I walked into sickbay as I usually did. She changed my bandage and rubbed her boobs against me like she did every other morning and everything seemed normal. Then, she moved in, grabbed my crotch and gently massaged me.
"Okay, sailor boy. Tonight. Meet me behind this cabin at twenty-hundred, and we go for a walk." She must have felt my cock hardening. She smiled. "I knew you'd be up for it. Twenty-hundred. Don't be late."
"Umm, Jody—"
"Shh…" She put her finger up to my lips. "Trust me - whatever her name is, she'll be the last person on your mind." She leaned in standing on her toes so our lips brushed together. "I'll give you the best blowjob you ever had. Promise." She stepped back and looked at my bulging pants. I think it was more of a case of her admiring her handy-work knowing she was the one who got me into that state.
Why couldn't she have been some ugly chick?
After a day in the field painting rocks, I went to the shower shack when I returned and thought about my upcoming date with Jody. She was right. No one would ever know. And I did shun Jill's advances, so I knew I could say no if I had to. Just one more fling, then I'd be faithful to Holly for ever after.
Before I hopped in the shower, I stood taking a leak while an EOD guy, Bradley, stood a few urinals away.
"Oh, fuck it. Goddamn it," Bradley yelled. "That fucking slut. I'm gonna kill her."
"You okay, man?" I asked.
"No I'm fucking not," he said. "That fucking whore in sickbay gave me the clap. Same kind of burning piss I had in Korea. That's a feeling you never forget."
"You nailed Jody?"
"Yeah, second night."
After the shower, I went to my cabin and stayed there the rest of the day and night. I didn't bother to cancel the date with Jody, I just didn't show up.
The next morning Jody and Bradley were helicoptered off to get treatment and a new Corpsman was flown in as Jody's replacement. Boy was I glad to see a male Corpsman.
#
At the end of my short tour of duty, I loaded up my gear onto the helicopter, hopped in and gave one last glance toward the camp, then buckled myself in. The flight back to Pearl Harbor took forever. A thirty minute flight felt like thirty days. I couldn't wait to see Holly and tried to imagine how much pent up passion she would need to release once we saw each other. I'd probably need to bring her back to Kahoolawe where she could scream as loud as she wanted without being heard.
Once on base, I raced to my room, dropped my gear off, got changed and stopped by the Navy Exchange store to get some "missed you" gifts before jumping on the bus to her apartment. Excitement ran through me as I drew nearer. Standing at the door with the box of chocolates and a bottle of wine, I waited for that beautiful face to appear.
The door swung open. Holly stepped out, threw her arms around me and cried.
"It's okay, babe. I'm back now. No need to cry." Secretly, I was moved by her crying. It showed me how much she cared and missed me.
She led me to the couch. "You sit. I'll get you a drink."
Ah, that's my girl. She was marvelous. I smiled broadly at having such a wonderful girlfriend. Thank God I passed Jody by. Throwing herself at me the way she did. What a shameless slut.
Holly sat down and put a whiskey in front of me. I took a drink and noticed her glass.
"What? You switch to screwdrivers or something?" I asked.
"Kind of, but there's no vodka in it."
"What, straight orange juice at six o'clock?"
She nodded and started crying again.
"We got a celebration to get on with. What's up?"
She stared at the table. "I'm pregnant."
Chapter 26"Pregnant! Whatta ya mean pregnant?" I took a drink and set the glass down then decided I needed another drink, so I picked it back up and downed it in one.
"You know, pregnant. Like, with child, in a family way, knocked up, up the duff. I mean fucking pregnant."
"How'd that happen?"
Her head snapped toward me. "Well, Tyler," she said in her kindergarten teacher voice, "you put your penis in my va—"
"I know how it happens," I interrupted, waving my hands. "I mean, how'd it happen? I thought you were on the pill."
"Yes, the pill with a ninety-seven percent success rate. You must have found the three percent that didn't work."
She dropped her head in her hands. "Oh, this is like a nightmare."
"You mean I'm gonna be a dad?"
She looked at me, her lips tightly closed. "Shit, Daddy's going to disown me, after he kills me."
