Mending Fences

Her panic turned to smiles when she saw four messages from Chase. She was reading them for a second time when she got back to the kitchen, and her brother didn't have to ask what was going on.

"He really makes you happy, doesn't he?"

Ella was still smiling when she looked up before sitting back down.

"Yes. Very much so."

"Then you should take advantage of Sunday and spend it with him," Steve told her. "I need to do something with the kids, so this is perfect."

"You're sure?"

"Very."

"Chase does want to get together for brunch, so let me tell him I'll be there."

By ten, Ella was out of the house and heading to the local Waffle House where Chase was already on his second cup of coffee. Her hair was nowhere as nice as it had been just hours before, but Chase wasn't looking at her hair. He was just happy to see her again, and when he kissed her hello Ella thought it was the most normal thing ever, even when several people saw them kiss but no one looked surprised.

By the end of their brunch, Ella realized she didn't care how old Chase was, or rather how old he wasn't. She only cared about the kind of man he was, and while there was still much left to learn, it was obvious that Chase had character, moral values, and a heart of gold.

It made no difference to Ella what he did or how much money he made. What mattered was his passion about teaching and coaching, and she could feel it in the way he spoke as he shared his journey to where he currently worked.

Chase mentioned the Marine Corps several times, always with the caveat that he'd been a lousy Marine, but that, too, made no difference to Ella because Chase had found himself and his niche. He'd gone above and beyond in terms of mending fences, and there was no doubt in her mind that he loved what he did. And as they sat and talked she again wondered if it was possible that she might just love him.

By the time they got back to his place, she was at least certain of one thing. Were Chase to ask her to be intimate, she wouldn't hesitate to sleep with him. And after spending the rest of the day and having dinner with him, hand holding on the couch turned to kissing which, well, led to a kind of intimacy Ella had never experienced before.

Chase was much younger than her, but he was patient, skilled, and...very nicely proportioned in...every way. Just seeing his body as he showed those skills pushed her over the edge early on, and she went over the edge two more times during the actual lovemaking.

It took another three months or so of seeing Chase 4-5 times a week for her to sure, but at some point, there was no longer any doubt in Ella's mind. One evening, as she lay in his arms, Chase told her he loved her for the first time. When she didn't answer immediately, Chase got worried and tried to get her to look at him.

When she did, he understood. Ella's eyes were filled with tears, and the reason why said it all. She told him she loved him, too, and now there was no more doubt in her mind.

The following week, the NTSB was finishing its report, and although Steve tried to play it cool, both Ella and Chase knew he was on pins and needles waiting for the board's conclusions. They could lead to full exoneration or to his immediate relief for cause. Were that to happen, there would be no change of command ceremony, no parade, and no celebration. He might be allowed to go back to the squadron one more time, late at night, to pack up his personal belongings, and would then report to the Group or Wing headquarters for the remainder of his time at Cherry Point. And it meant that making colonel would be nothing but a dream gone up in smoke.

When Steve left the Group Commanders' office the following afternoon, he was still in command of the squadron. But it was clear that his next fitness report would be one that would be lukewarm, at best. In effect, it meant that there would be a change of command at some point down the road, but it also meant that LtCol Pratt had reached the pinnacle of his career.

There was no shame in retiring as a lieutenant colonel, but Steve had given everything to the Marine Corps, and even more so after the death of his wife. But in the end, it hadn't been enough, and he would now be retiring when his final tour was over and start looking for...a real job.

The only good news was that he and his children wouldn't be leaving the Havelock area anytime soon, and while that was little consolation for Steve, he knew how important it was to his sister and the former Marine she'd fallen in love with.

It was also extremely important to Derek who'd taken to wrestling, and his new coach, like a fish to water. Chase made time to work with him several days a week to include occasionally taking Derek to a gym with a mat where they not only worked on wrestling moves but also focused on fitness and strength training.

*****

Six months later. Change of command ceremony.

Ella had never seen anything like the parade for her brother, complete with the Second Marine Aircraft Wing's band, as hundreds of Marines marched and passed in review for Steve, the outgoing commander, and his relief, a brand new lieutenant colonel who'd just reported in from Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia.

