Chapter Nine
Cliff suppressed a gasp, and it took all his willpower to keep his expression as neutral as possible. He was proud as hell of Dade. It took someone strong to say what he had.
It was Dade’s mother who gasped. “How can you say that about your father? He’s served his country well. His men all love him, and….” She opened her purse and pulled out a tissue to dab her eyes.
“I know. But none of that gives him the right to run my life. Why can’t he understand that?” Dade got up and coughed to clear his throat. Cliff was worried that all of this was making Dade feel worse and using up what energy he had. “Why can’t he just leave me alone?”
She dabbed her eyes. “Is that what you really want?”
“Yes. I just want a relationship with him, one where we are on equal footing. See, he’s my father—he’s not my general, and I’m not one of his men that he can boss around.”
“He doesn’t think that,” she said, and Cliff shook his head, which drew her attention. “You seem to have an opinion, major.”
“I’m Cliff, ma’am, because that’s how Dade thinks of me.”
She nodded slowly. “Gretchen,” she said softly.
“Gretchen,” he began gently. “I’ve known Dade for a few weeks.
And yes, we met when I saw smoke pouring from his building, and someone told me he was still in his apartment.
I was just doing my duty then. But seeing Dade and talking to him, it’s so much more than that now.
” He leaned forward, still holding Dade’s hand.
“He didn’t want to go out to dinner with me because he didn’t want to get involved with someone in the army.
” He smiled. “I had to wear him down with my charm.”
Dade scoffed and rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything more.
“I’ve seen your husband try to bully him and force him to take a job he didn’t want.
I don’t know why he thought that Dade would want to move, or teach there, but he was convinced he knew best. And Dade held his ground.
He knows what he wants, and he loves what he does.
” Her eyes widened, and she seemed truly surprised. “Ask him about his students.”
“What?” she said, as though the thought never occurred to her.
“Tell your mom about your day yesterday and what the kids did,” Cliff said to Dade, who, as he expected, lit up when he talked about his class and the kids’ art projects and Halloween stories. He got his bag, and Dade read of few of them with a smile bright enough to light up the dreary day.
“I love my kids, Mom. They’re wonderful,” Dade told her.
“And I love the fact that I get to watch them learn and grow. It’s the most amazing thing.
And it’s true, I put up a bunch of roadblocks before I’d go out with Cliff after I took him to dinner as a thank-you.
” Dade chuckled. “And Cliff is charming, but he’s warm, and he listens to me too. ”
For the first time, Gretchen smiled. “Wow. I never knew.” She sniffed and then put away her tissue. “All I ever wanted was for both of my kids to be happy. And I know your father feels the same way.”
“But he’s the one making me unhappy.” Dade sat back on the sofa and pulled up the blanket. “So, how are you, otherwise?”
A slight smile graced her lips. “I’m working with the arts organization downtown. They have asked me to be on their board, and I’m thrilled. I painted for years when you were kids—whenever I had some time. But I haven’t done anything like that in a long time. So, I’m getting back into it.”
“I think that’s wonderful.” Dade half closed his eyes. “I remember when I was a kid and we were living in the south somewhere….”
“Outside Fort Bragg?”
“Yeah. That was it. I remember all kind of birds and stuff painted on my bedroom walls.” He sighed.
“I painted them.”
“And I cried when I had to leave them behind. They were my birds….”
Gretchen sniffed. “You asked me if we could take them with us. You said we just needed to have the men take the walls and move them and then they could put in new ones.”
“I can see you doing that,” Cliff said.
“It was hard. But I think the most difficult thing was being told I had to move. I was a kid, I know that, but it felt like I never had a choice. All I want is the ability to make the decisions about my life, myself.”
Gretchen nodded. “I’ll talk to your father.”
“Thank you,” Dade said, and leaned back on the sofa. He pulled up his legs and cocooned himself in the blanket. It wasn’t long before his breathing evened out. After a few minutes, Dade snapped awake. “Sorry.”
“Go rest a while,” Gretchen said. “You need to rest to feel better.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He yawned broadly and got up, heading to his bedroom.
“I should go. I need to talk to Thomas.” She stood, and Cliff saw her to the door. “Watch over him. He always works himself as far as he can.”
