ALWAYS FAITHFUL (11 page)

C
laire heard the knocking at the door and rolled over to see what time it was.
Geez, 6:30 in the morning? What idiot would be knocking at my door at this hour?
Grabbing her robe, she headed for the front door and looked through the peephole.

“Jordan!” she yelled as she unlocked the door and hugged her friend. “What the heck are you doing here?” The two friends hugged until a little voice interrupted them.

“Mommy, what you doing?” Grace asked, still sleepy and rubbing her eyes.

“Awww, honey, did Aunty Jordan wake you up?”

“Yep.”

“Aw, I’m sorry. Come here sweetie and let me take a look at you and then you and me can cuddle on the couch while mommy makes us some breakfast. Okay?”

Nodding, Grace raised her arms as Jordan dropped her bags inside of the house. Turning to Claire she stuck her tongue out and said, “See, she wants her Auntie Jor. Oh and I’ll take waffles. Are waffles okay with you, Grace?” Jordan looked down at her goddaughter and laughed when the small child perked up.

“Yeah, waffles. My favorite.”

“Good. Let’s sit down and let me look at you. It seems like years since I’ve seen you, Grace. Look how big you’ve gotten. How old are you again?”

Raising three fingers, Grace smiled and counted off her fingers.

“Wow, you really have gotten older, haven’t you?” Jordan said. Grace and Jordan babbled on the couch as Claire started the coffee and looked for the waffle iron. She chuckled as she thought about her friend showing up unannounced, knowing that it had probably taken Jordan hours to find a flight. Jordan always knew how to read Claire and this time was no exception. If truth be told, Claire was glad her best friend had shown up without having to be asked. She needed someone, and right now she couldn’t think of anyone she wanted around more than Jordan. Well maybe a tall, roguishly good-looking female officer would be nice, too, but Nic was exactly why she was glad Jordan had shown up. Her friend would help her put things into perspective and keep them there.

“Here you go, morning glory,” Claire said as she passed the hot mug of coffee to her overly chipper friend. “Next time how about a little notice?”

“If I had told you I was coming, you would have just told me not to, and I could tell by your tone the other night that you needed someone. We both know whom that someone might turn out to be if you’re not careful. Right?” She lifted her eyebrows and winked. “Besides, I have tons of personal time stocked up at work, so I just left Carol a message and told her not to expect me for a while. They know how hard I work the rest of the year so they can cut me some slack.”

“Well I just don’t want you to get into any hot water over me. I would have called you when we found something out about Mike.”

“I know, sweetie.” She clasped Claire’s hand and looked over at Grace. “Besides, it gives me a chance to spend time with my only goddaughter slash niece. Right, honey? You want to spend time with Auntie Jor while mommy relaxes, don’t you?” Jordan bounced Grace on her knees. “Besides, I want to see this woman who is making you swoon before all of the stressful stuff starts and family is swarming around. So, relax. I can run interference if she shows up and give you some time to work a few things out. I am sure you have tons to do with Mike’s affairs and I can watch Grace while you take care of things. Okay?”

Claire knew Jordan was right. She hadn’t had any time to try and work through Mike’s affairs, and time was ticking on her stay in housing. Better to tie up those things that she could now so when things did get harried at least she would know she had the rest taken care of. Although Nic had said she would help with the arrangements, she hadn’t heard from her in several days. Clearly, she had decided to distance herself. Although Claire had to admit she was disappointed, she certainly couldn’t blame Nic for it.

“You’re right. I could use some time to myself to get things in order. Once the families get here it will be chaos at best. Thanks for coming, Jordan. I really do appreciate it, even if you did get us up way too early.” Shoving her friend with her shoulder she went back into the kitchen to work on the waffles.

N
ic bent over and bloused her boots, putting the blousing tie under the pant leg and tucked the pants neatly above her desert combat boots. She missed the days of spit-shined black combat boots that gave her uniform that polished look. She felt like the desert boots were dirty looking and always needed a cleaning. She took pride in her appearance and it showed from the way she wore her BDUs. She liked the way she felt in her uniform, commanding and strong, and now her body was starting to feel that way, too. She entered the office vaguely aware of someone waiting off to her left.

“Father, how are you?”

“Well Nic. How are you getting along?”

“Fine, Sir. Come on back to my office. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No thanks. I just had breakfast and thought, since I was in the neighborhood, I would stop by. By the way, how is Mrs. Monroe doing? I heard that there was some sort of mix-up with Captain Monroe’s body. Is that true?” Wiping his brow with a handkerchief he took from his pocket, he followed her down the bland corridor.

“I am afraid so, Father. It seems that someone screwed up in Germany and they can’t find him. For all we know he may still be in Iraq somewhere, but no one seems to know anything.” Shaking her head at the absurdity of it all, she continued into her office, closing the door behind her.

“You don’t by any chance have a clergy member
over there that you can call to see if last rites were given, do you?” she asked, hoping that the Priest could lend some much needed divine intervention on behalf of the Monroe family.

“I can make a few calls and see what I can find out. The fact that Capt. Monroe wasn’t Catholic doesn’t mean he wasn’t given some type of service over there before being shipped back. Let me see what I can do. How is Mrs. Monroe holding up?” he asked as he sat in the seat opposite Nic.

“To be honest, Father, I haven’t seen her in a couple of days. I have been pretty busy with a few more informs and I didn’t want to call her until I had something more promising to tell her. I just hadn’t anticipated it would take this long,” she said looking down at her paperwork, hoping to avoid the knowing eyes of the priest.

