Spring Break

Done by 4 o'clock, something unheard of in the last three years, all of the recruiters were in civilian clothes and back in the 'ville' again by five. They were receiving a hefty amount of per diem in Miami and planned to spend every dollar of it and then some on the first real vacation they'd had since finishing recruiter's school in San Diego.

Trevor, however, chose to go down to the hotel restaurant and get something to eat and maybe have a drink or two before trying his luck again with the ladies. He hung out in his room until six then took the stairs down to the lobby feeling refreshed and ready to go.

He no sooner walked in when a very attractive co-ed spotted him, smiled, then motioned for him to come over. He smiled back and headed her way, but before he got halfway there, he saw a little hand waving. When he turned to look, he saw the same little girl he'd helped on the beach and smiled at her. Her mom was right beside her, and Trevor could hear her telling her daughter the man was very busy as she'd seen him walk in and what happened with the cute college girl.

"Hi. Again," Trevor said as he walked over.

"Do you wanna sit down with us?" the girl asked, already forgetting what her mother had just told her.

"Honey, he...he's meeting someone else, okay?"

"What? No. I'm not meeting anyone."

Trevor glanced at the attractive college girl who waited for him to look then rolled her eyes when she saw him talking with an even more attractive woman. She assumed it was his wife and daughter, and seconds later she forgot all about him and began looking for someone else.

"I uh, I don't want to bother you while you eat," Trevor said to the girl while looking at her mom.

"We're almost done, but if...I mean, if you would like to sit down, that would be...very nice."

"Let me grab a plate from the buffet and I'll be right back."

In less than a minute he returned with a modest amount of food and sat across from the two 'girls'.

Khloe asked if she could get another glass of juice, and once she was gone, the woman said, "I saw what just happened and I feel terrible."

"Something happened?" a surprised Trevor asked.

"Well, yes. The pretty young co-ed you were on your way to see."

"Oh. No, I..."

He couldn't honestly say he had no interest so he told the truth.

"Okay. I was headed her way. But girls like that are...distractions. I'd much rather talk with you than any 20-year old..."

He wanted to say 'bimbo' but ended the sentence with, "Girl."

"Mommy! I got grape this time. Look!"

After acknowledging her daughter's comment, Kim turned back to Trevor.

"I still feel terrible about yesterday."

"It's okay. Really."

"If...I wish we had a moment alone so I could explain why I reacted like I did. But in the meantime, all I can do is apologize again, and I'm glad you chose to join us."

"You're not wearing your uniform," Khloe observed after a swallow of grape juice left her tongue a dark purple.

"I finished work early today then I came back here and changed. Is that okay?" he asked in a way that made the girl giggle.

"Of course. Did you know my grandpa was a Marine?"

"I heard that. Your mom told me this morning."

"Oh, right. When we saw you and the other Marines."

"Right you are, Miss..."

"Khloe," her mother said, confirming what he thought was her daughter's name. "And I'm Kim. Kirkland."

"We're all Ks," Khloe said, another smile on her face. "And my daddy's name is Ken Kirkland."

"I see," Trevor replied before telling them his name. "I'm Trevor and my last name is Lucas."

"I go to school with a boy whose name is Lucas, so that's a first name," Khloe informed him.

"Yes, it is. And may I ask what grade you're in?"

"I'm gonna be in fourth grade when I go back to school."

"Okay. So you're...what? Nine years old?" Trevor guessed.

"No. I'm still eight, but I'll be nine in January."

"She's a bit of a chatterbox. In case you hadn't noticed," Kim said, waiting to get a word in edgewise.

"I talk a lot," Khloe said, just in case Trevor hadn't figured that out yet.

"That tells me you're smart," he replied.

"I am?"

"I'm betting you are. Kids who talk usually have large vocabularies, and if you know a lot of words, you're going to be smart. Right?"

Khloe looked at her mom and asked if that was true.

She looked at Trevor as she answered the question with, "You get all As and Bs, so I think Trevor might be onto something."

Trevor narrowed his eyes then said, "You see, I'm smarter than I look."

"You're funny!" Khloe told him as she giggled again.

"Hey! Did you just say I'm funny...looking?" Trevor asked as he moved his face closer to Khloe's who giggled even louder this time.

"So what brings you to Miami, Trevor?" Kim asked, as she found herself enjoying his sense of humor.

