Catherine Ch. 14

"Yeah..., I bet! No Ripple, or Boone's Farm in his cellar!"

The look on her face at hearing that remark where all of a sudden thinking, Foot in your mouth again Swaggart?

"Bobby..., please..., don't go there like that."

"Your right Catherine! My sarcasm coming out again was uncalled for. I don't know him, but I am jealous of him."

"Bobby there's no need to be jealous of Jon. He is a very generous, and sweet man; but he's not..., you!"

"Again I'm sorry Catherine!"

Coming back to me, draping her arms over my shoulders, laying her body heavily into me, lips lightly touching mine, an me, wrapping her up in my arms, then just like in the truck, the explosion into mouth fulls of tongue filled kissing!

"WOW!" Breaking away. "I think I better get that wood now, Catherine!"

"Yes, I guess you better, while I put our leftovers in the fridge then I'm getting shower; I need it to cool down, but only a little," she says, backing away.

"Catherine wait, don't shower just yet; please! Change your clothes if you want, but don't shower."

"Why not," she ask. "Do you want to get in with me? You know we do have a lot of fun with that."

"Yes, very true. But I like the smell of you just the way you are right now, sweetly smoldering and heavy with pheromones!"

"You are so FULL of shit Swaggart!" As she steps right back into me with another hard kiss.

"Okay then," she says, breaking away. "But I am going to put something else on, it's to warm in here for this turtle neck and jeans." With that she lets go of me, leaving the kitchen for the bedroom.

Retrieving four large pieces of wood, a dozen smaller pieces for kindling, a starter log, it's back into the great room to get the fire going. When just a few minutes later I hear, "You're not done with that yet?"

Not looking up to see her, "Catherine, it takes a little time when you have to rub two sticks together."

"WHAT? Don't tell me you don't have a lighter, or matches?" The startled surprise in voice.

"Oh sure Catherine, but that would be way to easy. 'Recon Marines' do things the hard way just to prove we can do it."

The same thing I told John Wearing; busting his stones.

"Swaggart," she says, "You are so God Damn full of shit..., how can I believe anything you tell me?"

Looking up to see her standing near, hands on her hips, hair loose, laying on her shoulders, now wearing a white shirt dress and what looks like black stockings, the tops somewhere up under the hem of that shirt dress, no shoes or slippers.

Where it's reaching into the fire place to retrieve two pieces of partially flaming sticks of kindling, "You see Catherine..., it was a piece of cake!" Holding them up to show her.

"You really are, so full, of, shit, Swaggart! Now come here and make yourself useful," she's telling me.

With that, she turns back to the kitchen with me following a few moments later to see her taking the bottle of wine out of the freezer. "I think this is about chilled enough," she says. "So why don't you open it and get us some glasses," she ask.

Holding the cool bottle of Challis in my hand, but when I haven't made a move to do anything. "Is there anything wrong..., you don't want any wine," she's asking.

"Ah..., it's not that..., Catherine." As we exchange a long look.

"You do..., know, how, to, open, a, bottle of wine..., don't you," she ask.

"Um..., yes." Sort of replying to her.

"Then please Swaggart! Don't tell me you don't have a wine cork puller? Maybe a simple cork screw either?"

"Ah..., I think I do..., but not sure where right now."

"Oh My God No! You don't know where it...," her voice going up scale with her surprise; eyes momentarily look to the kitchen ceiling.

"Well Catherine, it's been a long time since I've needed one. Beer bottles, you know, use a simple leaver to open them! An beer cans have pop tops; another simple leaver. So Catherine tell me this -- after all these thousands of years of wine making, you would think someone..., would have come up with something simpler for a wine bottle then sealing it with a damn cork, where you need a tool to pry it out? But fear not Catherine, for I have a cordless drill and I know I have a drill bit that would make short work of that damn cork in no time."

"WHAT!" Bounces off the ceiling of the kitchen! "Drill out the cork? Don't you even THINK of doing that!" Sounding almost like a panicked threat.

"Why not? We can strain the wine through a napkin over a bowl filtering out the pieces of cork, if your worried about that; now looking around, seeing the tea towel on top of the island. "That tea towel there Catherine," pointing to it, "I think is clean, we can use that."

