Chapter 32

Kelly had received an invitation to speak at a meeting of the War College Officers’ Wives Club. When she checked with Rita, she was told it was a standard invitation. The President traditionally spoke at the Club’s major spring meeting. Rita was sitting across from her in her office. She had been teasing the girl about the dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. The girl spread her legs wide and rubbed her groin gently.

By this time Rita had become accustomed to Kelly’s teasing. She just stuck out her tongue and said, “You’re just jealous because you’re bulging with a baby and I’m not.” Actually, they both knew that Kelly wasn’t bulging at all. The only sign — which wasn’t visible when she was dressed — were her swollen breasts.

Kelly smiled softly and said, “Rita, you can’t believe how wonderful I feel! The important thing is it relieves our minds. Mike knows I was pretty badly beaten by the KGB and no one could be sure I was still capable of having children. My doctor says I’m made for having babies. She says there won’t be much bulging at all. The same thing is true with Katrina. Anyway, what about the Wives’ Club? What should I wear? Should I go in uniform?

Rita cocked her head to one side and looked pensive. “I think you should, Kelly. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought that a pregnant woman in uniform is a contradiction somehow. But you can certainly wear your uniform now, and I think you should.”

Kelly agreed, so she went over to the Officers Club wearing her summer service uniform. She was greeted at the door by the president of the club, Marian Collins, whose husband, Harry, was a brigadier general and a student at the College. The woman held both of Kelly’s hands in hers and looked at her. She slowly shook her head. “Harry told me about you, but I didn’t believe him. You look so young!”

Kelly grinned and said, “Shh! They’re not supposed to serve me, but they’ve never had the nerve to ask a general for proof of age.”

Marian Collins was aghast. “Do you mean to say you’re not even twenty-one!?”

“I won’t be twenty until next month. It’s known to a lot of people but I still don’t advertise it. Please don’t mention it today. Now, I didn’t prepare a speech. I have no idea what the members are interested in. If it’s all right with you, Mrs. Collins, I would prefer to just answer questions from the floor. Would that be satisfactory?”

Marian Collins looked nervous. “I’m sure that will be fine,” but she didn’t sound as if she meant it.

“Mrs. Collins, it looks like your heart wasn’t in that answer. What’s wrong?”

Marian explained, “If I had known what I was getting into, I never would have taken this job. Even though we’re all officers’ wives, we have some militant feminists in our group who come with all the well-known baggage. Frankly, I don’t see how some of these girls stay married or why they would want to if they really believe half of what they say. I guess I was hoping you would have a nice boring speech that would put everyone to sleep.

“I know that’s a terrible thing to say, but I can’t take the constant battling anymore. Usually the President of the College gives a speech like that. No one knows what he’s talking about but the big words sound real good.”

She grinned at Kelly and added, “Come on, General. I’ll buy you a drink. If they ask, I’ll say you’re my daughter and of course you’re over twenty-one. As a matter of fact, my youngest child is twenty-three now.” The woman smiled at Kelly and said, “Please call me Marian.”

She smiled at Kelly who decided she liked Marian Collins very much. She had beautiful features, a beautiful figure, but carried enough extra pounds to appear matronly. The woman led the way to the bar. She asked, “May I call you Kelly? I hope that’s not being too familiar?”

Kelly said of course not and asked her please to do so. They were seated in a booth and Marian Collins looked at Kelly’s breast for the first time. She saw the array of ribbons and immediately looked puzzled. She said, “Kelly, I apologize. I asked for a biography to use in your introduction but it never arrived. I’m looking at those ribbons. The second one looks familiar, but I can’t tell you why. What is it?”

Kelly replied softly, “It’s the ribbon of the Medal of Honor.”

Marian Collins turned pale. “My God! We’re used to academic presidents at the War College! When I asked for your bio, I was just being polite. But ... it’s the second ribbon — and there’s an oak leaf cluster. That means two, doesn’t it? I thought the Medal of Honor was the highest award we have. What’s the first ribbon for?”

“It’s the ribbon of the Cross of Liberty. It is now the senior United States award for valor. And yes, there is an oak leaf cluster on the Medal of Honor. To save time, it is followed by the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and some foreign stuff.”

Marian raised an eyebrow. “Foreign stuff? What ‘foreign stuff’? Specifically?”

Kelly blushed. “The Victoria Cross, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, the Gold Order of the Knight’s Cross, and the Gold Cross of the Republics. In order, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia.”

Collins let out a soft whistle. “I guess it shows what happens when you don’t pay attention to what’s going on in the world. Kelly, there are two things: I’m no military genius, but I recognize the first couple of names. Am I correct in assuming that those awards are the highest awards for valor the respective countries ever award?”

Kelly nodded.

“And the Cross of Liberty? That has to be very new. I’ll bet you are the only winner, aren’t you?” Again Kelly nodded. Marian Collins smiled and nodded her head. “In that case, I guess you’re just the person to enter our lion’s den. If you can’t handle them, we’ll just have to give up!”

They finished their drinks and went to the dining room.