"A conference. We're all recruiters and we're working with the other services in a community relations project involving at-risk youth, and that means we're also looking for, well, recruits."

"Oh. That makes sense," she replied. "But aren't you an officer?"

"I am, but we also recruit. We recruit college students and college graduates to become Marine Corps officers."

"I had no idea."

"I'd say most Marines don't even know that."

He took a minute or so to explain what an OSO was and that he was just finishing up his three-year tour of duty.

Before Kim could reply he asked, "How about you? What brings you two lovely ladies to Miami?"

"Believe it or not, we won a contest."

"My mom called into a radio station, and she was the lucky seventh caller. And she answered the question and won a trip for two to Miami. And since it's Spring Break, we..."

"Okay, honey. I think he understands."

"See? I talk a LOT!" Khloe reminded her new friend.

"That's okay by me. I was dreading eating all by myself with no one to talk to, so...talk away."

"He's funny, Mom!"

"No. He's...he's very nice, Khloe."

"And handsome. Remember you said that this morning when you saw him in his uniform and..."

"Okay. That's quite enough," the woman said, a look of embarrassment on her face.

"Uh-oh. I wasn't supposed to say that," Khloe said, stating the obvious, a guilty look on her face.

"Well, if that's true, thank you very much, and if I may say, your mom is a very beautiful woman."

Trevor quickly added, "And your father is a very lucky man."

"My daddy's in prison," Khloe blurted out.

Kim closed her eyes and shook her head, and Trevor understood how sensitive the family matter was and changed the subject.

"So have you built any more sand castles?"

"Yes. Today I built one that was really, really big!"

"Nice."

"And the sand didn't fall apart!"

"Khloe said you taught her how to do that. You know, when I..."

Trevor only smiled then asked where they were from.

"If you don't mind telling me."

"We live in Beaufort," Khloe said before her mom could answer.

"Beaufort?"

"Yes. In North Carolina."

"Interesting. There's a Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina. Same spelling but different pronunciation."

The city in North Carolina was pronounced BOW-fort rather than BEW-furt.

"Yes. I've heard of that," Kim said.

"I have orders to Camp Lejeune. I'll be going there in a couple of weeks. Well, after I take some leave so make that 4-6 weeks."

"Oh, my goodness. That's only about 60 miles away from Beaufort, and there's a base called Cherry Point just a half-hour's drive from us. Have you heard of it?"

Trevor had, of course, heard of it but didn't mention there weren't many Marine bases worldwide or that most Marines knew all of them.

"Sure. It's an aviation base. Their aviators support the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune which is where I'm going. I'm not sure which battalion I'll be in, but I do know the regiment."

"Sorry. I don't know the difference between those, but I'm assuming they're units of some kind."

Trevor gave her the 3/3/3 explanation in just a few seconds.

"Yes. There are three infantry battalions in an infantry regiment and three regiments in a division, and finally there are three active duty divisions in the Marine Corps."

Kim laughed and told him she'd take his word for it.

"Sorry. That's not exactly the kind of thing that holds a person's interest, huh?" he replied with a laugh.

"No. Not at all. I'm very interested. I just don't know enough to understand what it all means."

"Well, maybe we'll have a chance to talk again one day," Trevor suggested, knowing that was unlikely in the extreme.

"I'd like that," Kim told him, another smile on her beautiful face; a face Trevor liked even more after seeing it up close for a little while.

"Yeah. Same here," Trevor told her before Kim said they'd already finished eating and should get going.

"Oh, no. So I am going to have to eat alone," Trevor said with a friendly smile.

"We don't want to monopolize your time."

She looked down at Khloe then back at Trevor and said, "As my daughter already said, you're a very nice looking young man, and I'm sure you'd like some time to maybe, you know, attract the attention of someone as attractive as you are and closer to your age."

Trevor sat back and pretended to be eyeing Kim then said, "You may have an eight-year old daughter, but you can't be that much older than me."

Kim started to say something like, "Bless your heart!" when Khloe blurted out her mom's actual age.

"My mom is 40 and she says that's over the hill, but I think she's beaut..."

"Okay, honey. I think that's our cue to be going and let Trevor finish his food in peace and quiet."

"Do we have to?"

"You're welcome to stay," Trevor said to them.