"Swaggart! You really can't be serious about that; can you?" The dismay written all over her face. As I'm trying not to laugh at the astonished look on her face,

But it's opening a cabinet drawer right next to me, pretending to rummage around looking for something, knowing all the time it's right in front me.

"Catherine, I guess this would be easier and more civilized wouldn't you think?" Picking up the screw-pull corkscrew holding it up to her.

"Swaggart! I swear..., I will ring your damn neck yet!" As she's comes towards me. "Now give me that damn bottle," she says.

Handing it back to her she immediately puts it on the counter top, before pushing herself into me, "You bastard, I swear you're driving me crazy!"

Holding her, smashing my mouth onto hers to a long hard, deep kiss. "Catherine, that's been my whole intention since I met you!" When breaking the kiss.

"Well you bastard..., you're doing a damn good job of it!" Before she smashes her mouth back onto mine.

No bra, her breast squashed hard against my chest, her arms hanging loose around my neck like they are, my hands sliding down over her back all the way to grip her ass cheeks in my hands. Lifting her up onto her tip toes with the outline of her bikini panties I feel through the material of her shirt dress. "You know something Swaggart," her breaking the kiss.

"What do I know Catherine?"

"I'm going to absolutely hate leaving here!" With that she crushes her mouth onto mine again.

My mind swirling around, OH MY GOD! What does she mean by that?

But after a few moments of this hard make out, breaking with a kiss to the top of her head, her forehead pressed against my chin, "Now that you've found the cork puller Swaggart." she says. "How about opening that bottle because I need a very long drink from it!"

"What ever you say Catherine."

"Damn you stop..." Where I cut her off again crushing her mouth with mine.

When at last letting her go with me pretending to get some wine glasses from the overhead cabinet behind me. "Damn it Catherine, I think all the wine glasses were put away too, so I guess it will have to be a Styrofoam cup?"

"Styrofoam cup? She exclaims. "I see it's going to take some work to tame that barbarian in you!"

"Barbarian? Catherine, I can read and write; you know, plus, as I pull two wine glasses from the cabinet, will these do?"

"Laughing as she steps into me again, "These will do just fine," she says. Where she takes the two wine glasses from my hands.

"So then," she says. "Can I assume you know how to use that cork puller? If so, why don't you open the bottle. Then I'll show you how to enjoy some really fine wine," she's telling me.

Taking out my small pocket knife to slit and peel the foil covering off the bottle top. Centering the corkscrew on top of the cork to screw it in until there's just a few of the corkscrew threads showing. Now pulling down on the wings of the opener slowly removing the cork from the bottle. An with a few twist of the corkscrew, completely pull the cork from the bottle neck.

"Okay Catherine, I'm ready if you are?"

"Catherine, who's been watching me all the time, "You did that very well," she says.

"Well, its not the first time I've pulled a cork from a wine bottle you know. Sally and her girlfriends were the wine drinkers around here. An oh, how crazy they could get after a few glasses of wine. It could get down right raunchy, even down to the point of shedding a few clothes."

"Oh? An you were here during the shedding I suppose," she's asking.

"Yeah Catherine, but I didn't stick around. It was their time to let their hair down. Plus, it was to hard on my hard on too!"

"What? Why you pig," she calls me..., again!

"Yeah, Catherine, oink, oink!"

"Alright now...," she says, "Hold the glass by the stem while you pour the wine gently down the inside of the glass until it's.., with this type of glass, about half full. Then do the same for the next glass."

Doing as she said, handing the first glass to her, then taking the empty glass she's holding to fill it the same as the first one.

"Nice job again Conan! You managed not to spill any, or drop the glass either," she bust on me.

"The glasses are for you Catherine, I'm chugging mine right out of the bottle; wine-o style."

"Put..., the God Damn bottle down Swaggart!" She commands.

"Now..., swirl the wine gently around in the glass. Okay..., lift the glass just under your nose and take a few breaths through your nose."

Doing as she says, "So Catherine, what should I be smelling. Right now..., taking another breath, it just smells like sour grapes. I was expecting it to smell something like Welches white grape juice."

But while she was doing exactly what she had been telling me, but after my remark about the grape juice, she turns away from me, laughing so hard she almost spills her wine. But when turning back, after regaining her composure. "Swaggart, please, for me, try to be serious just for once?"

"Alright Catherine, just for you!"

