Bryan & Carla after the Supermarket Ch. 04

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"As safe as can be. We are professionals, and live troopers and officers are valuable assets not to be thrown away lightly, but accidents and the unforeseen do happen from time to time."

"That's why you kept all your uniforms upstairs?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, I am still, a full-time serving officer, technically on leave until tomorrow, when I finish officially from my attachment to the regiment, but then in four months' time I start a three-year secondment at the Royal Military Academy, teaching cadets about modern armoured warfare. It's a good career move, I earn brownie points for doing it from the top brass, and do not lose seniority in my own regiment. They like me, Carla, I am really good at what I do, so am confident that I will make Major in five, Lieutenant-Colonel six-to-eight years after that and possibly Colonel by the time they finally put me out to grass, unless a brigade is in the offing, and I'd still be in my mid-forties and energetic enough to forge a second career, maybe go into politics."

He stopped talking, but she didn't immediately fill the space with questions. He had kept his eyes on hers all the way through and his resolve was slightly unnerved by her silence. He had seen the odd flicker of fear, while he spoke, but now she was calmly thinking over the implications of what he had said, and his misdirections yesterday. He felt no need to add any more information, or rush her decision, despite the clock ticking loudly the tense air of his kitchen; he knew the time it told was accurate, he had set it by the BBC just before going out to the supermarket yesterday. No, this future together that he so desired was her decision. He had established the existence of the love they shared between them. He was confident that, with all that had gone before them, that their love was sustainable, or at least could be if they both believed in it.

But it was now commitment time. And, because he made those commitments a long time before he knew that Carla loved him and that he had a daughter, the decision as to how they forged their future lives around those circumstances were solely in Carla's hands.

She turned and glanced at the kitchen clock, pushed her chair away from the table with the backs of her knees and stood up. As her hands were still holding his, he naturally rose with her.

"We better get a move on, Darling," she said, "Brie'll become anxious if we're late. We must never disappoint our children."

"So ... what do you think?" he stuttered, thinking she said 'children', 'our children', did that mean what he hoped it meant? "What do you think about us?"

"Oh, us. Well, I know that you love your career, it brings you fulfilment and gives you the resources to maintain a large family. And you must work at something you enjoy doing, I wouldn't what to be married to a wage slave. I also know that you love me with all your heart, Bryan, and I love you with all my heart. I believe we should be very happy together, so I do want us to be together as much of our time as possible, so of course I will go with you wherever you need to go."

"That's great!" He pulled her into a kiss, but she nipped the tip of his tongue with her teeth, breaking off the kiss before her toes curled.

"Sorry, Bry," she apologised as she skipped away to put her shoes on in the utility room and collect the carrier bag of the clothes that she wore yesterday, "but we have tonight to catch up after my final shift at the pub, it's too late to give them notice now, especially if Mich is still sick. From now on you and Brie are my main priorities. So much to do this morning, grab my car, get Brie, get Dad's permission, get Mum on board to plan the wedding, takeaway breakfast, a child's seat for your car, engagement and wedding rings - you did want to marry soon? ..."

He nodded without interrupting her list-making as he hopped on one leg trying to get his trainers on without taking the time wasted undoing the laces.

"... so we'll get the full set of rings now, I have been putting a small amount of savings to one side just for a rainy day. I'll pack today what I need for the next three months. You'll babysit tonight Bryan, so my two favourite people get to know each other better."

Bryan pushed her though the side door into the garage, locked up after them and opened the car door for her. He opened the automatic door, started the car and drove out down the drive, the garage door closing behind him.

"So, you do not seem too surprised by my signing up for a full service commission, although about eighty percent of short service commission officers extend their service by at least eight years."

"I remember how much work you put into the Army Cadets. So, when I saw your uniforms and little else other than a couple of jeans and the odd non-military tees, when I explored your wardrobe, I had already guessed that you were still serving. That's why I wanted these particular sweats, so I can use them for bedwear when you are away from me, as a constant reminder of being enveloped in you. They are so worn and soft that I will be comfortable in them even when I'm alone."

Bryan drove down to the pub car park to pick up her car. She strapped herself in and was about to pull out, when Bryan remembered that she had something she wanted to say to him as well. He wondered momentarily if it would be as big as his bombshell about his Army service.