"Can we, Mom?"

"I don't think so, sweetie. We need to get back upstairs."

"But why? It's boring. We just watch TV or play video games, and we do that at home."

"Sorry," Kim said to Trevor as though he had to be annoyed by her daughter.

"No. I'm actually having a nice time. And you really are welcome to stay."

"We're flying home tomorrow morning. Early. So we really do need to get some things done."

"Okay. If you change your mind, I think I'll be in the bar for a an hour or two later on."

He felt beyond stupid when he realized Khloe couldn't come with her mom, and being alone there was no one else to watch her.

"I think I'll have to take a raincheck," Kim told him.

"Can I hold you to that?" Trevor asked, only partially kidding.

"Um...sure," she said, the smile still there before telling her daughter to say goodbye.

"Bye, Trevor," she said in a sad voice.

"Bye, castle maker," he told her, getting an immediate smile.

"It was very nice meeting you," Kim told him, "and I hope you do accept my apology."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Really."

"Well, then I'll just say 'goodbye' and if that raincheck ever happens, that would be very nice."

"Yes it would," Trevor told her before also saying goodbye.

Khloe waved as they left the room, and Trevor waved back. To his surprise, Kim also gave a little wave and smiled again leaving him to wonder if there was anything to this chance encounter. She was definitely attractive, but he had no idea if she was still married, and unless she was single, there was zero chance he'd ever consider seeing her. But were she divorced...

He mostly forgot about the double Ks as he went back upstairs to brush his teeth and kill an hour before going down to the bar which was already packed with coeds old enough to be there or who had convincingly fake IDs.

He hadn't been there for ten minutes before two very cute 20-somethings approached him and asked if they could buy him a drink.

"I like modern women," Trevor told them.

"We're not modern. We're horny," the cuter of the two told him. "So if you don't really need another drink, we could just..."

Trevor didn't hear her final words. He saw something that caught his attention and held it so completely he had no idea the girl was even talking.

"Will you excuse me?" he said without looking at them.

"Just so you know. We come as a package deal. You know, two for one!" the other girl said as he continued walking away.

Trevor not only didn't hear her he didn't care what she said.

"Kim?"

"Oh. Trevor. Hi."

"I thought. Isn't Khloe..."

"The hotel has a service. It's in the room just next to the bar of all places. They have fully-certified daycare providers available 24-7, and I thought maybe I'd stop by for a drink."

She was too embarrassed to tell him that he was the only reason she was there, but he either knew and didn't care or didn't know as his face lit up.

"I'm glad you did. What can I get you?"

"A margarita?" she told him.

"Coming right up!"

He caught someone's attention and gave her his order then suggested they try and find a seat.

It was busy but still not so loud they couldn't hear one another speak in a conversational tone of voice.

"I have to say I was really surprised to see you," Trevor told her right after they touched glasses and said 'cheers'.

Kim took a much larger first sip than normal, set the glass down, then fessed up.

"I was actually hoping to bump into you."

"Oh?"

He smiled and raised his eyebrows which made her laugh.

"No. Not...like that."

"I was only kidding around, Kim. I don't have the best sense of humor sometimes."

"You're fine," she told him as she nervously picked up her drink and took a second, even larger sip.

"Nah. I'm 'not bad' on my best day. You are the one who's...fine."

This time she saw no hint of teasing and felt flushed knowing the alternate meaning of 'fine'.

She wanted to thank him but took a third sip instead when she found herself with a sudden case of dry mouth.

"That was a compliment. Or at least that's how I intended it."

"Oh. Thank you. I don't know why you'd say that, but it was very nice of you to say it."

"You haven't seen a mirror recently then," he told her just as seriously.

She hadn't come to flirt, and yet Trevor was definitely flirting with her, and the flirting was causing a flutter.

"It it was 2005 I might agree you with you," she told him. "Well, maybe."

"Hey, it's 2021 and you look amazing."

Kim thanked him again but found herself looking at the salt rimming her glass as she did.

"So did you maybe want to talk?" Trevor asked.

"Yes. That's the reason I came back down. So I could explain why I was so...rude...at the beach."

"I thought we already covered that."

"The apology part, yes. But not the um...root cause."

Trevor knew more was coming and took a second sip as Kim took a fourth.

"I've always been protective, but I wasn't always so...overprotective," she began.

