I continued to think about the staffing of our new coastal offices. Most of the newbies who would be going with the old hands weren’t ready to take their exams so they would still need more training before they could be certified. That was another thing which was in our favor - certifications. The Society had only been around just under twenty years now but they were recognized even in Europe. The name was a little strange since a lot of what they were doing was far from simply Industrial Security but they knew well what it was they spoke about. Most members simply referred to them as ASIS and I thought their certifications were something worth some consideration; especially if we wanted more government jobs. We still had twenty-four people who needed to complete their studies to gain further certification. I made a note to leave for Nicci so she would check to see how many of our agents would need to recertify soon and to make up a list for the deadlines for each of them. I didn’t want anyone to lose certification because they forgot to study the most recent materials.

This has been a trip. Finding myself using Teddi's account to post some of her story just feels... odd.
Please don't expect the chapters to come quickly as there is only one more which is completed. The rest are all partials and I'll try to get to them as fast as I can. I also have my L o t Fey to work on and the 1200 pound gorilla which I mentioned in the post from Saturday.

Anesidora

Some forty-five minutes later I had finished my perusal of the material which had been occupying space on my desk. A couple of quick notes were written for Nicci and Ralph and the materials moved back to their desks before I left again. I hoped the notes would be enough that they could resolve some issues before I arrived since they were likely to come in before I did in the morning. Glancing around the offices I briefly considered dropping downstairs for a bite of Italian but decided instead to go on home.

Once home, I placed the drive and walk to the front door into low thaw mode then again included the walk adjacent to the street on high since the plows had piled all their street snow there. This time I didn’t set the timer so the low heat would run all night in case it snowed again. I would need to check the street side walks in a couple of hours and possibly shut off one or both of those breakers. The contractors the company hired to redo the walk next to my property, which allowed us to heat it instead of shoveling it off, had also added a drain system which led to the storm drains. That prevented the melt from winding up on the street where it could freeze which might lead to an accident.

Projected battery usage showed nothing would be left in the peripheral batteries so I added three of my poor overworked wind generators into the mix. Now the projected remainder showed to be only ten percent by morning even if the light wind remained throughout the night. I added the fourth generator. If I could do it, I wanted to avoid connecting to the grid. Once I connected then they needed access for their meter reader and my meters were within the grounds well beyond the gate and up near the house. Fortunately we had relocated them to the outside of the gated portion of the properties at the three safe houses. Once again the thought of having them relocated here crossed my mind and once again the reasons why we didn’t do so criss-crossed almost as quickly. I couldn’t believe the expense we would would entail to do it here. It was nearly twice the combined cost of the other three; something about easements, underground high power wires for the neighborhood and the very expensive surveillance measures I had planted in the ground surrounding my house.

I returned to my kitchen, examining the food I had on hand which forced the discovery that I still had enough on hand to feed a small army for a day or two. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel up to preparing anything. With some resignation I popped one of the few frozen TV dinners into the Microwave, set the timer to kick off at the appropriate time then went to my piano where I began to play anything which came to mind as I tried to regain what little sanity I hoped I still had gathering dust around here somewhere. Finally my hands and wrists were telling me it was time to stop so I went back to remove my meal from the oven only to discover it was barely warm. A glance at the clock showed me I’d been playing for nearly two hours as I pondered the events of these past several weeks. I suppose I should have realised something like that had happened since the shadows indicated some time had passed if I had bothered to take note of them. That was a little disturbing actually since normally I was far more observant of events around me.

Thrusting the item laughingly called a dinner back into the microwave, it received another two minutes of heat before I removed it then plunked myself down on one of the four stools at my kitchen counter where I began to poke at my food while taking small bites. By the time I figured out I wasn’t going to have all the answers I needed, the food was nearly cold again. I knew I needed nourishment so I wound up quickly shoveling the more than half a meal down as quickly as I could chew and swallow before taking the aluminum tray and my utensils to the sink so I could clean up after myself. I found my purse out in my car in the garage instead of on the hall table then went upstairs to the bedroom. I never realised before just how quiet this house was when I was the only person in it. Every few minutes I felt cheated since I half expected Cathy to come running in with another revelation or a drawing for which she needed praise. I was developing quite a nice case of parental anxiety as I continued to wonder what she was getting into and why the house was so quiet. More than once I found myself getting up to hunt for her before I realized what I was doing.

