Chapter 10: September - Labor of Love

School had just started the week before, but Tory was already in full swing in her classes. The fourth class period of her day was Advanced Graphics, a senior-only course. She loved teaching this section, since only the students who wanted to be there were, and they put their full effort into it. This helped right now, because the busier Tory was, the less time she worried about her eldest being at sea.

Just as she started talking about the homework assignment, the door in the back of the classroom opened and Terri Larson walked in with Mitch right behind her. Tory stopped her explanation mid-sentence; Mitch looked worried. She moved quickly to the back of the classroom as all heads turned around.

"Okay, everyone, face forward," Terri said, quickly drawing attention to herself as she strode to the front of the class. "Does anyone have any questions about the homework?" Terri and Tory had worked on lesson plans many times, so Terri was comfortable taking over for Tory, especially right now.

"What's going on, Mitch?" Tory asked as soon as she was next to him.

Just as the bell rang signifying the end of the class period, Tory's classroom door opened and Trent sprinted in. "Mom? Commander? What's going on?"

Terri did what she could to hustle the students out of class. As soon as she closed the door Mitch spoke.

"Tory, something's happened. We think there might have been an accident on the ship."

As if they were made of paper and a gust of wind just passed, Tory's legs folded and she collapsed. She would have landed on the floor if Mitch wasn't right there waiting to catch her. Moving quickly, Trent and Mitch got Tory to a chair while Terri left to get some water.

"Wh-what type of a-accident?" Tory stuttered.

Mitch knelt by Tory's side. "We're not entirely sure yet. The ship that Jayson was on lost contact last night. We've been searching but there's been no word yet."

"LAST NIGHT?!" Trent shouted. "It's noontime! What took them so long to tell us?"

"I'm sorry," Mitch began as Terri re-entered the room and gave Tory some water. "I was hoping that they'd be found by now, or we'd know more, so I'd have some positive news."

"I should go to the base," Tory whispered from her zombie-like state. "I should go get information; they'll tell me, I'm family."

"No, baby," Mitch cajoled, stroking her cheek gently. "Let me take you home. As soon as they know something, they're going to call me." To reassure them all, Mitch patted his side where his cell phone was holstered to his belt. "Trent, did you drive today?"

"No, we carpool with Ms. Larson; she drove today,"

"Okay, do you feel up to driving now?" When he nodded, Mitch continued. "Trent, I'm going to have you drive my car home. Your mom and I will be in the car, but I don't want to leave her side." Mitch gently pulled Tory to standing and kept a tight hold around her body for support.

"Ms. Larson, could you find Ben and ask him to get my homework and stuff, and bring it by later?" Trent pleaded. Terri nodded helplessly while holding back her sobs for her best friend and her family.

Trent drove home as if on autopilot, still in shock over the news. Mitch never lost contact with Tory's body. When they arrived home, Tory was still unresponsive so Mitch carried her to her bedroom. He laid her on her bed and left the door open when he went to check on Trent.

"Could he be dead, Commander?" Trent blurted out when he saw Mitch enter the living room.

"I'm not sure, Trent. Honest. All I know for sure is that we've lost communication with them. I don't even know where they were headed; I wasn't given that information."

"How's Mom?"

"Don't you have to know First Aid in Boy Scouts? If you had to guess what was going on with her, what would you say?"

"I'd say she was in shock," Trent answered decisively.

"And, you'd be right." Mitch smiled, proudly. "So, what do you suggest we do?"

"Since she's in shock from an emotional trauma, not a physical one, I'm not really sure. I guess I'd want to keep an eye on her, try to get her to eat something, and make sure she doesn't get any worse."

"Good idea. What about if you make us all some soup and I'll go check on your mother again?" Tory was still lying on her bed where Mitch had left her, staring off into space. Mitch stayed with her and, when Trent brought up the soup, he sat her up and fed her slowly. Tory didn't fight Mitch, but she didn't help him, either. Once she had finished the soup, Mitch left her again to bring the mug downstairs. Before he left Tory's room, however, he placed the teddy bear he had given her in her lap, hoping she would have something to hold on to until he returned.

