More good news (there is no bad news for a change) is that I actually spent time writing today. I'm ahead of the curve at the NaNo sweeps - at 7300+ words, about five hundred words more than I need to be "on track".
So, here's the next installment of "First Dig Two Graves" - it picks up right where I left off, so if you come in here, you'll need to look back at the last couple of posts to catch up.
I hope you enjoy it.
* * * * *
Nick
“You are the luckiest son of a bitch I know, man. She’s
gorgeous. Daphne’s pretty, but man, that Sheryl’s a babe.”
Nick and his best friend, Walt, the blond man who had
allegedly escaped from the hospital for the criminally insane in California,
were walking back to their quarters. It was not quite midnight, but they had
reveille at 0500 and no interest in being more drunk or hung-over than they
already were.
“How’d you get her attention, anyhow?”
Nick grinned at the half-moon where it seemed to be resting
on the top branches of the pines. “Flanked her. Watched her troop movements,
planned my attack and… wham. Mission
accomplished. I’ll give it a few days and then figure some excuse to go call on
daddy. I figure breakfast time would be good.”
Walt stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. He’d gotten a
little too untied, and Nick steadied him by catching his arm. “You better not
miss roll call tomorrow, son. You do, Rodgers’ll have your ass in a sling.”
“No problem. I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, you do that because I don’t want to have to try to
explain why you’re not on your feet looking sharp.”
Sheryl
Her mother was being really annoying. First, by making her
go to the party, then by repeatedly asking about Nick as soon as she realized
he had left for the night. She glared at her reflection in the mirror as she
smeared cold cream over her face to remove the make-up.
Yeah, he’s a good
looking guy, and he seems nice, but god dammit, he’s a soldier. He’ll be here for a few months, maybe a
year, and then he’s going to be reassigned and transferred. I don’t want to
spend the rest of my life moving from place to place. For once I’d like to
settle down and live like a normal person.
She swiped the tissue over her face, checking to make sure
nothing was lurking in the corners of her eyes, mouth or nose.
I hope daddy retires
soon, and we can go back home. Then, maybe, I’ll be able to meet someone with
roots.
Daphne hadn’t helped matters any. She had spent the entire
evening draped over Nick’s friend Walt. No
doubt she’ll want to talk about them and the dance and the whole nine yards
tomorrow. She grimaced at the thought. I’ll
suggest we go shopping. I need a new pair of shoes and wouldn’t mind a new
dress. That’ll take her mind off it.
For the rest of that week she avoided talking about the
party and Nick and Walt, but it was hard work because it seemed everyone else
thought they ‘made such a cute couple’. Even her father played his part, asking
her about the dance over breakfast the next morning.
“It looked like you had a good time last night, Peach. That
young man you danced with seemed to capture your attention.”
“He’s okay, although I have to say it was refreshing not to
feel like he was itching to grope me.”
“Sheryl!” Her
mother’s expression was shocked, but Sheryl just smiled.
“Come on, mom. I’m sorry I said that over breakfast, but you
know what I mean. Half the time these guys ask me to dance I end up moving their
hands for them because they drift to places they have no place being. Nick
didn’t do that, and that was refreshing.” For an instant she realized that
wasn’t strictly true. She remembered the irritation she’d felt when he had been so gentlemanly. She shook her
head, flicking the thought away with the motion. “Honestly, that’s the only
reason I spent as much time with him as I did.”
Her father shot her a quizzical look but didn’t say
anything. He just turned his attention to his toast.
That afternoon, while she was out shopping with Daphne, an
activity that usually took up almost all her best friend’s limited attention,
she was forced to dodge more questions and remarks. She finally lost her
temper.
“Daphne, I’m not marrying the guy, okay? Drop it. I don’t want
to hear about him. I have no interest in him. If you want to make a fool of
yourself with him, go for it.”
“Gee.” Daphne looked hurt, causing a pang of remorse to
spike in Sheryl. “I didn’t mean anything. I was just saying.”
“I know, Daff. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m so edgy, but
daddy and mom and now you… It’s like you guys are conspiring, getting me all
decked out in white or something, and it’s bugging me.”
“His friend Walt is really nice. I spent a couple of hours
with him, and he told me some stuff about Nick.” Her eyes suggested that maybe
Sheryl should ask what that stuff was.
Sheryl grimaced again, and turned toward the racks, flicking
the hangers to the side, slapslapslapslap,
not pausing when she passed right over a cobalt blue top that would normally
have made her at least pause to look.
Daphne just smiled and started going through another rack.
