DMV

"Thank you, general," Kade said, knowing most retired generals and admirals preferred being addressed by their former rank.

"I particularly liked your idea on defeating a last-second, 35-degree pitch-up. It's obvious you've done a lot of thinking about the Rmin to Rtr parameters to ensure we enlarge the no-escape zone."

It was all tech-speak for flight factors like the maximum range a target can immediately turn and fly the opposite direction and still be reached by the missile and the minimum range where the missile can be launched, acquire its target, and explode without posing a threat to the launcher.

It was one of many ideas Kade had to make this new generation SAM a lethal threat to enemy aircraft on the battlefield.

As luck would have it, the general had a line of waiting sycophants who wanted their chance to 'grip and grin' with him, and Kade was able to slip away and blend back in with the crowd after just a couple of minutes of glad-handing.

He went to the bar to grab himself a beer when a very attractive woman from HR named Angie approached him.

"Kade. Hi there," she said in a heavy Alabama accent, a bright smile on her face.

"Angie. How are you?" he asked. "Can I get you anything?"

"Um...some white wine, please?"

He handed her a glass, took his beer then turned and said, "Cheers!"

She touched her glass to his bottle then asked him how he was doing.

"Good, thank you. And you?"

"Better now," she told him with a smile, letting him know that he was the reason why.

"So...you're here alone?" Kade asked before taking another small sip.

"I am," she told him before leading closer and letting him know that's because she wasn't seeing anyone.

"But that could change were I to say...meet the right man tonight."

"Ah. Okay," Kade replied and smiling as he did so.

Angie was very pretty and probably a couple of years younger than him.

"I've been meaning to stop by and get to know you better, but you're always very busy," she informed him.

"Oh. Yeah, I uh, I tend to get lost in my work," he said, the smile still there.

He didn't mention that it kept him from thinking about the woman he loved or how lonely he knew he was in those rare moments when he was completely honest with himself.

"So...I heard your wife died," Angie said out of the blue. "That's so...terrible."

He had no reason to think she was being insincere, but the way she said it sounded like she was using this information as a way to strike up a conversation rather than to express her condolences.

"Um, yes. I did. And it was pretty terrible," he quietly agreed.

"Well, listen. I'm actually really good about helping people forget about their troubles," Angie said as she ran a finger down the front of his shirt.

Now utterly nonplussed by her attitude, Kade just smiled politely before telling her he was sure that was true as he looked around for someone to rescue him.

"Oh, it is," she assured him as she essentially whispered in his ear. "In fact, if you'd like to do some forgetting later tonight, I could give you my...."

"Wes! You got a sec?" Kade called out when his boss passed by close enough to be heard.

"Would you please excuse me?" he said to Angie as nicely as he could.

"I'll excuse you anytime," she let him know as he walked away. "And I'll be right here when you're done talking shop!"

Wes laughed when his young charge explained what was going on.

"Yeah, it must really suck to have hot, young women hitting on you," the older man said with a laugh. "I'd say, 'Or so I remember, but even then that wasn't a problem I ever had'."

Kade made sure to laugh, too, then looked at his watch.

"You in a hurry to get home?" his boss asked.

"I guess I am," Kade admitted. "I've never left Katie with a babysitter at night before."

"I'm not gonna ask how you pulled that off on active duty," Wes said as he slapped his fellow DCS employee on the back. "But as far as I'm concerned, you've punched your ticket for the night. If you want to get out of here, feel free."

He leaned over then said, "But if you can talk that cute little hottie into going home with me, I'd owe you one."

Kade laughed again then told him he wasn't brave enough to go back over there and talk to her. He saw Wes looking her way and ogling her long legs in the short dress and shook his head.

"I think I'm gonna take you up on your offer and head home."

"I honestly can't say I blame you, Kade. These things are necessary evils, but like they say, you can often get more done in an hour at a cocktail party than during an entire week on the phone."

Kade told him he agreed, shook his boss's hand, then quietly made his way to the door while avoiding Angie.

Once he was in his car he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Wes was right about social functions, and maybe one day it wouldn't feel like such a burden attending them. And that thought made him miss his wife even more as he knew he'd have stayed until the end, and probably even enjoyed it, were she by his side. But she wasn't, and until he could find someone like her to let him fall in love again, the likelihood of finding 'mandatory fun' enjoyable seemed even less likely than ever finding a woman like that.

