22
Harm slipped his arm around Gill's waist as they left the Zaza's little Italian restaurant on the corner of the High Street, and allowed himself a huge grin, as she in turn slipped her arm around his waist, and snuggled in as closely as possible, while they were walking.
"Comfortable?" He asked with a smile.
"M'mm," Gill murmured, and turned her head so that Harm could see her answering smile.
They walked on in silence for a few minutes before Gill spoke again, "Do you remember last weekend, when I nearly gave you a heart attack by suggesting we ought to call on my parents?" She said tentatively
"Yes, I remember," Harm said in a carefully non-committal voice.
"Well… I...seem to have… well, mentioned you, on a couple of occasions... actually, more than a couple... and Mummy seems to think that it might be a good idea if you... umm... sort of dropped in for a cup of tea... At some stage... umm... In the not too distant future…"
"At how far in the not too distant future?" Harm asked.
"Uh... I thought that while I'm down around your neck of the woods, we... umm... well, if I called home tomorrow, then we might – but only if you want to – go to mummy and daddy's for tea on Sunday…."
Harm turned to Gill and smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, while he mulled over what she had said, and probably more importantly the implications and ramifications of what she had just said. This wasn't a scenario that he would have even considered playing out back in the States until all parties were satisfied that the relationship was heading somewhere, but he had an idea in the back of his mind that the rules of the game, as it was played in Britain, were somewhat different.
He was silent for so long, that Gill felt her heart sink. She was now afraid that she had probably cast a blight on the whole weekend, and possibly on their joint future.
Harm sneaked another glance at Gill, and was dismayed to see that she now seemed to be concentrating on the paving slabs beneath their feet. With an uneasy feeling that he was to blame for her sudden change in demeanour, he spoke softly, "You know, that's probably not a bad idea… We don't much go in for that sort of thing back home, but when you're living in DC, and her parents live in... oh, Arizona, or Washington State maybe, then visiting her mom and dad is something that takes time and planning. But, I can see that with distances that much less here in Britain, that it is still something that should be done, and in my case I'm so close to your folks' home, that it would look like downright bad manners if I left it too long. Besides which," he grinned, trying to restore some of the good mood that seemed to have dissipated, "I'm pretty keen to meet your granny, she seems to have earned your liveliest respect! So, yes, go ahead, make your call "
Gill let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding, "Oh, I can assure you that you'll have just as much respect for Granny, as I do. I love her to pieces, but she can be a really formidable grand dame when she wants to be. Just, for the love of God, don't let her see that you're scared of her!"
"Hey! I'm a naval aviator, I am not going to be scared!"
"Harm," Gill giggled, "I've done two tours in Iraq, and at times, Granny doesn't just scare me, she terrifies me!"
Harm thought for a few moments more, "I think I know just what you mean, Grams still runs her farm in Pennsylvania, she also seems to run the town in much the same manner… and she can still make me feel like I'm a naughty nine-year-old at times!"
Gill looked up at him and smiled gratefully, "Exactly… Thanks for understanding," she murmured and tightening her grasp around Harm's waist, she pulled herself in closer, and her smile broadened slightly as she felt the warmth, and the reassurance, as he pulled her even closer in.
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The RAF SP Corporal asked for Harm's ID before he opened the wicket gate next to the Guard Room – the vehicle gates were already closed for the night – and scrupulously checked that the laminates hadn't been interfered with, and that the photograph matched Harm's appearance. Satisfied that all was in order, the Corporal handed harm's ID back to him, stood back and raised his hand in salute, "Thank you sir!"
Harm smiled and nodded in acknowledgement of the salute, "Good night, Corporal."
"Good night, Sir." Corporal Jackson watched the tall American officer disappear into the darkness, heading towards the officers quarters, and shook his head wonderingly, there had barely been a whiff of alcohol about the captain, yet the unexpected warmth of his smile spoke of no mean degree of contentment. Jackson pondered for a few moments, and then the answer came to him, "You old sod, you got lucky! Well, good for you!"
"Tut, tut, talking to yourself Jacko? They'll lock you up for that!"