I put my arms around her. "It's okay, babe. We'll figure something out." Shit. She's not even thirty yet. We were supposed to have years of fun before Mr. Stork started making deliveries.
"What's there to figure out? It's not like there's a return policy." She threw both hands out in front of her, palms toward the ceiling. "This isn't what I wanted, can I exchange it for a blue sweater?" she mocked.
I held her tight. "I guess we'll have to get an abortion."
She pushed me away. "Typical! You guys are all for planting the seed, but when it comes time to harvest the crop, you don't wanna know." She poked me in the chest. "And that's exactly what Debbie said you'd say. I'm very pro-life, I'm not havin' a fucking abortion."
My mouth fell open. "Debbie knows?"
Her hand shook as she sipped her orange juice. "I had to talk to someone, and she was there for me. Daddy's probably going to give all his money to charity now. His slut daughter has disgraced him. God, he is so gonna hate me. I'll be cut out of the will."
I slid away a little to give her some space. She wasn't very happy with me at the moment, but I wanted to be supportive. I didn't like seeing her upset. "So, you're going to give up your dad and let him hate you?"
She tilted her head and looked at me like I was an idiot. "You really don't have a clue, do you? I don't have any other choice." She turned away and looked straight ahead, rocking back and forth.
I reached over and stroked the back of her shoulder.
She sipped her drink. "Look, Tyler, you don't want to be saddled with a baby. You've just made that perfectly clear. I don't either, for that matter. My enlistment's up in three months, and I haven't even decided what I'm going to do yet. I'd never be able to afford the medical to have a baby if I get out, and who wants to be a single mother in the Navy? Not to mention the fact that Daddy's going to kill me. This is the shittiest thing that's ever happened to me in my life." She buried her face in her hands.
I got up and poured myself another whiskey and rejoined her. She quietly let out small sobs. We sat in silence. This certainly wasn't the homecoming I had expected or hoped for. She was right, this was a nightmare, but I couldn't stand to see her suffer. Maybe we could make this work. If we played it right, Daddy would look after us. I placed my drink on the table and knelt before her. I took her hands in mine and gazed into her eyes.
"Holly, I love you. Will you marry me?"
Her eyes and mouth opened wide. She looked at me, stunned. After several moments her face returned to normal. She patted the seat next to her. I wanted to stay on my knee until she answered but eventually gave up and took my seat. She faced me, still holding hands.
"That's really sweet of you to offer to do the right thing. I appreciate it. But we both know you would never have proposed if I wasn't pregnant. You're not ready to play happy families."
"No, Holly, I mean it. I haven't told you this before, but when your dad was out here, I asked him for your hand in marriage. He gave me his blessing. Ask him yourself if you don't believe me. It was always on the cards that I would ask you sooner or later." I patted her hand. "Okay, this may be a little sooner than I expected, but now that's it's happened, I'm happy." I smiled. "Marry me, Holly."
She twirled her hair with her finger. "What about the abortion, Tyler the baby butcher?" She scowled at me.
Ouch. That hurt.
I put my arm around her and pulled her close to my side, leaning us both back in the couc
h. "Look, I said the wrong thing when I mentioned abortion. What I meant was if that's what you wanted, I'd support you. Come on, you don't wanna fall out with your dad, and this would make him very happy. You want to please him, don't ya?"
She nodded and wiped away a tear. "Think about if you and I were married. I'll either get out of the Navy in three months, or get shipped off somewhere else. You're due to be transferred in six months and you got time to serve on sea duty next. So I'll have a husband at sea, and I don't know where I'll be. Besides, I don't think this is what you really want. I'm not even sure it's what I want. It's a big step just to stay in Daddy's good books."
I grabbed our glasses and went to the kitchen to pour us another drink, swallowing an extra drink of whiskey while she wasn't looking. A numb feeling washed over me. The magnitude of the whole situation slowly sank in. I walked to the living room and put our drinks on the coffee table and sat next to her. We sat in silence for a few moments as my mind churned away. Then it hit me.
