A Friendly Demonstration
Chapter 48
"What?!" Johnny stared across the table at Julia, his expression, she thought one of amazement and… and… horror?
She felt her eyes prickle with tears at his unspoken rejection of her plea and she sniffed, fighting back those tears, "Oh…okay… if you don't want to…" she gulped as she started to push her chair back from the table.
Just in time Johnny found his voice, "Hey, hold up there… where do you think you're going?"
"Home…" Julia said on a half-sob.
"No you bloody well aren't!" Johnny expostulated. "Julia, sweetheart, you can't just lay an idea like that on me, and then run away! It's not fair! We need to find somewhere quiet where we can discuss this." Johnny nodded slightly in the direction of the teenaged breakfast waitress who was busying herself at the side buffet, but the room was so small that anything above a murmur was bound to reach her ears, and indeed Johnny' exclamations had already piqued her interest.
"Back to our room?" Julia asked, with the faintest of hopes renewed in her heart.
"M'mm… maybe not…" Johnny looked out of the window, "If it wasn't pouring with rain, then I'd say we go for a walk… "
Julia looked discontented for a moment or two and then firming her chin, called out, "Miss?"
The waitress came smiling over to the table, "Yes? Is there something I can get you?"
"Yes, there is. Can you get us a fresh pot of coffee, please? And take your time…" she added with a glance at Johnny.
The waitress sensing romance in the air smiled cheerfully, "Fresh coffee, Miss? Yes, I can do that," she said in her soft country accent, "But it'll take a while, maybe ten minutes or so…"
"That'll be fine, thank you," Julia smiled at the girl, although her face lost its smile as she turned back to Johnny, who had made use of the interlude, as short as it was, to gather at least some of his scattered wits.
"Johnny…" Julia began.
"No! Let me try to tell you what just happened this side of the table, please?" Johnny's expression and the hand with which he reached out to cover Julia's had their effect. She looked down to see his hand lying almost protectively over hers, gulped and said, "Yes, alright."
"Well first off, you shouldn't spring surprises like that over the breakfast table," he grinned.
"Oh, Johnny, don't, please don't turn this into a joke."
The laughter, but not the warmth, left Johnny's eyes, "Julia, I don't think I've ever been more serious on my life. I won't deny that the thought of having babies, lots of babies, with you hasn't occurred to me, but I always sort of saw it as sometime off in the future." Johnny took a breath, "And after all the preliminaries had been dealt with."
"Preliminaries?" Julia asked.
Johnny gulped and prepared himself for the harshest response of his life, "Yeah. You can't put the cart before the horse, so there are certain preliminaries, you know, like an engagement ring, the walk down the aisle… so if you want my baby, Julia Martinez, then yes, I'll do my best to bring that about because I love you so very much, and anything you ever want, if it is in power, then you shall have. But there is one condition."
"What's that?" Julia asked, smiling through her unshed tears, although she had a pretty good feeling about what Johnny was prepared to say.
"That condition is, Julia, my one and only love, that you say you'll marry me – and just because you hang around with lawyers, with the added proviso that when you say it, you mean it! Julia Martinez, will you marry me?"
"Johnny… I'd love to be married to you… but I don't want this proposal just because you feel that I've held a gun to your head!" Julia protested.
"No such thing!" Johnny affirmed, "I had already decided I was going to ask you, but I was going to leave it until we got back from Afghanistan. You've just pushed the agenda slightly."
"Slightly?" Julia laughed, "Johnny that would have been sixteen months away!"
"Johnny shrugged, "Yeah, so what? We have to be flexible, able to react to changing circumstances. You want a baby. I want you. So it's got to be the whole nine yards. Besides, have you got any idea what mum and Zoe would do to me if they found out I had made you pregnant and then buggered off without marrying you?"
Julia giggled through her tears at the thought of the wrath of Johnny's family erupting on him, "What will they say to us getting married?" she asked slightly nervously.
"Well… the general consensus will probably be 'about bloody time', together with enquiries about your mental health. Besides we aren't getting married."
Julia stopped giggling and looked at Johnny in consternation, "We're not? But… I thought that…You said…"
"It's not quite as simple as that, we can't get married, because you haven't said 'yes' yet!" Johnny grinned in triumph.
