November 24th,
Oh god...I am so full. Tomorrow is going to be an elastic waistband day, I can tell you right now. No, forget clothes...Dash will have to roll me to the car in wrapped in the bed linens like some giant potato knish. I don't think I have ever eaten so much in my life! It was like living in Weight Watcher's hell...the food just kept coming and coming!
Who ever thought I'd be missing Beachhead's early morning PT sessions? I am going to need a whole month of them to work off the damage I did to my body today. I can still hear my arteries screaming in protest as I chugged back another of Aunt Betty's cabbage rolls.
"Eat, eat!! You're too skinny. Put some meat on those bones...a man likes a little something soft he can grab on to you know..."
"Don't start, Aunty Bett..." Dash growled as he attempted one again to get his youngest nephew to eat. So far, most of it had ended up on his shirt.
"Ach...Dash...don't be such a nebekh." She turned back to me and winked, "And you are going to need a little padding once the babies start com..."
"AUNTY BETTY!" Dash's eyes went wide and his face grew red for the umpteenth time that day. He quickly turned to the foot of the table "MA!!!!"
"What!? What did I say?!" she said incredulously, waving her hands in the air for good measure.
"Betts, stop teasing my son...Allie, have another slice of turkey...Dash would you please stop playing with your food. I didn't raise you in a barn!"
His sister in law Carole leaned over from her place beside me and whispered in my ear.
"See, what did I tell you? He has always been the easiest to tease." I smiled in amusement and nodded as Aunt Betty patted my shoulder "Stick with us kid, you'll learn something."
So ended my first day at the Faireborn household during Thanksgiving...a place that can only describe as 'landscape in chaos'. Kids of all ages running wild across the front lawn in front of the big red brick farmhouse, dogs of all sizes and colors following after them, what looked like the entire population of the small Scottish town near my uncle's gathered on the front porch, eating and chatting.
"I thought you said it was only going to be family, Dashiel."
"This IS my family..."
"ALL of them?" I whispered, but he was already dragging me out of the truck...a Ford Explorer we had rented at the airport. I looked up just in time to witness the stampede of children and dogs rushing towards us full tilt, followed by a bevy of smiling adults.
"Uncle Dash! It's Uncle Dash!!!!!!"
"Dash, look at you...finally decided to grace the family with your presence?"
"What did you bring us, Uncle Dashy!?"
"Please...don't call me that, sweetheart..."
"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite enlisted man...hey little brother...remember, I outrank you."
"Get down, Murray...down...down...I said DOWN!"
"Where's your car? The little red convertible?"
"You never call...you never write..."
"Sit Murray, sit...Christ, Joannie...your dog is nuts..."
"What? Now he's my dog?!"
"Oooo...is that a gray hair? Hey Dash...I hope you can keep up with us when we hit the field for a little football..."
"Look at you, so handsome...isn't my nephew handsome. What? What? I can't pinch your cheeks anymore?"
"Well, well, well...what have we here? Is this the secret girlfriend from DC?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to me, staring in silence as I stood rigid under their scrutiny.
So overwhelmed was I that I nearly bolted...literally grabbed the keys out of Dash's hands and made a break for the border. ME! Socialite extraordinaire...seasoned soldier...can you believe it?
"Guys...this is Alison..."
"Alison!!!" They all exclaimed in unison, and suddenly I found myself surrounded by a sea of greeters, a mass of Faireborns drawing me towards the house like leaf in a stream.
I managed to look back once to see Dashiel standing by the truck with two of his brothers, watching the action with a huge grin on his face. He winked and me and shrugged before turning to unpack the car.
I wanted to kill him.
The awkwardness passed quickly however, and soon I was sitting with the 'women folk', being made to feel right at home...part of the family.
And what a huge family it is!
Uncles, cousins, second cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, grandparents, brothers...
My god...his brothers! You had to see it! Tall, dark and handsome peas in a pod...with attitudes to match.
"Incredible, isn't it?" Joannie, Mickey's wife came up behind me after I was introduced to all of them at once...a pack of lopsided grins.
"They are ALL like that?" It was a statement more than a question. Carole laughed.
"Arrogant, pig headed, egomaniacs? Oh yeah...I thought John was the worst...flyboy you know...but Dash takes the cake."