Nick
A week later Nick climbed the three steps to Colonel
Baumgartner’s tidy house. The scent of roses and damp earth surrounded him, and
a marmalade tabby cat sat on the rail that edged the front of the porch. He
eyed the front door while the cat kept an eye on him. After straightening his
already straight BDUs and triple checking his boots for scuffs, he pressed the
bell.
Long seconds later, the door opened, revealing an older
woman who was not Sheryl.
“Yes, good morning?” Bright blue eyes under a cloud of white
hair peered up at him.
“Good morning, ma’am.” Belatedly, Nick remembered to remove
his soft cap and smile. “Major Reeves sent these papers over for the Colonel’s
signature.”
The door opened wider, “Ach, yes. Come in, please. You may
wait in the Colonel’s study.”
From down the hall, at the back of the house, he could hear
murmurs of conversation. Damn.
He had passed the point of sitting in one of the comfortable
wingchairs by the time the door opened. Five minutes before he’d reached the
browsing the shelves stage and had moved on to the standing at the windows
looking out stage.
“You have papers for me to sign?”
He turned and stiffened to attention. “Yessir. Major Reeves
asked me to bring them.” He stepped to the desk and picked up the envelope he
had set on the corner, opened the clasp and extracted the top form, “Major
Reeves requests that this be returned to him as soon as convenient.”
Colonel Baumgartner grunted and sat down behind the desk. As
he began to read, he waved at the pair of wingchairs that stood next to the
fireplace. “Have a seat Welles. Might as well see what’s here. Care for some
coffee?”
“Yessir, thank you sir.” Maybe
she’ll bring it.
Baumgartner rang the china bell that stood next to the
phone. “Damned prissy nonsense,” he said to the room, “but Maggie can’t stand
it when I shout. If I use this damned thing –“ he tinkled the bell again “- it
keeps the peace around here.”
Nick smiled but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t warranted and
he wanted to impress this man, if he could. Behind him, the door opened.
“Magda, coffee for two, please.”
The door closed and the colonel went back to reading. From
outside the room, he could hear conversation and movement, footsteps and the
clatter of dishes being cleared from the kitchen. None of the noises was coming
closer, like someone heading for the stairs or front of the house. It was
disappointing, but not unexpected. He’d just have to try again.
Baumgartner’s pen got to work. He signed pages, flipped
packets and worked through half the pile before Magda was back with the coffee.
“Black?” The sharp eyes peered across the top of the current
sheaf of pages.
Welles loathed black coffee but suspected this man judged
other men by their tastes in ‘joe’. “Yessir. Thank you sir.”
He watched as Magda fixed two cups. One remained black. The
other got a dose of cream and a lump of sugar. Shit.
Twenty minutes later he was out the door and down the front
steps, the packet secured under his left arm, leaving his right hand free to
salute, if needed. He had chatted with the colonel for a few minutes after the
papers were signed, while they finished their coffee. That was good. What
wasn’t so good was that he hadn’t seen Sheryl.
“Nick! Nick, hang on there, son. I gotta favor to ask.” It
was Walt, hurrying toward him across the lawn in front of the Non-Commissioned Officer’s
Club.
Nick had just parked the jeep the major had loaned to him
for his errand, and was heading toward the headquarters building. Glancing over
at his friend, he slowed but didn’t stop. “I gotta get these papers back to
Reeves. Whaddya need?”
“Daphne agreed to go to the movies on Friday night if I can find another couple to go with
us. You have any luck with Sheryl this morning?”
Nick’s stride didn’t slow as he started up the steps, but
his brows came down in renewed frustration. “No. Saw her daddy and their
housekeeper, but no one else.”
“Aw, that’s too bad. I was hoping –“ He snapped his fingers
and his eyes lit up, “Hey, I know! I’ll suggest that Daphne ask Sheryl and I’ll
tell her I’ve asked you and maybe that’ll work.”
Nick glanced over at his friend, his expression conveying
the thought that maybe that hospital in California was missing an inmate. “Sure. Can’t hurt, I guess.”
“Great!” Walt spun on his heel and headed back down the
stairs, “I gotta get back to the lab, but I’m seeing her later, so I’ll ask.”
Daphne
“NO!” Sheryl’s
voice was sharper than Daphne had ever heard, but she still didn’t know what
the problem was.
“It’s just for a couple of hours. Come on, it’ll be fun.
We’ll see the movie, then get something to eat.”
There was a sigh followed by “I. Am. Not. Interested! How
can I get you to understand that, Daff? How many times do I have to say no? As
in en-oh.”
“It’s just –” She didn’t even finish the sentence because
Sheryl had slammed the phone down. It was unbelievable. She had never seen
Sheryl like this before and stood there for a long moment, staring at the dead
phone. “Gosh. What a bitch!”
Walt was waiting outside the WAC barracks. She could see him
standing under the streetlight, smoking. “Maybe I should just go and not worry
about it.”
