There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 22

I never intended to get married in the first place, to any woman, not only to Margaret. I thought it was unfair, because of the type of lives we lived. You lost three times because of it. It's not normal to be separated from your spouse for a year, or more, and expect to walk back into your home, and resume a life as if nothing had ever happened in between.

How many times have you seen our young men leave their homes, and return a year later to find wives with three or four-month-old infants in their arms.

How many times have you seen our young men leave their homes to wives who have loved and been faithful to them for years, and had to find solace in someone else's arms, because they were so lonely.

I couldn't do that any woman. It may sound selfish, but that's the way I felt."

"General, you have a big mouth, but you're talking to the wrong person. You should have told that to Margaret 25 years ago."

Lucius cut a length of cloth from the blackout curtains in Dan's office, to make a sling for his arm. Once he had it properly adjusted, he said, "Let's get you downstairs, and off to the hospital. I believe you'll be spending the night there."

As they exited the elevator on the first floor, Logan was there to greet them. He took one look at the general and was about to laugh.

"If you laugh, you will be doing push-ups for the rest of your life, or you will be unemployed."

"SIR, YES SIR."

"Idiot."

"SIR, YES SIR."

Logan couldn't hold it in any longer, and began to laugh.

"Can I hold your broken arm for you, sir?"

"Yes you can, with your broken neck."

Dan's left arm was broken, so they put him in on the drivers' side of the car to make his ingress and egress easier. It didn't matter to Lucius where Dan sat, because he was going to have female company shortly, whether he wanted it or not.

The agents in the car were told to wear their earbuds and listened to music loud enough so they could not hear any conversation that went on between the two combatants. They wouldn't hear anything anyhow from this point forward, because Lucius made it a standing order. They were not to talk about the general or Margaret at all. A breach of this order would be a breach of the Code of Honor that all soldiers live by.

"No one on the outside knows what's going on inside your unit. The ranking officer of the unit is to be protected by everyone."

As Logan affixed Dan's seatbelt, under his broken arm, the opposite side of the car dipped down. Dan turned his head and saw Margaret sliding in to the car.

"Get me out of here; she's going to kill me."

"Mister Zabo gave his approval for that general. He said you were narrow- minded bastard."

"You made that up."

"I would never call you a narrow-minded bastard general."

"If you call me a narrow-minded bastard one more time, you're fired."

"I never called you a narrow-minded bastard, Mister Zabo did. You can ask him yourself if you survive the ride to the hospital."

"This day will never end, I'm sure of it."

************

Margaret slid her legs in, adjusted her skirt, grabbed the seat belt, and buckled it into place.

Lucius immediately closed the door behind her, and stood by it, so she could not reopen it.

Margaret waited for the vehicle to start, when she realized someone was sitting beside her. She sensed it was Dan. She unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed the door handle, and pushed. The door didn't move. She tried again, and it still didn't move. She looked out the window and saw Lucius pressing up against the door.

"Let me out of here Lucius; or I will kill him."

"Kill him on the way to the hospital Margaret, but let him tell you what he told me first. Do it and I'll mow your lawn?"

"I live in an apartment."

"That will make my job easier. Talk to him Margaret, make my life easier."

"He's a waste of air."

"For the last time Margaret, talk to the idiot. You helped make him a general."

"We all make mistakes; he was mine."

"You may make another one, if you do not talk to him."

"I have my Ted Williams bat."

"I will stand still, while you swing it."

"You are a pain in the ass Lucius."

"We all have one Margaret."

***************

She reset her seatbelt, and without looking at him said, "Lucius wants me to talk to you. I have nothing to say that I haven't said already."

"Margaret, I spoke with him for a few moments before he brought me down here. When I was finished, he said I had a big mouth that I was talking to the wrong person. He said I should have told those things to you 25 years ago. "I was a young and dumb first Lieutenant, who found a secretary that could read his mind, and put it on paper better... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^... I wouldn't do that to any woman Margaret."