I clicked my fingers. "Sleepwalking," I said. "I'll fake sleepwalking and get discharged."
She looked at me. "I know they medically discharge sleepwalkers, but that's the oldest trick in the book. Anyone who doesn't want to go to sea starts sleepwalking."
"Yeah, but I'm a pretty good actor." I stroked her arm. "Your dad also told me that he'd take care of us - financially. You get out, I'll get myself discharged, and we'll move to Idaho and start our family."
"Idaho?" she snapped.
"Oh, right. Bad idea. Montana then. Oh, I don't care. Anywhere. I just want to be with you and our baby."
"Did Daddy really say he'd help?"
"Would I dare lie about what a preacher said? That has to be a sure ticket to hell."
She smiled. "And you'd really marry me to raise a family? You already know about the overbearing father-in-law." She tugged her bottom lip. "I never dreamt you'd ask me to marry you."
I ran the back of my hand down her cheek. "I really want this, babe. My dad was a shit dad and I want to prove I'm better than him. Holly Chambers. It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
She placed her hand on the side of my face and rubbed her thumb against my cheek. "We'd have to do it soon. I don't want Daddy figuring out the math. I so didn't want it to be like this."
"You happy?" I asked.
"No, I'm not. But I don't have much choice. I'd rather be married and rich than the alternative." She moved in and kissed me softly. "Thanks, Tyler. Okay, enough of that. How was your assignment?"
"Sucked. I missed you so much. I'll tell you about it later. How did you get on without me?"
"Well, Debbie came around every night. We studied, ate dinner together, we even went to a movie one night."
"Oh." Surely she wouldn't be telling me all this if something happened between them. "Did, umm…anything happen? You know, down…" I raised my eyebrows and flicked my head toward her crotch.
She put on her angry face. "I’m not even going to signify that with an answer." She folded her arms across her chest.
"I think you mean dignify. I just meant, did she try anything?"
"Like, whatever, and no she didn't try anything. We mostly talked about her shithead boyfriend. That guy really screwed her up. She's been like a really good friend to me. She said you'd run a mile when you heard about the baby."
"Richardson, right?" She nodded, and I felt a rush of temporary relief. "I don't like you hanging around her, babe." I gulped a mouthful of whiskey. "She's trouble. She told me at her last command about a guy who wouldn't go out with her. She made up lies about him and told his girlfriend a bunch of stuff that wasn't true so his girlfriend would break up with him. She's warped."
"Don't forget, I know a bit about Debbie and that doesn't sound like her." She leaned back with widened eyes. "And since when did she start confiding stuff to you?"
"Well, you know drunk Debbie. Get a few drinks in her and she'll tell anyone her life story." I could feel beads of sweat forming over my eyebrows. I wiped them with the back of my hand, and sipped some more whiskey.
"Debbie never said you and her were buddy-buddy."
Thank God for small mercies. "We're not. I must of overheard her in Dolphin's telling someone else. Can we change the subject? I don't want to talk about Debbie anymore. We should be talking about us and our wedding."
We both took drinks and sat there a little while in silence. It provided a welcome break to the conversation and I hoped she wouldn't bring it up again.
"Will you still want me when I'm all fat and flabby, looking like I swallowed a beach ball?" She rubbed a hand over her stomach.
I pulled her to my side. "Of course I will. I'll just think of it as more of you to love." I kissed her forehead.
She looked at the floor. "Would you make love to me right now?"
"That's all I've wanted to do for the last ten days. Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
"I don't think you have to be yet." She leaned back with a crooked smile. "The baby's probably not formed yet, so I don't think you'll be denting its head or anything."
"Oh, that's all right then. The last thing we want is a baby coming out with a head looking like a golf ball." I smiled, picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. I tried to be gentle, but she was up for a bit of rough. I obliged, figuring I better get it while I still could.
#
Taking a mid-morning break the following day, I went to the geedunk bar. Debbie stood at the coke machine in the corner, pumping in change. I stepped next to the side of the machine blocking her in. She jumped when she saw me.
She grabbed her coke and tried to side-step me. I swiftly moved to stand in front of her. She tried a few more sideways moves, but I kept her cornered.
