A Promise Kept Ch. 02

"Asshole," Danny laughed, shaking his head...

~~~~~~

THE PRESENT

Suddenly I had to stop talking for a minute; and because she was able to sense that something was wrong with me, Kara took my hand and asked, "Why don't you take a break, Michael? Don't think that for a minute that I can't tell that this is extremely difficult for you, okay?"

"She's right, Mike," Mr. John gently smiled, "Take a break, it's only seven-thirty in the evening; but we can stop any time you want to, and then pick up where you left off, tomorrow, okay?"

"I appreciate it sir," I appreciatively said, "But I only want to have to go through all of this one time so that I won't ever have to speak of these things again, please?"

"I still want you to take a short break," he said, in a kind and understanding way, "Take a fifteen minute walk so that my family and I can digest what you've told us about Danny so far, then come back and tell us the rest of it, especially how he died...please?"

"Of course," I reverently replied, taking Kara's hand, "Come with me, sweetie, and let's give these nice folks some time alone as a family."

"Certainly," Kara kindly smiled, "We'll see you guys in a little while," and then we walked out the front door and into the driveway."

~~~~~~

"You loved her very much, Michael," Kara softly whispered, as we stood in the dark driveway, holding one another closely, "Didn't you?"

"Yes," I said, knowing that she as speaking of Jill, making my eyes fill with tears, "I loved her very much."

"I'm not going to ask you any questions, Michael," she tenderly and softly whispered into my ear, "I have a feeling that I'm going to find out everything I want to know about you tonight."

"Thank you, baby" I said, holding Kara closely to me, feeling my heart breaking all over again, "I love you with all of my heart, Kara, and I'm so glad that you're here with me tonight, because I sure as hell couldn't have done it alone."

"I love you, Michael," she tenderly replied, "And I can tell that talking about all of this is tearing you to pieces so; I want you to know that your pain is my pain, too, baby."

"I love you, Kara," was all I could say...

~~~~~~

"Michael?" Jayne said, making me turn around to see her standing on the front porch of Danny's parent's home wearing a kind and gentle smile on her face, "Uncle John asked me if you'd please come back in and continue?"

"Of course," I told her, "Tell him I'll be right there, okay?"

All of a sudden Jayne stepped off of the porch and walked up to where I stood with Kara in the driveway; and then she gently placed her arms around both Kara and I and sweetly told us, "I want you to know how much I care about you two; and I also want to thank you personally, Michael, for doing this for my family. I know it's got to be very hard on you."

"This is something I have to do," I told her, "I made a promise to someone very close to me a long time ago, and so I'm just keeping it, okay sweetie?"

"Okay, Michael," Jayne softly told me, kissing me on the cheek, "I think that you're one of the bravest men I've ever had the honor of knowing...I wanted you and Kara to know that..."

~~~~~~

CHRISTMAS MORNING DECEMBER 1978 7:00 AM

"Ho, ho, ho," Jill softly purred in my ear, pressing her bare breasts against my bare back, while holding a cup of freshly brewed coffee under my nose, "Wake up, baby, it's Christmas morning, and it looks like Santa Claus has been here."

"It's too early in the morning," I playfully grumbled, "Besides, there's no such thing as Santa Claus."

"Come on, Michael," she softly asked, "Please get up, I've got a surprise for you; baby."

"Okay, my love," I smiled, sitting up in the bed, taking the cup of coffee Jill had for me, "Good morning, and Merry Christmas to you, too, Jill."

And then once I was up and awake, Jill, while still as naked as the day she was born, grabbed my hand and beckoned me into the den where she put the Christmas tree.

"I'll never get tired of looking at your beautifully naked body, baby," I grinned, pulling on my bathrobe, also grabbing hers and handing it to her, "But don't you think you might at least want to put something on, wild woman?"

"Oh, shut up," she laughed, pulling her robe on, "Here, are you happy now, Mister Particular."

"You've got a lot of room to talk about me, girlie," I teased, "I'm not the one who has more shoes than Imelda Marcos."

