Chapter 19

15:35 Friday, July 12th, 1991
Along Highway 24,
Walnut Creek, CA

Things hadn't gone so well for Dan and Kate until this morning, despite Kate's reassurances that she'd met Lenore's new boyfriend. Dan hadn't asked for details, and Kate remained mum, trusting in Barbara. Many times Sandy found Kate with a strange expression on her face, made more obvious when she spoke to Lenore. As the week passed, however, Kate seemed to grow an acceptance to the idea.

Meanwhile, Dan pitched a perfect sulk. He had few words for Lenore, and was generally sullen and uncommunicative around Sandy and Ben. Kate confided to Sandy that he'd threatened more than once to return to Texas and stop the search for a property.

Kate wasn't sure, but they'd found one small property in a valley which seemed to fit her criteria. She carried on the search in the hope that there'd be another which fit her 'wow' sense as well as location, availability, and budget.
Barbara wrangled an invitation to a formal event for the next weekend, a ballroom occasion. Kate jested, privately, that it was the Bay Area chapter of the Francophile Appreciation Society's celebration of Bastille Day. In reality, the event was a fundraiser for the California Academy of Sciences, held at the Academy's San Francisco museum. Kate harbored a suspicion that Barbara had made a recent sizeable contribution in order to gain the tickets. Today, the various parties planned to shop for appropriate attire.

Dan swore up a blue streak when told he was attending a formal event. In return, Kate said several sharp words which derived from Anglo-Saxon roots. The discussion, though muffled by the wall and without detail, entertained Ben and Sandy for nearly an hour Thursday evening.

In the end, Dan acquiesced.

Dan Junior would ship Dan's tux to him via Federal Express. Kate and Lenore called Dan Junior's wife and described which dresses she should send as well. The Gunny would wear his Evening Dress Uniform, as he was entitled to since the event was not in support of any political agenda. Lenore took one look at the uniform in the copy of the MCUR (Uniform Regulations) the Gunny brought to the boat to show her, and squealed at the sight of the boatcloak and Evening Dress.

Dan's general mood had inexplicably brightened this morning, in concert with the women's happiness at the prospect of dressing-up. He even suffered Lenore's impulsive kiss at breakfast.

Sandy had her suspicions about the subtle campaign Kate must have waged. "Dad's mood is better," Ben said over his morning orange.

"Kate's been applying the wisdom of the ancient Greeks," Sandy replied, absently. Lenore choked on her breakfast cereal. At Ben's perplexed look, Sandy smiled sweetly, "Read up on Aristophanes, Ben. Or else."
Rudolfs finally explained it to Ben. "Chief," Ben asked Kostowe, "Who the hell was Aristophanes?"

"Greek playwright, wrote 'Lysistrata'," Rudolphs answered for the Chief. He saw both Kostowe and Ben remained unenlightened. "The play was about a woman who ended a war by getting the women of a city to deprive their husbands of sex."

Sandy giggled at Ben's sudden look of understanding, and laughed outright at the glare he gave her.

Formal attire for Ben and Sandy posed something of a problem, however. Sandy owned no formal wear, not even so much as a Prom dress. Ben could rent a tuxedo, but Sandy was in a real quandary.

Her checkbook had just under three hundred dollars in it before they'd left Arizona. The Army paid on the first, and her account should now have about seven hundred. Even counting the pay she'd get on the 15th, Sandy could ill-afford a formal dress and the accessories she'd need, shoes, purse, gloves, underwear, etc. She placed the total at nearly a thousand dollars.

Ben instantly offered the balance of his bank account, the money remaining after the truck and Python, plus his pay. "After all", he said, "What other beautiful love of my life will I spend it on?"

Sandy fretted about it, enough so Lenore picked up on it. "Come on. Give!"

"I don't have anything appropriate to wear to this thing the Hardings invited us to," Sandy said. She didn't like the miserable tone she heard in her voice, either.

The Gunny stopped by for lunch, and immediately noticed Lenore's unease. Sandy smiled when the two of them approached her. I can't believe how tuned-in to her he is, so quickly. I hope they last ... I really hope they last.
The Gunny was direct, as always. "Lenore says you don't have clothes for this thing next week."

Sandy nodded. "I wouldn't want you to think I'd attend that meeting underdressed for the occasion, Gunny."

The Gunny snorted. "Go in uniform," he told her. "Get Blue Dress. I think that's what the Army calls it. Tailored. Get it made from cloth, not off the shelf, if you can do it. I'll find you a yellow pages, there's places downtown that'll do it, and in less than a week. Shouldn't be more than about eight hundred, and you'll use it again."

Sandy sat, floored. "Gunny ... when you're right, you're right..."

That led to a call from Sandy to Barbara from the Marina clubhouse, but Deb fielded the call. "No, she's not available right now..."

Sandy explained what she wanted, a serviceable dress Blue uniform she could wear more than once, and needed a place to find good quality. She was sure the Admiral had the same requirements in a dress uniform.

Deb listened, and then asked Sandy her budget. "Sandy," she'd said, "I'll tell you what. You both get your measurements taken by a local tailor, and we'll send them off to an old friend of the family's. He's in Washington, but he's really quite good at meeting the Admiral's needs ... Yes, it'll be a few dollars more to have them overnighted to us. The Admiral uses another gentleman locally, in San Francisco, for measurements." Deb read Sandy a street address, then finished, "Call me back, and I'll call the tailor in Washington. We'll have to have you over next Thursday to try things on. There won't be any time to take a chance with shipping to your hotel."