"You were a 24-year-old First Lieutenant, and I was 19 years old private, fresh out of training, when I was assigned to be your secretary. I memorized everything about you: your speech pattern, the way you wrote, and the way you liked your files organized. You never had to look for anything twice. It was always there at your fingertips. You never had to rewrite any speech I wrote for you, because they were always perfect. When you had reports that were due, they were completed, and on your desk, waiting for your signature. There were days you walked into the office and had nothing to do, because I did them for you already.

You made Captain on the first go around in North Carolina. No other First Lieutenants in our Division did. It was because every form you were supposed to fill out was filled out by me, and it was perfect. The only thing you had to do was sign it, and they were always into staff early. Not one sheet of paper came back from command to tell you to do it again.

You didn't care about the Army's fraternization policy, and neither did I. The Army was looking the other way, because they were in need of good officers; and Congress was up there ass about keeping females in the service. We fit the bill.

We didn't hide from anyone. I thought we were dating, while all you were doing was playing. I was not your sister. I was a woman, and I was in love with you. If you didn't see that you were not only dumb, you were blind."

"I want to ask you a tough question Margaret, and if you don't want to, you don't have to answer it. We were in Germany, and I was a sure thing for Major when the list came out. That's when you left me, and the Army, and came back to the states. For the sake of argument, what would have happened to us if we had gotten married, and I was assigned to the Balkans for the next 19 months, which I was, without a break?"

"I swear Dan someone needs to put an axe through the center of your skull to make you understand. When two people really love each other, they will wait. It will be damn hard, and it will be excruciatingly painful, but both of us would survive.

Look at all the men and women that fought in World War II. They were separated from their families from four to six years, and most of them made it. They made it through rationing, fuel shortages, and the edge of the depression, but they made it.

Even today with the long tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has experienced less than a 1% increase in the divorce rate over the past 11 years. They would prefer it to be 0%, but in the real world that's not possible. How did you become a general officer and not have these facts and figures in front of you every day?"

"I was in charge of Battle Readiness. That stuff is taken care of by Recruiting and Administration."

"Do you think 10 or 12 key officers facing a divorce at home could affect battle readiness?"

"Yes, it could."

"You should have taken lessons from Lucius, instead of kicking him out of the service. You could have taken him out of the field, because of the way he did things, but as the head of training, there would have been no one better. He has me talking to you civilly, where 10 minutes ago I would have cut your throat without a second thought."

"Are you going to come back to work for me?"

"No, I'm going home."

"Will you marry me if I go with you?"

"You can't leave here; you have an important job to do."

"Will you marry me anyway? I know I'm dumb, and I know I've treated you like dirt, but I rationalized it in a way that was logical to me. I do love you Margaret. I think I've known it for a long time. I said to myself for so long that I was never getting married that the possibility of it happening to me was never allowed to enter my mind. You don't have to answer me today, or tomorrow, or even next week if you don't want to, but when you decide, I'll be waiting for your phone call, one way, or the other."

************

After they signed into the hospital, they were triaged, and separated. Dan was taken for x-rays of his left arm and ribs, while a nurse was assigned to look at Margaret's right eye.

The nurse cleaned off Maggie's face, and put a large magnifying glass between them.

"Let me guess, a domestic dispute?"

"You're not even close: World War 2 ½. An army corporal took on an army general and won."

"I hope you were the corporal."

"The general is having his broken arm x-rayed."

"Way to go girl, you're my type of woman. If you don't mind me saying so, you're a little too old to be a corporal. This must have been an old grudge."

"It was. I was like a pressure cooker that blew its lid today."

"Did he see it coming, or did you sneak up on him?"

"Oh no, I didn't sneak up on him. He caused me to boil over today; and I went after him hammer and tong."

"I'm going to have the Doctor look at this eye. I think you're going to need a micro-stitch. I'll be right back."

While she was waiting for the nurse, Lucius stopped by to give her the news about Dan.

"Congratulations Margaret, even though you were fighting above your weight class, he has a compound fracture of his left arm, plus two ribs. How the hell did you break is arm?"

"He attempted to molest me. I closed the door on his arm as he tried to touch me. It served him right."

"What do you mean he tried to molest you? That's not like Danny."

"He tried to touch my breast, while we were fighting."