Her roommate wasn’t there to answer, so she furrowed her
brow and thought about it for a second.
“Oh, heck, why not.” Plucking her sweater off the back of
the chair and grabbing her purse, she headed out the door and down the steps.
Walt heard her coming and turned, “Hi. What took so long?”
“Oh, Sheryl’s being a pill. She won’t go. But,” she slipped
her arm through his and smiled up at him, “I’ve decided it doesn’t matter if
you don’t mind going alone.”
His face lit with his smile. “That’s great.” Leaning down he
spoke softly into her ear, “And I promise, I’ll only nibble and lick, not
bite.”
It shocked her and she looked up at him but wasn’t quite
sure what to say. This was only their first time going out. She wasn’t even
thinking of it like a date. Just what
kind of girl does he think I am?
It wasn’t long after they sat down in the next to last row
in the base theater and the place went dark that she found out.
First, his arm slid around her shoulders, stopping at the
top of her arm. She refused to move toward him, as she knew he expected. He
didn’t say anything but, after a minute, his fingers began to move in a slow
up-and-down stroking motion. She leaned into him and whispered, “Stop. I want
to get to know you before I get to know your friend down there.” In the dark
she pointed in the direction of his lap.
He straightened from the half-slouch, looked over but kept
his arm where it was, and whispered back, “You’re just so beautiful. You make
me crazy.”
She knew enough to know better. Then again, it had been
weeks since her last trip to the back rows of the theater. Weighing her
options, she relaxed and slid a little closer to him, almost regretting the
armrest between their seats. It was enough, though. His arm tightened and he
started with the stroking again.
Walt
Halfway through the movie, a chick-flick he thought would
loosen her panties, he leaned over. Since her first attempts at playing coy
she’d loosened up enough to dip her hand down between his thighs. She hadn’t
quite reached the high ground, but it was progress. He moved, turning toward
her and changing the angle between them. It was enough to push Pete against the
edge of her hand. He was hard as a rock and he felt her hand stiffen. Her head
turned toward him and, in the dim light saw the darkening of her skin across
her cheeks.
“I’m really sorry, Daphne.” He feigned a remorseful look
even though he wasn’t sure she could see it in the dim flickering light from
the projector. “This is uncomfortable. I’m so hard I can’t stand sitting here.
Do you mind?”
There was an instant’s pause and then a quick shake of her
head and breathless, “No. I don’t mind.”
They slid out of their seats while he hid his smug smile in
his shoulder. Perfect. Now, as long as
she really wants this as much as I do, it should be good. Outside, the
evening was still warm.
“Where can we go?”
He sent his blessing toward Heaven. Nick was a genius and
the next time he saw him, he’d tell him so.
They’d been having drinks in the Officer’s Club one evening.
It was several weeks after Walt had arrived at the base. Nick had taken him
under his wing, shown him the ropes, told him the ins and outs of the place.
This was the last Big Secret between friends.
“There’s a place along the fifteenth fairway. It’s deep
rough, under the trees and far enough from the perimeter fence that the patrols
never bother with it. If you think you’re going to get lucky, you set it up.
There’s a clearing, soft ground and you can safely leave a blanket and whatever
you want there until you’re ready. I’ve done it a million times, and haven’t
ever been caught.”
Now, Walt took Daphne’s hand and smiled down at her. “I know
the perfect place, if you don’t mind that we’ll be outside?”
“No, I don’t mind, so long as we don’t get caught.”
He led her through the base, taking every shortcut he knew,
until they reached the golf course.
She giggled, “I don’t play golf.”
“I’ll teach you how to get a hole in one every time.”
She giggled again as he led her along the edge of the
fairway, as Nick had told him to do. The ground was drier and hard, so they
wouldn’t leave foot prints.
When they reached the place, Daphne stopped and stared. “You
planned this.”
He moved closer, holding her hand in one while the other
slid around her waist. He nuzzled her neck, licked her earlobe and felt her
shiver. “Do you mind?”
She moved away from him with a smile as she settled down on
the blanket he’d already spread out. “I guess not.”
He knelt next to her, leaned forward and found her lips with
his.
“Man, Nick, you were right about that place. I took Daphne
there last night and it was perfect.”
“You got lucky, huh?”
“Sure did. I don’t know where she went to school for her sex
ed, but I think she was valedictorian of her class.” He leaned forward,
glancing around to make sure no one else was listening. “She gives head like I’ve
never had.”
Nick looked glum and Walt felt a pang of guilt that made him
shift on his seat. “Hey, Nick, I’m sorry. Daphne did call Sheryl but Sheryl
refused. Seems she doesn’t want to get involved with someone whose only going
to be around until they get transferred. She’s an Army brat. She’s never had
what she calls a real home.”