"Ooooh! Of course I say 'yes'! In fact I had thought about proposing marriage, but I thought you might not go for that so soon, so instead I decided to ask for a baby…" Julia looked down at the tablecloth and blushed slightly, "Your baby," she finished quietly.
"Well, there's no reason we can't do both, if you really want to," Johnny said, "but there are certain practicalities to deal with…"
"Like?" Julia prompted.
"Like the soonest we can legally get married is four weeks from today, unless you want to hold off on the idea?"
"No. Let's go for that date!" Julia replied.
"In that case, grab your coat and handbag, we're off to see the vicar and then home to break the news to the family."
"Vicar? Is that like a priest?" Julia said.
"Yeah, an Anglican Priest. Like… like… Johnny searched his memory for the American equivalent, "Like the Episcopalian Church back home."
"Johnny, I'm a Catholic," Julia remonstrated.
"But not practising, right? I mean apart from that service we went to Salisbury – and that was a Protestant one, you don't go to church on Sundays do you?"
"No… but won't this… this… vicar say something?"
"I doubt it," Johnny replied, "but we won't know until we speak with him!"
"But what about your family, shouldn't we tell them first?"
"Only if you want to put the wedding off another week," Johnny grinned, "Mum will have a barrage of questions and comments, and then the girls will repeat them all. If we go home now, we'll be lucky to get free before the vicar goes to bed!"
"But even if we see the vicar first, we'll still get the same questions and comments?" Julia asked a slightly puzzled frown warring with her smile.
"Of course we will, but we will have settled things with the vicar!" Johnny laughed.
"Oh… yeah… that makes sense…"
"Good, so come on, grab your stuff and let's make a dash for the car!" Johnny said with another dark look at the pouring rain.
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"Going somewhere?" Jen asked Victor as he emerged from the bedroom dressed in running shorts, a t-shirt and trainers.
"Yep, unless you want me turn into a lard-ass like some dog-face First Sergeant, then I need to keep fit… so I'm heading out for an hour or so to take a run."
Jen nodded, "Where are you going?"
"A couple of laps around the Country Park and that open stretch they call the common ought to rack up about five miles by the time I've jogged there and back," Victor answered.
"Okay, I'll have a fresh brew of coffee for when you get back – and yes, I'll make it high octane!"
Victor nodded, "And while I'm gone, you'll be able to call Mattie, if you're still set on that?"
"I am," Jen replied, vaguely troubled by Victor's remark, bit quickly shook off the feeling, "You be careful out there and remember if you cross the road, look right first!"
"Yes, mom!" Victor grinned and then blew Jen a kiss before he lit out through the door.
Jen smiled indulgently, and after looking at the time decided to wait half an hour before calling Mattie.
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"Uh… Harm…" Mattie said as she investigated her new cell phone, "I… uh… don't suppose you've got Jen's cell number handy?"
"I do, but I think you'll find you need to put the chip in place and then charge your phone before you use it, right Gill?"
Gill nodded, looking overt the rim of her coffee cup at Mattie. "Harm's right, but charging shouldn't take more than a couple of hours…"
"And by which time, if I know Miss Coates, she'll have called you anyway," Harm smiled.
"Yeah, I guess…" Mattie said trying to smile, but wondering why Harm hadn't thought to give her the phone last night so it could be charged and ready for use today.
"In the meantime, since Harm did all the clearing away last night, what say we pitch in and get all this lot done?" Gill asked.
Mattie made an effort to shrug off her mild disappointment and nodded, "Sounds fair to me!" and wheeled her chair over towards the kitchen sink, "Doesn't this place have a dishwasher?" she asked, and then catching the glint in Harm's eye added hurriedly, "And don't even think of saying, 'Yeah, you'!" she cautioned him.
"The thought never crossed my mind! While you and Gill are getting to grips with that, I'm going to put my feet up!"
Both of his girls scowled at him at that, but Harm merely replied with a chuckle and headed for the living room.
"Men!" Mattie said in a disgusted voice.
"Yes, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em," Gill sighed as she grabbed a tea-towel, "It's probably easier if you wash and I dry right?"
"Right." Mattie agreed and then said, "You really meant that, didn't you?"
"What? That it would be easier if you washed? Yes… but…"
Mattie shook her head impatiently, "No, that's not what I meant. I meant what you said about not being able to live without men… or in your case, Harm."