Back in my bedroom for the third or fourth time, I again checked the state of charge of the battery banks and the charging rate; pressed the shut off button for half the heating elements under the public sidewalks then set the alarm system to include the entire downstairs and the whole perimeter of both the grounds and house; at least I didn't have the problem of the squirrels setting off the ground alarms. They had moved on for better pickings elsewhere if they weren't already holed up for the coming winter. That reminded me I needed to purchase some food to leave out for them during the winter since I doubted they had sufficient food stashed to carry them through if winter was actually coming early.

I noticed the wind was picking up and checked the projected final state of charge which was climbing despite the usage which was draining the batteries even while coupled with the generators output.

With projected reduced battery usage I decided upon an extravagance and drew a hot bath, dropping some scented oil into the water. That was probably a mistake, especially if the wind happened to quit but I needed the soak. I also lit a lavender scented candle then settled into my tub. Twenty minutes later I was fighting to stay awake. Breaking free of my lethargy, I dried, powdered and, after cleaning the tub, selected a nightgown then finished my ministrations before retiring. I didn’t know exactly what the cause might have been but I was exhausted. I hoped it was due to after-mission let down because the other possibility was something I was not, as yet, prepared to handle.

I didn’t remember having any dreams but sometime during the night I came awake with a start, having heard my baby whimpering. I charged to her room and only as I discovered her bed was empty did I remember she had gone home. I felt cheated. I didn’t get to mother my baby. It wasn’t fair.

Returning to my room I tossed and turned for who knows how long before dropping off into what was to be a fitful sleep. The next morning the alarm awakened me and I was up and holding my automatic searching for the bad guys before I realized it was just the alarm clock. I began to wonder what was wrong with me and counted myself fortunate that I hadn't put a bullet through the alarm clock. Then again... that might not have been all that bad.

I was a regular grump at work and I didn’t know why. I had vague feelings of worry about Cathy and even vaguer ones about James. My concentration was worse than off. Nicci and I went out to lunch together but even that seemed flat. During the afternoon I poured myself into my work driving both Ralph and Nicci crazy.

“Lynn, don’t take this wrong but, girl to girl, I think you need to go home and relax. You’re all wound up. You’ve had a stressful couple of weeks so take a day or two and come back down off the rafters, okay?” I could trust Nicci to tell me what I needed to do even while radiating concern.

“Maybe you’re right. I feel a bit out of sorts. I don’t know what wrong, I just have this vague feeling something isn’t right and I don’t know what it is.”

“If I didn’t know better I’d say it’s PMS but you can’t have that; at least I don’t believe you can. Of course as I’ve learned with you, just about anything’s possible. I mean that in a good way, by the way. This is probably just post-mission let down. I’ve seen lots of the guys go through that especially when they became very involved in the mission.”

“You’re right, Nicci. I remember that from some of the... shall we say... more endearing missions in Nam. Especially the ones which lasted more than a couple of weeks. Some guys never came back down and were reassigned or were given a Section Eight. I can’t say as I’ve ever had that problem before, especially when the mission was for such a short time.”

Ralph happened to be passing by and he had stopped to listen so he managed to kick in his two cents worth, “Lynn, go home. Rest. Come back in a couple of days or so. The world won’t fall apart in that time. Or if it does, we won’t know about it.”

I took the hint with both of them railing on my case. I took a moment to wander through the office to check on everything which proved to me there were no fires which needed to be put out so I returned to my office, grabbed my purse and coat, said good-bye to Nicci and Ralph then went out to my car to drive home. Somewhere between the office and halfway home I suddenly found myself taking a detour which led me to that sporting goods store where I had purchased my ski stuff. There I tracked down that same salesman and got a bit of a lesson in ice skates, purchasing a pair along with some good blade covers before making my way home on the icy streets.