"Oh wonderful..." I rolled my eyes, "But I guess I already suspected..."
"Yeah...he's a handful...you seem to have him under control..." Lynne smiled and leaned back in the deck chair, "...but you still have much to learn, grasshopper..."
I hit it off really well with his sister-in-laws...all three of them, although John's wife Carole and I get along best. We stuck together like glue the entire day as she dragged me to meet the various members of the Faireborn zoo. Dash was too overwhelmed by the kids to be much help...chasing, wrestling, playing...the little ones just flocked to him.
Favorite uncle indeed!
Mind you, he was by my side when I was finally introduced to his parents. I don't think I have ever seen him so nervous. This is a man who has faced down a HISS tank without even flinching!
"I feel as though I should apologize for my son. We would have had you over sooner had we known..." Rose Faireborn narrowed her eyes at Dashiel, who looked down at his feet as he shuffled them against the kitchen floor.
Dash's mother is a tiny woman...very petite, especially when seen standing anywhere near her 6 foot tall sons. In her early seventies, she is much older than I expected, but then again she certainly doesn't show it. Other than gray hair and some wrinkles, the woman is a bloody spitfire...the obvious ringleader in this veritable family circus.
"...but you're here now, and I hope you make yourself right at home. When we heard that little Dashiel (little?) here was seeing someone again, we were all very anxious to meet the woman who managed to knock some sense into him. Don't be surprised if you are the center of attention today."
"A soldier, eh?" His father, who had been silently considering me this whole time, spoke up. I nodded.
"Yes...I'm a corporal in the Army."
Colonel Joe Fairborn is an imposing man. You don't have to stare too closely to see where his sons get their looks. They are veritable cookie cutter versions of their dad. Gray haired and in his late seventies, if he is any indication Flint is going to age very well. Although not as hard-bodied as he probably was when he was younger, he still cuts a nice figure.
"That's an interesting accent you've got there, Corporal...Where are you from?"
"BOSTON..." Dashiel blurted out before I could answer. I swung around and flashed him an annoyed look while his parents stood looking at us questioningly.
"Boston..." he repeated, quietly this time, "Allie is from Boston..."
His father looked at his son oddly before turning to me again.
"Boston..."
"Actually, the accent is Scottish...my father was born there and most of my family are still living in the highlands..."
"Ah..." He paused for a moment, "...and you two serve together?"
"Yes..."
"What's your specialty?"
"Covert Ops..."
"Military family?" Dash tensed behind me but before he could cut in again, I answered the question myself.
"No..."
He turned to his son.
"You know, I have been out of the service for a long time, but I think...and correct me if I am wrong...that the rules against fraternization are still alive and well. Oh wait...I forgot...you haven't taken your commission yet."
"Dad..." Dash growled behind me, I put my hand on his arm and turned to his father, my irritation hidden behind a polite smile.
"No...not an officer...but quite the gentleman."
He paused for a moment, considering me carefully, but before he could open his mouth to reply Dash's mom cut in and took my arm.
"Alison, dear...you must feel a little lost and overwhelmed right now. Let me introduce you around." She pulled me out into the yard.
"Don't mind my husband," she whispered in my ear as we made our way down to the yard, "He is a man of few words and that quick Fairborn temper. He likes you and is too stubborn to admit it to his youngest...typical." She frowned and shook her head before continuing.
"Ah well...sometimes its best to get out of the way when the testosterone starts flying...although I am sure you know all about that, having been with Dashiel for...how long?"
"Four years. Give or take a few months..."
She smiled and gave my arm a squeeze..."Four years...I think that is a new record for my son. You must be very special to him..."
"I hope so." I laughed, a bit uncomfortable with this very personal line of questioning. I had just met this woman, what was I supposed to say? 'Yes...he is my best friend and I am madly in love with him, but to tell you the truth he just told me how he feels a couple of weeks ago and I am still getting used to the whole thing.'
"I know so...Oy, what's my mother doing!? She shouldn't be running around like that! Fool woman is going to break a hip...Ma...MA!" In a flash she was off, leaving me on the lawn with John and Mickey, who announced in amusement that I looked like I needed a drink.
"Oh yeah...something with kick, please..."
"Ah yes...the miracle of alcohol..." Mickey smiled as he handed me a beer and put his arm around my shoulder, 'The only way to survive these Thanksgiving reunions.'
