DMV

DMV

Mid-August 2019. Huntsville, Alabama.

"Kade? You need to get your new license."

"I know. I just don't like taking time off."

"Well, you've been here long enough now that if you get stopped for driving with a North Carolina license, and you're not on active duty, you'll be wishing you'd taken the time off."

"I know. You're right, Wes. I'll run over there tomorrow morning first thing if that's okay."

"No time is a good time, but this has to be done, so sure, that'll be fine."

Kade Radliffe had recently completed his required five years in the US Army after graduating from West Point. He'd been Air Defense Artillery or ADA as the Army called it, and over those five years he'd served as a platoon leader, a battery XO (executive officer), a battalion training officer, and as commander of a Patriot missile battery assigned to the 108th Air Defense Brigade located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He'd finished third in his class at West Point and was as smart as they came. Like many of his fellow, former cadets, Kade had married right after graduation in the West Point chapel.

The woman he married was Karen Hastings, a beautiful girl he'd met through a close friend during a winter break when his roommate and fellow cadet invited him to come to his place for Christmas. Kade had no family to call his own and no place to go, so he'd jumped on the opportunity to spend time with a close knit family.

Kade had beaten the odds by getting into West Point, but he'd done that all his life. He was born 10 weeks premature thanks to his birth mother being a drug addict who was also mentally incapable of raising him and yet he'd managed to survive. He was almost adopted twice, but both sets of parents passed and he'd bounced around the foster system until he was 18.

Reading had been his saving grace, and while most kids in his situation turned to drugs, alcohol or even suicide to dull or end the pain, Kade read. Voraciously. He attended school, but because he bounced around so much, he'd had to teach himself many things. One of them was math up through basic calculus, something he'd accomplished before he turned 16.

He moved three times during high school, but managed to spend his entire senior year in the same foster home, the closest thing to a break he'd caught, and by the time he graduated, Kade left with a 3.95 GPA. He'd also been captain of the chess and debate teams his last year of high school.

He looked athletic, but had never really played sports except during PE. He enjoyed them, but never having had a dad or an older brother to teach him, his interests had never gravitated that way.

Via a series of chance encounters, he met someone who knew someone who knew a member of congress, and after a short personal interview, Kade had the congressman's recommendation and was accepted to West Point.

Unlike nearly everyone else, he'd thrived during Plebe summer. He thought all of the yelling and threats were hilarious, and never took them personally. He just did everything he was told to do or say, and did so with a positive attitude. The same was true during that entire first year when the mental stress remained high from the constant harassment of upperclassmen on top of the grueling course load.

Even the academics were easier for him than most of his peers, and he left 'the Point' with a matching 3.95 GPA and a degree in aerospace engineering. He further put that education to use in the Patriot missile system and was always an 'above center mass' kind of guy on his Officer Evaluation Reports or OREs. Being 'center of mass' was where the average officer ended up, and because commanders could only place so many people in the 'above center mass' category, it wasn't a given. But Lieutenant and later Captain Radliffe had consistency ranked put there, and anyone who knew him was aware that he'd earned those high marks.

The only thing he hadn't done was serve in combat, and that was through no fault of his own. After finishing ADA training Kade was assigned the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of 14-Alpha within the ADA branch of the Army then sent to Fort Bragg.

Karen Radliffe told her new husband she was pregnant within a month of arriving at Bragg, and while Kade was extremely busy with his new career, he had never been so happy in all of his life. Having never had a family, the thought of having his own was something he'd dreamed about all of his life. He now had a beautiful wife, and in another seven or eight months, he would have a son or daughter to love the way he'd hoped to be loved but never experienced.

Of all the things he'd ever learned or read about, obstetric hemorrhage wasn't one of them. Nor did he know that some 800 women still died from it every year in the US while giving birth. About 70% of those deaths were preventable, but Karen's wasn't.

The post hospital at Fort Bragg had fully-stocked emergency carts containing the drugs and equipment necessary to immediately respond to a woman who was hemorrhaging. But as he learned, there were some cases where no doctor, no matter how talented he or she might be, could perform a miracle. Karen's was one of those cases.