Gill smiled, "Yes… I rather think I did mean it. At any rate, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't much like my life if I didn't have Harm in it." Then realising that she may have given away too much she continued, "Well, for the present anyway. Who knows what the future might bring…"
"But as long as it has Harm in it you'll be happy, hey?" Mattie grinned as she slotted a clean plate into the sink tidy.
"Ah… I never said that!" Gill refuted the teenager's conclusion, while at the same time thinking, 'This kid's sharp! You need to watch that you don't let slip too much, Gillian Anne Shephard!'
Mattie gave Gill a smug look from under her brows, "Yeah… right…" she drawled, and grinned even more, well satisfied with her prodding, as she thought she saw Gill's cheeks turn a light pink.
The washing up completed Gill and Mattie joined Harm in the living room where he sat on the edge of the couch, poring over a sheaf of documents on the coffee table.
"Work?" asked Mattie in some surprise as she wheeled into what she was already beginning to consider 'her' spot at right angles to the couch.
Harm looked up and smiled as he unconsciously made room for Gill on the couch, "No, not work. These young lady are your report card and transcripts from school. I have provisionally arranged for you to start attending the American School in London, but not until January. So, what I have to do is bundle all these up and get them to the school. The snag is, with all the school you've missed, first at Charlottesville, and then after the accident, you may have to redo a year…"
"Oh, man, that sucks, that really sucks!" Mattie said bitterly.
Harm looked up at that, while he was in sympathy with her, he would not let that slip, "Language, Mattie! I hope you were more careful around AJ and little Jimmy!"
Mattie blushed, "I'm sorry, Harm, I do try, but sometimes…"
Harm relented and leaning over he reached out and ruffled Mattie's hair, "I know, Squirt, I know, but try a little harder, huh? Or…" his smile broadened into a grin, "I may have to make sure you remember that you're a young lady by making you wear a dress tomorrow!"
Mattie looked at him in horror, "Harm! You wouldn't! Would you?"
"I might if you keep on cussing."
Mattie, to her immense relief, caught the tease in time, "Okay, okay, already… I'll be good! Now… what's this school like?"
"It's in Saint John's Wood, that's an area of London, about two miles from the Embassy, where JAG is…"
"And it's about a five minute walk from Saint John's Wood Barracks, where I live in the officers' mess," Gill added.
"That's like BOQs and the O Club combined," Harm added as he saw Mattie's frown.
"Yeah, I got it… But you don't work there?" she asked Gill.
"Lord, no! The barracks at Saint John's Wood are the King's Troop Barracks. That's a ceremonial unit of horse-drawn artillery. No I work for a branch of the Ministry of Defence for the next couple of years before I either go back to a regiment or to a staff course."
"So where's this Ministry, then?" Mattie asked with the insatiable curiosity of youth.
"Oh… there are sites all over London, but the place where I work is in Stanmore, that's about a forty minute tube ride out from central London, and about thirty minutes from Saint John's Wood."
"You work in Stanmore?" Harm said in surprise, "That's out where Coates lives! I always thought you worked somewhere in the middle of the city!"
"Oh! No, no thank you! Having to catch the tube each morning is bad enough, but at least where I'm headed it runs above ground most of the time, and there's the hint of pastures green and fresh country air on the horizon! No, I don't think I could stand working at Whitehall or Horse Guards!"
"Oh… I just assumed… and you never said…" Harm said lamely
"No… and you never asked!" Gill replied.
For a second the two gazed at each other and then burst out laughing. Mattie for the moment or two that Gill and Harm had locked eyes felt as if she had become invisible to them and once again had to batter down a surge of jealousy even as she was happy that Harm seemed to have found someone who brightened his world.
Mattie's ruminations were interrupted by the shrilling of the telephone with its, to Mattie's ears, strange double ring. "You'd best get that, Squirt," Harm grinned, "It's probably for you!"
"Uh… yeah…" Mattie rolled nearer to the side table and reached put for the phone, "Hello?"
"Mats?" Yes! It was Jen!
"Hi Jen, where are you? Are we going for coffee? I've got so much to tell you! You'd never believe…" Mattie's words almost tripped over themselves as they tumbled from her lips.
