Page 5 of SEAL'S Baby Surprise
She looks at me for a minute with those enormous blue eyes as if she’s trying to discover if I’ve just told a whopper. “Had,” she says. “Do you still have two sisters?”
“I suppose,” I reply. “We don’t talk much anymore. They didn’t approve when I joined the Navy. Said it was too violent, that I should become a stockbroker or go into real estate. I toldthem that I preferred honest violence with a purpose over covert white-collar violations.”
“Oh.” She packs a world of meaning into that word. “So, you’re not on speaking terms?”
“You might say that” I reply. “I did twelve years in the Navy, joined up with the SEALS about two-thirds of the way through. Finished my last tour of duty with a bang and got honorable discharge on a medical. Took Ark with me when I went, because the K-9 unit handler couldn’t get him to stop barking. We’ve been flying under the radar ever since.”
I hand her a plate of eggs, bacon and toast, then point to a small table with packets of mayonnaise, mustard, and the jars of jam and jelly. “Condiments over there,” I say. “If this doesn’t work, I can make waffles.”
“Bacon!” she exclaims. “This is fine! I love good, crispy bacon with fried eggs. And I smell coffee!”
I hand her a mug with a picture of the sun coming up on one side and the logo on the other that says, “I need coffee with my sunrise.”
She smiles a thank you, looks through the assorted packets on the condiment table, and gets out two packets each of real sugar and condensed milk creamer.
Ark bumps against my knee to remind me that he had been out and about during breakfast, and he would like a reward for his efforts. Rather than make him wait while I cook for him, I open a can of dog food.
He scarfs it down, then slurps up about half a gallon of water.
Meanwhile, Lee has munched her way through the food I made and is now looking sleepy. “Hey,” I say, “I’ve got a couple of short errands to run. How about if I make up the front bunk and you get some rest. You look like you need it.”
“You sure?” she asks. “I mean, aren’t you afraid I’ll drive off with your van or steal stuff?”
“Lee,” I say, t, “There’s not much here to steal. You brought more wealth with you than I’ve got invested in this van. Unless I’m very much mistaken, those strings of beads in your hair were real diamonds and pearls.”
“Yeah, I think they’re lab created,” she replies, “And cultured pearls. I don’t think there’s actually a ton of pearls outside of farms these days, so cultured it is. “
I blink. A diamond is a diamond, isn’t it? “Even so, you were wearing a fortune’s worth of them. While I’m out, I’ll pick up a pair of flip-flops. The sidewalks around here get hot enough to blister your feet. Let me see one of your feet,” I ask, worried it’s already too late.
Obligingly, she sticks out her foot for me. It is surprisingly tiny, and I measure its size against the palm of my hand. Heel to toe, the tips of my fingers stick out longer than her feet.
Elf feet. I swear to God. They’re like elf or fairy feet.
She could easily be the heroine of some ancient story. Found by the sea, covered in seaweed, and crying out to it to be taken back.
But all of that aside, I can see that she is very much a flesh and blood girl, and one likely in some kind of trouble.
This little selkie is without her magic skin, unless you count that wreck of a dress, but I would respect the legends and treat her gently all the same.
Besides, I’ll take my keys and leave Ark on alert. He might have washed out of K-9 training, but he could take down a full-grown man and do it without even bruising the human.
“I’ll leave Ark with you,” I say.
“Ok,” she says, yawning. “I am kinda tired. And you’re right, the world looks lots better with food and dry clothes.”
I fold out the front passenger seat of the van, throw some clean sheets over it, and a blanket. Then I make sure the air conditioning unit is running, and I take our black refuse, and other trash and head to the dumping site.
As I walk, I wonder what it is exactly that I have found. Is she a treasure? Or a time bomb ticking ominously ready to blow my life apart? She is cute, no doubt about that, but I have a lot going on.
I have my kid, for one, and I haven’t quite figured out what I’m going to do come fall, when she needs to be in regular school.
I can’t worry about a strange, fairy tale woman that I found washed up on the beach. My purpose is to help her get on her feet, and that is all.
It’s weird that I’m attracted to her at all. I’m almost never interested in a woman, especially after the disaster of my marriage.
It hadn’t been for nothing my Navy SEAL team called me “the monk.” I hadn’t enlightened them that I just didn’t wantanything contagious near my privates. Besides, I had been married, and it hadn’t turned out well for me.
I loved Julia’s mom at the time, and I had wanted to do everything to be with her. Too bad it had turned out not to be up to me.