At home I keyed open the gate, closing it as I continued on, guiding my car slipping and sliding up the drive then into the garage. I barely stopped in time to avoid the wall in front of me when my tires suddenly had traction and began to thrust my car forward. After closing the garage door remotely I got out of my car then walked over to check the battery bank panel once again. When the generators were engaged and the driveway and walk heaters were once again in play, I walked over to the alarm panel to deactivate the rest of the house alarms so I could go inside. I hit the reset on the garage mounted alarm remote panel which showed a clear ‘board’, then made my way into the kitchen carrying my box of ice skates and my purse. There I drew myself a kettle of water to place on a burner set to low before I took my new purchase into the family room where I put it and my purse down on the couch. Returning to the kitchen I kicked the heat up a bit to speed the heating of my kettle of water as I got out a tea bag, cup and saucer.

After the usual ‘watched pot’ syndrome, I finally had a nice cup of tea and after grabbing a doily, I wandered back to the family room again where I turned on the ‘boob’ tube before pulling out my purchase to examine my new skates. I knew I would need to wear them a bit so my ankles could become accustomed to the new stresses I was likely to be placing on them while I eventually learned to balance on a thin blade. Deciding to try them on again (with the blade protectors on of course) I hoped I would be able to stand trusting the blade covers to prevent the destruction of my carpet.

Something on the tube caught my eye and before I knew it an hour and a half had passed by while I cycled back and forth between sitting and standing as I tried to gain experience balancing on the skates. Somewhere along the way I decided they didn’t look all that good when I was wearing a pant suit so I supposed I would be going back to purchase some clothing to wear while ice skating. By now, at least, I was able to get up off the couch and stand without coming close to falling over. My ankles weren’t complaining too much so maybe I was in better shape than I thought. Tottering on heels had probably helped prepare me a for this but the need for side-to-side support was wearing me down despite the high rise of the ankle portion of the skates.

Taking the skates off, they were boxed once again before I tip-toed to the kitchen to clean my cup and empty the last of the water from the kettle. I considered rummaging through the fridge but decided I wasn’t all that hungry so I abandoned the idea of supper, at least for now. I did grab two celery stalks before going back to collect my box of skates and my purse then I headed on up to my bedroom. Forty minutes later I was in bed and out like a light.

“Mommy!” brought me awake in the middle of the night like I was shot out of a cannon and I was halfway to my bedroom door, automatic in hand, to check on my baby when I remembered I was alone in the house or I had thought I was.

“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here. Everything’s all right.” I dropped back into bed rolled onto my side then for no apparent reason said, “Here Cathy, hold onto Mommy and go back to sleep.” The rest of the night went peacefully, maybe I needed to purchase a doll I could hold so I could sleep clear through the night.

The next morning I got out of bed and almost fell over. My ankles and lower legs were complaining something fierce. Delayed reaction I suppose. I hobbled off to the bathroom and eventually limped my way downstairs to begin some coffee. Fortunately I remembered to start the small pot after pouring four cups worth of water into it from out of the big pot. I drained the remainder of the large pot and dried it out. Fortunately I hadn’t gotten so far as to put the coffee grounds into it. That would have been all I needed, preparing twenty cups of coffee so I could have two or three. I was still thinking about the last two nights and hearing Cathy whimpering and calling for Mommy. I simply didn’t realise she had affected me that much. Maybe I could be a good mother at that.

I pulled two eggs out of the fridge then rummaged around until I found some peaches and a little less than a fifth of a container of cottage cheese which, fortunately, still smelled good. The last of the ham was beginning to shimmer so I dumped it in the garbage pail to be taken out later, continuing my search for something else edible, finally compromising with three strips of bacon before starting to prepare my breakfast.

Once breakfast had been completed I went through my ritual cleaning of the dirtied items and of the kitchen itself before attempting to decide what I was going to do with myself today. A short search finally produced the yellow pages which I found buried under both some magazines and three of Cathy’s storybooks on a corner table in the family room.

As I sat on the couch I began my search for ice rinks. I found only one but I was certain there were at least two in town. That puzzled me a bit but all I wanted to know was when they opened, I figured one would probably have hours which were duplicated by the second one. The hours, unfortunately, weren’t spelled out in the ad; boo, hiss. I wrote down their phone number and address then returned the book to the hall stand where I discovered the white pages were also missing. Presumably they were not in the family room unless they had found a more imaginative place to be hidden. I surmised the two ice rinks were likely to open at about the same time so calling the one should give me an idea of the time for both.