There were speeches, handshakes, and congratulations from everyone from generals to lance corporals who'd served with LtCol Pratt, but none meant more than the handshake from 'one of the worst Marines he'd ever known'.

"Congratulations, Steve," Chase told his former boss.

"Thanks, Chase."

"Listen. I...I want to ask you something when you get a minute."

Steve had a puzzled look on his face but said, "Sure. How about at the O club later tonight?"

Chase laughed then said, "Oh, yeah. I can go there now, huh?"

Steve laughed, too, then said he'd see him there as he looked around for his sister, who was watching the kids and talking to the Group CO's wife. As he walked up to say hello to his former boss's wife, he felt pretty sure he knew what Chase had on his mind due to Ella being unable to hear him.

He gland-handed for a few more minutes then let his sister know he was headed to the club, and she told him she and Chase and the kids would be right behind him.

After another hour or so of shooting the breeze with other pilots at the club, Steve found Chase and asked if this was a good time.

"Sure. This is fine."

The two of them found a room in back that wasn't in use, grabbed a couple of chairs then sat down.

"So when are you going to propose?" Steve said, pretty sure he was right.

"Wow. I had no idea you had ESP," Chase replied with a laugh.

"It doesn't take being a mind reader to know you're in love with my sister, and she's completely gaga over you."

'Gaga' made Chase laugh again, but actually hearing that from someone he respected was very reassuring.

"I uh, I was kind of thinking about asking her tonight. I won't interfere with your change of command celebration, but I wanted to run this by you first."

"I appreciate that, but you don't need my permission."

Again, Chase laughed, then said, "I already called her...your...dad...and asked for his blessing. We've talked on the phone a couple of times after he and your mom came to visit last month, and while he has some concerns about my um...relative youth...he knows his daughter is happy."

"Happy? Hell, she's ecstatic!" Steve said with a little laugh of his own.

"This impacts the kids, too, and that's another reason I'm running this by you."

"Look. You've already made a huge impact on my boy, Chase. I think he's as...gaga...about you as my sister."

Both men laughed before Steve said, "Tell you what. Now I've got an idea I want to run by you. Let me know what you think, okay?"

Chase listened carefully then said, "Seriously? You'd do that?"

"In a heartbeat," his former boss said.

"Wow. That would be...incredible."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Steve said as he stood up and clapped Chase on the shoulder.

The square-jawed lieutenant colonel walked to the bar where a ton of people were still noisily milling around and called for everyone's attention.

"Folks? Yeah, I uh, I wanted to thank everyone again for showing up today. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you being here."

Another pilot of the same rank called out, "Yeah, like we had a choice!"

Everyone, to include Steve, laughed before he continued.

"While this is supposed to my big day, I'm not really much for self aggrandizement."

Another pilot pretended to sneeze as he said, "Bull shit!" which drew another round of laughter before Steve spoke again.

"There are a couple of people here with me to whom I owe a whole lot of thanks."

He found Ella and smiled at her then waved for her to come up. She shook her head, but her brother went and grabbed and pulled her up to the bar.

"You all know that I lost my beautiful wife, Diane to cancer. And most of you know that my beautiful sister, Ella, moved here to help out with the kids. I can't possibly thank her enough, but I want to publicly acknowledge how she made it possible for me to do my job without having to hire a nanny or ever worry about my children."

He put his arm around Ella then sincerely thanked her as she teared up before giving Steve a hug.

"There's someone else here who's also had a huge impact on my family, especially my son, Derek."

The kids were with Ella and already standing by their father who moved in between them as he put a hand on each one's shoulder.

"These two munchkins, and my sister, are the most important people in my life, and I love them dearly."

Several of the women there also teared up as they thought about Diane and the kids losing their mother.

"This other person has had a profound impact on my sister's life."

Ella looked at Steve, her eyes open wide as he asked Chase to come join them.

"This good-lookin' guy was once a lance corporal who worked for me when I was a young captain."

Steve took a minute or so to provide the background then shared the unexpected phone call from Chase.

"Whatever he may have been back then, he was still a Marine, and he has completely turned things around and now teaches high school chemistry and coaches wrestling."

Chase modestly raised a hand as people applauded and called out, "Oorah, Marine!" or, "Semper Fi, Devil Dog!"

