December 21, 2003
Sycamore Street – Falls Church, Virginia
0922 Eastern
Harm and Beth were sitting in the home office, going through the various real estate listings that he had collected for London. They had both gotten to bed late last night, after staying up with their combined families and watching a couple of movies. They had both been pleased to see their families getting along so well.
The shopping excursion yesterday had turned out well for the ladies, although it had taken longer than Beth had thought it would. Trish and Kate had kept convincing her to try on more and more dresses, watching her face carefully in the mirror before discarding or tentatively approving a dress. Three hours later, they were down to the finalists, as Mattie laughingly referred to them. Then came another time through, this time with the help of one of the shop's experts.
What Beth finally chose was an ivory tulle ball gown with cap sleeves and a short veil, which the ladies had insisted upon when Beth had said she wasn't sure. It was only when Trish and Kate had settled the veil in place that Beth understood. The dress was beautiful, but the veil is what said "Bride". The next step was a pair of shoes to go with the gown, along with some accessories. With the bridal gown selected, it was time to find Mattie her dress. The teen, knowing that it was important to Beth, didn't put up her usual fuss about wearing a dress. What was eventually picked was a floor length chiffon dress in a burgundy color, paired with some red flats.
After the bridal store, the ladies had taken the dresses out to the SUV and stowed them before continuing the shopping. Next was an excursion to Victoria's Secret, for something for the wedding night. Mattie had chosen to remain outside the store, joking about not needing to know about those type of things just yet. Grandma Sarah elected to keep Mattie company, so the pair had found a bench and spent their time doing people watching. From there, they moved on to a women's wear store so that Kate, Trish and Sarah could all get dresses for themselves, wanting something appropriate for the ceremony. The last shopping stop of the day had been to a jewelry store, where Trish had bought a pair of pearl teardrop earrings for Beth and a single strand of pearls for Mattie.
When the ladies had finally returned home, it was to find that Harm had dinner well underway. The two dresses were rushed upstairs while he was occupied and hidden in Mattie's closet, while the other dresses were kept by their owners. Kate moved hers to her rental car, rather than bringing it into the house.
Today, the families were off exploring Washington, so that the happy couple could plan the move to London. Mattie had elected to go with the Burnetts after being assured by Harm that he knew what she was hoping for in a new place to live. Beth and he had agreed on his "minimum requirements" of three bedrooms and two baths for the new place. She had also agreed that renting made more since than buying in this case, given the unlikelihood of their being reassigned to London or living there after they retired. Both of them viewed the house in Falls Church as their "home", one that they would probably retire to at the end of their careers.
So, Beth was now looking through the stack of listings that Harm had already approved of, while Harm was reexamining those that he had initially rejected. When she was finished with her short stack, she took the ones he had just gone through and looked them over. By the time they had each gone through every one of the listings, it was time for lunch. Harm went downstairs, while Beth straightened up the desk and reorganized the piles. There were now three listings that they had both agreed on, plus another five that at least one of them had liked.
Picking up those eight, she made her own way downstairs and joined Harm in the kitchen. Harm had decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, along with some tomato soup and fruit salad. She smiled at him before going to the table and sitting down, to take another look at the listings before he brought the food over. She kept going back to one that she had liked, but that Harm had put aside. When he brought the food over, she slid it to him.
"What was it about this property that you didn't like?" Beth asked.
"Oh, the house is wonderful," Harm answered. "It's just the thought of spending my entire month's pay on a place to live that I'm not fond of."
"Alright, other than the price, was there anything else wrong with this one?"
"No. It's got everything that we need. There's four bedrooms, three baths and it's fairly close to the Embassy and your office. Even better, it's completely furnished, so we could move right in rather than waiting for our furniture to arrive."
"Well, what if we rented out the house here?" Beth asked, speculatively. "That would help lessen the impact of our renting a place in London. And, eventually, there'll be money coming from Grace Aviation…."
"No, that's Mattie's money. Any profit the business makes after paying the Admiral and providing him with operating funds, we'll put into a separate account for her," Harm said. "Anything else just feels wrong to me."
