Chapter 3
Kendra's orientation at the Agency only lasted about five hours, even with a lunch break, and much of it concerned what to expect at Station One, which would be starting in less than two days. She retraced her route of that morning, picked up her car from the apartment building parking lot, and drove to her mother's house, where she was surprised to see her father's fire-engine red Corvette Stingray in the driveway. "At four o'clock in the afternoon? What happened to Colonel 'The Army is My Life' Davis?" she thought. Colonel Matthew Davis was currently assigned to Headquarters, U. S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia, 180 miles away; for him to be at her mother's house at that hour of the day meant that, even in the 'Vette, he would have had to take at least part of the day off, and she had no idea how long he'd been in Arlington. She used her key to unlock the front door and walked in, calling, "Mom? Matt?"
She'd stopped calling her father 'Daddy' when he'd left them seven years before, reasoning that he'd lost the right to the affectionate term; he hadn't liked being addressed by his first name, but he'd accepted it.
"In here, honey," her mother, Deborah Lowe Davis, called out.
She walked through to the family room, where her father, aged forty-seven and still very fit, as his profession required, rose from where he'd been sitting on the couch with her mother and came to hug her and kiss her cheek. She didn't refuse the gesture, knowing that to do so would just hurt her mother.
"Hi, Kenleigh," he said. "How was your first day at the Agency?"
"Good; I got my orientation and Mrs. Stetson gave us some idea of what to expect from Station One, the orientation and confidence course. I think I'm going to like it there."
"Good. I met Stetson about fifteen years ago, when I was a very junior major; he doesn't have much use for the army, so we didn't exactly bond over a draft beer, but from everything I've heard he's very good at his job."
"If I make it through the training and the probationary period and get a field assignment, he'll be my supervisor. Mrs. Stetson is very nice, and I even met one of her sons from her first marriage, Phillip King."
"Is he in the class?" Matt asked.
"No, he chose another path; he's working as an intern for the Thornton Foundation, writing position papers. I'm surprised to see you here today, sir."
He winced at the formality, but said only, "I know, the hard-charging colonel who never leaves the office before eight o'clock at night, right? Well, I've been doing some thinking, honey, and I came here to apologize to your mother for being such a…." he paused.
"Jerk?" Kendra asked.
"I was going to use a much cruder term, but that will work."
"Why? What brought about the change of heart?"
"Kendra Leigh!" her mother said. "Don't speak to your father like that!"
"It's all right, Deb. I deserve it. To answer your question, Kenleigh, there's nothing like looking fifty in the face and realizing I'm never going to make general to make me realize that I've had my priorities all wrong for a very, very long time."
"And if you had made the promotion list for one-star, would you still be here?"
"Kendra Leigh, that's enough!" her mother said. "Show some respect!"
"Why, Deb? God knows I didn't earn it. When she was little, I missed every school activity, every ballet recital, every softball game, and for what? So I could stay on the fast track to the next promotion? No wonder your new boss, Stetson, saw me as an arrogant jerk. When I walked out on your mother seven years ago, I told myself it was because the marriage had failed and it was better that we just face facts and get on with our lives. I hoped that she'd find someone who'd treat her better than I did."
"She never even tried. She never stopped loving you, and she would never hear a word against you, you know that?" Kendra asked.
"I know. She's still defending me, even to you. Look, Kenleigh, I know I burned my bridges seven years ago, maybe beyond repair, but do you think we might find our way back to at least talking like the mature adults we are now?"
"That's a lot to ask, sir."
"I know it is. I've put my papers in and I'm going to retire. I don't know what I'm going to do from now on, and since I can't live on my retirement pay I'll have to do something, but I want to move back up here and at least give it a try. Are you willing to do that?"
Kendra was silent for a few moments before she said, "Coming up here and apologizing took guts, Matt. Yes, we can open a dialogue."
Deb Davis stood up and gathered them both into her arms. "Thank God. I've been hoping for this for …thank you, Kenleigh."
"Burned bridges take time to rebuild, Mom. Don't expect miracles."
"I won't, but at least you've made a start. "