Day 16

“Damn!” I fumed then kicked the foot of my office desk in anger and frustration. Nothing was going well. My sour mood was at complete odds with the brilliant morning sunshine streaming through the picture window and the sound of birds chirping (I supposed anyway - NIMR isn’t 100% soundproofed, but it is constructed with some rather state of the art acoustic barriers).

“Admiral? You okay sir?” Sharkey shouted, rushing in along with the duty clerk from the outer office.

“I’m fine. Thank you Sharkey and er...”

“Connors sir,” the clerk said, but not at all offended that I didn’t remember his name. At least I hoped not.

“Ah yes, Connors. Sorry. I won’t forget again. Dismissed. Now, Francis, what brings you out on a Saturday, and this early in the morning?”

“Thought you might like some especially good cheddar cheese biscuits,” he grinned, holding up the paper bag . “There’s butter and honey packets too, the easy open kind. Another hour and the biscuits would all be gone. One of the new guys tends to ‘test’ his creations a bit too much. By the way, thanks for helping out with some of the interviews. I think the place will manage okay without Ski, Pat, and me when we can’t be there.”

“I wasn’t much help,” I smiled, as I looked for the stack of paper plates and plastic cutlery that Angie kept in the credenza, “Pretty  much just sat there while you asked the questions.”

“Still, I appreciate it sir. Um...you really are okay aren’t you, sir?”

“Ah, well, sorry about my little outburst,” I said as I split and buttered one of the still warm biscuits and drizzled some honey on it. “I just took my final.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry sir.”

“No, no, no,” I managed as I began to devour the biscuit’s deliciousness, “I passed but... 36 multiple choice questions, and I missed one! Got a score of 94 and...”

“But that’s pretty good isn’t it?”

“I wanted a 100. Anyway, the printer isn’t working either. Just when I needed to...”

“Excuse me sir,” Conroy’s voice came over the intercom. “Admiral Starke is here.”

“Harriman?” Jigg’s entered before I could reply, “I thought we...”

I swear the man stopped in his tracks and was positively drooling at the sight of the biscuits, and possibly at the little dribble of honey from the corner of my mouth.

“Help yourself,” I managed, accidentally spraying a few crumbs, “sorry.”

“Don’t mind if I do. I was hoping you might join me for a game of golf.”

“I’d like that, but...”

“It’s Saturday, Harriman. If it’s NIMR business that’s keeping you from a little relaxation, why not let your new partner take care of it. Even if he’s sleeping in after a hot date, you can still call him.”

“Lee’s here actually. In dry dock,” I crossed to the wall monitor and flipped a few switches, until the view settled on Seaview in her cradle, her racing stripes flashing on and off. “Lee’s testing out a few things.”

“Playing with his boat you mean,” he laughed.  “You know, Harriman, that new visible/invisible striping of yours has great potential for the armed forces.”

“Not to mention Hasbro.”

“Hasbro?” he asked, incredulous.

“Yes, Hasbro. The toy company. The one that made the EZ Bake, remember?”

“I know that!”

“Well,” I said a little apologetically for my sarcasm, “ I’ve, um, made a pretty lucrative deal with them. And, they offered me a dividend on top of the profits that I, well, just couldn’t resist.”

“You...gave your invention to a toy company?” he interrupted, “are you insane?”

“Calm down. The military has it too.”

“Oh,” he relaxed and buttered his biscuit. “These are good, Chief.”

“Thank you sir. Well I’d better be getting back to the diner.”

“Thanks again Francis,” I said, then thought of something which Sharkey picked up on right away.

“It’s okay, sir. Already took some down to the Skipper,” he grinned and left.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time here, Jiggs,” I mused, “Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy your company, but don’t you have anything better to do than hang around here all the time? Travel, rest on your laurels...”

“If I do any more resting on my more than substantial  laurels,” he patted his behind, “ I’ll go crazy. I’m bored, Harry. What else do I have to do but pester you now that I’m retired.”

“Well, while you’re here perhaps you can help me with something.”

“KP duty?” he looked at the paper plates and remaining crumbs.

“Actually, I’ll handle that. I can’t get the damn printer to work. I could wait for Angie to do it on Monday, but I’d kind of like to have  my Certificate of Completion now.”

“Ah, yes, it’s over now, that course. You know Harry, I read that last homework assignment of yours. You don’t think it helped? That it wasn’t, well, therapeutic?”

