Melissa Good - Thicker Than Water

She herself had downed four or five Bacardi Breezers and was in a pretty darn good mood, sitting there in the shade with a plate of lobster, shrimp and rice balanced neatly on one thigh. Kerry was on the other side of the fire, talking with Maria, Duks, and Ceci, and another knot of guests was clustered around where Alastair and her father were trading tall tales.

Nice.

212 Melissa Good Dar bit into a spicy shrimp and chewed it contentedly. The island looked great, nothing like she, in her childhood, had ever imagined it could become. There were comfortable beanbag chairs scattered around, and neatly dug in Lucite tables for drinks and dinner, and to one side the most incongruous looking Christmas tree she’d ever seen.

It was purple, for one thing, and had bright pink flamingo and bright green palm tree lights. And it was surrounded by piles and piles of presents. Some were theirs, some were their guests—

all of whom seemed to be having a great time.

Dar rocked her head a little from side to side and hummed along with the music emerging from the strategically placed speakers. It was one of Kerry’s favorite songs and Kerry danced a little to it.

Oo. Dar grinned. That is so cute. She took a swig from her bottle and leaned against the tree, glad of the cool breeze and the gorgeous day, and another successful party.

“Hey there, Dardar.” Andrew appeared suddenly and plopped down beside her. “Penny fer your thoughts.”

Dar glanced at Kerry, then glanced back at him and blushed.

“Heh,” her father chuckled. “You having a good birthday?”

“Yeah.” Dar nodded. “It’s great. The best part is having you and Mom here, though.” She gave him a quiet, serious look.

“Means a lot.”

“Mmph,” Andy grunted. “Well, it means a lot to us too, honey.” He folded his hands and propped them against an upraised knee. “Sometimes ah just have to slap the side of mah head ’cause I can’t believe Ah’m having all this back, after going and losing it.”

Dar thoughtfully reflected on this very long speech. “Does it ever feel like a dream to you?”

“Yeap.” Andy nodded. “It does.”

“For me, too.” Dar adopted the same pose, resting her hands on her knee. “I look back to where I was a year ago, and it’s like remembering a whole other lifetime.” She gazed off across the ocean, its surface lightly ruffled with the odd wave. “It’s so hard to believe, sometimes I just have to think it’s a dream.” She paused. “A dream I just hope I never wake up from.”

They watched the revelers in silence for a while.

“Well,” Andrew eventually commented, “better a dream than a nightmare, that’s for sure.”

“Mm,” Dar agreed.

Andy drew in a breath. “Dardar, when you were a kid, you wanted something real bad.” Dar looked at him. “Was a time you made a choice, but the Navy didn’t like that choice much. So they Thicker Than Water 213

told you no.”

“Yeah,” Dar said. “That they did.”

A small silence ensued. Andy seemed to be deep in thought.

“Wasn’t the Navy that said no to that, Paladar. Ah made that choice for you.” He looked at her. “Ah told them to tell you no.”

Dar met his eyes with only the faintest of smiles. “I know.

I’ve always known.”

Andrew just stared at her, a stunned look on his face.

“It…um…” another half smile, “was in the computer files.”

Dar looked out at the horizon. “For a while, I thought maybe you figured I’d embarrass you by not measuring up, and that was just your way of making sure I didn’t have to go through all that.”

“Ah did not think that,” Andrew muttered huskily.

Dar just nodded. “Then I figured maybe you knew me well enough to know I’d never have fit in with the Navy.” She exhaled.

“Then I finally just settled on knowing you made decisions the same way I did: you trusted your guts and let the chips fall where they fell.”

Andrew blinked. “You are the damndest thing.”

She shrugged. “You made me.”

Her father had to chuckle a little. Then he looked at his hands and flexed them. “Paladar, if you’d had your mind set to fit in the Navy, you surely would have, and if you’d set your mind to be a sea dog like me, you’d surely have done that also.”

Dar suddenly felt the seriousness of it. “I wanted to. I wanted to do what you did.” She looked at him. “And you’re right; I could have.” Her eyes glinted. “It wouldn’t have been easy, but I’d have done it. All the way.”

Andy nodded. “Yeap.” He looked her in the eye. “And that’s why Ah told them not to.” He drew a deep breath. “Ah did not want you to do what ah do.”

A thousand little tiny puzzles suddenly made sense to Dar.

“Oh.”

Andrew remained silent, looking out over the waves.

Dar picked at the tiny grains of sand covering her leg.

“Sometimes being able to do what you do is a very good thing.

Sometimes it needs to be done.”

“Yeap,” Andrew replied softly. “And some of the times, ah do enjoy it.”

Dar looked up at him quickly, but he was still gazing out over the water.

“’Specially when you can help out people you care for.”

Andrew turned his head to look Dar right in the eye. “Ah do like that.”

Dar released her breath and nodded slowly. “You put those 214 Melissa Good papers in my briefcase.”

“Ah did,” Andrew said.

“Thanks,” Dar replied. “You saved my ass.”

Andrew’s grizzled brows twitched and he gave Dar a side-long glance. “Ain’t that what daddies are for?”

“Only when you’re lucky.” Dar turned her head towards him and smiled, this time more broadly. “Did you really think I’d be mad at you for getting me turned down?”

Her father blew out a breath. “Lord, Ah had not the first idea what you were going to think about this. Been wanting to tell you for the longest time, and here you just up and trip me. Shoulda figured you knew.”

Dar chuckled. “I was mad. Then.” She looked up and around, and shook her head. “But sitting where I am now, having what I have—it was the right choice, Dad. We both know that.” Time to lighten up a little , she realized. “Besides, with my usual luck, I’d have ended up in charge of something, and you’d have had to salute me. Then what?”

Andrew thought about that, then he laid a long arm over Dar’s shoulders and looked at her. “Ah woulda followed you straight into Hell, that’s what. And been proud to do it.”

Dar didn’t say a word, but her jaw muscles clenched visibly and she swallowed. Andy nodded in understanding and just pulled her a little closer, both of them accepting the moment in all its richness, with a very similar desire for wordless peace.

CECI WANDERED TO where Kerry was sprawled and took a seat on a conveniently placed rock right next to her. “Hi.”

One lazy eye opened and regarded her benignly. “Hi.” Kerry smiled. “Having fun?”

It was nearing sunset and the fire had been lit, pots of seafood and vegetables sending hints of spices across the island. “Yes, I am,” Ceci replied. “You got sunburned.”

“Mm. I know.” Kerry stretched her tired body and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

They’d managed to string a volleyball net between two half-submerged trees and played several vicious rounds in the water, all the more tough for Kerry because of her relatively short height.

So she was pretty tired out and was glad to retire to her towel spread neatly over the sand and busy herself checking out the inside of her eyelids for leaks. Now she rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her hand. “What a gorgeous day.”