Chapter 2

The next day, Lieutenant Michel Lyne entered Rebecca's office. He was leading the kitchen team.

"Chef?", he started.

She looked up, "Good morning, sir".

"The admiral is going to have a multi-day conference at HMAS Kuttabul with Fleet Base East and he wants you to cook the dinners. They have to be the best, he said", Lieutenant Lyne said.

"Okay sir and when?"

"Next week. They start on Monday. So you fly on Sunday. I'll leave it to you to prepare a team and, of course, instruct your backup because it won't be accepted if we put K-Rations on the menu", he said with a wink.

"Okay sir, I'll take care of it", she said.

"Oh sir, what about the supplies?", she asked.

"Prepare your menu and pass a list to Sydney. They will see if they have everything you need. But…you'd better take your own spices and ingredients. Your magic will do it. And that's why the Admiral needs you", he said with a wink.

After work, she went to the fishmonger's to buy cod and went home.

Robert came in shortly after and headed for the kitchen where Rebecca was busy coating the pieces of cod in breadcrumbs.

"Hey Becca", he said kissing her.

"Hi Rob, how was your day?"

"A normal day. Transmissions. A broken equipment on one of the ships. Nothing shocking, I should say. "

He looked at the fish, "It looks nice. What kind of sauce are you going to prepare?"

"Tartar sauce."

"Sounds good. How was yours?"

"Michelin said that the admiral goes to a conference in Sydney and I have to go with him. He wants to flaunt my cookery", she said smiling.

"Darling, you really have to watch out! What if he hears that you call him Michelin? And when do you have to go?", Robert asked.

"Rob, he knows that. Just like I'm Chef now, he's Michelin. If we called him Maccas, he would get angry. And to your question when? Next week. So I'll prepare some dishes for you that you can put in the microwave", she said.

"Becca, I know how to cook".

"Oh yes, when you did it on Hammersley, the crew wasn't far from the mutiny, you know", she laughed, nudging him.

"Okay, okay, but in the meantime I learned a lot".

"Mum! I thought that we were going to eat fish fingers?", Edward said disappointed when Rebecca put the dish in front of them.

"It's the same Eddy. Cod coated in breadcrumbs. The fish was too nice to be cut into pieces. Take a bite and you'll notice it's the same", she said.

"Yes?", their eldest sun said, cutting off a small piece and putting it in his mouth. "Hmm, indeed!"

"No, these are no fish fingers!", said the younger one, pouting.

"Jo, give me your plate!", Robert said irritated and took Jonathan's plate. He cut the fish into four long pieces and gave it back to him. "Here are your fish fingers. So, don't complain anymore!"

"Oh yes! Now we have fish fingers!", Jonathan said joyfully, without noticing that his mother was rolling her eyes.

The next day, Rebecca returned to her office and was surprised to see an officer sitting in one of her chairs. "Sir?", she said.

He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"Hey! Dylan! What a surprise!", she greeted him joyously.

He stood up and gave her a peck on her cheek. "Hey Becca. I was supposed to be here for a presentation and I thought I would come and say hi".

She plopped down on her chair, "I'm pleased. How are you and do you already have plans for tonight?"

"As you can see. I'm still in one piece and to your second question, the answer is nope".

"So it's easy. Come see us tonight for dinner and a good chat", she said.

"Great! What time?"

"Let's say 5:30 pm?"

"Nice. I'll be there", he said, standing up.

She texted Robert telling him they were going to have a visitor for dinner.

That night, he rang their doorbell at 5:30 pm. Two enthusiast boys yanked the door open. "Hey uncle Dutchy! It's been so long! Have you fought bandits again? Did you shoot?".

"Hey guys! You have grown up again!", he greeted them pushing and pulling lightly.

"Guys! Keep our guest in one piece, will you?", Robert said sternly.

"Hey Robert. Thanks for inviting me", Dylan said, reaching out.

"It's good to see you again. Come in. Do you want a drink?", Robert said, shaking his hand.

"Yeah, a beer will do. Where's Becca?", Dylan said, looking around.

"You should know that. The Chef is in her kitchen, as usual".

"So, I go over there", Dylan said, pointing to a bottle of red wine.

He poked his head inside and sniffed, "Hmm, it smells wonderful", he said, smiling.

"Dylan! Welcome!", she said, approaching him.

He gave her a peck on her cheek.

"Guess I have to take it or are you going to hold it all night?", Robert asked deadpan, pointing to the bottle.

Dylan chuckled, "Oh yes, indeed. How stupid I am. I just forgot. Uh by the way, what are we going to eat?", he asked eagerly.

"The first course is a trout, then veal cutlets in Marsala sauce, like in Sicily", Rebecca said.

He nodded, "Yes, I knew why I had to agree to attend that stupid presentation in Canberra. Now I can make Nikki jealous".

"Dylan, your beer", Robert said, handing him a glass of cold beer.

After dinner and when the boys were in bed, Rebecca plopped down on the couch next to Robert. She sighed, "Finally, they're asleep. Each time they see you, they keep thinking about heroic adventures", she said.

"Wow, is that the impression I'm making?", Dylan replied, laughing.

