Shining Girl Ch. 03

He grinned at me.

"Oh yes, I forgot why you were here. My name's Mike Sullivan, I'm in charge here, for my sins. Keep in touch, the hospital will keep the boys at Whittington informed as to your progress, but I'd appreciate a call now and then, just to let me know how you're doing. Remember, there's no rush to get back to work, get well first, get some beef on your bones, you're as thin as a rake, and come back when you're ready!"

He grinned at Sai Fong.

"And Harry's waiting in Main Building, he knows you're here, why don't you go join him for a coffee?"

As we shook hands and walked back to the car, Sai Fong grinned at me.

"You really don't know who that was, do you?" she smiled, and I grinned back.

"I assume he's my boss, seems like a nice enough man, I'll do what he asked and keep him informed."

Sai Fong looked me directly in the eyes.

"Jack, that was General Sir Michael Sullivan, KG, DSO, KFC, OMG, and probably WTF, Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, Supreme Commander of the UK Land-based military, and Big Shot-in-chief of the entire damned Ministry of Defence! I'm not sure, but I think he outranks God!"

I was still wondering how I knew such an exalted person when Sai Fong ushered us into the car and drove us over to the main building, where Harry was waiting.

While the girls went off to powder their noses, Harry and I sat drinking some really excellent coffee; I'd discovered I loved coffee, so Harry had set up a couple of good ones, and we chatted until I finally got up the nerve to broach the subject of him and Sai Fong.

"Harry, I...overheard the girls talking this morning, and I happened to hear that you and Sai, and Teruko and me, we're...all of us are...are..." I floundered, not knowing how to go on. Harry rescued me.

"Jack, Sai and I are in love, she's always known, it took me a while longer, but I have no regrets; she's a beautiful, talented, loving and very sexy girl, I don't think I could do any better. I don't know how you're feeling about Teruko right now, but everything I just said about Sai applies equally to Teruko. When you were lying there, inert, barely ticking over, more dead than alive, she was there, helping the physiotherapist exercise you, talking to you, sleeping next to you every single night in that God-awful chair, praying for you, making promises, storming the ramparts, hoping. You'll never know just how much she pined for you, it broke Sai's heart to see that poor girl slowly lose hope, but she never let you go. She loves you, boy, more than you can possibly understand, and yes, she may be your half-sister, but you forgot that once, she was just the girl you loved; let the 'sister' bit go again, it doesn't mean anything to her, it shouldn't mean anything to you either. You need her now, but more than ever, she needs you. It's time to get your head out of your arse and step up, Jackie-boy!"

I was taken aback at the vehemence in his voice, his expression, and something inside me heard and agreed with everything he'd said; she may have been my half-sister (and I still wasn't sure that how that had come about!), but I had no memory of that aspect of our life; the Teruko I knew was an achingly beautiful girl who seemed to be, and actually was, totally devoted to me. Harry was right; it was time to let go of an imagined, shadowy past and grasp the future she offered.

Harry grinned as he saw acceptance dawn in my eyes, and he clapped my on the back.

"There you go, Jack, that wasn't so difficult! Here are the girls now, so I'm going to take Sai Fong and show her some of the wonderful architecture in this decrepit mausoleum; I would suggest this might be a good time to mend some fences. See you later!"

With that, he leaped out of his seat and piloted Sai Fong away from the seating area, much to her annoyance. Teruko looked on in incomprehension, until I took her hand and guided her down next to me. She looked closely at me, obviously aware that something had happened, but unable to fathom what.

"What is matter, Jakku-san, not feel well? I take you home...!" she started, but I interrupted her, pulling her around so I could look into her huge, beautiful eyes.

"Teruko, I want to apologise for being so unfeeling today, this morning, and for everything. I hurt your feelings, and I was wrong to do that. I was wrong about us, about how I feel about you. I don't care that you're my sister, I only care about you, and I only want you, if you'll have me. Harry reminded what we had before all...this, what you meant to me, and I can't let that go. I loved you before this happened, and it grieves me that I don't remember that. I don't know whether I'll ever remember our past, but we can make new memories; we had a past, now, perhaps, if you'll let me, we could make a future. I know I love you, Teruko, all kinds of things keep telling me that, and I want to be with you. I once asked you to marry me; I'm asking you again. Teruko, will you marry me?"

She smiled happily at me, her eyes dancing.

"Yes, I will marry Jakku-san, be wife and make lot of babies!"

She leaned in and kissed me, her lips soft and delicate, and I had to restrain myself from pulling her in tight and kissing her hard, as hard as I could as the need for her suddenly blazed up in me, a hot tingle that invaded my limbs and body, and centered around my groin, the tension there almost unbearable as my cock stiffened painfully, demanding her as my need for her fanned higher.

As we kissed, I happened to look up, and the middle-aged lady behind the counter was staring at us, trying to look disapproving, but she looked away, a small smile on her face, and I suddenly remembered where we were. Teruko opened her eyes, seeing me looking behind her and turned to see what I was looking at, and blushing prettily as she saw the serving lady trying to hide her grin as we snogged in the booth. She turned back to me, her eyes bright and happy.

"We go home soon, yes? We go see mummy, see Grandad, all friends want see you, have rest at home, it very good there, we will have Christmas, mummy not ready for Christmas yet, she waiting for you to come home, have present for you, now we go home, celebrate with her, you will like!"