Jackson had been so absorbed that he failed to notice the approach of Corporal Andrews, his relief, but he made a quick recovery, "No… They only do that when you start answering yourself. Remember, you don't have to be mad to work here…"
"No, but it helps!" Andrews grinned as he completed the old saying, and then drawing a breath, he asked, "Anything to report?"
Jackson reverted to all business, "Yes, Station Commander is off station, some official do in town, he is in his staff car, and has given an ETA of zero one hundred, so that means any time between now, and zero two hundred" he added dryly.
"Anything else?"
"Nope, that's it."
"Okay then Jacko, I've got the weight, and Chalky has got the sprog mashing a brew." He paused, "God, were we ever that bad?"
"Well, I wasn't…" Jackson grinned, as he turned towards the guard room, leaving Andrews shaking his head and grinning wryly. He ought to have known better than to give Jacko that sort of opening.
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Despite his late-night, it had been almost twenty to one when he'd let himself in to the house, Harm was up and dressed in a T-shirt, jogging bottoms and sneakers, by zero six fifteen hours, and by twenty past he was using front step of the house as an aid to stretching his legs before setting off on his run. With no flying today, he was able to run the full circuit of the airfield, and because it was a short distance and he had been accustomed to running in DC he concentrated on upping his pace and speed.
He succeeded in his efforts, it was just under forty minutes later that he turned the corner into the street lined with senior officers quarters, each standing in its own plot. Slowing to a walk he used the length of the street as a cooling down stretch, breathing deeply, but without distress as he allowed his body heat to dissipate.
Cooled down, showered and dressed in grey chinos and one of his favourite mid-blue shirts, Harm set about brewing a pot of coffee, before calling the car rental company.
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Two miles up the road Gill rolled over in bed and reaching out, slapped her alarm clock into silence. For a few minutes she lay lazily going over the events of the latter part of last night. She smiled, a mixture of pleasure and relief, she recalled how easily Harm had agreed to visiting her parents on Sunday. For sure there had been a few minutes' awkwardness, but the swiftness with which they'd got over that was, in her opinion far more important than the awkwardness itself. Her smile broadened; in retrospect it hadn't really been fair to spring that invitation on him, with so little warning. But, they'd had a wonderful meal, and maybe she had one glass of wine too many, and that had given her a dose of Dutch courage, but would ever be a 'right' time to broach such a potentially difficult subject, especially as she was as keen as her mother to have Harm meet her family.
For years, she'd concentrated on her career, quite content to limit her love life to short-term, light-hearted flirtations that both parties knew from the outset were going nowhere, and were able to move on without regret. Well, without many regrets. But for some reason, and almost from first sight she had felt attracted to Harm, she tried to fight that attraction, her denials had been aimed as much at herself as they had been at Sue Marshal, but Bombardier Walker's medal parade had been her undoing, the surge of sympathy she had felt that the awkward position in which Sue had put Harm, had led to her agreeing to that first dinner date, where the attraction she had felt during the firepower demonstration was renewed and reinforced.
If Harm hadn't called then, even at that stage of the game, she would have been able to shrug her shoulders and dismiss the interlude as fitting into her pattern. But, he had sent those marvellous yellow roses, and he had called, however, and the very next day. She found herself smiling in surprise at his promptness, and then agreeing to a 'proper' date. And, apart from his cluelessness in taking the tube into town it had been a marvellous date, and she found herself holding her breath almost until he'd called again, and the Sunday lunch date... well, if that hadn't been evidence of keenness on his part, then Gill didn't know what was. Of course, such an example of his attraction to her had played its part in increasing her attraction to him, how could it not? she asked herself, and smiled, of course, the two kisses last night, the one at the beginning of the evening and the other as he wished her a good night in the hotel lobby, despite the grins of the two receptionists, hadn't hurt.
But the hands on the clock face inexorably moving towards the hour nudged her out of bed and into the bathroom, from which she emerged half an hour later and dressed ready for breakfast. A hasty glance at her watch told her she was just about going to be on time to meet Harm for breakfast as they'd arranged last night.
