Chapter 4: March - Irish Blessing

Tory was lying on her bed in the fetal position, facing away from the door and hugging the teddy bear Mitch had given her. That seemed to be the only comfortable position she could be in right now.

She remembered Valentine's weekend with melancholy in her heart. Mitch was so loving and gentle with her. Their first date that Friday night was fun. And, making love for the first time afterwards was fantastic! For the rest of the weekend, Mitch spoiled Tory during the day — taking her site-seeing and shopping. In the evening, Mitch cooked for Tory and then made passionate love to her. He didn't force her to do anything she wasn't ready for, and was patient when she brought up about the things her ex had drilled into her.

But, things had changed and now she was avoiding him. Every time she recalled that weekend, she became a little sadder. It was that damned procedure; it had ruined everything!

"Mom?" Trent asked as he tapped on her open door. "Are you awake?"

"Sure, honey; what's up?" Tory turned her head, but could only move so far as to look toward the ceiling.

"I was just wondering how you were feeling. Do you need anything?"

"I'm okay, Trent. I may need some more meds later, but not now."

"What about food; are you hungry?"

"Not really, Trent. I just want to rest."

"Commander Ross called again. What should I tell him the next time he calls? I don't think he believes that you're always out."

"You can tell him I'm busy. You wouldn't be lying. I'm busy recuperating."

"I wish you would talk with him."

"Not now, honey. Can we have this discussion later? I'd really like to try and get some sleep."

"Sure, Mom. I'll check on you later."

Tory thought it strange when she heard her door click shut. Trent had been keeping it open so he'd be able to hear if she called for him.

As Tory's mind began to drift, she thought she felt a pair of strong hands begin to massage her lower back. When she allowed a relieved moan to escape, she remembered that Trent was supposed to have left the room.

"Trent? Jayson?"

"Why have you been avoiding my calls, Tory?"

"Mitch! What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission of mercy. Trent's been worried, so he called his brother. Jayson can't get away right now, and he's also worried, so he asked me to help. I've been talking with Trent over the past couple of days until I got a chance to come down." Mitch paused while he stretched out on Tory's bed, spooning against her back and holding her close to him. "What's going on, Tory? Talk to me, please!"

"I just had a procedure done that, while it didn't go wrong, it turned out different than I had expected."

"You're talking, Tory, but not saying much! Please, let me in. You don't have to do this alone." Mitch heard his voice crack with emotion but didn't care and didn't try to hide it.

With a sigh, Tory allowed herself to melt into Mitch's embrace. She snaked her fingers between his and felt him squeeze her hand gently.

"My mother was about my age when they found cysts on her ovaries," she began to explain. "Back then, they just ended up giving her a complete hysterectomy and 'cleaning her out', as she used to say. My doctor recently found some cysts on me. With today's procedures, I knew there would be some recovery time. But, if all went well, my doctor felt my recovery would be relatively quick. Only, when they took a look around inside, not only did they remove the cysts, but my ovaries, as well."

"Okay. But, Jayson had the impression from Trent that you were depressed. And, that still doesn't explain why you are avoiding me."

"Don't you see? I'm damaged; no longer a complete woman!" Tory tried to remove her fingers from between Mitch's, but he wasn't going to let her go.

"Is that the way you saw your mother?"

"No, of course not. You don't understand."

"I'm trying to, Tory. But I need your help."

"She was expecting it; it was practically standard procedure back then."

"But your doctor wouldn't have done what he did unless he had no other choice."

"I know, but..."

"But, nothing. Tell me, would you see me as less of a man if I had a vasectomy?"

"No. It would have been a choice you made."

"You didn't have a choice, is that it?"

"Maybe ... Partly. I'm not sure, anymore. I just didn't think it would happen this way."

"Okay, tell you what. I'm staying for a few days - no arguments. I'm going to let you rest now and go talk with Trent. I'll check back in on you later. Maybe I'll even give you another back rub — if you're good!" Mitch leaned over and placed a kiss on Tory's cheek. He slowly got up from the bed and kept the door opened slightly when he left.

Trent met Mitch at the bottom of the stairs. "How's she doing, Commander?" Mitch could easily see the worry etched on the young man's face.

"You'll find, son, that as adults we tend to fall victim to our own vicious double standards." Mitch let out a heavy sigh. "But, I think she'll be okay. I'm a little hungry; have you eaten yet today?" When Trent shook his head, Mitch continued. "Why don't we have some lunch and let your mother rest. After lunch, I'll see about getting a hold of your brother and the three of us can talk."

True to his word, after they had eaten, Mitch placed a call.

