Home Goes The Warrior (33 page)

His mind was a thousand miles away as he ran. When he got home, he jumped in the shower and then grabbed a breakfast of coffee and donuts. He carefully made extra coffee and left lots of donuts for the women who were due to start working any minute now.

He had contracted for a cleaning service, “The Cleaning Maidens,” to come in today and work their magic on the house. He had been painting, repairing, and planting around the place for weeks and, as a result, it wasn’t the cleanest home he’d ever lived in. He knew he didn’t want Maggie to see this place in its present condition. So he’d asked his real estate agent for a recommendation for a service and then contacted them. They were due to start at eight o’clock this morning.

At 8 a.m. sharp, a van pulled up with four workers in it. He greeted them with, “I guess you’re the Cleaning Maidens?” The large lady who
was obviously in charge answered him with a chuckle, “Been a long time since any of this crew were ‘Maidens,’ but we’re here to clean your house, so you can call us whatever you want.”

They were all older women who knew their business. They divided into two-person teams and began a zone attack on Lee’s accumulated messes. At the same time, they appreciatively demolished his donut stash and proceeded to devour anything else he put out. He stayed with them, bringing in pizza for lunch, and made sure they had everything they needed to get the job done. It took them the entire day, but the house was immaculate before they left that evening.

That night he ate his dinner at Packy’s. He wasn’t about to cook anything and disturb the incredible cleanliness of that kitchen.

Randall called the group to order after dinner. Sheila silently cleared the dishes, listening carefully as the three men talked. When the table was cleared, she joined her adopted brothers as they talked with Papa.

“I am not as concerned as I was.” Papa was holding the floor. “I’ve seen many Navy people come and go. Now that I’ve met him, I must say that he doesn’t seem any different from the norm. I think he just got lucky when he stumbled onto the Skimmers. Who knows, he may not have even known anything if they hadn’t overreacted and sent those two out on Mustin Field to kill him. I saw absolutely no indication that he knows anything that’s going on around him. Even as I talked to him, he was just hurrying to get out to the ships so he could look important, like all of these Navy peacocks like to do.”

Fedya nodded in concurrence, but Toma wasn’t so confident. “I don’t know, Papa. I’d like to agree, but there’s something about this guy that scares me. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’m nervous about him.”

Papa turned to his remaining daughter then. “Shura, what are your thoughts? You’ve met him, haven’t you?”

“I have, Papa. I think Toma is overreacting on this one. He just seemed like another Navy guy to me. Maybe a little more humble and
willing to listen than most Navy officers, but not so much that it makes him any more of a danger to us than any of them. But I do agree with Toma on one thing. I do want him dead, and I do want it to be a slow, painful, death. He killed my sister!”

“In time, Shura. In time.” Papa’s voice was calm and reassuring. “We have to wait for now. We don’t know that he’s looking for anything past the Skimmers and their petty theft. Toma, has he been talking to the FBI people recently?”

“No Papa. The last call between them was when the FBI agent told him that he was closing the Skimmers’ case. I’m not sure if we can count on that call being the truth, but maybe it was. Maybe we’re in the clear. But I still don’t understand why they haven’t traced Marie back to us here. She was your adopted daughter. You’d think they would at least notify us officially of her death.”

“Maybe they haven’t had time to identify her yet. As far as I know, her body is still in London. She might have had time to get rid of her American passport and identification. If so, they may never trace her back to us.”

“Well, we need to watch for some kind of notification, and we need to be emotional if it comes.”

“Agreed, Toma. But for now, let’s carry on our mission as normal. Just because the Skimmers have been taken out of the picture, we aren’t necessarily in any more danger than we ever were. We were working this effort for over twenty years before the Skimmers came along. We’ll just continue doing our jobs. Agreed?”

“Agreed, Papa.”

Lee arrived at the airport over an hour early. He was as excited as he could ever remember being. At the same time, he was nervous. He had put a lot of money and work into the house, and Maggie hadn’t seen it yet. What if she hated it?

Damn. I’m like a teenager waiting to take my favorite cheerleader to the prom!
He had to laugh at himself at that thought. But it didn’t help.
He was still nervous. He thought about stopping for a drink but decided against it. He didn’t want to meet Maggie with booze on his breath.

Finally the wait was over. The winged behemoth nuzzled into its berth and began disgorging its human cargo. Lee was as close to the exit ramp as he could get. Person after person came out of the big doors, and still no Maggie. He became progressively more nervous and even began sweating. What if she’d changed her mind? What if her parents had thought this wasn’t right for her? Lee had met them briefly, but he had no idea if they approved of him and their only daughter. What if? What if? What if? His mind was racing a mile a minute, and still there was no sign of Maggie.

Then she was there! Tall, proud, smiling excitedly, she was there! It wasn’t until she ran over and threw her arms around him that his fears finally vanished. He was so excited that he tried to talk even as she was kissing him. “My God, I love you so much,” came out muffled and almost unintelligible. But her reply, “Me, too. Me, too,” was almost as bad. He suddenly realized that they were both trembling.

She finally pulled her head back so she could speak clearly. “I’ve been so afraid. When you told me about everything that’s happened, I was afraid I’d never see you again. Even on the plane, I worried that I’d get bad news when we landed. Thank God you were here. If you had been late, I probably would’ve had a heart attack right here in the gate area.”