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Harm got to his feet as Gill walked into the lobby, his face creasing in a smile both of welcome and of pleasure. In deference to the weather, Gill had chosen a just-below-the-knee-length cream coloured summer dress, with a slight décolletage and a halter neck that left her back and shoulders bare, and in case of need, over one arm, she carried a tan, lightweight linen jacket that co-ordinated not only with her dress but also with the strappy sandals on her feet and the purse that hung from her shoulder.
Gill too smiled as she spotted Harm. An observer would have been hard put to say who approached whom, but within a couple of seconds they were almost toe to toe and again it would have been difficult to say who kissed whom, the kiss didn't last long, and was soft and tender rather than passionate, and as Harm and Gill broke the kiss they both smiled and simultaneously said, "Good morning."
It was as simple greeting, but one that laid to rest the butterflies that had been swarming in the pit of Harm's stomach. After his hesitation in excepting Gill's invitation last night he had worried that he may somehow have failed a test and that Gill would retreat from their growing intimacy. To his great relief, the kiss and the very simple nature of her greeting stilled his qualms.
Gill smiled up at him, a twinkle in her eye, "Are you just going to stand there staring at me all morning, or were you thinking of allowing me to have breakfast?"
Harm gave a little start, he hadn't realised he'd been staring quite so much, and a slightly shamefaced grin, complemented by a faint reddening, replaced his smile. "Whoops, my bad! But it's partly your fault, what do you expect me to do, when you're so beautiful?"
It was Gill's turn to blush, but mostly from pleasure, "So, I don't clean up too bad?"
Harm leaned in to whisper in her ear, "You are totally beautiful," he assured her and grinned even more widely as her blush intensified.
"If you've quite finished turning me into a traffic light, can we please go get something to eat?" Gill asked in mock indignation.
"Oh, well, if you're hungry, why didn't you say so?" Harm asked innocently.
The best reply Gill could come up with was a frustrated "Ooh!"
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Johnny pulled up outside the address Julia had given him, he had followed directions exactly but he still checked the door number against the details Julia had scribbled on a scrap of paper. Nodding in satisfaction he climbed out of the car and walked up the paving stone path and rang the doorbell.
He waited a couple of seconds until the door opened and he found himself the object of scrutiny of a pair of curious blue eyes. "Hi," said the rather stocky blonde girl who had answered the door, "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I'm calling for Julia Martinez, Johnny answered, with far more assurance that he actually felt.
The blonde nodded, "Oh, you must be Johnny!" She half-turned and yelled over her shoulder," Hey, Jules! Your soldier's here! She's still upstairs, fussing with her make-up, I reckon, you'd best come on in and wait."
"Thanks," Johnny grinned as the blonde opened a door leading off the hall.
"I'm Patty, take a seat," she invited him, "Oh, cute accent you got there."
Johnny was far too taken aback to formulate an answer and just stood with his mouth hanging open, as Patty dropped him an outrageous wink. "Go on, take a seat, you're making the place look even untidier than it already is," and whisked out of the room.
Johnny sat and looked around. He had to agree with Patty, the place was a mess. Glossy magazines strewn almost every surface, and what once had been a pile of them next to one of the armchairs had slipped and strewn itself in a cascade across the carpet. A stack of old newspapers was on the hearth, and a couple of empty glasses were surrounded by overlapping ring marks on the coffee table. His NCO's eye also detected a noticeable layer of dust on the over mantle, and the suspicion of a cobweb in one corner where the wall met the ceiling. He felt a flash of irritation, even as an NCO the accommodation provided him by the army was an eight foot by eleven foot single bunk which contained a bed, a bedside table, a locker and a metal frame plywood seat and back chair. The four girls, including Julia, who lived here had the whole house, fully furnished, including kitchen and bathroom, yet seemed content to live in what he considered a state of squalor, one that if it were soldiers' accommodation, wouldn't be tolerated for a minute in Three Eight.
Fortunately for his state of mind he didn't have long to wait before Julia opened the door and walked in. Johnny sprang to his feet and crossed the room towards her, scooping her up into his arms and planting a firm, loving kiss on her lips. Julia gasped slightly, and opened to him, letting their tongues engaged in the age-old dance.