"Come on, Dylan, don't deny you were the Rambo aboard Hammersley", Robert said.

He spread his large hands, "What can I say?".

"We'll be spending our holidays in Cairns this year. We then see Nikki, Pete and Hazel. Maybe we'll catch up with the others?", Rebecca said.

"Really? That's a great idea. When?", Dylan replied.

"Nikki will give me her sailing schedule and then we can book something. So, you are involved, aren't you?", she said, raising one eyebrow.

"Of course I am. Do you know what? I'll organize the kickoff. A barbecue the day you arrive. At my place. I live out of town and have the advantage of having a huge garden. I chose this location because my neighbour has a farm with horses. While on shore leave, I give him a hand with the horses", Dylan said.

"You and the horses?", Robert wondered.

"Yeah, my parents had a farm and horses, but they had to sell it because of financial setbacks. These horses remind me of my youth", he replied.

"Lovely! I can't wait. You don't always know where to start when you get somewhere. To settle down, to look for stores etc."

"Fine. Keep me posted. Meanwhile I tell others to put it on their agenda".

"Dylan, have you finally moved on?", she suddenly asked.

"Nah!", he said, taking a sip of his wine. "I saw several girls, but for me there's only one. And no one else can be compared to her".

"What's the problem then?", Robert replied.

"Don't wait any longer Dylan, before she leaves", Rebecca added.

"Well, it's just the negative side. She is gone. She disappeared! I never heard from her again and no one knows what happened to her".

"Ouch! You probably screwed up with her", Robert said bluntly.

"Rob!" Rebecca nudged him.

Dylan grinned, "You haven't changed uh, mate".

"Dylan, uh, sorry to tell you that, but if someone just disappears, it's because something went terribly wrong between them", Rebecca said prudently.

He smiled sadly, "That's the problem, she disappeared before I can even screw it up".

"Oh, so you've never had a date?"

He sighed, "Nope, we were friends".

"Ah".

"It was Kate", he simply said.

"Kate?", Rebecca said in astonishment.

"Yes, Kate".

"But….", she started not knowing what to ask.

"I know. Weird huh? I have feelings for her, but Mike and Jim were the first and I never had the guts to tell her about it, because then our friendship would probably have ended", he said.

"Hmm. I don't think so. She's too honest to ruin a friendship".

"Nah, I'll never know. Hmm, by the way, about you, I always wondered, how you two ended up together?", he asked to avoid further awkward questions.

Robert and Rebecca looked at each other and she shrugged, "Yeah, how? We could get along as friends, but at the wedding, I took him home", she simply said.

Robert raised his hands, "I don't remember except that the next morning I was sitting at her table with a terrible headache and a mug of strong black coffee. You know, the poison that Nikki liked, or still likes".

She nudged him, "Of course you can't remember. You were completely plastered. You were explaining 2Dads how to divide atoms and he was listening to you like a baby in front of a musical mobile. I was drunk too, but I sobered up a bit after seeing the facts of that evening. The evening was more like a drinking contest, but my joy was gone and I took Robert home before he get into trouble again", she said.

"Again?", Robert muttered.

"Rob, did you forget the golf cart or the transvestite?", she replied.

"Thank you for reminding me darling!", he mumbled taking his glass of wine to take a sip.

Rebecca chuckled, "You won't believe what the real spark was".

"Ah? Tell me", Dylan encouraged.

"Well, that morning he ruffled my tangled hair", Rebecca said.

"He ruffled your hair?", Dylan repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah. He did. You don't need much to spark the spark. Since then, we stuck together and after a while, we have wondered why we couldn't make it work", she said.

"That's good to know. To ruffle someone's hair. Interesting", he said, rubbing his face.

"Hmm. The wedding evening. Indeed, what an awful situation it was! I remember you came to me, completely upset and me leaving the party to look for her. From then on, it's a black hole until the next morning. I woke up on the beach, still fully dressed, sand all over my clothes and with a terrible headache. I went to the nearest coffee shop to get some coffees and then I went home", he said.

"Wow, we weren't aware of that part. So, you don't know if you found her?", Rebecca asked.

"Nope. I've been wondering what happened that night for twelve years, but I can't remember a single clue. In the morning of that day, I tried to call her, but I got a message back saying that number was unknown", he said.

"It's strange. Since then it seems everyone went on in its own way. You have been trained to become an officer, we were posted ashore, Harpie went to the Bundaberg, Charge resigned and got back to a job as a mine engineer, Bird went to Sydney for a medic's training and 2Dads was the only one who stayed aboard", Robert said.

"Indeed, and a few of them are back together, Nikki as CO, me as XO, Bird as medic and cook, Harpie as swain and 2Dads as buffer. Don't look so sceptical. Believe it or not, he has changed in the last twelve years and he's a good one and…. nobody can play tricks on him. He knows them all", he grinned, seeing their baffled faces.

"But somehow, and I don't know why, everybody still comes to me for everything, as I'm the pivot of the ship", Rebecca said.

Dylan smiled, "It's normal uh, Becca. You worried about everyone and everyone went through you for food, so. You were the XO, backstage".

"Should I take this as a compliment?", Rebecca mused.

"Absolutely. It means the crew trusts you!"

To be continued