She slumped her shoulders and sighed. "What do you want?"
"What's your game? Why you gettin' all chummy with Holly?"
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "What if I am? What's it got to do with you?"
I narrowed my eyes and my jaw went tight. "Look, Debs, I don't know what you're playing at. Holly and I are happy and in love and we're getting married."
She laughed. "You, married? Don't make me choke. Holly wouldn't marry you. And if she did, you'd have your dick up the first chick who bent over to pick up a quarter, and she'd divorce your ass. It's never gonna work, Tyler."
"I'm committed to our relationship. Stay away from Holly."
"You gotta lot of nerve telling me what to do. I haven't told Holly anything about us…yet, but you keep this up, and I will."
Shit, she wasn't backing down. I looked at the ground, thinking of what might pacify her. I lifted my head. "Okay, I'm sorry, Debs. Please, I'm beggin' you, just let me and Holly get on with our lives. I'm gonna try to be a good dad and a good husband." I placed my hand on her shoulder.
She had a gleam in her eyes. "Don't worry, Tyler, I'm havin' too much fun to bring you down yet." She patted my shoulder and walked off.
#
After work, I went to Dolphin's on my own to get plastered. I got a beer and sat in a secluded corner, trying to imagine married life with Holly and a baby. Knowing Daddy had deep pockets helped. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Yes, I really did love Holly. As long as I didn't cheat on her again, and provided Debbie didn't open her big yap about us, it could work. I liked the idea of the two of us together.
I got another beer and plotted what I would say to Holly if Debbie spilled the beans. Holly was pretty gullible and I decided that I could talk my way out of it if she ever confronted me. A smile crossed my face as I got excited about having a wife and a baby.
"Mind if we join you?"
I looked up and to find Mark and Lori standing beside the table.
"Be my guest," I said, extending my arm to the chairs opposite me.
"So what's new in Chambers-land?" Mark asked.
"Well, Kahoolawe was cool. Easy duty. I got a letter from my mom, she's doing good and congratulated me for making third class. And
me and Holly are getting married." I waited to see the look of shock on both their faces. They didn't disappoint. I took a drink and lit a cigarette.
"I didn't think you were serious when you told me about all that stuff with her dad. Guess I should congratulate you, huh?" Mark held out his hand and we shook.
Lori propped her elbow on the table and leaned in, resting her chin on her hand. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Holly getting pregnant, would it?"
"Nope. I would've asked her anyway, sooner or later. How'd you know she was pregnant?"
"Debbie told me. I haven't seen her much lately but she couldn't wait to tell me that one. I'm surprised you're going to marry her, Tyler. Debbie said you'd be on the first plane outta here." She looked at Mark. "Aren't you surprised?"
"Nope," he said.
Lori leaned away from him, looking at him with raised eyebrows.
Mark shifted his gaze from me to Lori and back again. "One thing I've learned over the past year and a bit. Never try to guess what Tyler's going to do next. You'd have more chance of winning big in Las Vegas." He smiled. "I did say I bet the cart would come before the horse though."
"Thanks, buddy. That's why Holly loves me so much. I keep her guessing. All part of the excitement." I took a drag and blew the smoke toward the ceiling.
"So when's the big day?" Lori asked.
"Don't know yet, but soon. We don't want to hang about."
"More like she doesn't want her dad to figure out that she's been defiled before marriage." Mark snickered. He pointed to my empty beer bottle. "You want another?"
"Naw, I've changed my mind. I'm going to see Holly. She's still trying to take it all in. It's probably best if she's not on her own." I got up to leave. "See you guys later."
"Bye," they said in unison.
#
I knocked on the door and eagerly waited for Holly to answer. She always liked surprises. I held the flowers I bought in front of me as the door opened.
Debbie stood in the door way, looking smug.
"What are you doing here?" I gasped. Shock didn't even touch the surface of how I felt.
She pressed her open hands against her cheeks. "Oh my gosh! For me? How sweet."
Trouble Triangle (Tyler's Trouble Trilogy) Page 25