"You are such a shit sometimes," she began to girlishly giggle, taking my hand, "Come with me, silly boy," and then she dragged me into the Den...

~~~~~~

The moment I walked into the den and saw what was sitting in a stand next to the Christmas tree, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

"Merry Christmas, Michael," Jill warmly said, gently leaning over and kissing my lips, "I love you," and then she walked over to the tree, and handing me the brand new Martin®, D-28, acoustic/electric guitar, she sweetly kissed me again, and softly asked, "Will you play me a Christmas song, Michael?" and I proceeded to play "O Holy Night", finger picking the strings while I attempted to sing the lyrics, first thing that morning.

And when I was finished, Jill looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes full of happy tears, as she smiled and told me, "This will always be my favorite memory of you. I love you, Michael, thank you for this."

"And thank you for this beautiful guitar," I softly replied, tenderly kissing her soft lips, "I know what you spent on this thing, and you didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did," she smiled, slowly nodding her head, "I love you."

"Oh, that reminds me," I impishly grinned, "Here, hold this for me for just a second, baby. I've got something for you, too," and then I stood up and made my way back to our bedroom to retrieve from its hiding place, something that I'd paid to have hand-crafted, exclusively for Jill, not too long after Thanksgiving was over.

~~~~~~

"Close your eyes," I smiled, handing her a small oblong box, "Okay, now open them," and when she opened her eyes, and saw that the box was very clearly a jewelry case, a big smile covered her beautiful face.

"Michael Walker," she gently scolded me, "What have you done?"

"Open it," I softly replied, "You're going to love it."

The moment she opened the jewelry case and saw a 24 karat, gold necklace, with a two karat diamond pendant, the first thing she did was throw her arms around my neck, and then she started to gently weep.

"Oh, hey," I said, concerned, "What the matter, love, are you alright?"

"Yes," she sniffled, "It's just that...well, this necklace is so beautiful, and...I never thought that I'd ever find someone that I love so much...who loves me as much as I love you," and then she couldn't continue for crying. I simply held her while she cried, and before too long, she began to calm down.

"Are you alright, baby?" I quietly asked her, holding her close as she tightly clutched her gift to her breast, "Here," I gently told her, sitting up, "Let me put your new necklace on you so that I can see how beautiful you look wearing it."

"Okay," she smiled, still sniffling as she sat up, handing me the necklace, "I really love you very much, Michael."

"Oh, baby," I widely grinned, once I'd put Jill's necklace on her, "It looks so beautiful, sweetheart; almost as beautiful as you look wearing it."

"Really," she delightfully grinned, getting up from off of the floor in front of the Christmas tree, "I'm going to go into the bathroom and look in the mirror...Ill be right back," and then she dashed down the hall to the master bathroom.

A moment later I heard loud squeals come from down the hall, followed by a very happy, and very naked, except for the new necklace; Jill, almost tackling me in the floor.

"I love you, Michael," she suddenly breathed, grinding against me, "Make love to me, please baby, right here, right now," and I proceeded to do just that...

Not only did the month of December mark the Christmas holidays, it also marked six months that Jill and I had been together, and we couldn't have been any happier if we tried. However, little did I realize that something dark and traumatic lay in the not too distant future; and whether I lived through it, or not, only time would tell.

~~~~~~

NEW YEAR'S DAY JANUARY 1979

Because Dave and Stephanie hosted Thanksgiving, and Danny and Lori hosted Christmas; I decided that Jill and I would host the New Year's Day celebration. Where I was raised, the custom was to eat Hog Jowl, Black eyed peas, and cabbage. However, I hated cabbage, and I damn sure wasn't going to eat hog jowls so, I had the butcher cut me some very thick pork chops, which I breaded and deep fried, my Grandma Lucy's recipe, and in place of boiled cabbage, I used the Chinese pork and cabbage Spring Rolls, and of course some black eyed peas as well.

I also made some mashed potatoes, using an electric mixer to mash them with, and Jill made some of the best pork gravy I'd ever eaten. Oh, and don't think I didn't pay attention to how she made it either.

"Damn, Michael," Stephanie teased me; "You'll make someone a good husband."

"Bullshit," Danny grinned, "More like a good wife."

"Shut up, asshole," Lori grinned, elbowing him in the ribs, "I was the one that did all of the cooking for Christmas, all you did was take out the trash so; there, smart ass."

Needless to say, her comment made all of us laugh, just as we've always done together, these people, my group of very close, and very much loved friends. In all honesty, I naively thought that those times would never end, and that things would always be the way they were. Little did I realize that fate had other plans, and these days that I was enjoying so much were all numbered?

~~~~~~

JANUARY 4 1979

This was Jill's first day of college, and to say that she was excited would be an understatement. She woke up that morning about to bounce off of the walls, and needless to say, I got tickled simply from watching her run around the house getting everything together.

