He was looking for Hayes Kincaid. They were about to watch Enter the Dragon in the wardroom, and he knew Kincaid would want in. Soon, after the rigors of the three-section watchbill fully set in, he knew they wouldn’t be able to burn a flick together like that. Whenever one of them was off watch, the other would either be on the conn or in the rack, getting what sleep he could. So he thought they should enjoy it while they were able.
He suspected Kincaid was exercising in Missile Compartment Lower Level so he headed that direction. Kincaid was a dedicated athlete, and one of few men to return from a patrol in better shape than when he left. Their workout gear was limited, but Kincaid made the most of it with every spare moment, putting himself through punishing workouts. The centerpiece of his routine was the treadmill, on which Kincaid attempted to run five hundred miles every patrol, tracking each run on a sheet of graph paper.
As Jabo walked by the Officer’s Study, he saw that the door was closed, and wondered if Kincaid might be in there, perhaps reviewing some charts or writing a letter home for the impending mail call. He put his ear to the door before knocking; the way things were going he didn’t want to interrupt some high-level discussion between the XO and CO, afraid they might drag him into the conversation. He heard something, muted talking, muttering on the other side. He lightly knocked on the door with one knuckle and the talking stopped. He knocked again, and opened it.
The navigator sat alone at the table, a pristine chart in front of him.
“Oh, hey Nav. Just looking for Kincaid.”
The navigator didn’t say a word, didn’t nod or respond at all.
“You okay, nav?”
Still without saying a word, the navigator bent back down over the chart and resumed making corrections. Jabo watched him for just a second, and then closed the study’s door.
Well, he thought. That was fucking weird.
Angi took the Kingston to Edmonds ferry, on her way to Muriel Taylor’s condo. She was able to walk onto the ferry, leaving her car behind in Kingston and saving five dollars, as the Taylors lived within walking distance of the other ferry terminal. She’d decided to make the short, pleasant trip across Puget Sound to tell her friend about the baby.
The cat was not quite out of the bag, but it soon would be. Cindy Soldato, for all her good qualities, was not discreet, and besides, Angi was showing to the point that her pregnancy would soon be undeniable. She and Muriel had drifted apart in the last two patrols, but they had been close friends at one time, and Angi would always be grateful to her for showing her the ropes when she first arrived, all the things a clueless new navy wife needed help with, from getting a military ID card to how to shop in the Navy Exchange. Back in those days, they both often talked about how they wanted to have a child when the time was right — and how the time seemed like it would never be right. Muriel had withdrawn since then, and rarely attended any of the social functions that brought the wardroom wives together, so they rarely spoke anymore. Muriel’s absence was accompanied by the predictable rumors of trouble in their marriage. But Angi decided she still wanted Muriel to be one of the first people to know about her baby, and that she would tell her in person.
She called ahead but Muriel hadn’t answered, so she took a chance and hopped on the ferry anyway. Even after three years, the Washington State Ferries had not lost their novelty, and she loved drinking her latte (decaf now) and watching the scenery from a window seat, hard to believe the ride you could get for a six bucks. There were days, and especially nights, when the thought of pregnancy scared Angi very much, most often in the form of her wondering if she was up to the task. But there were more days like this, when she was excited beyond words, happy to be pregnant, happy that she and Danny were doing this. She felt the ferry rumble as the big engines reversed; they were pulling into Edmonds.
She disembarked and made the quick walk through the ferry terminal into the cute streets of Edmonds. Coffee shops, crafty boutiques, a music store that was somehow surviving the age of digital music. A few nice restaurants that were still closed because of the early hour. She thought with a brief pang of loneliness how nice it would be to eat dinner there with Danny, watching the ferries come and go.
Soon she was at the door to Muriel’s condo; she could feel the effect of the pregnancy in the short walk, she felt more winded than she should have been. Just as she was getting ready to knock on the door, it flew open, and she saw Muriel, looking completely shocked and exhausted, standing in the doorway, the room behind her filled with cardboard boxes.
“Muriel?”
“Angi? Oh my God…” She put her hands over her mouth.
“Are you moving?” she asked, stating the obvious.
Muriel shook her head, and started to motion her in. “What am I thinking…there’s no where to sit. Let’s go get some coffee. Or maybe some wine.”
I can’t have either, thought Angi, but she decided to wait. It seemed they both had big news to share.
They went to Waterfront Coffee Company, an old hangout, and it made Angi remember how much time the two of them used to spend together, and how long it had been. At the counter, Muriel ordered a double shot of espresso, and Angi ordered a decaf latte.
“Decaf?” Muriel said. “It’s only ten o’clock.”
Angi smiled, and pulled her hands down to her hips, pulling her oversized windbreaker tight across her belly.
“Oh my God!” said Muriel, and her face finally brightened, looking something like the Muriel she used to know, optimistic and always enthusiastic. “How long?”
“Almost three months,” she said. “You’re almost the first person here I’ve told. I had to talk to Cindy to get the ball rolling on some of the insurance stuff.”
“Well if Cindy knows, I’m surprised I haven’t heard yet.” The heavily pierced employee handed them their coffees across the counter, and they found an isolated table in the back.
They spoke at length about the pregnancy: the due date, the morning sickness, the odds (unlikely) that Danny would be by her side at the birth. Finally the conversation hesitated and Angi decided to ask.
“So…moving?”
Muriel looked down at the scratched table and nodded.
“Are you guys going to your next duty station? Does Mark have orders for shore duty yet?”
“He might,” she said. “I have no idea. But I’m going home.”
Angi hesitated, knowing the rest of the story would come out. It certainly wasn’t uncommon — every patrol, a certain number of wives would just decide they couldn’t take it anymore, and head back to wherever they’d come from. Being a Navy Wife was hardest during deployment, and that’s also when leaving was the easiest. But it was still shocking, and sad, to see it happen to a good friend.
“Can I ask why?”
Muriel took a deep breath. “Honestly Angi…I think Mark is going crazy.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’d been little things, of course, but I just wrote it off to the stress. I mean, don’t they all have to be a little crazy to do what they do? But I really started to worry after his third patrol, Mario’s last. Mark had just completed all his command qualifications, and Mario had given him a stellar fitrep. Everybody is telling us he’s going to screen early for XO. And then — he doesn’t.”