| Subject: London Series - Part 18A...The Christmas Gift |
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Maximus
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Date Posted: 11:57:33 09/24/06 Sun
In reply to:
Maximus
's message, "London Series" on 13:06:25 09/06/06 Wed
London Series: Part 18 A
Author: Maximus
Part 18 Title: THE CHRISTMAS GIFT
Sarah’s Old Apartment
Friday, 16 December
07:30 Hrs.
Harm handed Sarah a brand new set of gold keys to his vintage vette. She was a little taken aback but understood quickly that he was clearly stating that it was now their vette. After a delicious kiss, he watched as she entered the car on her first day as legal council to the Marine Commandant. After she left, he poured a cup of coffee and joined Kate in the rented van for the drive to JAG HQ for his first day as the Assistant Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy with his new aide.
After arrival, Harm announced himself to the General’s yeoman and asked to see the General. She directed him up to the 3rd floor. On his way he stopped at Bud’s office and let him know he was here. As he entered what he remembered as court room # 8, he watched as carpenters were doing chair rails and putting in a new floor where the jury box used to be. He spotted the General as he was staring at floor plans trying to make heads or tails of it. Harm was standing beside him when he finally realized he had company. “Here, what do you make of this? Does that look like where my desk and chair should go?” Harm looked at the plans and most of it didn’t make much sense to him either. Harm asked him if he had discussed the problems with the guy doing it. He said he had and the man told him he guaranteed satisfaction. Harm told him he thought it would be fine. Cresswell explained the problem he had about the offices and told Harm to file his orders with the yeoman and be ready for his new job on January 3 after the holiday routine was over. He said the offices would be done by Christmas and he could move in before the New Year if he chose to.
After dealing with business, Cresswell started on a personal level.
(General) Did you take the house?
(H) Yes, we gave him a deposit yesterday dependent on a good title. It is so nice and fits our situation to a T.
(General) That’s great. You are only two blocks from me if you ever need a ride.
(H) General, I need to discuss a couple of things with you before I go. While in London, the SECNAV asked me to come by his office after I got in town. Since I am now serving at your pleasure, I would feel uncomfortable attending such a meeting without either your attendance or direction from you. My loyalty to your command will never be in question.
(General) That old goat ! I don’t know if he has an agenda or not. Hang loose and we will go together in a few minutes. What was the second thing?
(H) If we can get the house together quick enough, we want to have a Black Tie New Year’s Eve party and baby’s room house warming at our new house. Do you think your wife would enjoy that and would you come?
(General) We don’t have plans yet. I think we could but I need to talk to Adora first. I will tell you later. OK?
(H) Yes sir.
Both Cresswell and Harm made their way back down to the second floor and Biff asked his yeoman to have his car brought around. They entered the Limo and made their way to the SECNAV’s office. When he allowed them to enter, Biff told the SECNAV that he was bringing Harm around to present his credentials as he had requested him to do. Harm presented his card and it was accepted. Biff acted like he knew this was what the SECNAV wanted Harm to do. The meeting was friendly and Harm got around to asking the SECNAV to attend the party if he could. He would get back to him on his cell phone. As they left the office, they had made the correct statement to the SECNAV that the chain of command would stay intact. No end-runs would be tolerated. Harm hoped that the SECNAV really didn’t have an agenda since he would need to work with him a lot in the future.
Since they were here, Biff took Harm in to present him to the CNO. He introduced Harm as the new Assistant JAG. After polite conversation, Harm presented his card and it was accepted. After leaving, they made a call on the Marine Corps Commandant. Biff introduced Harm to the Commandant and Harm presented his card. It was accepted with a smile. The Commandant thanked Harm for allowing Sarah to join his office. He told him that everyone valued her legal council. Harm asked directions to her office and Biff thanked the Commandant and they left.
They both stopped by Sarah’s new office to see her up to her eyeballs in legal folders on her desk. After their kiss, she explained that her first job was to review every legal decision against a Marine for the past year. It looked like it was going to take forever. Harm and Biff commented about her new office and Sarah gave them her new card with all her phone and fax numbers on it. It was very impressive with the USMC emblem on it. Harm joked with her that they would now have two new desks to initiate. She dug the new gold keys from her purse and gave them back to Harm. She told him she had been issued a new green USMC car for her personal use and he could take the vette. Their car problem had been solved quickly.
