TRWD11

My Journal
By Harriman Nelson
11

“Harry? Harry?” Emmie’s voice, and TV noise in the background roused me from my hospital bed. Some of the tests had required me to be sedated and I was coming out of it.
Finally my vision cleared and I found myself smothered in kisses.
“Oh, thank God, thank God,” she was saying. “It was a false alarm, Harry.”
“Wait,” I told Emmie, noticing the TV on the wall was tuned to the news…

“…Admiral Nelson’s attending physicians at Bethesda Naval Hospital have ruled out a stroke that had been suspected. His various symptoms have been credited to a toxin he picked up from one of his specimen tanks aboard Seaview. It is unknown if he will be returning to the Seaview for Captain Nelson-Crane’s expedition to search for the Loch Ness Kelpie.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” I said. “I want to talk to Lee,” I said, looking around for a phone.
“What on earth for?” Emmie asked. “He didn’t seem to care enough about you to abort the damn cruise and come with you…”
“Sweetie, I need to tell you something. Something you’re not going to like.”
“Later. You’re being released. Let’s go home.”
“Darling, I really have to tell you…”
“Well, good to see you feeling better, sir,” Will said, entering, turning down the TV.
“There wasn’t a toxin, was there, Will? Even you know I haven’t had any specimens in the lab for months.”
“The skipper thought it would sound better to the press than you simply went ballistic over something the president said that raised your blood pressure and dilated your eyes and got you so hot and bothered that it mimicked a possible heart attack or stroke on the way.”
“Lee wanted to protect him? From bad press?” Emmie asked. “Lee still should have cancelled the cruise and come here with him.”
“Sweetheart, Will, only a few people know this, but the mission to Scotland is not what we’ve led everyone to believe.”
“Top secret?” Will asked, more than used to Seaview’s subterfuge. I almost laughed at my unintentional pun.
“In a manner of speaking. I’ll fill you both in later, for now, what do you say about getting your things, Emmie, and joining us aboard the Flying Sub for the trip back to Seaview and then to Scotland?”
“Me? Go along on a top secret mission for the government?”
“The government’s not in on it. In fact most of the agencies we’ve contacted, including the White House, think Lee is out of his mind. And he actually wants it to play that way. It’s a bit complicated. But I have to agree it’s something we need to check into. In Scotland. I promise, we’ll discuss it later.”
“Well,” Emmie said, “I already cancelled the hotel in Inverness. I’m not sure we’ll be able to get anything now and your bunk on Seaview is going to be awfully small for the two of us for any length of time.”
“I don’t know, we might enjoy a tight cuddle.”
“You do make a good point. All right. Hope you don’t mind sharing a closet as well as a bunk.”
“I’ll you get dressed, Admiral,” Will said, leaving us alone.
Emmie and did a little smooching, of course, before Emmie reminded me that I wanted to call Lee.
“It can wait.”
In about a half hour, we were ready to leave the hospital and I contacted Lee from Will’s cell phone in order to inform him that it was a ‘go’ for Emmie to join us.
“That’s great. By the way, can you bring back some frozen pizzas with you? The kind that only need a microwave? Pizza is the only thing Cookie can’t seem to get right and if we keep our XO’s tummy happy, we’ll have a happy crew.”
“How’s it going with the crew, son? Do they know mission details yet? That you are really are a devoted son, and that this kelpie business hasn’t put a wedge between us?”
“Not yet, and I’d like to keep it that way for awhile. Besides, the more despicable I am, the less chance of folks wanting me to fill Abernathy’s shoes, should they need filling. I don’t really think it’s a problem as Vice President Hodges can just step in. ”
“You really are something, Lee.”
“Gee, Pop, does that mean I can borrow the Flying Sub on a Saturday night?” he laughed and I joined in.
Emmie knocked on the door and I opened it, still holding the phone. She took it. “I don’t know what you have him laughing about, Lee, but thank you…for everything. He told me about some things. Not everything, but enough to know that you sacrificed your reputation for him.”
“No problem.”
“I’ve spoken to your mother. Can we have the Flying Sub make a slight detour to pick her up if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course, but…it will be cramped.”
“Here’s Harry.”
She handed the phone back to me.
“Wonder how she talked Mom into making her decision,” Lee told me, “I sure couldn’t get her to make up her mind.”
“Haven’t a clue. We’ll know soon enough, I’m sure.”
“Well I have to go. Apparently Chip put me on report for non-compliance of required nutritional supplementation. Which means I need to go to the Wardroom. Leftover tuna casserole, with additional potato chips ”
“Save Jiggs a serving.”
“Already on order for him. But I doubt if I’ll be able to handle more than a few bites. See you soon, Harry. Have a good flight.”
“No doubt about that. Out.”

It wasn’t long before we all piled aboard the Flying Sub, the frozen pizza’s from a local grocery store properly stowed in cold bags. My mouth was already watering in anticipation. I knew Chip’s probably was.