Live and Learn.
Chapter 25.
Maddie and Liv packed up their room, Maddie folded her clothes neatly while Liv shoved hers into her duffel bag. Liv sighed and plonked herself on Maddie's bed.
"We have to promise to stay in touch, I can't believe we'll probably be posted on different sides of Australia!"
Maddie stopped packing and sat next to her, wrapping her arm around her.
"Of course we'll stay in touch! I see Mum and Dutchy together now, and I can't believe they were ever apart or lost touch."
Maddie's phone beeped, she pulled it from her pocket.
"Oh, it's mum, she's nearly here, do you wanna come over later?"
"Definitely!"
Later that day Maddie and Kate arrived home, as she opened the door Dutchy jumped out from behind the couch throwing balloons and streamers in the air.
"Surprise!"
Maddie looked around confused as Kate gave her a squeeze.
"Ah, what's all this?"
Dutchy popped the cork from the bottle of sparkling and poured them all a glass.
"One last party before you go out to sea, actually, there'll probably be plenty of partying while you're out there."
Kate glared in Dutchy's direction, giving him a sharp poke in the ribs with her elbow.
"Shh!"
Maddie laughed as she took a sip.
"Oh, umm, Liv was gonna come over, is that okay?"
Dutchy nodded while he topped up her glass.
"We messaged her to come, and Nate will be over a bit later."
Dutchy was outside cooking the BBQ, Maddie came out of her room and wrapped her arms around Kate who was preparing the salads in the kitchen.
"What was that for?"
Maddie leaned her head on Kate's shoulder and sighed.
"I'm gonna miss you, I was pretty excited to think you might be out there too, like, we could have run into each other out there."
Kate pulled her in close, sometimes she forgot Maddie was only 17, she always called her her baby but sometimes she felt like the baby.
"It's okay, we'll have plenty of time…"
Maddie knew she was putting on a brave face, she worried her mum's stubbornness was getting in the way of her happiness.
"Mum, I know your trust in guys is at an all-time low, but, Charlie?"
Kate dropped her grip and turned her attention back to the bowl of salad.
"You sound like Dutchy."
Maddie grabbed the salad servers from her hands so she would have to listen.
"Look, I know he didn't really talk to you today, but he asked me about you. It was weird, he seemed kinda annoyed but then kinda worried. I mean, you've only known the guy for a few months but you seem just as close and you and Dutchy."
"Maddie, that doesn't mean…"
She tried to grab the utensils back from her, but Maddie was too fast for her.
"Mum, why won't you even try? You said you've bonded over some pretty personal stuff, you don't do that with someone that doesn't mean anything to you."
"Okay, we're ending this lovely little chat."
"Mum, he's nothing like Mike."
She winced, unsure how she would feel bringing him up. Kate maned to snatch the salad servers back while Maddie felt bad about her quick comeback.
"Oh, sorry, Mum."
Kate tossed the salad, trying not to think of her failed relationship.
"It's okay, we're back to friends, well, on a professional level."
"Oh, so what's the problem then?"
Kate picked up the salad and headed out the back ignoring her question, Maddie shook her head as she picked up the other bowl and followed. Placing the bowl on the table Maddie wandered over to Dutchy, she had a plan B.
"So, ah, Charlie has daughters, right?"
Dutchy flipped the sausages, glancing over to her suspicious of her random question.
"Yeah..."
"What are their names?"
Dutchy put the tongs down, giving her his full attention.
"Molly and Grace, why's that?"
She shrugged coyly, she knew Dutchy would be on her side but she didn't want to involve anyone in case her plan didn't work.
"Cool, no reason, just thought I might look them up, that's all."
Before he could ask more, she skipped back inside, taking out her phone she opened Facebook with a cheeky grin on her face.
The door bell rang, Maddie ran to the door and squealed as she opened it, she hugged Liv and they ran to her room.
Kate chuckled seeing the girls together and handed Dutchy a beer.
"Sometimes I wish I was eighteen again, you know, without a care in the world."
"Am I hearing some regret?"
"No, not regret, but fear, maybe, I dunno. Dutchy, I just don't know if I can offer my heart to someone again."
Dutchy sighed and placed his beer on the BBQ, wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her close.
"Kate, there are plenty of jerks out there…"
She wrinkled her face, it wasn't the speech she was expecting.
"Ah, you're not really helping."
"But you're not going to know if you don't try, god, I sound like, well, the old you! Seriously, I've never seen him like this over someone, normally if they're not keen he'll just walk away. He believes there's no use chasing, cos they're either not interested or playing games, and he hates games. So, he's exactly like you!"
Kate rolled her eyes and sculled her glass of sparkling.
"Now that's the speech I was expecting."
Kate's eyes wandered over the beauty that was HMAS Brisbane, she blinked back the tears, she couldn't help but feel like she was missing out. She snapped out of her mood as Maddie gave her a hug, Kate's grip tightened and pulled her in closer, unable to let her go.
"Mum, I have to go."
Mike approached and Kate loosened her grip, Maddie stood to attention as Kate gave him a friendly shove.
"You better look after my baby…"
He smiled and shook his placing a hand on her shoulder.
"She'll look after herself, Kate, she had a great mum to teach her everything."
Maddie gave Kate another hug before running up the gangway, halfway up she stopped and waved. Charlie rushed past Kate, ignoring her presence, and ran on to the gangway, pulling Maddie below deck.
"C'mon, I'll show you round."
They walked down the corridor in silence, Maddie cleared her throat.
"Ah, so, umm, did Mum call you?"
Charlie stopped abruptly, Maddie nearly ran into the back of him. He exhaled sharply before turning with a stern expression on his face.