After leaving her office, Harm admitted to Cresswell that the political side of this job was filled with land mines for him. Biff told him he would take care of most of that now and wanted Harm to get the legal side of JAG cranked up. They now understood how this was going to work and had established the rules and trust.
Harm asked Biff if he had been in the new house. Since he had not, Harm invited him to follow him there since he had to stop to pick up the keys. Harm invited him in to look at the house while he talked to Admiral James. He took the tour with Harm and made comments about it and said he enjoyed how it was laid out. The Admiral was pleased to give Harm the keys and wished them an enjoyable stay. Harm was like a kid in a candy store. He could not believe he had the wife of his dreams and a home to nurture his family in. He was going to start bringing their things tomorrow.
After getting home, Harm made a call to Bethesda asking for an appointment Monday to speak to Mattie’s new doctors. It was set for 11:00.
After Kate got home, Harm went with her and put a bug bomb in her storage unit in preparation for working there tomorrow. They stopped and bought take-out food and brought it home to a hungry Marine for dinner. As they sat together, everyone told of what had happened today and how much fun it had been. Sarah told about taking a lie detector test today where many questions were asked and answered. It wasn’t a big deal but she was surprised they asked her to do it. Sarah told them that the Commandant had put her on an “On Call” status for next week through Thursday and Friday and the following week was a holiday routine so she was ready to help. She asked them what they thought of the new green USMC car she had been issued and drove home today. You could tell she was happy with her new job.
128 Olive Lane
Saturday, 17 December
09:15 Hrs
Harm, Sarah, and Kate had finished the pastries for breakfast and were sitting with coffee. Harm said he had to call Grams, Trish and Frank, make out the invite list for the new years party, and get things from storage. Kate said she had to get her car and empty her storage unit. They agreed on a plan starting with the phone calls, then they needed to take Kate by to empty her storage and to get her car running. They could then work on their storage if it made sense.
Harm and Sarah both got on phones to call Grams. When she answered, Harm asked if they could come up for Christmas on Friday the 23rd and bring Mattie with them. Of course was the answer and she said she would prepare the two extra rooms for them. Sarah asked what she could do or bring to help out. Grams told her she would like for her to take her grocery shopping on Saturday morning so they could start the Christmas dinner preparations that afternoon. As Harm was ending the call, he asked Grams if John Maynard was still farming the spread down the road. When she said yes, he asked for his phone number. After she gave him the number, he finished the call with “we love you.” Sarah made a special addition to her to-do lists to buy something special for her and Grams since she had included her in the preparations.
As Sarah started an invitation list for the New Years Eve Party, Harm and Kate went to the storage area with tools and battery cables and started working on her convertible to get it started. They had to add water and antifreeze since it had been drained when she stored it. They were ready to start after 2 hours of preparation. It took the jumper cables but it started after a little effort. She backed it out and stopped. Both then loaded the other boxes and things into her car and the van until the unit was empty. After she checked out through the office, they were on their way to the new home. She pulled her car into the garage. They unloaded everything from the van also into the garage so she could work from there. Her only large pieces were a TV and her favorite chair which Harm helped her move into her room.
All three enjoyed what was left of last nights take-out for lunch before starting anything new. Boy, were they missing Hazel. Sarah reviewed everyone on the invite list and Kate added Jerry’s name. Harm suggested that Kate continue with her room as he and Sarah went to their storage. Before going, they walked through each room again finding out what they needed. They went to his first and loaded the bed and dresser into the van. He retrieved boxes with miscellaneous items and finished loading the van. Sarah drove the vette to her old apartment so she could start packing things as Harm delivered the boxes and bed to the house. After unloading, he made his way back to Sarah’s old apartment. He unlocked the door and went in looking for her. He heard her call from the bedroom. As he opened the door he saw Sarah under a sheet on the bed with her arms out-stretched to him. Since a good afternoon delight always made things better, the packing could wait. The last time here.