'Don't you have anything stronger?'
John laughed.
'We thought we'd save the good stuff for later...you are going to need it when you meet Aunt Betty!'
Despite the almost overwhelming number of relatives that were thrown at me during the course of the day, I seem to have handled everything pretty well without having to drink myself into a stupor. As I said once before, the rigorous social training my mother put me through does have its advantages.
I quite liked everyone too, even Aunt Betty despite our rough introduction, although Dash looked like he need a shot of bourbon when the dust settled. EVERY family has an Aunt Betty...except maybe mine. The Hart's are way to prim and proper to even condone that type of behavior, which is probably why I was completely unprepared for the onslaught.
She came up to Dash after we left his maternal grandmother, who had finally been persuaded to take a seat and rest instead of chasing her great grandchildren around the yard.
"What a mensh...always my favorite grandson." the old woman squeezed her Grandson's hand affectionately as she turned to look at me, "I knew he would find someone...I told everyone that the other shikseh wasn't for him...but did they listen to an old woman? No. But I knew you would come..."
"You knew?" I regarded her questioningly.
"Of course...Dos hartz hot mir gezogt."
"In English Grammy..." Dash murmured, but I merely smiled.
"Her heart told her..."
She looked up at me, her eyes alight..."You understand?"
"A bit...it is very similar to German..."
"I knew you were a good girl...a good girl for my grandson..."
As we left Dash put his arm around my shoulder and kissed me on the head.
"You just made her day, you know..."
"I try..." I smiled and started to lean into him when he froze.
"Oh Christ...incoming..."
"What?" I asked, tensed and expecting a COBRA Viper to burst out of the bushes at any moment. But what approached was no enemy soldier...but another tiny woman, a little rounder than his mother...who was determinately making her way towards us through the crowd.
"So...my nephew has finally decided that we are worthy of an introduction!"
"Don't start Aunt Betts...I'm not in the mood for...OW" She whacked him on the side of the head in a move so fast I hardly saw it coming.
"Don't start!? Don't START!" she turned to me, "You see how he talks to his family. No respect. Imagine having to find out he was seeing a girl through the grapevine. The embarrassment it brought on his mother...you should be ashamed, Dashiel..."
"Don't you think you are exaggerating a bit...OW...stop that!"
"Exaggerating! Ach...you have no idea how worried we all were about you. You aren't getting any younger, nephew mine...and after that whole fiasco with 'she who shall not be named' we were beginning to wonder if you would ever settle down again..."
"...I hardly think..."
"...you should have listened to me then, you know. That woman was nothing but trouble from the start..." she turned back to me and continued in the same breath "...now let me take a look at you...very pretty, and a soldier as well I hear..."
"Yes ma'am..."
"Ma'am, what ma'am...do I look like a general to you? Call me Betty..." She smiled as she looked me up and down, "...smart too, I hear. I wouldn't expect anything less with our resident scholar here...hmmm...you're too skinny, but we can work on that. Good hips for childbearing..."
"BETTY!!!!" Dash exclaimed as he turned beet red. I wasn't much better! I think I stood there with my mouth hanging open, stunned and not quite sure of what to say. Mind you, as I was about to learn, one doesn't really need to say anything to Betty...she can carry on a conversation all by herself.
"...of course, when you have children your figure ends up going south you know. Look at me, four children has left me looking like Mrs. Potato Head. I used to be quite the looker, you know. Ask my Frank, we used to go to all the dances and he got so jealous when the boys flocked to me...although I don't suppose I ever wore a Chanel gown and dined at the White House. What did you say your family name was?"
"She didn't..." Flint grumbled beside me and tried to pull me away, but Betty wasn't listening and was soon off and running again.
"Family is so very important, don't you think? Which is why we were all so hurt that Dash decided not to tell us he has been seeing you...and for years no less. Not even a word. Although apparently his brothers knew something was up, but do they share with their poor mother? No. Which reminds me, I need to have a word with them as well. Rosie is too soft on you boys...too soft."
She took a deep breath and smiled up at us.
"So...when's the wedding?"
I think poor Dash stopped breathing for a minute. I managed to extricate myself from that situation quickly and politely enough. Which reminds me, I need to thank Carole again for the rescue. We had to leave Dash behind, though...as Carole said, when it comes to Betty it's every man for himself!