But as always, his mood brightened when he pulled into the driveway and thought about his daughter running into his arms. It was only 9 o'clock, and it was still possible Katie was awake even though he normally put her to bed around 8:30.

When he walked in, he knew she was still up. But this time Katie didn't come running to him. As he headed toward the sound of female voices, the reason why was obvious.

Laughter erupted on his way to Katie's room, and then a second round hit after he heard a buzzing noise.

"Not again!" he heard his daughter say.

He stopped at the door and looked in to see what was going on, and he smiled when he saw Grace playing Operation with Katie. A newer version of the old board game was too much to pass up when he saw it in a store, and he and Katie had played it many times. He nearly laughed when he recalled her getting 'shocked' the first time she tried to remove the funny bone.

Grace sensed someone else and turned around to see. Even so, she yelped, and that scared Katie who screamed before Grace got hold of herself.

"Mr. Radliffe! You scared me to death!" she told him, having forgotten she could call him by his first name.

"Sorry," he said as he held back a laugh.

Katie jumped up and ran to her father having already forgotten about being scared.

"Daddy! We're playing Operation and I'm winning!"

"I...saw that," her father said without mentioning her failed attempt.

"She's really good," Grace told him with a wink.

"She always beats me, too," Kade said with a wink of his own.

"You're back early," Grace noted when she saw the time.

"Sorry. I don't much care for parties, but I'll pay you for the full three hours."

"You don't have to do that," Grace told him.

"It's more than worth it. You're...more than worth it."

Grace's cheeks warmed again, but they didn't glow this time.

"Katie's awesome. We had lots of fun, didn't we?" she said to Kade as she pulled on Katie's shirt.

"Yes we did! Hey? You wanna play something else?" Katie asked as she let her father know she wanted down.

"Um, sure. I just don't know how much longer I'll be staying."

She was looking at Kade who looked at his watch before saying, "How about another 15 minutes then bed time?"

"Okay!" Katie replied. "And Grace can read me my stories!"

"Wait. Stories? You get more than one?" Grace asked her very seriously. "Because back in my day, we only got one. Ever."

Katie giggled, hugged Grace, then said, "Come on! Let's go play!"

As he watched them run off, Kade was aware that he felt happy for the first time in a long while. He wasn't a gloomy Gus, he just rarely felt like this. But seeing Katie so happy and with someone she liked and trusted was pretty amazing.

As the girls walked by him, Grace asked what time she should have her mom come pick her up.

"Maybe...9:30?" he suggested.

"Okay. I'll let her know," Grace said as she disappeared from view.

As much as he wanted to join in, Kade left the girls alone and went to the kitchen. When he saw that everything was neat, tidy, and put away, he smiled again. Grace was clearly a very conscientious young lady who'd been taught the importance of cleaning up after herself.

The popcorn bag was in the trash as were two cupcake tins, and there wasn't a crumb anywhere on the kitchen counter.

Fifteen minutes came and went, and it was Grace who took charge and told Katie it was story time. Kade smiled when he not only didn't hear any complaining but a happy 'okay' from his daughter.

He did go in and listen to Grace read two of Katie's favorite stories to her then kissed her goodnight, but only after she gave Grace a kiss, too.

"You're really good with her," Kade said after they left the bedroom.

"She's really sweet. Thank you for letting me watch her."

"Oh, sure. And thank you for offering. It's really great knowing I have someone I can trust."

As they walked into the living room, lights appeared in the driveway, and Grace said, "My mom's here."

Not knowing what she might be doing, Kade didn't want to interrupt her evening any more than it had been, but he also didn't want to be rude, so he asked Katie to see if her mom might want to come in and talk for a bit.

"Sure. I'll ask her," the teen said as she opened the front door.

Kade saw her go to the driver's side then smiled when the engine shut off.

He opened the door back up and asked them both to come in.

"Hi," he said to Merritt who smiled at him.

"Good evening. I trust you had an enjoyable evening."

Kade laughed politely then told Merritt, "I did in the sense that I knew my daughter was in good hands."

Merritt understood what he meant and said, "I'm not big on social functions myself. But yes, Grace is a very responsible girl."

"And the place is spotless," Kade replied while smiling at Grace.

