Forget Me Not (Love in the Fleet) (18 page)

Chapter 18

Sky opened his apartment door, ushered Captain Duncan to the couch, and pushed the remote. The pre-game show filled the screen in all its glory as four thousand Navy midshipmen marched in precision onto the field. Sky felt the lump in his throat, although he’d never been part of the march-on. He’d always been suited up to play football on those crisp and often icy autumn afternoons. As he handed George a cold beer, he felt goose bumps on his arms. Not from the beer, but from the knowledge that this old man had spent four years of autumn afternoons in just the same manner. Fifty years before Sky had.

“They’re showing the march-on.”

“Ah, never got to participate in that, but it sure gave me a thrill watching the brigade in formation. Ready to support the team. Don’t worry that I can’t see it today. Hell, those kids are younger than some of my grandchildren.” He pointed to his head. “I’ve got plenty of visuals up here in my head.” He pretended to flip though files. “I believe I’ll pull up the Army/Navy game march-on of ’54. Never will forget that one. We won by a touchdown in the final minutes. It will remain one of the happiest days of my life. Too bad we lost the big one senior year, but as you can tell, I survived.”

“I still don’t understand why we play Notre Dame every year. I mean, we’ve never played at the same level as them. I lost to them all four years.”

“I’m surprised they don’t share that story with you kids anymore. Considering how the Academy is all about tradition.” George settled himself and took a swig of his beer. “So many men left to fight during World War Two that Notre Dame was in danger of having to shut its doors.”

“No way.”

“Yes, it’s true. So the Navy offered to commission an ROTC unit there in the hopes it would draw more students. It worked and Notre Dame was able to stay in business. To show their gratitude they said they’d proudly put the Naval Academy on their football schedule every year.” He indicated the TV screen. “And there you have it.”

“Cool story. I never knew that.” Sky picked at the label on his beer bottle, then changed the topic. “Speaking of finding things out…I, um, now know Daisy’s story.”

George rested his beer on his knees and turned to Sky. “Her story?”

“Yeah, I know about her husband being KIA in Afghanistan.”

“Ah, Jack.”

“Yeah, I know all about Jack. I kind of wish you’d filled me in on that.”

“It wasn’t my place.” George felt around the coffee table for the chips and helped himself to a handful.

“I guess you’re right. But damn, it sure was a shocker. I mean, God.” Sky let out a long, slow breath.

“Has it helped? With you and Daisy?”

“Let’s just say we’re pretty good right now. I mean, she’s speaking to me. I guess that’s something.
And
she’s saying nice things.” And sleeping with me. Well, not
sleeping with
me but she’s
sleeping
with me.

“I’m glad to hear that. That she’s speaking to you. And saying nice things.” George smiled and took a sip of beer, waiting patiently for Sky to continue.

“Now I’m scared shitless of something else. I’m so crazy about her. I mean I’ve never felt this way about a woman before. They were always just fun, you know?”

“No, I don’t. But go ahead.”

“Let’s say I decided to settle down with one woman. Let’s say it was Daisy. How can it last?” Sky’s laughter had a nervous edge to it. “Let’s say she’d even marry my sorry ass. What’s to say it wouldn’t wear off? You know, the way I feel right now. This euphoria.”

George’s thumb worried the lip of the bottle. “You can count on it, son. It will wear off.”

Sky’s head snapped up. “What?”

“Those feelings you’re talking about. They’ll wear off.”

“Then how do people stay together? What makes marriages work? You know, the ones that do? I mean, I’ve seen some happy couples out there. My best friend, my parents
,
for instance. You can’t tell me they’re just going through the motions. They haven’t lost that...that thing.”

George felt around the table and rested his bottle squarely on a napkin. He shifted on the sofa to face Sky. “Because they made a decision, son. To love each other. Being
in love
is probably one of the best
feelings on this planet. And yes, I do remember it well. I can still resurrect the feeling of being in love when I think of my wife, especially in the early days. But feelings come and go. They don’t last forever. We feel good, we feel bad, we feel angry, we feel enthusiastic, we feel disappointed. But we don’t feel those things all the time. They’re transient. Just like being
in love.
Hell, if everyone stayed
in love
all the time, nothing would ever get done in this world. We’d all be lost in a dream world, walking into walls and things.”