Only the need to breathe forced them to break the kiss, and Julia looked up at Johnny with shining eyes, and softly said "Wow."
"And good morning to you, too," Johnny grinned, "and, yeah, wow!"
Julia's brow furrowed a slight frown, true, Johnny had a smile on its face, but there was something in his voice that made her suspect he wasn't as happy as he was trying to appear.
But before she could speak, Johnny cupped her face with a gentle hand and used his thumb to caress her cheek, "You about ready to blow this joint?" he asked softly
"Ready when you are," Julia replied, "where have you got in mind?"
Johnny's grin took a wicked edge, "Well, if you've got a camera…." And what American in the UK doesn't have a camera? he asked himself, "we could drive down to Richmond Park, and see if we can get close enough to the deer for you to take a couple of decent shots."
Julia stood back and gazed questioningly up at Johnny, "I don't remember telling you that I was into photography," she said.
"You didn't, but on a couple of occasions I've seen photographic wallets in your handbag," he smiled.
"Well, ten out of ten for observation, Mister Walker. Give me a minute and I'll get my case." Julia gave Johnny a brilliant smile and whisked out of the room.
"Case?" Johnny asked himself, and wondered just how big a can of worms he had accidentally opened.
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Gill allowed herself to sit back and enjoy the ride. The first few miles she had been tense, unsure of Harm's driving skills in what was for him still a new environment. However, a very short time had been enough to assuage her qualms and she was able to relax and appreciate how quickly and completely the former fighter pilot next to her seemed to become one with the machine.
With the speedometer needle nudging the seventy mph mark, Harm kept the Mondeo in the left hand lane of the motorway, only moving out to the centre lane when he needed to overtake slower vehicles, and immediately moving back in to the nearside lane as soon as the manoeuvre was complete. After he had made the move some half a dozen times, Gill looked across at him," Most people aren't quite so scrupulous about staying in the inside lane," she observed.
Harm glanced at her in mild surprise, "I've been reading up on the Highway Code, isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"
"Yes, it is," Gill replied, "but people get into bad habits, and on weekdays the inside lane is quite often nose to tail with HGVs, and car drivers get used to driving in the middle lane."
"But that's no excuse for not sticking to the code," Harm said severely.
"No, dear," Gill said soothingly, and smiled.
Harm shot her a suspicious look, but decided he was going to leave that little piece of bait dangling in the water.
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"Oh, what are you doing?" Julia squeaked as Johnny indicated left, and pulled up in front of a long, low building, but to Julia looked pretty much like a truck stop.
"Breakfast," Johnny said succinctly.
"But… but didn't you have breakfast at the hotel?" Julia wondered.
Johnny grinned in a slightly embarrassed fashion as he switched off the ignition, "I... umm... was going to, but when I got to the restaurant, your CO and Captain Shephard were already there, and I didn't feel like sitting in solitary splendour while they were having their breakfast together."
Julia waited until they had both climbed out of the car, then smiled and shook her head indulgently, "Captain Rabb wouldn't have minded, and from what I've seen of your Captain Shephard, she wouldn't have minded either."
Johnny nodded his head, "Probably not, but I wouldn't have felt right." he said as he opened the café door for her.
Julia shook her head again, "I don't understand that, but if you wouldn't have felt okay then I guess I can accept that."
Johnny smiled, and spotting a clean table in the corner he nodded in that direction, and then with his hand in the small of Julia's back, he walked over to the table, and on arrival, drew out her chair for her.
Their arrival had been noted, and Johnny had barely taken his seat when the waitress, a plump motherly looking woman in her 40s came to take their order.
Johnny grinned up at her, "Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, black pudding and tomato, please."
Julia almost stared at him in surprise, "Umm... Just a toasted bacon sandwich, please."
"Anything to drink, dear?" She asked Johnny.
Johnny looked across the Julia, "OJ and coffee?" He checked with her.
Julia nodded and the waitress adding the drinks to the order, smiled and headed back to the server in.