“I will,” Cliff promised, and then closed the door behind her. Once the apartment was quiet, he checked on Dade, who rolled over as soon as he came in. “Just relax and rest. I’ll get you up before the trick-or-treaters.” He leaned over the bed and kissed him on the forehead.
“Trick or treat!” a child in a witch costume said as she approached where he and Dade sat on the lawn out front with the other tenants. He put candy in her plush squishy container. “Thank you,” she cried as she hurried away to her waiting parents.
“I love this. The kids are always too cute.” He was still in the blanket, but his eyes were brighter and he seemed much more rested. More kids arrived, and they said hello to Dade before getting their candy.
“Thank you, Mr. Saracina,” one called as he hurried away.
“I’ll never get used to that. I always expect my father to be around when I hear it.” He handed out some candy to the next group and then sat back as things got quiet for a few minutes.
“Speaking of…?”
Dade shrugged. “Mom messaged that she talked to him, and she said he seemed to understand. But she also added that sometimes she has no idea what goes on in ‘that man’s head.’” He made air quotes as more kids approached.
“I usually dress up and stuff to do this, but I just don’t feel like it today. ”
“Hey, you’re up and feeling better. That’s what matters.” Cliff set the candy bowl on the small table next to his chair. “I was a little worried.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just rest and feel better. And enjoy the trick-or-treaters.” Once this was over, he intended to get Dade inside with some hot tea and maybe some cuddling on the sofa.
“I’m already better.” Dade smiled, and his phone dinged. He picked it up and growled. Then he passed the phone to Cliff.
“What’s this all about?” Cliff asked as he read the I’m livid with your father message from Gretchen. “What is she angry about?”
Dade took back the phone and began texting. His phone dinged again. As Dade texted, Cliff received a message from his colonel requesting a call. He passed out some more candy, then handed the bowl to Dade and went inside.
“What can I do for you, sir?”
His words were met with throat-clearing. “You know you could have come to me.”
Cliff felt a chill up his spine. “About what, sir?”
“A transfer request?”
“Excuse me? Whose?” he retorted. This was so confusing.
“Yours.”
Cliff gaped. “Sir, I never initiated such a request. I am very happy where I am, and I like what I’m doing. You have been good to work with, and I have no complaints, so why would I do such a thing?”
“I received a call from a former colleague who told me that the transfer request for my XO was being processed. It seemed strange to him.”
“I didn’t request it, but I think I know who did. Is it possible to have the request canceled?” Cliff asked. “This is not my doing, sir. But I think I know who is behind it.” He let the words hang in the air.
“Gotcha. Let me make a call.” He hung up, and Cliff went back outside, in a bit of a trance.
“What is it?” Dade asked. “All mom says is that Father has done something, and she’s pissed, but I don’t think she knows exactly what it is.”
“My message was to call my colonel, and he asked why I had put through a transfer request.” Now everything was becoming clearer. “He got the heads-up from a friend of his at the Pentagon. Apparently, he’s one of the people who processes such things.”
“I’ll kill him,” Dade hissed as kids approached.
He pasted on a smile and gave them candy before snatching up his phone.
“I’m messaging my mother. But I was afraid of something like this.
My father hates to lose more than anything else.
” His phone clicked as he texted. Then Dade made a call.
“You…,” he began. “I know you’re behind this, so you either find a way to kill this thing right here and now, or so help me, I will never speak to you again.
You will be dead to me, and all your friends are going to get notes about what you did.
All of them. Do you understand?” He punched at the phone in anger, probably to hang up, and it dropped to the ground.
“So help me God….” Dade picked up his phone again and went inside.
Cliff lifted the bowl to deal with the kids. Suddenly, he wasn’t in the spooky holiday spirit. Still, he handed out the candy, and Dade came back out.
“I mean it. You fix this or you will be the one to pay.” He ended the call again and sat down.
“That old goat. He used his influence with one of his cronies to put in a transfer, but they made it look like it had come from you. What an idiot.” He set his phone aside.
“Mom is angry enough to spit quarters, and she isn’t going to let up on him. ”
Cliff took care of some additional kids with the cutest bee costumes, but he barely paid attention. Finally, his phone rang, and he snatched it up. “Yes, sir….”
“My friend was able to stop it, flagging it as an error. We’re going to need to deal with it on Monday, and I have asked for copies of the paperwork to be sent to me so I can help investigate.” He sounded as angry as Cliff felt.