"Bobby what you should smell is the various components of the wine, like fruits, flowers, herbs. But don't worry about that just yet, it takes time and practice to pick those out. For now, I hope it has a nice pleasant aroma to you," she says.

Taking another sniff of the wine, then with a slight turning of my head, "Sorry, but it's going to take me a long time to pick out the fruits, flowers and herbs. I guess smelling so much diesel fumes and gun oil has ruined my sense of smell, except for the sweet smell of you Catherine! I could find you in football stadium full of women blind folded."

That smile, the laugh, "You are..., so, full, of shit Swaggart!" Where she steps into me, "Bobby, as long as you think you can do that it's just fine with me!" Where she puts her hand behind my head to pull it down meeting her mouth for the long kiss that follows.

With her breaking the kiss, "How about I take the bottle while you turn out the kitchen lights, then with your..., glass of wine, follow me so we can enjoy your hard work with starting the fire," she says.

"That's just another of the many nice things I've heard from you today Catherine." As I watch her walk away to disappear around the corner into the great room. Turning down the kitchen lights, it's swallowing several long pulls emptying the wine glass, it's good; I like it! Where I follow the same route she just did into the great room.

The great room holds a large leather horse shoe shaped sectional with the open end towards the fireplace, along with a heavy oblong coffee table within the horse shoe which provides a nice resting place for my feet, which Sally was always telling me to get them off it. Catherine, setting the wine bottle on the coffee table, walks around to the front wall looking at framed pictures on the walls and shelves, commenting on the ones of Erin with Sally and how much Erin looks like Sally. "Bobby...," I hear next, you look so young and so handsome in this picture of you.."

Of course knowing which one she's talking about; the one they take of you when you graduate recruit training, blue tunic, white cover. "Yes Catherine at one time I was."

"Oh..., like your so old now," her come back.

"Maybe not on the outside but..., there's a lot of mileage on the inside now."

"Oh My God! I think I know which one is you in this other picture," she saying. "But who are the others? You all look..., so..., you really..., all look...,"

"Look what Catherine?" Interrupting her. "Like a bunch of made up bad asses that just walked onto the set of some Hollywood movie studio? Except what you see is the real deal; guys who could have boasted about kicking ass and taking names later types, but never did, because we didn't have too, and never would anyway. It was the respect from those who really new what we did that really meant something. But well before then, none of us looked anymore like that fresh face, just out of recruit camp, full of spit and vinegar, blue tunic white cover we all looked like at one time. Catherine in that picture, we had just got off that helicopter from a four day run where we set up an ambush that took out all fifteen of a group of insurgents who had been using people in a small village as human shields."

"What you see of us Catherine, is what we referred to as our little band of brothers. That picture was taken by Doc, who was a Navy Medic assigned to our unit. We were returning from that mission, about half way into our second extension in Afghanistan; where it had been a pretty rough time for all of us. But Doc had his camera out so we stood there and let him snap away. Left to right Catherine, is Lineman; also known now as, Master Sergeant, Benjamin Frazer. Next to him is GW. also know as, Master Sergeant, Leroy George Washington Pickett. The short shit in the middle is Speedy."

"Oh Fuck!" Sticking in my throat, unable to hide the vision.

"Always remembered as..., Gunnery Sargent Carlos Michael, Santiago Hernandez. I'm the one on his left, then Banjo, also known as Master Sergeant, Richard Wiley, is the one on my left Catherine."

"Those other names all nicknames I assume, Bobby," she ask now.

"Yes Catherine, nick names."

"Okay. An what do they call you," she ask.

"Pappy."

"What? Pappy! Why Pappy," asking sounding surprised.

"Because I'm the oldest and the longest in time and grade..., by about two weeks," answering her.

"Ooh. So you're the old fart!"

"Thanks a lot Catherine!"

"Bobby..., why is there a black ribbon on the frame," she ask now.

Thinking, Good God why did you have to ask that?

Without answering until, "Bobby why is..,"

"Catherine!" Stopping to pull it together. "It's because we lost Speedy about three weeks after that picture was taken. Along with Doc, the guy who took the picture. But Doc wasn't killed..., only severely wounded..., he lost his right arm below the elbow. An Catherine..., it was the same day I almost bought it too!"

"OH Dear GOD Bobby I'm sorry," her apology.

