Mending Fences

What surprised her even more than his appearance was the way she tried to check hers before they got to her. She'd done her hair and makeup and worn something decent, but she was wishing she'd worn something nicer and desperately wanted to take a look at herself in a mirror. But there wasn't one, so she took a deep breath, smiled, and stuck her hand out as Chase walked up to her.

"This beautiful young lady is my younger sister, Ella, who is also a lifesaver as she's moved in with us to help me out with the kids."

Chase smiled back as he took her hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ella."

"Yes, same here, Chase. And I hope you like lasagna."

"I do, and it smells delicious. And do I also smell garlic bread?"

"Yes. It's almost ready, so you guys can go ahead and sit down or if you need to wash up, we have a bathroom right down the hall."

"Yeah. Let me show you where it is," Steve said, as he put an arm around the younger man's shoulder for a moment as they turned around.

As they both did, Ella heard Steve say, "So how have you been?"

She'd already forgotten that Steve had asked that question once and gotten an answer as the timer dinged indicating the bread was done. By the time Chase came back from the bathroom, the entire dinner, to include a salad, was on the table and ready to go.

"Have a seat," Steve said as Chase waited for an invitation.

"Chase? The bottom quarter of the lasagna tray, from your left, is meat free. Just in case you don't eat it."

Steve gave her a 'why are you mentioning that' look when Chase thanked her.

"I'm not a vegan or even a vegetarian, but I do avoid red meat as much as possible, so I think I'll take you up on that."

He didn't see the smug look of satisfaction on Ella's face as she told him to go ahead and take as much as he liked, but her brother saw it and just rolled his eyes.

"So you're a teacher now. Tell me about that," Steve said.

"First, I think I'd like to, well, I'd like to apologize. In person. You know, for being such a...lousy Marine."

"That's water under the bridge," Steve said. "What matters is that you found your niche."

"Looking back, I'm not sure what my problem was, but I always felt like I needed to question everything I was told to do. I still can't understand why, all I know is I couldn't wait to get out of the Corps, and I suppose the fact that I got sh...."

He looked at the kids and stopped. He was going to say 'shit-canned', which is Marine speak for being gotten rid of, then changed the wording.

"That I got sent from Avionics to the S-4 to work for you."

"Right. I remember you were an avionics tech which is why you came across as a very smart guy."

"More like a smart...aleck," Chase humbly suggested.

"Nah. You just needed to know why. Most Marines don't bother asking because they know it doesn't matter, but it was important to you, so you asked."

"It was extremely immature of me, and I suppose that's one of the things I feel like I need to apologize for."

"Bygones, Chase. Bygones. Tell me about college and your job. Oh, and the coaching."

Steve turned to Ella and said, "Chase is also the wrestling coach."

"Very nice. And what do you teach?" she asked.

"Chemistry."

Steve laughed then said, "See! I told you you were smart. I took one chemistry class in high school and pulled a 'C'. But you got a degree in it."

"I did. I've always liked science and technology, so it's another mystery to me why I didn't enjoy avionics more. But I didn't, and as you say, I suppose that's water under the bridge."

Ella listened very carefully as Chase explained where he went to college, how he used the GI Bill and the money he'd saved on active duty to fund his education. It was obvious that he was a modest young man, and Steve had to pull information out of him, especially when it came to Chase having graduated Summa Cum Laude in a very challenging major or his success as a college wrestler.

"You still workout, don't you?" Steve observed as he shoveled another big bite of lasagna into his mouth.

"I uh, I try to get to a gym at least three days a week. I don't wrestle now, but I do hit the weight room and while I don't run anymore, either, I do like to ride a bike."

"Ella does spinning. Or at least she used to," Steve said as he looked at sister.

"Oh, gosh. That's been years ago, but I used to go several times a week. Now I do yoga as often as I can, but that's about it."

Chase smiled at her then said very politely, "It's obvious you take very good care of yourself."

Ella had been looking at him, but after the compliment, she quickly looked down at her plate. When she did, Steve leaned Chase's way and said, "She's beautiful...and single."

Ella's head raised back up as she shot him a look.

"What? Am I right or am I right?" Steve said, looking to Chase for support.

"I agree with you wholeheartedly on the beautiful, sir."

Chase smiled at Ella again then said, "And I'll take your word for it on the single part."