"Hey, Carla," Bryan shouted as she started the engine. She wound down the window.

"You will need proof of ID, so we can put you on my - our - bank accounts. Oh, and Carla what was it that you wanted to tell me earlier?"

"Oh, yes. When I said you didn't need to worry about protection last night and again later, I guess, like you, I lied. I mean, what need have I ever had to go on the pill?"

"So that means...."

"Maybe, going by how soon Brie was conceived, a very possible maybe. See you at Mum's, Stud."

He followed, but she had beaten him through the first set of traffic lights, so he didn't see her ahead of him, but followed the sat-nav. He got a call which came up as "Mum" on the sat-nav window and he pressed the accept button.

"Hi Mum, you're up early."

"Not as bright and bushy tailed as you are, and clearly with good reason. When I saw you Wednesday you were still the most eligible bachelor in town, and now?"

"Yes, Mum, it's amazing, like a dream come true."

"Well, I did hear through the grapevine that Jenny was getting divorced, so I shouldn't have been that surprised, but even for my very own 'Action Man' this was quick work! Did you ask her or did she ask you?"

"No, it's not Jenny, Mum, you know that she's more of a sister to me than anything else."

"Jenny just a 'sister', surely not, she's been completely in love with you for years."

"Really? She never said-"

"Well these things go unsaid, don't they? So whom are you marrying? And why so sudden?"

"You probably don't know her, Mum, although she was in the same year as me at school, but we didn't always share the same lessons. Carla Brown, daughter of Barry Brown the builder?"

"Yes, of course, you worked for him one summer, I remember. Your Dad knows him better than I do, he has done a lot of work up at Tanner's over the years and has an impressive record for quality work, which is why I suppose Dad got you that job with him."

"No, I wanted that summer job to be near Carla, but she still had her boyfriend then and something snapped inside me and I knew I couldn't take it. Some brave soldier I was back then, afraid of a broken heart."

"I know, Bry," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "I know all about broken hearts, but they do mend. I hope that Arthur asks me again I might say yes this time, I'm just afraid the last time I turned him down might have taken all the fight out of him."

"Don't worry, Mum, if I know Arthur, he won't give up that easily. I have other news as well. Are you sitting down?"

"Ha! I'm still in bed, Bryan. I saw your text about getting married and I had to ring you straight away."

"Well, Grandma, you have a 3-year-old granddaughter who's dying to meet her other Nan and make her fall instantly in love with her."

"What? ... This woman you want to marry has a girl that you want to adopt?"

"This girl certainly has a daughter, her name is Brianna or Brie for short, and she's beautiful, Mum, really beautiful, like a little version of her Mum, only she has our eyes and your chin, Mum."

"But, but-"

"She's my child, Mum. I know for certain that she's my child."

"But how, you never dated anyone ... you were always too busy to date ... and you only dated Jenny to your graduations."

"I went out with Carla the day before I left for Sandhurst, Mum. We talked about marriage at the time, as we discovered that we had loved each other from afar, but then Aunt Ann saw her with her old boyfriend the day after our date and it broke my heart."

"But you've forgiven her for going back to her boyfriend?"

"No need, although she has admitted she fibbed when she told me before the date she had broken up with her boyfriend, she actually broke up with him face-to-face when Aunt Ann saw them and misinterpreted what was taking place."

"Well, Annie wasn't really very well in those days, she never got over her Steve leaving her."

His Mum paused, so Bryan said, "I've just arrived at the end of her road now, I'll ring you later, Mum."

"Bryan, the baby could be anyone's, you really need to get her tested before you get too involved."

"She's mine, and you'll know when I bring her down to see you next weekend. I will send you a photo of her this morning."

"Wait, Bryan."

He could hear the mouthpiece being covered up for a moment, so he decided to drive past the Brown residence and turn around at the bottom.

"Bry, you still there?"

"Yes."

"We're coming up, Arthur and me, we'll be there in about five hours."

"All right, Mum, take down this postcode ... get a pen, or type it into your phone ... anyway, we are having a BBQ at her parents' house, but we will be back home late afternoon or early evening. You can let yourself in, I have left the front door key under the third flowerpot along on the back patio." He gave her the postcode and the number of his house and signed off, "See you soon. Love you Mum!"