George leaned back and settled into the sofa, shutting his eyes as if reminiscing for a moment. Then he opened them and continued. “Love
is something entirely different. We
decide
to love someone, regardless of whether we have those giddy feelings or not.” George raised his hand, gesturing for Sky to stop and listen, sensing—
knowing
—he still didn’t get it.

“Think of it this way. When you were commissioned in the Navy, you took a vow to protect and defend the United States. Does that mean you absolutely
love
your job every single day? You know the high you felt when you threw your midshipman’s cap in the air at graduation from the Naval Academy? And the rush you get when your helo lifts off the ground and when she lands safely on the deck of a ship? Or when you’re flying off the fantail over the ocean at sunset. You can’t tell me you feel that way every second of your naval career?”

Whoa. Marriage was like joining the Navy? The old man was getting through to him now. Sky set his bottle down on the table. This was way more interesting than beer.

“No, you get bored on the job sometimes, you get tired of the routine, and you get angry at your shipmates once in awhile. So why do you keep doing it? Why do you keep flying? Why do you stay in the Navy? Because you made a decision. You raised your hand and you took a vow. You made a commitment and you signed a paper.
You.
Pledged. Your. Honor.
Same thing in a marriage. It’s a partnership too. Just like the Navy.”

Sky sat there slack-jawed, glad George couldn’t see how much power his words had over him.

“There will be times in marriage when it’ll be boring, when you’ll make each other angry, when you get tired of the routine, when you’ll even drive each other crazy.” He gave Sky a good-humored grin. “That’s when a six-month cruise comes in handy. There’s nothing to get you to appreciate your wife like a six-month cruise.”

“I never thought about a deployment being a
good
thing for a marriage.”

“It’s all in your perspective. But I can tell you this. If you want to rekindle those feelings you had when you first fell in love with someone? Nothing does it like missing the hell out of her for half a year and then returning to find her waiting for you on the tarmac.”

Captain Duncan leaned forward and reached for his beer. Sky picked it up and handed it to him. George took a sip, then continued. “And just like you trust the Navy to take care of you and the Navy trusts you to keep up your end of the bargain? You do the same with a woman when you decide to take those vows.”

“Oh, yeah, but what if she doesn’t uphold her end of the bargain?”

“And what if
you
don’t? It’s all about trust. But the first step is making that decision to love each other. My advice? Let yourself fall madly in love with Dr. Daisy. Have I mentioned your good taste in women, by the way? Enjoy every minute of it. And should you
decide
she’s The One—and
if she’ll have your sorry ass, as you so delicately put it—then remember those
in love
feelings will fade away eventually. So it’s your job to try to keep them alive.”

“Hell, yeah, I like that part about rekindling. I love to rekindle.”

“And remember this too. Just because those original feelings may fade away, don’t ever forget them. You want to hold on to them, so you can bring them out now and then, like a photo album, and savor the memories. Even when you’re a grizzled old man like myself.” George beamed.

“Yeah, I see how that would be like looking at pictures.” Sky pulled on his beer, the game forgotten. His forearms rested on his knees.

“And one more thing, son. Daisy’s one of the finest young women I’ve ever met. Don’t you dare break her heart.” Mirth glittered in George’s blind eyes. “Or I’ll grab one of her dogs and we will
track down that sorry ass of yours and kick it into next week. You take good care of her.”

“Yes, sir.” Man, it was as if the old guy had given him the secret to the universe. The Holy Grail. Now if Sky could get past the dreams and the fear that he, too, could leave her a widow, he might find himself...engaged? He shivered. Scary, but cool.

There must be some magic to what George was saying, because here he was, Sky Crawford, king of the skies and the bedroom, actually contemplating marriage. And with a woman he’d never even had sex with.

Wasn’t the world filled with wonders?

George broke the silence. “I’m guessing you’re pretty lost in thought there, son.”

“Yeah?” Sky looked up at him to see George grinning.

“Navy just scored a touchdown and the extra point and you didn’t even notice.”

Sky jerked his head toward the TV. “They did?”

“Yup. Now get down and give me seven push-ups, sailor.”

Rotorwash
.
That was a word Daisy never thought she’d hear again in this lifetime. She gathered the children to her, shielding her face from the
rotorwash spewing up from the YMCA soccer field. Funny that a term like
rotorwash
should still hold a place in her active vocabulary. Sky wasn’t just a pilot, but a
helicopter
pilot, like Jack had been. She had once learned to understand
Rotorhead
lingo. Funny that it should be a part of her life again.

