by Pace, Pepper
“And they have the red sole?”
“Of course.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I look in your closet?”
Ashleigh grinned. “Yes. You give me time to get reacquainted with my sweetie than we’ll have an all-girls night out…well one of the girls has a penis but-“ She waved her hands at that.
Alma just chuckled.
When Ashleigh got home that night she called Lance and Kendra on 3-way and retracted every negative word that she’d ever said about Alma.
“Oh and don’t expect me in tomorrow. I’m going to stay home and wait for my baby to get here.”
“Thank god this two months is over.” Kendra said. “I didn’t think I’d survive your moping.”
She shrugged. “Sorry if my despair annoyed you.” She grinned suddenly. “Yep, gonna be busy tomorrow, and tomorrow night and the morning after-”
“TMI!” Lance said.
CHAPTER 9
Ashleigh kept watching the clock. She’d dressed in a new outfit knowing that it was ridiculous. Christopher didn’t care about stuff like that. But she just wanted to look good for him. She’d gotten waxed on Friday, and her hair and nails done at the earliest possible appointment Monday morning.
She kept her eye on her cell phone hoping that he wouldn’t call while she was under the dryer. She dashed back to his house and Maggie jumped down from the back of the couch to beg for a rubbing. She squatted down and rubbed the feline from the top of her head to the tip of her toes.
“Won’t be much longer and you can get your rub down from your Daddy.”
At three o’clock Ashleigh had kicked out of her shoes and was pacing anxiously. She called his cell phone and got the same message she always got; The number you have dialed is no longer in service…She knew that for security purposes he had to give up the government issued blackberry but still she tried anyways.
At five o’clock Mrs. Jameson called.
“Is he home?”
“No Ma’am.” Ashleigh’s brow was creased. “Does he sometime get home this late?”
“Well…not normally but maybe because he’s on a different mission…”
Ashleigh felt her throat getting tight. It was a repeat of how she’d felt being trapped in the elevators all of those long months ago. She felt suddenly sick.
“I’ll call you when I hear something.” She said distantly.
“I’ll do the same.” They said their goodbyes and Ashleigh rushed to the bathroom and threw up.
That night Ashleigh lay in Christopher’s big bed staring at the ceiling. It was almost one am. Christopher hadn’t come home and he hadn’t called.
~***~
Ashleigh prepared for work with a purpose the next morning. She didn’t bother with her morning smoothie and didn’t dress for her normal work-out or pack a bag containing her change of clothing. She drove to work and once she had entered the doors she flashed her access badge which allowed her to bypass being scanned.
“I need to speak to someone with The Department of Homeland Security.” It was still too early for the average person to show up as it was barely seven am. The only people in the lobby manning the doors were security people. The security guards looked unsure but Ashleigh noted that one man stepped forward. He was dressed in a nice dark suit and seemed in his late forties or early fifties.
“Yes Ma’am? Is there a problem?”
“You’re with Homeland Security?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“I need to speak to Commander Bruce Koepke.”
The man’s brow went up slightly, almost suspiciously. “Follow me, please. He led her to a secured room. It was set up like a doctor’s office with a receptionist area enclosed behind glass--but no receptionist. He offered her a seat.
“Your name, please?” Ashleigh gave her name and he politely told her that he would be just a few moments.
A few moments turned into ten but she was patient because as soon as she spoke to Christopher’s commander she would know if he was okay.
The man returned to the room. “Miss Dalton, you were involved in an incident in the subbasement gym?” Ashleigh’s brow gathered again but before she could answer he answered for her. “It wasn’t really a question. There is an incident report. You collapsed during a workout. You were taken to the nurse’s station and then released to two of your co-workers. Is that correct?”
“Well, yes, but I wasn’t here due to that incident. You see I’m dating one of the Commander’s men. His name is Lt. Christopher Jameson. They went out on a mission and were due back yesterday but he didn’t come back. I’m worried and I needed someone to tell me if…if there’s been a problem.”
The man watched her a while longer before answering. “I’ll see what I can find out for you Miss Dalton. Is there a number where I can reach you?”
She felt as if she was being given the heave-ho. Reluctantly she gave him her cell number. “You’ll call me the moment you find out something?”
“Yes. I promise you’ll be contacted by an ombudsman as soon as possible.”
“Om…what?”
“Ombudsman. A military intermediary. They will work with you until we get this resolved.” He led her out of the room and handed her a card that had his name and number on it. Well that was something. She accepted it feeling marginally better.
The rest of the day was horrible. Luckily for her their management team was in another state. Kendra and Lance picked up the work that she left lacking and didn’t even think twice about it. Ashleigh just couldn’t keep her head together. On top of everything else, her stomach felt like a big empty cavern.