The sporting goods store, at least, had its opening time in its ad, 10:00 Am. Shortly before 10:00 I called the ice rink and obtained a recording which indicated they were open to club members at 7:00 and to the general public at 12:00. They closed to everyone at 9:00 Pm.

Picking up my skates, purse and jacket then wandering out to the car I finally made my way to the sporting goods store arriving shortly after they had opened. My salesman wasn’t there so I latched onto an older lady and described my plight. She directed me to various items including tights (cold weather despite being indoors - it’s an ice rink after all), a medium short skirted skating outfit with fur on the collar, wrists and as trim on the skirt which, after some search, was found in my size. She recommended two as that way I could have one to wear while the other was being dry-cleaned. Trading off on them would also offer the opportunity to minimize the wear on one due to the falls I was likely to incur as I learned to balance and perform while on skates.

“Everyone falls, my dear, even the professionals. The ice cuts because after it has been sliced repeatedly by skates there are many sharp edges. You should also obtain a pair of mittens to protect your hands at least until you become good enough to reduce your falls to a minimum. I would also recommend lessons at least for the first few weeks. You will find they are well worth the money in the long run.”

“Where do I arrange for lessons?”

“The ice rinks usually have instructors available and beginning classes are normally small. If you are willing to pay a slightly larger fee you might even obtain one on one instruction. Lessons are much less expensive if you join the rinks skating club, although I wouldn’t do that unless you expect to be putting in six to eight hours a week or more.”

“And if I want to bring my daughter?”

“You will need to ask them but I think the rink just down the street then left at the traffic signal,” she pointed in a direction perpendicular to the street we were on, “has reduced rates for children. I may be wrong as I haven’t skated for a number of years now. My old bones couldn’t take a fall very well.”

We searched for a bit before finding another outfit similar to the first although the second one was in green. The first was in a light blue and it had taken some hunting on our part to locate it. We found a tomato red one fairly quickly but red and I didn’t do well together. Besides, I thought if I was going to make a fool of myself on the ice I would prefer to do it in a color which wasn’t screaming “look at me” quite so loudly.

After paying for my purchases I had the dubious pleasure of making my way a second time through the six-inch deep snow which had occupied the lot overnight. I carefully drove out and down to the traffic signal where I turned left going about a half mile before finding the skating rink. The place looked deserted but there were close to a dozen cars in the lot so I parked. Going up to push on the doors proved they were unlocked allowing me to make my way inside.

In the lobby I saw a number of photos of famous skaters. I supposed they were implying those skaters had trained at this particular rink, which I somehow doubted. I continued to examine the photos and several of the brochures which were available on the counter. After ten or fifteen minutes someone actually came to the lobby and said, “Good morning. We open to the public at noon. Is there something with which I might help you?”

“Yes. Thank you. I’m interested in more information at this point so I can decide just how I want to proceed. I’m thinking about obtaining lessons and possibly eventually lessons for my young daughter as well. She is only three and a half so she might not be able to begin as yet but I thought I had best be able to skate, at least a little, before she decides she wants to begin.”

“Smart move. Lessons are available and to the general public they are $15 an hour with five or so in the class. Club members pay $10 an hour unless you want a private lesson which is $25 an hour. If you wish to spend a full day on the ice then a private session is $160 and usually requires a reservation made at least three days in advance unless there are openings available. The all day session is eight hours on the ice, likely with either Renee or Trisha, but only Monday through Friday 8:00 Am to 5:00 Pm with an hour break in the middle. We don’t do private lessons on week ends there are too many people on the ice. Club members also have a locker assigned and club membership is $50 a month which includes the rink access fee. Non-club members may rent a locker for $1 an hour or $5 for the entire day. Rink access is $1 a day or $5 for a seven day week. You provide your own lock. I would recommend against joining the club right away as we have found many people begin the lessons but drop out after only three or four and then they are stuck with paying the months membership. We prefer club members be those who really wish to continue learning and skating.”

“What is the cost of private lessons to the general public, again?”

“We don’t provide private instruction to the general public. Only to club members.”

“When do the next public lessons begin?”

The girl went to check her schedule sheets, pulling out several clipboards and making a show of examining them. “Trisha will be starting a class Thursday at noon. She has room for one more in the class.”

