Rhett
-1-
“She’s not so tough,” I tell Benson nodding towards Whitlow. “She totally choked up with a shotgun this weekend.”
Benson looked afraid to laugh at Whitlow’s expense. He was a new technician on our crew, he was only 19-years-old and had admitted to being slightly intimidated by Whitlow to me one night.
“Sorry, dude but I’m not killing anything,” Whitlow laughs.
“I’ve seen you fish, girl.” I remind her
“I told you, I was there for the sights. It’s not like you killed anything this weekend either, Clark,”
“No place for moose antlers in the barracks unfortunately,” I smile.
I’d been working nonstop and when I finally had to take a few days off last weekend I recruited Whitlow and a few others from our unit to spend a weekend in the mountains with me. We did the usual hiking and fishing and then at night we all sat around a campfire drinking and just talking about life. It had been fun.
And I had felt guilty about that. Having fun with other people.
But three days off wasn’t enough time for me to go to Louisiana.
Or even Connecticut.
I wanted to apologize to Juliana in person not over the phone or in an e-mail. I’d royally fucked up. I acted like all the douchebags I went to high school with when they found out their girlfriends were pregnant.
Whitlow, Benson and I were standing just outside our air station, my favorite spot. It was within perfect viewing
of the mountains, the harbor and the helicopter hangars. It was almost summer
and the chilly air may as well have been a beach day. Most of our crew and a
few of my friends from our unit were milling around the area , talking and
catching up
“Ladies and gentleman,” Captain Jeffries calls out. “Attention to advance.”
I break away from Whitlow and Benson and walk to stand next to Captain Jeffries. The small crowd gathers around to watch the captain and I.
Jeffries gives me a slight smile and then looks down at the framed certificate in his hand.
“From the President of the United States,” Jeffries reads from the certificate. “To all who shall see these presents, greetings. Know ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities of Rhett Joseph Clark I do appoint this officer to the rate of Lieutenant Junior Grade Rank in the United States Coast Guard as such from the 22nd day of June in the year of our Lord two thousand and nine.”
I kneel down on one knee so Whitlow can attach the lieutenant junior grade boards to my shoulder. It’s bittersweet. I’d wanted my wife and my son standing on one side of me and my mom and sister on my other when I got my promotion. But the dates and money hadn’t lined up for them to come.
Not to mention Juliana was probably still pissed with me.
Once the shoulder boards are secure, Whitlow puts the pin on and hugs me quickly as everyone starts clapping.
“Congrats, Clark.” she smiles. When Whitlow backs away the first person I notice is Mrs. Jeffries. She’s standing in the very front of the small crowd with a rectangular purple camera focused on me.
I step away from the crowd to receive my first salute from Commander Jeffries and then stand for nearly an hour as all my crew, their families and even the civilian staff who’d taken time off for my promotion ceremony shake hands and hug me.
“What do you want to say ?,” Mrs. Jeffries says brightly when it’s her turn. She has the small camera pointed right at my face.
“Wish you could have been here, I love ya’ll and see you soon.”
I decided to keep it generic and impersonal so I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
As the crowd wanders away I just want to do what I always want to do-- head back to my room and crash. But Whitlow was having none of it. She rallies a group of guys together for lunch at the local steakhouse.
The minute the appetizers come my phone starts ringing. I look at the clock and realize that even though we’re having a late lunch, the work day had just ended Freeport. I quietly excuse myself from the table.
“Oh, honey I’m so proud of you !,” Mama shouts into the phone. “I’m going to put the phone on loudspeaker so--”
“You mean speakerphone ?”
“That’s what I said...Anyway, honey I’m at Macy’s house with Savannah, Nana, Amber, West and Aunt Macy and we all just watched the video together---
“Congratulations, Rhett ! Wooo!” I hear Amber yell.
“Congratulations yourself, cousin.” I say to her. A month after Juliana told everyone she was pregnant again Amber had made the same announcement-- couldn’t wait to be an asshole to West about knocking her up so quickly after the wedding.
Assuming that's when it even happened.
“Hey, Rhett,” Savannah says. “I want a nice birthday present if you’re getting a pay raise.”
“I’ll think about it,” I tell her.
I was actually getting a nice pay raise and a bonus.
“The video was so precious, I am so, so, so proud of you,” Nana tells me. “Hopefully next time we can all be there. We love you so much.”
“Thanks, ya’ll,” I say.
“I’m sending the video to Aubrey and Deacon so they can see. Oh and Cody…maybe he can put it on the internet ?” Mama tells me.
“Can you send it to Juliana ?,” I ask Mama.
I hear her click off the speakerphone and put the phone to her ear.
“Sure.” I hear the sound of her walking away from the rest of the family. “You know, she hasn’t called since the results came in. I want to apologize to her…Have you been talking to her? Are she and Mason okay ?”
“She ain’t picking up for me, but her Dad’s…girlfriend texted me that they are okay.”
"That father of hers is a piece of work. Do you know he's never once returned my calls in the past ? How is it that she has to have a nervous breakdown for him to visit ?"
"You're preaching to the choir."
"Rhett, I'm so proud of what you've done and your Dad would be too--"
"Mama--,"
"No, I'm serious. You remind me so much of him, Macy and I can't stop talking about it. But I need you to be there for your wife and Mason and your future baby. Know that you can talk to me if things get rough--"
"I know," I tell her.