“Tell you what. Why don’t I make a few calls and give you a call this afternoon if I find something out? We just need to give Mrs. Monroe some closure so that she can move on with her life.” He stood and extended his hand. “I’ll see what I can do, Major.”

“Thank you, Father. I would really appreciate that and I am sure Mrs. Monroe would, also.”

“Nic?”

“Yes, Father?”

“If you need someone to talk to, I am always around, you know?” He looked into Nic’s eyes. “I wanted you to know that, just in case.”

Embarrassed, she let her hand drop to her side and nodded. “Thanks, Father. I’ll remember that.”

“Well, I know you knew the Captain and his wife. Please give her my best when you see her,” he said as he turned to the door to leave. “You know, Nic, God loves all his flock regardless of how they live their lives. We
should not judge someone just because
they
might be different. Not that I think you judge anyone, but just in case you heard something that might make you avoid Mrs. Monroe. What she needs right now is our support and our prayers.”

Puzzled, but unwilling to admit her ignorance on the matter, she simply nodded. “I understand Father. I will make sure I stop and see her this weekend.”

The priest left and his words echoed over and over in her head.
Just because they might be different.
Different how? How could Claire possibly be different? Did she cheat on Mike? Was she married before Mike? Was the priest talking about some cardinal sin Claire had committed? What could possibly make Claire different?

Nic looked down at her watch. It was only a few more hours before she could call it a week and head downtown to catch some nightlife. She looked at the phone and debated on whether to call Claire to see how she was doing, but all Nic could think of was that brown hair, her warm scent and those eyes. She closed her eyes and remembered the kiss in the bathroom, completely inappropriate but so intoxicating. A warm shiver went down Nic’s body at the thought and she could feel her BDU’s pressing against her hardened nipples. Trying to take a deep breath in hopes of clearing her mind only made her nipples harder as they rubbed against the stiff cloth, prolonging her agony.

That’s it. I’m going out tonight and getting laid
, she thought as she readjusted her uniform in hopes of finding some relief from the torture she was putting herself through. Grabbing her cap she made a decision. Tonight she was going to find a buxom, leggy brunette and get lost in her. She made her way toward the door and gave the sergeant some last minute instructions about how she should be contacted if they located Capt. Monroe, and a flip remark about not being contacted about anything else.

“C
laire, what do you think about going out tonight?” Jordan asked. “Just you and me, sushi and sake, no baby, and no Major Gorgeous.”

“I don’t know, Jordan. I should be here if they find Mike. It wouldn’t look right. I mean, me going out when I have yet to deal with Mike’s death.” Claire wished they would find Mike so she could deal with the loss and the final steps of closing out her life with the military. She didn’t want to sound crass, but she felt like her life was in limbo until he was found.

“Look, I talked to your neighbor and she agrees. It would do you good to get out and away from all of this. Trust me, you aren’t getting away from your problems, you’re just escaping a little and everyone understands a friend wanting to help her best friend get a bit of space from all of it.” Jordan took Claire’s hands in her own. “She said she would come over whenever we were ready to leave and take Grace over to her house. When was the last time Grace got to go out and play? It has to be hard on her, too.”

Claire nodded in agreement. Grace didn’t understand what was going on because she was used to Mike not being around. Their lives had to be separate from Mikes because he was constantly gone somewhere, with some unit that needed aviation support. She knew that when she married him and that was what made the decision to marry him easy. He would rarely be home and she would truly have her own life without the headache of having a husband. Now, she regretted those thoughts. Mike had deserved better.

“Come on.” Jordan’s pleading expression made Claire laugh. “We can spend some girl time and remember the good times we had in college. I can’t guarantee it will be fun but it will definitely give you a break from all of this.”

Claire let out a long, audible sigh. It had been a rough last couple of days and she couldn’t think straight right now.

“Okay, tell you what. We can go have dinner but we need to get back early. Okay? I don’t want to leave Grace for too long.”

“Okay. Why don’t we just play it by ear and see what happens. Deal?”

“Come on, Jordan. I agreed to go to dinner. Isn’t that enough?”

“I know, sweetie, but someone has to look out for you because you won’t. So just let me work out tonight and see where it leads. Compromise?”

“Fine.” Claire sighed. “You win.”

“A shallow victory, I assure you.”

“Somehow I doubt it. You like to win and I hate to give up control and you know it. So enjoy it while you have it because it won’t last.” Giving Jordan a faint smile, Claire turned and walked to her room to change.

###

Nic rushed home, peeled off her uniform, removed the gauze and tape from her back, and jumped into a hot shower. Trying to cleanse both her mind and her body, she let the hot water cascade down her body. She was ready for a relaxing dinner, a few drinks and a night of cruising at one of the gay bars downtown. It had been a long time since she had been out and she was suddenly looking forward to the local action. She felt her body start to key up at the mere thought of the chase, or, god forbid, being touched again. Nic hadn’t had time to think about women, let alone try and seduce one. The incident with the female driver the previous week had reminded her she was healing rather nicely. Tonight was different though. Tonight she was on the prowl, and she was looking for a nice diversion. Something long and lanky to make her forget what she couldn’t have.

An hour later Nic was downtown sitting at a sports bar waiting for the gay bar to open, sipping ale while watching the local college team get their butts handed to them by a top ranked division one team. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back and took a deep breath as she felt herself relax with each sip of her beer. Deciding to stay where she was she waved down the bartender and ordered a burger.