“I know. I had all kind of thoughts and worries, too. But now you’re here. My life starts up again.” Then, “That sounded silly. But I really meant it. In my life, you’re everything.”

“Okay, big guy. Let’s get it under control now before we do something that might embarrass the kids in the waiting area and get us in trouble. Let’s go get my luggage.” He agreed and they headed, arm in arm, for the baggage claim area.

Soon they were in his car and headed for Wallingford. The first mile or so were on I-90, but then they turned off at Widener University, and from then on, she couldn’t stop remarking on the beauty of the countryside as it unfolded.

“I had no idea that the Philadelphia suburbs could be so pretty! We didn’t see any of this when we were here before. I guess I’ve always
thought that the entire countryside from New York to Washington, D.C. was solid pavement. To tell the truth, I was kind of dreading the thought of living here. But this is really nice out here!”

He didn’t say much, restricting his comments to pointing out a few highlights along the roadway. He was still terribly afraid of what she would think of the home he had picked out.

Finally he pulled onto Sykes Lane and headed for the house. She still seemed enchanted by the scenery. Then he stopped in the driveway of their home. His heart seemed like it was in his mouth and about to burst at the same time.

She just sat for a long moment, looking around. Then she asked, “Is that a pear tree in the front yard?”

“Yes. There’s apple trees and grape vines in the back.” But he was talking to an empty seat. She was out of the car, running around the yard like a schoolgirl. She went from tree to tree to bush and vine. He followed her, laughing. She stopped at the rose bushes he’d planted and looked back at him. “These are new. Did you plant them?”

“Yes.”

She ran back to him and kissed him. “I loved you before, but now I love you more. This is a little paradise. Our little paradise.” Then she was off again, making another tour of the yard before moving toward the house.

She stopped at the door, waiting for him. He opened it and reached for her to carry her through the doorway. She laughed and allowed it. But as soon as they were in the little foyer, she was back on her feet. She was too excited to stay motionless. She moved from the foyer to the living room and stood there, turning around to see everything. She looked at Lee. “I love it already, Lee. The arched doorways are fantastic! How did you know that I loved arches?”

Lee just shrugged. The truth was that he hadn’t even noticed them particularly. From the living room there were arches that went to the foyer, the dining room, the kitchen, and to a hallway that led to the master bedroom suite. Now that they had been pointed out, he had to admit that they did look good. “Got lucky there, I guess!”

He had painted the entire first floor and refinished the hardwood floors. So the paint smell hung heavy in the house. But it didn’t deter
Maggie. She made her way into the kitchen and looked around. “You’re right. We’ll have to do some work here, but the size is great, and I like the way it joins the dining room.”

Lee laughed. He had two folding chairs in the kitchen where normally a dinette set would be. “How do you like my furniture?”

“Oh we’ll take care of that, mister. Soon. Very soon.” With a merry laugh, she was off exploring again.

Next she walked into the master bedroom, where Lee had placed an innerspring and mattress on the floor. Another folding chair completed the bedroom furniture. At the sight of the bachelor bedroom suite, Maggie laughed until her sides hurt. She kissed him again and moved on to the bathroom. “This needs some help, also. We’ll get it fixed up soon.”

Next came the upstairs with its bedroom, bath, and family room. She was enchanted by the bedroom with its dormer windows. Then she started through the place again, checking everything, almost skipping as she moved from room to room. Lee went back to the car and brought the luggage in. Finally they met in the kitchen, where he had opened a bottle of white wine and taken out the two wine glasses that he’d bought yesterday. He poured, and they toasted their new home. As they sipped the wine, she asked, “Where did you ever relax here? There’s no furniture anywhere.”

“Come with me, my lady.” He took her hand and led her through to the screened-in back porch, the only room she had missed. “This is my relax place.”

He had purchased an outdoor furniture set, with two lounge chairs and two upright chairs as well as two little tables. The lounge chairs were positioned against the wall of the house, looking out onto the lawn and its apple trees, with a small table between them.

He didn’t get the reaction that he’d expected when she saw the porch and its furniture. She looked at it and suddenly burst into tears. He was astonished. He put his glass down and moved toward her, stunned. “What is it, Maggie? Whatever it is, I’ll fix it. Please, what is it? Did I do something wrong? If you don’t like it, we can fix it.” He wrapped his arms around her shaking body, still talking. “Please, sweetheart. What’s wrong?”

For several moments, which seemed like hours to Lee, she continued sobbing too hard to talk. Finally it slowed, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Lee. But it’s just too perfect. This beautifully serene back porch was just the final straw. This place, and you with it, are every dream that I’ve ever had. I absolutely love this place, and I absolutely love you. This is where I want to see my children grow up. This is where I want to grow old. With you at my side. That’s why I broke down. I finally saw my life was going to be a happy one. Is that too silly for you?”

In answer, he took her wine glass and put it down on the little table. Then he picked her up again. This time he didn’t put her down until he was beside the mattress in the middle of the bedroom floor. Their lovemaking was slow and sweet, everything that it should be since they had finally come home.

Later they sat on the porch, sipping their wine, watching the sun go down, and planning their future.