Kelly was surprised to find Camille acting as head waiter. She caught the girl’s quick wink. As she was being seated, Camille quickly whispered that her mother was managing the luncheon. “Kelly, we have an investment in you. We can’t take a chance with you eating yucky food!”

Kelly just grinned and winked back.

The luncheon was a memorable feast. Marian Collins couldn’t believe what she was eating. “Where did this food come from? It’s the best I’ve ever eaten — anywhere! Kelly, have you ever had anything to compare with it?”

Kelly grinned at her and whispered, “As a matter of fact, yes. It’s my cook who’s cooking today. You see, I’m expecting a baby. The beautiful girl who seated us is my doctor. They want to be sure I eat the right things.”

Marian’s jaw dropped. “You’re serious, aren’t you? But, my God, you don’t look pregnant. And the person who cooked this is your cook!?”

Kelly assured her she was indeed pregnant and Selma was the family’s cook. “I won’t try to tell you how that happened, because I haven’t quite figured it out yet, myself.”

Finally the lunch was over and it was time for the meeting to begin. First, there was a short business session. In spite of the wonderful food and the routine nature of the club’s business, the antagonisms in the organization immediately became apparent.

Finally, Marian adjourned the business portion of the meeting and introduced Kelly: “Ladies, we are fortunate today to have with us the President of the War College, Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson. General Jackson ... Kelly ... represents a significant break with the recent past. As most of you know, the last several College presidents have been academicians.

“I don’t believe Kelly qualifies. I learned some things today which cause me to believe she is the most highly-decorated war hero in the history of the United States. You see a row of ribbons on her chest? There is not a single service ribbon there. Every one is an award for gallantry. She leads off with the Cross of Liberty. It is the highest award our nation can give and was created for her. Why? Because following it are two Medals of Honor, formerly our highest award. I guess Congress didn’t want to make it three. She also wears the highest awards that can be given to anyone by England, France, Germany, and, believe it or not ... Russia.

“Please welcome our guest speaker today, the President of the War College, Lieutenant General Kelly Jackson!”

Kelly stood up and went to the speaker’s rostrum. “Good afternoon, ladies. I spoke with your president this morning about the topic for my talk today. Apparently, there is none. I gather that precedent is for the President of the College to put you all to sleep with an academic speech on some arcane subject or other. I can’t give an academic speech. I’m not an academic. Accordingly, I just intend to answer any questions you may have about the College or anything else you may be interested in.”

A woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties stood up. She had a very stern face and wore mannish clothes. She said, “I think it’s wonderful for us to welcome General Jackson this afternoon. She has demonstrated what happens when women have full control of their own bodies. What happens when they have access to the right kind of education. Now, perhaps they’ll see what happens when women have access to degrees and...”

She stopped because Kelly was shaking her head from side to side and trying without great success to control her laughter. She stopped and Kelly looked around to both sides. “I was looking to see if someone else was up here with me. Madam, your statements may be correct. I don’t know. I do know you can’t use me to prove them.

“First, with respect to ‘control of our bodies’ and ‘the right kind of education’. My body was under the control of the KGB. My education was administered at the end of a whip. I don’t think that’s quite what you had in mind. As for degrees, I don’t have any. In fact, it’s been pointed out to me a few times by a number of people, including the President of the United States, that my high school diploma is honorary. And that’s true: It is. I’m afraid I didn’t let you finish the speech you were starting to make. I apologize. However, I could see you were headed for trouble when your preliminary remarks were factually incorrect, at least as they concern me.

“However, I think I know where you’re going. I think you were headed for a diatribe about dominating men and subservient women. How we have no control over our bodies. I guess I can understand that. My first child is growing in my belly right now. This morning I could feel his first movement. It’s a little boy, and Mike and I can hardly wait. I have no control over that. It’s taking place inside me right now.

“Do you know what? I’m the proudest woman on the face of the earth. I am going to be the mother of Michael Callahan’s children! It’s all I ever wanted from the first night I met him. Control of our bodies? I will do anything for Michael Callahan. The only important question to me is, ‘Will it give my husband pleasure?’ If the answer is yes, I do it. But I’m afraid that’s not what you wanted to hear, either.”

There was the sound of people moving and then a voice behind Kelly said, “Stand aside, young lady. It’s time for reinforcements.” Kelly spun around and found Cathy Adams standing there behind her. Cathy hugged her and moved to the microphone. Kelly was stunned to see Katrina, Mary Harris, and Chris Collins. Mary was now Mary Carson and Chris was married to Bill Carlson. Kelly returned to her seat and waited to see what would happen next.

Cathy spoke into the microphone. “Ladies, order please. My name is Cathy Adams. I guess I’m here this afternoon because, since my husband, Sam, is Army Chief of Staff, I outrank Kelly ... sort of. On my left beginning with the silver blonde, we have Katrina Solov Murphy, then Mary Harris Carson, and finally Chris Collins Carlson. We are the female members of Kelly’s wedding party. We’re all married. And we’re all pregnant — although none of us has been married a year yet. As the oldest, it’s only right that I’m closest to delivering. We came to tell you something and to tell Kelly something.