Merritt put her arm around her daughter then said, "She's really good about that when she babysits. Now if we could just get her to do that at home...."

"Mom!" Grace protested.

"Can you stay long enough to sit and talk for a bit?" Kade asked rather hopefully.

"We don't want to keep you," Merritt told him.

"Keep me? Please!" he said with a smile. "I'd love some company."

"In that case...okay."

Kade offered them a drink, but no one asked for anything.

"So how's the new job going?" he asked to break the ice.

Merritt smiled and told him it was going quite well.

"I thought I'd enjoy it, but until you meet the people you'll be working with, especially the person you'll be working for, you never know. But in this case, I lucked out on all fronts."

"That's fantastic," Kade told her.

"How about you? How's your job going? Other than the social functions, of course, which reminds me, I have one next weekend myself."

He'd forgotten just how beautiful Merritt's smile was, but when he saw it, he not only recalled it, it made him feel something he hadn't felt in quite some time. Or maybe just since he'd first met her at the DMV.

"Already?" Kade asked with a laugh.

"Raytheon does a monthly 'hail & farewell', and this is my 'hail'," Merritt said with a small amount of annoyance.

"I sympathize, but on the upside, maybe you'll meet someone, right?"

"Yeah, Mom. Maybe you'll meet someone," Grace said, jumping on the bandwagon.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you two are in cahoots."

"Uh-oh. Did I just hit a sore spot?" Kade asked.

"No. It's okay," Merritt told him. "I guess I'm just a little sensitive still about...."

"Men?"

Before her mom could answer, Grace said, "Yes. She won't give anyone a chance."

"Honey. That's not fair," her mom said as nicely as she could. "I mean, I am being nice to Kade, right?"

"Yeah, but that's different," her daughter said.

"Wait. How is that different?"

"I don't know. I guess I just assumed you guys would never like, you know, go out or whatever."

"Well, it's not that Kade isn't...really nice. It's just that we're, you know...."

Grace was waiting for an answer, and Kade was enjoying himself, and evidently he had a smile on his face he wasn't aware of.

"Okay. What's so funny?" Merritt asked.

"Funny?" Kade asked, enjoying watching her squirm.

"You're sitting over there smiling, so I'm assuming you're enjoying this."

"Sorry. I think maybe I was, but I didn't mean to be rude. In fact, it would be very flattering if a woman as beautiful as you are, you know, thought of me like that."

Kade was out of practice, but that was just...lame.

"Mom! You're blushing!" Grace said the moment a light, rosy glow appeared on her mother's cheeks.

"I...I am not!" her mom insisted, even though she could feel the warmth on her face.

"Maybe you guys could go together. To your function thing," Grace suggested.

"Okay! This is getting crazy! I think it's time we headed home," Merritt announced, mostly to avoid further embarrassment.

"I hope you'll stay," Kade said immediately, not sure if she might really be offended.

"It's...it's getting late, and we really should be going," Merritt told him, even though she rarely went to bed before 11 o'clock.

"Can't we stay just a little while longer?" Grace nearly begged.

"Please?" Kade asked with a reassuring smile.

"Well...I suppose that would be okay," a somewhat-rattled Merritt agreed.

"So, back to work...how are things?" Merritt asked again.

Relieved that she was staying, Kade smiled at her then answered her question.

"Great. I couldn't be happier. I have a really good boss, a team that works well together, and I'm home every night by five o'clock."

"I'm not part of a team, per se, other than the Raytheon team, but I'd say that applies to me, as well," Merritt told him.

"I'm really glad. Work is such a large part of our lives. It's hard to imagine having to grit your teeth every day and just endure it for a paycheck."

"That would not be any fun at all," Merritt agreed.

Kade looked at Grace then said, "So...school's starting soon, right?"

"Ugh! Why did you have to say that?" Grace replied.

"You love school, honey!"

"Mom, I don't know anyone. Not one person."

Merritt was enjoying her visit, and her first thought was to make a joke out of Grace's comment, but she knew it wasn't funny. She really had uprooted her daughter's life in order to come back to Huntsville, so she only told her things would work out.

"Yeah, sure," a gloomy Grace replied.

"Do you play sports, Grace? Or are you a cheerleader?"

"Me? A cheerleader? Ha!" she replied.

"Grace doesn't think she's pretty enough or popular enough, and I keep telling her...."

