Portside
Norfolk, Virginia 1445 EST, The day of . . .
"Sir? Sir?"
Harm looked down in the direction of the tug on his jacket to see a little red-haired girl with the material of his dress uniform bunched up in her fist.
"What can I do for you, young lady?" he queried with a grin.
"I'm not a lady, I'm a little girl," she said to him. "I'm five-and-a-half years old, so's I can't be a lady yet."
Accepting the correction, the lawyer solemnly replied, "My mistake, you look older than five-and-a-half."
"Don't feel bad," she consoled, "I know I look at least six. Anyways, I wanted to know if I could ask you a favor."
"Don't you think we should introduce ourselves first?" he asked, amused at this matter-of-fact child.
"Oh, yes! My name is Henry."
Harm raised an eyebrow, "Henry?"
"Well, actually it's Henrietta, but nobody calls me that 'cept my Grandmother and my mom when I'm in trouble, and then I get my whole name Henrietta Jane Gallagher."
"Okay, Henry, my name is Harm."
The little girl squinted at him with suspicion in her green eyes. "Harm? What kinda name is Harm?"
He stooped down to her level to answer. "It's short for Harmon, but nobody calls me that either."
"Not even your mom?" incredulously.
Harm winced at the memory of his mother's immediate reaction to the news of Sergei's existence. "Well, I guess my mom does too, whenever I get in trouble."
The precocious child gave a heavy sigh and patted his shoulder in sympathy. "Mothers."
"Mothers," the nearly-40 lawyer agreed. "What was it you wanted to ask me, Henry?"
"Well, I was just hoping that-"
Her answer was cut off by the sound of someone calling her name.
"Henrietta Jane Gallagher! I told you to stay right by my side! You could get lost or hurt among all these people!"
Mom? mouthed Harm silently to his new friend.
She nodded her head and rolled her eyes expressively.
A petite woman, far advanced in pregnancy and pushing a stroller appeared beside the little girl, her flame-colored hair clearly identifying her as Henry's mother. She gave a quick but thorough glance, an expression of relief breaking across her face.
"At least you're not an admiral," she muttered under her breath.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Harm asked confusedly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Commander," she quickly apologized. "It's just that Henry's last 'new friend' was a three-star admiral. I'm afraid my husband will come back from assignment one day and find he's been busted down to Petty Officer because of his daughter."
She gave a laugh and tugged on her daughter's long red braid, evidence that whatever mischief Henry got herself into, she was well-loved by her parents.
"Please don't worry at all, Mrs. Gallagher. I'm very glad Henry decided she wanted to talk to me. We've already discovered we have something in common, didn't we, Henry?" he said, winking at her.
"That's very kind of you, Commander, you must have-"
"Moooom," interrupted the subject of their discussion, "I need to ask Harm a question!"
"Henrietta," came the maternal warning.
"It's all right, ma'am." Harm quickly reassured her. "What's the favor, Henry?"
"Well, it's about my dad," she answered. "He's coming in on the Seahawk and I can't see over the heads of all these people. And my mom can't lift me up, 'cause she's gonna have a baby," this was said with a slightly scornful tone.
Harm smothered a laugh as she continued.
"But I haven't seen my daddy in a whole 6 months, and I wanna see him the minute he comes off the ship, and if I were really tall-" she paused as she considered him again. "How tall are you, Harm?"
"I'm over 6 feet."
"Oh, goody, perfect!" She continued on, "Anyway, if I were really tall, like nearly as tall as you, he could see me right away 'cause my hair is so bright red, and he could find us right away and I could give him all the hugs I've been saving up for all these weeks!"
Harm tried to swallow the lump that rose up swiftly in his throat. He could remember like it was yesterday what if felt like to wait for your daddy to come home.
"Oh, Henrietta," groaned her mother, already feeling her own face turn red in embarrassment. "Commander, please feel free to just turn and run far away from us.."
Harm turned to smile at her gently. "I can remember how she feels, ma'am." Then turning to Henry, "Do you want me to just hold you up in my arms, or do you want to sit on my shoulders?"
"On your shoulders?!" she squealed with delight. "Could I? Could I? Oh, Mommy, could I, please?"
"Commander, that's not necessary," Maureen Gallagher protested.
"It would be a pleasure," he told her sincerely. "Come on, Henry," he ordered as he reached down to swoop her up and atop his shoulders. "How's the view?"
"It's awesome!" she marveled. "I can see practic'ly everything. It must be great being this tall all the time!"
She nearly toppled him over onto his face as she excitedly pointed towards the dock, "Look the Seahawk's almost here!"
Her voice carried high and clear over the buzz in the crowd and caught everyone's attention, faces turning towards the majestic carrier as it moved the final few hundred yards into port.
And some of the waiting eyes saw the burning streak as it crossed the sky.
And all the waiting eyes saw the fireball erupt in the towering bride of the USS Seahawk.