Ella cut her eyes at her brother one more time then looked at Chase and said, "Well, thank you, Chase. And it's true, I am single. Again."

Chase knew better than to ask why so he turned the conversation back to Steve and said, "So how long have you had the squadron, sir?"

"Okay, enough of the 'sir'."

He gave Chase a serious look then said, "That's an order."

Chase laughed and said, "Aye, aye...Steve?"

His former boss laughed heartily and said, "Now that's more like it! And I've had the squadron for four months. I expect to have it for another year or so, and then we'll see."

"You up for colonel yet?"

"No. I just made lieutenant colonel a couple of months before taking over the squadron. That said, this next fitness report will probably make or break me. But if I get passed over, I'll just retire at 20 and find...."

He laughed again, looked at Chase then said, "A real job," something Chase had said many times to indicate he didn't consider the Marine Corps a real job.

They continued making small talk for another 15 minutes or so when the phone rang.

Chloe was up in a flash and again calling out, "I'll get it!"

Seconds later she was saying, "Daddy? It's for you."

"If you'll excuse me," Steve said as he got up.

"That's probably work," Ella said as she explained the landline.

Her brother's comment confirmed it as she and Chase heard him saying, "Is he all right?"

There was a pause before Steve said, "Give me 20 minutes, and I'll be there. I'll meet you on the runway."

"Bad news?" Ella asked.

"We had a jet go off the runway on landing. The pilot's okay, but there's quite a bit of damage to the plane. Fortunately no one got hurt, but this is probably gonna be a Class 'A' investigation."

Ella only knew that meant it was serious and that her brother's attention was required.

"I uh, I should probably be going, too," Chase said, as he looked at Steve.

"Nonsense! Stay. Finish your meal. Ella made this amazing blueberry cobbler you gotta try."

Steve patted his stomach which was still flat, but unlike Chase's none of his abs were visible and said, "Which I should probably not eat."

"Thank you, sir...Steve, but I don't want Ella to feel like she has to...."

He looked at her, smiled again, then said, "Put up with me any longer than necessary."

Before Steve could say 'nonsense' again, Ella said it.

"We'd love to have you stay, right?" she said looking to the kids for support.

"Can you teach me how to wrestle?" Derek asked, surprising both his father and his aunt.

"He can, buddy," Steve answered for their guest before saying, "but I've gotta get going."

"Call when you know when you'll be home, okay?" Ella asked.

"She's worse than a wife!" Steve said to Chase with a wink before he turned to change into his flight suit and head to the base.

Very little was said until Steve came back downstairs five minutes later dressed in dark green and holding his 'cover' in his hand. Marines never referred to what they wore on their heads as 'hats' but rather as covers, and in this case, it was a green garrison cap Marine's affectionately called a 'pisscutter'.

"Last time I saw you, you were a captain," Chase told him as he saw the silver oak leaf on the pisscutter.

Steve laughed then said, "Depending on what just happened, this might be as far as I go."

"Right. The commanding officer is responsible for everything his unit does," Chase said, recalling something he'd learned along the way.

Steve laughed again then finished the saying.

"Or fails to do."

With that, he headed to the garage and off to work.

"I don't think I ever realized that Marine—or any service—commanders are responsible for what their people do 24-7," Ella remarked as Steve drove away.

"I had a squadron commander who got relieved after a third Marine got a DUI in a two-month period. The rumor was the Group CO, his boss, lost confidence in his ability to lead and...."

Chase ran his hand across his neck which made Ella laugh.

"He got the axe?" she said, still smiling.

"At least with teaching, I'm only responsible for the kids when they're in my class or under my charge in the gym. Lord only knows how long any of us would last if we were held responsible for what they do at home."

Again, Ella laughed as she said, "Oh, definitely. I would have been the reason for most of my teachers getting fired!"

"Were you bad, Aunt Ella?" Chloe asked, suddenly interested.

"Oh. No. Well, not really," she told her niece while looking over at Chase.

"I don't exactly see you as the rabble-rouser type," Chase told her as he lowered his head a bit and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. I was pretty much a bookworm and a goody two shoes, but I wasn't perfect."

"Ah, okay," Chase replied. "So you were pretty much the opposite of me."

"Oh? Do tell!" Ella said before asking if he'd like some dessert.