Beth just looked at him for a few moments. He was giving the business millions, yet wouldn't even consider using the profits for his own interests.
"So, the money you're 'loaning' the business? How exactly is that going to be paid back?"
"Once the business is on solid ground, then payments will be arranged. For right now, all I want the Admiral worrying about is collecting on those past due accounts and getting the new dusters bought and prepared for next year. As long as the company doesn't collapse, I'm not worried about getting my money out of it. Besides, if things look good, I plan on putting more money in for those charter planes."
"If you're not concerned about that money, then why are you worried about spending a little more to get the place we want to live in for the next two years?" Beth asked, then waited for the light to come on for Harm.
"Alright, if you're that set on this being our choice, then I'll call the agent on Monday and make the arrangements," Harm told her, which earned him a kiss on the cheek. "Did you just handle me, Beth?"
Beth, for her part, just sweetly smiled at him before taking a bite of her sandwich.
Sheraton Waikiki Hotel – Honolulu, Hawaii
1403 Eastern/ 0903 Hawaiian
Mac entered the lobby of the hotel, stepping out of the elevator with a smile on her face. She had almost forgotten about Andy's offer to take her around as she went looking for somewhere to live for the duration of her time in Hawaii. So, it was a pleasant surprise to have him call up on the house phone and ask if she was ready to leave. Fortunately, she'd already showered and dressed, so it was simply a matter of putting on a pair of comfortable shoes and grabbing her purse.
She spotted Andy first, since the chair he had chosen faced away from the elevators. Looking at him, it was hard to picture him as some wealthy investment advisor, even one who was retired. He was wearing a pair of wash-faded jeans, a polo shirt and tennis shoes without socks. A pair of sunglasses rested in the neck of his shirt, while a hat was pulled low over his eyes. For all the world, it looked like he was taking a short nap while he waited for her. As she approached, she saw that was exactly what he was doing, no doubt believing that she would need time to get ready. Deciding to have a little fun, Mac quietly went up to his chair and snatched the hat from his head, making Andy jump.
"What the hell," Andy almost shouted before seeing her laughing face in front of his.
"Did I wake up?" Mac asked innocently.
"You know damned well that you did."
"I could come back later, if you'd rather sleep."
Andy pushed himself from the chair and reached for his hat, which Mac pulled out of reach. He stepped closer, following the hat as she continually moved it away from him. It was only when he stopped reaching for it that she finally handed it over. He sighed softly before leading the way out of the hotel and on over to his waiting car, slipping the porter a couple of bills for allowing him to essentially park in the drop off area.
Mac's jaw dropped as she saw the car sitting there. The little two seat roadster was a shock, as were the seatbelt arrangements. It was almost like getting strapped into a fighter plane, what with the four point restraint system. Andy helped her into the car, before going around to the driver's side. In seconds, the deep rumble of a big engine was heard followed by the chirp of tires as he expertly accelerated away from the hotel.
It was a short journey out to Aiea, given that Andy made the most of the speedy little roadster. He darted in and out of traffic at will, occasionally drawing a blast from a driver's horn. Yet, never once did it appeared that he wasn't in complete control. The car was like an extension of himself and performed beautifully.
Now that they were in a more residential section, he slowed down and just cruised the streets. Mac had an excellent opportunity to look around, liking the looks of the area. The rest of the morning was spent driving from location to location, so that she could see some of the properties in the listings. And she thanked God that she had taken the time to see the properties, rather than simply going by what the agents had put in the ads.
Many of the properties looked more run down than the pictures had indicated, along with the fact that there were young children all over the place in the neighborhood where three of her possible listings had been. The children was running all over, making her wonder where the parents were. Of the others, the best were above the price range she'd set for herself. Turning her head towards Andy, her dissatisfaction was plainly evident on her face.
"How about we get some lunch, Sarah? Then we can look at some more properties, maybe a little further away?" Andy suggested.
"Andy, I'm sure you have other things to do today besides drive me around," Mac said, her eyes still on him as he pulled away from the curb outside that latest property.
"The only things I have to do are get up, eat and go back to sleep. Everything else are things I chose to do. Now, how about lunch?"
"As long as you let me buy."