Steve looked at his former charge then said, "So if this is my day, then I believe I can turn the floor over to anyone I like, and with that, the floor is yours, Chase."

Chase had never been so nervous in his life, but he'd thought about what he wanted to say and somehow found the courage to say it.

"Thank you, Steve," he began. "I was indeed a sh...goony bird."

After the laughter died down, Chase continued.

"I look back with a lot of pride on having been a Marine, but I also feel shame for having been such a...."

He pretended to whisper but said loudly, "Turdlapper."

Marines howled at the word and Chase felt more relaxed.

"I've spent a lot of time mending fences and trying to redeem myself, and I owe a lot of thanks to Steve Reynolds."

There was some more applause (and a few friendly jeers) before Chase got to the point.

"That phone call changed my life. Not just in allowing me to do the fence mending, but because of it, I met someone who really, truly changed my life."

Chase moved closer to Ella then said, "And in the best way possible."

Ella's heart was pounding in her chest when Chase reached for something in his jacket pocket, and her knees went week when she saw the fuzzy, blue box.

"You see, I fell in love with Steve's beautiful sister, Ella. And while I had no intention of doing this here, it was Steve who convinced me there was no better time or place."

Chase got down on one knee, opened the little box then told Ella how much he loved her.

"So...Ella Curtis...will you marry me?"

Too emotional to speak, Ella held her trembling left hand out, nodded, and used her right hand to wipe away the tears that were falling as Chase slid the big diamond ring on her finger. He then stood up, kissed her, and turned around while holding his fiancé's hand and got a huge round of applause and loud congratulations of every kind as people began streaming toward them to shake Chase's hand and hug the beautiful, older woman he'd just asked to marry him.

After the congratulations were over, Derek looked up at his aunt and asked, "So does this mean Chase is going to be my uncle?"

His aunt smiled then asked him, "Is that okay with you?"

"Are you kidding? This is AWESOME!" her nephew replied before hugging her then sticking out his hand to Chase.

Chase ignored the hand and pulled Derek in and hugged him then reached over for Chloe and hugged her, too.

"I love you both," Chase told them as he bent down a little.

"We love you, too, Uncle Chase!" they both said before hugging him again.

Ella moved closer, and once the kids moved away said, "You are the most amazing man I've ever met, Chase Reynolds."

He put his arms around her, smiled, then said, "Yeah?"

"Uh-huh. And I love you more than I've ever loved anyone."

Chase pulled her closer then said, "Then that's just one more thing we have in common," before kissing her and telling her again how much he loved her.

It was another six months before they married, and just two weeks after tying the knot, Ella was pregnant with their first child. She continued to care for her niece and nephew until the baby was born, a beautiful little boy they named Steven Derek Reynolds.

Chase continued to teach and coach, and by the time Derek was a sophomore in high school, he was one of the most promising wrestlers in the state. By the end of his senior year, a year in which he was undefeated, he received a full scholarship to the University of North Carolina where, like his uncle, he wrestled all four years.

After graduating, Derek, just like his father, went off to Marine Corps Officer Candidates School and then to flight training in Pensacola, Florida. By the time he returned to Cherry Point for his first duty assignment, his Aunt Ella had another child, a little girl they named Chloe Diane Reynolds in honor of Steve's late wife and the niece she so dearly loved.

The entire family had a wonderful reunion together in Steve's retirement home that Chase had helped him build, and at some point, 'the phone call' came up.

When it did, Ella Reynolds took her handsome, younger husband's hand and said what everyone already knew. Her son and daughter were sitting on either side of them when she spoke.

"If my amazing husband hadn't been the kind of man willing to mend fences, none of this would have ever happened."

Derek then stood up said, "Let me second that, because I would have never considered wrestling, and I can't even imagine how different...and how empty...my life would be had Chase not made that call."

He looked over at his father, who was sitting with Sarah, a beautiful woman he'd met several months ago and fallen in love with, and smiled.

He raised his beer then offered a toast.

"To Chase Reynolds and to mending fences!"

The adults all raised their bottles or glasses and said, "Here, here!" with heartfelt thanks that one of the worst Marines someone ever knew cared enough to make things right.