Much much later they returned to the job of unloading the apartment so they could turn it back to the landlord at the end of the month. Sarah was ready to end some of the memories of things that had happened here. This was another step in their married life. It took many trips and a lot of patience to finish the moving job.
One positive was that a discussion of Christmas gifts was explored. With everything that was happening, had happened, and the price of the house they felt strange trying to buy things for everyone because they had no idea what anyone would want. The feelings were leaving them very unsettled. Sarah suggested instead of individual gifts for each other, they buy things for the baby’s room instead. THE BABY’S ROOM ??? ARE WE REALLY GOING TO HAVE A BABY ??? Which room is the baby’s room? They laughed until they were both tearing. After they grabbed each other into a bear hug, they kissed the most fantastic kiss among parents. It was decided the room to the north of the master suite was the baby’s room. They became so excited with the idea that they rushed home and went and sat in that room just looking at the walls. They talked of what they thought it should look like and what would be attractive to the baby. They agreed on the gift idea. What if it is more than one ??
Sarah rummaged through her records from last year and found the phone number for Dooley Groves in Tampa Bay close to MacDill. She took it to Harm and they discussed the people they wanted to receive gifts of citrus and she added the Commandant’s office to the list. One quick phone call and their credit card took care of Christmas for their friends. What would they get for Mattie ? They kicked it around and finally decided on a laptop computer with all the hot programs. .
Shopping Mall
19:00 Hrs
Sarah led the way to the kitchen store and guided Harm to where the aprons were. She asked him to pick out an apron for his grandmother. It could not be ordinary; it had to be something really special because she was. They looked at every one they had but did not find anything that measured up. He asked her to come with him and guided her to the Amish store. He found a hand made, snow white apron in a wedding pattern and turned giving it to her as something worthy of Grams. She asked him to get a second one for her because she hoped one day to be worthy of something so grand. God help him, he almost cried right there. She certainly was giving his heart exercise almost every day. After an embrace, she paid for both and they left the store.
128 Olive Lane
Sunday, 18 December
11:00 Hrs
Harm and Sarah finally decided to leave the master suite and forage for food. Finding none, they finished dressing and made a run to Wal*Mart for the essentials. They acted like children around the ice cream department and bought 3 different flavors. As they were finishing up, a lady named Susan came on the PA system and started the Military roll call. Each previous employee of the store that had given their lives in Afghanistan, Desert Storm, or Iraq was remembered with stories about them. She then told stories and the latest news about every store employee that was now serving in Iraq. She told of how important everyone’s service was to our country. She then said:
“I want to take this special opportunity to welcome two people that made the front page of today’s paper. The story tells a lot of interesting things about their lives. They had to take over flying a huge military plane this week when the pilot and co-pilot got sick. Give a huge welcome to Rear Admiral Harmon Rabb and his lovely wife, Colonel Sarah Rabb, over at register 14. They have come back home to us and are living in our part of town. Let’s hear it for them!” ………….Applause….applause..
Even though a bit embarrassed, both waved and were proud that they could represent the military in a positive way. They finally exited the store after shaking the hand of almost every one there. They understood very well that everyone wanted to find that their Heroes were real normal people. This certainly added to their day.
They had an interesting ice cream sundae when they got home. Kate joined them with news that her quarters were going to work out very well. She thanked Harm for helping with her car because it was now running OK. Sarah told her of their plans to leave on the 23rd to visit his grandmother for Christmas and they would be driving back on Monday the 26th. Harm asked her to check to make sure the office cleaning got done at his and her offices after they cut and put the new internal door between the two. He could tell that it was a surprise to her and he explained that Sarah had suggested it.
Bethesda Hospital
Monday, 19 December
11:00 Hrs
Sarah and Harm met with Mattie and her doctors and found them prepared with a detailed plan for her care. They had run many tests on Friday and Saturday to determine her progress and condition. They told of the plan and detailed the milestones that would need to be achieved. A final release date was projected for 20 March of 2006. Harm and Sarah asked many questions and were impressed with Mattie’s condition. Harm explained they wanted to take Mattie to the farm over Christmas weekend from Friday and bring her back on Tuesday and asked permission. The doctors explained how the special care items needed to be performed and Sarah said she would help Mattie do them. The doctors called the head nurse in and explained the weekend plans so they could pick her up on Friday morning.
