Chapter 16: Drive Through Weddings? Are they legal?
Golden rays of sunshine streamed through the thin slit of the most god awful curtains Christian McAuliffe had ever seen. A thin arm lay sleepily across his naked midsection and Christian groggily rolled over to find the dark hair of the Royal Navy Commodore sprawled over his chest. Slowly, he surveyed his surroundings to find himself in a seedy off-strip motel room. How did he get here and how did he wind up naked in bed with a British sailor? Okay, so the sailor was drop-dead gorgeous, smart, and witty, but still, since his wife's death, Christian hadn't even thought of another woman. He sure as hell didn't go to seedy motels off the strip. As base commander, he needed to keep his reputation clean, especially if he wanted that next star and he wanted that star!
"Good morning?" Christian wasn't exactly sure what to say to the woman he didn't remember taking to a hotel. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself sprawled across the American General.
"Good morning, General." The auburn-haired, green-eyed woman replied with as much confusion in her voice as he had in his head. "Where are we? And why in God's name are we starkers?" Christian smiled at that. He had no idea what she meant by it, but, he had a pretty good idea.
"We are in an off-strip motel., Commodore."
"That doesn't quite answer the second question, does it General?"
"No, no it doesn't. To be quite honest, I can't answer that question. I don't know what 'starkers' means." He shook his head and then laughed slightly.
"Oh, right, it means why are we naked".
He laughed at that. "Now, if only we knew what happened last night. The last thing I remember was walking down by the flight line and talking about the differences between our country's military services and lightning. Even though there was not a star in the sky"
"Aye, that's what I remember too." She said simply. "I do believe we should retrieve our clothes and head back to the base, don't you?"
"I do. Do you want the shower first?"
"Right nice of you, General."
"Well, considering we've obviously spent the night together, I think you can call me Christian"
"Well, I reckon I ken do that, and you ken call me Maggie" She smiled. "Now, I think we should consider leavin' this place and head to the base." She looked down at her hands and realized there was a gold band on her left hand. That wasn't there yesterday. "Hey, where did this come from. Did we get married last night?"
"I don't remember getting married. Do you?" He was still wearing the same wedding ring he always wore. "This is my ring."
"Wait, are we committing bigamy? You're already married?"
"Widowed. My wife Emily died."
Base Commander's Quarters, Nellis AFB, Nevada
They walked into the spacious house assigned to the base commander. It was massive, with four bedrooms, three baths, and half-furnished. His wife died two years ago and he'd been base commander for just over a year. Emily was always the one to decorate the house and make it a home. He couldn't even color coordinate his sheets.
"Pardon the spartanness of the house. I moved in about a year ago, but, my wife was the one with the eye for decorating." Christian said apologetically.
"I heard she died. I'm so sorry. When did it happen?"
"Two years ago, breast cancer. We learned too late. I lost my child when Emily died, too. She was 12 weeks pregnant." He was clearly not over the loss. Maggie moved in and wrapped her arms around his waist. Christian lost it, he wept unshed tears. He never really cried over the losses. He pulled away, wiped the salty moisture from his face. "Well, I think I'll go take that shower, get dressed in my uniform. There's another bathroom down the hall, it's got a shower and anything you need. You can throw your clothes in the washer. It's in the back room." He walked away pulling his tie. "Then we'll figure this out."
Ten minutes later, he walked out of the bedroom to the smells of eggs and bacon cooking. He found the commodore standing at his kitchen stove wearing just a robe and flashed back to Emily making breakfast every morning.
"I was hungry, I hope you don't mind. I'm also waiting for my clothes be cleaned." Her Scottish brogue brought him back to the present. "And, I was thinkin 'bout our problem. If we are married, I think we need to speak with General Abernathy. He just had two of his soldiers go through the same thing. Found themselves married with no rememberin of it."
"Good idea Maggie. I'll ask Bradley about how to get a hold of Abernathy. I've never met the guy, but, I've heard some good things about him."