My Journal

By Harriman Nelson

11.2

I won’t go into details about my date last night, suffice it to say, while it was planned as an escape from the rivalry between my boys, it was every bit as  pleasant as a 'real' date.

I’d decided on using a taxi instead of my car, as I wasn’t that familiar with the neighborhood she lived in, and after all, I wanted to concentrate on her, not the traffic. I was surprised that Emily decided on Sharkey’s as she’d heard about our Chief’s sideline.

I was able to introduce her to him, who, I could tell, was pleased to see me out and about with feminine company of my own choosing, other than familial duty I’d had with Jessica.

I was a bit surprised Sharkey was spending his first full day of shore leave at the diner, but as the entrepreneur, no doubt he wanted to make sure everything had run smoothly during his absence, his employees maintaining the standards he demanded.

While he didn’t really have to have a ‘hands on’ approached to the business, he was happy as a clam getting his hands dirty again, in a manner of speaking. Actually he was getting them ‘greasy’ again. Yes, he’s a believer in the lard and shortening that he claims can’t be beaten for the  finesse in traditional cooking,( though he does insure his patrons also have the option of more healthful fare, though limited).

And so, we indulged ourselves with Fried Chicken and Classic  Apple Pie, accompanied by of all things, milk, the real stuff. Whole, and from a cow.

We lingered over our meal, speaking of our lives, our hopes, our dreams, our successes, our failures, and life in general.

We had arrived as mere acquaintances, but left as something more than friends.

Oh, how I wanted her to invite me into her condo when our taxi dropped us off at her place. She made me feel warm and tingly all over, among other places, and I really wanted to, well, you know. Not many women can make me feel like jumping right into that side of a relationship, but I managed to behave like a gentleman, at least, I didn’t push the door down and drag her into the bedroom like my fevered imagination wanted to.

I was staring into her eyes, my arms enfolding her, indulging myself in a long and rather passionate kiss.

“You coming back or not, mister?” the taxi driver called out after he honked the horn.

Emmie took my arm and whispered, “Pay the man. I’ll be waiting,” and retreated behind the door, leaving it wide open.

I tried not to make too much noise as I entered the hotel suite about 0830 with the  key card Ron had obtained from the front desk yesterday.

“About time, Harriman,” Jessica said sourly from her chair in the suite’s sitting room. “No doubt you had a ‘good’ time,” she said snidely.

Before I could figure out some kind of non-embarrassing answer she nodded to the carafe, “Still some coffee left.”

“Thank you, no.”

“Crane wants you to call. So does Ron. Seems they’re are at odds regarding the budget.”

“The budget? Ron has nothing to say about the budget. He’s an office assistant, and on a trial basis at that.”

“Yes, but his supervisor, Bates, I think Ronny said, had him do some data entry on the budget spreadsheets. Ron merely offered a few suggestions to cut costs. Well, before he knew it, Crane had heard about them and told him that was not part of his job description and in future to follow the chain of command regarding suggestions! Ronny was crushed! He was only trying to be helpful. Would you believe that Crane wants to  waste time and money on inspecting the areas of Seaview that weren’t even damaged to begin with?”

“Lee is both my business partner and Seaview’s captain,” I said wearily, “it’s his job to insure the boat will be 100 % for her next cruise. I would recommend a full inspection myself. And again, it’s Nelson-Crane.

“Oh, good grief. Nelson-Crane, Nelson-Crane, Nelson-Crane, happy now? Go ahead, take his side, but Ron understands the importance of staying within budget and making a profit better than a sub driver.”

“Jessica….”

“Don’t you see? Ron would certainly be a better choice to help you run things. Don’t you realize that you might have to start nipping into your personal accounts if you run over your business budget?”

“Are you quite finished?” I said trying very hard not to explode, and pulled out a cigarette.

“I thought you’d made progress cutting back!”

“All right, all right,” I spat, tossing the unlit cigarette into the trash. Then I  picked up the hotel phone.

“I need a luggage carrel. And a cab. I’m checking out of the Hawthorne suite.”

“The Hawthorne Nelson suite,” Jessica corrected me snidely. “The paperwork came through this morning. Ron’s officially a Nelson now. Though why he wants to be is beyond me the way you’ve allowed his brother to mistreat him!”

 I was glad it hadn't taken too long for the bellhop to arrive and made my escape gladly.

I didn’t feel like bunking aboard Seaview, or on Lee's sailboat, so keeping my fingers crossed, I phoned Emily. I wasn’t sure she’d agree. After all, technically we'd only had a one night stand. It was one thing to have a impromptu affair, quite another to let me actually live with her, even temporarily.

She was more than agreeable and soon the taxi driver was helping me stow my boxes in her entryway.

As much as she wanted to share a little more intimate time with me, she had to get to work. Not for her to call in sick when she wasn’t.

And I had to get to work myself.

The gate told me the captain was in the sub pen’s dry dock supervising repairs as I paid the taxi driver, and secured a golf cart to putter me to the tunnel entrance.

The boat was an ugly sight, several of her patchwork plates  removed and her innards hanging out of some of the compartments.

“Estimate?” I called upward to Lee, on one of the catwalks.

“Longer than I’d like,” Lee shouted down, twisting the Nelson ring on his finger. His face and hands were smudged so I could only assume he’d been up close and personal with some of the repairs himself.

“I can’t see her ready to sail for at least three weeks,” he added as he strode down one of the ladders to the dry dock landing to meet me.

“Not too bad, considering. Lee,” I hesitated, “Jessica told me what happened.”

“You angry?”

“Ron had no right to offer suggestions for things he knows nothing about.”

 “I’ll take care of it. By the way, Lee, there are a couple of things I need to speak to you about.”

“Well?”

“You should take some Leave. I know, I know. You don’t feel good about leaving her in the care of others and you’re not restricted from duty. But you need a rest. Don’t worry about the repairs. You know the work crews have things well in hand."

“Very well,” he sighed, “I am a little tired. But I still get to visit her.” It was not a question. Then, “What’s the other thing?”

“I’ve moved in with Emily.”

Shocked silence.

“That serious?” he finally asked, “so soon?”

“It’s a matter of convenience.”

“Uh huh.”

“All right, all right. It‘s a matter of convenience to get away from Jessica. And I’m really buoyed up by the idea of living with Emily. In all the ways that count. I just want you to be happy for me.”

“That’s a given. If you’re happy, Harry, I’m happy.”

“Thank you, son. You may have to run some interference with Edith when she finds out. It’s not the old fashioned way she expects me to behave. But it’s a fait accompli and I’m happy.”

“This calls for a celebration,” Lee slapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s have that fried rattlesnake. I used the galley before it was stripped for repairs. The leftovers are in Ames' fridge though.”

Whether he was happier about sharing his catch with me, or my having a love life, I’ll probably never know

Angie had taken care of a lot of client inquiries after Lee had informed her of Seaview’s approximate 'ready' date. In fact, there really wasn’t much for me to do in the office. So I ordered a dozen long stemmed red roses and a bottle of some especially fine wine to take back with me.

Yes, my new life has probably begun.