After the meeting, Harm pushed her chair to show her many parts of the hospital she had not seen. They went to the first floor and looked at the tributes to different parts of the Navy and Marine Corps. She was impressed with the size and openness of the floor and all the flags. They made their way to the cafeteria and had lunch. Mattie got a kick out of looking out the window and seeing a Burger King right by the hospital. Maybe they could go there for lunch some day.
Mattie was excited to find what Grams and the farm was all about. Harm explained as much as he could and told her she could have fun there. Sarah explained about moving into the house and told her that she would need to choose her bedroom when she got to come home.
Mattie told them she was going to be tested for her high school grade level after the holidays. She hoped she could place high enough so she would be at least a Junior when she went back to school. It was so nice to see Mattie dressed in clothing looking like scrubs with little elephants all over them instead of gowns. She spent most of her days now seated at a desk reading and doing things instead of lying in bed. When she was wrapped up in the thick fluffy blue bathrobe she looked so warm and cozy. Sarah and Harm gave her a special hug before leaving because it had been a few days since they had seen her and they had missed her. They told her to call as often as she wanted since it was all local calls.
Sarah and Harm went by the office of Dr. Truman for introductions. She met the doctor and made an appointment for both her and Harriett for Thursday 29 December.
Upon getting back home and discussing it with Harm, Sarah made a call to Mrs. Gibson, a teacher who lived in Sarah’s old apartment building, and asked for her help. She explained that they would have Mattie at the farm from the 23rd through Monday the 26th but she needed to get ready for her tests to establish her high school grade level after the New Year. She asked if she could spend some time every day with Mattie at Bethesda to prepare her for the tests. Mrs. Gibson agreed to see her on the 21st, 22nd and from the 27th through the 30th. After agreeing on the fee, she said she would call Mattie to find when the best times would be. Sarah made a quick call to Mattie and explained what they had arranged and that Mrs. Gibson would call to discuss her schedule for the test preparation.
D.C. Airport
Thursday, 22 December
13:40 Hrs.
Harm pulled the van up the curb at incoming passenger luggage pickup to find Hazel and the Master Chief waiting with their bags. He hopped out and opened the back doors to load their gear. They loaded everything and crawled in the van. Harm drove towards the new house and stopped at the nearest Olive Garden for a late lunch with them. The stewards became uncomfortable and Harm took care of that quickly. Since they were out of uniform, he told them he really wanted to have lunch with two of his friends and they quickly understood. After the smiles returned, he explained about the house and invited them to move their furniture into quarters if they chose to. It looked like they would have plenty extra even if they chose not to. He explained about the Limo and what had been planned. He explained their trip to his grandmother’s and told them they would be back on the 26th. The next event would be a New Years party if it could be accomplished. After a nice friendly meal, he drove them to their new home at 128 Olive Lane. After they met with Sarah and Kate, they moved luggage into their new quarters. Later, they wandered through every room in the new home to find what Harm had just bought and what they were responsible for. Harm told them he had already arranged carryout food for this evening and invited them to let him help getting their things out of storage.
Harm and James had to make more than one trip to the U-Lock storage to get his things. He had furniture made of monkey-pod and other exotic woods that he had brought back from his stay in the Philippines that was special to him. They worked together to set up his bed and dresser in his quarters. He agreed that he would unpack the other boxes when he had time.
Harm, James and Hazel went to her storage and loaded the large heavy items and brought them back to the garage. She asked if they could get the rest over the weekend.
Harm asked James if he had taken any of the special defense driving courses for the Limo and found that he had not. Even though he had driven extensively, he would now need to get his chauffeur’s license renewed even though his military license would keep him legal. With that in mind, he brought the Limo out and mounted the one star flag on the fender. Harm went in and invited Sarah and Hazel to join them and they took a joy ride around the neighborhood with James at the wheel. They tried all the gadgets and even sent Sarah a fax to her new number to make sure it worked OK. This was nicer than what they had in London. Harm asked James to get the license when he could and told him he would arrange the defense course later.
