Epilogue

Wednesday, May 18, 2033

I tilted my head towards the wall and asked, “Is the pride of Matucket ready?” We had reserved two rooms at the Holiday Inn five miles downriver from the Coast Guard Academy; Kelly and I had one and we had put Seamus in the other. I had threatened to make him pay for his own room, at which point he had threatened to bunk with us. Kelly had told me to pay for the spare room. Of course, she promised it would be worth it to get him out of our hair for the night.

“Supposed to be. We could always moan loudly and see if he starts yelling at us to knock it off,” she said.

I laughed at that. “I don’t need to hear about it. It’s bad enough listening to him complain, but you know he’d tell Riley and then we’d never hear the end of it.”

Seamus was with us. UGA’s finals week was the first week of May, so he was home by the time Riley graduated. Seamus had decided to be a Bulldog like his mother, father, Aunt Teresa, and Uncle Jack. He had finished his freshman year without being either arrested or evicted, so Kelly had high hopes that he would graduate in another three years. They were high hopes, as well. He was studying agriculture, of all things. He was majoring in Agribusiness with a minor in Agriscience. He told us he was planning on working in the burgeoning field of cannabis cultivation. Seamus had once told us he planned to major in debauchery and depravity. I didn’t know whether to applaud his ambition or arrest him!

We flew into the nearest airport to New London on Monday, flying direct from the Matucket County Airport to Groton-New London in a private jet. That was courtesy of the junior senator from Georgia, Beauregard T. Effner, Esq. Bo had run for an open Senate seat and won in 2032. He didn’t own a jet, but the Coast Guard commencement was considered a defense and foreign relations opportunity and a lobbyist for Grumman arranged it. Bo and Samantha met us in Matucket, and we flew up together. A couple of limos would be waiting for us once we arrived. I had checked and schlepping through Hartsfield and Philly and New Haven would have taken us over nine hours. The private jet got us there in just over two hours.

“It must be nice to be a Senator,” I told Bo after we got on the plane.

“It has its moments,” he said, smiling.

“Is this legal?”

Bo rolled his eyes. “Questions, questions, questions ... define legal.”

“Bo, I’m a cop. Should I be expecting to be ordered to cooperate with the Justice Department in any investigations?”

Samantha laughed at that, and Bo patted my hand and said condescendingly. “You’re such a simple fellow.” Kelly started laughing, too. Bo continued, “Legal is fine. Right or wrong is more questionable, but it’s legal. Besides, I’m a Senator. If it wasn’t legal, I could pass a law that would make it legal.” Then he told me some of the other perfectly legal scams that he was allowed to participate in as a Senator, and pointed out how if I were to try them, I’d end up in Club Fed.

“Just try to stay out of jail long enough to see your goddaughter get sworn in.”

“It’s good to be the king!”

I just rolled my eyes. One of the recurring jokes with Riley was that someday President Effner would be able to promote her to Admiral. She laughed and said that was a great idea.

Tuesday and Wednesday were the big days for commencement. Tuesday was all about all sorts of parades and receptions and award ceremonies. Kelly and I were both very proud of how high Riley had placed. While she hadn’t placed first in her class, she had been an honor graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering. She also was being recognized for varsity sports, placing first in pistol and second in rifle. Wednesday, on the other hand, was all about graduation.

I planned to wear a nice suit for the graduation ceremonies, but that wasn’t all. I was also going to wear the Medal and my ribbon rack. It was a military installation and ceremony, and Riley was planning to show me off. We ate breakfast down at the restaurant and then went back to the room to dress. I put my suit on and then stood while Kelly pinned on my rack. Then she put the Medal around my neck and handed me a lint roller. A knock on the door meant Seamus was at the door. Kelly opened it and our son came in.

“Hey, Dad! You almost look like a hero.”

“Just almost?” I asked.

“Just almost.”

Kelly gave him the stink eye and put a finger in his face. “Watch it, buster! I’m proud of your father and your sister is very proud of him. You screw up this day and you won’t have to worry about graduating, because you’ll be dead!”

Seamus looked over at me. “She gets scary at times.”

“Tell me about it!”

He looked at his mother and smiled. “Hey, I’m proud of Dad, too. Doesn’t mean I can’t goof on him. You’d both be disappointed if I didn’t.”

She smacked him on the back of the head and then inspected him. He passed muster so she led the way to the limo. Ten minutes later we were in line to get through the gate to the parking lot. That was when I began getting some attention for the Medal. While I wasn’t the only parent with a ribbon rack or in uniform, I was the only one sporting the Medal of Honor. Even when I was stopped for being armed, the Medal and my badge earned me a salute and entry to the event.

We didn’t sit with the Effners. Senators and Congressmen (and Congresswomen) had their own section with the important people, like defense contractors and lobbyists. The better to beg for campaign contributions, Bo told me. I was so glad I never went into politics; it had been suggested once that I run for Congress, and I had almost thrown the speaker out a window!

Thank God it was dry and cool. At times it seemed interminable, especially since we had to sit through an inscrutable speech from the Secretary of Homeland Security. It didn’t matter. My job was to keep my mouth shut and applaud appropriately. Eventually it was over, and the kids all threw their hats into the air. (What idiot came up with the idea of white uniforms? Does every Navy and Coast Guard ship get issued a dry cleaner?) She had already received her duty assignment, ensign on a cutter out of Key West. Maybe we’d get lucky and be invited down for a vacation. It seemed like a good idea to both Kelly and me! I threatened my wife with going down during Fantasy Fest.

And then she found us. She ran up to Kelly and gave her mother a hug and they did some happy crying. She even hugged Seamus. Finally, she was standing in front of me. I opened my arms but instead she came to attention and saluted. I was startled but I came to attention and returned the salute. Only then did she give me a hug. After that she stepped back, and I had a chance to ask the most important question of the day. “How did you ever find your hat?”