Chapter 22: Friends Don't Keep Score

When they break apart, Harm takes Mac's hand in his, not sure if he should get into this right now, but knowing that he needs to tell her, nonetheless. After all, they have to start somewhere. He quietly says, "I almost adopted a child once, well a teenager. It was a few months after you left. Her family owned the hangar where I kept my Stearman."

To say that Mac is shocked would be the understatement of the world. The next thought that enters her mind is that she should be angry with him for thinking about raising a child without her. 'It's your own damn fault,' she admonishes herself, 'You are the one that walked away.' But she knows him well enough to know that wouldn't have been his motivation at all. This child must have needed him. She quietly asks, "Why didn't you?"

Harm replies, "A bunch of reasons, one of the biggest being it wouldn't have been fair to her. And if I am truly honest with myself, it wouldn't have been fair to me either. I was not in a good place in my life then, Mac. I felt alone, regardless of how many people were around me, for the first time in my life. Even when my was dad was listed as MIA, I still had my mother and my grandmother in my life on a daily basis. This time I felt like I had no one. I was spiraling downhill so fast, that I was trying to reach out for any lifeline that I could grab ahold of. Her mother had died in a car accident, and her father was a drunk that left Mattie to fend for herself. Mattie also blamed her father for the accident, so even if he had been around, she didn't want anything to do with him. She was a lost lonely soul, just like I was. In many ways, she reminded me a lot of you. At the time, that was both a good thing and a bad thing. However, the rational side of me knew that she would be better off with someone else."

Mac inquires, "As an officer of the court, you at least had to report it. Did you find someone to take care of her?"

Harm smiles, "Actually, I introduced her to Harriet and Bud. They hit it off. Harriet and Bud ended up taking her in as a foster child. She just graduated from The University of Virginia, and is doing fantastic."

Mac feels ashamed that she didn't know this. She didn't bother to keep in touch with anyone after she left. She quietly asks, "Do you still talk to them?"

Harm nods, "All the time. They have been in Italy the last few years. In fact, Bud knows that he is being transferred back to HQ at my request, but he isn't aware that he is being promoted to Captain. They should be here in a few days. I'm sure they would love to see you, if you are planning on still being in the area."

Mac lets a single tear escape, "I doubt they would even want to see me. I've been a terrible friend, and an even worse godmother. I haven't spoken to them in ten years either."

Harm takes the pad of his thumb, and wipes the tear away. Then, he lifts her chin, and looks directly into her chocolate orbs, "Friends don't keep score like that. Especially not Bud and Harriet. The minute Harriet sees you; she will probably crush you in the biggest hug you have ever had, while she tells you 'It's great to see you Ma'am.' We never could get them to use our real names. You also might want to wear something waterproof, as I am sure there will be plenty of tears on both sides."

Mac states, "That's probably true. I've missed them too. I just didn't know how to reach out after I behaved so badly. When things got tough, I turned to the only thing that I knew. I ran away from it all, and didn't even think about how my actions would hurt the people that I cared about the most. The only good thing about it was that I didn't crawl myself back inside a bottle, not that I didn't consider it on more than one occasion. But I am stronger than that. I've still managed to stay sober, minus the one ugly relapse you saw early in our partnership."

Harm replies, "Well, you will be able to reach out soon enough. They are moving back into their old house, so you will know just where to find them. And the house won't seem so big now either."

Mac says, "Why is that?"

Harm chuckles, "Because they have six kids, not including Mattie, who they also count as one of their own. AJ in in high school, Jimmy is in middle school, Nikki and Michael (the twins) are in their last year of elementary school, and Jennifer and Harmony (their second set of twins) are four. I have a picture if you would like to see them."

Mac nods her head in the affirmative.

Harm pulls out his wallet, and flips to a recent picture of the Roberts family taken in front of the Vatican. He pulls it out of its protective sleeve, and hands it to Mac.

Mac runs her finger over the photo, lovingly, and then lets out a big laugh.

Harm inquires, "What's so funny?"

Mac chuckles, "Well, if you look closely, they almost resemble the Brady Bunch. All of the girls look like their mom, and aside from AJ's blond hair, all the boys look like Bud. And there are three boys and three girls."

Harm takes the picture back from Mac, and squints his eyes carefully studying the family. He chuckles, "You might be right, at least the youngest one isn't in curls. When Harriet found out she was having another set of twins, she told Bud that this was the last pregnancy she was going through. She said if he wanted any more kids, he was going to have to call Arnold Schwarzenegger for that hormone therapy his character developed to allow a man to have a baby."

Mac laughs, "Well, Bud is into all the science fiction stuff. You never know, he might be willing to try it."

Harm laughs, "Ok Marine, but if Bud tries to have a baby in what is now MY office, you get to coach him through labor, and I'll wait outside for the ambulance."