| Subject: Re: Family Christmas - C7/8 plus |
Author:
fananicfan
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 17:26:42 06/16/07 Sat
In reply to:
fananicfan
's message, "Family Christmas - story after How We Became Us in the series" on 09:10:59 06/11/07 Mon
CHAPTER SEVEN – Road to Resolution
Friday, December 23, 2005
An unfamiliar noise woke Harm and Mac. They looked at each other, asking the silent question, 'What was that?' Mac mouthed the word 'kitchen,' and Harm agreed that the noise was coming from there. It was odd because his alarm wasn't going to go off for another ten minutes...who'd be in the kitchen at this hour?
Harm slipped from the bed, pulled on the sweat pants and t-shirt from last night and left the bedroom to determine what or who was in the kitchen.
Mac, not one to leave Harm's six unprotected to begin with, got out of bed and slipped on her robe to follow him. She certainly wasn't going to let him march out there without backup now that she had a vested interested in said six.
Harm stopped in the kitchen doorway, and Mac placed her palms on his back, waiting for him to make his move because, with him standing up straight and her without heels on, she couldn’t see over his shoulder to see what he saw. Knowing that no one was in any danger from the person standing in the kitchen, Harm stepped through the doorway, allowing Mac to enter as well. What they found was Mattie washing the dishes that he’d left in the sink the night before.
Mattie’s voice was chipper. "Hi. Everyone else has taken a turn at cooking breakfast, so I thought it was my turn. Any requests?” she asked with a smile.
Mattie's attitude this morning seemed friendly, and Mac, feeling relieved, had no trouble matching Mattie’s smile with one of her own as she asked, “What are you planning to have?"
"Oatmeal, toast and juice."
"I'll have that, too," Mac replied.
"Make it three," Harm added.
"Do you want me to start the coffee while Harm's out running?" Mac asked.
"Yeah, that would be great," Mattie answered.
Harm wasn’t sure that he wanted to leave the two of them alone, but maybe they’d talk while he was out. “I’ll get my sweatshirt and be on my way." Harm retrieved the heavier top and went on his run, trying not to worry about what might be going on in the apartment while he was gone.
No one knew how far he ran on any given day, so he didn’t run for as long this morning as usual and returned to the apartment sooner than normal. He entered the apartment, heard laughter and smelled bacon. He moved into the kitchen. "Where did I get bacon for anyone to fry?"
Two of the biggest, brightest, most innocent-looking smiles beamed at him from their faces.
Mac replied in defense, "Mattie wanted it yesterday when we went to the store."
Mattie's response was, "Mac bought it."
“What happened to oatmeal?” he inquired.
“We didn’t change anything else. We just added bacon to our breakfast,” Mac explained.
Harm matched the grins on their faces with a flyboy grin of his own. "Am I eating breakfast now or after I shower?"
Mac and Mattie looked at each other and then at Harm. "Our bacon isn't ready yet, so you should go ahead and eat first," Mattie replied.
"If you'll go have a seat at the table, I'll bring it to you," Mac added.
Harm complied, and soon Mac was bringing a cup of coffee and a glass of juice to the table. Mac disappeared, and Mattie came in with a bowl of oatmeal sitting on a plate with a slice of whole wheat toast on the side. Mattie disappeared, and Mac returned with some silverware. Harm reached for Mac's hand as she set the silverware down on the table. "Did the two of you talk while I was gone?"
"No, but we agreed that we would after we got you off to work." Mac leaned over and placed a tiny kiss on his lips, stood upright again and pulled her hand from his. "You'd better eat your breakfast or you’ll upset the cook.”
Mac walked away from the table, but returned a few minutes later with silverware for two and a cup of coffee. After setting down the items, she left again, returning this time with a small and a large glass of juice. On the last trip, Mac brought in her breakfast and joined him at the table. A few moments later, Mattie came in with her breakfast and sat down to eat with them where Mac had placed her large glass of juice.
Harm had finished eating and excused himself to shower and ready himself for work. Standing in the shower, he wondered if he'd entered or exited the Twilight Zone. The difference between yesterday afternoon and this morning was too weird to be explained any other way.
Harm left for work, hoping that the morning hadn't been an illusion created for him and that they would indeed talk today while he was gone. He knew that there'd be no overnight fix, but he prayed that bringing the issues to light would start them on the road to resolution.
Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and Harm, as a 'gift' to his staff, sent all non-essential personnel home to begin their holiday around 1130. He had a few more things to do around the office, but he made it home by 1230. He entered the apartment and couldn’t resist announcing his arrival in a very old fashioned way. "Honey, I'm home."