And could she handle it? Not sure.

In the meantime, she cuddled several children, encouraging them to cover their ears from the cacophony of the blades as they whipped up the air around them. She noticed Sky brought the helo right in and landed.
Never pull into a hover over dirt, people, or anything that might be flipped upside down by the one-hundred-mile-per-hour winds emanating from the rotor system.
Jack had told her it kicked up too much
rotorwash.
There was that word again. A word she’d always associated with Jack. Who knew? Maybe God had brought her another helo pilot to exorcise her demons and heal her life. All she knew was every beat of the powerful blades was stirring up more than rotorwash.

Daisy had spoken with the small crowd who had gathered on that Thursday afternoon. She warned them to remain in the bleachers with their hands over their ears, posted the counselors as guards to ensure no one ran out onto the field, and then cautioned them that the experience might be a tad frightening. And definitely loud. Fortunately, many of the children’s parents had joined them, along with all the staff and the Navy ROTC students from the nearby high school. Also Sky had sent some aircrewmen from the base ahead to cordon off the field and ensure everyone’s safety.

While the roar of the helicopter’s jet engines faded, she remembered Sky’s warning that no matter what happened, no one was to set foot on the field until the rotor blades had fully stopped and she saw him disembark and wave to her. That was their signal. She watched the
ground crew place chocks on both sides of each front wheel. There was another word she hadn’t thought of in a couple of years:
chocks.

She could only assume the rest of the afternoon would be full of more verbiage from the past:
cyclic, collective, hover, hoist, tail rotor, pitch, yaw, and “In the trap. Trapped!”
That’s where she currently resided: in the trap. And how had she managed to get there? Oh, yeah. That’s right. Mr. Persuasive, the hot pilot who was grinning at her from the cockpit, had pulled her into the trap and then all but yelled,
“In the trap. Trapped!”

Hadn’t it been enough that Sky was in the military? And he was a pilot? But to fly
helicopters
? She wasn’t even going to look into the cockpit, let alone climb in. That was all there was to it. She flashed back to the time she and Jack had
made out
in his cockpit after he’d received his wings. And she’d tried to climb onto his lap, but the cyclic stick had gotten in the way. No way was she looking inside. What was she even doing here today?

There was the reason. Sky Crawford. A helmeted, grinning Sky Crawford waved to her. She hadn’t noticed the blades had stopped, she was so busy tripping down Memory Lane, getting turned on thinking about making
out in a helicopter. Daisy eased her way down off the bleachers, gathering the children around her and waiting for the aircrewmen to give her the go-ahead.

Sky and a very tall, young pilot, who had to be Mikey, approached them. “Hello, Dr. Daisy. Hi, guys.” Sky removed his helmet and waved to all of them.

“Hi, Lieutenant Sky!” cried the children.

“This is my co-pilot, Lieutenant Mike. Can you say a big Boys and Girls Club hello to Lieutenant Mike?”

Again, they screamed out their welcomes.

“Hey, Lieutenant Sky,” Cory called out. “Did you have fun on your date with Dr. Daisy?”

The children giggled. Daisy hoped he didn’t do something stupid like go into detail. Or worse, kiss her in front of them.

“I did. Thank you very much. And now here’s my part of the bargain. When I say, ‘Go,’ I want everyone to get in line—hey!”

The children scrambled to line up. Sky put two fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply. “I didn’t say ‘Go’ yet. You have to follow directions. Wait until I say the magic word and then you’re going to get in a straight line.” He paused, waiting to make sure they were listening and not jockeying for position. “Okay, first you’ll get in a line. Next we’re going to walk you over to the helicopter. Everyone will get a chance to sit inside and—Daisy, did you bring your camera?”

She held it up for him to see.

“Dr. Daisy will get your picture. First we’re going to walk over—no way—not ‘til I say ‘Go.’ Remember? We’re going to bring that line over and put you into a couple of rows so we can explain how the helo works first. Then you’ll each get to climb in. And when you’re in the cockpit, don’t touch anything, okay? We wouldn’t want you taking off in the air.” The children giggled at the thought. “Get it?” he yelled.

“Got it!” they screamed back.