As soon as Mitch stepped back inside the bedroom, the teddy bear was hurled through the air and it hit him square on the chest.

"GET OUT!" Tory began screaming. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! GET OUT OF MY LIFE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

"I'm not going anywhere, Tory," Mitch whispered. "I'm staying right here." He took a couple of steps toward the bed where Tory still sat. Mitch held his arms open at his side, seemingly welcoming any other assaults Tory wanted to throw at him.

"GET OUT, DAMN IT! I WANT YOU AND THAT STUPID BEAR GONE!" She screamed again and bolted up from the bed in a defensive stance. Still, Mitch gently advanced toward her.

"I love you, Tory. I'm going to help you through this." Mitch stopped within arms reach of Tory.

"I DON'T LOVE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU AND THE NAVY FOR KILLING MY SON!"

"We don't know that he's dead, Tory," Mitch reassured her, still talking softly. In the quiet as he spoke, Mitch was aware that Trent had come up the stairs and was listening nearby. "Right now, he's only missing. For all we know, he could be fine; we need to keep the faith."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Tory shouted, growing hoarser as she continued. When Tory realized just how close Mitch was to her, she accentuated her words with her fists against his uniformed chest. "YOU DON'T LOVE ME! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS! YOU LIED! YOU SAID YOU'D WATCH OUT FOR HIM! YOU PROMISED JAY! YOU PROMISED ME! NOW HE COULD BE DEAD!" As the reality of her words began to sink in, Tory released the floodgates holding back her tears. "You promised! You promised he'd be alright."

As Tory's voice quieted and her pounding on his chest subsided, Mitch picked up the anguished woman in his arms and brought her back to bed. He stretched out along its length, as he had done a number of times before, and held Tory's grieving body close to his chest. He didn't say anything; he just began to rub her arm and back and allow her tears to stain his uniform. Upset after watching the violent display of grief, Trent quietly entered the room and climbed into bed behind his mother. As Tory clung to Mitch's chest, Trent hugged her from behind. As Mitch surveyed the two of them sprawled on the bed next to him, he, too, allowed himself the luxury of grief.

Mitch awoke with a start. The room was now growing dark, but the trio remained as he remembered — he held Tory in his arms, while Trent hugged her from behind. Tory and Trent were still asleep, exhausted from their grief. Why had he woken up? Then Mitch realized the vibration in his ribs. Quickly, he sat up.

"Ross, here," he spoke clearly into his phone. "Yes, that's right ... They're here with me now. Any word from the search party? ... What did they find? ... Do we have an idea of what happened, yet? ... Okay, I understand ... No, I'll let them know ... Yes, I understand ... Okay, keep me informed." As Mitch closed his phone, he noticed two sets of red, puffy eyes staring at him. He took a deep breath while he re-holstered his phone and then looked directly at Tory.

"They found the ship," he simply said. As he watched the reality of his words hit Tory and her son, their tears began anew.

"What about her crew?" Tory croaked out, wiping the tears from her face.

"Many injured; they think two are dead."

"What happened?" asked Trent, fearful about asking any other question.

"They don't know, yet. Once they get the crew and what's left of the ship back to base, there'll be an investigation. But the results won't be made public for who knows how long, if at all."

"Have they identified the bodies of the dead?" Tory asked, tears beginning to well in her eyes again.

"They wouldn't release that information to me right now. But," Mitch took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "they did tell me that they think they were officers."

"They think?" Tory watched Mitch patiently.

"That means there's a good chance that Jayson's alright. He might be among the injured, but he's probably alive." Mitch smiled. "They'll call me later with confirmation."

Mitch began to chuckle, and that set Tory and Trent off. After the anguish of not knowing, there was a glimmer of hope that Jayson was still alive.