AT HOME WITH THE BROWNS

Carla was waiting in the driveway, leaning on her car. She looked cute in his oversize sweats, he thought, thinking with a chuckle that he better consider them 'her sweats' now. They walked holding hands round to the back of the house and into the kitchen together. Her Mum and Dad were sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea each, and Brie sitting with them eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hi Mum, Dad," she said as she breezed in, and squeezing Brie in a warm hug and kissing the top of her head, "hi Poppet. This is Bryan. I think he wants a word with you Dad."

With a chocolate ringed mouth, Brie waved her spoon at Bryan, "Bryan, Daddy,"

"Oh, hi, beautiful," Bryan smiled at Brie.

"Oh, right, yes," blustered her Dad into his tea, "I suppose we better go for a walk around the garden then, all right with you, Bryan?"

"Yes, er, thank you, Sir." Bryan said nervously, seeing his future father-in-law get up. He wasn't as tall as Bryan but was definitely a lot wider and looked like he was all muscle.

"Mum," Carla continued as she moved towards the doorway leading deeper into the house, "do you want to come up ... for a conference?"

"Yes, sure Sweetie ... what about Brie?"

"She can come up too, this affects her as much as me."

"Yes, of course."

The three females trotted out of the room. Barry raised his eyebrows expressively to Bryan and led him back out of the kitchen into the garden.

"OK, son, the floor's yours, fire away," Barry said.

"Mr Brown, I am formally asking for the hand of your daughter in matrimony, and request further that you will do us both the honour of walking her down the aisle on our wedding ceremony. I would add in mitigation of this request, that I have been in love with Carla for many years, almost since we first met as kids, in fact, and she has lately confessed that she has had similar feelings for me for a long time."

"So, this is not at all as sudden as it sounds?"

"No, Sir, it is something I have wanted for years, and I'm delighted that she has accepted, with your blessing, of course."

"Mmm, tell me, Son, if you and Carla married, what do you intend would happen to my granddaughter?"

"I only found out yesterday afternoon, Sir, that Brianna Myra Brown is my natural daughter, and I want to do my level best to make her happy and regard me as her Dad in time. She doesn't know me yet, but I will be building bridges with her from today."

"So what brought you back into our daughter and granddaughter's lives after all this time?"

"It was my father's girlfriend Sadie Forrest that let me know that she retained your Brown surname, after seeing her at the doctors' surgery. She didn't know I had feelings for her but remembered that she was in my year at school. Sadie couldn't remember Carla's surname during their conversation, but the nurse called out 'Miss Brown', when it was her turn. Sadie then remembered her and tied more than a few things together. A lot of people think Sadie is a dizzy blonde, but she also remembered her brother working with you that same year-"

"Yeah, Glen Forrest, he's a plasterer now, does a good job, he's the first guy I go to for that. Glen's the same as he always was, looks slow on the uptake, but a good worker, cute with his pricing and earns a good living."

"Well, Glen saw me force Cox to apologise to Carla, but that was five years before Carla and I went on our date. Sadie put two and two together and realised that I must've had feelings for Carla back then otherwise I wouldn't have got involved. Anyway, I thought she had gone straight back to Cox, but with so many couples never actually marrying or keeping their names as I was sure Cox was the man she wanted-"

"Huh! That Gary Cox is a complete waste of space, Carla was never serious about him. Look, Bryan, Mrs Brown and Carla talk about their personal lives to a much greater depth than I ever could with my boys and, very recently, Myra has spoken to me about some of it, and I know for a fact that Gary Cox was never a serious contender for her heart."

"It was Sadie persuaded me to spend some leave time up here and see if I could see Carla and find out what her feelings were. Sadie didn't even mention Brie, I think she must've thought that if I knew she had a child I would not want to interfere. I must admit, when I saw her unexpectedly, with a kid in tow and a ring on her finger...."

"Yeah, I can imagine. You know she only wears the ring-"

"Yes, she said, so did Mrs Kingstone. Anyway, I had all that leave time and unspent savings and wanted somewhere so I could put down roots. I couldn't afford a place near Mum, so I bought online that house in Cooper's Meadow, because this is where I grew up and had old friends. This was where I wanted to settle down when my Army career ends."