"Chuck? It's Mitch Ross. How are you doing? ... No, I'm not on base right now. Listen I need a favor ... I need to talk with Seaman Markus, is he around? ... Sorry, Chuck, I can't tell you; it's personal ... I understand. I'll talk with him and suggest that he do that. Is he around, Chuck? I would really like to talk with him ... Thanks, I owe you one."

Moments later, Trent heard the commander's tone change. "Markus, Commander Ross. I'm at your mother's house. I have your brother here with me. Let me see about getting this speaker phone to work and then we can talk." The commander manipulated a few buttons and Trent noticed a couple of lights go on. "Markus, you still there?"

"Yes, Commander, I'm here." The commander nodded toward Trent.

"Hey, Jayson, it's Trent."

"Hey, buddy! How you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess." Trent still had a blanket of worry covering his face.

"Okay, so I only have to explain this once. From what I can gather, your mother had a procedure done that went a little different than she had expected." As Mitch watched Trent's expression and heard Jayson's gasp, he quickly continued. "Nothing serious that I can tell. She's not deformed or anything like that, and she's not talking about malpractice."

"What type of procedure, Commander?" asked Jayson.

"Did she tell you, Trent?"

"No, sir. She just told me she was having it done around Spring Break because she thought it would be easier for her to recover, not having to worry about school and all. Ms. Larson drove her to and from the hospital."

"Did she tell you, Commander?" Jayson asked.

"She didn't give me the exact medical terms, but she told me the situation. Unfortunately, I don't feel I have the right to go into specifics. That's up to her."

"Commander, we're her family; we need to know!" Jayson wasn't trying to be insubordinate but was getting more worried as the situation unfolded. He began to pace around the office.

"I'll talk with your mother and see if she will tell you. However, right now will not be a good time to pressure her. She's feeling a little depressed because of the turn of events; maybe vulnerable is a better word."

"Kind of like our grandpa after his surgery?" Trent suggested. "He went in for bypass surgery. He was pretty active before he went in and when he came out, he was moving slower and seemed to get old pretty quick."

"Yeah," Jayson added, settling down in a chair. "But, after about a year his aging seemed to slow down. He still got old, but I didn't notice it as much after that first year."

"It sounds like it might be similar," Mitch agreed. "I don't know that your mother is feeling 'old' necessarily. But I think she's feeling a little of her own mortality. I don't think it'll take a year for your mother to get out of this funk, but she will need a little time and a lot of understanding from all of us."

"Understood," Jayson replied, as Trent sat there nodding his head in agreement.

"I'm going to stay down here for a few days, probably through the weekend. Not that you're not capable of taking care of your mother, Trent."

"No, I'm glad you're staying," he assured the commander. "You already understand more of what's going on than I do. If she'll talk with you about it, you can stay for as long as you like!"

"Will you call again, Commander?" Jayson asked, wishing he could be there, as well.

"I'll have Trent keep you informed," Mitch began. "If there's any major developments, I'll call. But, I don't want either of you to worry; your mother is from strong stock and she'll be okay."

"Thanks, Commander," Trent said.

"Yes, sir, thank you," Jayson echoed.

"Oh, Markus?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Talk to your CO about this. I didn't tell him why I was calling, but he's noticed you being a little distracted and short lately. If he knows what's going on, he can help you, too. He needs to know," advised Mitch.

"Yes, sir. I will, sir. Thank you, sir."

"I'll e-mail you tomorrow, Jayse," Trent called out.

"Okay, buddy. Hang tight. It sounds like everything is going to be okay. Tell Mom I love her! And, I love you too, Trent!"

"Love you, too, Jayse," Trent called out and then the phone went dead.

"You didn't seem to say much, Commander," Trent observed, as he watched the commander collect the equipment, "but you put me and my brother at ease. Thank you for coming."

Mitch smiled. "I'm glad I could help."

After he gathered up the equipment, Mitch went to check on Tory.

"Tory?" he whispered as he entered her room.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"I must have dozed. I thought I heard Jayson's voice; is he here, too?"

"No. I used a speaker phone to talk with him and Trent about what's going on. They've both been very worried about you."

"You didn't tell them what happened, did you?" Panic began to envelop Tory.

"Shhh," Mitch soothed as he gently lay on the bed, spooning Tory and stroking her hair. "No. I didn't go into specifics; I told them it was up to you to do that when you were ready. But, I did tell them I thought you were a little depressed and vulnerable because of the results of this procedure. Trent thought it sounded like one of their grandfathers after he went in for bypass surgery."