So by the time their daughter, Katie, a beautiful little girl Karen had only been able to hold once for a few seconds, was just four days old, she and her father were attending a funeral for her mother.

The following months were a blur of anger, sadness, disbelief, and trying to find suitable care for Katie. Somehow, he'd balanced every one of the many balls he was juggling at the tender age of 23 until he left active duty at the age of 27, and still managed to be a top performer.

The one thing that kept him from going insane was knowing his sweet, little girl would be waiting for him no matter when he went to pick her up. She soon recognized his face, and her toothless little smile would light up the moment she saw her daddy and make everything else in the world seem unimportant.

Unwilling to stay in the Army and deploy for months at a time while leaving his daughter with anyone else, Kane began looking at contractor jobs, and one in particular caught his attention. A company called DCS needed a systems engineer to serve as part of an Integrated Product Team tasked with developing a replacement for the Patriot missile system. They competed with Raytheon, the industry leader in all things missiles, but after interviewing with DCS in Huntsville, Alabama, he was sold.

After just ten weeks on the job, Kade was already making a name for himself, and his team leader told him there was a very good chance he might become a deputy team leader within the next year. And that was just one of many reasons he hated taking time off for anything.

But his team chief was right. He had to get an Alabama driver's license within the next two weeks so a trip to the DMV, no matter how painful it might be, had to made. And although he maintained a positive outlook on everything he did, not even Kade Radliffe could get excited about going there.

That evening, he found out online what information the DMV required, got his paperwork together, then told his now 4-year old daughter they would be going somewhere together early the next morning.

Katie already looked so much like her mother that her dad sometimes found himself staring and wondering whether Karen was 'up there' watching them. He knew that if she was, she would be so very proud of their beautiful little girl. The big difference was that Katie's hair was still very blonde like her mother's had been when she was that age. But somewhere around the age of five, Karen's hair began turning dark, so Kade assumed that would likely happen with his daughter as well.

"Okay, Daddy!" she happily agreed, not caring where they went or why they were going as long as it was with her father.

Kade pulled into the DMV parking lot right at 0800 or oh-eight hundred hours as the Army called it, and got Katie out of her carseat.

"Where are we, Daddy?" she asked once he set her on the ground.

He took her hand then tried to explain.

"But you can already drive a car," Katie insisted.

"Yes, but we have to have something called a license, and only the DMV can give us one."

"Can I have one?" Katie innocently asked.

"Not quite yet, sweetie. You have to be 16 years old."

"But I'm big!" his daughter countered.

Kade laughed then told her she was as he opened the door and let her go in first. He laughed out loud when he drove up and saw a dozen or so people who'd been waiting for it to open file in ahead of him, so maybe the early bird wasn't going to catching any worms this warm, summer morning.

"There's lotsta peoples in here, Daddy," Katie announced when she saw them, too.

Her father ignored her grammar and pronunciation and scanned the room until he saw a sign that said 'Replacement Licenses'.

He went there and took a ticket then looked at the counter on the wall to see how many people were ahead of him.

"Seven?" he said out loud, knowing he'd be there a while in spite of having arrived within two minutes of it opening.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Katie asked.

"Oh. Nothing. I just need to get to work."

"Don't you want to stay with me?"

"Of course, honey. But I have to work, too. But we're together now, right?"

Katie thought for a moment then looked up at her dad and said, "Yes, we are!"

"Okay, kiddo. Let's go find a seat, shall we?"

"Right there, Daddy!" she told him as she pointed to one.

"We need two of them together, don't we, sweetie?"

"No. I can sit on your lap, remember?"

Kade looked down and smiled at his daughter then told her she was absolutely right.

He walked over to the seat, sat down, then grabbed Katie and pulled her up on his lap.

He saw her smiling at someone to their left and turned see who it was. It was the young girl sitting next to them he'd noticed but not really seen.

"Hi there!" she said to Katie. "You're very pretty."

"Thank you. You're pretty, too," the 4-year old replied.

"Are you getting your driver's license today?" the girl teased.

Remembering what her father had just told her, Katie very authoritatively informed her, "No. You have to be 16-years old to drive a car."

"Oh, right. Well, how old are you?"