"So what are your career prospects, because a birdie told me you were heading for a manager's job at Tanner's?"

"That is a temporary job that my father arranged for me, as they have already made a permanent appointment, but he can't start for three months. It all worked out very well for me. As for my career path, my prospects are very good, Sir. I am a Captain in the Household Cavalry, the Life Guards, stationed at Windsor, Berkshire. It's the first battalion in the Army and attracts the best of the best. I have seen action, mostly in Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa, in command of a light tank squadron. However, in October I start a three-year secondment to the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, teaching cadets on their 44-week course leading to a commission. I am very good at my job, Sir, and been advised that I could consider at least achieving Lieutenant Colonel rank by the time I retire."

"Why buy the house in Cooper's Meadow, son, if you are moving out and by your own admission, will be living in Berkshire for the next few years, possibly until you retire?"

"I needed a house to come back to when my family are ready to settle down, Sir. Houses are still a good investment and my savings were earning almost no interest."

Barry nodded in agreement. "I've got to ask this son, what will happen if, on active service or through an accident, you don't make it to retirement?"

"The mortgage is insured, so if I die or even unable to work, it is paid off immediately. I also have separate 'death in service' cover which would provide my next of kin with a lump sum or an annuity, currently an eight-figure total, which will rise as I progress through the promotion cycle. I assure you that my family will be well provided for, with me or without me."

"All right, Bryan, I suppose you better start calling me 'Dad' now instead of 'Sir'," Barry smiled as he extended his hand to Bryan to shake, which Bryan readily took. "Why not ring and invite your Dad, Sadie and the baby to the BBQ, Carla bought a lot more food than usual. Maybe she had a premonition."

"She did see me in the Fisherman's Thursday night."

"That might've done it then," Barry laughed. "So ring your Dad, yes?"

"I'm sending him a text now, rather than ring him," Bryan said, grinning, looking up from his phone, "he likes to sleep in Saturday mornings, Sadie allows him that little luxury. My Mum is also driving up here with her boyfriend from Sussex-"

"Invite your Mum, son, we're all one big happy family here, but you better come back and help me with the grilling."

"Thank you, I will."

He sent off a second message, including the Brown's address, he knew it by heart after entering it in the sat-nav on Thursday.

"So what are your plans for today between now and our BBQ?" Barry asked, "you must have a lot you want to do to make this early a start."

"Yes, we have. We have no food in the house, Sir- Dad - but I also need to go back to the house to see delivery of the dining room and lounge furniture due between 8 and 10. I desperately need to clean up the place too, before the girls move in today; I only managed to clean the kitchen, main bedroom and en suite yesterday. Then we are shopping for rings, to change and combine our bank accounts and get a car seat to fit in my car, and car insurances updated for second named drivers."

"So, looks like you need a professional clean up team to clean the new house, right? We can do that while you have a leisurely breakfast, and we'd be around the place to take in and organize the placement of the deliveries. We can set up the baby's room ready for Brie to sleep with you tonight. Give me the keys son, and leave it with us."

"Thanks, Dad," he grinned, telling him where the house key could be found. "Do you want me to get some more food in for the BBQ while we are shopping?"

"Yeah, we can always do with some more of those sausages and a few burgers, Carla knows what ones we like. And a couple more packs of lager ... I take it you prefer a different beer to lager?"

"I do, but as I'll be driving Carla and Brie home, I won't drink alcohol, and definitely won't touch my favourite tipple."

"That wouldn't happen to be Russian Stout, would it?"

"Yes it is," Bryan looked at him curiously, "Imperial Russian Stout, you don't see much of it about."

"Well, we've got plenty of it here, Carla's been stockpiling them for years."

"She's amazing!"

"She is, son," Barry nodded, "she certainly is. You keep her amazing, and you'll get nothing but support from this side of your family."

"Thank you, Dad. I intend making that my life's work."

The girls were still upstairs when they got back in the kitchen, so Barry poured his prospective son-in-law a cup of tea before ascending the stairs to wake John and Richard, the only sober sons he assumed he'd be able to rouse, and get them dressed to complete his clean-up team.