Undying Love: Christmas Novella (Black Swan)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

December 22

Jeff Arwood pulled into the visitor parking space at the front of his rural Kansas elementary school. The squat, one-story building was built in the nineteen seventies, decades before he was born. He’d considered the building ancient when he went there. As an adult, who at twenty-six years old could easily have children attending that school, he thought it looked in pretty good shape from the front seat of his rental car.

He flipped down the visor and flicked up the cover over the tiny mirror to inspect what he could see of his uniform one more time. He knew it was perfect. He’d put on his SEAL dress uniform hundreds of times. He could do it in his sleep.

While he was a midshipman at the Naval Academy, he was positive he had dressed in his required uniform in his sleep for an early class, walked all the way to the classroom while still dozing, and may have sat through the entire class without ever waking up.

One last glance in the mirror assured him he was perfect. He stared for a moment into hazel eyes that today looked more brown. His mother’s eyes. He was there because of her. She’d requested he do this, and he’d do anything for her because throughout his life she’d done everything for him.

He opened the driver’s side door and was immediately blasted by December’s chilled air. Striding into the school with confident steps, even though he was wearing leather-soled dress shoes spit polished to the point where he could see his ugly mug in the shine on his toes, he held on tight to his hat. Thankfully Ralph, the janitor who had been there since he’d attended that school, had shoveled the sidewalk early that morning and sprinkled enough rock salt to melt away all the ice. Mother Nature was already spitting snow to the point that his pristine walkway would be covered with at least a light dusting by time the last school bell rang for the final time that year.

At the door, he pressed the red bell as he stomped the snowflakes off his shiny black shoes.

“Identify yourself and your purpose.”

Jeff smiled at the familiar voice. “Good afternoon, Miss Beatrice. This is Jeff Arwood. I’m here?—”

“Oh, Jeff. We are so excited that you’ve agreed to come and speak with our children.”

The loud buzzer rang, and he heard the locking mechanism on the door slide open. After stepping through the double doors, he hesitated in the lobby and took a deep breath. No matter how old you were, entering the principal’s office, where you may have been forced to visit more than once as a young and challenging student, was always cause for pause. Entering that door made him feel as though he’d done something wrong. As if he was there to be scolded, maybe even punished. Would today be any different?

But of course, it was. He brushed a few flakes off the navy blue uniform before opening the door to the office. Smile on his face, he strode to the counter that had seemed so tall to him as a child attending school there. Today, it seemed almost short, waist high.

“Miss Beatrice, it’s such a pleasure to see you again.” He welcomed the woman who had maintained the outer desk to the principal’s office for at least three decades.

“Oh, my gosh. Look at you! You just know how proud we are of you. You just stand right there while I take your picture and print you out a visitor’s badge. I know you’re not supposed to wear anything on your uniform but it’s the rule.” Within a minute she handed him a grainy black and white picture of himself with his name…and rank. At the latter, he smiled. Lieutenant J.G. Jeff Arwood USN.

“Thank you, ma’am.” He nodded toward the principal’s door. “Does Mom have someone in with her?” It felt weird having his mother’s name stenciled on the frosted glass door.

The woman in her early sixties nodded. “This close to Christmas break always brings out bad behavior in some.”

The door labeled “principal” opened and two little boys stepped out with contrition written all over their small faces and body language screaming how sorry they were. “Go straight to your classrooms. We’ll soon be calling you down to the gymnasium for the assembly.”

Both boys turned and looked up at Jeff’s mother. “Yes, Mrs. Arwood.” When they spun around they stutter-stepped. He watched their little faces as they stared at his shiny shoes and slowly tilted their heads backward until their eyes met his.

“You…”

“You’re here.”

Jeff smiled down at them then kneeled, so he was at their eye level. “Hi there.” He held out his hand. “I’m Lieutenant Arwood.” He quickly shook their hands. “I’m going to head into the gym in a few minutes. You’d better get back to your classroom, but don’t run. I’ll be looking for you.”

“Yes, sir.” One of the boys gave him a mock salute and grabbed the hand of the other as they quick-stepped out of the office.

“Thanks for doing this at the last minute for me, honey,” his mother said with a hug. “These kids are bouncing off the walls with excitement. This will give the teachers a break this afternoon before they go back to their rooms for their Christmas snack.”

“I’m sure it’s Christmas vacation that has more to do with their rambunctiousness than my presentation today.” He grinned. “Nice of you to send them home on a bus with a sugar high.”

