's needs. She truly hated this sneaking around shit, but there was simply no way around it. What Sam needed simply had to be done this way.
Flopping down in the recliner, Sam pulled her PearPhone from the pocket of her bathrobe. She scrolled through her contacts. Everything in her brain screamed that this was a bad idea, although she truly couldn't see how. She felt like she was out of alternatives, so she made the only move she could think of.
The phone rang in her ear, the glow of the phone serving as the only light in the room.
"Hello?"
Sam swallowed hard.
"…'Evening, Colonel…"
They'd come to understand one another long ago, although they never spoke as often as they should. The poison that was alcohol long since gone, Steven Shay now considered the blonde like his own daughter.
"…Puckett…" he said, the habit of addressing his subordinates by last name alone never actually having left him.
"How are you tonight, Colonel?"
In the decade and a half since his daughter had publicly embraced The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name, Steven Shay had left the service of his country, embarked on the long road toward sobriety, rebuilt something of a relationship with his daughter, and become a grandfather twice over. He knew that he could never take back the horrible things he had once said and believed, though he now knew better. In the intervening sixteen plus years, he'd come to know that Carlotta's life was hers and hers alone. He'd learned that he'd never really had a dog in this fight – that his little girl simply 'loved differently'. He cleared his throat and spoke up.
"…I'm fine, thank you, Samantha… though I highly doubt you woke me to chit-chat… What's on your mind?"
Sam cleared her throat.
"Uh… well, you see, Sir…"
Steven Shay appreciated the formality, though there was no longer any need to stand on ceremony.
"…Cut the crap, Puckett… we both know I'm retired… You know you can call me 'Dad', right?"
"Uh, yessir… I mean, Dad, Colonel Shay, Sir…"
Sam was nervous. She knew she didn't need to be.
She didn't need to draw the former Air Force Intelligence officer a map. He knew.
"…What the hell's the matter, Samantha?"
Sam proceeded to tell the old man exactly what was bothering her. Her issue was the girls.
"…So you mean to tell me that you're coming undone over a couple of teenagers?..."
Sam stuttered. She didn't know exactly what to say.
"Uh, well, ya see…"
"…Carly's already told me…"
Sam exhaled.
"Okay, good…"
"…Can't say I'm exactly thrilled with her dating that redheaded roughneck, but…"
Sam being Sam, she jumped to the inescapably wrong conclusion.
"…All due respect, Colonel, but Megan's a good kid…"
The Colonel interrupted.
"…BUT… if you'd let me finish, Samantha… BUT I've been wrong before, so if she's safe and happy, who am I to judge?..."
The unlikely pair continued their conversation to the point of sage advice, at which Sam yawned and bade Carly's father goodnight.
"…Sleep tight, Sam. Give my little Snug Bug a kiss, would you?..."
Sam agreed that she would give Carly her father's love. It was again time for sleep. She knew the Cupcake would miss her otherwise.
RIDGEWAY HIGH SCHOOL, THE NEXT MORNING, STUDY HALL…
Ashley Puckett scribbled away during her morning study hall when her phone went off. She fully expected it to be Megan, but the message originated from someone else entirely.
NEW MESSAGE
FROM: Granddad
Sent: 9:38 AM, PST
Just to say I love you. – Granddad.
Sent by PearPhone by Col. Steven Shay, USAF (ret.)
Ashley was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't that her grandfather's love came as a surprise to her; it was simply that he was former military. People like Steven Shay had a very difficult time expressing their emotions like the rest of the general population. She herself took after Mama, guarding her emotions, lest someone trample them. On the inside, she was very much a daffodil, but she played the part of the strong, tough girl solely because it was her defense mechanism. She texted her grandfather back.
TO: Granddad
Love you too… Can I ask you something?
The response came almost immediately.
FROM: Granddad
Of course, Sweetheart… What's on your mind?
Carly and Sam's otherwise tough girl put it all right out on Front Street. She was too afraid to talk to her parents, her aunt, or either of her uncles. She figured her grandfather was far enough away – far enough removed – to give her a straight answer. She nervously pecked out her message and sent it.
TO: Granddad
I want to go to the Prom. Kinda nervous… Do you think going with Megan's a bad idea?
Ashley didn't know what she expected the older man to tell her, but she most certainly didn't expect the response she received.
FROM: Granddad
Depends on what your intentions are. Talk to your mother.
This was the Colonel that Ashley knew – the cryptic, cranky old man who would misdirect, obfuscate, and confuse, rather than answer you directly. She knew that her mother and the Colonel had been estranged for a considerable period of time, in the days before she and Mel had been born. She knew, but chose not to ask questions. One thing she had learned of both the Shay and Puckett sides of her family – Do not ask questions to which you don't already know the answers. It was simply better that way.
LATER THAT DAY…
Ashley and Melanie were packing up their books for the day. Bridget Xi had sidled up to the quiet little blonde and planted a nearly invisible kiss on her cheek.
"Hey…"
Melanie responded in Korean.
Bridget blushed, flushing the color of Wahoo Punch.
Melanie loved the pretty little foreign girl more than life itself. Now was simply not the time to discuss what was forthcoming. They danced around the subject, using the language of Bridget's mother country, before switching back to English.
Surprisingly, it was Bridget who mentioned their talk, muscular man-friend.
"You know, David's actually really deep when you get to talk to him alone…"
Melanie, of course, knew. They had spent their respective childhoods indulging intellectual pursuits. It was Ashley, two lockers away, who was caught off-guard.
"Wait… huh? The Briarwood Nub?"
"He's NOT nubby, Ash! I told you… he's shy…"
She ignored her sister.
"Yeah, whatever… what do you mean, 'he's deep'?"
Bridget blushed.
"We spent an hour in the library, just gabbing away… really nice boy, when you actually talk to him about stuff…"
The bell rang, abruptly ending their conversation. Melanie had to admit, she was curious. What on Earth could Bridget have found so engaging about David that would cause her to fritter away an our in the library? Inquiring minds wanted to know.