Not one but two tear-streaked-faced females met him at the entrance to the living room, each picking a side and moving in to greet him. They almost squeezed the air out of him as they hugged him. When the two ladies pulled back, he said with concern, "You've both been crying. Should I be worried?"
Both ladies shook their heads. It had been a rough morning, but Mac finally found her voice. "No need to worry.” Harm looked at Mattie who nodded in agreement.
"Is anyone going to tell me what happened?" Harm asked.
"Later," the ladies said in unison.
Mac turned to talk to Mattie. "Do you want to shower first or do you want me to go first?"
"You go ahead," Mattie replied.
Mac turned to Harm. "We've been talking all morning and we haven't even gotten dressed yet. Your parents called seven minutes ago. They’re back in London and want us to meet them for an early dinner, but Mattie and I have someplace that we want to go before that. I'll get my shower and be out in a few minutes. Harm, if you'll take us in the car, we’ll have time to do our errand, return to unload and still be on time to meet your parents.”
Mac left to shower and had been out of the room for all of thirty seconds when Mattie started talking. "After we finished the breakfast dishes, I asked Mac what family tradition she was going to include in our Christmas. She said that she didn’t have one. I didn't know that Mac's father was an alcoholic or that her mother had left her. She didn’t die - she just left her! As Mac was telling me this, I found it so sad that I started crying and then, because I was crying, she started crying. You were right. Mac does understand more than I thought.”
Mac returned to the living room in her robe to tell Mattie that she'd dress in the bedroom so that Mattie could have the bathroom. Harm knew that it was time for him to change, too, if he was going to be ready when they were. Mac made a mental note on the way to the bedroom that, when they bought a house, she wanted a master suite with a walk in closet and a bathroom that had a big tub.
Harm entered the bedroom and was hoping that he wouldn't have to prod Mac for her version of what had happened, but she wasn't forthcoming with any information. He waited until he’d stripped off his uniform to say anything. "Are you going to tell me where we’re going and why it has to be done before we meet my mom and Frank?"
"We're going to the store to get what Mattie and I need to bake cookies tomorrow night. I know that we could wait until tomorrow, but then I won't have time to track down an ingredient if they don't have it at the first store we go to. Before you ask, yes, we have to bake cookies tomorrow. It’s something that Mattie did with her mother. I have to do it on the right day, at the right time, and with the right ingredients.”
"So your talk went well." He was standing in his white tee shirt with his slacks on, but unzipped because he hadn’t decided on a shirt yet, so he didn’t know if he’d be tucking anything in or not. Mac was completely dressed when she came over to him and slipped her arms around his neck before placing a tender kiss on his lips.
Mac pulled her hands from around his neck and backed away. "Yes, it went well. You were right about she and I being a lot a like. I don't think that I allowed myself to think about how similar our lives were until today. I didn't give her all the details. I told her that my father was an alcoholic and that my mother left us when I was fifteen. I didn't tell her that a good Christmas for me was my father not beating my mother. Overall, she talked, I talked, she cried, I cried, and we both feel better."
Harm decided on a shirt as Mac announced the time remaining before they had to meet with his parents. Harm put on his shirt, zipped his pants, pulled on his sport coat, announced that he was ready to go, and the trio left the apartment.
No one had had lunch, but with an early dinner with his parents, they didn't want to eat too heavy a meal, so they opted to get something light from a cafe before shopping for cookie ingredients. After a light lunch and two stores for ingredients, they made their way back to the apartment to unpack the groceries. After taking a few minutes for the ladies to freshen up, they left again to meet Harm's parents for dinner.
For Mac and Mattie, today had been an emotional roller coaster, so when they returned to the apartment after dinner and visiting with Harm's parents, hearing about their tour of Europe over the last few weeks, both Mac and Mattie were worn out and wanted to go to bed.
Mattie went to bed and slept better than she had in weeks.
Mac and Harm went to bed, and Harm tried to get his Marine to spill more about the conversation that she’d had with Mattie, but his tactics backfired. Mac turned the tables on him, and her kisses distracted him so much that he forgot his line of questioning. They made passionate love, and, as both drifted to sleep, Harm came to terms with the fact that he didn't have to know how or understand why. He just had to accept that, somewhere between breakfast and the tear-stained-faces that had greeted him when he'd returned from work, they'd started down the road to resolution of their issues, and that only the two of them could complete the journey.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 