"Whoa! Slow down! Yes, we're going for coffee, that's you me and Victor…"
"Who's Victor?" Mattie demanded almost suspiciously.
"Victor is First Sergeant Galindez and he's my boyfriend," Jen said, hoping that Mattie wouldn't take the news amiss.
"What is it with people around here?" Mattie said in a voice of mock complaint, "Is there something in the water, or in the air?"
Slightly confused, Jen asked, "What are you talking about?"
Mattie grinned, hoping that Jen could hear the smile in her voice. "I always thought that Paris, not London was supposed to be the city of love and romance, and here you and Harm are, not even in England for a week and both of you getting hooked up!"
Jen giggled, "Oh… I suppose it does seem like that… but Victor used to be at JAG too… so there was a pre-existing connection…" Jen excused the fib by telling herself that the connection was that both she and Victor had been at JAG but just not at the same time. She could explain that later to Mattie, if she needed to.
"But anyway, we can not discuss my love life face to face, say in about half an hour?"
"Hang on, Jen, I'll check." Mattie covered the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand as she turned to Harm, "Yes, it's Jen, she wants to know if she can pick me up in half an hour so we can go for coffee…"
Harm nodded, "Yeah, that's fine. Just be back for dinner… say seventeen hundred hours… oh… no… wait…" he jumped to his feet and rushed out of the room leaving Mattie with a sinking feeling that she wouldn't be able to go out with her friend after all.
She took a deep breath and was about to try to explain to Jen that their expedition looked like a no-go when Harm erupted back into the room and perched on the arm of the couch next to Mattie.
"I don't know where my head was earlier," he apologised,, "You can't possibly go for coffee without being able to pay your share…" he held out a folded banknote, "This is Twenty Pounds, your weekly allowance, it's worth about thirty dollars, so don't spend it all at once. This in addition to any necessary expenses you might need to pay, like travel costs or any medications or treatment. If you need new clothes or shoes, then that is a matter for negotiation… pretty much the same sort of arrangement we had in the States, okay?"
Mattie murmured, "Thanks, Harm," even as she blushed, having once been the mistress of her own finances, she hated having an allowance, but while Beth O'Neill was running Grace Aviation for her Harm insisted that half of the profits be ploughed back into the business – and that had shown results, Grace Aviation now, in addition to its crop dusting business, had two twin turbo-prop air taxis and Beth had even managed to hire a second multi-engine qualified pilot, and on top of that she reported that both air taxis were in regular demand. The second half of the profits Harm had ring-fenced as a 'contingency fund', and although he hadn't explained his reasoning to Mattie, she was astute enough to realise that he meant it to help her through college in the event that she couldn't make the physical for Annapolis. In the meantime Mattie had to rely on Harm for an allowance, and although she knew that was common practice in families, she still felt like she was accepting hand-outs and resolved to bring the subject up with Harm once again, once they had a few moments alone. It was not, she told herself, that she didn't like or trust Gill; it was more that money was… well… they didn't call it personal finances without a damned good reason.
Mattie spent the next twenty or so minutes in almost a fever of anticipation while she Harm and Gill made light conversation, Mattie glancing at her watch every few minutes until at last Harm grinned and said, "Checking your watch every thirty seconds isn't going to make the time go any faster… and it's hardly flattering to me or to Gill!"
Mattie blushed again and began to apologise, but then caught on to Harm's grin, "Oh yeah, very funny!" she snorted and tried her best to control any visible signs of her impatience until although she was more than ready and waiting, the ring of the doorbell almost had her jumping out of her chair, "I got it!" she yelled as she spun the wheelchair around in its own length
"You may have got it, but I'm still going to say hello to whoever is on the doorstep!" Harm told her as he stood and joined her mid-career towards the front door.
"Good morning, sir! Hi, Mats!" Jen smiled as the door opened.
"Hey, Jen!" Mattie grinned while Harm nodded his acknowledgement of her greeting.
"Good, morning, Jennifer! Are you sure you want to do this?" he jabbed his thumb in Mattie's direction.
Jen laughed, "Pretty sure, sir. I've been looking forward to a good chat with Mattie for a while. I have so much to tell her!"
