Page 10 of Fall of the Trident
“I only have a few minutes to talk right now.I’m on my way to the East Coast to see my men there when they get back.Is there any chance you could join me for lunch tomorrow?”He hadn’t seen Levi in months.Sam had made it down for a long weekend in June after a business meeting in L.A.and his twin sister, Linda, had surprised him for Easter after helping him move in January.
Damn, he missed his kids.Unfortunately, all three were on the East Coast.They were all adults, living their own lives.
“Let me call you in the morning.I’ve got a few things on my desk for one of the senior partners, but Jim is very family oriented and would totally understand if I slipped away for a few hours to go see you.”He hesitated for a long minute.
He obviously had something on his mind.Grinning, Trevor realized he did the same thing.
“Is everything okay, son?I can talk and pack.”He reached into his top dresser drawer and grabbed running clothes.If he got up early enough, he might PT with the men.
“Everything is okay with me, and the twins, but we’re worried about you.”Levi let out a long breath.“You’re out there all alone, nearly three thousand miles away.We worry about you.”
“I’m flattered.You know my life is crazy.This command is extremely demanding.”He seemed to work sixteen hours every day.
“Dad, are you planning to stay out on the West Coast after you retire?”His son quickly added, “You told us this was going to be your last command.Or have you decided a desk at the Pentagon would be your next step?”
“Why?”Trevor had only been in that position since January.He had at least two more years before he’d be considered for another transfer.
“Well, when they took me on at this law firm, I knew it was only a two-year position.If you’re going to stay out there, I’ll start job hunting in California.I’d like to live closer to you.”Levi was such a family-oriented kid.
“You think you need to take care of me in my old age?”He quipped.
“Hell no.You’re not old, which brings up another point.Have you started dating, yet?”His son knew exactly where to throw the javelin.
“Son…”
“I hate to think of you sitting around that big house you have to live in as an admiral, heating a box dinner in the microwave then eating it in front of the television.”Levi sighed heavily.“Dad, I’m so afraid that would be your life in retirement.You’re still young.You’re far too vibrant and energetic to waste away the next twenty, thirty, maybe even forty years.”
He stopped moving.For the first time, Trevor didn’t know what he was going to do next.Ever since Carol passed away, he’d just been free sailing through life, not caring which direction the wind took him.He went wherever the Navy sent him.He lived wherever the Navy told him to live.He did whatever the Navy told him to do.Thoughts of the future were gone with his wife.
Refocusing, Trevor took his uniform out of the closet and started to drape a hanging bag over it.He’d been promoted from two stars to three and never gave it a thought.Did he want to wear four stars on his collar?Be stuck behind a desk a hundred miles away from the nearest SEALs?
Fuck no.
“Dad?Are you still there?”
Trevor zipped closed the bag containing his crisp white uniform.“I’m still here.Thinking about what you said.”
He’d been allowing the current to take him wherever it wanted.Currents.Waves.
Marta riding the waves on her surfboard came to mind.She looked damn good in that wetsuit.Curvaceous, like a woman should.His son’s words; vivacious, energetic.Those words most certainly described Marta.
“Do you believe your brother and sister would accept me finding somebody else to share my life with?”Trevor was surprised he’d said those words out loud.
Levi laughed.“Yeah.I do.We’ve talked about it.Linda would be there in a heartbeat pushing you through the door to take someone out to dinner, to the theater, or just for a ride down Pacific Coast Highway.Sam, not as much, but he does want to see you happy.We all know that you loved Mom, and she was taken away from us far too soon.”His deep voice cracked.“But it’s been over five years, Dad.”
“I know.”His voice was quiet.
“Dad, she’s gone, and all of us are here.”Levi cleared his throat.“Jim, the partner I spoke of earlier, he’s in his eighties and remarried at sixty after his wife died.He takes off a month every summer spending a week with each of his grandchildren.One granddaughter loves camping, and they take her to a different national park every year.A grandson got so excited after studying about France last year, so they took him to Paris.For the last twenty-four years they’ve traveled the world—cruises, train trips.They even rented an RV one year and camped their way through Alaska.They go on a couple cruises each year.She’s in her late seventies and plays tennis twice a week.”He chuckled.“I’m not suggesting that you act like Davis, another of the partners.He must’ve had a midlife crisis last year.For his fiftieth birthday, he bought himself an expensive sports car, divorced wife number three and started dating women half his age.It’s sad.They’re milking him dry, and he doesn’t see it.”
“I can tell you’re a lawyer, citing multiple examples.”He looked at his suitcase and ran through his mental checklist.Everything was there.Zipping it closed, he thought about Marta and her sassy advances earlier in the day.
Holding her in his arms had felt wonderful.Her kiss heated parts of him he thought died with his wife.His son was right; he had a lot of life to live.“Okay, I’ll have a dinner date by the end of the week.”
“What?”The shock at his son’s voice made him grin.
“You heard me.”He just hoped after he’d rebuffed her a few hours ago that she’d forgive him and let him take her out to supper.It was a good first step.Besides, he didn’t know any other single woman his age.
“You’d already planned to date someone, didn’t you?”His son accused him with a smile in his voice.