Julia spent a silent thirty seconds tracing the pattern on the gingham oil oilcloth table covering before she somewhat nervously cleared her throat and looked up at Johnny. "You've been a little bit off all morning," she observed, "is it something to do with having to miss breakfast because the officers were there?"
Johnny managed a shame-faced half-smile, "Damn, I thought I'd managed to hide that pretty well," he drew a deep breath, "Yeah, that's part of it…" He left the end of the sentence hanging as he sought for a tactful way of continuing.
"Go on," Julia encouraged him softly, "if there's something wrong, then I want to know."
Johnny dropped his eyes, "it's a bit tricky…and I don't want to offend, upset or embarrass you," he muttered.
Julia opened her eyes wide in surprise, "if it's bothering you that much, then I do need to hear it, and I'll promise I'll try not to be offended, insulted, upset or embarrassed."
"Well…" Johnny started uneasily, "it was that blonde girl, the one who answer the door, Patty was it?"
Julia nodded, already she had an idea where this was going, "Yes, Patty."
"Yeah, well, she knew I was there to call for you, and I swear we weren't alone for more than a minute before she called you, but honest to God, she was coming on to me!" Johnny said indignantly.
Julia winced, "Ah... Maybe I should have warned you about that. She broke up with her boyfriend a few weeks ago, and she's been making a play for practically anything in pants. I think it's her way of proving to herself that she still attractive. I don't think she meant anything by it."
"Still made me feel uncomfortable," Johnny grumbled.
Julia had to fight down a giggle, poor Johnny looked so looked so down, that it was, from her point of view pretty funny. "And is that what's been bugging you?"
"Yeah, well, that and a touch of jealousy."
Julia jerked upright in total surprise, "Jealousy?" she repeated, "I don't understand…"
Johnny raised his eyes with difficulty and stared across the table, "It's the house, and I know it's stupid, but blokes like me are crammed in to a single, small room. But there's what, three, four of you sharing that house, and the living room was a…"
"You don't have to tell me about that!" Julia exclaimed almost savagely. "When I first moved in there, about eight, nine months ago, I used to pick up, wash up, put things away until I realised that I was the only one doing it. Then when I mentioned it to the others and suggested that perhaps they might like to do their fair share, they just kind of shrugged their shoulders and said 'whatever', so I stopped using the lounge, and I stopped picking up after them. I keep my room clean and tidy; if I cook, or make coffee, I do enough for myself, and I clear up after myself. But I am not going to be their damned unpaid housemaid!"
Johnny regarded her levelly, and nodded, "Bloody right, if they aren't prepared to pull their weight, why the hell should you skivvy for them?"
"Oh, I know, but I hate living in a mess, and quite honestly, I'm dreading the day we get told to stand by our beds for inspection!"
The arrival of the waitress bearing a tray loaded with their breakfast orders put a temporary stop to their conversation, and then Johnny's wholehearted concentration on cleaning his plate put a longer stop to their talk, especially as Julia sat and watched in amazement at the speed Johnny cleared his plate. It was only when he had finished that he caught Julia's expression.
"What?" He asked in puzzlement.
Julia shook her head indulgently, "Johnny, you must have hollow legs!" she grinned.
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Harm carried Gill's glass of dry white wine, and his own pint of bitter carefully through the scrum at the bar to the table she had seen the second they'd walked into through the door, and to which she had made a beeline through the crowd, assisted by sharp elbow nudges, and the repetition of a sweetly determined, "Excuse me, please."
"Okay, you were right," Harm admitted as he slid onto the bench next to her, "we shouldn't have taken that extra turn around the park, and we should come in as soon as they open the doors."
Gill took a sip from her wine, "Oh, I know that," she smiled smugly, "but never mind at least we've got time for this one drink before the curtain!"
Harm threw up a hand in the manner of a fencer acknowledging a hit, "Touché!" He admitted, while thinking privately that at the prices they charge in the theatre bar, he was just as happy at only having the one drink. "But apart from having to fight your way through the herd, have you enjoyed the day?"
"Lord, yes!" Gill practically giggled, "I don't know when I've had quite so much fun watching anybody play the tourist the way you did today. The boot of that car is filled with the most meretricious tat, that I have ever seen!"