“When would the next private session be available?”

She leafed through the clipboards as she explained once again, “They are only available to club members... There is a two-hour session available today starting at 1:00 Pm with Trisha and another at 7:00 Pm with Renee.”

“And tomorrow?”

They both have at least one session available Trisha at 8:00 Am and Renee at ten. Renee comes in later.”

“All right, let’s sign me up for a membership and then a private session with Trisha today and the one with Renee tomorrow morning. I’ll decide then just how I want to continue from there.”

“Fine. Fill out these papers would you? Have you ever skated before?”

“No. This is a first for me and I’ll need to go home to change.”

“We have changing rooms here and you can purchase a padlock from us for your locker for $5. If you’ve never skated, you had better take the noon class with Richard before you see Trisha. Trisha will be taking you out on the ice and Richard will teach you how to fall down and get up so you don’t hurt yourself badly with either your skates or the ice. We have medical facilities here and are able to treat most injuries or pre-treat them if transport is required. We have a rapid response agreement with an ambulance service.”

“That makes me feel much better.”

“Most of our members say much the same thing.”

My sarcasm was completely lost on her.

“That will be $205, cash or credit card?”

“Corporate card.”

She did the transaction and I signed the transaction receipt. Next she pulled out some papers and a padlock then proceeded to explain the layout of the rink, changing rooms, locations of the restrooms and the lockers, telling me where my locker was located. I ripped the padlock off of its packaging and she threw the cardboard and staples away while I took the padlock and the two keys.

“Remember, Lynnette,” she said after reading my name off the membership application, “keep one key with you. Don’t lock them both in your locker or we will need to cut the padlock off the locker to allow you to get back into it. Blade covers must remain on skates at all times except when on the ice. During the class with Richard skates are optional. Class begins in twenty minutes so you had best hurry and change. I’ll let Trisha know to collect you at the end of Richard’s class. Have fun.”

The way she said that made me feel like it was a command and not a suggestion. I was quickly off to my locker to place my purse inside and then made tracks to the nearest changing room. I barely made it to class on time after changing and putting on my skates then locking all my street clothes into the locker. There were four others in the class but they were mostly in the 12-year old range. There were three mothers sitting there watching so I figured either one mother was missing or two of the girls were sisters. After a couple of minutes I decided it was the latter since two of the girls looked very similar and tended to remain together during the instruction. Learning to fall with the skates aimed away from both myself and everyone else was a trip. I hoped I didn’t need to practice it for real but somehow knew it would happen despite my best intentions. Before I knew it class was over and Trisha was there to collect me.

I suppose I did pretty well for a beginner. Trisha was a hard task mistress but she actually had me skating one and a half times around the rink without falling after perhaps the first hour of instruction. I felt like I was flying along until a couple of younger girls zoomed past like we were standing still.

Trisha told me not to worry about it, “After ten or twenty hours you’ll be doing laps around the rink like an old pro. By the time you reach that point we will also have you doing some of the things only the professionals dream about.”

“I think I’ll be satisfied just staying upright.”

She laughed, “Stay right there and watch for a moment.”

She zoomed out onto the ice, did a pirouette in the air before landing going backwards then continued on as she turned to gather speed on the turn. She did the same thing on the way back and then as she got close did an abrupt braking followed by a sort of tip-toe run across the ice before gliding to a power stop in front of me.

“Wow.”

She laughed again, “You will be able to do that, too. Those are some of the easy moves. If you can put in eight to ten hours a week we could have you doing some of that in just a few weeks.”

“There are a few other easy moves which will let you look like you’re dancing on the ice. You will learn some of those during the first eight hours. Come on, let’s try changing lead together. Watch as I do it next to you, it’s easy. It just looks complicated.”

By the time my two hours ended my number of falls had reduced dramatically and my enjoyment factor had gone way up. We ended with a figure eight of the rink and as I put my blade protectors on my skates I noticed the number of people on the ice had gone up by a factor of about three with more joining as every minute passed. I suppose that made sense, public access had started shortly before my lesson and other club members were likely to be showing up. Then too, school let out just about the end of my lesson so any of the kids who were playing hooky or who didn’t have afternoon classes would be able to be here. Soon there would be people getting off work who would also come to skate. Note to myself, schedule most of my lessons for mornings, at least for a while.