She’d been so good with her diet, eating only the healthiest foods. Not since that first three weeks had she allowed one bit of junk food cross her lips. After a few moments of debate she finally just jumped up and went to the vending machine where she got two bags of chips, a candy bar and a bottle of soda. She ate the junk food and then quickly hurried down to the first floor bathrooms where she purged.
She called Mrs. Jameson that night when she got home, frantic for some information. She told her about the ombudsman. She could tell that Christopher’s mother was trying to hold it together…or maybe she was trying to be optimistic for her benefit. She thanked her for the information and told her to stay in contact; to call her even if she just wanted to talk.
Ashleigh resisted the urge to talk to her own family. She wished that she had the type of relationship with them where she could turn to her mother for comfort, or chit chat with her sisters. Oh, she had tried it but quickly conversations about things that caused her anguish were just pushed aside as her sister’s turned the conversation around to something more interesting to them; like themselves.
Her parents knew that she was no longer dating DeAngelo and the only thing her mother cared about was how good looking he had been and how it was such a pity that they were no longer together. It was no wonder that she had never talked to them about Christopher. She couldn’t bear the negative energy that she knew the revelation would bring. It wasn’t out of shame, she just knew her family. Besides, now was not the time to tackle those issues. For now she would just have to agonize without their support.
Lance and Kendra called but understood when she explained that she didn’t want company. They each told her that they loved her and after she hung up she finished the entire pizza that she had ordered. She intended to purge but didn’t have to. Her system, unaccustomed to the deluge of junk food made her sick on it’s on.
Afterwards Ashleigh climbed on the treadmill. She stared forward, not seeing the mounted television or the wall, only picturing the man that she had grown to love so much. She began to run and to think about Christopher.
As soon as the alarm clock sounded on Wednesday morning, the first thing she did was to check her cell phone for messages. Nothing. She buried her head into her hands knowing that at some point soon an officer would go to Mrs. Jameson’s house and inform
her that her son had died in the line of duty. They would give her a letter signed by the President of the United States and then at his military funeral they would offer her a folded American flag…
Ashleigh staggered out of the bedroom and threw open the refrigerator. She found a jar of jam and ate it with her fingers, and then she saw a block of aged cheddar and she stuffed her mouth with it. She barely recognized the tears on her cheeks as she threw open the pantry searching for food to eat; crackers, NESTLE’S milk chocolate powder, a can of black olives, pickle relish…
After she purged she lay on the bathroom floor. The ache that had developed in her head began to recede. Maggie meowed loudly and nestled against her panting body.
~***~
The next morning was Thursday and Ashleigh dressed for her workout and then headed for the gym that felt so much like her and Christopher. Ashleigh slipped Pink Floyd’s The Darkside of the Moon into the boombox and then she climbed onto the treadmill and began to run.
Christopher’s crooked smile. Christopher’s smoky gray eyes. Christopher’s muscles and the way they moved beneath his skin. Christopher’s big, calloused hands and the way they moved gently over her body…
This is what she pictured as her feet went pounding away on the treadmill; pounding as if she was running into his arms.
The music abruptly stopped and it was like cold water had been thrown on her. She stumbled as her pace changed and then she pulled the safety line to stop the treadmill’s movement. She turned expectantly, hopefully only to see the grinning face of the man from the other day.
“Hi. Tom Kardel. So sorry to interrupt you.” He said in an almost mocking tone. “But again…you seemed very focused.” Ashleigh knew that she must have had a ridiculous look of confusion on her face as she tried to understand why this man was even talking to her. He could not possibly be trying to pick up on her while she was in the middle of run!
“It occurred to me that I’ve introduced myself to you, but you didn’t introduce yourself to me.”
Ashleigh stared at him coldly. He came forward and held out his hand. His eyes held a certain look…there was something there that wasn’t quite nice.
“I don’t see any reason why I should stop my workout to meet someone. I’m not here for that. I’m here to exercise.” She moved past his hand to the boombox and pressed play again. Tom Kardel stepped right into her path when she moved back to the treadmill and Ashleigh remembered something that knowing Christopher had caused her to forget. This was a subbasement.
She was alone in a room with a man she didn’t know…the operative word being MAN, and not all men were nice like Christopher Jameson…all she had to do was look at the scar on her friend’s forehead to know that.
“Mr. Kardel,” Ashleigh said in a tight voice that defied her anxiety, “let me make this clear; I don’t want to introduce myself to you and I don’t want to talk to you and I would appreciate if you wouldn’t turn off my music-”
“See,” He flexed his swollen muscles and the not-so-pleasant smile disappeared. “Its women like you that make men like me jump through hoops.”