“First, my child will carry the name Kelly ... probably as a middle name. I was Sam Adams’ secretary. I loved him for years, but didn’t do anything about it. The first time I met Kelly, I hated her. I thought she was a call girl who Sam had arranged to have visit him at SACEUR headquarters in England. I’ll never forget what she said: ‘Sam said this was the first time.’

“We went into Sam’s office — Kelly was a major then — and he tells me to arrange for an immediate promotion for her to lieutenant colonel and to begin action to award her the Legion of Merit. Then I find out that she already had her first Medal of Honor, as well as the Silver Star, and a Purple Heart. I wanted to die! Keep in mind, I had just accused her of being a whore!

“Do you know what she does? She tells Sam I love him. How did she know? She pointed out to Sam that he was terribly attractive to me. He thought he was too old. She said if I considered a nineteen-year-old as competition for his attention, being thirty-two, I couldn’t possibly consider him to be too old. Kelly then told me how to act and what to do. She told me how to seduce Sam. I did. We got married. I got pregnant. I couldn’t be happier.

“Oh, I nearly forgot. I’m a West Point graduate with a graduate degree from Harvard. I’m a major in the Army. I have all the pieces of paper you were alluding to. You know what? You can take ‘em and shove ‘em! Since I’ve been with Sam, I’ve never been happier.

“One final point. I saw Kelly when she was wounded and evacuated back to England. She was white as a sheet from blood loss. Do you know what happened? They put her in one of our fastest helicopters. It came all the way back to England from Germany covered by four helicopter gunships and a full fighter squadron covering above. Why? Because it was Kelly! When the men of the 82^nd Airborne Division saw her fall, the word spread like wildfire: ‘Kelly’s down! She’s hit!’

“Those men went berserk. Do you know why? Because they love her so damned much. When she came to in the hospital, her first thought was for Mike. She had operated on him — for the second time — to remove a bullet. Degrees? Right kind of education? No, ladies. It’s being women. Now I want to introduce Mary Harris Carson who knew Kelly before I did. Mary?

Microphones had been placed in front of the women Mary spoke from her seat. She said, “Like Cathy, I’m a West Point graduate. I met Kelly at Quantico, just down the road. I was a second lieutenant at the time and very proud of my West Point education and my Regular Army commission. Ken Carson, my husband now, was the platoon leader of our training platoon. I was his assistant platoon leader.

“We had this beautiful young girl assigned to our platoon. Because we were training for penetration behind enemy lines, there were all sorts of people in our unit including civilian foreign nationals. Of course, I knew all about Kelly. She had to be a punk kid out of the enlisted ranks. I was an officer. I was going to show her how it was done.

“Boy, I sure did!

“She seemed to delight in showing me up. I was an officer, mind you! But there were things I observed that I didn’t understand. The instructors in small arms and explosives at the school seemed to defer to her. She was very good with weapons of all kinds, particularly including Russian small arms. But I could get even! I was giving her punishment details for everything — principally for showing up at school in the morning. The most she ever did was to look at me with the faintest expression of hurt in her eyes. I was being unfair and she knew it.

“Finally, after two weeks, I couldn’t take it any more. I made an issue of it with Ken. I had Kelly in my charge, and he took my word for it. I’ll never forget what happened then. It was a Monday morning. We met with Colonel Rogers, the school CO. I said, ‘Kelly’s exercises are okay, Colonel, but she’ll never be able to operate behind enemy lines. She doesn’t have the temperament for it.’ He said he would take my recommendation to drop her from the program under advisement and let us know his decision after a meeting of the student body that afternoon.

“That afternoon I looked around the auditorium. Kelly was gone. Well, I thought, that takes care of one problem. Then Colonel Rogers addresses us. He points out that we are organized as a training company but we have no company commander. He tells us we’re fortunate to have an officer — a major — who is fluent in German and Russian, an officer who has the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action behind enemy lines. That’s just the sort of work we were there to train for.

“The officer was Kelly, of course. When the meeting was over, Kelly asked Ken and me to stay. I resigned my commission on the spot. Instead of accepting it, she ordered me to do twenty pushups. I did. I said I had been punishing her unfairly. She replied that she had just punished me unfairly, too.

“Later, she asked Ken and me to join Mike and her at Virginia Beach for our one free weekend. Why she would want to associate with me I never could figure out, but we went down with them.

“Lying on the beach that day I saw the marks of her whippings all over her body. She had been continually tortured by the KGB for nearly a year. I had the gall to ride a girl who had been through that — and wins the Medal of Honor, too.

“Anyway, Kelly takes over our company. She wants us to set records for achievement. She shows us how to do everything and then we try to follow. Our company set every record the place has. Oh, I nearly forgot. Kelly set every personal record they have ... Every single one! You know what? It was a by-product. She was just demonstrating what she wanted us to do.

“Well, anyway, Ken and I went on the mission with Kelly and Mike that took out the Russian reserves and made our breakthrough in Germany possible. She planned it and then she executed it. And she got us out.

“I have never felt so honored in my life as when she asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. Ken and I are married now. I adore the man. Like Cathy, I took advice from Kelly. It works. I’m pregnant, too. I can hardly wait to deliver our baby! Now I want you to hear from Katrina Murphy.”