My Journal

By Harriman Nelson

27.  Going Home

“It’s pretty much completed, Skipper,” Chip was saying as he met Lee, Mrs. Crane, and I at the hospital entrance as we waited for the taxi to take us to the Flying Sub. While Lee had argued that he wanted to return to Seaview in uniform, Doc refused, keeping him on medical observation, which was, after all, only right as Lee’s vision hadn’t returned yet. So he’d requested Chip bring him he favored jeans and turtleneck.

“Well, Chip,” Lee sighed from his wheelchair, “have Seaview give the area a few more sweeps, just to be sure there’s nothing left to pick up. I’d like to report a ‘mission accomplished’, at least as far as Seaview’s quest is concerned. Sort of.”

“You still cold, sweets?” Kate asked as she approached with one of the orderlies, and gave Lee a peck on the check.

“Not anymore,” he said grinning at her, rather lustily, or so I thought. But then, it could have been the sun’s reflection in his eyes.

“Don’t be silly,” she giggled and dug around in her purse, “ah, here it is,” she lifted out the knitted beanie and put in on his head. “You know they want you to keep your poor little bald head warm.”

“Just like a baby.”

“I knitted this myself, so you’d better like it. Lee, I really have to ask you to reconsider Dr. White’s proposal again. Why the hell not do it? I’d be interested. A lot of people would be. And it might even do some good. For me? Hum? Pretty please? You don’t have to do it now…I know it would take wild horses to keep you away from your precious boat when she’s about ready to sail away, but maybe sometime in the future?”

“Has Dr. White been bothering you again?” Chip asked Lee, but  scowling at Kate.

“A little. I’m afraid I was just as impolite as I was last time,” he added sheepishly.

“You certainly were,” Kate said.

“Ah, here’s the taxi,” Mrs. Crane said and  hopped in, escaping the  confrontation.

“Lee, sweets,” Kate was saying, “are you sure that invitation to visit NIMR still stands? I’m afraid I may be persona non grata with your Executive Officer.”

“It’s nothing personal. He’s just trying to protect me fr…” he stopped himself.

“From nagging females, right?”

“I wish you could go with us to Boston…”Lee sighed without answering the question we all knew the answer to.

“Me too, but I’m a working girl, remember. It takes time to arrange things properly.”

“You’re free to go, Mister Nelson,” the orderly initialed his clipboard and ‘helped’ Lee out of the wheelchair. I was pleased to see that while Mrs. Crane had heard, she hadn’t even winced.

“That’s ‘Captain’ to you, and the name’s Nelson-Crane,” Kate corrected, and grabbed the paperwork. “See, right here. For a moment I thought you had somebody else’s release form. In future you might want to use your patient’s complete name and title. In fact, I should lodge a complaint.”

“Kate,” Lee warned. “It’s okay. I don’t mind and…”

“Well, I do! You’re the captain of the Seaview and  deserve some respect!”

“He wasn’t being disrespectful, just friendly, right buddy?”

“Er, yeah, that’s right, sir,” the orderly replied, relieved.”

“Please thank everyone for taking such good care of me.”

“You bet! Cheerio,” he said and began to walk the wheelchair back to the entrance.

“What’d gotten into you?” Lee hissed as he grabbed Kate’s arm, “you’ve been a bit rude to everyone lately.”

“I..I don’t know sweets. I’m sorry. I guess…I’m just upset about you leaving. I miss you already.”

“Me too,” Lee embraced her and they smooched. It didn’t matter to them that staff and patients arriving and departing were shaking their heads in disgust. One such nurse said, loudly enough for all of us now waiting in the cab, it’s windows open, to hear,  “Cheech, she’s old enough to be his mother.”

“Hey,” the driver called out, “you gonna’ be all day?”

“Sorry,” Lee said, finally tearing himself away from Kate. “I’ll be in touch soon…”

“Love you,” she said.

“Love you more,” he replied and got in the cab.

Did I dare tell him that as we drove away I saw from the side rear view mirror that Dr. White had approached her and he’d put his arms around her waist? It may have been nothing. Perhaps just a supportive gesture. After all he’d probably talked her into speaking to Lee about his proposal.

But I knew better when I saw him run his hand through her hair.

I was in a quandary. Did I have the right to tell Lee that Dr. White was making advances to Lee’s girl? And that she hadn’t seemed to object? Were they having a fling? Even a platonic one? Platonic or not, could a clandestine  White/Peabody relationship have accounted for the limited visits Kate had made to Lee?

Oh, Harriman, get a hold of yourself, I told myself. It may have been nothing. Maybe White had simply been brushing away a mosquito or butterfly or something. There were quite a few of those insects around here.

But my gut told me otherwise.

For now, though, I had to put any decision on hold as we reached the dock, and boarded the Flying Sub. Soon we were aloft, taking Mrs. Crane and  Seaview’s Skipper home.