"Oh, yeah." Tory relaxed, enjoying Mitch's caresses. "I almost forgot about that. When my father-in-law came out of the hospital after surgery, he seemed to age quickly. And, that lasted for a while. Then, all of a sudden, he didn't appear as old as he had, or as depressed."

"Sounds like someone else I know," teased Mitch, placing a quick kiss on her cheek. In response, Tory turned her head enough to stick her tongue out at him. Mitch just chuckled. "You haven't eaten all day, as far as I know. Would you like something now, it's almost dinner time?"

"I guess I am a little hungry. I haven't been since I came home from the hospital."

"What would you like?"

"What about some chicken broth?"

"What about some chicken broth with chicken pieces, noodles and vegetables in it?"

"Are you always going to do that? Ask me what I want and then change it?"

"Maybe," Mitch replied, placing kisses along her neck.

"Okay," Tory relented. "But, I don't want too much of that other stuff. I need to slowly get used to eating solid food again."

"I'll go get something put together for you." Mitch kissed Tory once more and then left her room feeling satisfied. She already seemed in better spirits.

As he reached the bottom of the staircase, there was a knock at the front door.

"Yes? May I help you?" Mitch answered the door, finding an elderly woman giving his uniformed presence the once-over and then quickly peering around him and into the house.

"I'm Miranda Gentry, the Markus' neighbor. Who are you?" she asked in a rather demanding, high-pitched voice.

"I'm Mitch Ross, a friend of the family. How may I help you Ms. Gentry?"

"Mrs. Gentry," she corrected, sharply. "Where is Victoria? Didn't I see you at Trent's ceremony? Aren't you Jayson's commanding officer?"

"Yes, I was at Trent's ceremony. And, while I am Jayson's superior, I am not his commanding officer. As I said, I am a friend of the family. Tory's brother, Jay, and I went to college together. Was there something I could do for you?"

"I heard that Victoria was feeling poorly and I wanted to come by to see if there was something I could do for her." Mitch remembered Jay telling him that Tory didn't like being called 'Victoria' even though it was her real name. She much preferred the nickname that Jay had bestowed upon her in childhood.

"I'm sorry, but Tory's sleeping right now and I'd prefer not to disturb her. I can tell her that you stopped by, however. I'm sure that will lift her spirits."

"Is Trent around?" she demanded. "I'd like to speak to him for a moment."

Just then, Trent happened to round the corner and be easily spotted from the doorway.

"Oh, Trent, dear! There you are. How are you holding up, dear? So sad to hear about your mother," Mrs. Gentry called sweetly down the hallway.

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Gentry. I'm doing fine, and Mom is, too," Trent replied as pleasantly as he could, once he approached the doorway. Mitch could see the forced smile Trent plastered on his face.

"Well, I just came by to let you know that if you or your mother need anything, to just let me know. I'm right next door." Miranda Gentry glared at Mitch again, accentuating her last statement.

"Okay, Mrs. Gentry. I'll let Mom know. But I think we have everything under control now with the commander here. We've got to go, though. I need to talk with the commander and then get ready for work. Don't want to be late."

"Okay, dear. Well, you take care, now. It was nice seeing you again, Commander." Mrs. Gentry gave Mitch one last suspicious leer before turning to leave.

"You, too, Ms. Gentry. I'll let Tory know you stopped by." As politely as he could, Mitch shut the door on the busy-body. As he turned away from the door, he noticed Trent barely able to control his laughter.

"Sorry, Commander. I guess I should have warned you about Mrs. Gentry!"

"Every neighborhood has a busy-body. Is she it?"

"Pretty much. She must have noticed your car in the driveway."

"What was this about you working? This is your spring break, too, right?"

"Yeah, I could have taken spring break off. I was supposed to spend it with Dad but I knew that Mom was having her procedure done," Trent continued to explain while the two men went into the kitchen to see about dinner. "I wanted to stick around here, in case Mom needed me. So, instead of telling my Dad about Mom's procedure, I just told him that I had to work in the evenings. Then, I made sure I signed up for those shifts in case he stopped by. I knew he wouldn't want to take the days off work to spend with me, so it all worked out. And, he has nothing he can pin on Mom."

"Don't you like spending time with your dad?" asked Mitch, a bit surprised.

"It's okay. It was much better before Jayson went away. Dad doesn't seem to realize that I'm not him. Jayson was always good with his hands and enjoyed doing woodworking and home repairs with Dad. I don't mind them, so much, but Dad tells me to do something and just expects me to know how."

"Don't you ask him to show you?"

"Sometimes. But, when he gets impatient, it's always, 'Why can't you do this? Jayson knew how!' So, it's just not worth it."