Chapter 133
IT WAS JENKINS WHO, at the last minute, suggested inviting the officers’ wives to Media Day. The thought was that we would act as hosts, help humanize our husbands, and generally keep things on an even keel.
Laura was not excited about this assignment, which was unusual for her.
But she was five or six months pregnant and had recently learned that Bobby’s detachment date was to be pushed back on account of her due date.
I guess she needed a doctor’s note for the transatlantic flight, and Callaway wouldn’t give it to her, which left her with no other option than to wait out the rest of her pregnancy in La Maddalena, deliver in Naples, and travel back to the U.S. as a family of three in late September.
We met up at the pier to ride the liberty boat over to the tender together, and on the short ride, she allowed herself to complain—something she hadn’t done much of in the early months of her pregnancy, when she didn’t want anything to jinx it.
“Everything is getting wider,” she said. “My feet, my ass, even my nose.”
“Your nose?” I said. “I don’t think that’s a thing.”
“It’s got to be,” she argued. “Doesn’t it look swollen to you?”
I studied her nose carefully, but it looked the same as always.
“Right here?” she said, pointing at the bridge.
We still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of it by the time we disembarked at Santo Stefano.
“Why do we have to do this again?” she asked as we made our way up the Gilmore’s gangway.
After we’d come aboard, a seaman led us down the weather deck passage to the main deck, where at least a dozen rows of folding chairs had been set up.
According to Paul, there had been talk of holding the conference in the wardroom, but when the registrations started rolling in, it became clear that they’d need every inch of space the main deck had to offer.
The Food Service Division had set up a long table under an overhang, but there was no food out yet, only iced tea and water. “They’re waiting until the last minute to bring everything out,” said Mary Lou as she greeted us with kisses on both cheeks. “Laura, you look ravishing.”
Laura beamed. “Thank you.”
“Eileen, you look very nice, too.”
I knew she didn’t mean it, but I had spent a little extra time putting myself together that morning.
I was wearing a cream-colored tent dress with balloon sleeves and a square neck, which I’d bought in town, and I’d even worn a little makeup—some mascara and blush, in addition to the Maybelline Kissing Potion lip gloss I liked.
I wouldn’t have admitted even to myself that I was doing this for Teo, so when Paul commented on the effort I’d gone to over breakfast that morning, I told him I wanted to make a good impression on Ambassador Volpe, and he had beamed at me in appreciation.
The press conference didn’t start until ten thirty, but all the wives had been instructed to be on the tender by half past nine. This gave us enough time to freshen up and to meet with the ambassador, as well as Vice Admiral Vaughan, who had arrived in La Maddalena the previous afternoon.
After we’d all said our how-do-you-dos, Mary Lou pulled us together for a quick pep talk. “I don’t have to tell you ladies how important today is. Just keep smiling, and please make sure you’re mingling.”
She dismissed us, but then she said, “Hang on, Eileen,” and I got a bad feeling. She wrapped an arm around my waist, then leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Let’s leave the questions to the experts today. Okay?”
Obviously, I was embarrassed, but I should have known she’d heard about what had happened at the conference last year. “I wasn’t going to say anything,” I said.
“Great,” she said. “Now we’re both on the same page.”
At a few minutes to ten, the invitees started to trickle in. When I saw Teo, it was all I could do not to rush the registration table. He was wearing a linen suit and a crisp white shirt, and his hair had gotten whipped around on the boat ride over.
I watched him sign in, then realized that Luca and Bruno were right behind him. He waited for them to get their name tags and folders, then the three of them moved in my direction.
“Eileen,” said Teo as we all kissed hello.
“You made it,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“This is a first,” said Bruno, gesturing at the rows of chairs.
“Have you ever been on the Gilmore before?” I asked.
“I’ve never been invited.”
“Well,” I said with a nervous laugh, “welcome.”
We talked a little about CNEN’s ongoing funding woes and whether the Nereide would be allowed to stay in La Maddalena, then Bruno and Luca were lured away by the melon balls and shrimp cocktail that the guys in Food Services had brought out.
“It’s been a while,” I said to Teo once we were alone.
He was squinting in the sunlight. “Too long.”
“You look nice,” I said, gesturing at the suit.
“It’s not every day I meet an ambassador.”
I bit my lip. “Yeah, me neither.”
“That dress suits you.”
I held out the skirt as if about to do a little curtsy. “You think?”
His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Yes, definitely.”
We fell silent, and I didn’t know what to say, aside from the thing that I’d been turning over in my head for more than a month. “Luca let slip that you’re not with Nina anymore?”
He smiled, like he was mildly encouraged by the question.
“Of course, you don’t have to tell me anything.”
“No, no. It’s okay,” he said quickly. “The thing with Nina, it just wasn’t…” He trailed off, and I swallowed, waiting. “It just wasn’t…”
He looked like he was at a total loss for words, so I finished the sentence for him. “Just wasn’t meant to be?”
“Right,” he said and shoved his hands in his pockets.
I started to ask about the job Nina had taken in Venice, but I was cut off by Daniel Bornemann, who was at the mic, asking everyone to take their seats. When I looked over at the lectern, Paul was standing next to him, staring at Teo and me.
“I guess we should sit,” I said, and Teo followed me toward the sea of folding chairs. I found a seat in the back row, and he moved to take the chair next to me.
“You should get a good seat,” I said, gesturing toward the front.
“I’d rather sit with you, if it’s okay.”
I glanced at Paul, but he was talking to Daniel. “Of course it’s okay,” I said, because what was I going to do?
Soon Luca and Bruno had joined us, taking the two chairs directly in front of ours. They started asking me about our move-out date, which had been scheduled for June 26, and about Giovanni’s house, which would soon be coming available.
“So you really are leaving?” Teo asked.
I gave him a sad smile. “I guess I always knew I was, but the whole thing sort of snuck up on me.”
Luca started making a list of everything he was going to have me send him from the United States.
Blue jeans and sneakers and a transistor radio.
Bruno asked why he didn’t have me go shopping for him at the Navy Exchange before I left, and Teo—maybe a little protective of me—reminded them it was against the rules.
It was easy banter, and I started to relax, but when Paul went to the mic and announced that the program would begin in a few minutes, I felt my whole body tense.