"I'm this many!" she said, holding up four fingers.

"Nice! When will you be five?"

"Um...on my birthday!" she announced, happy with herself for knowing the answer.

The girl covered her mouth and tried not to laugh but couldn't help it.

"She just turned four, so she has a way to go," the handsome man holding her said with a smile.

The teenage girl blushed when Kade spoke to her, but still managed to say, "Oh. Okay," before turning away.

This wasn't the first time a girl had blushed when he spoke to her, so Kade tried to make her feel better.

"Are you getting your license by any chance?" he asked.

"No. My learner's permit," she said, barely turning her face knowing it was still on fire.

"Ah. So...are you here by yourself?" he asked, knowing she couldn't be.

"No. My mom is over there asking questions. If she doesn't stop, I'll never pass my test."

"I'm sure she's just trying to help. That's what moms do, right?"

"I guess," the teenager replied, venturing another quick glance at the handsome man with the thick, dark hair and gorgeous eyes.

Already out of things to say, Kade sat back and left well enough alone. After maybe two more minutes, the girl's mother headed back to the waiting area and sat down.

"I swear! The DMV is is the most frustrating place...."

Katie heard her and leaned over to look. The woman's frustrations melted away immediately when she saw the little girl and said, "Well, hello there? Aren't you just a pretty little thing!"

Again, Katie said 'thank you' then told her she was pretty, too. And the truth was, it was very accurate. She was a very attractive woman with an amazing smile and long, dark hair and bright, blue eyes, and a beautiful smile.

"She's four, Mom," the teenager informed her mother.

"Oh. Well, then she's a big girl!" the woman said loudly enough for Katie to hear.

She leaned over then said, "What's your name, sweetie?"

"I'm Katie. What's your name?"

"Merritt. My name is Merritt. Can you say that?"

"Merritt," Katie parroted back as her father finally noticed the woman talking to his daughter.

He'd gotten his phone out and was calling his team chief who laughed.

"Take whatever time you need, Kade. You just never know with the DMV."

When he hung up, he looked over, and the woman smiled at him.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to talk to your daughter without your permission, but she's just SO cute I couldn't help myself."

"Thanks. Yeah, she's a keeper, aren't you?" her father said with a smile as he tickled her ribs ever so slightly.

Katie giggled then said, "I don't know. What's a keeper?"

The woman laughed then said, "She's adorable!"

Her daughter nearly died when her mom said, "I remember when my daughter was like that. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end."

"Mom! Are you serious?" the girl said, now embarrassed for a different reason.

"She seems pretty nice to me," Kade told the woman.

"Thank you!" the girl said, using his words against her mother.

"I'm just kidding. She's a keeper, too."

There was a pause before she added, "Well, most days, anyway," and drawing another comment of exasperation.

"I'm Merritt, by the way," she told Kade.

"Kade."

"Is that short for Caden?"

"Mom? Why don't we just switch seats?" her daughter suggested.

"Oh. Sure. Great idea. See? You are a keeper, Gracie!"

The girl shook her head as she stood up and swapped places.

"No. It's just Kade. With a 'k' and a silent 'e'.

The woman laughed then said, "I'm Merritt. With two r's and two t's."

Kade chuckled then told her it was a pleasure which prompted her to say that it was for her, too, before he introduced his daughter.

"And this is Katie. Also with a 'K' and an 'ie'."

"She already knows that, Daddy!"

"She told me while you were on the phone," Merritt informed him.

"Ah, okay. And did I hear you call your daughter Gracie?"

"Yes, but only I'm allowed to call her that. To everyone else it's just Grace, without the 'ie'."

"Well, our names are important, and if someone tells me his name is Charles, I'd never assume 'Chuck' is okay. Or vice versa."

"I agree. I'm not much on being called 'Mer' or other such derivatives," Merritt said before looking around and rhetorically asking if this was going to take all day.

"I'm starting to think we should have packed a lunch," Kade said, only partly kidding.

"I know. This is...awful!"

She leaned closer then said, "And not just because my 15-year old daughter is getting her permit. But...you've been warned!"

"I heard that, Mom!" Grace called out.