Finding my way to my locker, I pulled out my street clothes then sat down to remove my skates which I stowed in the locker before going to the changing room. It wasn’t long before I was in my street clothes and back at the locker where I collected my purse and skates, leaving the locker empty but with my lock still on it; eventually I arrived home. After my first day of skating a nice hot bath sounded wonderful. Making my way upstairs I spent a little over an hour pampering myself before I went back down to clean up my skates and wash my skating outfit. Fortunately sanity had prevailed and I had skipped purchasing the outfit which was fur trimmed so I had dodged the dry cleaning bullet. The thought crossed my mind as I thought about skating, I wondered if Nicci skated? I also wondered if we could bring guests to the rink? I forgot to ask about the charges for my ‘daughter’ so I’d need to bring all that up tomorrow when I made some more appointments.

Hearing the ring of the phone, I made my way to the one in the family room hoping to reach it before whomever it was hung up.

“Hello?”

“Hi Lynn, it’s Nicci. You’re a hard girl to reach.”

“Well, it is my day off and so is tomorrow. I’m busy.”

“I hope it isn’t work.”

“No. It isn’t work.” I answered almost facetiously, “actually I was starting to learn to ice skate. Tomorrow I have another lesson.”

“Cool. Mind if I come too?”

“That’s something I wanted to ask... Do you skate?”

“That’s like asking Santa Claus if he drives a sleigh.”

“Well... I don’t know... does he?” That just got me a laugh.

“My first lesson tomorrow is at 08:00; I scheduled two back-to-back. I don’t know if we are allowed to bring guests.”

“Which rink are you using?”

“Sonia’s”

“Great, I’m a member there. Who’s your instructor tomorrow... Tricia or Renee?”

“The first one is with Tricia. I had a lesson with her today. Renee usually comes in later so I have one with her after the one with Tricia.”

“They’re both good. Bill isn’t so bad either but he likes to gently grope the ladies on the premise he is helping them not to fall down. Why don’t we meet there tomorrow at eight? That will give us a little time to skate before your session and maybe I can help you learn a little too. That would but you a little further ahead of the curve.”

“I’ll remember that about Bill. The girl who signed me up didn’t happen to mention him. How about we meet right after my first lesson? That would be somewhere around nine fifty. That way I’ll have a little free time on the ice before Renee comes in. Before my lesson today, I had Richard for the class where we learned how to fall down without serious injury.”

“Figures, Richard is their resident nurse. Hope you never have to see him much.”

“Why?”

“Oh, he skates really well, but if you’re seeing him it means you’ve been injured.”

“He doesn’t teach?”

“Not that I’ve ever seen. Anyway back to the reason I called. Mr. Thompson called today and wanted to talk to you. Something about Cathy...”

I quickly injected, “Is she all right?”

“He didn’t say. Why? What do you know that we don’t?”

I spent a few minutes relating to her my two unreasonably emotional nights and my concerns.

“Just like a mother. You better call Mr. Thompson and find out if your little girl is okay. Get a pencil and paper and I’ll give you his number.”

“Just a moment, I’m going to put you on hold.”

I put the phone down then got up to go to the hall where I pulled a pad of paper and pen from the drawer then picked up the phone there. Nicci gave me Thompson’s number before we arranged to meet at 8:45 at the rink. After we hung up I returned to the family room so I could sit on the couch while I used that phone. Pulling it over to me I dialed his number.

“Thompson residence.”

“Hello. This is Lynnette Stevens, James left a message for me to call.”

“One moment please, I’ll see if Mr. Thompson is in.”

‘I’ll see if Mr. Thompson is in’... He better be. He called me first.

Less than a minute later I heard the phone pick up and James voice came across, “Lynn. How are you?”

“I think the question is, how’s Cathy?”

“Okay. She’s doing just fine...”

“Then why did you call and cause me to lose ten years off my life expectancy?”

“It... It’s a little difficult to explain. She... Have you noticed anything... strange over the past night or two?”

“It’s funny you should ask that.”

“You have then?” he sounded incredulous.

“Well, yes and no. I thought it was just my over active imagination. What’s been happening there?”