In any case, I think my favorite part of the day came long after dinner. The stars were out, most of the kids were off to bed, the extended family had left, and Dash, myself, his brothers and their wives were all sitting on the front porch sipping on coffee, laughing at the days events and chatting quietly amongst ourselves.
He and I were cuddled together on an oversized Adirondack deck chair, a fleece blanket pulled up over us, his hand entwined with mine. Shep, his father's old border collie lay at our feet and every so often Flint would reach down and scratch his head, a contented smile on his face.
He really is a different person when he is not at work...it is as if he leaves 'Flint' at the gate when he exits the compound, leaves him in his quarters along with his beret and uniform. We were so completely at ease with each other, so completely happy, that for a moment I forgot about GIJOE, about Flint and Lady Jaye, about COBRA, about Chuckles and my job...all that remained was the two of us...Alison and Dashiel...and it was wonderful. I felt...how can I describe it? Content. The sense of warmth, love and belonging...the sense of family...it was so very strong that it almost overwhelmed me.
It was all so different from my memories of childhood among the Harts, and yet so very, very 'right'.
"You ok..." he whispered in my ear as he felt me shiver. "I hope my family didn't scare you off..."
"I'm fine, and no...I had a good time. I just hope they like me..."
"I am sure they did..." he kissed my neck "...how could they not?"
"Your father seemed a bit distant..."
I heard him sigh and felt him lean in closer, as if seeking comfort more than trying to give it.
"Don't worry about him..." he said quietly, and then turned to ask Mickey about the twins, effectively changing the subject. I was too tired to pursue the it anyways, despite my curiosity and concern.
Speaking of tired, I am now sitting up in bed with asleep beside me. We are in Dash's old room...complete with football, baseball and academic trophies as well as numerous books, which his mother said she had found piled at the bottom of his closet when he left for the army. It's cramped, but comfortable...and Dash certainly fell asleep quickly enough...crashing out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
I should join him. Tomorrow is going to be another long day with his family and I need sleep. I just hope I can keep it up and make a good impression. I know its important to Dash that I do...although he would never say anything. The thing is, I have to admit...
...it is important to me as well.
Oh god...I am so full. Tomorrow is going to be an elastic waistband day, I can tell you right now. No, forget clothes...Dash will have to roll me to the car in wrapped in the bed linens like some giant potato knish. I don't think I have ever eaten so much in my life! It was like living in Weight Watcher's hell...the food just kept coming and coming!
Who ever thought I'd be missing Beachhead's early morning PT sessions? I am going to need a whole month of them to work off the damage I did to my body today. I can still hear my arteries screaming in protest as I chugged back another of Aunt Betty's cabbage rolls.
"Eat, eat!! You're too skinny. Put some meat on those bones...a man likes a little something soft he can grab on to you know..."
"Don't start, Aunty Bett..." Dash growled as he attempted one again to get his youngest nephew to eat. So far, most of it had ended up on his shirt.
"Ach...Dash...don't be such a nebekh." She turned back to me and winked, "And you are going to need a little padding once the babies start com..."
"AUNTY BETTY!" Dash's eyes went wide and his face grew red for the umpteenth time that day. He quickly turned to the foot of the table "MA!!!!"
"What!? What did I say?!" she said incredulously, waving her hands in the air for good measure.
"Betts, stop teasing my son...Allie, have another slice of turkey...Dash would you please stop playing with your food. I didn't raise you in a barn!"
His sister in law Carole leaned over from her place beside me and whispered in my ear.
"See, what did I tell you? He has always been the easiest to tease." I smiled in amusement and nodded as Aunt Betty patted my shoulder "Stick with us kid, you'll learn something."
So ended my first day at the Faireborn household during Thanksgiving...a place that can only describe as 'landscape in chaos'. Kids of all ages running wild across the front lawn in front of the big red brick farmhouse, dogs of all sizes and colors following after them, what looked like the entire population of the small Scottish town near my uncle's gathered on the front porch, eating and chatting.
"I thought you said it was only going to be family, Dashiel."
"This IS my family..."
"ALL of them?" I whispered, but he was already dragging me out of the truck...a Ford Explorer we had rented at the airport. I looked up just in time to witness the stampede of children and dogs rushing towards us full tilt, followed by a bevy of smiling adults.