"Mom!" Grace said again.

"Sorry. I just don't think you give yourself enough credit."

"Your mom's right, Grace."

"What?" Grace asked, surprised by Kade's comment.

"Yes. You're a very pretty girl, and you're going to make a lot of friends very fast. And there's no reason you couldn't be a cheerleader, assuming you don't think it's...silly."

"See, Gracie? It's not just me. You should give it a whirl!"

"Maybe we should leave now," Grace said without any kind of smile.

"It's true, honey. You're very pretty and you will make friends. Maybe at least think about it?"

"Yeah, sure," Grace quietly replied as the thought of walking into a new school nearly made her sick to her stomach.

The small talk soon became nearly invisible, so during a third quiet moment, Merritt suggested it really was time to get going.

Kade had almost forgotten to pay Grace and asked her to wait. He ended up giving her an extra $20, and in return he got a spontaneous hug and a very sincere 'thank you'.

"You're welcome. Good help really is hard to find, and I'm thrilled to know you're available, Grace."

As they walked out, Merritt quietly said, "Thank you for being so kind to my daughter. This really has been difficult on her."

"My pleasure. And as I said, Grace is pretty amazing."

Merritt smiled then told him she agreed.

"So...I guess we'll see each other around then?" she said.

"Right. Yes. And who know? Maybe I'll have occasion to drop by enemy headquarters one day."

Merritt laughed then suggested she might have a similar mission.

"I can't imagine what might bring me your way, but if there are documents to be hand delivered, I'm your girl. Or...woman. Or...."

Kade laughed and told her, "You can call yourself anything you like, but I'm sticking to what I said earlier."

Merritt gave him a kind of funny look, so he added, "About both of you," implying the were both beautiful.

They all said goodnight as Kade waited for them drive away. He waved and got two waves back then went back inside and wondered why being around Merritt made him feel the way he was feeling. She was the first woman since Karen who'd done that to him, and his rational brain was struggling to understand why. But he also knew that when it came to matters of the heart, one's rational brain didn't necessarily have the answers.

He woke up the following morning feeling the same way, and in spite of a crushing workload, it never went away. Even Katie realized something was different after having to ask her father a question more than once for the third time.

"Daddy? Are you okay?" she asked.

"Um, yes. Of course. Why are asking, honey?"

"Cuz you're awake but it seems like you're asleep," his four-year old told him.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Daddy's just preoccupied."

"What's per occupied?" she asked, trying to say the big word just like her father had.

He smiled then told her to come sit on his lap. She happily let him pull her up then looked up and waited for him to talk.

"You know I loved your mommy, right?"

"Uh-huh. I watched the videos with you, memmer? And I saw you kissing Mommy."

"Right. Yes, we did watch them. Several times."

He looked down at his baby girl then said, "Well, even daddies who love their little girls get lonely."

"Are you lonely?" she asked, heavily emphasizing the word 'you'.

"Sometimes."

"Then you should find a friend like Mommy."

Kade smiled then asked her if that would be okay.

"Well, would we still be friends?"

"Hey. You and I will always be friends. Always. Okay?"

Katie smiled then said, "Then it's okay!"

"So what if my new friend was a woman?"

Katie thought for a second then told her father, "If she's a woman then you can kiss her like you did Mommy!"

"And that would be okay with you?"

"I guess," Katie told him.

"But?"

"Well, would you still kiss me?" she asked, a hint of sadness in her voice after realizing this would mean sharing her daddy with someone else.

"You mean like this?"

Kade grabbed her, stood up, then spun her around as he kissed her neck over and over while making silly noises. Katie howled with laughter until she begged him to stop. The moment he did, she begged for more until she couldn't stand it then pleaded with him to stop again.

The following day, Kade left DCS for lunch, something he rarely did. He was entitled to 45 minutes away from work, but he almost always ate at his desk. He did so by choice because he hated leaving whatever he was working on just to eat then have to come back and get back in the groove. But today he had something else in mind.

He'd never been to the Raytheon building, and all kidding aside, it really was the enemy in a practical, business kind of way. But there was someone who worked among the enemy and seeing her again was the only thing that mattered to him.

No pass or badge was required to get inside, but once he was in the foyer, he had to talk with a receptionist and explain why he was there. The woman saw him, smiled broadly, then asked how she could help him.