"Oh, yeah. Class clown here. Three years running in high school."

"But you're really smart, right?"

"Oh, I don't know about that."

Ella stood up, looked right at him then asked, "What was your GPA in high school?"

Chase made a face then said more as a question, "Um...3.8?"

"Ha! I knew it!" Ella replied triumphantly. "The brainy bad boy."

Still feeling guilty about his past life, Chase said, mostly for the benefit of the kids, "Not really. More just an insecure...smarty pants."

Chloe giggled and even Derek laughed.

"But you turned it around, Chase. Isn't that what really matters?"

"I hope so. I've been...mending fences...for a few years now, and there are plenty more to mend, but I am trying."

The cobbler had nearly cooled, but was still warm deep inside.

"Would you like some ice cream on yours?" Ella asked Chase.

"I would!" both Derek and Chloe called out.

"Okay?" Chase replied as though the thought of the extra calories was some kind of sin.

Ella laughed again and said, "Right. You might have to spend another 30 minutes in the gym...once...to get rid of all that...flab."

"I've got flab," Chase replied.

Only he could find it, and it was a very tiny little area he could barely grab, but it was there, and the ice cream on top of the rich dessert would only make it grow.

Ella cut him a piece, put a scoop of ice cream on it, then as she set it down in front of him said, "Poor Chase. You might only have a six-pack instead of an eight-pack for a few hours."

He didn't say anything until she set a piece about one-fourth the size of his down in front of herself with a tiny dollop of ice cream on after serving the kids.

"Okay. I see. So someone's afraid she won't fit into her size four dress tomorrow. That's what's really going on here, isn't it?"

The way he smiled at her made her body tingle, something that was another unexpected surprise.

"Size four. Ha! I haven't worn a size four since...."

Ella wore a size six quite comfortably, but she had worn a four until she turned 35.

"Well, in several years."

"My Aunt Ella is very pretty!" Chloe announced.

"Yes. Yes, she is," Chase replied without taking his eyes of Chloe's aunt who again looked down at her plate.

"My mom was beautiful, too," Derek said, causing his aunt to again feel terrible for him.

"She sure was, honey," his aunt said sympathetically, wishing she could take away his pain.

Not sure what else to say, Chase slowly ate the cobbler making sure to tell Ella how good it was.

"You don't have to eat it all," she said with a little laugh.

"I don't want to offend you," he replied.

"You won't, Chase. I think it's wonderful that you take such good care of yourself. So eat what you like, and leave the rest."

He took one more small bite then gently pushed the plate away as he watched Ella's reaction. She showed none but did look at him, unaware that she was staring until Chase broke eye contact. She almost apologized but didn't want to say anything because Chloe would almost certainly ask what she was staring at—and why.

"Everything was delicious, Ella," Chase told her a few seconds later.

"Would you like some coffee?" she asked, almost hopefully.

"You're probably tired of me by now, so I should probably...."

"No. I'm not. Tired of you," she said, just before looking down at her plate yet again.

"If you're sure."

"You have to show me how to wrestle, remember?" Derek reminded him.

Ella smiled at Chase then said, "He has a point," even though Chase hadn't committed to any such thing.

The way she smiled at him made him wonder if it was just a smile. So did the way his body reacted to it.

"All right. In that case, I'll stick around for a while longer."

"Yay!" Chloe said, surprising her aunt yet again who was wondering why her niece cared.

She was only nine, but was it possible she was aware of how handsome Chase was and wanted him to stay because of that? Ella didn't know the answer and wasn't about to ask. All she knew was that she was happy to know he was staying for a while longer as she got up to make some coffee.

An hour passed in moments as the two adults found it surprisingly easy to talk to one another. Two people who initially seemed to have very little in common learned that they shared many of the same interests and agreed on a number of things that came up.

During an unusual lull in the conversation, Chase said he thought this might be a good time to teach Derek a little bit about wrestling. He and Chloe had been so quiet their aunt had mostly forgotten they were sitting with them. Both had tablets they were playing games on, and neither of them said a word until Chase mentioned wrestling.

The skinny 12-year old got up as did Chase who said, "Okay, Derek. Let's talk about starting positions."

Chase explained how a match started with both opponents in the neutral position (standing up), but focused on the 'referee positions' where one wrestler starts on top and the other with his hands and knees on the mat.