"Uncle Dash! It's Uncle Dash!!!!!!"
"Dash, look at you...finally decided to grace the family with your presence?"
"What did you bring us, Uncle Dashy!?"
"Please...don't call me that, sweetheart..."
"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite enlisted man...hey little brother...remember, I outrank you."
"Get down, Murray...down...down...I said DOWN!"
"Where's your car? The little red convertible?"
"You never call...you never write..."
"Sit Murray, sit...Christ, Joannie...your dog is nuts..."
"What? Now he's my dog?!"
"Oooo...is that a gray hair? Hey Dash...I hope you can keep up with us when we hit the field for a little football..."
"Look at you, so handsome...isn't my nephew handsome. What? What? I can't pinch your cheeks anymore?"
"Well, well, well...what have we here? Is this the secret girlfriend from DC?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to me, staring in silence as I stood rigid under their scrutiny.
So overwhelmed was I that I nearly bolted...literally grabbed the keys out of Dash's hands and made a break for the border. ME! Socialite extraordinaire...seasoned soldier...can you believe it?
"Guys...this is Alison..."
"Alison!!!" They all exclaimed in unison, and suddenly I found myself surrounded by a sea of greeters, a mass of Faireborns drawing me towards the house like leaf in a stream.
I managed to look back once to see Dashiel standing by the truck with two of his brothers, watching the action with a huge grin on his face. He winked and me and shrugged before turning to unpack the car.
I wanted to kill him.
The awkwardness passed quickly however, and soon I was sitting with the 'women folk', being made to feel right at home...part of the family.
And what a huge family it is!
Uncles, cousins, second cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, grandparents, brothers...
My god...his brothers! You had to see it! Tall, dark and handsome peas in a pod...with attitudes to match.
"Incredible, isn't it?" Joannie, Mickey's wife came up behind me after I was introduced to all of them at once...a pack of lopsided grins.
"They are ALL like that?" It was a statement more than a question. Carole laughed.
"Arrogant, pig headed, egomaniacs? Oh yeah...I thought John was the worst...flyboy you know...but Dash takes the cake."
"Oh wonderful..." I rolled my eyes, "But I guess I already suspected..."
"Yeah...he's a handful...you seem to have him under control..." Lynne smiled and leaned back in the deck chair, "...but you still have much to learn, grasshopper..."
I hit it off really well with his sister-in-laws...all three of them, although John's wife Carole and I get along best. We stuck together like glue the entire day as she dragged me to meet the various members of the Faireborn zoo. Dash was too overwhelmed by the kids to be much help...chasing, wrestling, playing...the little ones just flocked to him.
Favorite uncle indeed!
Mind you, he was by my side when I was finally introduced to his parents. I don't think I have ever seen him so nervous. This is a man who has faced down a HISS tank without even flinching!
"I feel as though I should apologize for my son. We would have had you over sooner had we known..." Rose Faireborn narrowed her eyes at Dashiel, who looked down at his feet as he shuffled them against the kitchen floor.
Dash's mother is a tiny woman...very petite, especially when seen standing anywhere near her 6 foot tall sons. In her early seventies, she is much older than I expected, but then again she certainly doesn't show it. Other than gray hair and some wrinkles, the woman is a bloody spitfire...the obvious ringleader in this veritable family circus.
"...but you're here now, and I hope you make yourself right at home. When we heard that little Dashiel (little?) here was seeing someone again, we were all very anxious to meet the woman who managed to knock some sense into him. Don't be surprised if you are the center of attention today."
"A soldier, eh?" His father, who had been silently considering me this whole time, spoke up. I nodded.
"Yes...I'm a corporal in the Army."
Colonel Joe Fairborn is an imposing man. You don't have to stare too closely to see where his sons get their looks. They are veritable cookie cutter versions of their dad. Gray haired and in his late seventies, if he is any indication Flint is going to age very well. Although not as hard-bodied as he probably was when he was younger, he still cuts a nice figure.
"That's an interesting accent you've got there, Corporal...Where are you from?"
"BOSTON..." Dashiel blurted out before I could answer. I swung around and flashed him an annoyed look while his parents stood looking at us questioningly.
"Boston..." he repeated, quietly this time, "Allie is from Boston..."
His father looked at his son oddly before turning to me again.