128 Olive Lane
Friday, 23 December
09:00 Hrs.
Harm, Sarah, and Kate enjoyed the first breakfast created by Hazel since the 13th when they had left London. Kate said she was going into work to check the offices over and then had a date tonight with Jerry. Hazel and the Master Chief would have the weekend to continue moving in and cleaning. Before leaving, Sarah gave each the special gift they had for them since they would not be here for Christmas.
Gram’s House
15:25 Hrs.
Upon arrival, Grams came out of the house and embraced Sarah first with smiles and questions about the baby. After Harm removed Mattie’s chair from the trunk and helped her into it. He embraced Grams and hugged her strongly. He talked to her asking forgiveness for not visiting more often because they had been gone. He answered her questions about the baby and thanked her for allowing them to come for Christmas. He told her about the new house and asked her to return with them on Monday so she could spend New Years and time with them. She said she would love too.
Grams bent down, welcomed, and kissed her new adopted Great Grand daughter. Harm moved Mattie into the house next to Gram’s favorite chair. After all the bags were moved into the bedrooms, Harm returned finding Grams engaged in finding out everything about Mattie. They talked about any and everything. Grams really wanted to know about her other father. She found that Mattie had mixed feelings about him.
Harm joined Sarah and went to the barn. They wandered around and looked at old farm machinery and things from farming of an earlier time. The horse stalls now stood empty and the pen had only a dozen sheep. The farm was now just a place where Grams lived. John Maynard now rented her land for farming. Harm and Sarah ended up in the hay mow lying on the hay. He told her about the fun times he remembered when he visited here. They ended up making love there where no one could see or find them. Grams had dinner on the table at 18:00 and everyone had it cleaned up by 19:30.
Harm asked everyone to join him in the car for a surprise. He drove over to John Maynard’s place and pulled up by the waiting sleigh. Grams helped Mattie out and Harm helped put her in one of the second seats and Grams took the other. Harm and Sarah got into the 2 back seats as John hooked Old Dobbin up to the sleigh. He came back and handed Grams and Harm large comforters to cover everyone’s legs and climbed up in front. He gave commands to the horse and he took the sleigh through the gate heading toward the woods. The moonlight on the new fallen snow was bright and so romantic. He took them down country lanes and through many fields. It was so enjoyable and reminiscent of an earlier time for Grams who had thoughts of Harm’s Grandfather and his love for her. They stopped at the fire pit and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows before getting aboard to return to the car. Harm explained that he was taking Grams back to D.C. for a couple of weeks and asked Mr. Maynard to feed and water the sheep daily and Harm paid him for his work. The evening had been so enjoyable for everyone. They were all ready for bed upon their return because of the good time and fresh cold air. It had been like living a page out of history.
Gram’s Farm
Saturday, 24 December
10:00 Hrs
After breakfast, Sarah took Grams and they went shopping. They walked through different shops and Grams wanted to find something special for the new baby that was to be. She chose a crocheted baby dress with bonnet in bright white with pink trim. It was her way of telling Sarah she thought the baby would be a girl. Sarah got the name and phone number of the shop in case there was more than one baby. They then went for groceries and other things. Grams bought spices and things that Sarah had never used before and she was looking forward to learning how to use them. The bonding experience was great and Grams was finding out a lot about her grandson’s new wife that carried her name. The two Sarah’s enjoyed their time together and brought the perishables home so they would not melt. They put the turkey, in its plastic bag, in the sink to finish thawing out. Harm and Mattie were busy putting up more Christmas lights up the banister.