All the time I was talking to her, I've been staring into the fire place at the flames flickering and dancing, that day playing back, still so vivid in my mind. Where I've just noticed that she's come around the sofa, sitting a little less than arms reach away from me.

"Catherine, that's why I have this scar where they inserted the pace maker." Touching my chest about two inches above my left nipple. Looking over at her now to see the slight nod of her head, remembering what I told her about the pace maker; then joking about it, as we continue to look back at each other.

Getting up, its going back to the kitchen, only stopping when I hear her sharply asking, "Bobby..., where are you going?"

"Catherine, I'm going to fix some coffee."

Hearing nothing back from her, it's on into the kitchen, because I really need that cup of coffee! A few minutes later, standing at the counter waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, she comes into the kitchen, her arms going around my waist where she lays her body against me.

"I'm sorry Bobby if I stirred up something so painful," she says.

"It's alright Catherine, that day is never that far beneath the surface."

"That day Catherine, along with many others..., is a lot of reasons why I'm up in the middle of the night; Sally didn't know how to deal with it. She really didn't want to know about any of it..., she just wanted me to leave it there..., don't bring it home. Yeah right! Don't bring it home. Like..., leave the leftovers on the table when you leave the restaurant. But when you leave the restaurant Catherine, and depending on what you had for dinner..., you might come home with a massive case of indigestion. An regardless of what you take for it..., it keeps coming back."

"Oh Bobby..., I'm am, so sorry!"

Taking her arms from around my waist, pulling her around to face me she's right into me again with her beautiful mouth latching onto mine. Where the feel of her body, the pressure of her mouth on mine gets me thinking, She wants to know, and she likes me a whole lot more than she'll admit out loud to me.

Breaking the kiss, "Catherine, lets go sit at the table where I'll try telling you about that day if..., you want to hear about it. But first..., you might want to get that bottle of wine and your glass, while I'm fixing my coffee.

Telling Catherine "About That Day"

To a deep breath then a heavy sigh..., Catherine..., it was just another day in the neighborhood; sorry stupid joke. Things had been quiet, other than a few instances of some harassing fire from some idiot on the other side trying to prove his allegiance to their cause..., or what ever.

We were attached that morning to a med team, escorting them out to a village we had been to before. Catherine their access to any kind of medical facilities, doctors, a clinic, was next to nothing. These trips to the outlying villages may have been few and far between as far as those people seeing a doctor. They were given vaccinations, examinations discovering all kinds of ailments, treatment for them where they could, antibiotics for infections, even vitamins for the children, anything and everything they could do medical wise; things we take pretty much for granted.

We had been with this med team about ten days before out to this same village, this one a follow up. Taking the usual precautions, spacing between vehicles, med vehicles sandwiched in with the heavily armed point and heavily armed trail escort vehicles. I guess we had gone..., maybe twelve kilometers before we heard over the radio; all vehicles halt..., something was in the road; we hear. Right away from experience everybody is up looking around, weapons ready, heads swiveling checking out the country side, all us realizing this wasn't a good place to be stopping.

Then it comes over the radio, man down, man down, as all hell breaks lose, we're taking fire from somewhere up front and left of the road, and more fire from the rear and left side of the road. Then over the radio, Hernandez is down, Doc is down, thats when I took off running up the road but ended up having to jump into that drainage ditch that ran along the right side of the road, ducking, wading, ducking some more through about three feet of water until I got up to where some of the point team had taken cover in the ditch and were returning fire, along with the twin fifty's hammering away at where ever they thought the incoming fire was coming from..., and that's where I saw Doc and Speedy faced down on in the road.

But when I started over the edge of the ditch is when somebody yanked me back hollering we already tried Swaggart; Corporal Simmons took a hit. I looked over at him but he was already back in the fight, I found out later he took a through and through to his right shoulder,

I didn't care Catherine, those were my friends out there! Handing off my weapon, then crawled out onto the road..., I don't think I got a body's length out of the ditch before geysers of dirt started popping up all around me, but I just kept going, crawling as fast as could, I got to Doc first, but he kept hollering, "Get Speedy, Get Speedy!" I could see Doc's right arm was all bloody, but still crawled on to Speedy. When I got to him..., I grabbed hold of him and tried to pull him back toward the ditch..., I quickly realized the way I was doing it wasn't going work; too slow..., so holding onto the grab handles of his vest I began duck walking backwards, dragging him back towards the ditch.