Pop!
The Rats had enjoyed their well-deserved few days leave in Benghazi, but their free time was rapidly coming to an end. Isla was scheduled to leave by plane the following morning with the Rats pulling out a few hours later to return to their home base. They decided to spend the afternoon at the beach swimming and fishing and cooking whatever they caught for dinner. Troy had invited Vixen who brought a friend to keep Moffitt company. Troy led them to the grotto to provide some shelter from the sun. The two younger couples exchanged embarrassed glances when they remembered what they had discovered the night before.
"This is quite nice, Sam," Moffitt commented. "How did you know it was here?"
"Oh, I discovered it quite a while ago. It's one of my favorite places to visit when I come to Benghazi," Troy replied, winking at Vixen who innocently smiled and looked away. Tully coughed nervously.
They swam for a while with the Rats stripped down to their boxers and the women in their swimsuits. Vixen's animal print bikini brought wide-eyed stares from the guys and the gum almost fell out of Hitch's mouth.
"Put your eyes back in your head," Isla whispered to Hitch with a laugh, and he shook his head to clear it. Tully was enjoying the sight of Mary Ellen in her one-piece navy and white suit. It was a nice change from the nurse's coverall she usually wore, and he found the view quite lovely.
After splashing about for an hour, Moffitt and Vixen's friend, Elaine, walked along the beach looking for driftwood and shells. Troy and Vixen walked the opposite direction, supposedly looking for driftwood for a fire, but surprisingly they returned hours later empty-handed. Tully, Mary Ellen, Isla, and Hitch settled in for some fishing and didn't do too badly. The managed to catch a couple of decent sized bass and a salmon along with some smaller herring. While Tully & Mary Ellen cleaned the fish, Hitch and Isla dug a small trench and started a fire. They let the wood burn down to the remains and baked the fish wrapped in foil along with some potatoes, carrots, and onions they got from the mess hall.
Everyone ate their fill and pronounced it the best fish they had ever eaten.
"When the war is over, you'll have to come to New England for a real clambake or lobster boil." Hitch said, licking his fingers.
"That sounds like a plan," Tully agreed. "And you'll have to come to a hog roast with all the trimmings."
"That sound wonderful," Moffitt joined in. "I suppose you could join me in England for some "Toad in a Hole" or "Bangers and Mash" with "Spotted Dick" for dessert.
"Those don't sound very appetizing," Troy remarked. "Where I come from, you want to sink your teeth into a thick, juicy steak."
"I think they all sound great," Isla replied. Hitch was massaging one of her feet and commented, "Geez, Zu's," this looks worse than usual." Vixen and Mary Ellen were shocked by his statement.
"They are," Isla agreed. "But there's a reason for that. I haven't told you why I'm heading back to Scotland."
"Why?" Hitch asked.
"I'm going to dance for the King and Queen again," she said as humbly as possible with a huge smile on her face. "I get to dance the LEAD in La Sylphide." Her excitement made the others excited for her.
"Did they find a really tall guy for you to dance with?" Tully asked, knowing that at 5' 10" it was difficult to find a partner, especially when she was on pointe.
"That's the great thing—the male lead and I don't actually touch when we dance together, so there are no lifts or spins or anything with a partner, until the end of the last act" she explained. "If he touches the sylphide, she dies."
"What's the story about?" Tully wanted to hear.
"It's set in Scotland, so the male dancers are in kilts. The male lead, Albrecht, is about to be married and he is sleeping before the fire in his home. A sylphide (me) is like a fairy who enters and dances about him. He awakens, falls in love with her and she disappears up the chimney. Forgetting all about his fiancée, he searches until he finds her and declares his love for her. She explains how he cannot touch her, or she will die," Isla was speaking quickly, caught up in the excitement of the ballet.
"A witch approaches Albrecht and says she can give him a magic shawl to wrap around the sylphide so he will be able to hold her in his arms. He does so and I die. My little wings fall off and I keel over center stage, and they carry me out" she finished.
"I start rehearsals in a few weeks with the same dancers as before and we will perform it at Balmoral for the royal family while they vacation there in August. I can't believe I get to dance for them again!" Her enthusiasm was contagious.
"That's so wonderful, Zu's," Hitch hugged her. "I'm so proud of you!"
"I've been putting in more rehearsal time to prepare so my feet are taking a pounding," she said, "but I love dancing so, I don't mind the ugly toes."
"Aren't there any happy ballets?" Tully asked.
"The Nutcracker is rather happy," Isla thought about it, "expect for the Mouse Kiing. And Don Quixote ends well."
"Good," Tully replied. "As wonderful as it is to watch you dance, the stories are depressing."
They cleaned up the beach from their meal and made their way back to the base.
In the morning, the Rats and Mary Ellen were on hand to see Isla off on the plane.
"You know, Mark," she said seriously after saying goodbye to the others, "I don't care what you or Troy says, my leg definitely did not pop."
"It popped, Zu's," Hitch grinned at her. "Made it all the more special for me."
"No, it didn't" she insisted, and he shook his head, "Well, I guess there's only one way to prove it. We're going to have to try it again."
"I'm game if you are," he said, taking her into his arms. They gazed into one another's eyes before repeating their first kiss. Like the proverbial Jack escaping his box, her leg popped up right on cue. The kiss ended and Hitch teased,
"I told you it popped."
"I know," she said wickedly. "I just wanted you to kiss me again." She turned and boarded the plane leaving him laughing.
At the base, Tully had some private time to say goodbye to Mary Ellen before the team climbed into their jeeps and headed for whatever adventure awaited.