"Are you sure that's what he was trying to do; or are you beginning to become like him, dense as concrete?"

"I plead the Fifth Amendment."

"Don't get like me Margaret; it's not fun being alone all the time. That's why I keep Paul with me, to break the silence."

"Is that why you got married three times?"

"Dogs don't talk, and cats are too independent. I never cheated on my wives. I was always away, and they couldn't take it."

"Are you saying that asshole of mine is right?"

"No Margaret, not for one minute. If you don't try, you can't win. I just picked the wrong women, or they picked the wrong man. I'm still friendly with my first two wives. My third wife, I stay as far away from as I can."

The nurse returned with the Doctor, who sat down, looked at Margaret's eye through the magnifying glass, stood up, and left, without saying a word.

"Margaret, I have to talk to a man about manners. I'll be right back."

Lucius motioned for Steve and Logan to follow him, as he walked up to the doctor.

The doctor was standing at the nurse's station talking to a secretary, when Lucius tapped him on his shoulder.

The doctor turned and said, "Yes."

Lucius grabbed him by the nuts, and squeezed so hard the Doctor squealed, and fell to his knees.

Lucius looked around innocently. "It must be gas. We'll take him outside and help him expel it."

Logan and Steve picked up, and escorted him outside the emergency room.

As the Doctor recovered his senses he said, "I am going to sue you for every penny you have."

"If you don't keep your mouth shut, your life expectancy is less than 10 seconds. Steve put your gun in his mouth so I have his attention."

Steve did as he was told.

"Do I have your full attention now doctor?"

The doctor nodded his head vigorously.

"You just insulted one of the most important people in our facility. You know where we work, and you know what we're building. We don't do anything in half measures. Apparently you do. You walked up to Margaret Post, looked at her eye, and left without saying a word. You could have been a bum, who walked in from the street and grabbed a white coat. No one would have known the difference.

We could sue this hospital into bankruptcy, because of you. I don't know your name because you're not wearing a nametag. Do you have a name? Are you a real doctor? Did they teach you how to treat patients properly, while you were in medical school? I'm going to ask Steve to remove his weapon from your mouth, and put it into your ear. I know you heard what I asked you; now I want to hear your answers. If I don't like them, your brains will be scattered on the floor next to your body."

"Yes I am a doctor, Doctor Joseph Finch. I graduated from Northern New Mexico State University Medical School. Yes, they did teach me how to treat patients properly, and I used to be a better doctor than I am. I apologize for the way I treated Miss Post.

I just went through a vicious divorce, and my wife took everything, including my children. I have to go to Vermont to see them. I didn't do anything wrong, and she still got everything. What the hell is happening to this world?"

"Where does your wife live? How old is she, and how old are your kids?"

"She lives near Montpelier. My wife is 33 years old, and the girls are 9 and 11."

"I went through three divorces doctor. I was still in the Army and I had to function as an officer every day. You are a professional and you have to function as a doctor every day. You can't treat your patients as if they didn't matter.

Margaret matters to us. You could be dead where you kneel now, because of the way you treated her. Do your job. Do it properly, get back on your feet, and live your life. Who knows what can happen in the future. Go back inside, and talk to Margaret. Tell her exactly what has to be done, and tell her which type of physician is best to do it.

Don't forget to clean the ear wax out of your gun Steve."

"Very funny Colonel."

"When we are all finished here Doctor, I'd like to speak with you for a moment. It's about a very elevating experience."

Doctor Finch approached Margaret, sat down, and introduced himself. He apologized for his previous behavior, and promised it would never happen again.

"Miss Post, you need a stitch at the corner of your right eye. I won't do it, purely out of caution. I would rather have either an ophthalmologist or a plastic surgeon operate on you. The preparation time will be an hour or more, the surgery will take approximately 15 seconds. The surgeon will put the stitch in, and it will melt away with time."

"Will I have it done here Doctor?"

"Yes, it is done here at the hospital. If this were a larger community, it would be done in an outpatient facility. Here, in Temple, everything happens at the hospital. I can see you don't use glasses or contact lenses. Why don't I recommend a plastic surgeon to do the operation for you?"