"Boston..."
"Actually, the accent is Scottish...my father was born there and most of my family are still living in the highlands..."
"Ah..." He paused for a moment, "...and you two serve together?"
"Yes..."
"What's your specialty?"
"Covert Ops..."
"Military family?" Dash tensed behind me but before he could cut in again, I answered the question myself.
"No..."
He turned to his son.
"You know, I have been out of the service for a long time, but I think...and correct me if I am wrong...that the rules against fraternization are still alive and well. Oh wait...I forgot...you haven't taken your commission yet."
"Dad..." Dash growled behind me, I put my hand on his arm and turned to his father, my irritation hidden behind a polite smile.
"No...not an officer...but quite the gentleman."
He paused for a moment, considering me carefully, but before he could open his mouth to reply Dash's mom cut in and took my arm.
"Alison, dear...you must feel a little lost and overwhelmed right now. Let me introduce you around." She pulled me out into the yard.
"Don't mind my husband," she whispered in my ear as we made our way down to the yard, "He is a man of few words and that quick Fairborn temper. He likes you and is too stubborn to admit it to his youngest...typical." She frowned and shook her head before continuing.
"Ah well...sometimes its best to get out of the way when the testosterone starts flying...although I am sure you know all about that, having been with Dashiel for...how long?"
"Four years. Give or take a few months..."
She smiled and gave my arm a squeeze..."Four years...I think that is a new record for my son. You must be very special to him..."
"I hope so." I laughed, a bit uncomfortable with this very personal line of questioning. I had just met this woman, what was I supposed to say? 'Yes...he is my best friend and I am madly in love with him, but to tell you the truth he just told me how he feels a couple of weeks ago and I am still getting used to the whole thing.'
"I know so...Oy, what's my mother doing!? She shouldn't be running around like that! Fool woman is going to break a hip...Ma...MA!" In a flash she was off, leaving me on the lawn with John and Mickey, who announced in amusement that I looked like I needed a drink.
"Oh yeah...something with kick, please..."
"Ah yes...the miracle of alcohol..." Mickey smiled as he handed me a beer and put his arm around my shoulder, 'The only way to survive these Thanksgiving reunions.'
'Don't you have anything stronger?'
John laughed.
'We thought we'd save the good stuff for later...you are going to need it when you meet Aunt Betty!'
Despite the almost overwhelming number of relatives that were thrown at me during the course of the day, I seem to have handled everything pretty well without having to drink myself into a stupor. As I said once before, the rigorous social training my mother put me through does have its advantages.
I quite liked everyone too, even Aunt Betty despite our rough introduction, although Dash looked like he need a shot of bourbon when the dust settled. EVERY family has an Aunt Betty...except maybe mine. The Hart's are way to prim and proper to even condone that type of behavior, which is probably why I was completely unprepared for the onslaught.
She came up to Dash after we left his maternal grandmother, who had finally been persuaded to take a seat and rest instead of chasing her great grandchildren around the yard.
"What a mensh...always my favorite grandson." the old woman squeezed her Grandson's hand affectionately as she turned to look at me, "I knew he would find someone...I told everyone that the other shikseh wasn't for him...but did they listen to an old woman? No. But I knew you would come..."
"You knew?" I regarded her questioningly.
"Of course...Dos hartz hot mir gezogt."
"In English Grammy..." Dash murmured, but I merely smiled.
"Her heart told her..."
She looked up at me, her eyes alight..."You understand?"
"A bit...it is very similar to German..."
"I knew you were a good girl...a good girl for my grandson..."
As we left Dash put his arm around my shoulder and kissed me on the head.
"You just made her day, you know..."
"I try..." I smiled and started to lean into him when he froze.
"Oh Christ...incoming..."
"What?" I asked, tensed and expecting a COBRA Viper to burst out of the bushes at any moment. But what approached was no enemy soldier...but another tiny woman, a little rounder than his mother...who was determinately making her way towards us through the crowd.
"So...my nephew has finally decided that we are worthy of an introduction!"
"Don't start Aunt Betts...I'm not in the mood for...OW" She whacked him on the side of the head in a move so fast I hardly saw it coming.
"Don't start!? Don't START!" she turned to me, "You see how he talks to his family. No respect. Imagine having to find out he was seeing a girl through the grapevine. The embarrassment it brought on his mother...you should be ashamed, Dashiel..."