"Oh, it's not that bad," Harm defended his purchases with an air of injured dignity.
Gill took another sip of her drink, and cocked an eyebrow at him, "For a start, anything you need to say is 'not that bad' very probably is! And secondly, just how many of those horrible, plastic Anne Hathaway Cottage money boxes did you buy?"
"Only the four," Harm said defensively, "one each for AJ, Jimmy, and the twins. If I'd bought something for one of them, without buying exactly the same for the others, I'd be condemning Bud and Harriet to months, if not years of sibling jealousy and squabbles!"
Gill shook her head, "Alright, I'll let the money boxes pass, but a whole box of coffee mugs, printed with a portrait of Shakespeare, with the message 'A Present from Stratford-upon-Avon' inscribed around the bottom. Harm, there are twenty-four mugs in that box!"
"Yeah, and most of them are for presents too… I can hardly buy the Roberts kids presents, without buying something for Bud and Harriet, and then there's Mom, and Frank, and Grams, and Julia…"
"Julia?" Gill queried.
"Yes, Julia, my Yeoman cum Driver, she's putting a hell of a lot of extra hours why been reading myself in, and cheerfully undertaken driving duties, even at weekends, where that's nowhere in the criteria for her rate. It's just a… mark of appreciation. Regulations prohibit the giving of gifts between officers and enlisted, and flowers or chocolate are just too… Personal, I guess. But a coffee mug, especially one that is such meretricious tat," he grinned as he turned Gill's own words back on her, "is pretty well unexceptional."
Gill smiled in appreciation of Harm's rebuttal, and sighed, "I should have known better than to try and argue with a lawyer," she said ruefully, "but even with all those names you've just pulled out of your magic hat, that's still nowhere near the whole box full!"
"Ah-ha, but you can never have too many coffee mugs," Harm finished triumphantly, and took a self satisfied swallow of his beer. Quite happy that Gill hadn't seen the gift-wrapped copy of the "Riverside Shakespeare" edition of the complete works of the Stratford upon Avon Bard, and which he intended to make a present of to Gill, at the end of the weekend.
"Now, apart from my buying habits, was there anything else that met with madam's disapproval," Harm asked.
"No, the drive was pleasant, we were lucky to find a parking spot near the centre, and lunch was superb," Gill mused blandly.
Harm gave her a shrewd look over the rim of his glass, the lunch she had just enthused over, had been a sandwich, an ice cream and a glass of soda.
Gill caught his glance, and chuckled, "Okay, lunch was lunch, but on top of breakfast, and with an early supper ahead it was fine. And the supper, was very, very good."
Harm nodded as Gill stopped her tease, she was right, supper had been good, and was the result of about three hours searching the Internet and on the phone to make reservations for this evening, and to ensure that the menu would suit both their tastes. He was pleased, more than pleased, both with the outcome of his efforts, and the pleasure and enjoyment Gill had taken in what was quite a simple, but very well cooked and well presented meal.
"So, not too disappointed with the day?" he grinned.
"It could have been a wet Wednesday afternoon in Rotherham," Gill smiled, "but as long as I spent it with you it would still have been a perfect day." and with a smile, she leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek.
Harm felt at a total loss as to how to respond to Gill's declaration, but fortunately for his composure the bell sounded the ten minute warning for the curtain, and obliged them both to finish their drinks and, with Harm acting as a shield for Gill, they joined the throng heading for the various doors leading into the auditorium.
Harm had seen other productions of Much Ado About Nothing, but within minutes of the opening curtain, he realised that this production was likely to be totally dissimilar to anything he had seen previously. Other productions he had seen had had horses hoof sound effects to herald the arrival of the messenger bringing news of the battle, but on this occasion the courier arrived on stage on a vintage motorcycle, and dressed in a vaguely nineteen thirties military uniform.
Harm took a sideways look at Gill whose shining-eyed and slightly open lips bore witness to her single-minded concentration on the events on stage, and he sat back, happy in the knowledge that he had pleased her, and now fully prepared to enjoy the play.