"Sounds fair enough to me," Andy said as he started looking for restaurants.
They drove halfway back to Honolulu before Andy found what he was looking for. Pulling the car in, he carefully parked well away from the other cars before getting out and walking around the rear of the car. Reaching Mac's door, he bent down and helped her with the straps before holding the door open for her.
Mac exited the car and took a moment to run her fingers through her hair, drawing a laugh from Andy.
"Well, if somebody had warned me we'd be jetting around in an open cockpit rocket ship rather than driving in a sedan, maybe I could have found a hat or scarf for my hair," Mac said, fighting the grin that threatened to escape. The drive had been fun.
"Alright, Sarah. Next time, I'll bring the sedan," Andy said agreeably, having caught a hint of the humor in her voice.
Something in the way he said that warned Mac that he was up to something. Yet, before she could say anything else, he started walking toward the restaurant. Having no choice but to follow him, she found herself inside an Italian restaurant. A waitress led them to a table and passed over menus, pausing just long enough to get drink orders before moving to another table.
"So, what is that little rocket ship of yours, anyway?" Mac asked.
"It's a 1967 AC Cobra with a 427 cubic inch engine. I bought it at auction last year and had it shipped here, along with a few other cars."
"A few other cars?"
"Well, let's just say that buying classic cars is something of a weakness," Andy told her, a slight grin on his face. "I can't stop buying ones I like. Some people collect stamps, others collect baseball cars. I collect cars."
"Boys and their toys," Mac said with a smile.
"All too true, Sarah."
"So, how many cars do you have, Andy?"
The waitress returned with their drinks before he could answer, fortunately giving him a moment to think. While she was there, they both placed their lunch orders. Mac went with an order of chicken parmesan and Andy decided on having lasagna.
"Right now, I've got a dozen here. I'll probably stop at that, for the moment. I can't drive more than that and I'm not interested in having cars not to drive them. If I just wanted to buy cars because I can, I could easily have over one hundred cars in my collection. But to me, the cars belong on the road rather than in some warehouse collecting dust," Andy told her.
"If you could only have one of them, which car would it be?" Sarah asked.
"I don't really know. Each of them is special in its own way. Take the Cobra, that's my car for when I want to go fast. For an elegant night out, I'd take my midnight blue 1940 Packard Custom Super 180 Sedan Limousine. When I feel like reliving my college days, I've got a gray 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. For when I'm feeling funny, I've got a red 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS. You can't imagine the stares I get in that car, especially if I put on my Detroit Tigers hat and a Hawaiian shirt."
Sarah caught the gag easily, remembering the television show set in Hawaii with a Private Investigator who drove one of those cars and dressed like that. Looking over at Andy, she returned the grin that was spread across his face.
"Don't you have any normal cars? You know, something that you could take to the grocery store or down to the beach."
"Oh, I've got a couple of those. There's my 2003 Chevy Suburban 4x4 or my 2001 Lincoln Town Car." Andy said with a shrug.
Their lunches arrived then, putting a momentary stop to the conversation. The silence wasn't unpleasant, as each of them were finding that the more time they spent together, the more they enjoyed the other's company. Mac finished her lunch first, drawing a slight look of surprise from Andy. Even after yesterday, he was still amazed at the amount of food someone her size could put away.
When the bill eventually came, Mac quickly pulled her credit card out and handed it to the waitress who returned momentarily with the receipt for Mac to sign. Then, they were up and heading for the door, with Mac intent on looking at more properties while Andy was just content to enjoy the afternoon. It had been a long time since he'd been looking for somewhere to live while also having to worry about the associated costs. His estate had been purchased based on a handful of pictures and the description. If he hadn't liked it when he'd arrived, he'd have simply sold it and gone looking for something else.
Three hours later, Mac finally found what she was looking for. It was a nice little bungalow closer to Honolulu than the base, but in a fairly quiet neighborhood. It had two bedrooms and a nice bathroom, along with a living room, dining room and kitchen. The overall size of the house matched closely to her old apartment, so everything would fit well, and there was a garage for her Corvette. She could easily see this as her home for the next couple of years, while she got her personal life back on track.