Chapter 13
Flashback
Afterwards she put on a new white uniform and headed for the bridge.
She found Dylan there discussing with Smithy, the swain.
He saw her out of the corner of his eyes and turned to her. Smithy went to the helm.
"Ah boss, do you feel better now?" Dutchy asked.
"Yeah indeed. I'm sorry for my behaviour. I felt so miserable a few minutes ago."
"I understand."
"Thank you."
"You know, a mud bath is good for the skin," he said with a smirk.
Kate tried to give him her icy CO stare, but she knew it had absolutely no effect on him. "Are you sure you want to help 2Dads clean up?", she replied with a grin.
He gave her a smirk and tapped his finger on the harbour map, "We've been ordered to move closer to the centre. The French insisted on giving us a far better place than this forlorn spot, now that the refugees are gone".
"Hmm, when?"
"I expect their pilot in a minute", he said, looking toward to the jetty.
"I think he's there".
Thirty minutes later Hammersley was moored in the tourist area. They stood at the bridge wing and watched the cable party go inside.
"Are you going to the French commander?", He said, pointing to her white tunic.
"Yeah, I'm going to see François-Xavier de la Tralala again. I want to finish what I started an hour ago."
"François-Xavier de Lariboisière", he corrected her with a smug smile and she looked daggers at him.
"So it looks like you have your own uniform regulations?", he asked looking at her bare feet in her white heeled sandals.
"I don't have a second pair here", she said
"Nikki's?"
"Not possible, she has a smaller shoe size. Hmm, you just remind me of something", she replied and went back inside to grab the microphone.
"2Dads at the bridge", she called.
A few minutes later, the young man appeared.
"Do you need me, ma'am?", he asked.
"Indeed 2Dads, in my cabin you'll find a plastic bag with my clothes. And I don't want to see a single stain on them anymore. "
He looked doubtful. "Yes ma'am."
"By the way 2Dads, are you done cleaning my shoes and my hat?"
"Not yet ma'am, not yet, they are still in the washing machine."
"What? What did you say? My hat too?" She exclaimed.
"Uh no, not the hat, only the shoes are in the washing machine. They were full of mud, so."
Kate rolled her eyes.
"Oh you! You are really incorrigible! Look! If there are scratches on them, you can get me a new pair," she said angrily.
"Yes, ma'am, but I've put them in a cotton bag. I'll bring your hat in a minute;"
"Ah!"
2Dads left the bridge and she turned around to look at a smiling Dutchy who was also back inside. "What's so funny?", she asked slightly irritated.
"He's one of these guys who always gets into trouble, isn't he?" he asked.
"Yeah, I wonder when he's going to learn the lesson", she sighed."
A few minutes later 2Dads reappeared at the bridge with her hat and shoes.
"Ma'am, here they are."
"Thank you," said Kate and took them from him, but looked at him again flabbergasted.
"Man, they are still soaked!", she exclaimed.
"Uh, yes. They come straight out of the washing machine," he said disarmingly.
Kate shook her head and snapped at him : "Make sure you dry them. I don't care how, but make sure they are dry."
"Ah? Okay, ma'am," he replied and left the bridge with the shoes.
Kate noticed that Dutchy was smiling broadly. "What are you laughing at?" she said irritated.
"Do you want to bet? For a real Italian cappuccino. I think you should take a look at the Quartermaster's website to order a new pair", he advised with a smirk.
She looked at him frowning, "Hmm, that would be really bad. I say no, things are going well" she said convinced.
She saw a navy car coming on the quay and looked at her watch, "It's already my cab for de Laribos euh… ".
"Lariboisière".
"Yeah, yeah, that one. If he dares to comment my mud bath, sparks will fly", she gritted between her teeth.
It was a short drive to the French commander's office. A French petty officer opened the car door. "Bonjour madame, par ici je vous prie".
She followed the NCO in the cool hallway to the Lariboisière's office.
Capitaine de frégate de Lariboisière raised his head hearing the click of her heels on the pavement and a broad smile appeared on his face. He stood up and walked around his desk to welcome her.
"Good afternoon commandant. I heard you coming", he greeted her disarmingly.
"Bonjour commandant", she greeted him in French.
"Please take a seat", he invited her.
Kate sat down and automatically crossed her legs, exposing her heeled sandal . She saw the Frenchman eyeballing her and she felt the heat invading her face.
Keep cool. You're also a commander. Don't blush!
"How are you doing? Do you have any injuries from that fall?", he asked worried.
"No sir. I'm fine", she replied with a smile.
"It's good and I'm glad. It would have been very embarrassing for an Australian commander to be injured on a visit. And…. honestly, I didn't know the Australian Navy had such pretty women in service", he said with a radiant smile.
Kate blushed.
Damn.
"Thank you sir. I'm flattered".
"Well commandant, I wanted to discuss the agenda of your visit this afternoon, but ….something… intervened", he said and watched Kate's reaction.
She gave him a Mona Lisa smile.
"Alors, tomorrow at 11 o'clock there will be the official welcome of the officers with the governor, the mayor and the local naval commander, donc moi! Then there will be the 'apero' and lunch. If I understood correctly, we will have the visit your ship at 2 o'clock. And we will close the day with a small party tomorrow night at 8 o'clock with your crew, prominent people, army and navy officers", he said, looking at the paper in front of him.
"Transport is provided for all events", he concluded, looking at Kate with a big smile.
She nodded, "Okay sir. We'll be ready".
"Nice, uh… maybe you will join me for a little 'apero'?", he asked.
Kate tilted her head to one side a little.