Dad had killed himself when she was pregnant with Savannah. But he'd seen some real bad shit by then.
Cody must have put the video on Facebook or something because an hour after I hang up with Mama I suddenly get bombarded with calls from Louisiana area codes. I ignore most of them so I can eat my ribeye in peace and so my phone bill doesn’t go to shit. But when I see a Connecticut area code I leave the table to go sit in my car.
“Hey,” I say into the phone
“Hi, Rhett. It’s me Tessa.”
“Oh. Hey.”
“Well, congratulations on your promotion!”
“Thanks, Tess.”
“Well, there’s someone who wants to talk to you,” she says.
“Hello ?....Hello?,” Mason says into the phone.
“Hey, son it’s Daddy,”
“Hi Daddy…in boat, Daddy ?”
“Nah, not today. I’m having lunch with my friends because I got my promotion today,”
“Okay.”
“What did you do today ?”
“…saw dinos. Rrrrrrrrrrrr !”
“You saw dinosaurs ?Were they scary ?”
“No…They’re dead.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s cool. Did Mama take you to museum ?”
“No Mama.”
“Oh…Grandpa ?,” I say even though I didn't think he deserved that title.
“Ms. Tess and…and…and….” he trails off and I hear Tess whisper a name to him “…and Hallie!”
“Okay. Are you being good ?”
“Yeah !”
“Good,” I say. “I love you, Mason. Do you love me too ?”
“Yeah !” he says and then he says something I don’t catch.
“Say it again,” I ask him
“….I…do prayers!” he shouts into the phone.
It throws me off.
“Mama makes you pray, huh ?”
“At night Mama say we pray for… daddy and baby,”
“Okay. Give the phone back to Ms. Tess. I love you.”
I hear him give her the phone and then run off down a hardwood floor.
“Hello ?,” Tess says brightly.
“Hey Tess ….is Juliana there by any chance ?”
“No, she went out with Rocket today. They haven’t come back yet.”
“Rocket Olsen ?,” I ask. “What the hell is she doing in Hartford ?”
“I guess their working on that book about United Light. You know Daniel always had all those files.”
Right.
“Do you want me to tell Juliana to call you when she gets back ?”
“No.”
I’m in the middle of a solid 10 hour sleep in my barrack twin bed when my phone rings again. I flip open the phone without even reading the number.
“Are you standing at attention Lt. Clark ?,” a voice says and I start laughing uncontrollably. Less at the joke and more at the ridiculousness of it coming out of her mouth and that being the first thing she says to me in almost two months.
“Hey, baby.” I say, running my fingers through the loops of the blanket she gave me. The blanket I pathetically hadn’t washed since she slept on it when she came to visit.
“You sound tired,” Juliana says. “Isn’t it only like 9 PM there ?”
“When you work the hours I do you never leave sleep on the table.”
“I saw the video,” she says. “I just called to say congratulations…I’m sorry we couldn’t be there.”
“I know.” I say and then decide to dive in headfirst. “How’s the baby ?”
“Now you care ?,” she shoots back.
“I deserve that,” I say. “But I have guilt and a raise so I’m going to spoil the shit out of that kid and then I’m getting a vasectomy… How are you ?”
“The usual. My body, hormones and brain are fighting."
"Who's winning ?"
"None of the above. I forgot how to do this without heroine."
"Don't say that," I tell her.
"I miss it so much," she says. "It made me feel good."
"So I've heard," I sigh. "Hey, are you still horny all the time like you were last time ?”
“Shut up,” she says in a playful tone. “...When are you coming home?”
I feel a pit in my stomach at that question.
“I don’t know yet,” I admit. “I’m going to Cape Disappointment next week--,”
“That sounds dangerous,”
“It’s just a name,” I tell her. “It’s in Oregon--”
“That’s close,” she brightens. “Maybe I can come and we can---”
“I’ll be at an FOL—a remote location.”
“It’s okay,” she says softly.
“When are you going back to Freeport…are you going
back to Freeport ?”
“It depends.”
“Oh how much I grovel ?”
“No.”
“On how big your new engagement ring is ?”
No,” she laughs. “It’s just I’ve been working with Rocket and I want to make sure she has everything here.”
“Yeah, I heard. From Tessa. What the hell is that about ? Rocket’s in Connecticut ?”
“She came to get some papers and got Dad to open up,” she says. “She’s been interviewing him for hours …I guess they went to the same college and bonded over it.”
“That Rocket always finds a way, doesn’t she ?”
She’s silent and I know she’s nodding.
“J--”
“I’ll let you get back to sleep,” she says and I hear her voice crack.
“I’m fine--”
“No, you need your sleep.”
“So do you,” I tell her. “Take care of yourself. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she says. “Please stay safe--”
“I will--”
“I mean it,” she says. "If it’s someone else’s life or yours you’ll put yours first.”
I’m not sure what’s making her so worried about me dying. I know it’s her anxiety. I don’t tell her that it’s against the oath I took to put my life in front of a victims.
“Okay. Good night, Juliana.”
“Good night, Lieutenant.”
----
A/N
- I wrote this chapter post election and it was so hard to write the word president, but then I remembered it was 2009 !
- Yes, yes I totally stalked promotion ceremonies on YouTube