“For some of these children, it’s the only sweet they will get this Christmas.” Jeff understood the disappointed look on his mother’s face. He’d grown up in that area of Kansas where there were more beef cattle grown on most any farm in the area than registered voters in the district. If they didn’t grow the cattle themselves, they grew the corn or wheat that fed the nation. Farming was hard work, and it was the life most children in that elementary school had to look forward to.

“It’s essential that these children see—actually see, not just be told—that getting an education is important and for you to talk about the military as a viable option for their future.” His mother slung her arm around his back and started walking toward the gym.

“I know.” And Jeff did. His education had gotten him a congressional nomination to the Naval Academy. The Navy had been a wonderful life for him. He knew what he was going to talk about. He personally found the military exciting and shared that enthusiasm. He was only going to be home for a few days. Since he had duty on December twenty-sixth, he had to be back on base in Virginia Beach by Christmas Day.

Halfway across the office the door opened. Jeff smiled when a former classmate he’d known since they had both attended that exact elementary school walked in.

“Hi Jeff.” The pretty girl with soft auburn curls and girl-next-door face smiled at him.

“Hi Lizzie.” Her mother had been a schoolteacher at the same time Jeff’s mom taught in a classroom. “Did I hear that your mother retired?” He glanced at his mother beside him.

“Yes. She and my dad sold their house here in town to one of the new teachers and moved to Florida. They’re busier now than they ever were. They both play golf at least twice a week and bought a boat that they travel up and down the intercoastal waterway on. I’m headed there as soon as I finish work here. I need the vacation and to get away from cold winter weather.” She quickly ran her gaze over his entire body and back up to meet his eyes. “You home for the holidays?”

“Just a few days, I have to be back on base for duty on the twenty-sixth.” He cocked his head to the side. “What are you doing here?” He suddenly realized that he hadn’t kept up with any of his classmates since they graduated. He had no idea if she were there to visit one of her children. Since she’d just come in from the cold, white snowflakes dotting her dark purple parka, he surmised that she had not followed in her mother’s footsteps as a teacher.

She faced the counter and asked Miss Beatrice, “Can I get a visitors pass, please? One of my kids asked me to come to the assembly today. It’s the least I can do for JT since I’m about to rip apart his world.” She stood before the camera as though she’d done it dozens of times.

Ah. She had children. Jeff glanced at her left hand but saw no rings.

“What do you mean?” asked Jeff’s mother.

“This will be the last time he’ll see these kids. We were notified by the Cantrell family that they can no longer care for JT. I’ll be removing him from the home in the next day or two, as soon as the paperwork makes it through the system.”

“That really sucks, just before Christmas.” The secretary scowled as she handed Lizzie her visitors pass.

“Yes, but they had some personal and financial difficulties. Ever since Mr. Cantrell was hurt on the job, things have been rough for them.” Lizzie took the tag and clipped it to her collar.

“He’s so bullheaded. Our church brought them a basket of food just last week and he said no. Luckily Mrs. Cantrell had the grace to accept it.” Beatrice shook her head side to side. “Their pride is keeping them from taking the hand offered by several charities in the area. Our church wasn’t the only one.”

At the confusion on his face, his mother leaned over and whispered, “Lizzie is the social worker in our part of the county.”

“I’ll check out the house while I’m there picking up JT. I have a list of local social services available to them.” Lizzie glanced at Beatrice. “I’ll be sure to leave it with her.”

“You’re going to take their children away from them because he got hurt?” Jeff could hardly believe it.

“No. No. I’m just taking JT.” Lizzie shook her head at Jeff. “They were foster parents to him, and they can’t afford another mouth to feed. We all know the state doesn’t pay squat for fostering a child. It’s nowhere near enough to cover the cost to feed and clothe a growing boy.”

“It still sucks, especially just before Christmas.” Beatrice plopped down at her computer. “Do I withdraw him from school now? Or wait until we all come back after the first of the year?”

Lizzie’s eyes pleaded. “No. Please wait. Just in case by some miracle I’m able to leave him with the Cantrells.”

“Good. I’ll start a prayer chain for JT, and everyone involved.” The secretary picked up her personal cell phone and started texting.

“Want to walk with us to the assembly?” Jeff’s mother offered.

“Sure,” Lizzie said with a smile. “I’ll wait at the door and sit with JT.”

During the assembly Jeff hoped he encouraged at least one child to stay in school and complete his, or her, education. In an area where so many children dropped out of school before they graduated from high school, over thirty percent, he hoped somebody had listened to him. It was so essential to get an education. It didn’t matter whether it was trade school or college. He hoped he’d stressed the importance of the basics they received in elementary school. Everything built on the ability to read, write, and do arithmetic.

