Mando Bk. 03: General Badass Ch. 07

"Yes, but try as I might, I can't think of a way to protect everyone important to me. I must admit I have only thought of protecting my family. I never once thought Chuck would need protection."         

He squeezes me tight. "I love you so much, Danny.   We need to protect ourselves better. Maybe not take any jobs for a while even if the situation requires our skills. We're not messiahs; we can't save the entire world."

"I know." My spirits brighten. "Know something else? This VP thing is getting closer every day. This last month I've worked with the staff to have the right image, right story, right relationship with the staff, and being well groomed for the position. I'm not as nervous as I was at first." I giggle. "I thought I might have action withdrawal and have to shoot somebody to feel better."

He laughs. "Danny, your VP appointment is front-page news; that's so exciting. But you know what's revving my motor a thousand RPMs don't you?"

"Yes, our wedding next week has my motor roaring, too. I am SO wound up over it. In one week I will change my name and get a new title-all in the same week."

We undress and step into the shower together.   After a minute under the warm cascading water, he says, "I know we've talked about this, but I want to confirm something."

"Should I say uh-oh?" I eye him with concern.

"No, it's nothing like that. If we wait until you are VP to get married, it could be the wedding of the century. Dignitaries from all over the world could attend, and it'd be broadcast live. That's a rare opportunity. What is the real reason you gave that up?"

I wipe the water from my eyes and scrub the makeup off my face and neck. "Gino I will tell you the main motivation for that instead of a pat answer like: I didn't want my wedding to be an international affair or to be treated like royalty. Those aren't the real reasons."

"Then what?"

I lather his hair with shampoo, and then mine.   "Gino I never thought I'd feel or think this way after working so hard for women equality, but I want to take office as VP Marino, not VP Sterling-Marion. You know why?"

His head makes a slight side-to-side motion. "No clue."

"Because living together in harmony is all I want." I kiss his lips and say. "We are more than harmonious. We melt together like sugar in hot tea. I'm happier than I could ever imagine, and it's because of you. Together, we have accomplished the impossible, and we've done it together without jockeying for position or territory. Each of us brings different attributes and talents to our relationship. Our fire burns bright. See what I mean so far?"

"I'm tracking."

I connect the dots for him. "Picture the name, Sterling-Hodgkin's. It has a hyphen in it. A dash that separates us. It says we haven't become one. We are no more than roommates or house partners. Those are temporary relationships, but marriage confirms permanent intent, see?

"Yes." He kisses me. "You have given this much thinking and analytical time, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have. We are not together for any other reason than we want to be.   Although I think the woman taking the man's name is archaic because it implies property ownership, it fits the way I think now." I give him a peck on the lips. "I am yours-all yours forever and beyond. I want to be Mrs. Danny Marino, Vice President Marino, and General Marino. I want to be us forever."    

This time his kiss isn't a peck on the lips. We kiss passionately while the shower rinses the soap and shampoo from our bodies.  He wraps me in a large, thick towel and scoops me in his arms and carries me to bed.  We kiss with passion fueled from the unfathomable depth of an overwhelming and everlasting love. He drops me on our bed, scoots me to the middle, and crawls in beside me.

"Gino, I have a question about the wedding. How were you able to book the wedding at the largest, most beautiful, and prestigious cathedral in America on such short notice? Families book the Basilica of the Church of the Immaculate Conception years in advance. How did you do it?   Is it because you help the church in China?"

Gino chuckles. "Not at all. It was the call from the Vatican that did it."

My hands shoot to my face. "NO WAY!"

He laughs. "Oh yes, way! Fridays and Saturdays weren't open. I think all available times set aside for the main chapel for weddings are reserved six days a week for two years ahead."

"Okay, Mr. Sneaky." I hit him playfully in the shoulder. "That's why the wedding is on Sunday, isn't it? That church never has weddings on that day. Is that it?"

He grins. "That's part of it."

I bolt upright. "Gino! It can't be! He wouldn't-he couldn't. I'm not Catholic! He knows that!"

"I am Catholic enough for both of us because of the churches I sponsor in China.

I grab him by the lapel. "So that's why he is saying mass that morning isn't it?"

His grin is impish. "Could be."

"When was the mass scheduled?"

"About four weeks ago, I think."

I am dumbfounded. "But Gino his holiness's schedule is chiseled in stone. He can't just cancel things and fly over to the states to conduct a mass and a wedding!"

His grin owns his face. "Thing is, he planned to have lunch with the President and visit some dioceses next year; all he had to do was juggle the dates a little."

I butt noses with him. "WHEN, were going to tell me?"

He snickers. "I wasn't. It was part of my wedding present."

I fall back on the bed and stare at the ceiling. "You've called in favors, haven't you? The President is your best man; the first Lady is my matron of honor. Shit, son, this is still the wedding of the century. Any more surprises?"

He crosses his fingers while whistling and looking at the ceiling. "Nope."

"Okay, you big sneaky hunk of cock, I want to get back to the VP thing. It gives me the shivers just thinking about what could happen."

"Okay, love of my life and VP of the USA. What's got you spooked? Whatever it is, you are bigger than it is. That is an indisputable fact."

He gazes into my eyes with such love and adoration I melt like taffy in a teapot. "Gino one thing with the VP appointment makes me tremble." Remember what it is?"

"Uh-huh. You're afraid the president will die or become incapacitated in office. Yes, I remember." He kisses my nose, then my lips. "But even though the chances of that happening are slim, you'll rise to the occasion. You always do."

"Yes, but I really don't want to live in the White House. The lack of privacy will tie me in knots. We have a different lifestyle I want to keep." I complain.

"Yes, but we can have a getaway. Wwe can retreat to our home and run around the house naked, go skinny dipping, and sleep the way we want," He winks at me, grinning. I must admit, the idea is quite appealing.

