Chapter 10: Aria

It was a typical fall November day at Fort Riley, Kansas with the temperatures dropping and the winds blowing. The dust was really kicking up in the motor pool area. 2nd Lt. Bob Lacey was in the motor pool doing an inspection of some tank maintenance logs and dreading how the dust was going to play havoc with his newly acquired contact lenses. The Motor Sergeant came up to Bob and told him that the Battalion Adjutant wanted to speak to him. Bob was told to report to Battalion Headquarters ASAP.

Bob found his driver and they drove up to Battalion Headquarters. On the drive he was thinking that calls like this usually result in some additional duty that would be assigned to him and he wasn't going to like it. Bob had never taken a fancy to the Adjutant as he thought this Captain who was trying to make Major always looked down on officers of lower rank. Oh well, in another month Bob's assignment at Fort Riley would be over as he had recently received reassignment orders to Korea. Bob had never been overseas and was looking forward to seeing the Far East. It would be a one-year assignment and maybe he could do some traveling when he took his annual leave.

Bob entered Headquarters and found the Adjutant's office. He knocked on the door and heard, "Enter." He walked in and saluted. Captain Gene Russo was sitting behind his desk and asked Bob to take a seat.

Captain Russo explained to Bob that this coming Thursday was Thanksgiving and in keeping with tradition, all of the Officers along with their families were expected to eat the Thanksgiving Day meal with the enlisted men. The meal would be served in the various enlisted men's mess halls. Normally Officers outside of the Company Mess Officers were not allowed to eat in the enlisted men's mess but on this one day that prohibition was waived. Further the Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel, Bill Casey had extended an invitation to the two Division Generals and the Division Chief of Staff along with their families, to join us for the meal. The two Generals had declined, but the Division's Chief of Staff, Colonel Ted Jason had accepted.

Colonel Jason would be attending with his wife and daughter. His daughter was a junior at University of Texas at Austin and had come home for the holidays. She had brought home with her a girlfriend. Two escorts were needed for the daughter and her girlfriend. It was being requested that Bob and another bachelor, Second Lieutenant Will Newton perform this duty. This was only a request, but Lieutenant Colonel Casey had personally selected Bob and Will for this assignment.

Bob had some mixed emotions. While he liked Lieutenant Colonel Casey and respected him as a leader, he did not like these blind dates. His most recent blind dates admittedly had worked out well. Yes he was single and yes, he wasn't in a committed relationship with Jackie yet although he was strongly considering it. The upcoming duty assignment to Korea had put a little damper on his commitment to her. He was extremely particular as to whom he dated. He would have been going to dinner with Jackie but she had gone home to Denver for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

He didn't think much of this assignment but he knew Lieutenant Colonel Casey meant well. On the other hand to refuse probably would not endear him to the staff. His efficiency report was due shortly and it could probably mean a loss of a few points off the rating if he refused this assignment. He informed the Captain Russo that he would be honored to accept the assignment. The Captain gave him the particulars as to when and where he was to meet the Colonel's daughter and her girlfriend. In order to avoid any conflict with Lieutenant Newton it had been decided that Lieutenant Newton would escort the Colonel's daughter and Bob her girlfriend. Dress greens were to be the uniform of the day.

Bob thanked the Captain for his time, saluted and headed to his BOQ. He put on his sweats and went for a three mile jog, as was his normal method of winding down after a days work. Bob had played college basketball when he was earning his undergraduate degree and his ROTC Commission. He enjoyed the feeling of being in shape. At six foot four inches, 190 pounds he was only two pounds over his playing weight when he was in college.

On Thanksgiving morning Bob skipped breakfast and slept in. He eventually rolled out of bed took his shower and shaved. His dress green uniform had been pressed and his shoes were spit shined. He was dressed and looking in the mirror as he thought that he presented a rather dashing appearance. In his automobile, a graduation gift from his parents, he drove to the Chief of Staff's home. There he met Lieutenant Newton and together they both walked up to the front door and pressed the doorbell.

The door was opened by a rather striking attractive older lady who had a pleasant smile and just radiated a style and grace. She was attired in a light gray dress, which emphasized her breasts and small waist. She welcomed the two Lieutenants in and introduced herself as Jane Jason, the Colonel's wife. She said the girls would be ready in a few minutes. She asked the Lieutenants to call her Jane. She showed them to the living room and asked them to make themselves comfortable.

Colonel Ted Jason walked into the room in his greens with a slew of ribbons adorning his chest. Both Bob and Will jumped to attention and the Colonel just chuckled.

"Relax," he said. "We are all here to enjoy the day so we can dispense with some of the formalities."

Bob and Will smiled at this and introduced themselves and shook hands with the Colonel. The Colonel said that it wasn't that long ago he was in a similar situation the Lieutenants are in with this escort duty and he can remember how he felt, so he would like to make Bob's and Will's experience with this duty as pleasant as possible. He further reminisced and said that the lady he was assigned to escort was Jane Wells who now is Jane Jason. It turned out to be good duty the Colonel said with a smile on his face.

As he was finishing telling this story, Jane Jason entered the room with her daughter and her girlfriend. The daughter was a dark haired girl about five foot five inches with an average figure and looks, but with a nice smile. Bob thought she was nice but she wasn't outstanding. Bob was introduced to her girl friend.

Her name was Aria Bell. She was about five foot seven inches tall, 115 pounds, with short blond hair and a nice sun tanned complexion, the California surfer girl look. This girl was something to write home to mother about. She was beautiful and could be model material.