"McGregor, lets get something clear, on board there are no personal relationships, I'm your XO and you are a newbie, alright? I am your divisional officer, not your friend."
Maddie held her breath, shocked at his tone, without thinking she opened her mouth.
"I thought we were a family?"
Charlie held his harsh expression, realising she had talked back, Maddie closed her mouth and gave him a single nod.
"Ah, yes, Sir."
"I'll show you to your room."
Maddie unpacked and explored the ship, she made her way to the galley to make herself a cup of coffee, she screamed as she saw Tyler standing at the bench.
"Oh, my god! What are you doing here?"
He smiled, sipping his coffee, acting like it wasn't a big deal. She slapped him on the shoulder.
"Why didn't you tell me…"
"Only just found out this morning"
"I feel so much better knowing I've got a friend on board!"
"But Charlie's the XO, right? You guys are friends, well your mum's friend?"
Maddie shrugged, leaning against the bench.
"I dunno, he was a bit of a dick to me this morning. I think he's still a little upset at mum, well actually, the opposite I think he likes her, but she's being, well, stubborn…"
"Really? Didn't really imagine him to be like that."
"Yeah, maybe I'm just reading into it, I mean I'm at the bottom of the food chain, gotta get used to it, huh?"
He chuckled and handed her a cup of coffee.
"Well, it's not all bad, I hear Nate finally asked you out ?"
Maddie sipped on her coffee, trying to hide her guilty face.
"Ah, yeah, umm, he said you were okay with it?"
Tyler nodded and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Yeah, look, I won't lie and say I'm okay with us not working out, but I could see you guys had something, and I wasn't gonna stand in the way of that. What kind of friend would that make me?"
Maddie placed her cup down and threw her arms around him, she was so grateful to have a friend on board.
"Thanks for being so amazing about all of this."
They separated hearing someone clear their throat, they turned to see Charlie standing in the doorway looking unimpressed.
"I was informed you guys were no longer together."
Maddie cautiously approached, not wanting to put her foot in it again.
"Oh, we're just friends, Lieutenant, I swear!"
His eyes narrowed and looked over to Tyler, then back at Maddie.
"I hope so, you, more than anyone, should know about that rule."
He walked off, Maddie stood there with her mouth open. Tyler handed her her cup again.
"Ah, did he just say…"
"Yeah, that wasn't just me, was it? That was a total dig."
Kate sat her desk staring at her phone, she opened a new message and began to type.
"I didn't mean to upset you, it's just…"
She shook her head and deleted it and started again.
"Charlie, you need to understand…"
She rolled her eyes letting out a groan and deleted it again, shoving her phone into her top drawer she opened her computer and continued with her work.
Kate arrived home from work, she flung open her front door and let out a sigh, she was alone again, and she didn't like it. She peered over her shoulder to check if Dutchy was home, she smiled seeing his car in the driveway and made her way over to his house.
She knocked and waited, after a few minutes she became impatient and opened the door. She jumped, seeing Dutchy standing in front of her with two glasses of wine and a large grin on his face.
"What took you so long?"
Kate took a deep breath in, trying to steady her racing heart.
"What are you doing? How did you know I was coming?"
"Just did..."
He handed her a glass, and they made their way to the couch. He waited for her to start, knowing she wanted to talk, but she sat there quietly sipping on her wine. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at her over his glass.
"Anything you want to talk about?"
She shook her head while swallowing her mouthful, Dutchy took her glass from her and placed it on the table.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just coming home to any empty house…"
"Well, if you need another project, you can help me parent."
"Phht, yeah, I'm sure Maddie will love me hanging out with her boyfriend."
Kate picked up her glass talking another large mouthful, she hated that she wanted to ask about Charlie, after how many times she shot Dutchy down, but he was right she had to make an effort. Placing her glass on the table, her eyes darted over to him.
"So, umm, have you heard from Charlie?"
A grin appeared on Dutchy's face.
"Ah, kinda, why's that?"
Kate knew he was going to enjoy toying with her.
"I tried to write him a message today, but failed miserably."
Dutchy's grin grew knowing where the conversation was heading.
"And what did you want to tell him?"
Kate rolled her head back and let out a hiss, he was torturing her.
"I dunno, to kinda apologise, to tell him I'm not all that I'm cracked up to be, I'm not worth all the drama."
Dutchy slammed his glass on the table and forcefully grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Kate McGregor, don't make me slap you. You are, like, the best, do you know why I've never made a move on you?"
Kate froze, terrified of his answer, she winced hoping her response was the same as his.
"Because I'm like a sister to you?"
He laughed at her petrified face.
"You're the greatest woman I've ever met, I could never risk losing you, little own it being my fault. And yes, it would be like kissing my sister."
Kate exhaled sharply with relief.
"Yeah, no one wants that!"
"So, can I help you write that message?"
"Okay, but I get last editing rights before you send it."
Dutchy snatched the phone out of her hand and started to type furiously, he stopped and winced.
"Oops. Sorry, my finger slipped…"
"Dutchy! What did you write…"
"Oh, only that you're totally in love with him and you couldn't see it."
Kate looked like she was about to have a stroke, Dutchy handed her the phone back to put her out of her misery. Her eyes bulged as she opened the message, she let out a growl and slapped him on the shoulder.
"I could kill you…"
"Sorry, just wanted to get some reaction, you know, check your feelings."
Kate rolled her eyes and focused back on the phone. The message read, "Can we talk when you get home?"
She shoved the phone back in her bag, hoping she wouldn't get a reply.
"What am I supposed to say? You've made it sound like I have all these things to say?"
"Well, maybe you do…"
End Chapter 25.