TBC
Norfolk, Virginia 1445 EST, The day of . . .
"Sir? Sir?"
Harm looked down in the direction of the tug on his jacket to see a little red-haired girl with the material of his dress uniform bunched up in her fist.
"What can I do for you, young lady?" he queried with a grin.
"I'm not a lady, I'm a little girl," she said to him. "I'm five-and-a-half years old, so's I can't be a lady yet."
Accepting the correction, the lawyer solemnly replied, "My mistake, you look older than five-and-a-half."
"Don't feel bad," she consoled, "I know I look at least six. Anyways, I wanted to know if I could ask you a favor."
"Don't you think we should introduce ourselves first?" he asked, amused at this matter-of-fact child.
"Oh, yes! My name is Henry."
Harm raised an eyebrow, "Henry?"
"Well, actually it's Henrietta, but nobody calls me that 'cept my Grandmother and my mom when I'm in trouble, and then I get my whole name Henrietta Jane Gallagher."
"Okay, Henry, my name is Harm."
The little girl squinted at him with suspicion in her green eyes. "Harm? What kinda name is Harm?"
He stooped down to her level to answer. "It's short for Harmon, but nobody calls me that either."
"Not even your mom?" incredulously.
Harm winced at the memory of his mother's immediate reaction to the news of Sergei's existence. "Well, I guess my mom does too, whenever I get in trouble."
The precocious child gave a heavy sigh and patted his shoulder in sympathy. "Mothers."
"Mothers," the nearly-40 lawyer agreed. "What was it you wanted to ask me, Henry?"
"Well, I was just hoping that-"
Her answer was cut off by the sound of someone calling her name.
"Henrietta Jane Gallagher! I told you to stay right by my side! You could get lost or hurt among all these people!"
Mom? mouthed Harm silently to his new friend.
She nodded her head and rolled her eyes expressively.
A petite woman, far advanced in pregnancy and pushing a stroller appeared beside the little girl, her flame-colored hair clearly identifying her as Henry's mother. She gave a quick but thorough glance, an expression of relief breaking across her face.
"At least you're not an admiral," she muttered under her breath.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Harm asked confusedly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Commander," she quickly apologized. "It's just that Henry's last 'new friend' was a three-star admiral. I'm afraid my husband will come back from assignment one day and find he's been busted down to Petty Officer because of his daughter."
She gave a laugh and tugged on her daughter's long red braid, evidence that whatever mischief Henry got herself into, she was well-loved by her parents.
"Please don't worry at all, Mrs. Gallagher. I'm very glad Henry decided she wanted to talk to me. We've already discovered we have something in common, didn't we, Henry?" he said, winking at her.
"That's very kind of you, Commander, you must have-"
"Moooom," interrupted the subject of their discussion, "I need to ask Harm a question!"
"Henrietta," came the maternal warning.
"It's all right, ma'am." Harm quickly reassured her. "What's the favor, Henry?"
"Well, it's about my dad," she answered. "He's coming in on the Seahawk and I can't see over the heads of all these people. And my mom can't lift me up, 'cause she's gonna have a baby," this was said with a slightly scornful tone.
Harm smothered a laugh as she continued.
"But I haven't seen my daddy in a whole 6 months, and I wanna see him the minute he comes off the ship, and if I were really tall-" she paused as she considered him again. "How tall are you, Harm?"
"I'm over 6 feet."
"Oh, goody, perfect!" She continued on, "Anyway, if I were really tall, like nearly as tall as you, he could see me right away 'cause my hair is so bright red, and he could find us right away and I could give him all the hugs I've been saving up for all these weeks!"
Harm tried to swallow the lump that rose up swiftly in his throat. He could remember like it was yesterday what if felt like to wait for your daddy to come home.
"Oh, Henrietta," groaned her mother, already feeling her own face turn red in embarrassment. "Commander, please feel free to just turn and run far away from us.."
Harm turned to smile at her gently. "I can remember how she feels, ma'am." Then turning to Henry, "Do you want me to just hold you up in my arms, or do you want to sit on my shoulders?"
"On your shoulders?!" she squealed with delight. "Could I? Could I? Oh, Mommy, could I, please?"
"Commander, that's not necessary," Maureen Gallagher protested.
"It would be a pleasure," he told her sincerely. "Come on, Henry," he ordered as he reached down to swoop her up and atop his shoulders. "How's the view?"
"It's awesome!" she marveled. "I can see practic'ly everything. It must be great being this tall all the time!"
She nearly toppled him over onto his face as she excitedly pointed towards the dock, "Look the Seahawk's almost here!"
Her voice carried high and clear over the buzz in the crowd and caught everyone's attention, faces turning towards the majestic carrier as it moved the final few hundred yards into port.
And some of the waiting eyes saw the burning streak as it crossed the sky.
And all the waiting eyes saw the fireball erupt in the towering bride of the USS Seahawk.
TBC