Chase had Derek start by being on the bottom then explained ways to try and escape and what the person on top would do to try and prevent him from doing so.

After learning a 'sit out' and a couple of other escape moves, Chase took the bottom position and had Derek try the things he'd done to him when he was on top.

They were just about ready to call it quits when the phone rang causing Chloe to come to life and run to answer it.

"Aunt Ella? It's Daddy!"

Less than a minute later she came back and said, "Looks like your dad is going to be gone for a few more hours."

When both kids answered with an almost cheerful, "Okay!" Ella was so surprised her mouth opened.

Chase noticed and smiled when he saw the look. When Ella noticed him noticing her, she closed her mouth so fast it made Chase laugh.

"Something surprised you," he said.

"Yes. I was expecting reactions of disapproval, but instead they didn't seem to notice."

She now smiled at Chase then said, "I get the feeling they like having you around."

"If that's true, then the feeling is mutual."

Now it was Ella who experienced a reaction that was unexpected.

But when Derek said, "Chase? Can you show me something else?" she forgot about it and instead found herself enjoying watching the way this younger man interacted with her nephew who was clearly enthralled with the former college wrestler.

After another 15 minutes or so, Chase suggested that was enough for one night.

"Chase? Am I too skinny? You know, to be a wrestler?"

"No. In fact, wrestling goes by weight, so no matter what you weigh, there's a place for you. What does matter is strength, quickness, and skill. If you have those things you don't need weight to be a good wrestler."

"Cool!" Derek said excitedly, using a phrase Ella hadn't heard him say before.

When bedtime came for the kids, Steve still wasn't home, and Chase again mentioned it was high time for him to get going.

Ella realized she didn't want him to leave, but it was unfair to ask someone so young...and handsome...to stay there and keep her company. The fact that she was now officially middle-aged, divorced, and when she was honest with herself—lonely—wasn't Chase's problem, no matter how much she enjoyed talking with him.

So she gave the kids a chance to say goodbye before she did, and again, the way Derek reacted touched her. He ignored Chase's high five and hugged him. But Chase didn't bat an eye—or roll them. He just hugged back and told Derek how much fun he'd had.

"Chase? Can you come back again sometime?" the boy asked.

"Yes? Can you?" Chloe nearly pleaded.

"I don't know. Your dad and aunt are probably tired of me hanging around."

"Aunt Ella? Are you tired of having Chase here?" Derek asked her so directly, that that also surprised her.

"Um...well...no. It...it was very pleasant talking with him, but that's not my decision. It's really up to Chase."

"But he says it up to you. And Daddy," Chloe informed her.

"I'm sure your father would be okay with that, but Chase probably has a lot of things to do."

Ella was looking at him to let him know she was giving him a way out, but once again, she got surprised. Only this time it was very pleasant.

"I have a lot of respect for your dad, and I...."

He looked at Ella then finished his thought.

"I can't remember the last time I had such I enjoyed talking to anyone so much."

"So can he?" Derek asked again.

"I'll ask your dad, and if he...and Chase...say it's okay, then we'll see, okay?"

"Yes!" Derek said before saying goodbye.

"You kids go to brush your teeth and I'll be in to...."

She almost said 'tuck you in' but remembered that Derek was twelve. Even though she tucked him in every night, she didn't want to embarrass him in front of Chase.

"To say goodnight."

"Okay!" Chloe said as she told Derek to come on.

"Don't tell me what to do, Chloe!" Ella heard him say, something else she'd never heard before.

Alone, Chase said, "They're really great kids."

"I think so," their aunt said in agreement.

It got very quiet as he said, "You're pretty great yourself, Ella."

"Oh. Um...thank you. And I...I feel the same way. About...them."

"This was really nice, and the food was crazy good," Chase told her, a smile on his face the entire time even as he told her 'thanks' for the meat-free lasagna.

"Oh, right! Yes, I'm glad I did that, too."

"Well, hopefully I'll see you again sometime," Chase said, almost a little nervously.

"That...that would be really nice, Chase."

"If you're up near New Bern High School, feel free to drop by and say hello. I have sixth period planning this month, so I'm usually free from 2 until 2:45."

"Oh. I...maybe I'll do that," Ella said, surprised for the umpteenth time. This time is was the way her heart was beating faster as she stood maybe two feet away from Chase.