But in a community where the viability of a family depended upon the farm, so many children quit school to work on the farm. Children were much cheaper labor than paid farmhands. Understanding the reality that tending cattle and grain was their only future led many kids to escape into drugs. Every year at surprisingly earlier ages. Jeff had been shocked to hear the statistics of how many in their school district had run away to major cities such as Wichita.

He grinned as most of the children energetically left the gymnasium for their classrooms and a final treat before heading home for the holidays. Jeff was stunned when a thin young boy, probably around seven, made a beeline for him. Long straight dark hair fell into his murky brown eyes. His pants seemed a little too short and his flannel shirt was too big by at least two sizes. To Jeff’s shock, he wore a trident on his shirt. It had lost its shine years ago, probably from over-handling.

“Sir, my daddy was a SEAL. Like you.”

“Really?” Jeff’s gaze lifted to his mother who approached from the side. He was quite sure he was the only SEAL from this area, but maybe the kid’s parents had recently moved there. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would move to this economically depressed farming community in the middle of bum-fuck Kansas.

“Yes, sir. He died. He was a hero.”

Well, that explained some of it. “I’m sorry he died. If he was a SEAL, he was a hero.” Jeff stared at the worn trident on the slightly stained shirt. “Who was your daddy?”

The young boy straightened his back and proudly announced, “Tyler Malone.”

Shock hit Jeff in the gut. That was one name every SEAL new…especially officers. Tyler Malone was the lieutenant in charge when they lost an entire SEAL platoon. That case study had been bisected, dissected, interjected, and analyzed for years. Yet no one still knew what happened, only the fact that the team had been ambushed and every SEAL killed.

“You’re right.” Jeff kneeled to his level. “Your daddy was a hero. We studied your daddy, so I feel like I kind of know him.” Jeff had actually written a paper for his strategy class on that battle and analyzed every decision Tyler Malone had made.

“Justin Tyler, JT, you need to go back to your classroom now,” Jeff’s mother said to the little boy.

“No, ma’am, please, no. I need to talk to Lieutenant Jeff.” He waggled a dirty, worn envelope in his hand.

“Do you have a question for me, buddy? I’ll be happy to answer the question of a hero’s son.”

“In the SEALs, you’re like brothers, right, sir?” the little boy asked with all earnestness.

“Yes, we always watch each other’s back.” Jeff hoped that explained it.

“And you all know each other, right? Like you knew my daddy.”

“The SEALs are certainly a small community,” Jeff reaffirmed.

JT shoved the envelope into Jeff’s chest. “Here. This is a letter from my daddy.”

Jeff stared at the envelope as Lizzie walked up.

To My Brother SEAL was printed on the front.

“It says Brother SEAL, right? I know how to read. Aunt Nellie taught me to read before I went to kindergarten.” The child pointed to the writing on the envelope.

“Yes, that’s what it says.” Jeff nodded his head.

“And you are my daddy’s brother SEAL, right?”

“I didn’t personally know your dad, and I didn’t serve with him, but yes, we consider each other brothers.” Jeff stared at the large envelope in his hand. He wondered what the hell was in that envelope.

Lizzie kneeled next to Jeff. “JT, where did you get this?”

“It’s mine,” the boy cried out in pain. “It’s always been mine.”

“Now, JT, take a deep breath. Will you do that for me, please?” Lizzie’s voice held all the patience in the world.

JT sucked in a breath and blew it out.

“Would you please take another for me?” Lizzie asked.

He opened his mouth and sucked in a huge breath of air then let it all out at once.

“Perfect,” she said with a smile. “Now, tell me exactly where you got this envelope.”

He pointed to the worn white envelope in Jeff’s hand. “This was inside the big brown envelope that my daddy gave me, Miss Lizzie.”

“What else is in that envelope?” she inquired.

“I don’t know. A bunch of stuff I can’t read.” JT then smiled ear to ear. “There’s a picture of me and my dad and my mom. I’m just a baby. They’re both wearing uniforms. Navy uniforms.” He sniffed. “It’s the only picture I have of all three of us.” He wiped away the tears with sleeves that were too long for his arms and then added, “There’s a bunch more papers but I can’t read them. They have big words. But I can read some, and this says SEAL brother.” JT’s eyes were glistening as he moved his gaze to Jeff. “Can you open it and read it to me? Please?”