"Oops. Busted!" she said to Kade only a little more quietly and with a laugh.

"She seems responsible," he replied just as quietly. "You know, based on the 30 seconds we spoke to each other."

Merritt laughed then told him she agreed.

"She's not at all like her mother was at that age. I was...hell on wheels, and Grace is a saint in comparison."

Kade smiled then told her it appeared that she'd made a full recovery.

When she laughed again, Merritt let him know how good it felt to laugh.

"Stress?" Kade asked.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. Between our having just moved here, my ex, and a new job, I'm on overload. Oh, and Grace getting her permit, of course."

She smiled then said, "So the short answer is, yes about stress."

"You've got me beat," Kade told her. "We did recently move to Huntsville, and I do have a new job, but I absolutely love what I'm doing, and then I have this amazing little thing."

Katie made his day when she gave him a hug and a kiss when he looked down at her and called her amazing.

Merritt had already noticed the gold band on his left hand, and assumed he was married.

"Your wife is a very lucky lady to have both of you," she said very pleasantly.

Katie looked up at Merritt, then without any emotion, said, "My mommy died when I came out of her tummy."

Merritt's eyes opened so wide it scared Katie.

"No. I'm sorry, honey! I...I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just so surprised by what you said."

She put her hand on the little girl's back then told her how sorry she was.

"And you, too, Kade."

He leaned her way then very quietly said, "Thank you. Katie never knew her mom, so while I've shown her every video we have of her and all the pics, Karen, my wife, is just...a concept to her."

"Shame on me for feeling sorry for myself," Merritt quietly said without any explanation.

When she realized Kade couldn't possibly understand, she leaned over and told him, "After my husband retired from the Army two years ago, he retired from our family, as well. Grace was devastated, and I was shocked. I had no idea anything was wrong let alone that he was seeing someone else."

She looked right at Kade then said, "But compared to what you've had to deal with, my problems seem rather trivial."

"Not at all," Kade told her immediately. "There's no way to compare those kinds of things. Yes, my loss was terrible, hurtful, and permanent. But you have to live every day knowing your ex is out there with someone else after tearing up the life you built together. So who's to say which of us has suffered 'more', right?"

"You sound like a military officer," Merritt said with a smile.

"Oh?"

"Yes. My husband was a master sergeant, and over the years I came to see how officers and enlisted soldiers view the Army and the world. In my opinion, neither is better, but both have very different points of view. And it's usually pretty easy to tell the officers by the way they look and the way the talk. Well, in most cases. My ex was an exception to the rule. He was handsome and well-educated. But he loved being an NCO and had no desire to move to the other side of the house, so to speak."

Kade looked around as though he was about to share some top secret information then leaned close to Merritt and said, "Full disclosure? I was an officer."

As she pulled back, Kade said, "Shhh. Not a word, okay?"

Merritt laughed again then promised she'd never tell before leaning back his way and saying, "West Pointer, too, huh?"

Kade tilted his head, furrowed his brow, then asked how she knew.

"I didn't. Not until you told me."

But he also still wore his class ring, and when he held it up, he told Merritt he thought she might have seen it.

"Nope. You just have that vibe. And no offense."

He laughed and started to reply when Grace said, "Mom! That's us. They just called our number."

"Hallelujah! We're up!" Merritt said as she also stood.

"Bye Miss Katie!"

"Bye!"

"It was wonderful talking with you, Kade. Best of luck with your job and this sweet little girl."

"Thank you, and same to you. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into one another again sometime."

"I'd like that," Merritt said very pleasantly as Grace hooked her arm and drug her away.

Dating was the last thing on Kade's mind, so it struck him as odd that he found himself staring at this older woman named Merritt as she went to Window #4 with her daughter. She looked just as attractive from the backside as she had from the front, and she'd looked very nice from that perspective.

Merritt wore her long, dark hair well for a woman her age; an age Kade didn't know but assumed was maybe 10 years more than his own. Even so, her face looked much younger than that due to her having beautiful skin with no visible wrinkles that he could see, even around the corners of her eyes. Coupled with those beautiful eyes and that amazing smile, she was a very attractive woman indeed. From the front.