Ashleigh decided her workout was over. She turned to leave, deciding that she would leave her towel and the music—Tom Kardel moved swiftly to block her exit, standing once more, directly in her path.
“I thought that story you mentioned about The Marines stationed down here was pretty funny. Egg on my face. Then I realized that it was just another way that a bitch will try to make you feel foolish.”
Ashleigh figured she could move fast enough to grab one of the free weights. He would catch her, but if she was lucky she would get her hand on the weight and swing it at his head. It was the only way she would get out of this.
But before Tom Kardel could give in to his desire to lash out at the pretty girl that had rejected him like so many before her, and before Ashleigh actually turned to make a run for the weights where his steroid-induced rage would come to life, the door swung opened slamming against the far wall with a crash.
Ashleigh’s heart leaped in her chest and Tom Kardel spun in surprise. If this was a John Hughes movie than a Psychedelic Furs tune would begin playing and Christopher would be standing in the doorway with a dark angry scowl on his face.
But this was not a John Hughes film, and Christopher did not appear in the doorway…but it was the next best thing; sixteen Marines crowded into the room wearing their meanest expressions and fatigues that stretched across toned bodies.
“Are you harassing this woman?” Spoke a black man wearing sunglasses even though it was barely seven am.
“I-no. I was just—”
Tom Kardel turned to Ashleigh as if she would corroborate his story but she just moved away from him.
A Hispanic man took a step forward. “You need to leave, buddy.” He was nearly as tall as Christopher and just as cut. He cracked his knuckles and it sounded like twigs breaking “And never come back.”
Tom Kardel moved past the bodies of the military men. They did nothing to move out of his way, forcing him to go around them as if he was walking through a maze. Two of the men followed him and the others focused on Ashleigh. The angry expressions immediately changed to looks of concern.
“Are you okay, little trooper?”
“Uh…yes.” Little trooper? “Where is Christopher?”
They all looked around. “We thought you knew.” The guy wearing the sunglasses said.
Her breath froze in her chest and tears welled up in her eyes. “Knew what? Is he okay?”
A different man scowled. “Dude, you’re scaring her!”
“I’m not trying to!” The black man said looking suddenly horrified. “We thought you knew where he was.”
“We were going to come down to ask you and then we saw that ass…um the man harassing you.”
“He switched missions-” Someone said.
“Yes! He switched missions.” Ashleigh was nodding her head frantically. “The Commander...he knows where Christopher is-”
“Nobody switches missions!” The black man spat. “You risk everyone. You risk yourself!”
“TK, shut up.” The big tall man said. “The Commander took Beast’s place. You don’t switch missions, Ma’am, because it leaves your team short and it means that your new team will have to learn a new team member.”
“Beast risked us all-” The Hispanic man responded angrily.
“Yeah but if he got a bad feeling…then he did the right thing.” The men all got thoughtful looks on their faces.
“I need to talk to the Commander.” Ashleigh said.
Everyone suddenly avoided her eyes. Finally TK spoke. “Chief Warrant Officer Bruce Koepke was hurt in the line of duty.” Ashleigh’s hands moved to her lips.
“Oh my god…Is he…?”
“He’s going to live but he’s in intensive care. The thing is-”
“Don’t tell her!”
“I gotta tell her now, idiot!” She was overwhelmed and their bickering was making her a nervous wreck.
“What?! Tell me!”
The man with the sunglasses placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “Maybe it was a good thing that he did change his mission because what happened to the Commander would have happened to Beast. It was just dumb fate and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the Commander was doing what Beast would have normally been doing-”
“We might not know where Christopher is but he sure as hell ain’t lying up in an ICU ward.” Someone spoke bitterly.
“Don’t worry little trooper. We’re going to find him.”
Ashleigh was trembling but was so much more relieved. Now she had people working on it from the inside….even though some of them looked like they wanted to find him for a different reason then she did.
It was Thursday and Christopher was missing for four days now.
~***~
Two of The Marines stood outside of the lockers as Ashleigh got dressed, just in case Tom Kardel should return. She hadn’t as
ked them to do it but was very happy because that man had been totally unhinged. Ashleigh saw that she had a messaged from the guard from The Homeland Security Office and she got dressed and quickly thanked the men standing guard for her. She went upstairs to the lobby and knocked anxiously on the door to the security office there. She got the official notification.
Christopher Henry Jameson was officially missing.
Ashleigh sat down in a chair and shook like a leaf until the kind man explained that it wasn’t the same as being missing in action. The reason Christopher was missing is because he was taken off all active duty rosters. In layman terms; Christopher wasn’t on a mission. Then she remembered his long sent message. It said something about him not being active…
