TWO DAYS LATER (SEPTEMBER, 1970) CRAB APPLE COVE MAINE
Caitlyn was sitting with her usual group of friends, at their usual spot for lunch, eating her usual sandwich, having their usual conversations, in the middle of a usual Monday at school. But, despite the normalcy of the situation, she felt anything, and nearly everything, but.
She had spent the greater part of the last two days trying to make sense of what Carlye had told her.
"It's sad, I've spent way too much time thinking about Carlye." Cait stopped short, realizing she had just interrupted her friend's mindless lunchtime gossip with something she hadn't meant to say aloud.
"Carlye's your Dad's girlfriend, right?"
"Forget I said anything," Caitlyn said, biting into her apple.
"Why were you thinking about her, do you think your Dad is going to propose or something?"
"That would be so romantic, I bet."
"I said forget it!" Caitlyn yelled, storming from the lunch table, ignoring the turned heads and stares as she left the cafeteria.
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Donald Penobscott anxiously paced his office, "What you aren't understanding, Flagg, is that the more this kid continues to pry, the greater chance we have of Pierce coming in contact with Houlihan again."
Sam (no longer colonel) Flagg nodded. He had been dishonorably discharged after the war for assaulting an innocent Korean family that had just moved to the U.S. Needless to say; it was a little hard for him to find work after that. He had leaped at Penobscott's plan for Houlihan and was more than willing to find information about Pierce.
"Those Commie lovers," Flagg thought, "will get what they deserve."
"So, what that means is," the Colonel turned and looked Flagg in the eye, "we have to 'finish the job' before that kid finds out anymore. And that means bye-bye Hotlips."
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Mrs. Wanda Yealer wasn't an actual counselor. She had gone to college for two years, and had briefly been engaged to a student planning to be a therapist. She was the closest thing Caitlyn's school had to a counselor, and she was the person Caitlyn had found herself seated in front of, shortly after the "scene" in the cafeteria.
"Maybe you've all forgotten," Caitlyn smiled cheekily, "but my Dad's the crazy one, not me."
Mrs. Yealer went on about unfair hostility towards single parents in a "romantic situation", and gave Caitlyn several "Family Friendly" activities to suggest to her dad and Carlye.
Caitlyn left, after being even more stubborn than usual. Mrs. Yealer told her to go home for the rest of the day and take a break.
"Well," she thought, "everyone must thing I'm a nut-case now, but at least I don't have to finish out the day."
Hawkeye had also taken the rest of the day off, but given the fact that he could drive, he had arrived home shortly before his daughter would.
Now, he was fixing the tie on his tux, while standing in front of the mirror in his room. He hadn't worn it since, well, he didn't like thinking about it.
He wad doing his best to maintain an "out-with the old, in with the new" attitude, it had, after all, been fifteen years since Linda was gone. Fifteen years since he had last worn his tux.
"What's the occasion, Dad?" Caitlyn peered curiously into the room. She hadn't seen him that dressed up in a long time.
"What are you doing home? You didn't get kicked out did you? Please tell me you're just skipping, not that that is good but."
"I had threw up, but I'm fine now. Nurse Crawford told me go come on home in case it came back. So why are you all, I don't know, nice looking?"
"I'm taking Carlye out to dinner." Hawkeye had finished with his tie, and was looking around in his closed for his dress shoes.
"Dad, can we talk?"
"Sure, what about?" Hawkeye looked up from the closet. He knew that it wasn't easy for Caitlyn to talk to him, she usually sought out a friend's mom, or someone like that. So, he decided, it must be pretty big for her to ask me about it.
"Carlye," Caitlyn almost whispered it, as she sat down on the bed.
Caitlyn's quiet, almost fearful manner must have gone over Hawkeye's head when he heard her say "Carlye".
"I was hoping you would want to talk about her sometime, Cait," he sat next to her and smiled, "You do like her, don't you?"
Caitlyn was tempted to tell her Dad what Carlye had told her the other day, how some guy named Penobscott was paying Carlye to be there, how she didn't really like him, she was just doing it for the money.
Hawk must have taken Caitlyn's silence for a "yes", because he went on, "I'm glad you like her. I'm taking her out tonight for, well, um," he shifted his feet and cleared his throat, "I'm going to ask Carlye to marry me."
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Margaret Houlihan answered the phone in her small apartment. It was nearly eleven at night, and she didn't know whom in their right mind would be calling at that hour.
"Lt. Colonel Houlihan speaking,"
"Goodnight, Margaret, sleep tight."
"Who is this?"
The line went dead, and her only answer was a dial tone.