"Don't you think you are exaggerating a bit...OW...stop that!"
"Exaggerating! Ach...you have no idea how worried we all were about you. You aren't getting any younger, nephew mine...and after that whole fiasco with 'she who shall not be named' we were beginning to wonder if you would ever settle down again..."
"...I hardly think..."
"...you should have listened to me then, you know. That woman was nothing but trouble from the start..." she turned back to me and continued in the same breath "...now let me take a look at you...very pretty, and a soldier as well I hear..."
"Yes ma'am..."
"Ma'am, what ma'am...do I look like a general to you? Call me Betty..." She smiled as she looked me up and down, "...smart too, I hear. I wouldn't expect anything less with our resident scholar here...hmmm...you're too skinny, but we can work on that. Good hips for childbearing..."
"BETTY!!!!" Dash exclaimed as he turned beet red. I wasn't much better! I think I stood there with my mouth hanging open, stunned and not quite sure of what to say. Mind you, as I was about to learn, one doesn't really need to say anything to Betty...she can carry on a conversation all by herself.
"...of course, when you have children your figure ends up going south you know. Look at me, four children has left me looking like Mrs. Potato Head. I used to be quite the looker, you know. Ask my Frank, we used to go to all the dances and he got so jealous when the boys flocked to me...although I don't suppose I ever wore a Chanel gown and dined at the White House. What did you say your family name was?"
"She didn't..." Flint grumbled beside me and tried to pull me away, but Betty wasn't listening and was soon off and running again.
"Family is so very important, don't you think? Which is why we were all so hurt that Dash decided not to tell us he has been seeing you...and for years no less. Not even a word. Although apparently his brothers knew something was up, but do they share with their poor mother? No. Which reminds me, I need to have a word with them as well. Rosie is too soft on you boys...too soft."
She took a deep breath and smiled up at us.
"So...when's the wedding?"
I think poor Dash stopped breathing for a minute. I managed to extricate myself from that situation quickly and politely enough. Which reminds me, I need to thank Carole again for the rescue. We had to leave Dash behind, though...as Carole said, when it comes to Betty it's every man for himself!
In any case, I think my favorite part of the day came long after dinner. The stars were out, most of the kids were off to bed, the extended family had left, and Dash, myself, his brothers and their wives were all sitting on the front porch sipping on coffee, laughing at the days events and chatting quietly amongst ourselves.
He and I were cuddled together on an oversized Adirondack deck chair, a fleece blanket pulled up over us, his hand entwined with mine. Shep, his father's old border collie lay at our feet and every so often Flint would reach down and scratch his head, a contented smile on his face.
He really is a different person when he is not at work...it is as if he leaves 'Flint' at the gate when he exits the compound, leaves him in his quarters along with his beret and uniform. We were so completely at ease with each other, so completely happy, that for a moment I forgot about GIJOE, about Flint and Lady Jaye, about COBRA, about Chuckles and my job...all that remained was the two of us...Alison and Dashiel...and it was wonderful. I felt...how can I describe it? Content. The sense of warmth, love and belonging...the sense of family...it was so very strong that it almost overwhelmed me.
It was all so different from my memories of childhood among the Harts, and yet so very, very 'right'.
"You ok..." he whispered in my ear as he felt me shiver. "I hope my family didn't scare you off..."
"I'm fine, and no...I had a good time. I just hope they like me..."
"I am sure they did..." he kissed my neck "...how could they not?"
"Your father seemed a bit distant..."
I heard him sigh and felt him lean in closer, as if seeking comfort more than trying to give it.
"Don't worry about him..." he said quietly, and then turned to ask Mickey about the twins, effectively changing the subject. I was too tired to pursue the it anyways, despite my curiosity and concern.
Speaking of tired, I am now sitting up in bed with asleep beside me. We are in Dash's old room...complete with football, baseball and academic trophies as well as numerous books, which his mother said she had found piled at the bottom of his closet when he left for the army. It's cramped, but comfortable...and Dash certainly fell asleep quickly enough...crashing out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
I should join him. Tomorrow is going to be another long day with his family and I need sleep. I just hope I can keep it up and make a good impression. I know its important to Dash that I do...although he would never say anything. The thing is, I have to admit...
...it is important to me as well.