I think I glared at him.

“Brrrr, guess not,” he said as he checked out my computer. “I usually let Jackson take care of these pesky matters...let me see...well, everything seems in order here....er...wait...this might be something...Harry? You did turn the printer’s power button on, didn’t you?”

“Oh,” I winced as he clicked it on. In seconds it was making its normal little printer noises and in seconds it issued forth my long awaited certificate. The one I had  had every intention of waving in Jamie’s face. But now, well, I wasn’t so sure.  Perhaps forcing me to take the ‘Writing Your Life Story’ course hadn’t been such a bad idea. But I still don’t think it was all that ‘therapeutic.’ A moot point now, of course, now that Lee is alive and back in our lives.

“Excuse me, sir,” Connors knocked on the door frame, “but there’s a delivery here for you. Receiving doesn’t know where it goes, here or aboard Seaview.”

“Mighty big decision, Harry,” Jiggs said as he checked the box with me, “why not let Lee handle it,” he winked. “We can still make that  T  time I reserved.”

“You’re on,” I said, grateful for a way out of this one. “Connors, send for the Captain. He has an executive decision to make.”

In minutes both Jiggs and I fled.

“I’m sure you made the right decision, son,” I told Lee  in my cabin aboard Seaview several hours later. I’d returned to the boat when I learned that he, too, was there again. “It’s not like you to second guess yourself.”

“How many business partners do you know that have to decide whether or not to stow a new prototype  EZ Bake Deluxe Oven and enough product mixes for a year aboard a US Naval Reserve Submarine or in your office?”

“Well, at least Cookie’s feelings won’t be hurt. As for me, well, we can compare the outcomes between to two models before we sail again.”

“The letter also said that it will donate 50% of the  profits from the new EZ glow toys venture to various women’s and children’s charities and shelters as you requested. And that they’d match the funds you donate privately yourself.”

“Well, if my partner can spruce up old sailboats and donate his time and the boats to the same kinds of charities, it was only fair that I try to do something so noble too. ”

“Excuse me sir,” Riley knocked on the door, “Connors wanted to know if you wanted this framed.”

“Er, I’ll let you know,” I said, a little embarrassed as I took the document, and dismissed the boy.

Lee extended his hand and raised his eyebrow.

“It’s not really anything that important...”I handed it over. “Not compared to any of these,” I indicated the framed awards on the bulkhead, including one of my Nobel Prize’s.

“Education To Go,” Lee began to read as he sat on the edge of my desk, “Instructor Facilitated Online Learning. Certificate  of Completion’, to certify that Harriman Nelson has successfully completed the course entitled ‘Write Your Life Story’.”

Then he smiled at me. One  of those smiles that should be patented. The kind you remember for the rest of your life.

“Congratulations, Harry. I know how hard this class was at times. I know how hard everything was...”

But before he could start to brood about things, he called Riley back and told him that my latest certificate was to be matted and framed. After Riley came and left with the certificate, Lee said, “You know, Agent Catfish said your entire life has been a bit like a wild roller coaster ride.“

“With sprinklings of cotton candy thrown in for good measure,” I added, laughing. “Someday somebody needs to have a long talk with her.”

“Will you be keeping your journal now that class is over? It might...be helpful at times. When   you need to talk to somebody, if only yourself.”

“I doubt it,” I sighed. “With things returning to normal, I’m not sure I’d have the time or inclination. But then,” I shrugged my shoulders, “who knows.”

It’s late afternoon now, and I’ll be joining Lee at Sharkey’s for the Corned Beef and Rye special in a few minutes. One of the last times we’ll have to indulge before Seaview is deemed fully functional and ready to sail.

I was glad of a few moments alone to study my cabin’s bulkhead, cluttered with all the awards which have punctuated my life over the years. But one of them, newly framed, I’ll regard with more esteem  than the others, even my Nobel Prize. A simple looking document, printed without embossing or golden seals. A small part of my life story’s roller coaster ride completed and displayed for all to see. With a little cotton candy sprinkled in.

And so  I come to the end of my journal begun for the ‘Write Your Life Story’ course. But instead of saying ‘The End’, perhaps I’ll keep my options open.

Perhaps I’ll take pen to it again. On a  regular basis, once in a while, or perhaps even never again. Only time and that damn roller coaster will tell.

Harriman Horatio Nelson