After they changed clothing to start cooking, Sarah presented the apron she had bought for Grams and after she put it on, Sarah put on her identical apron. Grams hugged Sarah to show her appreciation. She was moved by the sentimental action. Grams got things assembled and ready and started showing Sarah how to make pie crusts like only she knew how. Sarah was amazed that she used vinegar in them. After rolling the crust out, she showed her how to place it and seal it on the pie plates. Sarah started the second crust and Grams periodically checked on her as she was preparing the turkey for the big roasting pan. After the pie crusts were all in the pans and in the oven, they opened cans of pumpkin, mince meat, and apples to go into the pies. Grams had Sarah peel 4 more fresh apples to mix into the apples from the can. After the pies were filled and into the oven, Sarah started on the turkey dressing as she had learned from her mother years ago. Grams was impressed that she had remembered how to make it and then offered her a secret. She showed her how to add mushrooms and pecans to it before it went into the oven.
As the fresh pies were taken from the oven to make room for the turkey, Sarah called Harm and Mattie to the kitchen for hot apple pie and ice cream. Everyone enjoyed the early surprise because it was so good on a cold December day. After the rest of the items were added to the oven, Sarah and Harm started to do the dishes. As she washed and he dried, Grams told of Harm Senior’s childhood and things about her husband. It was good for Harm to hear of the abiding love that his grandfather held for Grams because he now understood how love was meant to change people’s lives. Mattie watched as her new parents openly showed how deep their love was for each other. She made her way over to them and pulled them both to her for a hug. She was learning what love could do in her life.
Sarah joined Grams in doing things like peeling the potatoes, squash, and preparing the other vegetables. All the while, giving answers to Grams questions and increasing the bond between them. Sarah told her some of the bad along with the good so Grams saw a realistic picture. The most important thing was what the picture looked like now and what it would look like in the future. When everything was done, both Sarahs‘ had a good understanding and appreciation for each other. They all got ready and drove over to the Christmas Eve service at Grams church. They participated in singing holiday songs and enjoyed the service. As they left, they realized Christmas day had begun and remembered other Christmas’ of the past. Last Christmas, Harm and Sarah had spent it in the hospital after Sarah’s accident and the year before involved Harm and Sarah helping Mattie.
Christmas morning found all four at the kitchen table for Harm’s famous pecan waffles, cinnamon buns, whipped cream, warm maple syrup, sausage, eggs, coffee and cold milk. Everyone enjoyed being together and having a good time. Harm and Sarah presented Grams with Godiva chocolates and a gift card that would allow her new dresses or whatever she chose. Harm and Sarah presented Mattie with a rather large gift wrapped box which turned out to be the new laptop computer with all the latest software. Her coordination was almost good enough for her to use it. Mattie thought it was so “cool.” Grams presented Harm and Sarah with a covered crystal candy dish that had been given by Great Great Great Grandfather James Rabb to his wife Melinda in 1855. She also gave them the written explanation that told its story. She had wanted Harm to have it because he was now the youngest Rabb alive. She knew they hoped that was going to change quickly. Harm told of how they would put the dish in the china cabinet with other important items. Grams gave Mattie a book of poems and love sonnets that her husband had given her when she was young. This was an item that contained wisdom that was ageless. Mattie gave Harm, Sarah, and Grams crude drawings or pictures which she had created. This was her way of giving her best to them now that some coordination was slowly returning. They thanked and hugged her for it because of what it really meant.
Harm explained the he and Sarah had decided to spend their Christmas money on the baby’s room but he had made one exception. He gave Sarah a velvet box that when opened revealed a 3 diamond necklace for the past, present and future. Sarah laughed and handed him the present she had for him. It was an Admiral’s watch. They now understood how to make each other feel so loved and special.
After more coffee and warm coco, they all changed into warm clothing and got in the car. Harm drove around the neighborhood and ended up in the small town close by. They watched children and adults skating on the frozen pond and stopped to listen to the music in the town square. They walked around and had hot dogs, popcorn, cinnamon cider, coffee and hot chocolate. The town specialty was Pennsylvania Dutch apple and shoofly pie and everyone sampled them. It had been a lot of fun.
The drive home was so beautiful with the moonlight on the fresh white snow. After getting back home, they all dug into the left over turkey and other good food. Later, Grams went to her room and packed for her time in D.C. Everyone enjoyed singing holiday songs and telling of Christmas’ past and Harm reading the Christmas story. Christmas was certainly meant to be shared with family.
(cont’d in Part 18 B)
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