I pulled myself closer to her, holding her close and enjoying the feel of her against me, the warm, peach scent of her hair as I brushed my lips against it, and, if I'm honest, the swell of her breasts and the feel of her stiff nipples poking into my chest as I held her tightly. In just the little while I'd known her, (okay, but you know what I mean...) she'd become the most important thing in my life, the one thing I could absolutely depend on; my mother and grandfather were still just faces and voices on the telephone, and to be honest, Harry and Sai meant more to me than my own family.

I knew, deep-down inside, that Teruko was distressed by the fact that my mother and Grandfather meant nothing to me; she knew I'd lost them somewhere in the midst of all the trauma, and it still hurt her that I was so disconnected from them, and not at all anxious to re-connect. She'd tried several times to get me to show some interest in going home to Shrewsbury once I came out of hospital, but I'd resisted; all I knew was right here, the hospital and now the little flat in Lewisham, a tiny world, to be sure, but it was mine, and I was too unsure of the rest of the world to want to venture out into it.

A movement caught my eye, and I turned to see Harry and Sai Fong grinning at us, Sai Fong with her thumb and forefinger in the 'OK' sign, silently cheering me on as I hugged this beautiful girl who had once been so important to me, and was becoming that all over again.

The two of them sat themselves down next to us, Harry grinning at me.

"Okay, Jack, I want to know if you're up for a trip home. I have a long weekend, Sai's on Christmas Break, and as we're going home to Cosford to see dad and Grandpa for one last quick visit before we come back up on Christmas Eve, I was wondering if you'd like to come with us; I'll drop both of you at your mum's place in Shrewsbury tonight and pick you up Monday afternoon; that will give you four days to rest, relax, let your mum look after you for a while; who knows, you might even like it! Or maybe you could stay there for Christmas and come back down with us after Boxing Day; you want to give it a go?"

One look at Teruko's bright smile and wistful look was all it took, so we thanked Harry and set a time for him to come pick us up. Sai drove Teruko back in our car while I caddied with Harry in his Cherokee, as I had a feeling he wanted to talk to me in private. He waited until we'd cleared the traffic through Woolwich before broaching the subject that was on his mind.

"Jack, I was up at the helicopter school at Shawbury last week, and while I was there, I popped over to Shrewsbury to see your mum. She says you're avoiding her, and she can't understand it; she loves you, you idiot, she keeps asking Teruko to bring you home, I know Teruko brings it up all the time, and you keep putting it off; I know you can't remember her, but Teruko does, and you refusing to see her is hurting Teruko too; she won't leave you for a second, and so you're keeping her from her mum, and that's just wrong!"

He paused, watching the traffic as we crawled through Charlton.

"If you'll take some advice from an old friend, Jack, go home and stay there for a while, let your mum look after you, let her find any bits of you she can, and you can maybe rediscover her, and your grandad too; the old boy is missing you like crazy, all he wants is to see you walking around and being alive again after lying there like a corpse for so long; he deserves that much. Okay, I've said my piece, it's up to you whether you want to listen to me, but I know you Jack; so do they, let them have something, anything. For Chrissake, I shouldn't have to twist your arm over this, Jack!"

He stopped talking as he concentrated on threading through the traffic in Charlton. I watched the traffic, needing to say something, to explain how I was feeling about my whole situation.

"Harry, I don't know how to do this, I don't know these people, what if I'm not...Jack, not me, anymore, how will they handle that? How can I relate to them when I don't know them at all, or what they're expecting of me? How can I be who they want, when I don't know who that is, or what they expect of me?"

Harry pulled over and switched on the Hazard lights, then turned to me.

"Jack, you mum needs you, your family needs you, and you need them too. I lost my mum when I was born, so I don't remember her; my Gran brought me up, she was the only mother I ever knew. When she died, suddenly all the stuff that had gone on with us, all the anger over Dad and Sai Fong, all that meant nothing; she was gone, and I never got to see her to tell her I loved her, I never got around to trying to make up with her, there was always time later, and suddenly it was too late. Don't let that happen to you, Jack, your mum's hurting, you can make it better. I know you came around with Teruko, although I nearly had to kick your arse to make you understand, don't make me do it for real! Go and see your mum, spend some time with her, let her be your mum again, who knows; maybe it will all start to come together again. Try, at least, for God's sake, the Jack I knew never gave up, don't you want to be him again?"

He paused, looking ahead through the windscreen, obviously gathering his thoughts, his hands draped over the steering-wheel.

"Jack, I know you're scared, I know you think you'll get it wrong; so what? People get things wrong, they learn, they remember, and they move on. Your mum knows how things have changed for you, she isn't expecting the old you, but that doesn't mean you have to be a complete stranger forevermore. She just wants her son back home, however he comes packaged, so maybe you should give her a chance to get to know the you that's here and now. I know you only agreed to go home because Teruko asked you, why not try and be there because you want to be there? You never know, you may not get another chance; believe me, Jack, I know only too well how that feels."

His face was red, and saw tears in the corners of his eyes, and I suddenly realised this conversation had touched a raw place inside him.

"Okay, Harry, I'll try, for Teruko's sake, and for my...mother's sake as well; you have my word."

Harry took his hand off the wheel to dunt me on the shoulder.

"There you go, Jack, can't ask more than that! Now, that wasn't that so hard, was it?" he grinned, smiling as he started the car and manoeuvred back into the stream of traffic

I had to grin, he seemed so happy to have me back on-side, but I was feeling apprehensive inside. Tonight I was going to see the stranger who was my mother, and I didn't know what to say or do around her, or how to treat her, anything. Harry seemed to pick up on this.

"Don't worry, Jack; Teruko's going be there with you; follow her lead and you'll be okay; you're seeing your mum, not greeting the Empress of China!"