“How do you know all that?”
“That’s what Daphne said. We were talking and that’s what
Sheryl said.”
“Shit.” Nick muttered, pushed his breakfast tray away and
slouched in his chair. “I was afraid it was something like that.” He stood up. “I
gotta get to work. I’ll see you later.”
Walt watched his friend walk away, then began planning his
next night out with Daphne.
Sheryl
“How was your date last night?”
“It was nice. We went to the O’Club for dinner and then we
went to the movie. It was boring so when he suggested we leave, I didn’t argue.”
“So what did you do?” Sheryl’s voice conveyed her curiosity.
Daphne smiled at the memory. “We went out to the golf
course.”
“The golf course?
Why there?”
The smugness oozed through the phone when Daphne said, “We
went there to be alone. It was wonderful, really private and quiet and just
romantic.”
“You slept with
him? After one dance, dinner and a movie you let him do that?”
“Sure.” Daphne sounded confused and a little hurt. “Why not?
Haven’t you ever gotten laid before? If you haven’t you should. It’s wonderful.”
The tendency Daphne had of saying everything was ‘wonderful’
was getting on her nerves. Everything was wonderful, everyone was wonderful
but, in Sheryl’s experience, things were rarely wonderful.
Unlike her normal self, she spoke without thinking. “What’s
it like?” Then she wanted to bite her tongue.
Nick
Nick stood in his room staring at the sheet of writing paper.
Colonel & Mrs. Marcus Baumgartner
Request the Honour of your Presence
At the Twenty-First Birthday Party
For their daughter
Sheryl Lynn Baumgartner
Saturday evening at 1900
Ramstein Officer’s Club
Dress Uniform Mandatory
RSVP by 1700 Wednesday evening
To Major Reeves’s office at
“God dammit!” The
phone number given on the invitation was his desk phone. “Shit!” Disgusted,
frustrated, he threw the invitation in the general direction of the wastebasket,
then he stood there, not sure what to do.
After a minute he realized there was nothing he could do about it. Reeves was probably
in on it. In fact, Reeves might have been the one who suggested that he be the
one to gather the names. After all, his job included data gathering and
organization.
“Shit.”
Nothing was going right. Walt was getting it on with Daphne.
He wasn’t getting anything. Daphne might not be Sheryl but she did have all the
right parts. Maybe I could… No. His innate sense of honor stepped
forward, stopping the plan in its tracks.
He left the room, not bothering to pick the card up and put
it properly in the trash.
At the next door along the corridor, he knocked. “Hey, Steve,
you wanna grab a bite and a brew?” There was no answer. Nothing was going
right.
“Put your name at the top of the ‘yes’ column in your
register, Welles.” Reeves had just walked through the door. It was only about
three minutes after Nick had sat down behind his desk. “That’s an order from on
high.”
“I beg your pardon, sir?” Nick had, as expected, leapt to
his feet at the appearance of his boss, and was standing behind his desk
“You deaf, soldier? Colonel and Mrs. Baumgartner demand the honor of your presence at
this shindig they’re throwing next Saturday. It seems you made quite an
impression on Mrs. Baumgarner at that party a couple of weeks ago.”
Nick’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to think what to say,
before settling for a meek, “Yessir.”
The night of the party he arrived twenty minutes after the
time on the invitation, after pausing in the bar for some reinforcements. That
was where Steve found him.
“Hey, Nick, how they hangin’?” A meaty hand smacked down on
his shoulder as Steve slid onto the next barstool.
Nick looked over at his friend and shook his head in disgust
with himself. “Hey, Steve.” He wasn’t used to chickening out and it was leaving
a disgusting taste in his mouth.
“What’s eating you, boy?”
Nick jerked his head in the direction of the room from which
they could hear the band.
“Ohh.” Steve nodded sagely as the bartender set a glass of
amber liquid down in front of him.
“Thanks, Jack.” He looked over and studied
his friend. “Didn’t know girls scare you. Good thing they’re scarce on the
ground in battle areas.”
“It’s not them. It’s
her. Miss Sheryl Lynn Baumgartner.” Nick sipped from his glass, looking at nothing
on the wall in front of him. “I’ve tried for weeks to get her to go out with
me, with no joy. Then, a week ago, that fucking invitation shows up. The very
next morning, Reeves tells me the colonel specifically wants me in there, and I
can’t help but think what’s Sheryl going to think of that?”
Steve shrugged and was silent for a minute while he
contemplated the contents of his glass. “You ever think that maybe she specifically asked for your
presence?” He looked over, smiling at the dumbfounded expression on Nick’s
face.
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