"That will be fine doctor, thank you very much."

******************

As she was standing at the desk was waiting for paperwork, and aide rolled Dan into the room. He looked as if a little girl used a 'Play Doctor Kit' on him, because of the myriad of bandages on his legs, right arm, neck, face, and ears. His left arm was encased in a cast, from his fingertips to his shoulder, and he was wearing a flak jacket around his chest to protect his broken ribs. The look on his face was as mean as a junkyard dog.

Margaret was shocked as she looked at the damage she did.

Lucius and the members of the security teams had other ideas. They stood between the two combatants, looked at each of them, then turned towards Margaret.

Lucius yelled, "The Winner and New Champion, Margaret Post." Everyone applauded raucously.

Margaret blushed, but she raised her hands over her head as a sign of victory.

As they turned back towards Dan, his face was boiling with rage.

"Very funny you idiots, you're all fired."

The staff cheered, lifted Margaret in the air, and carried her towards the exit.

Dan yelled, "Hey, what about me?"

"What about you; we don't work for you anymore. You just fired us. Goodbye Danny."

"Get your ass back here now."

Doctor Finch said, "It looks like you lost round two to Ms. Post, Mister Morgan."

"It's General Morgan to you sonny."

Lucius walked up behind Dan, and said to the Doctor, "He gets grumpy when he's hungry; and when he's hungry he likes to chew on people."

"So help me God Lucius, I am going to kill you if you don't get me out of here."

"Would you like to take a trip to the stars Doc? We haven't been able to find a doctor willing to go on the trip with our space travelers. Would you think about it before you say no? The way your wife left you, there is really no reason for you to stay here."

"Can I stop by your place, and take a look at the project, before I comment?"

"Sure, just ask for me, Colonel Lucius Canyon. I'll show you around."

"Get me out of here Lucius."

"When was the last time you had real food Dan. I don't want you gnawing on my wrist as I try to get you in the car."

"Where is my fucking gun, you're a dead man."

"I may see you later Doc. I'll be in the morgue."

Doctor Finch laughed for the first time, in more than a month.

*****************

108. Problems With The Flight Plan

One of the few times Zoie and Gordon were not cloistered in their bedroom, they were sitting in the den, talking with Jennifer, and me, about another breakthrough that Gray made in the lab. My son-in-law was truly worth more than his weight in gold.

Zoie told us something funny that happened at her school, and we were laughing, when Richard joined us.

"I know I'm not supposed to butt in to your scientific stuff, but I've been doing some studying. I think you're wrong about Kepler 62E in the way you're going to get there. Can I tell you about it?"

I said to my son, "Who told you that you're not supposed to butt in to our scientific discussions? Everyone, even Holden and Teddy are allowed to ask questions about anything we are doing. It doesn't have to be about space, it could be about anything you want to talk about Richard. What is on your mind son?"

"You planned our course for the trip to 62E Gordon. You didn't realize you were going to take us through the Western most portion of a 'White Hole'. If we go your way, we are going to exit the 'White Hole' less than five to eight light years away from the Sagittarius 'A' Star, which is being sucked into a 'Supergiant Black Hole.' We may not have enough power to escape the gravitational pull of that massive Black Hole, even though we are going to be approximately 30 trillion miles away from it."

The four of us sat there stunned by Richard's revelation. It was not about the way he spoke to us about science. It was how much he advanced in such a short period of time. Four months ago, he appeared to be a normal healthy child and Jennifer and I was very pleased with him as he was. Then he began to advance quickly in the scientific methods. Any time he asked for help in his studies, I was at his side showing him the way.

Then he branched off into an area Gordon was better at than I was, and he began helping Richard more than me. I began to wonder if Richard had eclipsed Gordon in celestial navigation. The look on Gordon's face told me he was thinking the same thing.

Gordon looked at his brother and asked, "Rich where did you find all this information. I went over all the latest star charts from the ESA last month. There was no indication of anything blocking our way to Kepler. However, I'm getting ahead of myself. What the hell is a 'White Hole'? I've never heard of that terminology before."