After they settled down, Trent was the first to speak. "I'm getting hungry. Anyone else want some dinner? I was thinking about calling out for pizza."

"Sure, Trent," Tory replied. "I could go for some ice-cold soda, too; my throat's a little raspy." She smiled again and pulled Trent into a loving embrace. When Trent left to order dinner, Tory turned back to Mitch. "I am so sorry, Mitch," she began.

"Whoa! You have nothing to be sorry about!" he soothed, taking her in his arms. "I can tell the difference between a person speaking the words and the emotions speaking them."

"I-I just shouldn't have said them. I never take out my anger on someone else."

"It was grief not anger, and you didn't take it out on me. You vented at the Navy, which is what you needed. I meant what I said, Tory. I wasn't just saying what they tell us to say to beautiful grieving mothers; I do love you."

"I know you do. And, I love you, too. I think I have for a while, now. It's a shame it took a tragedy to get us to admit it."

"Jayson will be okay; you have to believe that," Mitch continued to console.

"I do. Whether he's alive or dead, he's okay and where he needs to be," Tory managed to say before she pulled Mitch toward her for a passionate kiss.

"Okay, I ... Whoa, sorry!" As quickly as Trent had entered the room, he turned around and left.

"Trent!" called Mitch. "It's okay." He almost had to chuckle as the red-faced teenager re-appeared meekly in the doorway.

"I didn't mean to barge in on you," Trent began to apologize.

"We know, Trent," Tory soothed, trying hard to hold back her own laughter. "What's up?"

"Well," Trent continued, still a bit flustered, "I ordered two larges, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry. And they're including a two-liter of soda. It should be here in twenty minutes. I'll go down and wait."

As the adults followed Trent downstairs, Mitch kept his arm around Tory's waist. On the way out of her room, Tory picked up her teddy bear and carried it downstairs with them.

Soon after the pizza arrived, there was another knock on the front door. Trent went to answer it.

"Hey, Ben! Come on in. Thanks for getting my stuff," Trent greeted.

Ben was animated while filling Trent in on what had happened after he left school. He remained animated until the two boys reached the dining room and Ben noticed that Mitch was sitting at the table.

"Ben, you remember Commander Ross, don't you?" Tory asked when she noticed the boy enter.

"Nice to see you again, Ben," Mitch greeted, standing and extending his hand. "Thanks for getting Trent's books and homework." Ben shook the commander's hand, but remained relatively dumbfounded for another minute or two. He quickly recovered when Trent offered him some pizza.

"No, thanks, man. Mom's keeping a plate warm for me. I'd hang around, but just got off work, so I have to get home and do some homework, yet. I'll see you later."

"Nice seeing you, again, Ben," Mitch called to the retreating teenager. Ben and Trent were talking quite seriously before Ben finally left. Trent returned to the dining room a little confused.

"Anything wrong, Trent?" Tory asked, noticing her son's expression. "Ben seemed a bit odd when he was here."

"I'm not sure. Ben was asking me all sorts of questions about you, Commander. He said something about prom and that he'd tell me later." Mitch immediately broke out in robust laughter. Tory and Trent just stared at him like he was possessed.

"I remember," Mitch began to explain when he got control of his laughter. "Ben was one of a group of boys I overheard talking during prom."

"What were they talking about that would cause Ben to be so self-conscious four months later?" Tory quizzed.

"They were talking about the teachers and classifying one, in particular, as a MILF," Mitch replied, matter-of-factly.

"So, what did you say to them that still has Ben scared?"

"I just told them they were off by a MILE!" Mitch began to laugh again as he watched Tory's hands quickly cover her cheeks in embarrassment.

"I don't get it."

"Trent," Mitch explained, "they were talking about your mother. They didn't realize I was behind them until I made it known. Ben was one of the boys."

"Okay, so I guess I understand why Ben is nervous. But, Mom, why are you embarrassed by what the commander said?" Trent was trying hard to understand the situation, but something was being lost in the translation.