"It's obvious you love your daughter, and she clearly loves you, too."

"We are very close," Kim admitted before finally looking at him again.

"Two years ago last month, our lives changed forever."

To give her some more time, Trevor took another tiny sip of his drink and continued waiting, never taking his eyes off of this woman he found more beautiful by the minute.

"My ex-husband, Khloe's father, he..."

When Kim looked back down, Trevor sensed something awful as he connected the beach with her self-admitted overprotectiveness.

"Did he..."

"No. Never. At least not...Khloe," she said without looking up.

Trevor could see she was becoming emotional and reached across the table and gently toucher hand.

"It's okay."

"Sorry. This is still so difficult to talk about."

"You don't have to say anything."

"No. I...I want to," she insisted as she looked at him again, blinking away the tears that had welled up in her eyes. "You need to know this or I won't be able to forgive myself even though you keep saying it's no big deal."

She took a moment, then drew a long breath and slowly exhaled.

"One day, out of the blue, the FBI came to our door. They had a search warrant and a team of agents."

Kim found a napkin and dabbed her eyes then continued.

"My...Khloe's father...had downloaded these...images. Hundreds of them. On our computer. Images of..."

Trevor also knew what this meant and put his hand on hers and squeezed it as a way of letting her know he understood.

"You don't need to say anything else, Kim. I know what you mean."

"I...I had no idea. None. I initially was sure it was some kind of mistake. But when I went to see him...in jail...he admitted everything."

"I'm so sorry. For you and Khloe."

"She was such a daddy's girl, and once I knew it was all true, I got so angry! That's when I asked if he'd ever, you know."

"How do you know he was telling the truth?"

"I can't be 100% certain, but he tried explaining this...sickness. He...he has an age that, you know, that he...prefers. His was, well, a few years older than Khloe."

Trevor knew this, too. He'd heard that nearly all predators had a preferred gender and an age range. Children outside those parameters were of little interest and it was becoming clear that Khloe didn't fit the profile.

"I've heard about that," Trevor offered without saying more other than that he understood that's why Khloe had been spared.

"I've done some reading myself and that's what I learned, too. And I found a roundabout way to ask Khloe if anything had ever happened without saying anything...directly...and I felt extremely confident that nothing ever had."

"I suppose if there's any silver lining that would be it."

"Yes. Exactly. And so when I saw you, alone with my daughter, I absolutely panicked. I...overreacted. And again, I apol..."

"Kim? Please don't. You've been through hell, and yet you've remained strong, and you're a really good mother."

She'd looked back down, and when Trevor saw the first tear run down her cheek, he again squeezed her hand.

"And you really are beautiful, Kim. Inside and out."

She took her hand away, not because she was offended, but because she now needed two hands to avoid a mess of mascara streaks.

When she finished, she set the napkin back down then said, "I've only told two other people that, and one of them was my divorce attorney, so thank you for listening and...not judging."

"Hey. There's nothing to judge because you did nothing wrong. If I'm doing any judging at all it's to judge you as being a loving, caring mother."

"You're very sweet, Trevor," she told him as she managed a little smile.

"Sweet, huh?" he replied, a smile and a wince appearing on his face. "That's not exactly what any guy wants to hear, but...okay."

"What? No. I...I only meant that you're, you know, a very nice guy who..."

"Oh, boy. Nice guy? This just keeps getting worse," he said with a smile as he pretended to be hurt.

"That...that wasn't my intention. At all," she told him as she fought for control over her emotions.

"I think maybe I was hoping against hope that you might see me more like I see you," he said with no hint of self-pity.

"I...I don't understand," Kim told him as she looked for some hint in his eyes to tell her what she was missing.

He was thinking of what to say and how to say it when he heard a voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

"Whenever you and your mom get finished talking, we're still available," the voice said.

Trevor looked up in surprise as the 19-year old old and her friend smiled at him.

"We brought you a room key just in case," the second girl said as she laid it on the table next to him.

Trevor couldn't think of a word to say, so he didn't say anything. He just continued looking up at them for another second or two which seemed much longer.

Just before they walked away the first girl said, "If she's not your mom, she's welcome to join us. We like cougars, too, and she's hot enough to play with us!"

Then, with a flip of their heads, the two very cute, very young co-eds walked away leaving Trevor speechless.