Aria was wearing a knee length dress which was cinched at the waist. The cinching had the effect of showing a small waist and emphasizing her sizeable breasts, about 34 C's, and ample hips. She moved like a cat as she walked up to Bob and shook his hand.

He looked into her blue eyes and was smitten.

The ladies put on their coats and they all left the house for the ride to the Headquarters Company Mess Hall. Aria sat in the front seat a slight angle and looked at Bob.

"So how come they stuck you with this escort duty?" she asked.

"Just lucky I guess," Bob said.

They both looked at each other and started laughing. He asked her about school and where she lived. He was a little surprised to learn that her home was in South Carolina. Her voice was pleasant with a soft southern drawl that was very easy to listen to. The drive to the mess hall was much too short as far as Bob was concerned.

At the mess hall the guests were introduced to the other officers and families before they all sat down to the Thanksgiving Day meal. The Mess Sergeant had out done himself and received numerous compliments on the quantity and quality of the meal.

Bob had an interesting conversation with Aria. It turned out that her Dad was a land developer. He specialized in buying land, building a golf course, and then building expensive single-family homes and condominiums around the golf course. With the new wealth being gained through a rising stock market, there was no problem in finding buyers for these expensive homes. Bob was interested in Aria's dad's business because it sounded like a money making proposition.

When the meal was over, Jane invited the escorts to come back to her home for some coffee and cake. Back at the house they sat around the dining room table and listened to Colonel Ted Jason tell some of the experiences he had in his military assignments. He told of working in the Pentagon, oversea tours and of some of the funnier experiences he had encountered.

Aria sat next to Bob and ever so often her knee would touch him or her hand would touch his arm. Every time there was touching there was electricity. Bob enjoyed looking at Aria and her smile. There was also something about the way she looked at him that told him that maybe in someway she was attracted to him as well.

About seven Bob and Will thought that they should not overstay their welcome so they expressed their thanks and made their way to the door. At the door Bob looked at Aria and said while he didn't know what her plans were for tomorrow, he usually goes out on Friday night to the Officers Club. The O-Club has a nice buffet and live music. If she and the Colonel's daughter didn't have any plans for tomorrow maybe they would consider going to the O-Club. Aria said she would think about it.

Then next morning Bob couldn't get Aria out of his mind. She was everyman's dream girl. Maybe he should have asked her for her address and phone number but he wasn't sure of what the protocol was and he didn't want to do anything to offend anyone. Maybe she would come to the O- Club and he hoped she would.

About six that evening Bob left the BOQ dressed in a sport coat, a blue button down collar shirt without a tie, and gray slacks. While he thought he looked good in a uniform he preferred civilian clothes. Not only were they more comfortable, but they didn't tell everyone your name, rank or unit.

The main Officer's Club was located next to an 18-hole golf course on a bluff, which gave a nice overview of the Fort. This club was comparable to any private country club in the State. While you didn't make a lot of money in the Army, with benefits as these you lived like you did.

After parking the car, Bob entered the club and saw that the crowd was less than normal, probably due to the holidays. He had a drink at the bar and talked with a few people he knew. After a while he went to the buffet to get something to eat. He had learned that it was best to have something in you if you were drinking in order to avoid having the alcohol hitting you too hard. There was no reason to embarrass yourself by getting drunk especially with most everyone else there being of a higher rank.

As he was finished eating, he heard the band start up. He went to the ballroom to see if there was any action. In walking into the room he noticed that Aria was there. She wasn't hard to miss as there were five men surrounding her, all wanting her attention. He looked at her and she saw him and smiled at him. He smiled back and gave her a sign that indicated he was going to the bar for a drink. He really didn't want to get involved in competing for her attention with all the other guys. He figured that if she was interested in him she would find a way to be with him.

He was sitting at the large circular bar for about five minutes when he noticed that most of the patrons there stopped talking and were staring at him. He wondered why?

That question was answered when there was a tap on his shoulder and he heard, "Buy me a drink soldier?"

He turned to see Aria standing there. She was wearing a two inch above the knee basic black dress with spaghetti straps that were assigned almost an impossible task. On her, the dress was anything but basic. She had on make-up but not much as she didn't need much. The lipstick she was wearing was a light creamy rose color. Why Bob thought about her lipstick color, he didn't know.

He offered her his seat and watched as she effortlessly slid on the seat. He couldn't help but notice the curve of her hips and her shapely legs. Bob glanced at the other patrons at the bar and could see that they were all envious of him. They must have wondered what he had that they didn't. The answer was he had Aria and they didn't.

Aria sipped on a Margarita but her eyes were fixed on Bob. He noticed this and while he appreciated this attention he wasn't sure how he could advance their relationship. Aria solved that problem for him.

She looked at Bob and said, "If you want we can stay here and maybe dance, but if you don't mind maybe we could leave and go for a drive. You can show me around."

Bob wondered if this wouldn't get Aria in trouble but figured she would have cleared something like this before she asked.

He said, "Lets Go."

Aria took Bob's hand and they walked over to where Colonel Jason and his wife were sitting. Aria informed them that if there was no objection she was leaving with Bob. Further, that Bob would bring her home before midnight. Colonel Jason said fine and told Bob to drive safely. Jane Jason who had on a dress with a low cut bodice smiled at Bob and gave him a wink when she heard of Aria impending departure. There were a lot of disappointed male faces when they saw Aria leaving hand in hand with Bob. Bob was on cloud nine.

In the parking lot Bob opened the car door for Aria and was treated to a shot of Aria's thighs has she slid into her seat and reached over to open the driver's door. She did not tug down her dress when Bob entered the car. She put her arm on the back of Bob's seat.