Here we go. No thank you. And certainly not now. I've only just recovered and I'm still tired after a full day back to business. I'm not going to ruin my health with a few drinks. There will already be enough tomorrow .
"That's very kind of you, commandant, but I still have some paperwork to do. Duty first, you see", she replied with an apologetic smile.
He stood up, "Pas de problème! My petty officer will take you back to your ship. I'll see you tomorrow, madame", he said politely.
Aboard, Kate headed for the bridge to brief Dutchy, Charge, Pete and Smithy about the planning. After the briefing, she called the whole crew on the quarterdeck to tell them about the agenda and the party. The shore leave was granted and she insisted that they should behave well ashore and during the party.
The next day 2Dads knocked at Kate's cabin door.
"Come in," he heard and entered.
He saw that Kate was typing a report. She stopped and turned around. "Yes?"
"Your clothes ma'am. They are all clean. And your shoes", he said, handing the ironed uniform.
"Ah! Thank you", she said, taking it.
Later, dressed in her ceremonial uniform, she went to the bridge to check on some things before she and Dylan went to the official welcome. He was already there and she couldn't hide a smile.
In that uniform he looks built like a tank.
He heard the click of her heels and looked up.
"Hey. Do we have the presents?", he asked her.
"Yeah, they are in the control room".
"Ahum, do you still have your private uniform regulations?", he asked looking down at her heeled sandals.
Kate sighed, "Where do you want to drink the cappuccino?"
He laughed and she hit him playfully, "It's not funny!"
Then she saw 2Dads trying to run away.
"Hey you! What the hell did you do to my shoes?", she asked irritated.
"Ah ma'am, I stuffed a lot of newspapers in it and put them under the engine of the ship to dry. So they could dry out", he replied.
She sighed again, "Okay, dismiss!"
Dylan looked at her questioningly.
"Indeed, I got my shoes back and they are clean and white, but now my feet hurt in them because they were damaged after drying near too much heat ", she said annoyed.
"Do you have the link of the Quartermaster's website?", he asked innocently.
"Did I hear something? Or was it a seagull?", she gritted between her teeth.
The official welcome, lunch and visit went off without a hitch. Another part was to come : the party with the crew. Before leaving, Kate assembled the crew on the quarter deck.
"Look here! We are invited by the French to a party. So keep up the standards of our nation. That doesn't mean you have to drink your own weight in beer. Don't play tricks on the French flag. The French love their flag as much as we do. Don't get involved in the French pranks. If you do, you'll make a fool of Australia and I'll make shark food of you. Understood?", she said sharply.
"Yes ma'am!", they all said out loud.
"Okay dismiss and enjoy your evening", she said satisfied.
In an aside, she spoke to the senior NCO's, namely Charge, Pete and Smithy.
"Guys, this visit is really important for us. Keep an eye on our geezers, will you?", she asked them.
"Yes ma'am, you can count on us", Charge said, touching his visor cap with two fingers.
The party took place in an old colonial building that reflected the grandeur of the turn of the previous century. A few couples were dancing but the majority were chatting. Kate and Dylan were welcomed by capitaine de frégate de Lariboisière and his wife. The two men seemed to get along very well. Kate tried to have a chat with de Lariboisière's wife, Louise. She had a petite figure and long dark brown hair. She was from Paris and Noumea was just a shitty neighbourhood. She continued to complain about the lack of stores like Galeries Lafayette and shops like Christian Dior, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. She considered Kate as a sailor, not an equal. With a fake excuse, she dragged her husband in search of more important people.
"He's a great guy. If he lived in our city, we could be friends", Dylan told her.
Kate huffed, "Well, okay, on condition that he sends that bitch back to Paris. I don't understand how these two ended up", she said.
"Ouch, was it that bad?"
Kate huffed again, "In her eyes are we still the deported criminals".
"Nah, forget it. I'll get you a glass of champagne. It's the real one, not the fake sparkling wine", he said and headed for the bar to get two glasses.
"Here you go", he said.
"Thank you. Did you hear anything interesting?", she asked after taking a sip.
"Nah, the same crap as usual at these kind of parties. The only interesting thing I got, was a text message from the car dealer that my MG has arrived", he said.
"Oh! A classic car? That's interesting. Is it in perfect condition?", she asked interested.
He waggled his hand, "There's still some work to do, but that's the fun part. When the car is ready, then I'll take you for a ride".
"Great! I'll look forward to it", she replied with a broad smile.
A few hours later, they all went back aboard and Kate leaned her eyes closed against a cupboard in the galley waiting for the kettle to boil.
"Hey? Did you fall asleep?", Dylan asked, entering the galley.
"Huh? No, no. I wanted to have a cup of camomile tea before sleeping. Honestly, I'm glad the day is over. I found it quite stressful . Now, I can relax. The official part and the party ended without any trouble", she said pouring hot water into her mug.
"I'd like a piece", he said, picking up an apple and biting into it.
"Hmm, I do believe you. We're in a foreign country and everyone is watching us. Tomorrow we're still here and the day after tomorrow we are leaving. Nothing can go wrong anymore", he said.
She nodded, "Yeah that's true. Hey, you know what? The crew has shore leave tomorrow and I'll buy them a drink to celebrate my promotion. I haven't done it yet because of our past trouble."
"Good idea. They'll appreciate it", he replied before tossing the apple core into the bin.
"But we'll have to ask for volunteers to stay aboard", she said.
"I'll stay. Give others the opportunity to participate", he said.
"Oh? That's really generous. Then we still need one man", she replied frowning.
He chuckled, "I bet it's going to be RO".
"And how did you guess?", she grinned.
To be continued