"So I gather," Harm nodded significantly in the direction of Victor, who out of a sense of propriety as well as wishing to give Jen and Mattie time to greet each other had stayed by his car at the kerbside. He had, however opened the passenger door and the trunk, ready to take Mattie and her wheelchair on board.
Both Mattie and Jen followed the direction of Harm's gaze, Jen with a soft smile and Mattie with an appraising look at the figure of Victor.
"Morning, First Sergeant!" Harm called.
Victor straightened up from where he leant against the front wing of the vehicle. Although he couldn't really have been said to come to attention, "Good morning, sir!"
Harm turned his attention back to Jen, "She's all yours, Jennifer, just make sure she gets back here for seventeen hundred, please."
"Of course, sir," Jen said and then to Mattie, "Ready, kiddo?"
"Ready, aye, ready!" Mattie quipped and with a cheerful, "See you later, Harm, Gill!" she propelled her chair through the door and onto the ramp, controlling the speed of its descent with her brakes.
Jen saw Harm's slightly concerned look and said, "Don't worry sir, we'll take good care of her."
Harm's face relaxed into a smile, "I know you will, Jennifer. I know you will, I have every faith in you and Victor" but he stood in the doorway, looping an arm around Gill's shoulder as she slipped her arm around his waist, while Jennifer turned and followed the teenager down the ramp and then along the path to the car.
Mattie braked to a smooth stop a couple of feet from Victor and looked up at him with unabashed interest, "First Sergeant Galindez?" she inquired politely.
Victor smiled gravely, somehow touched by the serious and courteous tone in which he had been addressed, "Yes, I'm Victor Galindez, and you are Miss Grace, I take it?"
"Just so," Mattie replied equally as gravely.
"Well… I guess we'd better figure out some way of getting you into the car. Which will be easier for you, front or rear seat?"
Mattie looked more carefully at the car, particularly at the door openings but to her they seemed much the same size, but due to the extra leg room in the front, she thought that she would find it easier to manoeuvre herself into that seat.
"I think the front seat might be easier, but that's where Jen sits, isn't it? So, I guess it had best be the back seat."
"No such thing, Mats!" Jen had joined them in time to hear her last statement. "Mattie if the front seat is going to be easier for you, then the front seat it is! Victor, if you stand clear… Mats, can you stand and then lower yourself into the seat.
"I can sure try!" Mattie grinned, although not without a degree of apprehension. Sure she could stand on braced legs but what happened when she bent her knees to lower herself that far was anyone's guess.
Tight lipped but undaunted, Mattie made sure that the chair's brakes were firmly applied and gave a heave of her arms to push herself upright. Victor stepped in as if to support her but Mattie shook her head, "No, it's okay… I got it… I think!" and under Jen and Victor's watchful eyes she half twisted so she could grab hold of the top of the door with her right hand, and feeling behind her with her left, she found the back of the seat and carefully lowered herself into it. To her embarrassment she found that while she was now sitting diagonally in the seat, she lacked the strength to lift her feet off the ground and had then to grasp each leg in turn and lift it by hand so that her feet were finally and safely inside the car.
Wriggling a little into a more comfortable position, Mattie had her seat belt fastened before Jen and Victor were settled, but not until Victor asked, "Are you all set, Miss Grace?" and received an affirmative answer, did he insert the key in the ignition and fire up the engine.
Harm watched anxiously as Mattie lowered herself into the car seat and once Victor had closed the door on her he let out an audible sigh of relief.
"Were you worried?" Gill asked gently.
"A little," Harm replied somewhat abstractedly as he closed the door, "But it was more than that… This is going to sound dumb, and I know she's very close to Jen and they've missed each other since Jen moved over here… but I can't help wishing that Mattie could have waited a couple of days before she started her social life… Not that I begrudge her anything, but…"
"But you'd have preferred it if she had stayed home with you today?" Gill asked as they returned to the living room.
Harm nodded, "I guess… Something like empty nest syndrome…" he held his breath waiting for Gill to dismiss his thoughts.
Instead Gill smiled gently, "You really love her, don't you?"
"Of course I do! Whatever gave you the idea I didn't?" Harm asked in some surprise.
"Oh, nothing at all," Gill smiled again, "It was pretty evident from the way you smile and the warmth you get in your eyes when you just mention her, and anybody who saw you together for more than five minutes couldn't possibly doubt it. It's just that you've never actually said it!"