“I’m not certain. Sunday night Cathy woke up sometime during the night and became quite upset then suddenly calmed down before anyone got to her and was fast asleep hugging her pillow when the nanny got to the room. Last night was nearly the same but she was mumbling ‘Mommy’ as she hugged the pillow.”

I was barely able to breath, much less talk. Cathy and I had formed some sort of bond and it seemed to be able to transcend the distance between us. This was a little scary. I was a Mommy. After a few times of James asking, “Lynn?” I managed to take in a breath and began relating what I had noticed here and how I responded to the whimpering or crying residing in my mind.

“It was just in my mind. I couldn’t really have been hearing anything.”

“Uh huh, ‘Mommy’ Stevens is it?”

“James, I didn’t mean to do anything like that. We haven’t even decided to go steady much less be married. I still need to see some doctors and get the ball rolling.”

“What about tomorrow? I could send the plane.”

“I can’t. I have ice skating lessons tomorrow and for the next few weeks.”

“Ice skating?”

“Yes, Cathy is interested so I had best know how to skate before I begin taking her.”

I could hear a smile in his voice, “Good idea, Mommy. Are you going to learn to ski too? I need someone to mother me on the slopes.”

“You don’t need a mother on the slopes, but Cathy will.”

“And when she begins to swish down the more difficult slopes?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps by then I won’t have such a difficult time with skiing and I’ll be able to accompany her.”

“You know, as much as I hate to admit it, you were right and there will come a time when we will just need to allow her freedom to make a mistake or two.”

My heart came up into my throat as I considered that. “Maybe not for a while.”

James laughed, “Maybe not. But one day she is going to want to go out with a boy and we will need to trust her enough to allow it,”

“Oh, I’ll trust her. But I know about boys, I won’t trust him. Maybe I’ll teach Cathy hand to hand so she can protect herself.”

James laughs, “Ouch. Would you really do that?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“I believe you would. I can see it all now. Some Cad kisses Cathy and instead of slapping him she throws him across the room.”

“Well... I’ll also teach her not to overreact.”

“For any boys who might come into her life, I thank you.”

“But if they pull her hair or cause other problems, all bets are off.”

“I’ll remember to advise the boys to behave themselves unless they want to lose their wandering hand.”

“You better.”

“I just have one request.”

“Which is?”

“Please don’t teach her any killing techniques.”

“Then tell the boys not to do anything which will result in her use of same.”

“You’re a hard woman, Lynnette... A hard woman.”

“And you love it.”

“Well, there is that. At any rate, I was thinking about Christmas and wondered if I might send her presents there so they will all be there if I can’t make it in time for the party.”

“You could bring any which are from you or family who give her presents when you come. We won’t open any of those until you’re here. At the office party all of the presents are from Santa.”

“Okay, I have a half dozen here which are from Santa so I’ll ship those and bring the rest with me when I come up.”

“That works. Let me know a few days in advance before you send her and I’ll make arrangements to take her skating. Once she’s here we’ll go out and buy her skates and clothes for the lessons. Does her nanny skate?”

“I don’t know. That never came up. I’ll find out as I suspect once Cathy begins skating, she will want to continue when she returns back here. Maybe you could come visit here for a week sometime next year and take her skating. We don’t have a lot of children friendly vacation locations to visit though.”

“I’m certain we could come up with something, and I could stop by as I go to or from our new facility on the East coast. Just how far are you located from New York?”

“The State or the City?”

“Actually, Manhattan.”

“A couple of hours and then one trying to get into Manhattan.”

“I suppose I could fly in.”

“Not unless your building has a heliport. Even then it would be tricky flying.”

“Oh, our building is at the South end of the cluster at the North end of the Park. It is well away from the Financial Center and all those huge skyscrapers. I have yet to see the UN building but from the roof of our building you can just make out those new twin towers and the Empire State Building — if it’s a clear day.”

“Ah, I suppose then it wouldn’t be quite so bad. An older building?”

“Fairly. We don’t have a heliport and I suppose the building couldn’t support one. We hope to pay it off in about five years and then we’ll begin shopping around for a location where we can build a new one. If all goes well between now and then, of course.”

“You have dreams of an empire in real-estate?”