"Yes, but this thing with Kammy. We can work it out for now. She can either stay here, and we visit three times a week, or the other way around. But that may draw attention to it." I cringe.

"Hold up there, cowgirl. Is my fearless warrior turning into a worry warrior?" He chuckles.

I relax. "Maybe. Or maybe I just like being prepared. I don't like surprises, so I try to think of all the possible things that need pruning. We must justify Kammy living at the VP palace."

"She's your valet, remember?"

"Yes, but what if we forget and show affection in public?"

He kisses me again. "My Worry Warrior Par excellence, since you are so aware of it, you won't do it.    

I hesitate before introducing a new subject and cover the lull by sipping a little wine. "Are you really all right with being the VP's husband?"    

He thumps my nose. "Danny, if you're worried about me feeling like I'm playing second fiddle, stop. I have my own identity; I won't get lost in yours. Not to worry."

Relief floods through me with the soothing effect of a warm bubble bath. "I know we've discussed this. I don't know why I mentioned it again. Maybe the combination of the wedding and taking such a public office is stressing me out."

He kisses me on the lips and forehead. "Yep, your plate is full alright."

"I want us to build a big house, a mansion of our own that we can entertain huge, elegant parties that will be the best in the world, and have escape tunnels like I have, and all the training areas we like. You know, a mansion like your parents, but three times as big for ballrooms, libraries, a wine cellar, spectacular landscaping and the highest security we can have," I paint my dream home. It's so real in my mind I can almost see myself standing in front of it.

"OK, Danny, but no matter how much security we have, we're still exposed to attacks from the air," he reminds me.

"Then we'll have to figure that out, won't we? Like a bunker below the house, or at the end of a tunnel away from the house. Now that I've talked all that out let's get kinky."    

"OK, then pour wine in my belly button and lick it out, and then anoint my nipples with Grand Marnier Liquor and suck and lick it off."

"And then?"

"And then forget about sleep."

***

The next morning my business phone plays Hail to the Chief. The white house!

      Good Morning."

Pleasant, velvet, husky female voice floats from the phone. "General Sterling?"

"Yes."

"Stand by for the President and the joint Chief Chairman."

The President's voice speaks first. "Hello, General Sterling. You've certainly been busy recently. I'm terribly sorry about Chuck. I know he was more than a business person to you and he and his wife were both your good friends."

"Yes, Mr. President," I say with sadness.

"That was quite a feat you accomplished in Chuck's situation."

"How so, sir? All I can think of is Chuck being killed to get to me."

"Yes, a few people died attempting to harm me, General. I understand your heartache on that score." He clears his throat.

"About that tragedy, I want to point out something good that came from it, although it doesn't justify Chuck's death."

"Good sir? If there was any good, I'm blind to it. Please share that because I can't find any."

"General, you initiated the release and recovery of three CIA agents imprisoned for over three years, a Mossad agent beat and tortured so much she was inches from death's door, and the eight civilian hostages imprisoned from one and a half to four years. You also eliminated twenty-four terrorists. All this points me to one comforting fact."    

"I could use some comfort. What fact is that?"

"By reuniting those twelve individuals with their families and restoring their health and lives, his death brought life to others instead of leaving a hollow void bereft of any benefit. It should never have happened, and I wish to god it hadn't. But it is a fact that on the day he lost his life, others got theirs back."

"Thank you, sir. I haven't thought of the hostages since- since-"I fight choking up and struggle to hold my act together." Since I saw his decapitated body bleeding out on the floor and his head rolling across the room."

"You're in quicksand, general. It's tough I know, but you'll make it through it. The Joint Chief Chairman has put in for your second promotion for this accomplishment coupled with the assassination prevention. The VP rescue stood on its own. You are now Major General. Congratulations."

"Wow!" I laugh. "I'm whizzing up that corporate military ladder so fast I'll get a speeding ticket." After their good-nature chuckles fade, the joint chief Chairman takes over. "I've filed the paperwork for and solidifying your promotion, so go purchase that second star now, General."

"Holy Christmas sir, now I have something to cheer me up. Thanks very much. It's a great distraction from thinking about the friend I lost."

"We have justification for this second promotion. When your term of VP is up, providing you don't continue for another term, a position will open that fits you like skin. Would you like to be a military advisor to the president?"

"Military advisor? Am I qualified for that?" I'm awe-struck.

"More than anyone I know."

After the conversation is over, I consider the possible implications of my rapid promotions and the new position. The military advisor to the President is the Chairman of the Joint Chief's job, so what's the position? I ditch that subject and return to something more important at the moment; the wedding.

***

The wedding is indeed the wedding of the century. I LOVE it. It is a wedding to die for, but I'm not going to. It is quite a cultural shock going from invisible to living in a glass bubble.    

Besides being held in the most famous and prestigious church in the world, the pope conducts part of the ceremony, and the first family is in the wedding party. It's a who's who affair. The groom is a known billionaire; the bride is a two-star General and head of the largest and most significant women's center in the world. The bride's wedding custom gown and jewelry from Paris awes the fashion world, jewelers, and future brides enough to influence the fashion and styles of many weddings and jewelry to come. All major TV networks broadcast the wedding live. In short, the wedding rocks.

The reception is in the ballroom at the white house. For my family's benefit, we'll have a private Jewish wedding the following morning under a canopy.  There's something for everyone.

My father, the other two-star general in the family is proud of his daughter the general more than his daughter the VP. Go figure.         

It was a fairy tale wedding without question, but the ten days prior was a ball buster. Today a bride, tonight a bride, and next week the Vice President of the United States of America. Wow!

I wonder what life as a VP will be.

END CHAPTER SEVEN