Harm looked startled, "Haven't I? Do you mean I've never come right out and said that I love Mattie?"
Gill shook her head as she dropped onto the couch, "Not to me; I'm pretty sure I would have remembered it!"
"Yes. Yes, you would have." Harm agreed as stayed on his feet staring down at her, "And I suppose that's a hint to remind you that I haven't yet told you today that I love you?"
"Well, it wasn't…" Gill began and then noted the thoughtful expression on Harm's face, "Is something wrong, Harm?"
"Wrong? Wrong? No, no, far from it… I was just thinking that I was a bit inhibited last night, with Mattie being in the house, but now we've got the house to ourselves for at least the next four or five hours…"
Gill reddened at the thoughts that rushed through her head, but she grinned nevertheless, "I do like the way you think, sailor!"
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"So… where are going?" Mattie asked Victor and Jen.
"We're going to the Black Horse," Jen replied with a smile, knowing that the name of their destination would intrigue Mattie. She was right.
"What's that?" Mattie asked.
"It's a pub. I did some research on the net before Victor got back from his run this morning. It's a traditional English pub, with a deck alongside the canal, it serves food and drink, both hot and cold and has a reputation for being quiet and family friendly, as well as one endorsement for 'the best coffee for miles around'. Although that may not mean much here in England," Jen added conscientiously.
"Well we'll just have to find that out for ourselves, won't we?" Victor chimed in, casting a quick glance out of the corner of his eye at Mattie.
Mattie just chuckled, "It's not like I can do anything about where we're going, so I figure I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride!"
Jen smiled at that and raising her eyes to the rear view mirror she saw that Victor too had an amused grin on his face.
The drive to Greenford took no more than ten minutes before Victor steered the car onto the pub's tarmac car park. Switching off the engine he turned to Mattie, I'll go get your chair while you figure out how you want to get out of this thing…"
"I'll stand by to give you hand if you need it," Jen added.
"Thanks, Jen, but I reckon I'll be able to manage okay," Mattie answered.
Mattie managed 'okay' by dint of first lifting her feet out of the car and then as before using the top of the door and the seat back to haul herself upright and although she wobbled slightly she soon caught her balance and with her forearm draped along the car door waited patiently for Victor to unload her chair from the trunk.
"Thank you, First Sergeant," she said as he unfolded the chair next to her and checked that the brakes were on, drawing a puzzled glance from Jen, which was redoubled when Victor answered.
"You are welcome, Miss Grace."
Jen said nothing for the moment but frowned as Mattie turned towards the building, "Where do I go?" she asked.
"I'm not sure… I haven't been here before," Jen admitted but then an arrow painted on the side of the building caught her eye, "But I think if we go through that gate, we'll find ourselves on the deck."
And so it proved. The deck was of wooden planks laid over a supporting frame and posed no problem for Mattie's chair which once having reached the deck she adroitly manoeuvred into position alongside one of the many umbrella shaded tables overlooking the canal, where in addition to the customary gaggle of waterfowl waiting in hope of being fed with scraps from the customers' meals, two traditional narrow boats were alongside the canal bank, the passengers of which had obviously decided to take a break and have lunch at the pub.
Victor saw Jen and Mattie settled at the table before saying, "I'll go order some coffees and see if there's a sandwich menu, I think that's what Jen promised you?" he smiled at Mattie.
Mattie cocked her head up at him, "It is, but only if we agree to split the check."
"Not going to happen, kiddo!" Jen said emphatically, "And anyway, you two, what's all this 'First Sergeant' and 'Miss Grace' crap? I thought we were all friends here!"
"Well, I'd like us to be friends," Victor said cautiously, "but…"
"And Harm said that I was to treat Victor with respect due to his rank…" Mattie interrupted.
"Well…" Jen looked from one to the other, "You can certainly be friendlier than you have so far, and Mattie you can be polite and respectful without having 'First Sergeants' tumbling over your tongue every five minutes! Understood?"
Victor and Mattie gazed at Jen for a few seconds, and then their gaze switched to each other and as their eyes locked they both started to grin and turning back to Jen said in chorus, "Aye, aye, ma'am!"
"Oooh!" Jen's groaned out her frustration between clenched teeth as Victor and Mattie dissolved into helpless laughter.