"And when she was finally ready, she kissed me goodbye and said, "Enjoy your day off., baby, I love you."

"I love you, too," I smiled, "And good luck with college today," and then she was gone.

"Damn," I laughed aloud, "She wore me out just watching her..."

~~~~~~

Because I loved her so much, and also because I had the day off; I enlisted the help of both Dave and Danny that morning...

~~~~~~

"What do you want, L.B." Danny tried to gruffly reply, answering his phone, "It's only ten o'clock in the morning."

"You're damn right, it is," I laughed, "Get your lazy ass out of bed...I'm on my way over there now," and then I set the phone back in its cradle, hanging up before he could reply.

~~~~~~

"What the hell are we going to do?" Danny complained, as we drove in my jeep over to Dave's house, "You haven't even told me why you woke me up so damn early, L.B."

"That's right," I laughed, "You'll find out when we get to Dave's house so; you're gonna have to hold your horses for a little while longer..."

~~~~~~

"Good morning, guys," Dave grinned, "What's so important that you need me and Danny, L.B.?"

"Are you guys ready for this?" I excitedly asked, as they nodded their heads, "I'm going to ask Jill to marry me."

"Oh, L.B., that's great news, kid," Dave happily grinned me, "Congratulations, Mike!"

"Oh, hell yeah," Danny laughed, reaching down and picking me up off of the ground and throwing me over his shoulder, then setting me back down with his hand stuck out, "Way to go, L.B. Jill's a super girl, congratulations bro."

"Thanks, man," I said, shaking both of their hands, "It means a lot to me to hear you guys say that."

All of a sudden Stephanie came squealing down the hall from the back of the house. Then after throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me on the cheek, she grinned and told me, "Congratulations, Michael. Jill is going to be so happy; she loves you very much."

"I know," I smiled, "And I love her, too."

Once she found out why I was there to get Dave, Stephanie insisted that she be allowed to come along and help me pick out the engagement ring that I wanted to give Jill when I asked her to marry me.

And then Danny smiled, and said, "Shit, if I don't tell Lori about this, it'll be my ass."

"Hmm," Stephanie teased, "Now there's a pleasant thought, Daniel Reed."

Of course I drove back to Danny's house and after informing Lori what we were all going to do that morning, she and Stephanie got into her car while we guys rode in my Jeep.

~~~~~~

We must've driven all over San Diego looking for the perfect ring that morning. I knew that I'd heard Jill talking about rings once, and she'd expressed to me that she thought something simple but pretty was what she wanted when the time came for her to get married. Of course, little did I realize that she was throwing subtle hints at me in talking about it to begin with? Hell, I didn't care, I loved her and that's all that mattered to me.

~~~~~~

We finally found a jewelry store, a Mom and Pop, privately owned place, in El Cajon called Weiss & Sons Jewelers. The moment we walked into the place I felt like I was in the right place, and that's where I was supposed to be. I was even approached by the owner himself, Mr. Sam Weiss.

"What can I do for you?" he kindly asked, looking at all of us.

"Hello, sir," I nicely replied, "I'm here to look for an engagement ring for my girlfriend."

"Ah, good for you, young man," he kindly replied, "Do you know what you're looking for?"

"Yes, sir," I respectfully answered, "She wants something simple, but still pretty and unique."

"I think I might have exactly what you're looking for, young man, if you'll please follow me," he smiled, walking to the back display case, "These wedding sets are made right here in the store, Please take your time and look...let me know if you find something you like," and then he left me at the counter to peruse his wares.

I'd only looked for roughly half a minute when I saw it. It was a two karat; Marquis cut, solitary diamond, on a twenty-four karat gold band, with a simple band, also twenty-four karat gold that matched the engagement ring.

"Excuse me, sir," I smiled, "I've found what I'm looking for."

"My name is Sam, Sam Weiss," he grinned, extending his hand, "What is your name young man?"

"My name is Mike Walker," I smiled, shaking his hand, "And it's nice to meet you, Sam, and these are my friends," and then I proceeded to introduce him to Dave, Steph, Lori, and Danny.

I found out that both Stephanie and Lori had been talking to Jill more than just a little bit about weddings, because it suddenly seemed that Stephanie just happened to know what Jill's ring size was.

"Come on, Michael," Stephanie knowingly grinned, when asked about it, "We girls have to stick together these days," and needless to say, that was all she would tell me.