“No, just enough income from tenants to offset the costs of the building, utilities, upkeep and taxes, basically. The money for the business itself will be earned by the business. The former gives us some place that is essentially rent free. Once we build, we will put in some living quarters at the top as well. That gives us a building we own and control in addition to a safe haven for our clients on three or four floors. With two suites per floor we could house a lot of clients. Safety would be a big issue and, of course, the helipad you so fortuitously mentioned. Our West coast building is relatively new but we needed to renovate it to fill our needs and some of the changes are still in the pipeline.”

“Sounds busy. How do you find the time to skate?”

“I’m taking each morning for a few weeks. That and I have today and tomorrow off.”

“I need a deal like that. I thought you owned the business?”

“I do. Mostly anyway. I put my two junior partners in charge for a couple of days. It’ll do them good and I’m only a phone call away. I went in yesterday and reviewed everything they did. Signed off on most of it. They’re doing okay.”

“God. I’d be afraid the whole place would fall apart in my absence. You must have some good talent.”

“I do. Ralph and I have been together for years and Nicci came on board running, she practically runs the place anyway so I decided to give her the authority to do it. If I’m not available then she has Ralph or Lucy to fall back on.”

“Lucy?”

“Oh... Uh, she’s someone I met while in the service. It was she and her husband who suggested this business to us and helped us with the start up and vetting of our initial agents. Now they hold fifteen percent as silent partners and are sort of “consultants” when we fall into the cracks.”

“What about your mother and father?”

“Dad was killed in an accident just as I was finishing Basic Training. My first leave was spent going to his funeral and then helping Mom get organized until Aunt Joi came out to help. By then I had to report.”

“Sorry to hear that. So if we get married then Cathy will have a Grandmother?”

“No. I’m afraid Mom died a few years back.”

“I see. It was just a thought. I was thinking about our honeymoon.”

“Aren’t you getting the cart before the horse, James? We haven’t even really discussed the possibility and believe me there will be a lot to discuss.”

“Well, hypothetically.”

“Oh... Hypothetically... of course, hypothetically.”

“Of course?”

“Don’t get your hopes up just yet, James.”

“I can but try.”

“Uh huh. Try a little less hard and we might have a chance.”

He grabbed onto that for all it was worth, “A Chance?”

“I think we best end this call, James. We can discuss some of this when we are together at Christmas.”

“I was right. You’re a hard woman, Lynnette.”

“And you love every second of it.”

He laughed, “I’ll send Cathy a week before Christmas unless you want her there a little earlier. The Nanny won’t be able to come. She has those two weeks off for family. If you need someone there then I can hire someone for those two weeks like I usually do. That way if you need to go into work you won’t need to have her tagging along.”

“Just let me know when and where to meet the plane. We’ll work something out at this end.”

“Okay. Oh, speak of the bolt of lightning. Cathy, come over here. Mommy’s on the phone.”

I could hear the phone shuffling around for a moment.

“Hi Mommy. I made more pictures.”

“Good for you. Remember to bring them with you when you come for Christmas.”

“I will. I fell down.”

I was instantly concerned, “Are you all right?”

“I was spinning in a circle like the girls on the ice but I tripped. I hurt my knee but Nanna put some camp for nick on it. It hurt for a while but it’s getting all better.”

“Good. You need to be careful when you spin like that.”

“I will. Nanna wants me. Here’s Daddy.”

A few moments later I heard his voice again, “I’m back.”

“Good Luck.”

“Thanks; I think I’ll need it. She’s been going a mile a minute ever since we came home. I’ll let you know before I send her up.”

“Thanks - I think. I’m still child proofing my house.”

He laughed, “I think you’re the one who needs luck. See you in a month or so, Lynn.”

“Bye, James.”

I hung up even as I thought back to what that woman had said at the airport. It was beginning to seem a bit like that, wasn’t it?

All characters in this work have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relationship whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. The characters contained herein are not even distantly inspired by any specific individuals known or unknown to the author. All incidents described or alluded to within this work are pure invention. No affiliations, involvements or gender assignations due to the use of any images contained within this work are to be implied, intended or inferred.

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DUTY CALLS, L.J. Stevens Vol. One Copyright  © 2013 USA, Earth by D. A.Trask.

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