It just so happened that Sam had the time to size the rings for me so; the five of us went out for a bite of lunch while we waited.

~~~~~~

"So, when are you going to pop the question to Jill, Mike?" Dave asked, "You'd better make damn sure that we're all there to see it, the whole team."

"I was thinking about asking her this weekend?" I said, "How about throwing a party on the beach for the whole team?"

"Sounds good to us," Stephanie smiled, "What time, sweetie?"

"Today is Wednesday, and I know that Jill doesn't have any classes on Friday," I told them, "How does Friday afternoon around one o'clock sound?"

"That sounds good to us." Dave grinned, "I can't wait to see the look on her face when you ask her."

"I only hope she says "Yes"," I uneasily replied, "I mean, it would really suck if I asked her to marry me and she said "No", don't you think?"

"Aw, Michael, sweetie," Lori sweetly replied, patting my cheek, "I don't know of any girl in their right mind that wouldn't marry you, you handsome thing."

"She's right, Michael," Stephanie smiled, "We're female, too, so; don't think for a minute that we can't see what Jill sees in you."

"That's right," Lori grinned, "And we know hot when we see it, cutie."

"Please," Danny teased, "I think I'm gonna be sick at my stomach."

"Shut up, Daniel Elie Reed," Lori scolded him, "Jill loves that man more than anything in the world; and because you and Michael are partners I would think that you, of all people, would be happy for him."

"I am happy for him," Danny grinned, "And because of the fact that he's my partner, it gives me the right to bust his balls whenever I feel like it."

"Don't listen to him, ladies," I teased, "He's still pissed off about the ass-whipping I gave him when I was in BUD/S, that's all," which of course caused everyone, Danny included, to laugh heartily.

"Bullshit," Danny chuckled, "You just got lucky is all."

"Now that is bullshit," Lori teased, "You guys should've heard him crying and whining when he got home that night over the fat lip that Michael gave him."

"Now that's a load of horse manure," Danny defensively replied "He didn't give me a fat lip."

"He's right, I didn't give him a fat lip," I told them, "It was a black eye, and if you look, you can still see some of it still on his right cheek."

"Why don't you kiss this cheek?" Danny laughed, turning his back and dropping his pants to show his bare ass, "Smart ass kid..."

~~~~~~

Chapter Eleven

I woke that Friday morning with a smile on my face, and immediately taking notice of it, Jill kissed me and asked, "What's got you so happy this morning, baby?"

"Oh, nothing really," I lied, "I just love you, that's all."

"Aw, sweetie," she softly replied, tenderly kissing my lips, "I love you, too, and I always will, my love..."

~~~~~~

THAT AFTERNOON 1:00 PM

The whole Team had come to what was, without Jill's knowledge, our engagement party. She knew that we were throwing a party, but that's all she knew. Not only was the team there, but I'd also invited Admiral J. Evan White and his wife, whom we all called Missus White as opposed to even think about calling her by her first name. We all knew what it was, but out of respect we never used it, hence the reason I won't mention it now.

I'd never met them in person, but had spoken with them over them on the phone on the more than one occasion. I'd contacted Jill's parents Charles and Felicia Samuels, earlier in the week to apprise them of what would be happening that Friday; and most especially why. I offered to pay for their plane tickets. But her father would not hear of it.

"I can't ask yo pay for our plane tickets, son," Mr. Charley chuckled, "I haven't met you in person yet, but from the several times that we've spoken over the phone, I know that you're a good kid. Besides, any man that loves my daughter enough to marry her is a good man in my book."

"A Limo driver will be there to pick you up as soon as you arrive," I assured him, "And then he'll bring you both straight to our house. Please, allow me to do that for you, okay?"

"Okay, Mike," he jovially replied, "Hell, I'd probably get lost of the way over here anyway. We'll see you in a couple of days, then."

"Oh, one more thing," I told them, "The Limo driver will have the key to our house, and is going to let you two in so that you can change clothes, and then he's going to bring you out to where we're throwing our engagement party..."

~~~~~~

"We were all at the beach, right next to the restrooms; and I can't remember ever seeing Jill look as beautiful as she did that day. She was wearing a bright lime green bikini, and a straw sun hat, with a simple pair of sunglasses. Of course it might've had something to do with the way that her white wrap fit her beautiful hips that had me paying more attention to her than I already normally did, but I doubt it. There was no doubt in my mind about how much I loved her, not to mention the fact that I was about to ask her to spend the rest of her life with me. Still though, even if it hadn't been about that I would always see her as the most beautiful woman in the world.